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US 11,432,597 B2Granted
Pump-conditioned garment and apparatus therefor
OwnerKwaku Temenginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
To pump-condition a garment that covers at least a portion of an individual, at least one fluid-circulating vent panel circulates a fluid adjacent the garment in an effort to condition the individual. A pump provides a motive force to circulate the circulating fluid through each vent panel, and a conduit is routed within the garment and couples the pump and each vent panel. A controller controls the pump to provide the motive force, and a power source provides power to operate the pump and the controller. The pump may be an ultrasonic piezoelectric pump.
Claims20
A pump-conditioned garment for covering at least a portion of an individual, the garment comprising:
- first and second fluid-circulating vent panels, each of the first and second vent panels for circulating a fluid adjacent the garment in an effort to condition the individual;
- a pump assembly for providing a motive force to circulate the circulating fluid through each of the first and second vent panels;
- a conduit assembly routed within the garment and coupling the pump assembly and each of the first and second vent panels;
- a controller for controlling the pump assembly to provide the motive force;
- and
- a power source for providing power to operate the pump assembly and the controller,
- the garment further comprising a covering layer,
- each of the first and second vent panels having a multi-layer planar construction and including:
- a port;
- an attaching layer at one face of the vent panel and facing toward the covering layer, the attaching layer being generally impermeable to the circulating fluid, the vent panel being attached to the covering layer at the attaching layer;
- a diffusing layer at an opposing face of the vent panel and facing away from the covering layer, the diffusing layer being generally permeable to the circulating fluid so as to allow such fluid to circulate therethrough in an effort to condition the individual;
- and
- a circulation layer interposed between the attaching layer and the diffusing layer, the circulation layer allowing the circulating fluid to pass therethrough between the port and the diffusing layer,
- each of the first and second vent panels further having a periphery and further including an edge band wrapped around the periphery, the port of the vent panel being positioned within the edge band of the vent panel and in communication with the circulation layer of the vent panel, the edge band of the vent panel being semi-permeable to the circulating fluid and defining therein a plurality of venting pores, the venting pores imparting a lateral flow of the circulating fluid along the covering layer of the garment, the diffusing layer of the vent panel imparting a direct flow of the circulating fluid away from the covering layer of the garment,
- the pump assembly including an ultrasonic piezoelectric pump with a mass of about 1-10 grams.
12 more elements
An apparatus for pump-conditioning a garment, the garment for covering at least a portion of an individual, the apparatus comprising:
- first and second fluid-circulating vent panels, each of the first and second vent panels for circulating a fluid adjacent the garment in an effort to condition the individual;
- a pump assembly for providing a motive force to circulate the circulating fluid through each of the first and second vent panels;
- a conduit assembly for being routed within the garment and coupling the pump assembly and each of the first and second vent panels;
- a controller for controlling the pump assembly to provide the motive force;
- and
- a power source for providing power to operate the pump assembly and the controller,
- the garment having a covering layer,
- each of the first and second vent panels having a multi-layer planar construction and including:
- a port;
- an attaching layer at one face of the vent panel for facing toward the covering layer, the attaching layer being generally impermeable to the circulating fluid, the vent panel for being attached to the covering layer at the attaching layer;
- a diffusing layer at an opposing face of the vent panel for facing away from the covering layer, the diffusing layer being generally permeable to the circulating fluid so as to allow such fluid to circulate therethrough in an effort to condition the individual;
- and
- a circulation layer interposed between the attaching layer and the diffusing layer, the circulation layer allowing the circulating fluid to pass therethrough between the port and the diffusing layer,
- each of the first and second vent panels further having a periphery and further including an edge band wrapped around the periphery, the port of the vent panel being positioned within the edge band of the vent panel and in communication with the circulation layer of the vent panel, the edge band of the vent panel being semi-permeable to the circulating fluid and defining therein a plurality of venting pores, the venting pores for imparting a lateral flow of the circulating fluid along the covering layer of the garment, the diffusing layer of the vent panel for imparting a direct flow of the circulating fluid away from the covering layer of the garment,
- the pump assembly including an ultrasonic piezoelectric pump with a mass of about 1-10 grams.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.