JAPAN: PC2B, A COMPANY BASED IN TODA RUN BY A FORMER SONY ENGINEER, HAS INVENTED AIR CONDITIONED SHIRTS TO COMBAT THE HOT JAPANESE SUMMER

Record ID: 451705

  • Title: JAPAN: PC2B, A COMPANY BASED IN TODA RUN BY A FORMER SONY ENGINEER, HAS INVENTED AIR CONDITIONED SHIRTS TO COMBAT THE HOT JAPANESE SUMMER
  • Date: 11th June 2004
  • Summary: (L!2) TODA, JAPAN (JUNE 11, 2004) (REUTERS) VARIOUS: OF RESEARCHERS AT PC2B WORKING WITH SMALL FANS, WHILST WEARING AIR CONDITIONED SHIRTS (3 SHOTS) CU: OF FAN ON SIDE OF SHIRT MLV: MAN GOING INTO EXPERIMENT ROOM CU: SMALL FANS ROTATING MLV: MAN INSPECTING FANS WS: PROTOTYPE AIR-CONDITIONED GARMENTS HANGING ON THE WALL CU: OF FAN IN ONE OF THE JACKETS CU: JACKET WITH TWO FANS MLV: HIROSHI ICHIGAYA, PRESIDENT OF PC2B EXPLAINING HOW THE JACKET WORKS TO AN EMPLOYEE CU: MAN WATCHING IMV: CHIGAYA TURNING AIR-CONDITIONED JACKET ON AND OFF CU: WHITE RIBBON ATTACHED TO SLEEVE MOVING DUE TO WIND FROM THE FANS SCU: (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) ICHIGAYA SAYING: "This garment puts large amounts of air between the body of the wearer and the garment and that evaporates the perspiration. As a result it cools the body and there is no worry that the wearer becomes too cold because the amount of perspiration is controlled by the brain. This is a cooling system which is ideal for humans." LV: MAN IN A BUSINESS SUIT WALKING INTO ROOM WITH HEATERS CU: HEATERS MLV: MAN TAKING OFF JACKET HUMIDIFIER ELECTRONIC THERMOSTAT SHOWING 33.1 DEGRESS CELCIUS CU: SWEAT DRIPPING OFF OF THE MAN'S BROW CU: SWEAT ON THE MAN'S SHIRT MLV: MAN TAKING OFF HIS SHIRT AND PUTTING ON AN AIR-CON JACKET CU: AIR FROM THE AIR-CON JACKET BLOWING MAN'S HAIR MLV: MAN SITTING IN CHAIR WEARING THE AIR-CON JACKET CU: FAN CU: MAN'S HAIR BLOWING AGAIN WS: PEOPLE ROWING CU: YUMIKO SUZUKI, 28-YEAR-OLD WHO JUST FINISHED ROWING, SWEATING FOREHEAD MV: (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) SUZUKI, WEARING AN AIR CONDITIONED JACKET, SAYING: "Oh! It's cool, it's really cool." SHINOBU KITAMOTO, 27-YEAR-OLD WHO JUST FINISHED ROWING PUTTING ON AIR CON JACKET MV: (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) KITAMOTO SAYING: "It's funny and I look really fat."
  • Embargoed: 26th June 2004 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TODA AND TOKYO, JAPAN
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Business,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVAC5RHYCP1ZQ8STOI96WIF0WYXV
  • Story Text: Feeling the heat of summer? Try Japan's latest hit to stay cool : the air-conditioned shirt! Dressing lightly, eating ice cream and fanning oneself are some of the classical ways of coping with summer heat.
    But this summer, Japanese people will have a new option -- the air-conditioned shirt.
    PC2B, a Japanese company run by a former Sony Corp engineer, has invented a range of shirts and jackets with built-in fans to keep the wearer cool.
    "This garment puts large amounts of air between the body of the wearer and the garment and that evaporates the perspiration. As a result it cools the body and there is no worry that he wearer becomes too cold because the amount of perspiration is controlled by the brain. This is a cooling system which is ideal for humans," Hiroshi Ichigaya, president of PC2B, or Physiological Cooler Controlled By Brain.
    Ichigaya and his five employees experimented for years before coming up with a lightweight, quiet but sturdy fan which could be sewn onto fabrics.
    The current fans operate on four batteries. When it is turned on, the fans create wind within the clothes so that they puff out and enable wearers to keep cool for nearly 10 hours.
    "This is a cooling system which is ideal for humans,"
    Ichigaya said.
    PC2B started sales of its garments on Thursday (June 10) via the Internet. Apart from the air conditioned shirt, there are two types of jackets, one with and the other without a hood. All weigh 320 grammes and cost 9,900 yen (90.59 U.S. dollars).
    Experiments are still going on to create a better fan and new garment samples undergo tests in a heated room to see if they work.
    People who have tried the air-conditioned jackets say they work wonders.
    "Oh! It's cool, it's really cool," said Yumiko Suzuki, a 28-year-old rower who just finished practice, when she tried on the jacket.
    But some women were more concerned about the aesthetics of the garments than practicality.
    "It's funny and I look really fat," Shinobu Kitamoto, 27, who also just finished rowing.
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