Patent Application
20200093385
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure and prior art relates to heated cuff assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new heated cuff assembly for warming a blood pressure cuff.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising an electronic blood pressure monitor that has a plurality of controls and a display. A blood pressure cuff is provided and is in fluid communication with the electronic blood pressure monitor for checking blood pressure in a patient. A heating unit is coupled to the blood pressure cuff and the heating unit is in thermal communication with the blood pressure cuff. The heating unit warms the blood pressure cuff when the heating unit is turned on thereby inhibiting a physiological response to cold in the patient when the blood pressure cuff is applied.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A heating unit 26 is provided and the heating unit 26 is coupled to the blood pressure cuff 18. The heating unit 26 is in thermal communication with the blood pressure cuff 18 such that the heating unit 26 warms the blood pressure cuff 18 when the heating unit 26 is turned on. Thus, the heating unit 26 inhibits a physiological response to cold in the patient when the blood pressure cuff 18 is applied. In this way the heating unit 26 ensures a more accurate blood pressure reading by avoiding increased heart rate, drop in blood pressure and other physiological responses to a cold touch.
The heating unit 26 comprises a heating element 28 that is positioned within the blood pressure cuff 18 and the heating element 28 is in thermal communication with the blood pressure cuff 18. The heating element 28 may be arranged to form a plurality of coils 30 within the blood pressure cuff 18. Additionally, the heating element 28 may be an electric heating element 28 with an operational temperature ranging between approximately 80.0 degrees Fahrenheit and 90.0 degrees Fahrenheit.
A tube 32 is coupled to the outer surface 24 of the hose 22 and the tube 32 is coextensive with the hose 22. A conductor 34 is positioned within the tube 32 and the conductor 34 is electrically coupled between the heating element 28 and the electronic blood pressure monitor 12. Thus, the heating element 28 is in electrical communication with the controls 14 on the electronic blood pressure monitor 12 for controlling operational parameters of the heating element 28. The controls 14 on the electronic blood pressure monitor 12 may include a power button for the heating element 28, a temperature increase button and a temperature decrease button, and the power button may have “comfy cuff” printed thereon.
In use, the heating element 28 is turned on prior to applying the blood pressure cuff 18 to the patient. Thus, the heating element 28 warms the blood pressure cuff 18 to a temperature that is near the body temperature of the patient. In this way the patient does not display any of the physiological responses to a cold touch, thereby enhancing accuracy of the blood pressure reading. Additionally, the heating element 28 serves to enhance comfort for the patient while the blood pressure is being checked.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
