Patent Publication Number: US-11019857-B2

Title: Refrigerating clothes

Description:
FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of clothing, and more particularly, to refrigerating clothes. 
     INTRODUCTION 
     At present, with the further advancement of urbanization, outdoor high heat operations are spread in almost all industries of industrial production in a large number of productions and lives, such as iron and steel smelting, paper making, plastic production, cement production, etc. In addition, traffic police and volunteers who must work outdoors in the city in hot summer, soldiers on guard and field duty, and construction site workers who work in the open air are all directly exposed to high temperature and heat damage. Refrigerating or cooling clothes appearing in the market to cool down the workers, have ice stored in the clothes that is melted and transported to a plastic pipeline in the clothes by a water pump, thus achieving a refrigerating effect. However, the ice needs to be continuously supplemented as a cold source, and the environmental protection and economy are insufficient. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure is intended to solve one of the technical problems above in related art to some extent. Therefore, the disclosure provides an economical and environment-friendly refrigerating or cooling clothing. 
     The technical solution used to solve the technical problem thereof according to the present disclosure is described as follows. 
     Refrigerating clothes (i.e., clothing having a built-in refrigeration or cooling feature) comprises a clothes body and a refrigerating means, wherein a working medium capable of changing between gas and liquid is arranged in the refrigerating means. The refrigerating means comprises a radiating surface and a refrigerating surface. The working medium circulates between the radiating surface and the refrigerating surface. The refrigerating surface is abutted against the clothes, and the radiating surface is arranged at one side far away from the refrigerating surface. 
     Beneficial effects: the radiating surface absorbs thermal radiation from sunlight and provides energy for the working medium. The working medium changes between gas and liquid in the refrigerating means and absorbs heat on the refrigerating surface to realize cooling. The working medium also continuously circulates in the refrigerating means without needing to be frequently replaced, which is economical and environment-friendly. 
     The refrigerating means comprises a generator, a condenser, an evaporator, and an absorber. The generator, the condenser, the evaporator, and the absorber are sequentially communicated to form a loop, and the working medium flows in the loop. The working medium circulates among the generator, the condenser, the evaporator, and the absorber, and takes away the heat from the clothes through the steps of gasification, liquefaction, depressurization, and (again) gasification. 
     Further, the working medium may comprise a mixture of hydrogen, ammonia, and water. The ammonia circulates in the refrigerating system for cooling, and meanwhile, the water is used as a solvent to recover the ammonia, so that the whole refrigerating system is continuously circulated. The addition of the hydrogen can reduce a pressure of the ammonia. 
     Further, a first heat exchanger may be arranged between the absorber and the generator, the first heat exchanger comprising a first pipeline and a second pipeline. The two ends of the first pipeline are respectively connected with a top end of the absorber and a top end of the generator. The two ends of the second pipeline are respectively connected with a bottom end of the absorber and a bottom end of the generator. The working medium is recovered in the absorber and heat exchange is performed through the first heat exchanger, so that a temperature of the working medium is maintained. A certain temperature is maintained to improve an evaporation rate when re-entering the generator. 
     Further, a second heat exchanger may be arranged between the evaporator and the absorber, the second heat exchanger comprising a third pipeline and a fourth pipeline. The two ends of the third pipeline are respectively connected with a top end of the absorber and a top end of the evaporator. The two ends of the fourth pipeline are respectively connected with a bottom end of the absorber and a bottom end of the evaporator. Warm hydrogen gas is cooled by the heat exchanger to avoid affecting the refrigerating effect of the evaporator. 
     Further, the condenser may be arranged above the generator, and the condenser may be obliquely and downwardly arranged towards the evaporator. Liquefied liquid ammonia in the condenser is thereby conveniently led into the evaporator under gravity. 
     Further, the condenser may comprise an air-cooled condenser. 
     Further, the evaporator may be arranged in the refrigerating surface, and the generator in the radiating surface. The evaporator reduces a temperature of the refrigerating surface and transmits the temperature to the clothes. The radiating surface receives sunlight and absorbs the heat of the sunlight to promote the evaporation of the working medium. 
     Features, functions, and advantages may be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present disclosure, or may be combined in yet other embodiments, further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a structure diagram according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a structure diagram of a refrigerating means according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 3  is another structure diagram of the refrigerating means according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various aspects and examples of refrigerated/refrigerating clothing are described below and illustrated in the associated drawings. Unless otherwise specified, an article of refrigerating clothing in accordance with the present teachings, and/or its various components, may contain at least one of the structures, components, functionalities, and/or variations described, illustrated, and/or incorporated herein. Furthermore, unless specifically excluded, the process steps, structures, components, functionalities, and/or variations described, illustrated, and/or incorporated herein in connection with the present teachings may be included in other similar devices and methods, including being interchangeable between disclosed embodiments. The following description of various examples is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. Additionally, the advantages provided by the examples and embodiments described below are illustrative in nature and not all examples and embodiments provide the same advantages or the same degree of advantages. 
     Turning now to the drawings, with reference to  FIG. 1 , refrigerating clothes comprise a clothes body  10  and a refrigerating means  20 , wherein a working medium capable of changing between gas and liquid is arranged in the refrigerating means  20 . The refrigerating means  20  comprises a radiating surface  211  and a refrigerating surface  221 . The working medium circulates between the radiating surface  211  and the refrigerating surface  221 . The refrigerating surface  221  is abutted against the clothes  10 , and the radiating surface  211  is arranged at one side away from the refrigerating surface  221 . 
     Preferably, the working medium comprises a mixture of hydrogen, ammonia, and water. The ammonia circulates in the refrigerating system for cooling, and meanwhile, the water is used as a solvent to recover the ammonia. The whole refrigerating system is continuously circulated. The addition of hydrogen can reduce a pressure of the ammonia. In the following embodiments, any suitable working medium may be utilized, with the mixture of hydrogen, ammonia, and water being an example. 
     The radiating surface  211  absorbs thermal radiation from sunlight and provides energy for the working medium. The working medium changes between gas and liquid in the refrigerating means  20  and absorbs heat on the refrigerating surface  221  to realize cooling. The working medium continuously circulates in the refrigerating means  20  without needing to be frequently replaced, which is economical and environment-friendly. 
     In some embodiments, the evaporator  22  is arranged in the refrigerating surface  221 , and the generator  21  is arranged in the radiating surface  211 . The evaporator  22  reduces a temperature of the refrigerating surface  221  and transmits the temperature to the clothes  10 . The radiating surface  211  receives sunlight and absorbs the heat of the sunlight to promote the evaporation of the working medium. 
     In some embodiments, with reference to  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the refrigerating means  20  comprises a generator  21 , a condenser  23 , an evaporator  22 , and an absorber  24 . The generator  21 , the condenser  23 , the evaporator  22 , and the absorber  24  are sequentially communicated to form a loop, and the working medium flows in the loop. 
     The generator  21  receives the thermal radiation of sunlight (arrows in  FIG. 2  indicate an irradiation direction of the sunlight) to distill the ammonia water in the generator  21 . The boiling point of the ammonia is lower than that of the water. Accordingly, a large amount of ammonia gas is released from the ammonia water and enters the condenser  23 . Preferably, the condenser  23  comprises an air-cooled condenser which is provided with a fin to enlarge a contact area between the condenser  23  and the air. The ammonia gas is cooled to fully liquefy the ammonia gas and enters the evaporator  22 . The condenser  23  is arranged obliquely and downwardly towards the evaporator  22 . Liquefied liquid ammonia in the condenser  23  is conveniently led into the evaporator  22  under gravity. After the liquid ammonia enters the evaporator  22 , the hydrogen gas is inputted from the absorber  24  to reduce an intensity of pressure in the evaporator  22 , and reduce a boiling point of substances in the evaporator  22 , thus evaporating the liquid ammonia to absorb heat, and taking away the heat of the clothes  10  through the refrigerating surface  221 , so as to complete refrigeration. The hydrogen gas forms a cycle in the evaporator  22  and the absorber  24 . 
     In some embodiments, a first heat exchanger  25  is arranged between the absorber  24  and the generator  21 . The first heat exchanger  25  comprises a first pipeline  251  and a second pipeline  252 . The two ends of the first pipeline  251  are respectively connected with a top end of the absorber  24  and a top end of the generator  21 , and the two ends of the second pipeline  252  are respectively connected with a bottom end of the absorber  24  and a bottom end of the generator  21 . 
     The working medium is recovered in the absorber  24  and heat exchange is performed through the first heat exchanger  25 , so that a temperature of the working medium is maintained, and a certain temperature is maintained to improve an evaporation rate when re-entering the generator  21 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , during use, a concentration of the solution in the generator  21  is decreased during a distillation process of concentrated ammonia water. The solution with a high density remains at the bottom. The dilute ammonia water with a low density rises and enters the absorber  24  via the first pipe  251  according to a siphon principle. Meanwhile, the dilute ammonia water entering the absorber  24  preheats the solution in the absorber  24 , and the preheated solution is mixed with the liquid ammonia from the evaporator  22  to form concentrated ammonia water. This is then re-inputted into the generator  21  through the second pipe  252  to form a cycle. 
     In some embodiments, a second heat exchanger  26  is arranged between the evaporator  22  and the absorber  24 . The second heat exchanger  26  comprises a third pipeline  261  and a fourth pipeline  262 . The two ends of the third pipeline  261  are respectively connected with a top end of the absorber  24  and a top end of the evaporator  22 . The two ends of the fourth pipeline  262  are respectively connected with a bottom end of the absorber  24  and a bottom end of the evaporator  22 . Warm hydrogen gas is cooled by the heat exchanger to avoid affecting the refrigerating effect of the evaporator  22 . 
     The injection of the hydrogen into the refrigerating means  20  is intended to reduce the intensity of pressure of the ammonia gas at the evaporator  22 , thus reducing the boiling point and promoting the liquefaction of the ammonia gas to absorb heat. The hydrogen gas enters the evaporator  22  along with the liquid ammonia from the fourth pipeline  262 , but the hydrogen gas is insoluble in water. The hydrogen gas re-enters the evaporator  22  via the third pipeline  261 , in the path of the evaporator  22 —the absorber  24 —the evaporator  22 . The hydrogen gas is cooled in the third pipeline  261  to reduce the temperature, so that the temperature of the hydrogen gas entering the evaporator  22  is reduced, to avoid affecting the refrigerating effect. 
     In some embodiments, the condenser  23  is arranged above the generator  21 , and the condenser  23  is obliquely and downwardly arranged towards the evaporator  22 . Liquefied liquid ammonia in the condenser  23  is conveniently led into the evaporator  22  under gravity. 
     Additional aspects and features of refrigerating clothes, are presented below without limitation as a series of paragraphs, some or all of which may be alphanumerically designated for clarity and efficiency. Each of these paragraphs can be combined with one or more other paragraphs, and/or with disclosure from elsewhere in this application, in any suitable manner. Some of the paragraphs below expressly refer to and further limit other paragraphs, providing without limitation examples of some of the suitable combinations. 
     A0. Refrigerating clothes, comprising 
     a clothes body and 
     a refrigerating means having a working medium capable of changing in gas and liquid, 
     wherein the refrigerating means comprises a radiating surface and a refrigerating surface, the working medium circulates between the radiating surface and the refrigerating surface, the refrigerating surface is abutted against the clothes, and the radiating surface is arranged at one side far away from the refrigerating surface. 
     A1. The refrigerating clothes according to A0, wherein: the refrigerating means comprises a generator, a condenser, an evaporator and an absorber; the generator, the condenser, the evaporator and the absorber are sequentially communicated to form a loop; and the working medium flows in the loop. 
     A2. The refrigerating clothes according to A1, wherein: a first heat exchanger is arranged between the absorber and the generator; the first heat exchanger comprises a first pipeline and a second pipeline; the two ends of the first pipeline are respectively connected with a top end of the absorber and a top end of the generator; and the two ends of the second pipeline are respectively connected with a bottom end of the absorber and a bottom end of the generator. 
     A3. The refrigerating clothes according to A1 or A2, wherein: a second heat exchanger is arranged between the evaporator and the absorber; the second heat exchanger comprises a third pipeline and a fourth pipeline; the two ends of the third pipeline are respectively connected with a top end of the absorber and a top end of the evaporator; and the two ends of the fourth pipeline are respectively connected with a bottom end of the absorber and a bottom end of the evaporator. 
     A4. The refrigerating clothes according to any one of A1 through A3, wherein the condenser is arranged above the generator, and the condenser is obliquely and downwardly arranged towards the evaporator. 
     A5. The refrigerating clothes according to any one of A1 through A4, wherein the condenser comprises an air-cooled condenser. 
     A6. The refrigerating clothes according to any one of A1 through A5, wherein the evaporator is arranged in the refrigerating surface, and the generator is arranged in the radiating surface. 
     A7. The refrigerating clothes according to any one of A0 through A6, wherein the working medium comprises a mixture of hydrogen, ammonia and water. 
     A8. The refrigerating clothes according to claim  3 , wherein the working medium comprises a mixture of hydrogen, ammonia and water. 
     CONCLUSION 
     The disclosure set forth above may encompass multiple distinct examples with independent utility. Although each of these has been disclosed in its preferred form(s), the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense, because numerous variations are possible. To the extent that section headings are used within this disclosure, such headings are for organizational purposes only. The subject matter of the disclosure includes all novel and nonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions, and/or properties disclosed herein. The following claims particularly point out certain combinations and subcombinations regarded as novel and nonobvious. Other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed in applications claiming priority from this or a related application. Such claims, whether broader, narrower, equal, or different in scope to the original claims, also are regarded as included within the subject matter of the present disclosure.