阅读说明：本技术 用于提供冷却的系统、方法和设备 (Systems, methods, and apparatus for providing cooling ) 是由 特伦斯·达维多维茨 于 2018-07-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种设备。该设备具有冷却流体通道(310、510、810、910)；气态流体吹送部(315、515、705),设置在冷却流体通道(310、510、810、910)的上游部分或下游部分；以及液滴喷雾器(335、720),设置在冷却流体通道(310、510、810、910)的上游部分。冷却流体通道的表面部分(310、510、810、910)是疏水性的。(An apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus has a cooling fluid channel (310, 510, 810, 910); a gaseous fluid blower (315, 515, 705) provided at an upstream portion or a downstream portion of the cooling fluid passage (310, 510, 810, 910); and a droplet nebulizer (335, 720) disposed at an upstream portion of the cooling fluid channel (310, 510, 810, 910). The surface portion (310, 510, 810, 910) of the cooling fluid channel is hydrophobic.)

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a cooling fluid channel (310, 510, 810, 910) fluidly connecting the upstream portion and the downstream portion;

a gaseous fluid blower (315, 515, 705) provided at an upstream portion or a downstream portion of the cooling fluid passage (310, 510, 810, 910); and

a droplet nebulizer (335, 720) disposed at an upstream portion of the cooling fluid channel;

wherein an inner surface portion of the cooling fluid channel is hydrophobic (310, 510, 810, 910).

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a heat source (100, 830, 930, 1030, 1130) is disposed in a downstream portion of the cooling fluid channel.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner surface portion of the cooling fluid channel (310, 510, 810, 910) is superhydrophobic.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gaseous fluid blow (315, 515, 705) is a blower.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a width of the cooling fluid channel is greater than or equal to twice a height of the cooling fluid channel.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an inner surface portion of the cooling fluid channel (310, 510, 810, 910) is water-resistant.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner surface portion of the cooling fluid channel (310, 510, 810, 910) has a water contact angle greater than or equal to 120 degrees and less than 180 degrees.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner surface portion has a coefficient of restitution between about 0.2 and about 0.95.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a reservoir (330, 530, 735) and a pump (325, 525, 725, 730) fluidly connected to the droplet nebulizer.

10. A method, comprising:

providing a flow of gaseous fluid in a channel (310, 510, 810, 910);

ejecting droplets into the stream of gaseous fluid;

dislodging the droplets in the flow of gaseous fluid from the surface of the channel (310, 510, 810, 910); and

directing the flow of gaseous fluid comprising the droplets toward a heat source (100, 830, 930, 1030, 1130);

wherein expelling the droplets comprises maintaining the size of the droplets.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the flow of gaseous fluid is a flow of air.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the droplets are water droplets.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein dislodging the droplet comprises causing the droplet to form a substantially spherical shape at a surface of the channel (310, 510, 810, 910).

14. The method of claim 10, wherein repelling the droplets comprises substantially preventing the droplets from collecting on a surface of the channel (310, 510, 810, 910).

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to a system, method, and apparatus for providing cooling, and more particularly, to a system, method, and apparatus for providing cooling of a heat source.

Background

To cool many heat sources, there are many common methods: single phase cooling, sensible cooling and two-phase cooling, which may involve a combination of sensible cooling (due to the temperature difference between the cooling fluid and the heat source) and cooling due to evaporation of a second phase coolant (typically air and water, which provides significant cooling via evaporation).

The introduction of two-phase cooling instead of single-phase cooling can provide a powerful advantage over sensible cooling alone by significantly increasing the heat exchange rate. Many heat sources may benefit from two-phase cooling thereof.

For example, computer processing chips are typically cooled via a heat sink that forces air to blow over them. Thermal limitations typically limit the performance of the chip. Increasing the heat transfer rate via a two-phase process may eliminate this thermal limitation. It may also provide other advantages to the system, such as reduced support hardware (e.g., air conditioning and cooling towers).

However, significant challenges exist in implementing two-phase cooling. It generally involves the use of a showerhead and associated hardware. These spray heads may cover a limited surface area or involve a large amount of space that allows the spray to spread over a larger surface area. Thus, a number of spray heads may be used to facilitate proper spraying. Placing an induced air stream over the heat source to accelerate the evaporation of the droplets may blow the droplets in an undesired direction.

These challenges have limited the applicability of two-phase cooling to more limited situations, such as cooling towers with sufficient volume to operate the spray heads. Another type of heat load that may benefit from two-phase cooling is human metabolic heat.

Conventional techniques exist for cooling people directly beyond the scope of climate controlled environments. As described below, these conventional techniques often fail due to lack of effectiveness and/or excessive system weight involved.

Conventional evaporative vests contain a certain amount of water absorbed into their fabric and associated absorbent material. The air flow around the vest evaporates the absorbed water and produces a cooling effect. However, conventional evaporative vests do not work well with other garments such as bullet resistant vests or motorcycle jackets. These conventional items also typically rely on air flow provided via wind or other sources to function. Thus, conventional evaporative vests do not function well under high humidity conditions with little or no wind. Moreover, the amount of water that can be stored by conventional systems is limited, and replenishing water in these systems typically involves the user removing the vest or clothing. Evaporation usually occurs on the outer layer of a conventional garment, because the body is cooled indirectly by first cooling the garment and then cooling the body. This indirect cooling results in a reduced cooling capacity and poor water efficiency. Also, if an area of the vest dries out, that area acts as an insulator and warms the wearer rather than cooler.

Conventional forced convection techniques include a forced convection arrangement and operate with a fan that supplies external ambient air to the external human body. This air may cool the person by evaporating sweat from the wearer or by sensible cooling due to the temperature difference between the wearer's skin and the air. The sensible cooling component decreases with increasing temperature and becomes zero when the air temperature (about 93 degrees fahrenheit) equals the skin temperature. In many environments, the outside temperature can easily exceed this level, and blowing outside air through the body may be counterproductive at this time unless there is sufficient perspiration in a given area. However, it is difficult to match forced convection to the presence of sweat on the skin of the user, as most designs evaporate faster from certain areas closest to the air source than areas of the body further away from the air source. Moreover, the effectiveness of maintaining wearer comfort is limited because perspiration only increases as the body becomes hot and uncomfortable.

Conventional refrigeration solutions may include vests or other garments having pouches that may contain ice or other phase change materials. These items are typically recharged by placing them in a refrigerator and then freezing and then wearing them. However, the refrigeration solution involves a relatively short usage time. While these items are most effective after full freezing, they will begin to lose efficacy upon thawing, and will eventually lose all efficacy. Moreover, melting provides less cooling capacity per unit than evaporation (e.g., the latent heat of evaporation is several times higher than the latent heat associated with melting). These techniques also involve charging the refrigerator which may not always be available.

Conventional cold water cooling solutions typically use a flexible tube coil in the vest carrying cold water in close contact with the human body to cool the human body. Water is typically cooled by vapor compression systems, ice or thermoelectric means. Conventional cold air solutions operate in a similar manner to cold water systems that utilize vapor compression, ice, or thermoelectric cooling. While cold water and cold air can provide greater cooling efficiency for evaporative vests and forced convection cooling systems, large amounts of electricity and/or large ice reserves are typically required to operate. This results in a bulky and expensive battery and/or ice bin. In the case of vapor compression or thermoelectric systems used to cool air or water fluids below ambient temperature, these systems themselves add considerable weight (e.g., based on compressors, heat exchangers, thermoelectric elements, and/or batteries). For mobile applications where the wearer wants to move with minimal burden, the cooling capacity that these systems may provide is limited by weight. These systems are also expensive.

The exemplary disclosed systems and methods are directed to overcoming one or more of the disadvantages set forth above and/or other deficiencies in the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

In one exemplary aspect, the present disclosure is directed to an apparatus. The apparatus includes a cooling fluid channel; a gaseous fluid blowing section provided at an upstream portion or a downstream portion of the cooling fluid passage; and a droplet sprayer disposed at an upstream portion of the cooling fluid passage. The surface portions of the cooling fluid channels are hydrophobic.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method. The method comprises the following steps: providing a flow of gaseous fluid in the channel; ejecting droplets into a stream of gaseous fluid; dislodging droplets of the gaseous fluid stream from the surface of the channel; and directing the stream of gaseous fluid comprising droplets toward a heat source. Expelling the droplets includes maintaining the droplet size.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates a rear view of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic front view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic front view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic front view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a plan view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 10 shows a side view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a rear view of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 12 shows a schematic front view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 13 shows a schematic front view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 17 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 18 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system of the present invention;

FIG. 19 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system of the present invention; and

FIG. 20 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate an exemplary system 300. For example, the system 300 may be worn by the user 100. For example, the user 100 may wear the system 300 under clothing, accessories, and/or equipment. A user may wear system 300 under military or law enforcement uniforms and equipment, utility uniforms and equipment such as fire uniforms and equipment, sports uniforms and equipment such as football uniforms and equipment, outdoor clothing, and/or street clothing. For example, system 300 may be worn under military or law enforcement protective body armor. As another example, the system 300 may be worn by a user under any clothing, apparel, accessories, and/or equipment worn at relatively warm temperatures. In at least some example embodiments, the system 300 may be a two-phase hydrophobic channel cooling device as described, for example, below.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the system 300 may include a cooling system 305 and a flow assembly 310. Cooling system 305 may operate to cool a heat source via flow assembly 310. The cooling system 305 may be disposed upstream from the flow assembly 310 or in an upstream portion of the flow assembly 310, relative to the exemplary flow described below. As another example, portions of the cooling system 305 may be disposed in a downstream portion of the flow assembly 310. An exemplary flow may flow in a flow direction moving from upstream (e.g., a given upstream location) to downstream (e.g., a given downstream location).

The cooling system 305 may include at least one blower 315, a power source 320, a pump 325, a reservoir 330, an injection assembly 335, a manifold channel 340, and a controller 345. For example, as described below, the controller 345 may control the power source 320 to power the pump 325 and the blow 315 to operate to draw cooling fluid from the reservoir 330 via the injection assembly 335 and provide a flow including the cooling fluid through the flow assembly 310.

An exemplary cooling fluid may be any suitable fluid for cooling a heat source. The cooling fluid may be a gaseous fluid, a liquid fluid and/or a mixture of gaseous and liquid fluids. For example, the cooling fluid may be an air stream comprising droplets, such as water droplets. The cooling fluid may be an air stream comprising a spray of water, such as water droplets. The cooling fluid may also be an air stream comprising droplets of water, ethylene, propylene glycol, and/or any other suitable coolant. For example, the cooling fluid may comprise an air stream having a spray comprising one or a mixture of water, ethylene, propylene glycol, and/or any other suitable coolant. The cooling fluid may also include any gaseous fluid other than air or a mixture of air and other gaseous fluids that may entrain the droplets of the above-described exemplary materials. Exemplary cooling fluids may be any gaseous fluid, liquid fluid, and/or mixture of gaseous and liquid fluid materials that may be driven off by, for example, hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic surfaces that substantially prevent coalescence of droplets in a cooling fluid (e.g., air stream) as described below.

The blow 315 may be any suitable device for blowing air, such as air, air mixed with water or other fluid, and/or any other suitable fluid through the flow assembly 310. The blow 315 may be any suitable device for blowing the exemplary cooling fluid as described above. For example, the blow 315 may be a fluid moving section such as an air moving section, an axial or centrifugal type fan, or any other suitable type of blow or fan that moves a fluid such as air or a mixture of air and one or more fluids. As another example, the blow 315 may be a fluid source such as a pressurized fluid source (e.g., pressurized air or other pressurized gaseous fluid source). For example, the blow-off 315 may be arranged in a "push" or "pull" (e.g., suction) configuration. For example, the blow 315 may be disposed in a "push" configuration at an upstream portion of the system 300, or may be disposed in a "pull" configuration at a downstream portion of the system 300.

Power source 320 may be any suitable power source for powering the components of system 300. The power source 320 may be a plug or other connection for a power source such as an electrical outlet or a generator. For mobile applications, the power source 320 may be a battery or other suitable energy source. For example, power source 320 may be a power source such as, for example, a power storage device, a solar power storage device, and/or any other suitable type of power source. Power source 320 may include a primary battery and/or a secondary battery. In at least some example embodiments, the power source 320 may include a lithium battery, a lithium ion battery, an alkaline battery, a nickel cadmium battery, and/or a zinc carbon battery.

The pump 325 may be any suitable pump for pressurizing a liquid fluid (e.g., a liquid) stored in the reservoir 330 and pressurizing a flow of the liquid through the injection assembly 335. The pump 325 may be any suitable type of pump, such as a piezoelectric pump, a diaphragm pump, a centrifugal pump, or a vane pump.

Reservoir 330 may be any suitable reservoir for storing liquid fluid. The reservoir 330 may store water and/or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above. It is also contemplated that reservoir 330 may store a gaseous fluid or a fluid that includes a mixture of gaseous and liquid fluids. Reservoir 330 may store unpressurized or pressurized fluid. Reservoir 330 may be a rigid or flexible reservoir. For example, reservoir 330 may be a flexible bladder formed from a polymeric material, an elastomeric material, and/or any other suitable type of material. Reservoir 330 may also be formed of a flexible or rigid plastic material or metal.

The injection assembly 335 may be any suitable assembly for fluidly connecting the pump 325, the reservoir 330, and the manifold channel 340. The inject assembly 335 may include an inject portion 350 and a passage 355. The injection portion 350 may be an injection tip formed from a rigid tube or tubing. For example, the injection portion 350 may be a narrow-walled and/or narrow-diameter tube (e.g., a needle) to provide liquid fluid, such as water or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above, from the reservoir 330 to the blow 315. In at least some example embodiments, the injection assembly 335 may include a plurality of injection sections 350. The injection part 350 may be disposed in the blow part 315, at or near the blow part 315. Injection portion 350 may be connected to pump 30 via a passage 355. The passage 355 may also connect the pump 30 to the reservoir 330. The passage 355 may be a tube or a pipe. For example, the passage 355 may be a flexible tube or pipe, such as flexible PVC.

Controller 345 may be any type of programmable logic controller known in the art for automating machine processing. The controller 345 may be made of any material known in the art for logic control devices and may include a protective housing made of metal, plastic, or other durable material. The controller 345 may include an input/output arrangement that allows it to be connected to other components of the cooling system 305. Controller 345 may utilize digital or analog techniques to process input from a user interface (e.g., any suitable user interface disposed on system 300 or any portion associated with system 300) to generate output for controlling system 300. Controller 345 may communicate with the various components of system 300 via a plurality of wires and/or via wireless data transmission. Thus, the controller 345 may be capable of processing and executing operator commands to operate the system 300. For example, the controller 345 may be electrically connected to one or more blowers 315, as well as the pump 325 and the power source 320. The controller 345 may also be connected to any suitable sensor of the system 300. For example, the controller 345 may be connected to one or more sensors of the system 300 that may sense temperature data, humidity data, pressure data, and/or any other desired type of data. For example, the controller 345 may be used to monitor various control parameters, such as the temperature and humidity of the air and/or the temperature of the target to be cooled (e.g., a heat source). Based on these and other example parameters, the controller 345 may open or close the blow 315, change the speed of the blow 315, and/or change the flow rate of a liquid (e.g., water or any other example cooling fluid described above) or the duty cycle of the pump 325. For example, the controller 345 may monitor any desired control parameters to, for example, vary the flow rate of air and/or water (e.g., or any other exemplary cooling fluid flow rate described above) of the system 300.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the cooling system 305 may be disposed on the torso of a user. For example, the blow-off 315 may be positioned below the flow assembly 310 near the user's hips. The flow assembly 310 may cover the torso and/or any other portion of the user (e.g., chest, arms, and/or legs) below the chest area of the user as shown in fig. 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the flow assembly 310 may extend from the hips up to the shoulders of the user, thereby covering a larger surface area of the user's back. As also shown in FIG. 1, the cooling system 305 may be disposed on the back of the user and/or any other desired location.

As exemplarily shown in fig. 4, the flow assembly 310 may include a connecting channel 360, one or more channels 365, and one or more channels 370. The connecting channel 360 may connect the manifold channel 340 of the cooling system 305 with one or more channels 365 and 370. For example, the passages 360, 365, and 370 may be a plurality of sub-pipe (duct) components and/or pipe components that form the flow assembly 310. Some or substantially all of the channels 360, 365, and/or 370 can include apertures (e.g., holes or pores) at their respective bottom surfaces (e.g., facing the user or other heat source), for example, as described below. For example, some of the channels 360, 365, and/or 370 may have apertures and some may not. The manifold channel 340 may or may not have an exemplary aperture, as described below, for example. The manifold channel 340 may have internal vanes configured to direct the flow of cooling fluid within the system 300. As another example, the passages 360, 365, and/or 370 may include internal vanes for directing the flow of cooling fluid within the flow assembly 310. In at least some example embodiments, the connecting channel 360 can extend in a substantially horizontal direction and can be attached to a plurality of channels 365 and 370. As another example, the passages 360, 365, and 370 may form any desired arrangement based on the configuration, shape, and/or size of the flow assembly 310. In at least some example embodiments, the manifold channel 340 may distribute and distribute a cooling fluid (e.g., water spray and air or any of the other example cooling fluids described above) into the channels 360, 365, and 370, but may not allow the cooling fluid to be discharged directly from the manifold channel 340 to a heat source. As another example, the channels 340, 360, 365, and 370 can both distribute the cooling fluid to other channels and deliver the spray directly to the skin of the user.

Fig. 5, 6, and 7 illustrate exemplary embodiments of a flow assembly 310. For example, the exemplary embodiments may be used in a flow assembly 310 that may cover the torso of a user. As another example, any desired arrangement of passages 360, 365, and/or 370 may be used to provide a flow of cooling fluid to any desired arrangement of flow assembly 310 (e.g., to cover a torso, arms, legs, and/or any other portion of a user's body). For example, the channels 360, 365, and/or 370 can have a width that is greater than or equal to twice the height of the channel.

The components of the flow assembly 310 (e.g., and/or components of the cooling system 305) may be formed of any suitable material for facilitating flow, such as, for example: polymeric materials, structural metals (e.g., structural steel), copolymer materials, thermoplastic and thermoset polymers, resin-containing materials, polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, epoxy, phenolic, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Polycarbonate (PC), blends of ABS and PC, acetal (POM), acetate, acrylic (PMMA), Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP), polyester film, polyamide-nylon 6, polyamide-nylon 11, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyetherimide (PEI), Polyethylene (PE), low density PE (ldpe), high density PE (hdpe), ultra high molecular weight PE uhmw PE (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), polyphthalamide (PPA), Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPs), and mixtures thereof, Polystyrene (PS), High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS), Polysulfone (PSU), Polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN), polytetrafluoroethylene (TFE), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) and/or Engineering Thermoplastic Polyurethane (ETPU), rubber or silicone rubber or any suitable combination thereof.

Fig. 8 illustrates a surface portion 375 that may be an exemplary inner surface portion (e.g., having an inner surface) of the channel 370. Channels 340, 360, and/or 365 may also have surface portions that include similar features as surface portions 375. The surface portion 375 may include a plurality of apertures. The apertures may have varying aperture sizes. For example, as shown in fig. 8, the apertures may vary in size from apertures 380 having a relatively smaller aperture size (e.g., diameter) to apertures 385 having a relatively larger aperture size. For example, the apertures may gradually increase (e.g., incrementally increase) in size in the direction moving from aperture 380 to aperture 385. The pore size may also be random, follow a pattern of size variation, and/or have similar dimensions. The surface portion 375 may also include a plurality of protrusions 390 (e.g., towers) that may support surface portions (e.g., top surface portions as described below) that may be disposed on the surface portion 375. Surface portion 375 may further include a protrusion 395 that may be disposed at exemplary apertures (e.g., apertures 380 and 385). The projections 395 may also support the top surface portion, for example, as described below. For example, the projections 395 may be curved or semi-circular in shape and may be disposed (e.g., with respect to a flow direction of the cooling fluid through the example channel) aft (e.g., adjacent the downstream side) of the example aperture. The projections 390 and/or 395 may be integrally formed with the surface portion 375. Surface portion 375 including projections 390 and/or 395 may be formed by injection molding, 3-D printing, or any other suitable process.

In at least some example embodiments, one or more channels may include a gradient (e.g., small to large) in aperture size. Although initially there may be a greater flow rate of air and water droplets (e.g., or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above) on the relatively smaller holes for the cooling fluid flow, the flow rate will decrease as more and more flow exits. Thus, the size of the apertures (e.g., the size of apertures 380 and 385) may increase as the flow rate decreases, which may allow nearly equal amounts of air and water droplets (e.g., or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above) to exit along the channel. This may help the system 300 cool a heat source with a relatively uniform heat distribution. As another example, if non-uniform cooling is desired (e.g., more cooling is desired at one location than at another location), the size and/or location of the apertures may be adjusted to accommodate accordingly.

In at least some example embodiments, the projections 395 can also help control the flow of cooling fluid (e.g., spray and air) by helping to set the desired air flow and droplet flow via example aperture sizes (e.g., the apertures 380 and 385). For example, relatively smaller droplet sizes may more closely match the flow path of the air stream than relatively larger droplets moving in the air stream. An aperture with a protrusion 395 captures more droplets (e.g., water or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) than an aperture without a protrusion 395 (e.g., and/or a larger protrusion 395 may capture more droplets than a smaller protrusion 395). The projections 395 can have any desired shape, size and/or design for controlling two-phase flow. For example, the projections 395 can be configured to alter air flow and/or droplet flow characteristics including the ratio of air flow to droplet flow through an aperture (e.g., aperture 380 or aperture 385) as desired.

Fig. 9 illustrates a detailed perspective view of a surface portion 375 of channel 370 (e.g., channels 340, 360, and/or 365 may have surface portions that include similar features). The protrusion 390 may include a portion 400 that may be disposed at an upper portion of the protrusion 390 (e.g., an end of the protrusion 390 disposed away from the surface portion 375). Portion 400 may have any suitable shape such as, for example, a cylindrical shape, a rectangular or square shape, and/or a polygonal shape.

The surface portion 375 may include a wall portion 405 (e.g., a sidewall). The wall portion 405 may be slit perforated and may include a notch 410. Notch 410 may be a triangular sidewall cut-out from wall 405.

Fig. 10 illustrates a side view (in cross-section) of a channel 370 (e.g., channels 340, 360, and/or 365 may have surface portions that include similar features). The surface portion 415 (e.g., a top surface portion) may be disposed on or attached to the surface portion 375 (e.g., a bottom surface portion) such that the cavity 420 is formed between the surface portions 375 and 415. The surface portion 415 may form a top of the cavity 420 (e.g., a tube) and may be formed of a flexible material. The surface portion 415 may comprise any suitable stretchable or expandable material, such as, for example, an elastomeric material, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, neoprene, chloroprene, a vinyl material, a thermoplastic elastomer, or any other suitable type of material having suitable elastic properties. For example, the surface portion 415 may be a thin layer of flexible rubber. In at least some exemplary embodiments, the surface portion 415 may be an 1/64 "thick neoprene sheet having a durometer of 30A. For example, as exemplarily shown in fig. 10, the surface portion 415 may be perforated to have a plurality of relatively small perforations that may be aligned and pushed down to accommodate the portion 400 of the protrusion 390. The perforations may be smaller than the diameter of the portion 400 such that a seal is created by the elastomeric material tightly surrounding the surface portion 415 of the portion 400. The protrusion 390 may be used to support the surface portion 415 and maintain a desired dimension (e.g., a channel dimension) of the cavity 420, which may be relatively constant during operation of the system 300. For example, the protrusion 390 may support the surface portion 415 to allow air flow and droplets to flow through the cavity 420 without being pinched or bulging, while still allowing the exemplary conduit to be flexible and conform to any curved surface (e.g., of a user) during operation. The wall portion 405 may also be flexible, wherein the notch 410 is configured to add additional flexibility.

As shown in fig. 10, the channel 370 can also include a plurality of protrusions 425 disposed on an outer surface of the surface portion 375 (e.g., on a surface opposite the inner surface having the protrusions 390). Channels 340, 360, and/or 365 may include similar features. The protrusion 425 may protrude from a bottom exterior surface of the channel 370 (e.g., from an exterior surface of the surface portion 375) toward a heat source (e.g., a user wearing the flow assembly 310 under clothing and/or equipment). The protrusion 425 may be formed of a similar material as the surface portion 375 and may be integrally formed with the surface portion 375 (e.g., similar to the protrusion 400). The portion 430 may be disposed on the protrusion 425. Portion 430 may include materials such as fabric covered rubber foam, neoprene, and/or materials similar to the material of surface portion 415. For example, when flow assembly 310 including portion 430 is pressed against the body of a user, portion 430 may be formed of any material suitable for comfortable wearing by the user.

The protrusions 425 and portions 430 may be used to keep the channels 340, 360, 365, and/or 370 suspended over the body of the user, other heat source, or other surface of the object to be cooled. The projections 425 and portions 430 may thereby allow air flow and droplet flow (e.g., water droplet and air flow or any other exemplary cooling fluid flow described above) to move under the exemplary duct and distribute the cooling fluid over a relatively wide area. Apertures 380 and/or 385 may have additional deflectors (deflectors) on the exterior of surface portion 375 (e.g., facing the heat source) to further direct the spray of coolant as the cooling fluid exits the exemplary apertures (e.g., apertures 380 and/or 385).

The inner surfaces and/or surface portions of the manifold channels 340, the connecting channels 360, the channels 365, and/or the channels 370 may be hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic and/or coated with a hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic layer or coating. For example, an exemplary hydrophobic surface (e.g., a layer, portion, or coating) may be susceptible to driving off or substantially driving off water (or driving off any other exemplary cooling fluids described above). For example, exemplary hydrophobic surfaces (e.g., layers, portions, or coatings) can have a water contact angle of greater than or equal to about 90 degrees (e.g., between about 90 degrees and about 150 degrees, or between about 90 degrees and about 175 degrees), or greater than or equal to about 120 degrees and less than 180 degrees. For example, a superhydrophobic surface (e.g., a layer, portion, or coating) can have a water contact angle greater than or equal to about 150 degrees (e.g., between about 150 degrees and about 175 degrees, or between about 150 degrees and about 179 degrees). At contact angles greater than or equal to about 150 degrees, water (e.g., or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above) may substantially form spheres (e.g., form nearly spheres) on top of the superhydrophobic portion, and may not be well immobilized (e.g., adhered) to the surface. The surface may be of a type known to achieve the lotus effect or "cassie flow regime(CassieRegime) "surface. For example, a hydrophobic or superhydrophobic surface may have a high tendency for water droplets to bounce or to be easily sheared or pushed away along a wall (e.g., a hydrophobic or superhydrophobic surface may have a high repellency). For example, the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic layer or coating can have a coefficient of restitution greater than 0, such that the droplets are able to bounce off the repellent surface. The coefficient of restitution may be about 0.2 and 0.95 when impacted by a droplet of a certain diameter and velocity (typically a velocity of about 0.1 to 1m/s and a diameter of about 0.1 to 1 mm). At other velocities, the droplets may be splashed into smaller droplets. In at least some exemplary embodiments, the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic layer or coating may have a coefficient of restitution of about 0.9 for certain droplets. In at least some exemplary embodiments, the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic layer or coating can be a hydrophobic nanolayer. The hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic layer or coating can include any suitable material, such as, for example, carbon nanotube material, fluorinated silane or fluoropolymer material, manganese oxide polystyrene (MnO)₂a/PS) nanocomposite, a silica nanocoating material, a precipitated calcium carbonate material, and/or a zinc oxide polystyrene (ZnO/PS) nanocomposite.

For example, as shown in fig. 10, substantially all surfaces of the channel 370 facing the cavity 420 (e.g., surfaces of the surface portion 375, the surface portion 415, the protrusion 390, the wall portion 405, and any other desired portions) may be coated with an exemplary hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic layer or coating. The manifold channels 340, the connecting channels 360, and/or the channels 365 may be similarly coated.

Any suitable technique may be used to produce the exemplary hydrophobic surface and/or the exemplary superhydrophobic surface on the system 300. For example, a superhydrophobic spray (e.g.,274232) to provide a superhydrophobic surface of the channels 340, 360, 365, 370 and/or any other desired surface of the system 300. A hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating may be applied to the components of system 300 prior to assembly such that substantially all of the surfaces forming cavity 420(s) ((ii))E.g., and/or the cavities of some or all of the channels 340, 360, 365, and/or 370) are substantially completely coated. In at least some example embodiments, substantially all surfaces of channels 340, 360, 365, and/or 370 may be coated with a superhydrophobic material (e.g., and/or a hydrophobic material). For example, the interior facing surface may be coated (e.g., sprayed or dip coated) with a hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic material prior to assembly of the channels.

In at least some example embodiments (using channel 375 as an example), the inner surface of surface portion 375 and the inner surface of surface portion 415 may be coated when they are separate components (e.g., prior to assembly). Surface portions 375 and 415 may then be secured together at an outer surface of surface portion 415 via an adhesive (e.g., using an adhesive to secure portion 400 to a perforated portion of surface portion 415). For example, an adhesive (e.g., which may not be hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic) may be applied on the outer surface of the surface portion 415 that does not face the cavity 420. In at least some example embodiments, if the adhesive does not bond well to the portion 400 to which the superhydrophobic layer may be applied, the top of the portion 400 protruding above the surface portion 415 may be cut short to expose untreated (e.g., non-hydrophobic) material to allow bonding with the adhesive. Thus, for example, by perforating (e.g., cutting a slit) in surface portion 415 and pushing surface portion 415 down onto portion 400, cavity 420 (e.g., the interior of a pipe) can be substantially completely coated with a hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic material. For example, the cavity 420 may not have a hydrophilic region. Similar manufacturing techniques may be used for manifold channel 340, connecting channel 360, and/or channel 365. As another example, any suitable fabrication technique for forming a substantially fully hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic channel interior (e.g., a conduit) can be used.

Fig. 11-15 illustrate a system 500 as another exemplary embodiment of an exemplary system. The system 500 may have a cooling system 505 that is substantially similar to the cooling system 305 and a flow assembly 510, such as described below. The cooling system 505 may include a blow down 515, which blow down 515 may be similar to blow down 315, but may be modified to remove a sidewall thereof to create a 360 degree air source that distributes air in a 360 degree pattern (e.g., or a portion of a 360 degree pattern) for a flow assembly 510 that may be disposed around the blow down 515. For example, the blow-off portion 515 may be disposed inside the flow assembly 510. For example, fig. 11 shows a flow assembly 510 (e.g., a superhydrophobic-coated flow assembly 510) disposed on a back side of a user. A garment 527 (e.g., a vest) may be used to secure the system 500 to the torso of the user. A pump 525, which may be similar to the pump 325, and a reservoir 530, which may be similar to the reservoir 330, and components similar to the power source 320, the injection assembly 335, and the controller 345, may be used as part of the cooling system 505.

In addition to the exemplary embodiment shown in fig. 11 in which a single cooling system 505 is attached to the upper portion of the user's back, multiple cooling systems 505 of various sizes may be attached to the user at various locations (e.g., via clothing 527 or another attachment device) and may be supplied by a single pump 525 or multiple pumps 525 and reservoirs 530. As another example, an intake manifold may be included to draw air from the user's waist, neck, and/or other areas and into the inlet of the blow-off portion 515.

As shown in fig. 12, the flow assembly 510 may include a plurality of components 535. The assembly 535 may be a radial subduct assembly that may be disposed in a radial arrangement. For example, the flow assembly 510 may include any desired number of components 535, such as eight components 535 (e.g., or between four and twelve components 535, or any other desired number). As shown in fig. 13 and as described further below, for example, each component 535 may have multiple subcomponents. Each component 535 may have a sub-component 540, a sub-component 545, and a sub-component 550 (e.g., or any other number of sub-components, such as two, four, or more sub-components). The flow assembly 510 may be made of similar materials as the flow assembly 310. For example, subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 may be formed from a rigid plastic material.

Fig. 14 shows a perspective view of assembly 535 including subassemblies 540, 545 and 550. Subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 may include one or more tabs 555, which may include portions similar to tabs 425 and portion 430 described above (e.g., including fabric-covered rubber fabric or foam, neoprene material, and/or any other material suitable for contacting the body of a user.) subassemblies 540, 545, and/or 550 may include one or more tabs 555 (e.g., disposed at an outer edge of subassemblies 540, 545, and/or 550) such that the flow assembly 510 may be comfortably worn by a user (e.g., portion 555 may be comfortably pressed against the body of a user).

In at least some example embodiments, the flow assembly 510 may be secured to the torso of a user by a garment 527, as shown in fig. 11. The garment 527 may be elastic so as to stretch with the movement of the wearer and provide some compression of the device against the wearer's body. The function of tab 555 may be similar to the function of tab 425 and portion 430. The tabs 555 may allow water droplets and air flow to be distributed over the user's skin for cooling and moving air flow out from under the subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 (e.g., between the flow assembly 510 and the user's skin).

Fig. 15 shows a cross-sectional view of channels 560, 565, and 570 formed by the walls of subassemblies 540, 545, and/or 550. The upper portion of channel 570 can be formed by member 575, member 580, and member 585. The member 590 and the member 595 may form a partition wall between the channel 565 and the channel 570. The member 600 may form a dividing wall between the channel 560 and the channel 565. The channel 560 may have an inlet 605 for receiving a flow of cooling fluid (e.g., air mixed with water or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above) from the blow section 515 and an outlet 610 (e.g., facing the body of the user). The channel 565 may have an inlet 615 for receiving a flow of cooling fluid from the blow-off portion 515 and an outlet 620 (e.g., facing the body of the user). The channel 570 may have an inlet 625 for receiving a flow of cooling fluid from the blow section 515 and an outlet 630 (e.g., facing the body of the user). Accordingly, the cooling fluid flow may be pushed toward the user's body through the passages 560, 565, and 570 based on the operation of the blowing part 515.

Members 575, 580, and 590 may include downslope or inclined deflection portions thereon (e.g., portions 635, 640, and the like) to help facilitate movement of subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 relative to one another. Also, layer 645, which may be formed of a similar material as surface portion 415, may be disposed on (e.g., attached to) components 575, 580, 585 and/or a side portion of flow assembly 510. Layer 645 may be a thin elastomeric material. Subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 may be attached to layer 645 such that layer 645 covers some or substantially all of the top surface (e.g., the surface facing away from user worn system 500) and side surfaces of flow assembly 510. The layer 645 may thus join the multiple components 535 together on the top and sides of the flow assembly 510. The layer 645 may also be used to attach the subassembly 540 to the blow-off 515. For example, based on the elastic properties of layer 645 and the configuration of portions 635 and 640, subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 may be moved relative to one another to fit the contours of the user's body.

As shown in fig. 14 and 15, the inlet portion 650 may define a relatively narrow sized inlet 605 and the inlet portion 655 may define a relatively narrow sized inlet 615. The inlet portion 650 may be larger than the inlet portion 655, which may make the inlet 605 smaller than the inlet 615. The inlet 625 may not have an inlet portion and may be larger than the inlet 615. Based on the radial configuration of flow assembly 510 as shown in fig. 13, outlet 630 may cover a surface area (e.g., facing the body of the user) corresponding to sub-assembly 550 that may be greater than the surface area corresponding to sub-assembly 545 covered by outlet 620. Based on the exemplary radially configured flow assembly 510 shown in fig. 13, the outlet 610 may cover a surface area corresponding to the subassembly 540 that may be less than the surface area covered by the outlets 620 and 630. Thus, for example, a relatively larger inlet 625 (e.g., as compared to inlets 615 and 610) may deliver a relatively larger amount of cooling fluid from blow-off 515 via channel 570 to cover a relatively larger surface area of subassembly 550 covered by inlet 630. As another example, the inlet 615, which may be sized smaller than the inlet 625 and larger than the inlet 605, may deliver an amount of cooling fluid, which may be less than the amount carried by the channel 570 but greater than the amount carried by the channel 560, to the inlet 620 via the channel 565. Based on proportionally sizing the inlets 605, 615, and 625 to accommodate the flow to correspond to the surface area covered by the outlets 610, 620, and 630, the flow assembly 510 may thereby provide substantially equal amounts of cooling fluid to different portions of the user's body. The exemplary inlets may also be sized to provide non-uniformly distributed cooling, if desired.

The flow assembly 510 may be coated with hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic materials similar to the flow assembly 310 (e.g., to create hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic channels 560, 565, and 570). The hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating may be applied to the surface of the flow assembly 310 before or after assembly (e.g., by spraying and/or dipping).

FIG. 16 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an exemplary system. The system 700 may include a fan 705. The fan 705 may be a fan or any other suitable fan for providing flow through the system 700. For example, the fan 705 may be an axial fan. A fan 705 may be disposed in the channel 710. The channel 710 may be any suitable channel or passage for conveying a flow, such as a rigid or flexible pipe. The channel 710 may have a surface 715 (e.g., an inner surface) that may be a hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic surface similar to the exemplary channels described above. The system 700 may also include an injection device 720 that may be connected to a pump 725 and a pump 730. The injection device 720 may be a spray head for generating water droplets, such as, for example, a two-phase spray head or any other suitable spray head for producing liquid droplets. The pump 725 may be any suitable gaseous fluid pump, such as an air pump, and the pump 730 may be any suitable liquid pump, such as a water pump (or any suitable pump for pressurizing the flow of the exemplary cooling fluid described above). Alternatively, pump 725 may be any suitable air source, such as a pressurized air source. Pump 730 may be fluidly connected to reservoir 735, which may be similar to reservoir 330. For example, reservoir 735 may be a water reservoir (or reservoir described above for any other exemplary cooling fluid). The system 700 may also include a heat exchanger 740 that may be disposed in the channel 710. For example, the heat exchanger 740 may be a passive heat exchanger having any suitable configuration for removing heat from a heat source, such as copper or aluminum fins. For example, the heat exchanger 740 may be any suitable heat sink for transferring heat away from a heat source. In at least some example embodiments, substantially all surfaces of the channel 710, the fan 705, and/or the injection device 720 may be coated with a hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic material. In at least some example embodiments, the heat exchanger 740 may not be coated with hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic materials.

FIG. 17 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an exemplary system. The system 800 may include similar components as those of the exemplary embodiments described above. The system 800 may include a flow assembly 810 that may be substantially similar to the flow assembly 510. The system 800 may also include a heat exchanger 820 that may be substantially similar to the heat exchanger 740. The heat exchanger 820 and the flow assembly 810 may operate together to transfer heat away from the heat source 830. The heat source 830 may be any heat source, such as, for example, an electronic device or component, a heating tube, a laser device, another heat exchanger, a user (e.g., a person), and/or any other heat source.

FIG. 18 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an exemplary system. The system 900 may include similar components as the exemplary embodiments described above. The system 900 may include a flow assembly 910, which may be similar to the flow assembly 810, and a heat source 930, which may be similar to the heat source 830. System 900 may operate similarly to system 800, except that flow assembly 910 may remove heat directly from heat source 930.

FIG. 19 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an exemplary system. The system 1000 may include similar components as the exemplary embodiments described above. The system 1000 may include a cooling system 1005 that may be similar to the cooling system 305, a manifold channel 1040 that may be similar to the manifold channel 340, a channel 1065 that may be similar to the channel 365, and a heat source 1030 that may be similar to the heat source 830. System 1000 may operate substantially similarly to system 300. The cooling system 1005 and the channel 1065 may operate to remove heat from the heat source 1030 with or without a heat exchanger (e.g., similar to the heat exchanger 820).

FIG. 20 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of an exemplary system. The system 1100 may include similar components as the exemplary embodiments described above. System 1100 may include a cooling system 1105 that may be similar to cooling system 305, a manifold channel 1140 that may be similar to manifold channel 340, a channel 1170 that may be similar to channel 370, and a heat source 1130 that may be similar to heat source 830. System 1100 may operate substantially similarly to system 300. Cooling system 1105 and channels 1170 may operate to remove heat from heat source 1130 with or without the use of a heat exchanger (e.g., similar to heat exchanger 820).

In at least some example embodiments, the system 300 may include cooling fluid channels (e.g., channels 340, 360, 365, 370, 560, 565, 570, 710, 1065, and/or 1170); a gaseous fluid blowing section (e.g., the blowing section 315 or the blowing section 515) provided at an upstream portion or a downstream portion of the cooling fluid passage; and a droplet sprayer (e.g., injection assembly 335) disposed in an upstream portion of the cooling fluid channel. The surface portion of the cooling fluid channel may be hydrophobic. A heat source (e.g., the body of the user or a heat source 830) may be disposed in a downstream portion of the cooling fluid channel. The surface portion of the cooling fluid channel may be superhydrophobic. The gaseous fluid blowing section may be a blower section. The droplet nebulizer may be a water droplet nebulizer. The surface portion of the cooling fluid channel may be water-tight. The surface portion of the cooling fluid channel may have a water contact angle between about 150 degrees and about 175 degrees. The system 300 may further include a reservoir and a pump fluidly connected to the droplet nebulizer.

In at least some example embodiments, the system 300 may include a first cooling fluid passage (e.g., passage 340); a gaseous fluid blow section (e.g., blow section 315 or blow section 515) provided at an upstream portion or a downstream portion of the first cooling fluid passage; a droplet nebulizer (e.g., the injection assembly 335) is disposed in an upstream portion of the first cooling fluid channel and a plurality of second cooling fluid channels (e.g., the channels 360, 365, 370, 560, 565, 570, and/or 710) are disposed downstream of and fluidly connected to the first cooling fluid channel. A superhydrophobic coating can be disposed on an inner surface of at least one of the plurality of second cooling fluid channels. The inner surface may include a plurality of apertures having different aperture sizes. The protrusion may be disposed at a downstream adjacent location of at least some of the plurality of apertures on the inner surface. The plurality of second cooling fluid passages may include a plurality of overlapping passages of different lengths having different outlet surface areas. The inlet size may be designed in proportion to the outlet surface area and channel length of each of the plurality of overlapping channels. The plurality of second cooling fluid channels may comprise a plurality of subassemblies that are movable relative to each other and attached together by a flexible top layer.

The exemplary disclosed systems, methods, and apparatus may be used in any suitable application that provides cooling. For example, the exemplary disclosed systems, methods, and apparatus may be used to provide cooling to a person or object. The example systems, methods, and devices may be worn under a user's clothing, accessories, and/or equipment to provide cooling to the user. The example systems, methods, and apparatus may also be used to provide cooling to any desired target, such as electronic and computing systems, robotic components, interior spaces (e.g., residential and commercial spaces), machinery and mechanical components, vehicles, and/or any other suitable electro-mechanical components. The exemplary systems, methods, and apparatus may further be used in any application involving direct cooling of personnel located outside a climate controlled environment.

Exemplary operations of the exemplary disclosed systems, methods, and devices will now be described (e.g., as shown in fig. 1-10). The pump 325 may draw liquid, such as water, from the reservoir 330 to the section 350 via the passage 355, which section 350 may provide liquid, such as water (or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above) to the blow section 315. The blow 315 may blow (e.g., pulverize) the liquid stream exiting the portion 350 into relatively smaller droplets (e.g., generate a spray such as a water spray or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above) and create an air stream. The ratio of liquid (e.g., water or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) to air may be varied based on the controller 345 controlling the injection assembly 335 to provide more or less water (or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) to the air flow generated by the blow-off 315.

A mixture of gaseous fluid and liquid fluid droplets (e.g., an air stream with water droplets or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) may enter the manifold channel 340. Many of the droplets may collide with the inner walls of the manifold channel 340, which may be coated with a hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating. Based on the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating, droplets (e.g., water droplets or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) may not adhere to the inner wall of the manifold channel 340, but may immediately bounce off the inner wall and/or be sheared off of the inner wall by aerodynamic forces caused by the blow-off 315 and re-immersed in the air flow. The possibility of droplets aggregating into larger droplets can be kept to a minimum, based on the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating of the inner wall.

The hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating can substantially prevent droplets from adhering to the inner wall for an extended period of time. For example, the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating can prevent droplets from remaining on the inner wall, and can prevent other droplets from colliding with those droplets to form larger and larger droplets that may fall onto the inner wall due to gravity or be pushed along the inner wall by aerodynamic forces caused by the blow 315. For example, the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coating can substantially prevent aggregation (e.g., minimize or substantially prevent the combination of droplets from becoming larger droplets). For example, as described below, a similar effect may be produced on any surface that has been coated with a hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic material (e.g., the surfaces of channels 360, 365, and 370).

A mixture of gaseous fluid droplets and liquid fluid droplets (e.g., a mixture of air and water droplets or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) may flow through the flow assembly 310 by exiting the manifold channels 340, flowing into the connecting channels 360, and then entering the channels 365 and 370. The surfaces of the channels 360, 365, and/or 370 can be coated with hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic materials, and the droplets in the mixture can be made to function as described above with respect to the inner surface of the manifold channel 340. The fluid mixture with droplets may exit via exemplary apertures (e.g., apertures 380 and 385) of a surface portion (e.g., surface portion 375) of an exemplary channel and may strike the torso of a user. Since the user's skin or other heat source may not be strongly hydrophobic, the droplets may stick to the user. Also, due to the small size of the droplets, the spray may cover a larger surface area (e.g., a smaller amount of liquid such as water may provide a relatively larger spray coverage as droplets). The air flow provided from cooling system 305 via flow assembly 310 may continuously move over a heat source, such as the user's skin or a heat sink, via a gap formed between flow assembly 310 and the user's skin via projections 425 and portions 430 (e.g., projections 425 and portions 430 may be comfortably pressed against the user's skin to maintain a gap between the user's skin and flow assembly 310). This flow of air (e.g., a mixture of air and water droplets or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) through the gap between the heat source and the flow assembly 310 causes evaporation of liquid on the skin (e.g., evaporation of water droplets or any other exemplary cooling fluid droplets described above) and provides a cooling effect on the thermal load (e.g., the user's body).

Exemplary operations of the exemplary disclosed systems, methods and apparatus illustrated in fig. 11-15 will now be described. An air flow may be drawn into the blow 515 (e.g., a 360 degree outlet blow 515) and a liquid (e.g., water or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) may be fed to the blow 515 via an injection assembly similar to the injection assembly 335. Based on the elastic properties of layer 645 and the configuration of portions 635 and 640, subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 may be moved relative to one another to allow flow assembly 510 to take a curved shape or other suitable shape to match or conform to the surface being cooled (e.g., of a heat source).

The cooling fluid (e.g., water droplets included in the air stream or any of the other exemplary cooling fluids described above) generated by the blow-off 515 may flow through subassemblies 540, 545, and 550, which may have interior surfaces coated with hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic coatings that allow for transport of mixed droplets and air streams with minimal aggregation of the droplets. Inlet portions 650 and 655 may provide a restriction to the flow at inlets 605 and 615, respectively. For example, as described above, because the channel 570 may cover a relatively large surface area at the outlet 630, and because the channel 570 may be a longer channel than the channels 560 and 565, the channel 570 may have a higher pressure drop than the channels 560 and 565. The inlet 625 of the channel 570 may thus be fully open and substantially unrestricted. Because the channel 560 may cover a minimum surface area and may be shorter than the channels 565 and 570, for example, as described above, the channel 560 may have a relatively low pressure drop and, thus, may have a maximum restriction at the inlet 605 based on the inlet portion 650 (e.g., to help reduce air flow and droplet flow). As described above, a relatively uniform flow rate may thereby be provided to each surface covered by the flow assembly 510. The members 590, 595, and 600 may prevent the flow from mixing between the channels 560, 565, and 570. The portions 635 and 640 may substantially prevent a droplet stream from exiting a given channel in the event that the subassembly 540, 545, 550 is bent (e.g., bent downward) to match the profile of the heat source as described above. For example, when subassemblies 540, 545, and 550 are bent downward, gaps may occur between members 575, 580, and 585 and between members 590 and 595. The portions 635 and 640 may prevent flow loss by imparting a downward direction to the cooling fluid flow at the gap to avoid the cooling fluid (e.g., air and water droplets or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) from flowing through the gap.

Exemplary operations of the exemplary disclosed systems, methods and apparatus illustrated in fig. 16 will now be described. Liquid (e.g., water or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) may be supplied from the reservoir 735 to the injection device 720 (e.g., a spray head) via the pump 730. The pump 725 may provide a flow of air or pressurized air to the injection device 720. When the fan 705 is operated to generate an air flow, the injection device 720 generates a fine-droplet stream by atomizing a liquid (e.g., water or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) using air supplied by the pump 725. As described above, for example, these droplets may contact the hydrophobic and/or superhydrophobic inner surface 715 of the channel 710 and may bounce off the surface 715 or may be quickly removed from the surface 715 via aerodynamic forces. In at least some example embodiments, the heat exchanger 740 may be non-hydrophobic and droplets may accumulate thereon, wetting the heat exchanger 740 and providing a two-phase cooling effect. The heat exchanger 740 may be heated by a heat source (e.g., below the heat exchanger 740 as shown, for example, in fig. 17-20), and then carry heat away from the heat exchanger 740 via convection and evaporation of liquid droplets (e.g., water droplets or any other exemplary cooling fluid described above) on the heat exchanger 740. The heat exchanger 740 may also be used to increase the available surface area for cooling. The exemplary embodiments shown in fig. 17-20 may have exemplary operations similar to any of the above exemplary disclosed operations.

In at least some example embodiments, the example method may include providing a flow of gaseous fluid in a channel (e.g., channel 340, 360, 365, 370, 560, 565, 570, 710, 1065, and/or 1170), ejecting droplets into the flow of gaseous fluid, dislodging droplets in the flow of gaseous fluid from a surface of the channel, and directing the flow of gaseous fluid including the droplets toward a heat source. Expelling the droplets may include maintaining the size of the droplets. The flow of gaseous fluid may be a flow of air. The droplets may be water droplets. Expelling the droplets may include causing the droplets to form substantially spherical shapes at the surface of the channel. Repelling the droplets may include substantially preventing the droplets from collecting on the channel surface.

In at least some example embodiments, a cooling device utilizing a supply of water and air, or any other example cooling fluid described above, is disclosed. The water may be turned into a spray of small droplets while being directed by a supply of air generated by a fan or other air source. The spray and air stream may be combined into a two-phase stream that is directed through the hydrophobic conduit to the heat source to be cooled.

In at least some example embodiments, a cooling device is disclosed that uses a fan or air source to move a two-phase mixture of air and water droplets through a conduit having hydrophobic properties. Thus, the exemplary system may minimize (e.g., substantially prevent) agglomeration of droplets on the wall of the conduit based on the hydrophobic properties of the conduit, which causes the droplets to become larger droplets, which may allow the two-phase mixture to be transported over a substantial distance without losing the spray (e.g., the relatively smaller droplets of the spray do not agglomerate into larger droplets). Any suitable piping configuration may be developed to provide significant flexibility in the supply and distribution of the two-phase mixture. The two-phase mixture may then be supplied to a target to be cooled, such as a heat source.

Exemplary disclosed systems, methods, and devices may produce a relatively high level of cooling capacity in hot climates while maintaining the user's skin at a comfortable temperature. The exemplary system and apparatus may also have a relatively low weight because it may not include high weight components such as compressors and thermoelectric elements. The example systems, methods, and devices may also operate using relatively less power, and may include relatively less battery power. The disclosed example systems and devices may also be worn under the clothing of the user and/or other layers of the device. For example, the exemplary disclosed systems and devices may be worn under a bullet-proof vest or other device and/or garment.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. The present invention is capable of many modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and those skilled in the art will appreciate that features of one embodiment may be used with other embodiments even if not explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments.

Many suitable methods and corresponding materials for manufacturing each individual part of an embodiment device are known in the art. According to embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that one or more parts may be molded by machining, 3D printing (also referred to as "additive" manufacturing), CNC machining (also referred to as "subtractive" manufacturing), and injection molding. Metals, wood, thermoplastic and thermoset polymers, resins and elastomers as described above may be used. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many suitable materials are known and available and may be selected and mixed depending on the strength and flexibility desired, the preferred method of manufacture, and the particular application.

A number of embodiments have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, advantageous results may be achieved if the steps of the disclosed techniques were performed in a different order, or if components of the disclosed systems were combined in a different manner, or if the components were supplemented with other components. Accordingly, other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the following claims.