Patent Application
20120330202
The generally accepted first aid treatment for strains, sprains, contusions, dislocations, uncomplicated fractures, and other non-acute injuries to human limbs is often referred to by the acronym R.I.C.E., which stands for rest, ice, compression and elevation. Rest is prescribed because continued activity can cause further injury to the limb thereby delaying the healing process, increasing pain, and stimulating internal bleeding. Ice is prescribed because blood vessels contract when exposed to cold temperatures, which helps reduce swelling in the injured limb and also helps reduce the extent of internal bleeding from injured capillaries and blood vessels. In other instances, it may be desired to provide heat therapy to injured body areas. Compression is prescribed because it tends to hasten healing time by reducing swelling around the injury. And, elevation of the limb above the heart is prescribed because it tends to reduce swelling in the limb and also tends to reduce pain.
Because ice is a rigid non-conforming solid, alternative cold treatments may be desired over ice. Other cold therapy devices are known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,060,086, entitled “Thermal Treatment Pack,” issued Jun. 13, 2006; U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,786, entitled “Device for Administering Cold Therapy to Ankles,” issued Jan. 27, 2009; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,944, entitled “Thermal Pack,” issued Nov. 24, 2009, which patents are incorporated by reference herein.
While several devices and methods have been made and used for providing cold therapy treatment, it is believed that no one prior to the inventor has made or used the invention described in the appended claims.
While the specification concludes with claims which particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description of certain examples taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify the same elements and in which:
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.
The following description of certain examples of the invention should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Other examples, features, aspects, embodiments, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art from the following description. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different and obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
I. Exemplary Thermal Therapy Device
An exemplary thermal therapy device (10) is shown in
A. Exemplary Harness
As shown in
Harness (20, 120) may also provide a slight compression on the user, which is part of the R.I.C.E. cold therapy method. Harness (20, 120) may have resilient properties such that the ends (28, 128) of harness (20, 120) are able to flex outwardly to place harness (20, 120) onto the injured body area. The ends (28, 128) of harness (20, 120) may then be resiliently biased inward in order to contact the injured body area and provide a secure fit of cold therapy device (10, 110) on the user. Accordingly, a user may benefit from compression and thermal therapy treatment by a resiliently biased harness (20, 120) of thermal therapy device (10, 110).
Harness (20, 120) may be formed from a metal, a composite, or a plastic material. For instance, harness (20, 120) in the present example is formed from a clear polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Harness (20, 120) may be thick enough in order to substantially retain the inverted U shape. Harness (20, 120) may also be thin enough to be formed into the inverted U shape. In the present example, harness (20, 120) is about 3/16 inches thick. The band of desired material may be heated and shaped into the desired configuration, such as an inverted U, to form harness (20, 120). Other suitable materials and thicknesses will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
B. Exemplary Bladder
An exemplary bladder (30) is shown in
Interior chamber (32) may be secured to harness (20, 120) to hold bladder (30) onto harness (20, 120). For instance, interior chamber (32) comprises a top layer (40) of film on the top surface of interior chamber (32) to form a pocket (42). Harness (20, 120) may then be slid into pocket (42) on top of interior chamber (32) to couple harness (20, 120) to bladder (30) (
Once coupled, harness (20, 120) and bladder (30) may be positioned on a user such that harness (20, 120) provides a secure fit to the user and bladder (30) contacts the user to provide thermal therapy to the user. For instance, thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be placed on a user's shoulder. Interior chamber (32) may then wrap around the front, top, and back shoulder areas of a user when thermal therapy device (10, 110) is placed on the user. Thermal therapy from interior chamber (32) may be focused on a variety of shoulder muscles, such as the supraspinatus muscle, infraspinatus muscle, teres minor muscle, subscapularis muscle, etc, or other joint areas.
Bladder (30) further comprises exterior chambers (34, 36, 38) that extend from interior chamber (32). In one embodiment, chamber (36) is rectangular and extends from the central area of interior chamber (32). Accordingly, chamber (36) may be positioned on the top of a user's shoulder during use of device (10, 110). Chambers (34, 38) are trapezoidal and extend from interior chamber (32) in each side of chamber (36). The trapezoidal shape of chambers (34, 38) allow bladder (30) to contour to the user's body shape, such as the shoulder. Accordingly, chambers (34, 38) may be positioned on the front and back of the user's shoulder area during use of device (10, 110). Chambers (34, 36, 38) may apply thermal therapy to the rotator cuff area.
Bladder (30) may consist of multiple chambers with various shapes and sizes to accommodate different shoulder thermal therapy applications. For instance, thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be placed on a user to treat an injury to the hip, arm, finger, wrist, neck, forehead, head, rib cage, waist, thigh area, knee, leg, calf, foot, etc. While the present example is configured for a shoulder, chambers (32, 34, 36, 38) of bladder (30) may be adjusted to a smaller size to accommodate a smaller body area, or chambers (32, 34, 36, 38) may adjusted to a larger size to accommodate a larger body area. Further, the amount of chambers (32, 34, 36, 38) of bladder (30) may decrease to accommodate a smaller body area or increase to accommodate a larger body area. Other suitable chamber configurations will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,060,086, 7,481,786, and 7,621,944, which patents are incorporated by reference above, bladder (30) may be formed by a continuous film of flexible material. The film of bladder (30) may be heat sealed to itself, which facilitates in forming chambers (32, 34, 36, 38) of bladder (30). Further, the film of bladder (30) may be made of a material that does not irritate human skin. The continuous film may be a polymeric film that remains flexible over a relatively broad temperature range of from about 0° F. to about 130° F. The polymeric film may be a single layer or a multi-layer structure. In one embodiment, the continuous film may exhibit a Shore A durometer hardness of greater than or equal to 85 as measured in accordance with the ASTM 2240.00 standard. The continuous film may also exhibit a Shore A durometer hardness of 93 +/−5 as measured in accordance with the ASTM 2240.00 standard. The continuous film of bladder (30) may have a thickness from about 3 to about 15 mils. The continuous film may also have a thickness of 5 +/−2 mils. Films possessing such properties may be puncture resistant, yet remain flexible. Other suitable film characteristics may be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,060,086, 7,481,786, and 7,621,944, which patents are incorporated by reference above, a fluid is received into chambers (32, 34, 36, 38) of bladder (30). The fluid may be a thermal fluid that may be heated or cooled. The fluid may also retain the heated or cooled temperature for a duration of time after the fluid has been exposed to the heat or cold. The temperature retaining fluid may be any non-gaseous material that changes shape or direction uniformly in response to an external force imposed upon it and that has the capacity to retain heat or cold for transfer to a limb. The term applies to liquids and finely divided solids, gels and combinations of liquid and solid particles having such properties. The temperature retaining fluid may be a water-based gel formulated to provide a fluid that is more viscous than water and does not become a hard solid within the temperature range of from 0° F. to 32° F. Such gels can conform to the contours of the injured limb more comfortably than ice. In addition, such gels tend to retain their desired thermal properties for a longer period of time than water. The gel filled chambers (32, 34, 36, 38) of bladder (30) may be pre-heated or pre-chilled, depending upon the type of thermal treatment to be provided. The temperature retaining fluid may be a non-toxic formulation to minimize potential injury in the event of exposure.
In another example, water-filled capsules are dispersed in the temperature retaining fluid. When bladder (30) is pre-chilled (e.g., through storage in a conventional freezer), the water in the water-filled capsules freezes and becomes a solid, although the gel remains a viscous fluid. The frozen water-filled capsules extend the period of time during which bladder (30) remains cold. The water-filled capsules may be small and substantially spherical to allow bladder (30) to comfortably conform to limbs. Other free-flowing solid structures can be dispersed in the temperature-retaining fluid, such as inorganic particulates (e.g., sand, ceramic particles, etc.), spherical structures (glass, metal, etc.), magnets, etc. Other suitable substantially free-flowing structures may be dispersed within chambers (32, 34, 36, 38) as will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein.
It may be desirable to dispose an insulating layer between the limb and bladder (30) to prevent frostbite if bladder (30) has been pre-chilled. The insulation layer may be formed of fabric or polymeric foam. The insulation layer may be wrapped around the limb prior to applying device (10) (e.g., a sleeve, sock, ACE bandage, etc.), or the insulation layer may be disposed as a layer around bladder (30) so as to be coextensive with at least the inner surface of bladder (30).
II. Exemplary Application
Thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be chilled or heated and applied to a portion of the human body to provide thermal therapy treatment. Bladder (30) may be chilled by storing bladder (30) in a freezer, refrigerator, cooler, etc. Alternatively, bladder (30) may be heated by warming water and placing bladder (30) in the water. Other suitable cooling or heating methods will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings herein. Once bladder (30) reaches a desired temperature, bladder (30) may be coupled to harness (20, 120). Alternatively, bladder (30) and harness (20, 120) may be coupled and then both bladder (30) and harness (20, 120) may be chilled or heated while they are coupled. In the present example, harness (20, 120) may be coupled to bladder (30) by sliding harness (20, 120) into pocket (42) on interior chamber (32) of bladder (30) (
Once harness (20, 120) and bladder (30) are coupled, thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be applied to the desired body area for treatment. In the present example, thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be applied to the shoulder area. However, thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be applied to other body parts such as the hip, arm, finger, wrist, neck, forehead, head, rib cage, waist, thigh area, knee, leg, calf, foot, etc. Thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be placed on a user's shoulder as shown in
As mentioned above, thermal therapy device (10, 110) may be applied to treat a hip injury, as shown in
Having shown and described various embodiments of the present invention, further adaptations of the methods and systems described herein may be accomplished by appropriate modifications by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. Several of such potential modifications have been mentioned, and others will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance, the examples, embodiments, geometries, materials, dimensions, ratios, steps, and the like discussed above are illustrative. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be considered in terms of the following claims and is understood not to be limited to the details of structure and operation shown and described in the specification and drawings.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/499,537, filed Jun. 21, 2011, entitled “U SHAPED SHOULDER COLD THERAPY DEVICE,” the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61499537 | Jun 2011 | US |
