| abstract |
Electrically heated, cold weather garments, are provided that include carbon nanotube heating elements. A garment may include a lightweight, stretchable, form-fitting fabric for covering portions of the body of a wearer of the garment; a plurality of flexible, electrical heating element stitched to the fabric by sewing; an electronic controller for controlling current flowing through each of the heating elements in a pulse-width modulated fashion, to thereby independently control the heat generated by each heating element; a plurality of potentiometers for controlling the level of power supplied to each heating wire; and a master power level potentiometer for controlling the power supplied to each of the heating wires in a uniform and simultaneous fashion. A controller may utilize a combination of analog and digital-like signals to control in a pulse-width modulated fashion the current flow through the heating elements. Alternatively, a controller may include a microprocessor which is operable to sense changes in the temperature of the heating wires themselves, and to regulate automatically and independently the power supplied to each of the heating elements. |