This invention relates generally to heating and cooling systems, and more particularly to a heating and cooling garment system
Traditionally, a user has utilized a heating pack (or device) to heat a portion of their body (e.g., apply heat to muscles in the user's back), and then the user has used a different cooling pack (or device) to cool the same portion of their body (e.g., apply cold to muscles in the user's back). These traditional systems, however, may be deficient.
In one example, a heating and cooling garment system includes a garment, and a plurality of heating and cooling zones positioned within a portion of the garment. Each heating and cooling zone is configured to independently heat or cool based on heating and/or cooling instructions received from a mobile application executed on a wireless device.
In another example, a method includes receiving heating and/or cooling instructions from a mobile application executed on a wireless device. The method further includes independently heating or cooling each of a plurality of heating and cooling zones positioned within a portion of a garment, based on the heating and/or cooling instructions.
In a further example, a heating and cooling sleeve includes a sleeve configured to be in contact with a user's skin, a plurality of a plurality of heating and cooling zones positioned in series within the sleeve, and one or more processors positioned within the sleeve. Each heating and cooling zone includes a Peltier heating and cooling device, and a propagation strip thermally coupled to a first side of the Peltier heating and cooling device. The processors are operable, upon execution, to receive heating and/or cooling instructions from a wireless device. The heating and/or cooling instructions include an instruction to heat or cool a first heating and cooling zone of the plurality of heating and cooling zones to a first temperature and further include an instruction to heat or cool a second heating and cooling zone of the plurality of heating and cooling zones to a second different temperature. The first heating and cooling zone is configured to independently heat or cool to the first temperature based on the heating and/or cooling instructions received from the wireless device. The second heating and cooling zone is configured to independently heat or cool to the second different temperature based on the heating and/or cooling instructions received from the wireless device.
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Embodiments of the present disclosure are best understood by referring to
In the example illustrated in
In the illustrated example, the heating and cooling system 14 (and/or the garment 12) includes a network interface 18, a processor 22, and a memory unit 26. Network interface 18 is operable to receive information from a network 30, transmit information through network 30, perform processing of information, communicate to other devices, or any combination of the preceding. Network interface 18 represents any port or connection, real or virtual, including any suitable hardware and/or software, including protocol conversion and data processing capabilities, to communicate through a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), or other communication system that allows garment 12 to exchange information with network 30, wireless device 34, or other components of system 10.
Processor 22 communicatively couples to network interface 18 and memory unit 26, and controls the operation and administration of heating and cooling system 14 by processing information received from network interface 18 and memory unit 26. Processor 22 includes any hardware and/or software that operates to control and process information. For example, processor 22 may execute instructions in order to cause heating and cooling system 14 to heat and/or cool a portion of the garment 12. As another example, processor 22 may execute instructions in order to communicate with a wireless device 34, so as to receive heating/cooling instructions from the wireless device 34 and/or to provide data (e.g., biometric data) to the wireless device 34. Processor 22 may be a programmable logic device, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, any suitable processing device, or any combination of the preceding.
Memory unit 26 stores, either permanently or temporarily, data, operational software, or other information for processor 22. Memory unit 26 includes any one or a combination of volatile or non-volatile local or remote devices suitable for storing information. For example, memory unit 26 may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), magnetic storage devices, optical storage devices, any other suitable information storage device, or any combination of the preceding. Memory unit 26 may include any suitable information for use in the operation of garment 12 and the heating and cooling system 14. Furthermore, memory unit 26 may include heating/cooling instructions received from the wireless device 34 (e.g., a schedule for heating and cooling), and may further include biometric data sensed by the garment 12 (as is discussed below).
In the illustrated example, the heating and cooling garment system 10 also includes the network 30. Network 30 represents any suitable network operable to facilitate communication between the components of system 10, such as garment 12 and wireless device 34. Network 30 may include any interconnecting system capable of transmitting audio, video, signals, data, messages, or any combination of the preceding. Network 30 may include all or a portion of a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public or private data network, a LAN, a MAN, a WAN, a WPAN, a local, regional, or global communication or computer network, such as the Internet, a wireline or wireless network, an enterprise intranet, or any other suitable communication link, including combinations thereof, operable to facilitate communication between the components, but not limited to include data transfer to remote services (e.g., cloud data storage). Preferable examples of network 30 may include a WPAN (which may include, for example, BLUETOOTH, BLUETOOTH low power, BLUETOOTH 5, ANT+, ZIGBEE (IEEE 802.15.4), other IEEE 802.15 protocols, IEEE 802.11 A, B or G without limitation, and WI-FI (IEEE 802.11)), a cellular communication network, an infrared communication network, any other wireless network operable to facilitate communication between the components, or any combination of the preceding.
In the example illustrated in
The wireless device 34 may allow the user to display and control the heating and/or cooling of the garment 12. For example, the user may utilize a mobile device application (e.g., a mobile “app”), a web application, or other software on the wireless device 34 in order to communicate with the garment 12. In doing so, the user may send heating/cooling instructions to the garment 12, which may control the heating and/or cooling of the garment 12. For example, the user may send an instruction to heat the garment 12 to a particular temperature (e.g., 120° F.). In response to the instruction, the heating and cooling system 14 may heat all or a portion of the garment 12 to 120° F. As another example, the user may send an instruction to cool the garment 12 to a particular temperature (e.g., 32° F.). In response to the instruction, the heating and cooling system 14 may cool all or a portion of the garment 12 to 32° F.
The heating and cooling garment system 10 allows the user to switch (e.g., rapidly switch) between applying heat and applying cold to a person's body via the garment 12, without requiring the person to remove the garment 12, in some examples. Contrary to this, traditional systems may have required the person to switch systems in order to heat and then cool (e.g., use a heat pack first, then switch to a cold pack). Furthermore, the heating and cooling garment system 10 also allows the user to apply heat and apply cold to a person's body at a particular temperature (e.g., 120° F., 32° F., etc.), in some examples. Thus, it may allow for specific temperature control of a wearable device. Furthermore, it may allow a user to increase and/or decrease the output temperature of the heating and cooling garment system 10, so as to apply hot or cold to a user's body (e.g., to a user's limb).
This may allow a physical therapist to prescribe heat and cold treatment for an elbow, and the heating and cooling garment system 10 may provide this modality from the same garment 12 without the garment 12 being removed or components being changed, in some examples. The heating and cooling garment system 10 can also be worn for long periods of time without losing its effectiveness, in some examples, because the heating and cooling system 14 may utilize an electrical effect (as opposed to mechanical freezing or heating). In some examples, the heating and cooling garment system 10 may also allow for the monitoring of vital signs relative to the thermal changes against the body (e.g., biometric data), as is discussed further below. Those metrics can be transmitted to the wireless device 34 for a full view of device internal temp against the skin, skin temp, operating time, and the physiological changes associated with the modality.
The heating and cooling garment system 10 is, in some examples, a portable heating/cooling system. For example, the components used to heat and/or cool the garment 12 (e.g., the heating and cooling system 14) and the components used to communicate with the wireless device 34 (e.g., the processor 22) may be self-contained within (i.e., on or in) the garment 12. This may allow the heating and cooling garment system 10 to be lightweight, fully mobile, and tubeless (e.g., it does not require water or a circulation pump, as in traditional cooling systems). Thus, a user can wear (and utilize) the heating and cooling garment system 10 at any time, such as when the user is walking around, exercising, doing any other activity, or any combination of the preceding. In some examples, this may provide advantages over traditional systems, which may require bulky, standalone cooling units attached to the body via flexible tubes which circulate water to and from the cooling device. This traditional system, due to the inconvenience and bulk of the external tubing and detached pump/temp control unit, is not mobile. Instead, it requires a user to sit in one place and avoid snagging or tripping over the tubing while the traditional system is being used.
The heating and cooling garment system 10 may include any number of heating and cooling zones 38. Also, the heating and cooling zones 38 may have any dimensions. For example, a heating and cooling zone 38 may entirely encircle a portion of the garment 12, as is illustrated in
The insulation layer 46 may be the outermost layer of the heating and cooling garment system 10. As such, it may face outward (e.g., away from the user's skin) when the heating and cooling garment system 10 is being worn by the user. The insulation layer 46 may protect the components of the heating and cooling garment system 10. The insulation layer 46 may be pliable. One example of the insulation layer 46 is discussed below with regard to
The heating/cooling layer 46 may provide the heating and/or cooling in the heating and cooling garment system 10. As is illustrated in
The Peltier device 58 represents a device that may utilize electrical current to generate heat and/or cold based on the Peltier effect. Examples of the Peltier device 58 may include a Peltier heat pump, solid state refrigerator, thermoelectric cooler (TEC), or a Peltier device. In some examples, the Peltier device 58 may transfer heat from one side of the device to the other, with consumption of electrical energy, depending on the direction of the current. In such an example, applying current in one direction may cause a first side of the Peltier device 58 to generate heat (while the second side generates cold). Applying current in the opposite direction may cause the first side of the Peltier device 58 to generate cold (while the second side generates heat).
Propagation strip 62 represents a thermally conductive strip (or other thermal coupler) that may receive heat and/or cold from the first side of the Peltier device 58, and that may conduct that heat and/or cold along the dimensions of the propagation strip 62. The propagation strip 62 may be thermally coupled to the first side of the Peltier device 58, allowing it to receive the heat and/or cold generated by the first side of the Peltier device 58. The propagation strip 62 may have any size and/or shape. This size and/or shape may define the size and/or shape of the heating and cooling zone 38. The propagation strip 62 may be made of any thermally conductive material. For example, the propagation strip 62 may be made of a thin flexible metal.
The monitoring layer 50 (as shown in
As an example, the monitoring system may include detection units and conductive elastomer panel strips. The panels strips may make up a framework splayed across the garment 12 in diagonal patterns (as is illustrated in
Another example of the monitoring system of the monitoring layer 50 is discussed below with regard to
The power layer 54 (as shown in
In the example illustrated in
Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the heating and cooling garment system 10 without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, the heating and cooling garment system 10 may include a monitoring layer 50, or may not include a monitoring layer 50. As another example, in some examples, the batteries and the processor 22 may be included on the heating/cooling layer 46. As a further example, in some examples, the heating and cooling garment system 10 may only be able to apply heat (as opposed to being able to apply either heat or cold), or may only be able to apply cold (as opposed to being able to apply either heat or cold).
This specification has been written with reference to various non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments or examples. However, it will be recognized by persons having ordinary skill in the art that various substitutions, modifications, or combinations of any of the disclosed embodiments or examples (or portions thereof) may be made within the scope of this specification. Thus, it is contemplated and understood that this specification supports additional embodiments or examples not expressly set forth in this specification. Such embodiments or examples may be obtained, for example, by combining, modifying, or reorganizing any of the disclosed steps, components, elements, features, aspects, characteristics, limitations, and the like, of the various non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments or examples described in this specification.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/958,042 filed Jan. 7, 2020, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62958042 | Jan 2020 | US |