Patent ID: 7823625

Claim:
An apparatus for thermal control of a body portion, said apparatus comprising: a garment configured to cover a portion of a body, said garment defining a heat transfer area and a load bearing area, said load bearing area located to receive a load; a length of tubing having a first end and a second end, a medial portion of said length of tubing sewn to an outside surface of said garment within said heat transfer area; a pair of connector assemblies each in fluid communication with one of said first and second ends of said length of tubing, each of said pair of connector assemblies including a male adapter and a female adapter, said male adapter including a plug having a groove about a circumference, said female adapter including a latching operator slideably engaging a slot in said female adapter, said latching operator including an opening dimensioned to receive said plug when said plug is inserted into a passage in said female adapter, said latching operator biased such that a portion of said latching operator engages said groove when said male adapter is mated with said female adaptor, said opening having an inboard chamfer that engages a corner of said groove when a pulling force is applied between said male adapter and said female adapter, when said pulling force is at least a specified value then said latching operator is forced to disengage said groove thereby allowing said male adaptor to disconnect from said female adapter, said female adapter configured to hold said male adapter captive until said pulling force of said specified value is applied between said male adapter and said female adapter, said length of tubing secured to said garment such that said pulling force is transmitted between said garment and said pair of connector assemblies though said length of tubing whereby a person wearing said garment causes said male adapters and said female adapters to separate by said person moving away from said pair of connector assemblies; and a thermal unit configured to supply a thermally conditioned fluid to said length of tubing, said thermal unit in fluid communication with said pairs of connector assemblies.