Patent Application
20200375283
The present disclosure relates generally to a wearable therapy system. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a wearable therapy system comprising a wearable garment and therapeutic hot and cold packs capable of being attached to and detached from the wearable garment.
Heat therapy and cold therapy are commonly used to alleviate pain, swelling, inflammation, and other conditions related to surgery, injury, exercise, and natural conditions. Heat therapy improves circulation and blood flow to a particular area. Specifically, increasing the temperature of an afflicted area can soothe discomfort, increase muscle flexibility, and heal damaged tissue. Cold therapy reduces blood flow to a particular area, which can reduce inflammation and swelling. Additionally, cold therapy reduces nerve activity, which can relieve pain.
To apply heat or cold therapy, therapeutic pads (e.g., ice/heat packs) are commonly used on the afflicted area. Generally, a person holds the ice/heat pack in a desired position against the body for a time period, or attaches the ice/heat pack to the body via adhesive tape or an elastic bandage wrap. Such methods are cumbersome, irritating, and can be difficult for a single person to employ. In addition, such methods are hard to apply when the person is injured and can become loose or undone during movement. In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a wearable therapy system capable of providing hot and cold therapies with convenience and ease.
The present disclosure generally relates to a wearable therapy system for an individual. Specifically, the wearable therapy system comprises a therapy pack, a therapy pack holder including a body and a first fastener system, the body being configured to be worn by a user and to removably receive the therapy pack, and a therapy garment comprising at least one attachment area including a second fastener system. The therapy pack holder is removably attachable to the attachment area in a plurality of positions with the first fastener system engaging the second fastener system to secure the therapy pack in relation to the therapy garment.
The foregoing features of the disclosure will be apparent from the following Detailed Description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure relates to a therapy system comprising a wearable garment and therapy pack capable of being attached to and detached from the wearable garment, as described in detail below in connection with
The securing strips 24 enable the therapy pack 12 to be stably positioned within the therapy pack holder 14. The securing strips 24 can comprise any material with adhesive, fastening, or gripping properties, such as, but not limited to, silicone, a hook and loop fastener system (e.g., Velcro®), adhesive tape, rubber, etc. It should be understood that any amount of securing strips 24 can be attached to the pouch 22, and in any configuration.
The fastener system 34 is attached to the pouch 32 and can comprise any type of system capable of removably attaching the therapy pack holder 14 to the therapy garment 16. By way of example, the fastener system 34 discussed herein could be a hook and loop fastener system (or one component thereof), such as Velcro®. However, those skilled in the art would understand that any other suitable fastener system can be used for attaching and detaching the therapy pack holder 14 to the therapy garment 16, such as but not limited to, an adhesive system, a magnetic system, a zipper system, a button system, a clip system, etc. In another example, the therapy pack 12 itself can include a fastener system such that is can be attached directly to the therapy garment 16.
The hook and loop fastener system comprises a hook component having small hooks, and a loop component having small loops. Pressing the hook component to the loop component causes the hooks to attach to the loops and fasten the hook component to the loop component. By way of example, the fastener system 34 can comprise a hook component, and can attach to a loop component of the therapy garment 16 (or vice versa).
The pouch 32 can comprise one or more openings. The therapy pack 12 can be inserted into the pouch 32 via the one or more openings. The closure mechanism 36 is used to aid in securing the therapy pack 12 inside the pouch 32. For example, the closure mechanism 36 can comprise a hook and loop fastener system inside the pouch 32. Specifically, a hook component can be attached to an interior top edge of the back side 32B of the of the pouch and a loop component can be attached to an interior top edge of the front side 32A of the pouch. Alternatively, the closure mechanism 36 can comprise a flap system, an adhesive system, a zipper system, a button system, a magnetic system, a clip system, or any other suitable system to retain the therapy pack 12 inside the pouch 32.
Moreover, any combination of the foregoing sections can include a fastener system. It is noted that although entire sections are described as being formed of a fastener material, it should be understood that individual strips can be placed in various locations on one or more of the sections.
The collar 50 can be raised and comprise of a padded or soft material. This allows the collar 50 to lessen discomfort associated with the user using a sling (e.g., due to surgery, injury, etc.), placing the therapy pack holder 14 near the neck area, etc. The placket 52 can comprise an attachment system to close the therapy garment 16 onto the user. For example, the placket 52 can comprise a hook and loop fastener system, hook and loop buttons, a zipper system, a button system, etc.
As discussed above, the therapy system 10 allows the user to wear the therapy garment 16 and removably attach one or more therapy packs 12, either alone or held by a therapy holder 14, to the therapy garment 16. It is noted that the use of a shirt as the therapy garment 16 is by way of example only, and that other garments can be used as the therapy garment 16, including but not limited to, long sleeve shirts, compression garments, sweatshirts, hooded sweatshirts, jackets, pants, shorts, gloves, braces (e.g., shoulder braces, elbow braces, wrist braces, knee braces, ankle braces, etc.) hats, masks, etc.
Having thus described the system and method in detail, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit or scope thereof. It will be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make any variations and modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. All such variations and modifications, including those discussed above, are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
