Patent Application
20230254948
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present disclosure is directed, in some embodiments, to self-contained or externally powered induction heat systems tailored to outerwear, e.g., gloves, that can be carried by or attached to the user.
Traditionally, in connection with ski gloves, solutions for adding heat for increased long term comfort focus on systems integrated into the ski gloves. These systems are built in or affixed into outerwear and are complicated and expensive. These systems typically use electrical resistance principles to circulate heat within the gloves through an array of wires or other methods built into the design. The power source is either a battery or other rechargeable material.
Shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the provision of a method, which includes for example, obtaining a wearable covering comprising conductive material, inserting the wearable covering into a passageway in an energizable coil, warming the wearable covering in response to induction heating of the wearable covering in the passageway in the energizable coil, and removing the wearable covering from the passageway in the energizable coil.
In some embodiments, the method may include the wearable covering disposable around a first side portion of a wearer with the conductive material disposed on a first side of the wearable covering and over first side portion of the wearer, and the conductive material disposed on an opposite second side of the wearable covering and over a second side portion of the wearer, and the warming comprises simultaneously warming the first side of the wearable covering and the opposite second side of the wearable covering in response to induction heating of the wearable covering in the passageway in the energizable coil.
In another embodiment, a system includes, for example, an induction heating station having a housing having at least one opening having a passageway therethrough aligned with a passageway in an energizable coil, and a wearable covering sized and configured to extend around a portion of a wearer and fit within the at least one opening in the housing, the wearable covering comprising conductive material disposed on a first side of the wearer and conductive material disposed on an opposite second side of the wearer. The wearable covering is positionable in the at least one opening in the housing to simultaneously warm the first side of the wearer and the opposite second side of the wearer based on induction heating of the wearable covering in the passageway in the energizable coil.
In another embodiment, an article of clothing operable for induction heating includes, for example, a wearable covering positionable on a wearer, the wearable covering having conductive material extendable on at least a first side portion of the wearer and conductive material disposed on a second opposite side portion of the wearer with the portion of the wearer disposed therebetween, and the wearable covering being operable to simultaneously warm the first side portion of the wearer and the opposite second side of the wearer upon positioning the wearable covering in a passageway in an energizable coil.
In the various embodiments, the wearable covering may be gloves, mittens, shoes, boots, and other wearable coverings.
The subject matter which is regarded as the disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The disclosure, however, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of various embodiments and the accompanying drawings in which:
In some embodiments, the present disclosure is directed to self-contained or externally powered induction heating systems and methods tailored to outerwear, for example, gloves that can be carried by or attached to a user. The present disclosure uses induction heating principles to create an electromagnetic field or forces which, in turn, cause warming of conductive material within or attached to the outerwear inserted into the electromagnetic field. The system may use less energy than conventional systems that are currently available on the market.
The present disclosure may allow for gloves that includes a conductive material to benefit from the principles of the present disclosure without the necessity of integrated wires or power sources within the glove. Industry trends in fabric and textile design include thermal reflective technologies that use metals in their design. Apparel or garments that includes metallic and/or conductive materials that can be operably inserted or connected to induction heating systems may benefit from the induction heating principles to create warmth.
The present disclosure may include induction heating systems having points of connection to external coils that will in turn create an electromagnetic field and warming effect. An example may be ski boots that have coils or connection points built into their design that will be energized when connected in connection with the techniques of the present disclosure.
As will be appreciated, the present disclosure may provide a user with the ability to insert physical appendages or extremities that are covered by induction capable materials that partially or fully wrap around in the form of gloves, socks, liners or other items or shapes to increase the temperature environment within the garment to allow the user to prevent numbness, frostbite or general loss of dexterity. The user may freely choose various parts of the body to receive the benefits of the induction heated field and limit the effect to areas not in need of its benefits thereby assuring the expended energy or battery life is used in its most efficient manner. The present disclosure employing the nature of induction heat, may instantly create the ability for the user to benefit from its heating abilities once turned on reducing the warm up time compared to conventional resistance heating elements such as in heating pads in which the resistance elements are directly connected to a power supply.
As shown in
For example, passageway 200 may extend from front side 150 to rear side 160 (
Induction heating station 20 may include housing 100 having at least one passageway and at least one induction coil or energizable coil, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this illustrated embodiment, induction heating station 20 includes pair of passageways 200 and 250, and a pair of induction coils or energizable coils. For example, induction heating station 20 may include a pair of induction coils or energizable coils, one of which, e.g., energizable coil 300, being shown in
With reference again to
As diagrammatically shown in
In other embodiments, for example, as shown in
With reference again to
For example, as shown in
The wearable covering or right hand glove 40 may include conductive material or metal 44 in or on the one or more layers or webs of material or fabric 42. The conductive material or metal 46 may be dispersed throughout the wearable covering or glove 40 or disposed in spaced apart conductive or metal wires. For example, as shown in
With reference again to
For example, a wearer may hold induction heating station 20 with the right hand, and insert the left hand wearing the left hand glove into the left side of induction heating station 20. Once the right hand and/or right hand glove are warmed, the wearer can removed the right hand and glove from the induction heating station 20, and hold induction heating station 20 with the left hand and insert the right hand and right hand glove into the right side of induction heating station 20. In other embodiments, the right hand glove 40 may be inserted in a first direction (for example, in the direction of arrow X as shown in
When energized, the coils around the openings in the housing create an electromagnetic field or forces. Induction heating is a non-contact heating process which utilizes the principle of electromagnetic induction to produce heat inside a metal or electrically conductive material. By placing a conductive material into an alternating magnetic field, electrical current can be made to flow in the material thereby creating heat due to the I2R losses in the conductive material. In magnetic materials, further heat is generated below the Curie point due to hysteresis losses. For example, as shown in
In other embodiments, an electromagnetic or induction heating station may be integrated into a piece of outerwear or accessory, e.g., coat, jacket, handbag, pocketbook, purse, pants, etc.
In some embodiments, the induction heating station may be portable and carried by a wearer for use by the wearer and others. In other embodiments, one or more induction heating stations may be disposed in fixed locations, such as locations on a ski resort and may include chair lifts, cable cars, ski slopes, ski lodges, and other locations. As will be appreciated by the present disclosure, in some embodiments, the wearable coverings or garments do not require electrical infrastructure built into the wearable coverings or garments. The technique of the present disclosure may provide a field that the user can either place the conductive materials (garments) against or within the electromagnetic field to enact the induction heating process. For example, the wearable coverings having conductive material disposed on opposite sides or surfaces of the wearer that may be placed in a passageway in the inductive coil or placed adjacent to a passageway in the inductive coil to heat opposite sides of the wearable covering and opposite sides or surfaces of, e.g., an extremity of the wearer.
In other embodiments, the wearable induction heating technology of the present disclosure may be utilized in connection with fabrics for military and outdoor sports applications. The technique of the present disclosure may be advantageous and beneficial to the outerwear of hunters, soldiers, athletes, and others that spend time outdoors in cold weather theaters or environments.
In the various embodiments, the induction heating may provide a fast and highly efficient means of heating various types of wearable covering having electrically conductive metals and conductive materials, which metals and conductive materials may include, alone or in combination, copper and copper alloys, brass, aluminum, iron, steel and stainless steel, tungsten, chrome, nickel and nickel alloys, cobalt, carbon fiber, graphite, silicon, platinum, silver, gold, other metals and semiconductors, and any other materials that may be heated by induction heating. The metals and conductive materials may be disposed in the wearable covering in layers, dispersed throughout a layer, woven or spaced apart wires, applied via a dot matrix process. In some embodiments, the metallic or conductive material may be disposed along the inside of the wearable covering and may also be operable to reflect body heat back to the extremity of the wearer.
The structure and configuration of the components of the induction heating stations, e.g., material or materials, number and diameter of the wires forming the induction coils, voltage and amperage of the supplied electrical power, and the wearable coverings, e.g., thickness and amount of the conductive materials, may be optimized. For example, the structure and configuration of the components of the induction heating stations and wearable coverings may be selected to optimize or reduce the requirement for a power supply such as a battery. The size and configuration of the induction heating stations and wearable coverings may also take into account the heating depth required. The induction heating stations may be powered by a power source or battery operable at 1.5 volts, 3 volts, 4.5 volts, 5 volts, 6 volts, 9 volts, 12 volts, 60 volts, 120 volts, between 1 volt and 12 volts, between 1 volt and 6 volts, between 1 volt and 3 volts, or other suitable voltage. The induction heating stations may include an operable inverter to convert (DC) voltage to (AC) voltage. For example, an inverter is an electronic device that changes direct current to alternating current. The inverter takes energy stored in a DC battery or other energy source, and may use pulse-width modulation (PWM) to generate AC output voltage and current. In other embodiment, a zero voltage switching (ZVS) driver may be employed.
The coils in the induction heating stations may include a single winding or loop, 2 windings, 3 windings, 4 windings, 5 windings, 6 windings, 7 windings, 8 windings, 9 windings, 10 windings, 20 windings, 30 windings, 50 windings, 100 windings, between 1 and 5 windings, between 3 and 7 windings, between 1 and 10 windings, less than 10 windings, less than 20 windings, greater than 10 windings, greater than 20 windings, or other suitable number of windings. In the various embodiments, the induction heating stations may have two separate spaced apart coils or more that may be serially connected or connected in parallel. The coils may have an oval, oblong, or rectangular shape, or other suitable shapes operable to create an induction heated field.
The induction heating stations may by the nature of induction heat, turn off instantly and doesn't remain hot beyond what the user needs or desires. For example, induction heating stations may have an on/off switch for turning on and off, and may include an automatic shutoff or safety feature that turns off after a predetermined time, for example, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 5 second, 10 second, 15 seconds, 20 second, 30 seconds, between 2 seconds and 1 minute, between 5 seconds and 30 sections, between 5 seconds and 15 seconds, less than 15 seconds, less than 10 seconds, less than 5 seconds, or other suitable predetermined time period.
In some embodiments, the induction heating stations may include a built-in rechargeable battery that provides for a plurality of heating cycles per charge. For example, the induction heating stations may include a battery or rechargeable battery rated at 200 mAh (milliamp Hour), 400 mAh, 600 mAh, 800 mAh, 1000 mAh, 1200 mAh, 1400 mAh, 1600 mAh, 1800 mAh, 2000 mAh, 2500 mAh, 3000 mAh, 4000 mAh, 5000 mAh, between 200 and 500 mAh, between 500 and 1000 mAh, between 500 and 2000 mAh, less than 5000 mAh, less than 1500 mAh, or other suitable energy capacity battery or rechargeable battery. In some embodiments, two or more such batteries or rechargeable battery may be employed.
Induction heating may be less consuming of energy and has the ability to turn on/off in an instant and provided a benefit over resistance heating that requires more energy and a matrix of wires built into the wearable covering or garment to provide warmth.
While in some embodiments the wearable covering is shown as gloves having individual fingers, the technique of the present disclosure may be incorporated into wearable covering such as mittens that do not have separate individual fingers.
The induction heating technique of the present disclosure may be incorporated in any wearable coverings and may include shirts, vests, jackets, coats, parkers, tee shirts, underwear, pants, headgear, hats, helmets, ear muffs, scarfs, footgear, boots, shoes, sneakers, work boots, or other items worn by a user.
In other embodiments, the induction heating technique of the present disclosure may be incorporated similar to heat packs for use as, for example, hand or foot warmers that may be held directly in the palm of the hand by user or held by a glove or mitten worn by a user. The hand warmer may have a rectangular or oval planar configuration and include a thermal absorbing and retaining material and a conductive material. The conductive material may be electromagnetically heated when disposed outside or away from a passageway an energized coil, or when disposed in a passageway in an energized coil, to heat the thermal absorbing and retaining material. The thermal absorbing and retaining material may have a high specific heat capacity, which then gradually releases the heat over time. The thermal absorbing and retaining material may be a suitable liquid, solid, beads, or other material or combination of materials.
As may be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the teachings herein, numerous changes and modifications may be made to the above-described and other embodiments of the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The components of the wearable coverings and induction heating station as disclosed in the specification, including the accompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternative component(s) or feature(s), such as those disclosed in another embodiment, which serve the same, equivalent or similar purpose as known by those skilled in the art to achieve the same, equivalent or similar results by such alternative component(s) or feature(s) to provide a similar function for the intended purpose. In addition, the home plate foundation forms may include more or fewer components or features than the embodiments as described and illustrated herein. Accordingly, this detailed description of the currently-preferred embodiments is to be taken in an illustrative, as opposed to limiting of the disclosure.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has”, and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”), and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a method or device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” one or more steps or elements possesses those one or more steps or elements, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more steps or elements. Likewise, a step of a method or an element of a device that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” one or more features possesses those one or more features, but is not limited to possessing only those one or more features. Furthermore, a device or structure that is configured in a certain way is configured in at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.
The disclosure has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. It will be understood that the embodiments described herein are exemplary of a plurality of possible arrangements to provide the same general features, characteristics, and general system operation. Modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the disclosure be construed as including all such modifications and alterations.
This application claims priority benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/307,019, filed Feb. 5, 2022, entitled “Extremity Outerwear Induction Heating System,” which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63307019 | Feb 2022 | US |
