Patent Application
20080077210
The preferred vest would be a fabric shell with a large zipper that would encompass the entire front of the vest and another zipper that would encompass the back of the vest. The inner layer of the vest would be a permeable hydrophobic layer that would insulate the heat sinks from contact with the skin. The heat sinks would be a mylar or similar plastic laminated in a quilted fashion to provide channels for air flow. The channels would be closer than three linear inches apart. The laminated heat sinks would hold water or a eutectic gel or a water and chemical such as used in disposable baby diapers. These heat sinks would Velcro in with Velcro on both sides of the top of the heat sinks so that more than one quilted heat sink layer could be attached to the vest shell. Although other methods could be used. The vest would have at least two bands of quilted heat sink surrounding the torso of a person. The bands could hold a number of layers. Each successive band could tuck into the layer beneath it to deliver dry air the to the permeable insulating layer next to the skin. The heat sink layers would be reflective to infrared on the outside and away from the body. A thin layer of cloth would cover the reflective layer to reduce heat absorption from the environment through conduction.
Specific to the heat sink, small holes would perforate the heat sink of such a diameter that surface tension would prevent leakage of liquid but allow vapor to evaporate under heat stress from the environment and thus lengthen the cooling time of the vest relative to the weight. Thus a frozen solid gel contained within a section of the heat sink would sublimate on its exterior surface to a liquid. The liquid would be retained within the heat sink by a molecular sieve and or the water absorbent and sponge like gel. As the liquid again sublimated into a gas it could pass through either small holes or through a molecular sieve and cool the vest further. These small perforations under pressure on the inside of the vest would allow condensed water to be squeezed back into the vest to re-hydrate the quilted heat sinks when the wearer moved and over came the inherent surface tension. The water mixes with the thickening agent and can only leave primarily as a vapor or gas. The size of the holes could be made more tolerant to overt leakage by the use of a gel or thickening agent rather than just water.
It is intended that further embodiments incorporating the spirit of the invention to one skilled in the art, fall within the scope of this invention.
A channel is any space through which air can flow. It can be thin and broad or created by the quilting of the material in the heat sink. A channel may be created by placing two objects in close proximity or covering it with a third object thus creating a passage through which air can flow.
A heat sink is anything that is colder than the surrounding environment. In a cooling vest it can be cold plates or inserts that are attached to a vest of any material that will effectively absorb heat such as frozen water or eutectic gel in a quilted Mylar package.
Heat absorption is the flow of heat from a hot body to a cold body.
A perforation is a hole that will allow something to pass through it.
A eutectic gel is a compound found in cooling vests that absorbs heat through a phase shift. It can include sodium polyacrylate.
To Velcro something in is to use a hook and loop fastener to attach something to the vest although it can also mean to attach by other similar means such as snaps or even double sided tape.
Something is quilted when it has sunken seams between areas or channels of reduced thickness of the material.
Permeable means something can flow through it like water and cloth.
A molecular sieve is a material that will allow one phase of a material to pass but restrict the passage of the same material in a different phase. Small perforations can with some materials do this.
A thickening agent is a material that locks with the water in a manner of the common material in baby diapers. It absorbs the water in its liquid state and unlike a sponge does not readily release the water when under light pressure. Sodium polyacrylate is a thickening agent.
Moisture saturation point is the point where the water cannot be readily evaporated into the air because the humidity is to high for the temperature.
Heat sink layers are layers of heat absorbing material laid normal to the body where the layers are sandwich like with one on the top of another.
A supporting means is a supporting structure something that can give support to something. It can be stiff or soft. I can be a human body or a human body covered in cloth or it can be something that could not support the object itself unless it was also supported. It can be a surface to which force can be applied.
Something is saturated when it can not absorb anything anymore.
Sublimation is the change from a solid to a liquid or a gas or liquid to a gas.
