POWERED GARMENT FOR WARMING EXTREMITIES

Abstract

A garment including a body configured to at least partially enclose a hand of a user, a light emitting diode coupled to the body and directed toward a blood vessel in a wrist of the user to heat the hand of the user, and a power source coupled to the body and electrically coupled to the light emitting diode for providing power to the light emitting diode.

Description

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a powered garment for heating a wearer's body and, more particularly, to a garment for a hand of a wearer such as a glove, etc.

BACKGROUND

Powered garments, such as a heated glove, typically include a form of clothing and a heating element powered by a power source for providing heat to the clothing.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides, in one aspect, a body configured to at least partially enclose a hand of a user, a light emitting diode (“LED”) coupled to the body and directed toward a blood vessel in a wrist of the user to heat the hand of the user, and a power source coupled to the body and electrically coupled to the LED for providing power to the LED.

The disclosure provides, in another aspect, a garment including a body that includes a wrist portion configured to be disposed about a user's wrist, a palm portion configured to be disposed about a user's palm, and a digit portion configured to receive a user's digit, the digit portion being open, and a heating element disposed on the wrist portion and directed toward a blood vessel of the user.

The disclosure provides, in another aspect, a garment including a body including a wrist portion configured to be disposed about a user's wrist, a palm portion configured to be disposed about a user's palm, and a plurality of digit portions configured to receive a user's digits, at least one of the digit portions being open, and an LED disposed on the wrist portion and directed toward a blood vessel in the user's wrist, the LED configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in an infrared spectrum to heat a user's hand.

Other independent aspects and features of the disclosure will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a powered garment, such as a glove, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an array of infrared light-emitting diodes for use with the powered garment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic dorsal side view of the powered garment of FIG. 1 showing the user's anatomy.

FIG. 4 is a schematic palm side view of the powered garment of FIG. 1 showing the user's anatomy.

FIG. 5 is a dorsal side view of the powered garment of FIG. 1 showing electrical components.

FIG. 6 is a thermal photograph of a control in a cold chamber.

FIG. 7 is a thermal photograph of a user wearing the powered garment of FIG. 1 in the cold chamber.

FIG. 8 is a plot of temperature vs. position data on a user's arm and hand showing a comparison between a user wearing the powered garment of FIG. 1 and a control.

FIG. 9 is a plot of temperature vs. position data on a user's arm and hand showing a comparison between a user wearing the powered garment of FIG. 1 and a user wearing a heated wrist wrap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before any independent implementations of the disclosure are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The disclosure is capable of other independent implementations and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.

Use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Use of “consisting of” and variations thereof as used herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof.

Also, the functionality described herein as being performed by one component may be performed by multiple components in a distributed manner. Likewise, functionality performed by multiple components may be consolidated and performed by a single component. Similarly, a component described as performing particular functionality may also perform additional functionality not described herein. For example, 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.

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a garment 10, such as, for example, a glove 10 (as shown), a mitten, a muff, a sock, or other clothing or covering, etc., for a user's extremity (e.g., hand, foot, etc.). A “user” is to be understood as the wearer of the garment 10 during use. The garment 10 is a standalone device. The garment 10 may come as a set with a second garment (not shown). The second garment (not shown) may be identical or may be provided as a mirror image of the garment 10. Thus, it should be understood that each garment 10 in the set is essentially identical and all description of the garment 10 herein applies to the second garment (not shown), which need not be described separately. Each garment 10 in the set may be controlled independently of the other. In some implementations, the set (not shown) may be controlled together by a common control system (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 3, the glove 10 includes a body 14 defining an interior 30 for receiving the user's hand 16 (shown in broken lines in FIGS. 3-4). The body 14 is preferably formed from a fabric material, such as a woven fabric and/or a knitted fabric and/or any other suitable type of material, allowing the user to move their hand 16 within the glove 10. The body 14 has a first, palm side 34 (i.e., the side of the body 14 adjacent the palm of the user's hand 16) and an opposite second, dorsal side 38 opposite the palm side 34. The dorsal side 38 may also be referred to as a back side. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the dorsal side 38 and FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the palm side 34.

The body 14 includes a wrist portion 46 to be disposed about the user's wrist. The wrist portion 46 defines an opening 48 into which the user inserts their hand into the interior 30 of the glove 10. The wrist portion 46 may encircle the user's wrist (as shown), or may cover only a portion of the user's wrist in other implementations. In some implementations, the wrist portion 46 may also be disposed about at least a portion of the user's forearm.

The body 14 includes a palm portion 52 to be disposed about the user's palm. The palm portion 52 may encircle the user's palm (as shown)—e.g., from the palm side 34 to the dorsal side 38.

The body 14 includes one or more digit portions 42 (e.g., first, second, third, fourth, and fifth digit portions 42a-42e as shown) arranged in a substantially linear arrangement for receiving the digit(s) of a user's hand. The first digit portion 42a corresponds to a user's thumb. The second digit portion 42b corresponds to a user's pointer finger. The third digit portion 42c corresponds to a user's middle finger. The fourth digit portion 42d corresponds to a user's ring finger. The fifth digit portion 42e corresponds to a user's pinky finger. In other implementations (not shown), the body 14 may define a different number of digit portions 42 suitable for the construction of the garment—e.g., for a mitten (not shown), one digit portion for the user's thumb and a second digit portion for the user's four fingers, or for a sock (not shown) one digit portion for all of the user's toes.

In the illustrated implementation, the first, second, and third digit portions 42a-42c are open—e.g., allowing at least a portion of the user's respective digit(s) to extend through the digit portion and into the environment exterior to the glove 10. That is, each of the first, second, and third digit portions 42a-42c defines an opening through which the respective digit extends. An “open” digit portion may include a digit portion that is always open and/or a digit portion that is openable, e.g., by way of a flap movable between open and closed. An “open” digit portion may also be configured as an opening in the palm portion 52 through which the user's digit extends into the external environment. The illustrated “open” digit portions 42a-42c extend a majority of a length of the user's respective digits such that only tips of the user's respective digits are exposed. In other embodiments, the “open” digit portions 42a-42c may extend less than a majority of a length of the user's respective digits such that most of the user's respective digits are exposed. In some embodiments, the “open” digit portions 42a-42c may not extend along any length (or only a minimal length) of the user's respective digits such that all (or substantially all) of the user's respective digits are exposed.

In the illustrated implementation of FIG. 1, the fourth and fifth digit portions 42d-42e are closed—e.g., completely enclosing the user's respective digit(s) within the interior 30 of the body 14 to provide a barrier between the user's entire respective digit(s) and the environment exterior to the glove 10.

In other implementations, the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth digit portions 42a-42e may be open or closed in any combination—e.g., all open, all closed, or any combination of open and closed. FIGS. 3-4 are schematic and depict the glove 10 having all closed digit portions 42; however, it should be understood that any combination of open and closed digit portions 42 is possible.

Generally, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the palm portion extends from the wrist portion, and the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth digit portions 42a-42e each extend from the palm portion independently. Also generally, the body 14 defines an ulnar side 56 (which may also be referred to as an ulnar artery side) and a radial side 60 (which may also be referred to as a radial artery side) of the glove 10 separated by a medial plane P (FIGS. 3-4). The medial plane P is generally defined by the user's middle finger, e.g., by the third digit portion 42c in the illustrated implementation, and extends through the palm side 34 and the dorsal side 38. However, in other implementations, the medial plane P is medial with respect to whichever body part the garment 10 is designed to be worn on. The ulnar side 56 is defined as the side of the medial plane P in which the user's ulna is disposed, but may also be defined by the side on which the user's pinkie finger and/or ring finger (or the fifth digit portion 42e and/or the fourth digit portion 42d of the glove 10) is disposed. The radial side 60 is defined as the side of the medial plane P in which the user's radius is disposed, but may also be defined by the side on which the user's thumb and/or index finger (or the first digit portion 42a and/or the second digit portion 42b of the glove 10) is disposed.

The illustrated glove 10 includes a body 14 supporting a light-emitting diode (LED) 18 operable to heat at least a portion of a user's hand. The LED 18 may also be referred to as a heating element. The LED 18 is an infrared LED 18, e.g., operable to emit electromagnetic radiation (i.e., light) in the infrared spectrum. For example, the LED 18 emits light having a wavelength in the range from 780 nanometers (nm) to 1 millimeter (mm). More specifically, the LED 18 may emit light between 850 nm and 1 mm. Even more specifically, the LED 18 may emit light between 900 nm and 1 mm. Even more specifically, the LED 18 may emit light between 920 nm and 970 nm. Even more specifically, the LED 18 may emit light between 930 nm and 960 nm. Even more specifically, the LED 18 may emit light between 940 nm and 950 nm. In one particular example, the LED 18 may emit light at 940 nm. In another particular example, the LED 18 may emit light at 950 nm. In other embodiments, the heating element may additionally or alternatively include a resistance wire, a carbon fiber heating element, or the like that is operable to heat a portion of a user's hand.

In some implementations, the glove 10 may include an array of LEDs 22 (as shown) including two or more of the LED 18. As such, the glove 10 includes at least one LED 18. The LED 18, or each LED 18 in the array of LEDs 22, is disposed on a printed circuit board (PCB) 26. In the array of LEDs 22, the LEDs 18 are electrically coupled by way of the PCB 26 to receive power together; however, in other implementations, the LEDs 18 may be electrically coupled in other ways, e.g., may be disposed on two or more separate PCBs. The LED(s) 18 is(are) electrically coupled to and powered by a power source, such as a battery pack 82 (see FIG. 5), supported by the glove 10. In some embodiments, the battery pack 82 may be removably coupled to the glove 10 and the LED(s) 18. The battery pack 82 may supply any suitable amount of power to the LED(s) 18, such as from 1-20 Watts, or more specifically from 1-15 Watts, or more specifically from 2-15 Watts, or more specifically from 3-14 Watts, or more specifically from 4-14 Watts, or more specifically from 4-12 Watts, or more specifically from 4-10 Watts, or more specifically from 4-8 Watts, or more specifically from 4-6 Watts, etc., or more specifically 4 Watts.

In the illustrated implementation, the array of LEDs 22 is arranged generally longitudinally on the PCB 26, which defines a longitudinal axis L. For example, as shown, the array of LED's 22 includes a grid-like 4×10 arrangement of LEDs 18 (i.e., 40 total LEDs 18), though any number and arrangement of LEDs 18 may be employed. For example, the array of LEDs 22 may include a single row of LEDs 18, two rows of LEDs 18, three rows of LEDs 18, four rows of LEDs 18, five rows of LEDs 18, etc., and may include any number of LEDs 18 in each row, such as two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, etc.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, in the illustrated implementation, the at least one LED 18 is disposed on the wrist portion 46. More specifically, the at least one LED 18 is disposed on the palm side 34 of the wrist portion 46. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the at least one LED 18 is disposed on the radial side 60 of the palm side 34 of the wrist portion 46. The at least one LED 18 is generally disposed where one's radial pulse measurement is taken manually. The at least one LED 18 is configured to direct electromagnetic radiation towards the radial artery 64 of the user. The radial artery 64 of the user's hand 16 is illustrated schematically in FIGS. 3-4 with respect to the glove 10 during use. The radial artery 64 supplies oxygenated blood to the user's hand 16, and the at least one LED 18 is configured to heat the radial blood supply to heat the user's hand 16. In other implementations, the at least one LED 18 may be disposed on other locations on the body 14 that may also be directed towards the radial artery 64, e.g., towards other portions of the radial artery 64, such as on the palm portion 52, and/or towards a downstream branch of the radial artery 64. The at least one LED 18 may additionally or alternatively be directed towards other blood vessels supplying the user's hand.

In the illustrated implementation, the longitudinal axis L of the array of LEDs 22 is generally aligned with the radial artery 64, as shown in FIG. 4. “Generally aligned with” should be understood to account for the fact that the radial artery 64 is naturally not perfectly straight and/or different users have different anatomical shapes and dimensions, and the array of LEDs 22 can therefore not be perfectly aligned with the radial artery 64 but is disposed close enough to the general alignment of the typical radial artery to achieve the desired effect of the at least one LED 18 being aimed toward the typical radial artery to heat oxygenated blood therein, or multiple LEDs 18 being disposed generally along a length of the typical radial artery 64 to heat the same. The multiple LEDs 18 disposed along the length of the typical radial artery 64 may also be arranged in a curved series to generally follow curves in the typical radial artery 64, or any other artery.

In other implementations, the at least one LED 18 may be disposed on the ulnar side 56 and configured to direct electromagnetic radiation towards the ulnar artery 68 of the user, which also supplies oxygenated blood to the user's hand 16; more specifically, in said implementation, the at least one LED 18 may be disposed on the palm side 34 of the wrist portion 46, though the at least one LED 18 may also be disposed on other locations on the glove 10 that may also direct the at least one LED 18 towards the ulnar artery 68 and/or towards a downstream branch of the ulnar artery 68.

In other implementations, one or some of the LEDs 18 may be disposed on the radial side 60 and another or others of the LEDs 18 may be disposed on the ulnar side 56, thus being configured to direct electromagnetic radiation towards both the radial artery 64 and the ulnar artery 68 of the user.

In other implementations, the at least one LED 18 may be configured to direct electromagnetic radiation towards other arteries supplying oxygenated blood to other extremities, such as a foot. For example, the at least one LED 18 may be configured to direct electromagnetic radiation towards the anterior tibial artery and/or the dorsal pedis artery, etc.

As shown in FIG. 5, the body 14 includes a battery-receiving receptacle 72 configured to receive the battery pack 82. The battery-receiving receptacle 72 is disposed, in the illustrated implementation, on the dorsal side 38 of the palm portion 52. In other implementations (not shown), the receptacle 72 may be disposed in any other location on the body 14. As one example, the receptacle 72 may be disposed on the dorsal side 38 of the wrist portion 46, on the dorsal side 38 of both the wrist portion 46 and the palm portion 52, on the palm side 34 of either the wrist portion 46 and/or the palm portion 52, on the dorsal side 38 and/or the palm side 34 of any portion of the body 14, etc.

In other implementations (not shown), the glove 10 may be powered by more than one battery pack 82. In such implementations, the glove 10 may include a receptacle arrangement to accommodate the battery packs 82 (e.g., a single receptacle (not shown) constructed to receive multiple battery packs 82, a separate receptacle 72 for each battery pack 82, etc.). In such constructions, the glove 10 may operate with fewer than the maximum number of battery packs 82 (e.g., a single operational battery pack 82 may power the glove 10 even with other battery pack(s) 82 being missing or disabled). In such constructions, the battery pack 82 is onboard the glove 10. However, in other implementations (not shown), the battery pack 82 or other power source may be remote from the glove 10. For example, the glove 10 may be powered by a battery pack located on another article of clothing (e.g., a jacket, vest, belt, etc.), or any other remote power source. In such constructions, the glove 10 may be connected to the battery pack by, for example, a wire.

As shown in FIG. 5, an actuator 76 (e.g., a button, a switch, a trigger, etc.) is engageable by a user to actuate (e.g., turn ON, turn OFF, and/or select a heating mode or level, etc.) for the at least one LED 18. The actuator 76 may include a single button communicating with a glove controller 80 (FIG. 5) of the associated glove 10 to switch ON, OFF, and/or between a number of (e.g., three) heating levels of the at least one LED 18 and corresponding discharge levels of the battery pack 82. Discharge current runs from the battery pack 82 through a circuit 84 (FIG. 5) to the at least one LED 18.

As shown in FIG. 5, the body 14 supports the actuator 76. The illustrated actuator 76 may be disposed on the dorsal side 38 of the wrist portion 46 and/or on the dorsal side 38 of the palm portion 52, or in any other suitable location on the body 14.

Features of the actuator 76 may be similar to the control button described and illustrated in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2016/0128393, published May 12, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIG. 6 illustrates an image taken by a thermal camera of a control 88, i.e., a user's bare hand in a temperature-controlled chamber at 0 degrees Celsius palm up for 15 minutes. FIG. 7 illustrates an image taken by the thermal camera of the user 90 wearing the glove 10 at 4 Watts of power in the temperature-controlled chamber at 0 degrees Celsius palm up for 15 minutes. As shown, the user's fingertips (user 90) that extend from the glove 10 into the temperature-controlled environment are significantly warmer than the control 88 wearing no glove. Experimental data, i.e., temperature measurements along the length of the user's arm both the control 88 of FIG. 6 and the user 90 wearing the glove 10 of FIG. 7 are plotted in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the user's fingertip (user 90) extending out of the glove 10 and into the environment surprisingly increases in temperature towards its distal end. The entire hand and wrist area of the user 90 is kept above the frostbite level (15 degrees Celsius) during the experiment with the glove 10. The temperature delta (ΔT) at the fingertip with the glove 10 is 4.8 degrees Celsius, and the ΔT at the fingertip without the glove 10 (control) is 18.8 degrees Celsius.

FIG. 9 plots the experimental data (user 90) from the glove 10 described above and shown in FIG. 7 in contrast with experimental data 92 from a user wearing another device (not shown), i.e., a heated wrist wrap that wraps around and heats the user's wrist at 15 Watts but provides no glove (i.e., has at least no palm portion or digit portions). FIG. 9 shows that only heating the wrist (e.g., to heat the artery), even with 15 Watts, does not perform significantly better than the control shown in FIG. 8, especially at the exposed fingertips. The glove 10, at 4 Watts, performs significantly better than the control and the heated wrist wrap at 15 Watts, especially at the exposed fingertips, and increasingly towards the distal ends of the fingertips, which is surprising. The glove 10 includes at least the wrist portion 46 and the palm portion 52. Some or all of the user's fingers (and thumb) may be exposed; as such, the glove 10 need not include any digit portions 42. However, in the illustrated implementation, the glove 10 includes the wrist portion 46, the palm portion 52, and at least one digit portion 42. The glove 10 may include the wrist portion 46, the palm portion 52, and at least one digit portion 42 that is open. The glove 10 may include the wrist portion 46, the palm portion 52, and at least one digit portion 42 that is closed.

In operation, the user wears the glove 10 (or gloves 10) and may activate the glove 10 by pressing the actuator 76. In response to actuation, power is supplied from the battery pack 82 to the at least one LED 18. Advantageously, at least some of the user's fingers are exposed to the external environment and therefore are available to perform work, improving dexterity over fully gloved fingers, while the glove 10 still provides warmth and comfort to the exposed fingers by heating the blood delivered thereto. In some implementations, at least the user's thumb and index finger are exposed. In some implementations, at least the user's index finger is exposed. In some implementations, at least the user's thumb, index finger, and middle finger are exposed. In some implementations, the glove 10 may fully enclose all of the user's fingers and still have an advantage over known heated gloves by consuming less power to heat the user's hand.

Thus, the disclosure may provide, among other things, a garment, such as a glove 10, and at least one LED 18 coupled to the glove 10 and configured to emit infrared electromagnetic radiation for warming blood supplied to the hand of the user. The glove 10 may include the at least one LED 18, which may include multiple LEDs 18 arranged in an array, a battery-receiving receptacle 72, a power source such as a battery pack 82, and a controller 80 for controlling operation of the at least one LED 18 based on the actuator 76.

Various features and advantages of the disclosure are set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A garment comprising: a body configured to at least partially enclose a hand of a user;an LED coupled to the body and directed toward a blood vessel in a wrist of the user to heat the hand of the user; anda power source coupled to the body and electrically coupled to the LED for providing power to the LED.

2. The garment of claim 1, wherein the body includes a palm portion, a wrist portion coupled to the palm portion, and a digit portion coupled to and extending from the palm portion, and wherein the LED is disposed on the wrist portion.

3. The garment of claim 2, wherein the digit portion is one of a plurality of digit portions coupled to and extending from the palm portion.

4. The garment of claim 3, wherein one of the plurality of digit portions is open.

5. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment defines a medial plane having a radial side and an ulnar side, and wherein the LED is disposed on the radial side.

6. The garment of claim 1, further comprising an actuator disposed on the body and electrically coupled to the LED, wherein the actuator is configured to change the LED between an on state and an off state.

7. The garment of claim 6, wherein the LED is operable in a plurality of heat setting levels in the on state.

8. The garment of claim 1, wherein the LED is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in an infrared spectrum.

9. The garment of claim 1, wherein the LED is one of a plurality of LEDs coupled to the body and directed toward a blood vessel in the wrist of the user.

10. The garment of claim 1, wherein the body includes a battery-receiving receptacle configured to receive the power source.

11. A garment comprising: a body including a wrist portion configured to be disposed about a user's wrist, a palm portion configured to be disposed about a user's palm, and a digit portion configured to receive a user's digit, the digit portion being open; anda heating element disposed on the wrist portion and directed toward a blood vessel of the user.

12. The garment of claim 11, wherein the heating element includes an LED.

13. The garment of claim 12, wherein the LED is one of a plurality of LEDs.

14. The garment of claim 12, wherein the LED emits electromagnetic radiation in an infrared spectrum.

15. The garment of claim 11, wherein the digit portion is one of a plurality of digit portions.

16. The garment of claim 15, wherein at least two of the plurality of digit portions are open.

17. The garment of claim 11, further comprising a power source electrically coupled to the heating element for providing power to the heating element.

18. A garment comprising: a body including a wrist portion configured to be disposed about a user's wrist, a palm portion configured to be disposed about a user's palm, and a plurality of digit portions configured to receive a user's digits, at least one of the digit portions being open; andan LED disposed on the wrist portion and directed toward a blood vessel in the user's wrist, the LED configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in an infrared spectrum to heat a user's hand.

19. The garment of claim 18, further comprising a power source electrically coupled to the LED for providing power to the LED.

20. The garment of claim 18, wherein the plurality of digit portions includes a first digit portion corresponding to a user's thumb, a second digit portion corresponding to a user's pointer finger, a third digit portion corresponding to a user's middle finger, a fourth digit portion corresponding to a user's ring finger, and fifth digit portion corresponding to a user's pinky finger, wherein the first, second, and third digit portions are open, and wherein the fourth and fifth digit portions are closed.