Patent Application
20080289351
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooling devices, specifically to a cooling device for cooling a portion of a user's body.
2. Description of the Related Art
The skin is the largest organ in the human body. It protects the body from exposure to harmful solar radiation, chemicals, and other potentially dangerous particles disposed in the atmosphere. Another important function of the skin is to regulate human body temperature. Skin temperature depends on the air temperature and the time spent in an environment. Wind chill, humidity, and other climate conditions can cause changes in human skin temperature. The normal temperature of human skin is about 33 degrees Centigrade (91 degrees Fahrenheit). However, there are many circumstances when it becomes more difficult for the skin to maintain proper internal temperatures, including but not limited to fevers and heat exposure. In addition, such factors may cause discomfort to a person, such as perspiration, dizziness, or headaches especially in areas of high temperature. Therefore, devices have been created to aid in maintaining a low skin temperature, thereby assisting the skin in combating high temperatures and/or comforting users.
Several methods of cooling human skin and/or a human body have developed. In extreme circumstances taking ice baths or bathing in cool water may be appropriate. People often spray water, apply wet cloth, soak clothing with water, and expose themselves to moving air such as from a fan in order to maintain a cool body temperature. However, each of these methods/devices includes difficulties and/or inefficiencies such as difficult to use, uncomfortable in cooling, non-portability, weak cooling effect, short cooling duration, damage to clothing, and/or messiness.
There are devices intended to be used to cool parts of bodies that attempt to cool bodies in more convenient ways. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,110, issued to Silvas, discloses a cooling vest having a plurality of elongated pocket partitions formed on front side and backside vest portions for containing beads of polyacrylamide material that absorb a liquid, such as water, to form a gel that may be chilled, or chilled to near freezing, to provide a cooling effect on the upper torso of a human wearer. The cooling effect is facilitated by non-impervious properties of a double layer fabric used in construction of the vest that permit evaporation. The front side portions of the vest also provide surface area upon which to add fashion appeal ornate designs, or on which utility pockets are formed. The vest is further provided with a collar member having a partition for containing polymer material. The upper shoulder blade area of the backside of the vest is divided from the lower lumbar area by a stitching pattern that ornate the backside of the vests and that separates the upper and lower polymer containing partitions. The shoulder blade pocket partitions are thinner because these partitions contain less polymer material than the lower partitions that define the lumbar region of the vest. The lower lumbar area of the vest is formed to contain more of the polymer material primarily to provide an additional lumbar support feature. The underarm regions of the vest include band pocket partitions to especially provide cooling to that part of a user's body. An alternate vest embodiment includes mesh fabric strips adjacent each pocket partition.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,956,759, issued to Benedict, teaches a means to cool the head of a wearer by incorporating in a flexible tube, a liquid adsorbent material which provides for evaporative cooling of the liquid and thus cooling of the head of the wearer. The adsorbent material can be easily re-saturated with liquid by simply immersing the whole invention under the liquid or under a flow of the liquid. The device is easy to manufacture and simple to maintain.
Still more, U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,910, issued to Creagan, et al., discloses a durable, single or multi-use cooling garment is provided having a multilayer structure. The cooling garment includes an inner layer of a thermoplastic polymer material that is liquid impermeable and vapor permeable, an outer liquid permeable reinforcing layer such as a web of thermoplastic polymer fibers, and a central absorbent layer that contains a stabilized matrix of about 55% to 95% cellulosic fibers and from about 5% to 45% thermoplastic polymer fibers. The layers are bonded together and the absorbent layer is bonded to at least one of the other layers by regionally applying sufficient energy to the layers wherein the thermoplastic polymers melt and resolidify to form inter-fiber bonds. The cooling garment can be saturated with water or other liquids and provide the wearer with relief from the heat such as may be achieved by evaporative cooling.
Further, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0226077 by Toth discloses systems and methods for providing an article associated with headgear that keeps the wearer's head both cool and cushioned from the interior harness of the headgear. The article is a system, liner or pad that is inserted into the headgear or coupled to the headgear harness for cooling and comfort, and includes a water absorbent polymer or other material contained within non-impervious pocket partitions attached to a concave disk of mesh fabric. The mesh fabric provides ventilation portions, which allow for the free flow of air and breathing of the wearer's scalp to facilitate the natural evaporation of perspiration. The article provides a cushion to the wearer's scalp from the abrasive effect of the webbing of the headgear harness. As the pocket partitions swell due to absorption of water by the polymer material, the pockets function as gel-like cushions or pads that protect the wearer's scalp. The article is held in place with small straps, Velcro tabs, or other retention devices.
Still further, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0076533 to Caceres et al. discloses a cooling article comprising a polymer absorbent enclosed within a bag delimited by a collapsible envelope having non-watertight walls, wherein said polymer absorbent is under the form of particles each of which comprises a core of less cross-linked polymer sequences more active in retaining absorbed water and a shell of more cross-linked polymer sequences apt to retard diffusion of water from a particle to another during desorption of absorbed water.
Problems with prior art cooling devices include, but are not limited to, a slimy feel, too rapid heat transfer, pooling of liquid absorbent particles, inconsistencies between function and/or configuration of the product between successive hydration/dehydration cycles, improper fitting to body parts, toxic and/or hazardous components, non-biodegradable components, expensive components, difficult to retain on the body, difficult to manufacture, lacking a support mechanism to retain the device on a body, and only single functional use.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a body cooling device that solves one or more of the problems herein described or that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art after becoming familiar with this specification.
The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available body cooling devices. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide a body cooling device.
There is an embodiment of a cooling device for cooling a portion of a body, comprising: an elongated bias member chamber; a bias member that may be disposed in the elongated bias member chamber, having: a first end; a second end that may be opposite the first end; a first side that may extend from the first end to the second end; and a second side that may be opposite the first side and/or may extend from the first end to the second end; a first elongated container that may be disposed along the first side of the elongated bias member chamber; a second elongated container that may be disposed along the second side of the elongated bias member chamber opposite the first elongated container; and/or a plurality of liquid absorbent particles that may be disposed within the first elongated container and the second elongated container.
In one embodiment of the present inventive cooling device, the first elongated container and the second elongated container may each comprise a first elongated chamber that may be disposed along the elongated bias member chamber and/or a second elongated chamber that may be disposed along the first elongated chamber opposite the elongated bias member chamber. In addition, the first elongated container and/or the second elongated container may be liquid permeable. Moreover, it may be that the first elongated container and the second elongated container further comprise a first compartment disposed near the first end, and a second compartment disposed near the second end.
In another embodiment of the present inventive cooling device, it may be that the first elongated chambers and/or the second elongated chambers may be in fluid communication with each of the first compartment and/or the second compartment, respectively, wherein each of the first compartment and/or the second compartment may be configured to redistribute the plurality of liquid absorbent particles in the first elongated container and/or the second elongated container.
In yet another embodiment of the present inventive cooling device, the first elongated container and/or the second elongated container may have a volume less than about twelve times the volume of the associated fully hydrated liquid absorbent particles. Further, the fully hydrated liquid absorbent particles may comprise a thermal conductivity constant when hydrated and/or chilled to near freezing of less than about one third of that of ice.
In still yet another embodiment of the present inventive cooling device, it may be that the first elongated chambers may have a volume between about 0.7 times to about 0.95 times the total volume of the plurality of fully hydrated liquid absorbent particles. It may also be that the first elongated chambers and/or the second elongated chambers may comprise a capacity no greater than about 27 cubic centimeters and/or a longest dimension no greater than about 9 centimeters.
In still yet a further embodiment of the present inventive cooling device, the bias member may be a single continuous flexible band and/or substantially curved.
In still yet even a further embodiment of the present inventive cooling device, the first elongated chambers and/or the second elongated chambers may be substantially parallel to each other. Also, it may that the first compartments and/or the second compartments may be substantially triangular.
In other embodiments of the present invention, the cooling device may include a planar cooling member, having: an elongated bias member chamber; a curved bias member that may be disposed in the elongated bias member chamber, wherein the bias member may include: a C-shaped portion; a first end portion that may be coupled to a first end of the C-shaped portion, and/or may extend outwardly therefrom in a substantially orthogonal orientation; and/or a second end portion that may be coupled to a second end of the C-shaped portion opposite the first end portion, and/or may extend outwardly therefrom in a substantially orthogonal orientation.
In even more embodiments of the present invention, the planar member may further include: a first elongated liquid permeable container that may be disposed along the first side of the elongated bias member chamber; and/or a second liquid permeable elongated container that may be disposed along the second side of the elongated bias member chamber opposite the first elongated container.
Further, it may be that the plurality of liquid absorbent particles may be disposed within the first elongated container and/or the second elongated container, and/or may be configured to expand into a gel and/or occupy a volume of the first elongated water permeable container and/or second elongated water permeable container when the cooling member is immersed into a pool of liquid.
Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.
These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In order for the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings, in which:
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
The drawing figures illustrate an embodiment of a cooling device 100 for cooling a portion of a user's body 110. Specifically,
Various embodiments of the bias member 120 may be configured to permit coupling of the body cooling device 100 about a portion of a user's body 110, such as a neck shown in
As shown in
According to one embodiment,
In one embodiment of the invention, the planar cooling member 250, planar cooling surfaces 290, 30, containers 180, 190, chambers 210, 220, and compartments 230, 240 will preferably include super absorbent polymer (SAP) materials. There exist a variety of SAP materials in the commercial marketplace. For example, SAP particles are often used in baby diapers (and other personal sanitation products) to rapidly absorb liquids. While the SAP materials used in baby diapers typically rapidly absorb liquids, there are substantial problems when using such SAP materials for body cooling devices. In particular, baby diaper SAP materials have a slimy feel, may bleed through fabric, and typically have a high rate of heat transfer. A high rate of heat transfer may be undesirable wherein a body cooling device may be chilled to near freezing and applied directly to the skin of a user. In such a case, a body cooling device 100 using baby diaper SAP material may cause discomfort and/or injury by too rapidly cooling the body 110 to too low of a temperature. Further, a body cooling device using baby diaper SAP material may too quickly transfer heat and thereby not provide a consistent cooling effect because such a body cooling device may quickly approach room/body temperature.
In one embodiment, the body cooling device 100 will preferably use a SAP material that transfers heat at a sufficiently low rate to permit direct or near direct application of the materials to a portion of a user's body 110 without endangering the body, even when the SAP material is chilled to a temperature near freezing. One particular SAP material shown to have properties superior to those of the baby diaper SAP materials is Cationic Polyacrylamide, or superabsorbent polyacrylatelamide, such as those sold under the trade name Aquarocks and supplied by W.A. Industries, Inc. having a place of business at 700 W. Van Buren St. Suite 1405 in Chicago Ill. Superabsorbent polyacrylatelamide is biodegradable, breaking down into water, carbon-dioxide, and nitrogen after approximately 7-9 years. Further, superabsorbent polyacrylatelamide is non-hazardous substance and is not a significant ecological threat.
In other embodiments of the invention, there may be offset quilting coupled to the planar cooling member 250. There may be a fibrous material disposed between one or more pairs of planar cooling surfaces 290, 300. The fibrous material may provide an anchoring layer for coupling such as but not limited to stitching. The fibrous material may also tend to hold water absorbent materials in a matrix, thereby resisting pooling. There may be one or more coupling lines 310 coupling the first planar cooling surface 290 to a fibrous material and one or more coupling lines 310 coupling the second planar cooling surface 300 to the fibrous material. Such coupling lines 310 may be located and configured to fix a location of the fibrous material with respect to the surfaces 290, 300 without ever fully pinching the surfaces 290, 300 together.
According to another embodiment of the device 100, the chambers 210, 220 are coupled to, and in fluid communication with each of the compartments 230, 240, respectively, wherein each of the compartments are configured for a user to press any portion of the planar cooling surfaces 290, 300 and manually redistribute the plurality of liquid absorbent particles 200 to and from the compartment and containers as indicated by directional arrow 196, thereby facilitating substantially equal distribution of the particles 200 in the chambers 210, 220, as shown in
Moreover, in the another embodiment of the cooling device 110, each of the containers 180, 190 may have a volume less than about twelve times the volume of the associated fully hydrated liquid absorbent particles 204. Further, the fully hydrated liquid absorbent particles 204 comprise a thermal conductivity constant when hydrated and chilled to near freezing of less than about one third of that of ice, thereby preventing the cooling device 100 from cooling too rapidly and causing thermal shock and potential injury to a user's body 110.
Even further, another embodiment of the containers 180, 190 have a volume between about 0.7 times to about 0.95 times the total volume of the plurality of fully hydrated liquid absorbent particles 204, and comprise a capacity no greater than about 27 cubic centimeters and a longest dimension no greater than about 9 centimeters.
In another embodiment, it may be that the chambers 210, 220 have a volume between about 0.5 or about 0.7 times to about 0.8 or to about 0.95 times the total volume of the plurality of fully hydrated liquid absorbent particles 204. Advantageously, such relative volumes prevent pooling of particles that may otherwise occur with larger volumes, thereby facilitating a better distribution of heat exchange capacity while still enabling substantial absorption. It may be that each chambers volume is less than about ten times the volume of each associated fully hydrated liquid absorbent particle 204. Also, it may be that the liquid absorbent particles 200 comprise a cationic super absorbent polymer.
Further, it may be that the liquid absorbent particles 200 comprises a thermal conductivity constant when hydrated less than about two-thirds or less than about half or less than about one quarter of that of water of the same temperature. There may be liquid absorbent particles 200 that may comprise a thermal conductivity constant when hydrated and chilled to near freezing of less than about one half, less than about one third, or less than about one quarter of that of ice. Advantageously, such prevents cold “burns” associated with direct application of ice to a human body. Further, such provides a more comfortable transfer of heat between a human body and a device. More, it may be that the liquid absorbent particles 200 comprise a thermal conductivity constant sufficiently small to prevent injurious freezing when hydrated, chilled to near freezing, and applied for any length of time to a body of a person.
In still another embodiments of the present invention shown in
In operation of the illustrated embodiment, whenever the a user immerse the device 100 into a body of liquid, such as water, the plurality of liquid absorbent particles 200 have chemical properties such that they are configured to absorb a liquid and become hydrated. Consequently, the non-hydrated particles 202 shown in
In operation of one embodiment of the invention, the body cooling device 100 may be submerged in a cool aqueous liquid, such as water, for a time sufficient to hydrate the liquid absorbent planar cooling surfaces 290, 300 to a desired degree. Then the body cooling device 100 may be placed about a portion of a user's body 110, such as the neck shown in
In order to demonstrate the practice of the present invention, the following example has been prepared. The example should not, however, be viewed as limiting the scope of the invention. The claims will serve to define the invention.
An Example According to One Embodiment of the Invention
A body cooling device including a plurality of chambers having super-absorbent polyacrylatelamide particles therein was hydrated in plain tap water for approximately 20 minutes. Then ice was added to the water and measured a temperature of 42 degrees Fahrenheit (F). The body cooling device was soaked in the ice water for 10 minutes. When removed from the ice water the temperature of the cooler measured 48 degrees F. The body cooling device was applied to a thigh of a person and measured the temperature between the skin and the body cooling device to be 68 degrees F. After 15 minutes, the temperature went up to 78 degrees F. In 40 minutes, the temperature did not rise over 80 degrees. The ambient room temperature was 78 degrees F. After 1 hour in moving air, the temperature remained at 78 to 80 degrees F.
Although elongated rectangular chambers 130, 210, 220 and triangular compartments 230, 240 are shown in the figures, it is envisioned that any shape of chamber may thereby be constructed, including but not limited to circles, squares, ellipses, irregular shapes, character shapes, letters, and trademarks. Also, although the chambers 130, 210, 220 and compartments 230, 240 shown are generally identical, there may be a plurality of shapes and/or sizes of chambers 130, 210, 220 and compartments 230, 240 included in a single body cooling device 100.
Additionally, although the figures illustrate the bias member 120 being shaped to define a C-shaped and omega shaped devices 100, respectively, one skilled in the art may appreciate that the bias member 120 may be shaped differently to define devices 100 having a multitude of shapes, according to various embodiments of the invention. For example, the device 100 may be rectangular, triangular, L-shaped, J-shaped, U-shaped, etc. and still may be coupled to, and cool a portion of a user's body 110 as desired.
It is also envisioned that the planar surfaces 290, 300 may be coupled together to define the device 100 by means other than stitching, according to alternative embodiments of the present invention. For example the planar surfaces 290, 300 may be coupled together via gluing, welding, pinching, clasping, and any other methods known in the art.
It is expected that there could be numerous variations of the design of this invention. An example is that the bias member 120; containers 180, 190; chambers 130, 210, 220; particles 200; compartments 230, 240; planar cooling member 250; C-shaped portion 260; end portions 270, 280; planar surfaces 290; 300; and/or coupling lines 310 may vary in length, width, size, design, shape, thickness, volume, area, brand, etc., according to various embodiments of the invention.
Finally, it is envisioned that the components of the device may be constructed of a variety of materials. For example, the bias member may be plastic, composite material, polymer, metal alloys, and other materials having sufficient elasticity so as to the bias member 120 may pulled, compressed, twisted, etc. and thereafter return to its original curved shape. The planar members 290, 300 may be fabric, vinyl, nylon, and other liquid absorbent materials. Further, the liquid absorbent particles 200 may comprise various forms of polymer or combinations thereof.
It is understood that the above-described preferred embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. For example, but not by way of limitation, wherein a body cooling device is incorporated into an article of clothing, such is within the scope of the claims.
Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.
