TWI837473B - Garment cooling system - Google Patents

Abstract

A garment cooling system includes a garment, a fluid channel, a cooling device, and conduits. The fluid channel is disposed on the garment. The cooling device includes a fluid storage container, a pump, a cooling pad, a thermal dissipation module, and a smart cooling controller. The pump is disposed in the fluid storage container. The cooling pad is disposed on a bottom of the fluid storage container and directly contacts with the fluid storage container, and performs thermal exchange with the fluid storage container. The thermal dissipation module is disposed on a bottom of the cooling pad, and performs thermal dissipation to the cooling pad. The smart cooling controller controls a cooling rate of the cooling pad according to an environmental temperature of the garment cooling system, an inlet-water temperature and an outlet-water temperature of the fluid storage container. The conduits connect the cooling device and the fluid channel, one conduit connecting the inlet end of the fluid channel to the outlet of the storage container, and another conduit connecting the outlet end of the fluid channel to the inlet of the storage container.

Description

Clothing cooling system

The present disclosure relates to a clothing temperature regulating system, and more particularly to a clothing cooling system.

In recent years, the global greenhouse effect has caused extreme climate change, and the extremely cold and hot climates have also changed the style of clothing. For workers in high-temperature working environments (such as traffic police, forging practitioners, racing drivers, firefighters, etc.), there is a particular need for clothing that can provide temperature regulation (such as cooling) during the execution of tasks. However, the current design of clothing with cooling functions has many shortcomings, such as temperature overshoot, low cooling efficiency caused by freezing of coolant, and inability to customize. Therefore, how to manufacture a clothing cooling system to improve the above shortcomings is indeed one of the important topics in this field.

The present disclosure provides a clothing cooling system.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a clothing cooling system includes clothing, a fluid channel, a cooling device and a duct. The fluid channel is arranged on the clothing, wherein the fluid channel has an inlet end and an outlet end. The cooling device includes a fluid reservoir, a motor, a cooling plate, a heat dissipation module and an intelligent cooling controller. The fluid reservoir has an inlet and an outlet. The motor is arranged in the fluid reservoir. The cooling plate is arranged at the bottom of the fluid reservoir and directly contacts the fluid reservoir, and is used to perform heat exchange on the fluid reservoir. The heat dissipation module is arranged at the bottom of the cooling plate, and is used to dissipate heat from the cooling plate. The intelligent cooling controller is coupled to the motor, the cooling plate and the heat dissipation module, and is used to control the cooling power of the cooling plate according to the ambient temperature of the clothing cooling system, the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature of the fluid reservoir. The conduit connects the cooling device and the fluid channel, wherein the conduit connects the inlet end and the outlet end of the fluid channel to the outlet and the inlet of the fluid storage device respectively.

In the clothing cooling system disclosed in the present invention, since the cooling sheet is arranged at the bottom of the fluid storage and directly contacts the fluid storage, the heat exchange efficiency and heat dissipation efficiency can be improved. Therefore, the present invention can improve the problem that the traditional heat dissipation components are easy to freeze due to poor heat dissipation efficiency, cannot circulate, and have low cooling efficiency. Furthermore, the present invention implements the cooling control process through the intelligent cooling controller, learns the heating rate of a specific user, trains and replaces a new decision model, and then realizes customization capabilities to improve human comfort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a clothing cooling system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The clothing cooling system 10 includes clothing 100, a fluid channel 110, a cooling device, and a plurality of conduits 111. The cooling device includes thermometers 121, 122, 123, an intelligent cooling controller 130, a memory 131, a communication interface 132, a battery module 14, a fluid storage 150, a cooling sheet 151, a heat dissipation module 152, a fluid control valve 16, a motor 17, and a human-machine interface 180.

Structurally, the fluid channel 110 is disposed on the garment 100, and the fluid channel 110 has an inlet end IE and an outlet end OE. The fluid reservoir 150 has an inlet and an outlet. A plurality of conduits 111 connect the cooling device and the fluid channel 110, wherein the plurality of conduits 111 connect the outlet of the fluid reservoir 150 to the inlet end IE of the fluid channel 110, and connect the outlet end OE of the fluid channel 110 to the inlet of the fluid reservoir 150. The motor 17 is disposed in the fluid reservoir 150. The fluid control valve 16 is disposed on the conduit 111, for example, the fluid control valve 16 is disposed on the conduit 111 connecting the outlet end OE of the fluid channel 110 and the inlet of the fluid reservoir 150. The cooling fin 151 is disposed at the bottom of the fluid storage 150 and directly contacts the fluid storage 150 to perform heat exchange with the fluid storage 150. The heat dissipation module 152 is disposed at the bottom of the cooling fin 151 to dissipate heat from the cooling fin 151. The thermometer 121 is disposed on the heat dissipation module 152, coupled to the intelligent cooling controller 130, and used to measure the ambient temperature Tref. The thermometer 122 is disposed in the fluid storage 150 and adjacent to the outlet, coupled to the intelligent cooling controller 130, and used to measure the outlet water temperature Tout of the fluid storage 150. The thermometer 123 is disposed on the conduit 111 and near the inlet of the fluid storage 150 (i.e., near the outlet end OE of the fluid channel 110), and is coupled to the intelligent cooling controller 130 to measure the water inlet temperature Tin of the cooling device. The battery module 14 is coupled to the intelligent cooling controller 130 to provide a supply voltage BTR to the intelligent cooling controller 130, the cooling plate 151 and the heat dissipation module 152, and enables the intelligent cooling controller 130 to control the cooling force of the cooling plate 151 according to the supply voltage BTR. The human-machine interface 180 is coupled to the intelligent cooling controller 130 and is used to display at least one of the ambient temperature Tref, the water inlet temperature Tin, the water outlet temperature Tout, the output power of the cooling plate 151, and the remaining power of the battery module 14, but is not limited thereto.

It is worth noting that since the cooling sheet 151 is disposed at the bottom of the fluid storage 150 and directly contacts the fluid storage 150, the heat exchange efficiency and heat dissipation efficiency can be improved. Therefore, the present disclosure can improve the problem of traditional heat dissipation components that water is easy to freeze, cannot circulate, and have low cooling efficiency due to poor heat dissipation efficiency.

The intelligent cooling controller 130 is coupled to the thermometers 121, 122, 123, the memory 131, the battery module 14, the cooling fin 151, the heat dissipation module 152, the motor 17 and the human-machine interface 180, and is used to control the cooling power of the cooling fin 151 according to the ambient temperature Tref of the clothing cooling system 10, the water inlet temperature Tin and the water outlet temperature Tout of the fluid storage 150.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication interface 132 is coupled to the smart cooling controller 130 (or integrated in the smart cooling controller 130), so that the smart cooling controller 130 can communicate and exchange data with the components in the cooling device through the communication interface 132 to achieve automatic control. Specifically, the communication interface 132 can support communication standards such as General-Purpose Input/Output (GPIO), Inter Integrated Circuit (I ² C), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), and Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). Therefore, the intelligent cooling controller 130 can read the measurement data generated by the components in the cooling device through the communication interface 132, and transmit the control signal to the components in the cooling device through the communication interface 132.

For example, the smart cooling controller 130 can transmit a pulse width modulation signal (e.g., a control signal CTRL) to the cooling plate 151 through the communication interface 132 to control the cooling power of the cooling plate 151. The smart cooling controller 130 can read the ambient temperature Tref, the water outlet temperature Tout, and the water inlet temperature Tin measured by the thermometers 121, 122, and 123 through the communication interface 132. The smart cooling controller 130 can transmit a general input and output signal (e.g., operation information INFO) to the human-machine interface 180 through the communication interface 132, so that the human-machine interface 180 displays the operating status of the clothing cooling system 10. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the operating state includes at least one of a boot state, a training state, a data storage state, and a decision model replacement state.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the smart cooling controller 130 is a processor, such as a Raspberry Pi® 4 processor, but not limited thereto. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the smart cooling controller 130, the memory 131, and the communication interface 132 are integrated into a single integrated circuit or a single circuit board, but not limited thereto.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the heat dissipation module 152 includes at least one heat dissipation fin. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the motor 17 is a submersible motor. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the intelligent cooling controller 130 can transmit a control signal to the heat dissipation module 152 through the communication interface 132 to adjust the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat dissipation module 152; and transmit a control signal to the fluid control valve 16 and the motor 17 to adjust the flow rate of the fluid disposed in the fluid storage 150 through the fluid control valve 16, thereby adjusting the fluid circulation rate.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, ice cubes C and water W are disposed in the fluid storage 150, and the ratio of ice cubes C to water W is 1:1. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, 500 ml of ice cubes C and 500 ml of water W are disposed in the fluid storage 150, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In actual applications, the existing clothing cooling system is prone to temperature overshoot during the initial operation stage, and cannot cool down after operating for a period of time. Because of the temperature overshoot, the cooling liquid (such as water W) freezes, the fluid circulation rate is low, and the cooling efficiency of the existing clothing cooling system is low. Furthermore, the existing clothing cooling system lacks self-learning ability and cannot properly adjust the cooling efficiency according to the heating rate of different users and the temperature of the environment. In other words, because the existing clothing cooling system lacks customization capabilities, it leads to poor human comfort.

In order to improve the above problems, the present disclosure configures ice cubes C and water W in the fluid storage 150, and controls the cooling power of the cooling plate 151 according to the ambient temperature Tref, the water inlet temperature Tin and the water outlet temperature Tout through the intelligent cooling controller 130. In this way, the cooling device disclosed in the present disclosure can control the cooling power of the cooling plate 151 at a relatively low level during the initial operation stage to avoid temperature overshoot and freezing of the cooling liquid. Furthermore, the cooling device disclosed in the present disclosure can perform artificial intelligence (AI) self-learning to learn the heating rate of a specific user (that is, each user's physiological characteristics such as body shape, age and gender are different, so the heating rate is also different), thereby realizing customization capabilities to improve human comfort.

Specifically, the memory 131 is further used to store program codes, which instruct the intelligent cooling controller 130 to execute the cooling control process 20, as shown in FIG. 2. The cooling control process 20 includes the following steps:

Step 201: Receive input data including ambient temperature, water inlet temperature and water outlet temperature.

Step 202: Determine whether there is a decision model. If not, proceed to step 203; if yes, proceed to step 204.

Step 203: Perform PID calculation based on the input data to calculate the output power. Go to step 205.

Step 204: Execute the decision model to calculate the output power according to the input data.

Step 205: Control the cooling power of the refrigeration plate according to the output power.

Step 206: Save current data.

Step 207: Check whether there is a new decision model at the next boot. If yes, proceed to step 208; if not, return to step 201.

Step 208: Determine whether there is new data. If so, proceed to step 209; if not, proceed to step 210.

Step 209: Train the decision model.

Step 210: Replace the new decision model.

In step 201, the smart cooling controller 130 receives input data including an ambient temperature Tref, an inlet water temperature Tin, and an outlet water temperature Tout.

In steps 202 and 203, when the intelligent cooling controller 130 determines that there is no decision model, the intelligent cooling controller 130 performs PID (proportional-integral-differential) calculation according to the input data to calculate the output power of the cooling device. For example, when the user first puts on the clothing 100, the intelligent cooling controller 130 has not yet established any decision model, so the intelligent cooling controller 130 performs PID to calculate the output power of the cooling device. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the output power of the cooling device is at least one of the output power of the cooling plate 151, the output power of the heat dissipation module 152, the flow rate of the fluid control valve 16 (i.e., the unit area flow rate of the fluid), and the rotation speed of the motor 17.

In steps 202 and 204, when the smart cooling controller 130 determines that there is a decision model, the smart cooling controller 130 executes the decision model to calculate the output power of the cooling device according to the input data. For example, when the user does not wear the garment 100 for the first time, the smart cooling controller 130 has already established the decision model, so the smart cooling controller 130 inputs the input data into the decision model to calculate the output power of the cooling device.

In step 205, the intelligent cooling controller 130 controls the cooling power of the cooling plate according to the output power. In step 206, the intelligent cooling controller 130 stores the current data (i.e., the current ambient temperature Tref, the water inlet temperature Tin, the water outlet temperature Tout and the calculated output power).

In steps 207, 208, 209, and 210, when the smart cooling controller 130 is turned on next time, when it is determined that there is a new decision model and new data, the smart cooling controller 130 trains the decision model and replaces the new decision model.

In steps 207, 208, and 210, when there is a new decision model but no new data, the new decision model is replaced. On the other hand, at the next startup, when the intelligent cooling controller 130 determines that there is no new decision model, the new decision model is not replaced.

In this way, through the cooling control process 20, the smart cooling controller 130 disclosed in the present invention can learn the heating rate of a specific user, train and replace a new decision model, and thus realize customization capabilities to improve human comfort.

FIG. 3 shows a temperature versus time curve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Experiments have shown that the temperature curve inside the garment without a cooling system has a temperature overshoot phenomenon during the seven to twelve minute operation period (i.e., the temperature suddenly rises to 36°C and then drops to 31°C), and then maintains an average of 33°C during the 30 minute operation period. The temperature curve inside the garment equipped with a traditional cooling sheet is lower than 29°C within five minutes of startup, and then gradually rises to 33°C during the 30 minute operation period. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the temperature curve inside the garment equipped with an AI learning cooling sheet has a more stable temperature change within 30 minutes, so the human body is more comfortable; and the temperature within 30 minutes is lower than the temperature inside the garment with a traditional cooling system. Therefore, the clothing cooling system 10 disclosed in the present invention can effectively improve the problem of temperature overshoot and improve human comfort.

In summary, in the clothing cooling system disclosed in the present invention, since the cooling sheet is arranged at the bottom of the fluid storage and directly contacts the fluid storage, the heat exchange efficiency and heat dissipation efficiency can be improved. Therefore, the present invention can improve the problem that the traditional heat dissipation component is easy to freeze due to poor heat dissipation efficiency, cannot circulate, and has low cooling efficiency. Furthermore, the present invention implements the cooling control process through the intelligent cooling controller, learns the heating rate of a specific user, trains and replaces a new decision model, and then realizes customization capabilities to improve human comfort.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the form of implementation as above, it does not limit the present invention. Anyone skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of the patent application attached hereto.

10: Clothing cooling system 100: Clothing 110: Fluid channel 111: Conduit 121,122,123: Thermometer 130: Smart cooling controller 131: Memory 14: Battery module 150: Fluid storage 151: Refrigeration sheet 152: Heat dissipation module 16: Fluid control valve 17: Motor 180: Human-machine interface 20: Cooling control process 201～210: Steps BTR: Supply voltage C: Ice cubes CTRL: Control signal INFO: Operation information Tin: Water inlet temperature Tout: Water outlet temperature Tref: Ambient temperature W: Water

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an example clothing cooling system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a cooling control process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a curve chart of temperature versus time according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

10: Clothing cooling system

100: Clothing

110: Fluid channel

111: Catheter

121,122,123:Thermometer

130: Intelligent cooling controller

131:Memory

132: Communication interface

14:Battery module

150: Fluid storage

151: Refrigeration film

152: Heat dissipation module

16: Fluid control valve

17: Motor

180: Human-machine interface

BTR: Supply voltage

C: Ice cubes

CTRL: control signal

INFO: Operation information

IE: Entry point

OE: Export end

Tin: water entry temperature

Tout: water outlet temperature

Tref: Ambient temperature

W: Water

Claims (10)

A clothing cooling system comprises: clothing; a fluid channel disposed on the clothing, wherein the fluid channel has an inlet end and an outlet end; a cooling device comprising: a fluid storage device having an inlet end and an outlet end; a motor disposed in the fluid storage device; a cooling plate disposed at the bottom of the fluid storage device and directly contacting the fluid storage device for heat exchange with the fluid storage device; a heat dissipation module disposed at the bottom of the cooling plate for heat dissipation of the fluid storage device; The cooling plate is used to dissipate heat; and an intelligent cooling controller is coupled to the motor, the cooling plate and the heat dissipation module, and is used to control the cooling power of the cooling plate according to the ambient temperature of the clothing cooling system, the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature of the fluid storage device; and a conduit is used to connect the cooling device and the fluid channel, wherein the conduit connects the inlet and outlet ends of the fluid channel to the outlet and inlet of the fluid storage device respectively. The clothing cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein the cooling device further comprises: a first thermometer, arranged on the heat dissipation module, coupled to the intelligent cooling controller, for measuring the ambient temperature; a second thermometer, arranged in the fluid storage tank and adjacent to the outlet, coupled to the intelligent cooling controller, for measuring the outlet water temperature of the fluid storage tank; and a third thermometer, arranged on the conduit and adjacent to the inlet of the fluid storage tank, coupled to the intelligent cooling controller, for measuring the inlet water temperature of the cooling device. As described in claim 1, the cooling device further includes a memory coupled to the intelligent cooling controller for storing a program code, the program code instructing the intelligent cooling controller to execute a cooling control process, the cooling control process including the following steps: receiving input data including the ambient temperature, the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature; when it is determined that there is a decision model, executing the decision model to calculate the output power of the cooling plate according to the input data; and storing the input data and the output power as current data. As described in claim 3, the cooling control process further includes: when it is determined that there is no decision model, PID calculation is performed based on the input data to calculate the output power of the cooling plate. The clothing cooling system as described in claim 3, wherein, after the step of storing the input data and the output power as the current data, when the cooling device is turned on next time, the cooling control process further includes: when there is a new decision model and new data, training the decision model and replacing the new decision model; or when there is a new decision model but no new data, replacing the new decision model; or when there is no new decision model, not replacing the new decision model. As described in claim 1, the clothing cooling system is configured with ice cubes and water in the fluid storage tank, and the ratio of the ice cubes to the water is 1:1. As described in claim 1, the cooling system for clothing, wherein the heat dissipation module includes at least one heat dissipation fin; and the cooling device further includes a fluid control valve, which is arranged on the conduit; wherein the intelligent cooling controller is further used to adjust the heat dissipation efficiency of the heat dissipation module according to the ambient temperature, the water inlet temperature and the water outlet temperature, and to adjust the flow rate of the fluid arranged in the fluid storage tank through the fluid control valve. As described in claim 1, the cooling device further comprises: a communication interface coupled to the smart cooling controller or integrated in the smart cooling controller, so that the smart cooling controller communicates and exchanges data through the communication interface. As described in claim 1, the cooling device further includes a battery module coupled to the smart cooling controller for providing a supply voltage to the smart cooling controller, and enabling the smart cooling controller to control the cooling power of the cooling plate according to the supply voltage. A clothing cooling system as described in claim 1, wherein the clothing cooling system further comprises: a human-machine interface coupled to the intelligent cooling controller, for displaying at least one of the ambient temperature, the water inlet temperature, the water outlet temperature, the output power of the cooling plate, and the operating state of the clothing cooling system, wherein the operating state comprises a power-on state, a training state, a data storage state, and a decision model replacement state.

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