RU2723505C1 - Diver electric heating suit - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: diving equipment.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to diving equipment, namely to thermal protection means of a diver and is intended for use as a part of diving equipment to provide thermal comfort of a diver when performing diving operations in conditions of low ambient temperatures. Suit for electric heating of a diver includes a knitted sweatshirt and pants with lavsan heating wires fixed on their inner surface, heating control unit, storage batteries, electric connectors and switching connector for connection of power cable from external current source. Suit is additionally equipped with cap, five-finger gloves and knitted socks, on inner surface of which lavsan heating wires are fixed. Wires are connected through electric connectors to the heating control unit.EFFECT: enabling increase in the diver comfortable staying underwater time, preventing overcooling and increasing the diver labour efficiency in the low ambient temperatures conditions.1 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The invention relates to thermal protection of a diver and is intended for use as part of diving equipment to provide thermal comfort to the diver when performing diving operations in low ambient temperatures.

A known suit for electric heating of a diver made of a material capable of retaining heat and containing electric heating elements placed in sealed sections-packages of waterproof elastic electrical insulating material, which are uniformly fixed on the surface of the suit with a gap of 2-3 mm between them. Sealed sections-packages are equipped with plates of porous material with a thickness of 2-4 mm, between which there is an electric heating element. The plates of a porous material are impregnated with a thermo-accumulating insulator based on paraffin with a phase transition temperature of 35–38 ° С [1].

The disadvantage of this suit is the rapid cooling of the heating elements during a power outage in emergency situations and, as a result, the rapid hypothermia of the diver, which leads to a decrease in the diver's mobility. In addition, there is no active heating of the head, hands and feet.

A known suit is an electric heating for a diver, in which electric heating elements of clothing are placed between the plates of a porous elastic material impregnated with a thermo-accumulating dielectric, and are packed in sealed sections-packages made of elastic non-conductive material. Section packages are fixed on knitted overalls. The temperature of the dielectric phase transition is 35–38 ° С [2].

The disadvantage of this device is the low efficiency of using heating elements due to the small local heat transfer from them and the lack of active heating of the head, hands and feet. In addition, the location of the electrically heated elements increases the volume of diving clothing, which leads to a deterioration in the mobility of the diver.

The closest in technical essence is a diver’s electric heating suit, which includes knitted sweatshirt and pants with lavsan heating wires fixed on their inner surface, a heating control unit, rechargeable batteries, electrical connectors, a switching socket for connecting a power cable from an external current source [3] (prototype ) The heating wires are made of dacron threads with resistive silver sputtering and are placed on the surface of the elastic fabric in such a way that they provide a snug fit between the diving clothes and the diver’s body and create an optimal temperature field for the diver’s body to be heated. The required heating temperature for various parts of the diver's body is achieved by changing the density of the heating wire. The heating wires of the sweatshirt and underpants are connected separately to the control unit (CU) with the help of electrical connectors that exclude their spontaneous opening. The suit has the ability to stepwise control the heating of parts of the diver's body, depending on the temperature of the water when immersed. The time of continuous operation of electric heating without recharging is from 2 to 4 hours and depends on the ambient temperature and the intensity of the diver's work.

The disadvantage of this suit is the electric heating of the diver is the lack of heating of the head, hands and feet, which leads to rapid freezing of the diver. Studies of prototype samples showed that the creation of a thermal field only on the surface of the trunk and legs is not enough to effectively heat a diver under the conditions of simultaneous exposure to hydrostatic pressure and low ambient temperatures.

The task of the invention is to increase the heating efficiency of the diver's body.

The problem is solved in that in a well-known suit for electric heating of a diver, including knitted sweatshirt and pants with lavsan heating wires fixed on their inner surface, a heating control unit, batteries, electrical connectors, a switching connector for connecting a power cable from an external current source, according to the invention, the suit is additionally equipped with a cap, five-fingered gloves and knitted socks, on the inner surface of which the lavsan heating wires are fixed, connected through electrical connectors to the heating control unit.

The technical result from the use of the invention is to increase the labor productivity of a diver in conditions of low ambient temperatures by increasing the time for a comfortable stay under water and preventing the occurrence of hypothermia.

A general view of a diver's electric heating suit is shown in FIG. 1, and the elements for heating the suit are shown in FIG. 2.

The diver’s electric heating suit consists of a cap 1, sweatshirt 2, five-fingered gloves 3, underpants 4 and a sock 5. On the inner side of all the elements there are fixed mylar heating wires 6 with different density. The heating wires of all elements are connected through electrical connectors 7 to the heating control unit 8. In turn, the heating control unit 8 is connected to the batteries 9. In addition, the heating suit is equipped with a switching connector for connecting the power cable from an external current source.

The heating wires 6 (section AA) are made of polyester threads with a resistive spraying of silver (metal oxides) in such a way that they allow the elastic material to stretch without creating a tensile force for the heating wire.

Suit electric heating diver works as follows.

A diver puts on an electric heating suit over underwear for a dry-type diving overalls, and first puts on a sweatshirt 2, underpants 4, socks 5, hat 1 and gloves 3. Then he connects each element using electrical connectors 7 to the battery 9. Elements of the suit 1-5 begin to heat up using heating wires 6 from two batteries 9.

If it is necessary to strengthen the heating or turn it off, according to the subjective sensations of a working diver, he uses the control unit 8 to regulate the temperature with the heating mode switch button. The suit has 4 heating modes depending on power consumption: 0%, 30%, 60% and 100%. Thus, comfortable conditions are provided for the diver to be under the water for each diver individually. The range of maintaining the temperature of the thermal field is from 30 ° C to 35 ° C, while maintaining the temperature in this range is carried out automatically using temperature sensors installed on each element of the suit to maintain comfortable conditions and prevent overheating of the diver.

The time of continuous operation of the electric heating suit without recharging the batteries is from 2 to 6 hours and depends on the conditions of the diving descent, the ambient temperature and the intensity of the diver's work.

The suit can also work from an external DC source with a voltage of no more than 20 V.

After finishing work, the diver disconnects the power supply, disconnects connectors 7 and undresses.

The safety of the use of the proposed electric heating suit for the human body is ensured by the use of high-tech coated dacron filament, capable of overstretching without damaging the dielectric layer. Voltage up to 20 V, proposed for use during operation of the battery from the kit, does not cause damage to biological tissues. The maximum temperature of the heating elements up to 35 ° C does not cause thermal damage even with prolonged exposure, as it is within the physiological norm of the human body.

As the material of the costume, a knitted fabric (polyester) made of synthetic fibers of the JANMAR SPORT brand is used.

As a current source, a set of 4-3LIA-12 lithium-ion batteries is used.

The described diver’s electric heating suit was tested in the barcode complex GRK-30. According to its technical parameters, it has a simple design and allows diving descents to be performed most efficiently at low temperatures due to additional heating of the diver’s limbs, thereby offsetting the uneven effect of hydrostatic pressure on the blood supply to the limbs of the human body when diving in various spatial positions under water. In addition, the active heating of the head and the back of the neck of a diver working underwater helps prevent the greatest heat loss that occurs when the ambient temperature decreases, since it is through the surface of these areas that the greatest heat transfer per unit area occurs.

Thus, the proposed invention in comparison with the prototype [3] increases the productivity of a diver under water at low ambient temperatures by reducing heat loss of the body and reducing the risk of hypothermia.

Literature

1. Patent RU No. 2072939, IPC В63С 11/28, Н05В 3/36.

2. Patent RU No. 93030206, IPC B63C 11/24.

3. Patent RU No. 2558409, IPC В63С 11/28, Н05В 3/36, В63С 11/04.

Claims (1)

Diver's electric heating suit, including knitted sweatshirt and underpants with lavsan heating wires fixed on their inner surface, heating control unit, rechargeable batteries, electrical connectors, a switching connector for connecting a power cable from an external power source, characterized in that the suit is additionally equipped with a five-fingered cap gloves and knitted socks, on the inner surface of which Dacron heating wires are fixed, connected through electrical connectors to the heating control unit.

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