AU2004100116A4 - Portable heating article - Google Patents

Description

18/02 '04 WED 16:28 FAX 61299255911 GRIFFITH HACK 1004

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT Applicant; MARY SYGALL Invention Title; PORTABLE HEATING ARTICLE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 16:28 FAX 61299255911 GIFT AKIjo GRIFFITH HACK [a 005 -2 PORTABLE HEATING ARTICLE Technical Field The present invention relates to heating articles and more specifically to such articles that are designed to be wrapped or worn about a user.

Background of the Invention There are many instances where a person requires some thermal management. These situations include where a person has suffered exposure, or trauma. Furthermore, in more everyday situations some thermal management is often required where athletes are awaiting competition, for attendees at outdoor events, or as an aid for the disabled or elderly. in particular, the elderly and others with various medical conditions, especially those with insufficient circulation including the victims of stroke, often have limited circulation, or limited movement or mobility, which results in bodily extremities such as the feet, and even the legs, having insufficient circulation which can lead to the person feeling cold.

Traditionally, blankets or wraps have been used to warm a person. In extreme cases, such is when a person is suffering hypothermia, heated hospital blankets have been applied to the person to try to increase the person's body temperature in a shorter period of time. Other techniques that have been used include heating lamps and blowers in circumstances where there is ready access to a power source.

Sutrnary of the Invention According to the invention, there is provided a portable heating article comprising a body designed to be wrapped or worn about the body of a user, flexible heating COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 16:29 FAX 61299255911GIFIHAC00 GRIMTH HACK Q006 -3 elemetnts mounted to, and distributed across, at least a portion of the article body, and a power supply for the heating elements mounted to the article body, wherein the article is designed so that the article body may be wrapped or worn by the user while having both the heating elements and the power supply mounted thereto.

The advantage of the invention is that it is designed to be fully portable, and can be used in a manner consistent with a conventional wrap or blanket but which provides for accelerated heating and temperature control by virtue of the heating elements. As the power supply is mounted to the article body, no external power supply is required, therefore the article is ideally suited for outside use and hias a widespread application.

In a particular embodiment, the heating elements are arranged to operate under low voltage. This not only aids in the safety of the device, but also minimises the bulk of the power supply which is provided as part of the heating article. in a preferred form, the heating article operates under 12 Volts and the power source is at least one battery, but preferably a plurality of batteries, mounted either within or onto the article body- In a particularly preferred form, the temperature of the heating elements is thermostatically controlled and has an operating temperature in the range of 300 to 450C and more preferably between 350 to 400C. The operating time of the article under a fully charged power source is preferably in the range of 2 to 8 hours but more preferably in the range of 4 to 6 hours.

To enable the article body to be wrapped around the body of the user or worn, it is generally formed from sheet material so as to be shaped as a conventional blanket or wrap, or be tailored to enable it to be better suited to be worn.

In a particular form, the body has, insulation properties on at least one of its surfaces. This surface is designed to be located at the outer surface of the COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 18:29 FAX 61299255911GIFIhHC J00 GRIFFITH RACK (A 007 -4 article so as to provide a barrier to trap beat so as to improve the efficiency of the article.

in one form, the insulated surface of the body is formed as a fleece. In a particular form, the fleece is formed from acrylic wool and polyester blend textile such as that manufactured under the trade mark PQLARFLE ECE.

Such a material has a low weight and high insulating properties.

In one form, the heating element is disposed within the article body. In this arrangement it may be formed as a laminated structure or alternatively, the article body may include one or more pockets or cavities where the heating element are located. In one form of that arrangement, the inner surface which is arranged to be disposed against the user may be formed from a material which has a lower insulation property than the cuter surface to thereby allow more efficient heat transfer from the heating element to the user. In another form, the inner and outer surfaces of the article body may be made from the same material.

In yet another form, the article body may include elasticised gussets or cut out portions to enable the article to be more easily worn. The article body may also include fastening elements so as to enable the body article to be secured together to better locate around the user. such fastening elements include a hook and loop fastener, buttons, push studs or the like.

in one form, the heating elements are located in discrete zones on the article body. By confining the heating elements to certain zones enables the article to more readily heat selected parts of the user's body.

in one form, the article is in the form of a small blanket and the heating articles provide two separate heating zones which are spaced apart. In this application, when used as a leg warmer for a seated person, the first of the two elements can be placed on the thighs of the user whilst the other is located below the COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time (I1:m) 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 18:29 FAX 81299255911GIFIhHC I08 GRIFFITH RACK IM 008 knees. using the same design as a shoulder wrap, the heating elements may be located at or near the shoulder joint of the arms or marginally more to the front chest.

Aa such, both arrangements provide for both a comfortable and effective heating arrangement.

in one form, the heating elements are located on at least one flexible substrate and the article body is mounted to the or each substrate. In one form, the flexible substrate is a plastic PTF film. Such films are highly flexible and can be folded in multiple directions.

An advantage of providing the heating elements on a flexible film is that it can facilitate mounting of the heating elements to the article body. In one particular form, the flexible sheets are designed to located within cavities or pockets within the article body so that they can be received within and removed from the article body.

The advantage of this arrangement is that the heating elements can be easily removed to allow washing of the article body.

In a particular embodiment, the heating elements are in the form of a conductive ink which is printed onto the substrate. Typically the heating circuit is printed onto the film using a thermoplastic or polymer based thermoset conductive ink that remains flexible after it has been printed on the flexible substrate after it has been printed on the substrate and cured. These heating elements have a low mass and can heat up very rapidly.

Furthermore, such heaters are very thin (being in the order of 3mm), are light weight, moisture resistant, ozone resistant and fungus resistant, They can be mass produced economically regardless of the complexity of the circuit.

in another form, the heating elements are formed using silicon rubber with stranded resistance wires and/or etched foil as the conducting element. Again, such heating elements are highly flexible and have a low mass so that they will heat up very rapidly. A further advantage of the silicon rubber heating elements is that COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 18:30 FAX 81299255911 GIF~ AKLio GRIFFITH HACK [a 009 -6 thermalcouples, thermal cut off s and thermostats can, be moulded into the heating element directly.

To enable the heating article to be functional and convenient to use, it is important that the power supply is not bulky or heavy. In one form, the power supply is in the form of a plurality of batteries. A further advantage of using batteries is that is that they can be distributed around the heating article thereby allowing the weight to be distributed and also prevents certain sections of the article to be overly rigid.

In one form, a series of 7 batteries is used, delivering a total power of 14.8 volts. In a particularly preferred form, a rechargeable lithium battery is used such as a lithium Ion polymer battery which operates at 3..7 volts with normal capacity of Jl7OmAh. These batteries have a width of 95mm, a height of Gi4mm and a thickness of 5.35mm. The weight of each battery is approximately 64 gramt such that the total power source has a weight component which is less than 500 grams. These batteries are not only light, they are flexible.

Preferably these batteries are formed in pockets located within the article body and a connecting harness is utilised to couple the power source to the heating elements. The controller for the heating elements can be fully integrated with the interconnecting harness or could be independent thereto. In either arrangement, preferably the connecting harness, the controller, and the power source is all able to be r-emoved from the article body so as to allow washing of the article.

When the heating article is not in use, the batteries can be simply recharged using a electronic digital charger connected to a mains power.

Tests conducted -by the inventors have indicated that when using such a power supply in conjunction with the flexible heating circuits described above, a mean temperature of 37 0 C 2.S0C can be sustained for periods, of 4 to 6 hours.

COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 16:30 FAX 61299255911 GIF~ AK~ 1 GRIFFITH RACK [a 010 -7 Accordingly, the present invention provides a highly flexible light weight and portable heating article which has a high degree of safety and allows for the provision of warmth and comfort to users in many varied situations.

Brief Description of the Drawnyr It is convenient to hereinafter describe the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be appreciated that the particularity of the drawings and the related description is to be understood as not superseding the generality of the preceding broad description of the invention.

in the drawings.- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a heated wrap according to the first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the wrap of Fig. IL; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a wrap according to a second embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 4 is a variation of the wraps of Fig. 1 and 3.

Detailed Description Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a heating wrap 10 which incorporates a body 11 formed from sheet material and a heating system which is mounted to the body 11. The heating system 12 is formed from heating elements 13 and 14, a power supply 15 and a connecting harness 16 which incorporates an integrated controller 17. The heating system is integrated with the wrap body 11 and is sutticiently flexible so as to allow the wrap body to be used substantially as a conventional wrap to be either wrapped around a user or worn to facilitate securement of the wrap to the body of the user. A fastening system 18 comprising a hook and loop fastener is provided along opposite edges of the wrap body 11.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the heating system is COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 18:30 FAX 61299258911GRFTHAK J01 GRIFFITH RACK [a oil -9adesigned to have a low profile so that no part extends outwardly to any great extent from the wrap body 11.

Furthermore, as will be discussed in mnore detail below the heating system 12 is very flexible and light weight construction.

The wrap body 11 is formed from an acrylic wool and polyester blend textile which is both light weight and incorporates insulating properties. Furthermore, the individual components of the heating system 12 are mounted to the wrap within individual pockets (generally designated 20) which are able to be closed typically by a hook and loop fastener.

To enable the heating system to be fully integrated within the wrap body 11 whilst being both flexible and light weight, the heating elements 13 and 14 are made from a PTF film printed with conductive ink. These PTF heaters are highly flexible and can be folded in multiple directions. In the illustrated form, the outer dimensions of the wrap is in the order of 1,200 mm by 1,200 mm, and each heating element (13, 14) has dimensions of 200 x 300 x 3 mm. The heating elements incorporate a heating circuit (not shown) which is printed on the PTF film using either thermoplastics or polymer based thermoset conductive inks. These inks remain flexible after they have been printed on the substrate and cured.

The heating system operates under the low voltage of 12 Volts. This eliminates the possibility of injury, burns or electric shocks to the user. in the illustrated form, the power source 15 is formed from 7 batteries 2)1 -I0 connected in series. Each of the batteries has 2 cells connected in parallel and are designed to deliver a total power of 14.2 volt. Each battery will yield 3l7OmAh.

The battery 21 is a rechargeable lithium battery.

which in the embodiment shown is a lithium ion polymer battery which operates at 3.7 volts with a nominal capacity of 3170mHi and has dimensions of 99mm, a height of 61mm and a thickness of S.35rmn. These batteries each COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 16:31 FA.X 81299255911 GIF~ AKrji GRIFFITH HACK Qo12 9weigh approximately 64 gram. These batteries can be recharged using a specially produced electronically digital chargers. As such, the power supply 15 can be recharged When the wrap io is not in use, Using the heating system 12 disclosed, the heating elements will sustain a mean temperature of 37 0 C I 2.5S6C for a period of 4 to 6 hours. The heating element function as Oo unit and are controlled by the single controller 17 which allows it to be switched on and oft and controls the temperature.

In use, the wrap is manufactured so as to allow the batteries and wiring harness, and heating elements to be easily inserted and used so that the wrap can be laundered or dry cleaned.

In the illustrated design, the spacing between the heating elements 13 and 14 is designed to be approxcimately 500mm. This placement and spacing of the heating elements has the advantage in that it enables when used as a leg warmer, to enable one of the heating elements 13 to be placed on the thighs of the user and the other 14 below the knees. Also, if placed over the shoulder, the wrap heating elements would, depending on the size of the person, be near the shoulder joint of the arms or marginally more to the front of the chest, thereby providing both a comfortable arid effective heating system.

Fig. 3 illustrates a second embodiment which incorporates many of the features of the first embodiment and like reference numerals have been given to like features. Specifically, the wrap 50 incorporates a heating system 12 as in the previous embodiment and similarly incorporates the same power supply 15 using the lithium ion polymer batteries.

in the second embodiment as shown in Fig. 3 a different heating element system is utilised. In the second embodiment four heating elements 5i, 52, 53 and 54 are incorporated into the wrap 50. Each of these heating elements are 80mm in length, 40mm in width and 1.2mm COMS 1ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18 18/02 '04 WED 18:31 FAX 81209255911GIFIhHC GRIFFITH HACK 10I013 10 thick. The four heating elements are formed from silicon rubber with stranded resistance wires and/or etched foil as the conducting elements-. In addition, the heating elements include an integral thercmostat 55 which is mnoulded into the silicon rubber heating elements.

Fig. 4 illustrates a variation on the shape of the wrap body 11. For convenience, in the embodiment of Fig.

4, details of the heating system 12 is omitted. In the arrangement of Fig. 4 the wrap 60 incorporates cut out portions 61 in the wrap body 11 so as to facilitate wrapping of the wrap 60 around a user's legs and/or shoulders. Furthermore, a fastening strap 62 is provided which can either extend around the waist or the shoulders of a user. Typically, the fastening strap include a fastener such as hook and loop elements 63 at its outer end to enable it to be secured back onto an opposite end of the wrap.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, exccept where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

It will be appreciated that variations and/or modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention.

COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by II' Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18

Claims (4)

1. A portable heating article comprising a body designed to be wrapped or worn about the body of a user, flexible heating elements mounted to, and distributed across, at least a portion of the body, and power supply for the heating elements mounted to the article body, wherein the article is designed so that the article body may be wrapped or worn by the user whilst having the heating elements and power supply mounted thereto.

2. A heating article according to claim 1, wherein the heating elements are located on at least one flexible substrate and the article body is mounted to the or each substrate.-

3. A heating article according to claim 2, wherein the or each flexible substrate Is receivable within, and removable from, a pocket formed in the article body.

4, A heating article according to any preceding claim, wherein the body has at least one surface formed from an insulating material.. A heating article according to any preceding claim, wherein the power source is in the form of a plurality of batteries which are distributed across a portion of the article body. Dated this 18th day of February 2004 MARY SYAL By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK COMS ID No: SMBI-00624734 Received by IP Australia: Time 16:34 Date 2004-02-18