Patent ID: 6584798
Filing Date: 2003-07-01
Classification: A41D,A62B,F25D

Abstract:
An individual cooling system comprising:a garment worn near a body of a subject comprising several fine pipes forming a garment circuit in which circulates a fluid carrying a cooling energy and solidifying at a solidification temperature and bringing the cooling energy to the subject, said garment having characteristics of a pressure drop as a function of a flow of the fluid following a relation: D=F1(PEâˆ’PS) whereD is a flow of the fluid in the garment circuit, PE is a pressure at an entry of the garment circuit, PS is a pressure at an exit of the garment circuit, and F1 is a function that links the flow and the pressure drop of the garment circuit; a thermally insulating container containing a substance liberating a quantity of cooling energy by phase change and containing a heat exchanger having the following characteristics of flow in a heat exchanger circuit as a function of pressure drop: D=F2(PCâˆ’PF) whereD is a flow of the fluid carrying the cooling energy, PC is a fluid pressure at a container entry of the heat exchanger circuit, PF is a fluid pressure at a container exit of the heat exchanger circuit, F2 is a function that links the flow and a pressure drop of the heat exchanger circuit; a pump moving the fluid carrying cooling energy in the garment circuit and in the heat exchanger circuit, said pump having the following characteristics of flow as a function of differential pressure: D=F3(PFâˆ’PA) whereD is a flow of the fluid carrying cooling energy in the pump, PA is a pressure at an entry of the pump, PF is a pressure at an exit of the pump, and F3 is a function that links the flow and a differential pressure of the pump; wherein said substance generating cooling energy by phase change has a phase change temperature, and wherein the solidification temperature of the fluid is greater by at least 10 degrees Celsius to the phase change temperature; and wherein the garment circuit and the heat exchanger circuit have thermal characteristics such that the fluid carrying the thermal energy, in normal use, never reaches the solidification temperature thereof while allowing a satisfying transfer of cooling energy from the substance to the subject even though the fluid carrying thermal energy has a temperature of solidification greater than at least 10 degrees Celsius of the phase change temperature of the substance generating cooling energy by phase change.