Abstract

Blue collar workers have to work in excruciatingly hot areas. Occasionally those people cannot afford proper clothes for the heat their job entails, making them prone to getting sick. That is the main reason for designing the Cooling Jacket which lowers the cost and raises the efficiency for the consumer. The Jacket has a pocket of cool air located between different layers of material so that the air inside the jacket stays inside. Additionally, there is a tube on the right shoulder which allows you to blow additional air into the jacket. The different parts and materials allow this jacket to insulate the cold air around the user’s body to keep them cooler for longer.

Introduction

In America today, many workers have jobs requiring them to work in hot environments. Working in these hot environments for prolonged periods of time can have negative effects on the health of these workers. The CDC states that “exposure to an excessive amount of heat can lead to heat stroke, rhabdomyolysis and many more health issues” (CDC). Many industries have their employees working in an environment over 100 degrees for large amounts of time. Without proper work attire, health issues can arise.

The main focus is to design a jacket that keeps a user at a comfortable body temperature while also protecting their upper body from sun damage. While it may seem contradictory considering jackets are made to warm people up, this jacket is designed as a thin windbreaker so it does not make a user hotter. The jacket will work to keep the user cool by utilizing effective insulating technology with a cool pack to cool down an air pocket concealed inside the jacket. The jacket is designed to have an airtight layer where the cool pack is placed and the air circulates within the jacket. Furthermore, the jacket is reflective on the outside so the sun’s heat is not absorbed into the jacket, keeping the user cool for approximately six hours.

While there are already cooling jackets and vests out on the market, they are rather expensive. Our technology and innovation will allow the cooling jacket to be high quality yet relatively inexpensive to make, making it possible to sell the jacket for a competitive price. Thanks to the jacket having the same purpose and effect, the jacket is able to be sold at a mere $100, which is $90 cheaper than the lowest competitor StaCool Vest, making it a great choice for workers who need a cooling jacket.

Figure 1. The jacket

Materials

            Many of the materials used to build this jacket are efficient insulators that are budget friendly, unlike competitors who opt for higher price materials despite both materials having the same effects. This jacket consists of three main layers; an outer layer, an inner pocket, and an inner shell. The inner pocket is concealed between the outer layer and inner shell.

Figure 2.Silver reflective material being exposed to a light source

The outer layer is made of a silver reflective material that is flexible and made of tiny glass beads which is extremely effective at reflecting light off of the jacket. This material is most effective in preventing the user from heating up due to sunlight. The glass bead material will also help to insulate the user from any heat source, for example a large oven. The reflective material allows the user to both become more visible in low light environments as well as keep the jacket from heating up. The jackets ability to reflect sunlight helps the pocket of cold air last longer and is more effective than merely producing the jacket in color which naturally reflects light, as the color white will do. The reflective material keeps the jacket lightweight allowing the user to move freely in their environment. The material is washable and can be folded easily for storage, allowing the user to treat the cooling jacket the same as any regular windbreaker.

Figure 3. Image of the Bosal Poly-Therm Fleece Batting material.

The inner pocket is made of Bosal Poly-Therm Fleece Batting which insulates the pocket of air. The material is made from 100% polyethylene film with 5½ oz fleece batting which is used to insulate the cold air. The fleece batting is a closed cell material, which means that the bubbles of the material are pressed together, preventing moisture and air from passing through the material. Since this material will be used to hold the pocket of air, the air will not be able to leak out keeping the air insulated within the jacket. This material is commonly used within lunch boxes to keep food insulated so the food will not spoil.

Figure 4. Image of nylon-polyester fabric

The inner shell is made of a 70% nylon 30% polyester fabric. This fabric tightly woven making it both flexible and washable while also keeping the pocket of air from leaking the cool air. The nylon is non-permeable to gas meaning that air won’t pass through the fabric. The polyester is used for making the fabric more durable and resistant to ripping. This will help in further insulating the inside pocket of air.

Technical Description

            The final product will resemble a windbreaker like jacket that has a built-in pocket between the inner and outer shell which houses cold air which is designed to cool the user. When not in use the pocket is not noticeable and the jacket can be worn as a normal windbreaker. A windbreaker is a thin jacket that can be worn to minimize the effect of wind-chill on the user. When needed, an included cold pack which resembles an ice pack can be fit into a dedicated compartment. By inserting this cold pack into the dedicated compartment, the user can cool down the airtight pocket concealed within the jacket. In order for the user to access this compartment they will simply unzip the airtight zipper located at the bottom of the jacket as shown in Figure 1: The Jacket. Since opening the airtight zipper will release the majority of the air inside of the pocket the user will need to refill the jacket. The user can use the blow valve which is located on the right shoulder and blow the inner pocket to the desired volume. Once the air and included icepack are sealed inside of the jacket, no more user input is necessary. Now the user can enjoy a cooler body temperature thanks to The Cooling Jacket.

Besides the three main layers used to make the jacket, the jacket consists of three vital components. These components allow the jacket to be capable of cooling. The components are: The one-way blow valve, the airtight zipper and the cool pack.

Figure 5. Image of one-way blow valve

The first component is the plastic one-way blow valve which is located on the jackets right shoulder. The valve is made up of a body, a spring, and a duckbill valve that allows for the air to pass through one way and not escape in the opposite direction. This blow valve is directed inwards towards the pocket of air so the user can add more air without any escaping. The body of the valve is made up of plastic which encases the other parts of the valve. The length of the valves body is 28mm and the width of the body is 12mm. The body of the valve extends outwards on both ends of the body with tubes of 3.1mm. On one end of the body, the tube is used as the entrance for air and on the opposite side as an exit. Inside the body of the valve are two triangle shaped notches creating a gate for the duckbill to block when the valve is not being used, preventing any air from exiting. On the inside of the body are the two parts that create the one-way mechanism of the valve. The first part is a spring. The spring is stainless steel and measures 20mm in length. The spring compresses when enough pressure is applied which lowers the second part; the duckbill. The duckbill is made of rubber and measures 7.8mm in length. The duckbill has a flat top while the bottom is shaped like a duck’s bill hence the name duckbill. The top of the duckbill rests against the notches of the valves body preventing air from entering or exiting. When the spring is compressed it allows the gate to open which allows the air to enter. Once the air finishes entering and pressure is no longer applied the spring is reset not allowing any air to be released.

Figure 6. Airtight zipper

The second component of the jacket is the airtight zipper. The zipper is used as an access point so you can change the cool pack easily. When closed, the zipper keeps the cool air from escaping the inner pocket. The zipper is made up of two rows of interlocking teeth made of plastic that are sewn into a nylon fabric. The inner teeth are fixed on the outer teeth through the fabric tape so that when the plastic slider closes, the two fabric tapes will be compressed into themselves and a double seal will be formed. The double sealing of the coated teeth will stop air from leaking through the gaps of the zipper as well as any water or dust from entering the jacket through the zipper.

Figure 7. Image of the reusable cool pack

The last component of the jacket is the cool pack. The cool pack is used to cool the air in the pocket of the jacket. The outside of the cool pack is made of high-density polyethylene, which will be used as the shell of the cool pack. The high-density polyethylene is a lightweight material that houses the liquid. The cool pack is customized to be 7” x 5” x ¼” in dimension so that it will fit on the inside of the jacket and not be uncomfortable for the user. The inside of the pack will have a refrigerant gel that retains temperature. When taken out of a freezer and placed in the jacket, the cool pack lowers the temperature of the air inside of the inner pocket which then makes the jacket colder.

Innovation

To fit a men’s medium, which is the basic and most popular size the jacket will need 215 centimeters of the reflective material to make the outer shell. To create the inner pocket, the jacket will need 215 centimeters of Bosal Poly-Therm Fleece Batting. Lastly the jacket will need 201 centimeters of 70% nylon 30% polyester material to create the inner shell. Parts are being bought in bulk from a distributor and shipped to a manufacturer who proceeds to build the jacket. The only costs for producing the jackets are: shipping, cost of materials, and labor costs.

Since production will be in Thailand, labor is relatively cheap. After speaking with several manufacturing companies, one company in Thailand agreed to produce these jackets at $2.06 USD per hour (The Conference Board). The manufacturing company also explained that each jacket will take 2 person-hours to create which makes labor $4.12 for each jacket. One jacket requires three zippers. Manufacturing 1000 jackets requires 3000 zippers. The distributor agrees on $0.11 USD per zipper (2018 New Airtight Zipper Outdoor). Each jacket will also use one blow valve on the right shoulder making a total order of 1000 valves. The same distributor agrees to sell the valves for $0.01 USD each (Small Plastic One-Way Safety Blow Valve). One jacket needs 2.15 meters of reflective material for the outside of the jacket. One meter of this reflective material is $3.86 USD (Highlight Silver Reflective Fabric). This means that the reflective fabric will be $8.30 USD per jacket. The outer shell will take 2.15 meters of Bosal Poly-Therm Fleece Batting. One meter of this costs $6.99 USD. This means the outer shell will cost $15.03 per jacket. The jacket will also need 2.01 meters of 70% nylon 30% polyester material to make the inner shell. One meter of this material costs $0.50 which means that the inner shell will cost $1.01 per jacket. Lastly, the jacket comes with two cold packs included. After communicating with the manufacturer, they agreed to manufacture a custom 7” x 5” x ¼” cool pack for $0.60 USD per piece. The manufacturer guarantees that the cold packs will stay cold for 4 hours when outside and 6 hours when kept insolated. The cold packs will cost $1.20 per jacket.

All of the distributors are located in Shanghai, China. A shipping company estimated that to ship all materials to Thailand for production would cost $1138.43 USD. This is still cheaper than having the jacket assembled in China. To ship the finished jackets from Thailand to the USA the shipping company quoted $1804.22. Once the jackets are shipped to the USA, Jacob Livianu will use 10 of the 1000 jackets and complete stress tests on them such as strength of final product, weakest links in stitching and functionality of final products. Since the business is still in its starting stages the jackets will be sold from Jacob Livianus’ house which will not cost any money for stocking and storage.

Figure 8. Cost of final product

After all calculations and factors accounted for the total price for 1000 cooling jackets would be $32,935.15. This makes the cost to produce one jacket $32.94 USD. If sold for a retail price of $100.00 USD, the net profit would be $67.06. This jacket is still $90 cheaper than the nearest competitor, the StaCool vest which retails for $190.

Figure 9. Task schedule

            The task schedule above shows that the materials can be ordered and created into the final product in 10 weeks. This means that the final jacket can be sold within 10 weeks of first ordering the raw materials from the distributor.

Conclusion

            The Cooling Jacket is more cost efficient and user efficient than the nearest competitor. The Cooling Jacket can be worn in two styles such as a regular windbreaker or for its full functionality as a cooling jacket. The jackets total cost is $32.94 to produce. If sold at a retail price of $100, the jacket would still be $90 cheaper than its nearest competitor, the StaCool vest. The jacket will be stored and sold from Jacob Livianus’ house in parallel with the webstore. The next step for selling this jacket is using branding and marketing techniques. In order to identify this jacket compared to an ordinary windbreaker a logo will be used depicting a large gust of wind with visible icicles. To help the user understand how the jacket works a small flip through tag will be attached to each jacket. The packet will first explain the layers of the jacket followed by an explanation of how to insert the cool pack. The packet will also guide the user in adjusting the pressure with the blow valve for comfort. Lastly the packet will instruct the user how to care for the jacket. The marketing of this jacket will consist largely of online marketing in the beginning to attract the largest consumer pool for the lowest cost. Once the jacket has created a profit, the money can then be used to buy advertisement space in more conventional mediums such as billboards, magazines and streaming service commercials. Finally, to help further brand the jacket a celebrity endorsement or a professional athlete who plays for a team in a state with hot conditions such as the Arizona Cardinals can wear the jacket during practice or games.

References

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