Patent Application
20240247857
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for reflecting infrared and ultraviolet radiation and insulating reservoir volumes in cold water immersion therapy. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a reflective and insulating cover for an ice barrel.
Ice barrel containers are well-known in the art and commonly used for cold water immersion therapy. An ice barrel may be used as a therapeutic plunge container to apply cold therapy wholly and quickly to a user's entire body.
An ice bath is when any portion of the human body is immersed in very cold water, with or without visible ice, for a limited time, typically as part of therapy or a recovery routine. An ice bath is sometimes called cold water immersion, cold water therapy, or cold plunging. Although mainly used by athletes for sports therapy, ice baths provide many benefits besides aiding physical recovery, of which non-athletes can take advantage.
Ice barrels are typically used for cold plunge containers because they are portable, are durable, are lightweight, are made from readily available material, have a wide-mouthed entry, and are capable of allowing the average person to completely immerse in a device that has a relatively small footprint for use, storage, and transportation.
Ice barrels generally include a receptacle having an open top, a bottom wall, and a continuous upright cylindrical sidewall extending between the open top and the bottom wall to form an interior cavity. A user fills the barrel with water and/or ice, reserving a volume for displacement of the body to be immersed, and then immerses themselves in the ice water.
When the therapy is complete, a user climbs out of the barrel.
Over time, the ice within the ice barrel melts, leaving a higher temperature. Water is generally removed from the ice barrel and refilled with fresh ice to maintain the therapy water temperature.
The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus for maintaining the therapeutic cold water temperature of an ice barrel. Ice barrels are sometimes not continuously shaded and are, therefore, subject to the infrared and ultraviolet radiation of the sun and surrounding area. The effect of absorbed infrared and ultraviolet radiation is the faster melting of the ice and an increase in the temperature of the therapeutic water. The increased water temperature may reduce the effectiveness of the cold water immersion therapy and/or require the user to add more ice, which is expensive and time consuming. The present disclosure is directed to a cover for an ice barrel that reflects the infrared and ultraviolet radiation from the sun and surrounding area and also insulates the liquid and ice contained in the ice barrel in a cost, energy, and time efficient manner.
Although typical ice barrels may briefly maintain the therapeutic water temperature, they require ice replenishment more frequently than desired. This is inefficient and costly. For instance, the ice barrel may be filled with ice numerous times to maintain the therapeutic water temperature. As such, removing the water and refilling the ice barrels with ice may be time-consuming and consume large amounts of water. Furthermore, as was mentioned above, draining the water from the interior cavity, and refilling the ice barrel with ice may require the movement of the ice barrel. Given the amount of water within the barrel, movement of the ice barrel may be a strenuous endeavor.
As is apparent from the foregoing, there is a need in the art for an insulating reflective ice barrel cover to reduce the amount of ice required to be continuously added to maintain the cold temperature of the therapeutic water over an extended period. The present disclosure addresses this particular need.
One embodiment of the present disclosure prevents an increase in water temperature by approximately 10-15 degrees in 24 hours. Results vary based on exposure to direct sunlight and surrounding air temperature (barrel could be outside or inside).
One embodiment of the present disclosure results in a direct cost savings to users from needing less ice—it takes about 75-125 pounds of ice to drop the water temperature in the ice barrel 10-15 degrees. For users that use electric chillers they will save on electricity costs as the insulated cover decreases the delta between the starting water temperature and desired (colder) temperature. For users using ice to create cold temperatures in the ice barrel, using the insulated cover saves a significant amount of time as there is a decrease in the amount of ice they need to make and/or the amount of ice they need to buy and/or the frequency in which they need to go purchase ice.
Still, other advantages, embodiments, and features of the subject disclosure will become readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, simply by way of illustration of one of the best modes best suited to carry out the subject disclosure. As it will be realized, the present disclosure is capable of other different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious embodiments, all without departing from or limiting the scope herein. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
The drawings are of illustrative embodiments. They do not illustrate all embodiments. Other embodiments may be used in addition or instead. Details which may be apparent or unnecessary may be omitted to save space or for more effective illustration. Some embodiments may be practiced with additional components or steps and/or without all of the components or steps which are illustrated. When the same numeral appears in different drawings, it refers to the same or like components or steps.
Before the present methods and systems are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the methods and systems are not limited to specific methods, specific components, or to particular implementations. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.
As used in the specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value, and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint, and independently of the other endpoint.
“Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.
Throughout the description and claims of this specification, the word “comprise” and variations of the word, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” means “including but not limited to,” and is not intended to exclude, for example, other components, integers or steps. “Exemplary” means “an example of” and is not intended to convey an indication of a preferred or ideal embodiment. “Such as” is not used in a restrictive sense, but for explanatory purposes.
Disclosed are components that may be used to perform the disclosed methods and systems. These and other components are disclosed herein, and it is understood that when combinations, subsets, interactions, groups, etc. of these components are disclosed that while specific reference of each various individual and collective combinations and permutation of these may not be explicitly disclosed, each is specifically contemplated and described herein, for all methods and systems. This applies to all embodiments of this application including, but not limited to, steps in disclosed methods. Thus, if there are a variety of additional steps that may be performed it is understood that each of these additional steps may be performed with any specific embodiment or combination of embodiments of the disclosed methods.
The present methods and systems may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the examples included therein and to the Figures and their previous and following description.
In the following description, certain terminology is used to describe certain features of one or more embodiments. For purposes of the specification, unless otherwise specified, the term “substantially” refers to the complete or nearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result. For example, in one embodiment, an object that is “substantially” located within a housing would mean that the object is either completely within a housing or nearly completely within a housing. The exact allowable degree of deviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on the specific context. However, generally speaking, the nearness of completion will be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and total completion were obtained. The use of “substantially” is also equally applicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the complete or near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state, structure, item, or result.
As used herein, the terms “approximately” and “about” generally refer to a deviance of within 5 percent of the indicated number or range of numbers. In one embodiment, the term “approximately” and “about”, may refer to a deviance of between 0.001-40 percent from the indicated number or range of numbers.
Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more embodiments. It may be evident, however, that the various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitate describing these embodiments.
Cultures around the world have used cold water therapy for thousands of years. For example, ancient Greeks used cold water immersion for therapeutic and relaxation purposes, and Roman physician Claudius Galen promoted it as a treatment for fever. Cold water therapy uses water to promote health or assist in managing disease. While it has a long history, it's primarily used to speed healing after an injury, ease joint and muscle pain, and quicken recovery from exercise, among other possible health benefits, such as mental health, including but not limited to treating anxiety and high stress. Therapeutic ice baths may reduce inflammation, boost mood, or relieve pain after a workout. Cold water therapy has generally focused on pain, muscular injury prevention and recovery, and mood, and cold water therapy is considered a complementary therapy, and the uses are part of an evolving therapy field.
The present disclosure describes an apparatus for maintaining the therapeutic cold water temperature of an ice barrel. Ice barrels are sometimes not continuously shaded and are therefore subject to electromagnetic, infrared (“IR”) and ultraviolet (“UV”), radiation of the sun and surrounding area. The apparatus not only reflects IR and UV radiation, but it may also insulate an ice container from absorbing energy that would otherwise increase the temperature of the water.
The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses all types of radiation. The part of the spectrum that reaches Earth from the sun is between 100 nm and 1 mm. This band is separated into three ranges: ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation.
Solar radiation is measured in wavelengths or frequency. Bands with shorter wavelengths produce higher frequencies. The energy of the wavelength increases with frequency and decreases with the size of the wavelength. In other words, shorter wavelengths are more energetic than longer ones. A shorter wavelength means that ultraviolet radiation is more energetic than infrared radiation.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 173,000 terawatts of solar energy strike the Earth continuously. That's more than 10,000 times the world's total energy use. Approximately 49 percent of this solar radiation is infrared, and approximately 7 percent is from UV.
The effect of absorbed infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation in a therapeutic ice bath is melted ice and an increase in the temperature of the therapeutic water. The increased water temperature reduces the effectiveness of the cold-water immersion therapy. The present disclosure describes a cover for an ice barrel that reflects the IR and UV radiation from the sun and surrounding area and insulates the liquid contained in the barrel in a time, cost, and energy-efficient manner.
This insulating and reflective ice bath cover may comprise multiple design models to fit a variety of ice barrel and ice bath devices and shapes. Ice barrels and baths come in a variety of containers, shapes, and sizes. Beginner ice bath users, or those wanting to drastically reduce the purchase cost of a specialty ice bath container, often use non-traditional containers. These include rubber stock tanks, galvanized tubs, large ice bins and ice buckets, and large garbage cans. Several very affordable blow-up versions of ice bath containers are also available. Importantly, before the present disclosure, an insulated reflective cover to protect the ice barrels and ice baths has not been created or made available for purchase. It should be appreciated that different models and embodiments of the ice barrel cover of the present disclosure may be produced to fit the various ice barrel and ice bath sizes and shapes.
As used herein, the term “conservation of cold” refers to a system where no heat energy enters the covering system, thereby maintaining temperature and conserving ice. This is slowing the rate of the temperature increase of the ice water content of the ice barrel that is being covered by the ice barrel cover of the present disclosure.
As used herein, the term “ultra-violet” or “UV” energy refers to a form of electromagnetic radiation. Ultra-violet is defined as light in the spectrum of wavelengths between 10-400 nanometers.
As used herein, the term “infrared” energy refers to a form of electromagnetic radiation. It is defined as the light in the spectrum of wavelengths between 700 nm to 1 mm.
As used herein, the term “albedo effect” refers to the energy a surface reflects. Dark colors have an albedo close to zero, meaning little or no reflected energy. Pale colors have an albedo approaching 1, meaning they reflect a substantial amount of energy. Albedo is generally understood to be the fraction of sunlight/light that is diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body/surface that absorbs all incident radiation/light) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects all incident radiation). Examples of albedo scores include 0.06 for the ocean, 0.25 for green grass, 0.55 for pale concrete, 0.8 for snow, and 0.85 for aluminum.
As used herein, the term “wavelength” refers to the measure of light travels in a wave. A wavelength is defined as the distance from peak to peak and measured in nanometers (nm).
As used herein, the term “frequency” refers to the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time.
As used herein, the term “radiation” refers to the energy that comes from a source and travels through space at the speed of light.
As used herein, the term “electromagnetic energy” refers to radiant energy that travels in waves at the speed of light.
As used herein, the term “electromagnetic spectrum” refers to the range of all types of electromagnetic radiation.
As used herein, the term “specular reflectance” refers to a type of surface reflectance often described as a mirror-like reflection of light from the surface. The following detailed description of example implementations refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings can identify the same or similar elements.
The sealing edge 165 may be configured to be a closeable opening for the ice barrel cover 100, which allows the user to don and doff the ice barrel cover 100 onto an ice barrel. Preferably, the outer layer of the top cover 101, body wrap 120, and any exposed portions of the sealing edge 165, be made from a durable, flexible, water-resistant, and IR and UV reflective material. An example of one such material is nylon, but other natural, synthetic, and coated materials may be used. The color and the texture of the outer layer of top cover 101, body wrap 120, and sealing edge 165 may preferably be a material that is light, such as white, light metallic, and/or silver, and may be substantially smooth. Darker colors and rough materials may hinder the reflective process.
The amount of energy reflected by the exterior surface of the outer layer of ice barrel 100, or any surface, may be referred to as albedo (the fraction of sunlight/light/infrared/ultra-violet) that is diffusely reflected by a body. Dark colors have an albedo close to zero, meaning little or no reflected energy. Having an albedo close to 1 (almost all or 100%) is preferable to reflect the maximum amount of IR and UV energy.
The surface texture of ice barrel 100 also contributes to the IR and UV reflective properties due to specular reflectance techniques. Specular reflection, or regular reflection, is the mirror-like reflection of waves, such as light, from a surface. The best surfaces for reflecting are very smooth, such as a glass mirror or polished metal, although almost all surface textures will reflect light to some degree. Examples of very suitable specular reflection materials are gold at 0.94 to 0.99 albedo and aluminum at 85 to 98 albedo.
Nylon may be formed to be a lustrous, durable, water-resistant, synthetic fabric material widely used across many industries. Nylon most commonly appears in the garment-manufacturing industry but may be versatile enough for specialty fabrics in aerospace, automotive, and medical applications. Nylon can be coated with various materials to increase its reflective properties. Such materials may include silver-coated knit tricot nylon fabric. The albedo of the reflective surface of ice barrel cover 100 may be greater than 0.5 and may preferably be in the range of 0.80 to 0.99.
In one embodiment, the top cover 101 may preferably be made from a durable, flexible, water resistant, insulating, and reflective material, with a top edge 105, a top edge flap 110, a top seal 115, and optionally, a brand label 170. The top cover 101 may have a top edge 105 that attaches the top cover 101 to the top seal 115. The top edge 105 may be hermetically sealed to the top cover to the top seal 115, or the two parts may be unitary in construction. The top seal may comprise a top edge flap 110 that overlaps the body wrap 120. The top seal 115 with the top edge flap 110 preferably seals the top cover 101 to reflect and insulate the therapeutic water from IR and UV radiation. As shown in
In one embodiment, a body wrap 120 may preferably be made from one single piece of the same durable, flexible, water resistant, insulating, and reflective material, having a first body wrap edge 121, a second body wrap edge 122, a bottom body wrap edge 150, a top cover to top body wrap edge 155, and a seam 156. The body wrap 120 may be configured to removable envelope and/or wrap around an ice barrel. The first body wrap edge 121 and the second body wrap edge 122 may be bound to each other, such as being removeably connectable, after being wrapped around an ice barrel. The bottom body wrap edge 150 may in some embodiments, be in contact with the ice barrel supporting surface 199, such that the entire side of the ice barrel is covered by cover 100. The contact between the bottom body wrap edge 150 and the ice barrel supporting surface 199 provides an insulating effect and reflects IR and UV radiation all the way to the bottom of the side of the ice barrel. Seam 156 may be an ultrasonic weld, sewn stitch, or other type of permanent feature that affixes top cover 101 to body wrap 120. The top cover to top body wrap edge 155 and seam 156 may support the top cover 101, while the top cover 101 top seal 115 contacts the body wrap 120 and forms a temporary seal or connection point to reflect and insulate the therapeutic water inside the ice barrel from the IR and UV radiation. At the first body wrap edge 121 and the second body wrap edge 122, a body wrap flap 125 may overlap the two edges to provide a secure seal and connection that further insulates the underlying ice barrel.
In one embodiment, the body wrap 120 may have one or more of a first side handle 130, a second side handle 160, a first front handle 135, and a second front handle 136. The handles 130, 135, 136, and 160 may be attached to the body wrap by sewing, adhesive, ultrasonic welding, fasteners, and the like. The handles 130, 135, 136, and 160 may preferably be permanently affixed to the body wrap 120 to install, uninstall, grasp, and adjust the ice barrel cover 100 on and around an ice barrel. In other embodiments the handles 130, 135, 136, and 160 may be removeable.
Typically, an ice barrel contains about 105 gallons of water, is 35 to 48 inches tall by 25 to 37 inches wide and has an opening about 20 to 30 inches wide.
The binding device 502 may preferably be a nylon zipper for its ease of use, insulation properties, durability, and availability. Other devices for binding the first body wrap edge 521 with the second body wrap edge 522, may include, but are not limited to, buttons, hook and loop, snaps, zippy lock, magnetic rubber seals, or any other fasteners that enable a user to open and close the cover efficiently and easily. One embodiment of the ice barrel cover 500 may have a first front handle 535 and a second front handle 536, which are preferably permanently attached to one or more layers of the ice barrel cover 500.
In some embodiments, the handles 535, 536 may be removeable. Top cover 501 may comprise top edge 505, edge flap 510, and top seal 515, which may be substantially similar to same parts of ice barrel cover 100 shown in
The insulation layer 810 may comprise any, or a combination of, materials that limit or slow the transfer of heat energy caused by the absorption of IR and UV energy. Typical insulation makes the convection and conduction of heat energy between reflective outer layer 822 and the inner layer 821 occur at a much slower rate. Conduction occurs when heat energy from the absorption of IR and UV energy moves directly from warmer objects to colder ones, in this case from the outer surface of ice barrel cover 800 to the therapeutic ice water 831. Insulation layer 810 acts as a strong barrier to slow or prevent convection and conduction. The insulation layer 810 may be, but is not limited to, vacuum insulation, a space almost completely evacuated of air, synthetic rubber, polyethylene foam, Styrofoam® (multicellular expanded synthetic resinous material), polyurethane foam, and the like.
Each of the three layers may be connected, permanently or removeably, to each other with sewing, adhesives, ultrasonic welding, and the like.
A top cover 801 may be configured to engage with seal 815 and top edge 805 of body wrap 820. This further insulates the junction of top cover 801 and body wrap 820. Preferably, top cover 801 may have an outer layer, an insulation layer, and an inner layer, just like body wrap 820.
Including an inner layer 820, an insulation layer 810, and a reflective outer layer 822 helps maintain the therapeutic ice water temperature in a cost, energy, time, and efficient manner when kept outside in the sun for an extended period of time.
Although top cover 801 is shown as being completely disconnected from body wrap 820, preferably top cover 801 is, at least partially, permanently connected in the back so that it can stay attached when removed and is easy to remove and don onto the ice barrel.
As shown in the blown-up portion of
While the foregoing written description of the present disclosure enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. This disclosure should therefore not be limited by the above-described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the disclosure as claimed.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the above detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments. As will be realized, the embodiments are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope. Accordingly, the detailed description is to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, although not explicitly recited, one or more embodiments may be practiced in combination or conjunction with one another. Furthermore, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment shall not be interpreted to limit the scope. It is intended that the scope not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims that are appended hereto.
Except as stated immediately above, nothing which has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims.
This U.S. Non-Provisional Utility Patent Application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/481,039, filed on Jan. 23, 2023, by inventor Amber K. Clarkston, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by this reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63481039 | Jan 2023 | US |
