My device is a personal cooling backpack. It has two versions. The first cools a metal plate embedded in the body-facing side of the pack, and the second cools a fluid that circulates through an additional wearable vest attached to the backpack. The cooling is done via a Peltier device powered by a large but lightweight rechargeable battery in the backpack. Hot air from cooling the Peltier device is exhausted out the sides of the backpack away from the user, while its cold side is attached either to the plate or to a heat exchanger and pump that circulate the cooling fluid through the vest. An electronic thermostat would control the temperature of the Peltier unit.

The invention is novel. The closest everyday solution for portable, wearable cooling is a small fan that blows air up one’s clothing. It is worth noting that some cave explorers do use a cooling vest solution, but their vests use ice, are very heavy and bulky, and are generally infeasible for everyday use. Lesser vests are simply soaked with water and frozen. My solution actively and continually cools the plate or vest below ambient temperature while evacuating the heat to the surrounding air. It can also work indefinitely so long as electricity is supplied or the battery holds out, compared to ice-based solutions that must be re-frozen and may messily drip water. Compared to the wearable fan, it has the advantage of a larger cooled area and lower temperature. As a backpack (or backpack and vest), it is also unobtrusive to the sides and front of the wearer.

My device is quite feasible, and none of the parts are particularly expensive, either. Peltier devices like I’d use have successfully cooled mini-fridges, beverages, and even portable self-chilling coolers. Modern Lithium-Ion batteries would easily supply the electricity. My design can be produced by riveting the internal components into a semi-rigid backpack or low-profile frame, which could be done in any reasonably-equipped machine shop. Cooling vests are already in production for the aforementioned caving uses and in the aerospace industry, which demonstrates that my design with the attached cooled vest would be both possible and popular.

I also believe that there is a market for this invention. Personal air-conditioners are frequently sold every summer, as are wearable fans. I believe there would be desire for a more effective solution that provides cooler temperatures than a fan without increasing the area’s humidity. In addition, since it cools an individual person rather than the room, it is not only more efficient, but can be sold to every member of a household. Potential customers also include hikers, anglers, joggers, and construction workers. An additional, untapped market would be the elderly and special needs children who can’t regulate their body temperatures but who would balk at wearing any other device. The negligible three to five pound weight of this air-conditioned vest would be like a weighted blanket and comfort them even as it cools them.