CA1224234A - Portable heat treatment system - Google Patents

Abstract

PORTABLE HEAT TREATMENT SYSTEM
Abstract A portable heat treatment system (10) in accordance with this invention includes a heating shoe (14) having a heat con-ductive base member (32) and heating means (34) for trans-mitting heat along the base member. A heat conductive container (12) having a base (24) with peripheral walls (20,22) extending upwardly therefrom defines a heat treating compartment, and the container is removably retained within the heating shoe with the base of the container being supported by the heat conductive base member of the shoe. A packaged, heat conduct-ive container (12,26) of body-treating material (18) also constitutes part of this invention.

Description

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, PO~TABLE HEAT TRE~T~ENT SYSTE

Field o Invcntion -This invention relates yenerally to a portabl2 heat treatment system, ancl more specifically ~o a system that is well suited for the treatment of parts o~ the h~nan body with c~ paraffin-type wax or similar treatment material.

ac~ground Art Port~ble parafEin ba~hs for administering heat therapy to parts of the human body are well ~nown. One such device which has been in commercial use for a con-siderable period of time is sold under the traaemark Therabath. This unit inc}udes a tank in which the par-affin wax is retained. When the bath is beincJ employea daily in home use, it is desira~le to replace the wax approximately once a month, and then to thorouyhly clea the tank. When the unit is being used in a clinic or other physical therapy department, it îs recommended that ~he wax be disgarded after each application~
In order to remove the wax from the Thexabatll sys~
tem, it is recomm nded that the wax first be cooled to permit it to solidify. Then, to remove the solid bloc~, it is necessary to slightly re-heat the ~lax to thereby loosen it from the tan~ walls. Any wax that still remains on thc walls is blottcd out with paper to~7el~, and if ncccssary, the bath is acJain heated to loosen any remain-ing solidiEied wax. Ater removal of all of thc wax, it is recommended by t~le manufacturer that a soapy cloth '~.2~

2--first be used to clean the tank, arlcl that a dry cloth then be used to complete the cLeanln~ operation.
From the above explanation, i-t shoula be app~rent that the cleallincJ operation is so~ew~lat cumbersorne. ~n fact, if the individual attempting to cl~an the tank i.s the one being treated for an affliction such as arthritis or hursitis of the hands, tne cleaninc3 operation itselE
can provide a ver~ painful experience.
It should also be pointed out that the Therabath .
tank weighs approximately 6 to 8 pounds t without the block of paraffin in it With approxima-tely 3 pounds of par-affin the unit weiyhs between ~ to 11 pounds. Xn either event the portability of the unit would bo enhanced if its weight were reduced.
U.S. Patent No. 3,157,774, issued to Moore et al, discloses a portable paraffin bath wherein the paraffin i.s retained in an inner container and indirectly heated by a heat exchange liquid, such as water. The batn dis-closecl in ;Moore.is somewllat complex, including two drain-age s~stems; one for removing the.treatment material (e.g. paraffin~., an~ the other for removi~.g the heat exchange liquid ~e.g. water3. Moreover, once the treatment liquid has been removed from the inner container, a manual cleaning oDe~ation~ similar to. ~ that re~uired i.n connection with the Tnerabath system, needs to b~ em210yed.
U.S. Patent l~o. 4,149,536, issued to Villard, although relating to a paraf,in wax ~reatment system~ ~n~-ploys a spray gun for applying the treatment i.luid to ~hc part or the body requiring treatment. This is sic~nifi-cantly different from, and employs an entirely differ~n~:
structural arrangement of elements than the pr.esent nven tion .

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U.S. 1?atent No. 2,~3,3~9, issuecl to Starlshur~, also discl.oses a therap~utic bath e~plo~incJ paraf~in. Xn this construction the metal vesse.l. 20 .in which the paraEf:in is retained is a fixed part of the Ull:i t, i.e. i.~ .is not.
removable from its supporting structuxe. In .~act, the invention disclosed in this patent is directecl predomi-nately to the paraffin drainage system associated wi.th the vessel~
U.S. Patent No. 2,396,578, issued to Kittel et al, is referenced herein because it does relate ~e,nerally to an apparatus for heating and melting plastic or similar material. This apparatus employs an inairect heat'ing system similar to ~hat employed.in the apparatus dis-closed in the earlier-discussed 2~1oore et al Patent . (3,157,774~, but does.not relate to a heat therapy s~stem of the type designed to acco~modate a part of the human body.
The invention describea hereina~'ter is particularly well suited for heat therapy applications.
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,. Disclosure of Invention , This i.nvention relates-to a li~Jht-weight, portable heat treatmen~ system, particularl~ well suited for a~ninistering heat therapy to parts of the hu~an body for such ailments as arthritis" bursitis and chronic.
joint infla~ation. In parti.cular, the system is most -desirably employed with para~fin-type wa~ to carxy out the therape~ltic treatment.
~ portablc heat treatment s~stern in a,ccordance ~ith this inventi.on includes a heating shoe, said shoe having - a heat conductive base me~mber and hea-tin~ means ~or ..... ~

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., transmitting heat along said base member; a h~!at conduc-tive contalner having a base with peripheral walls ex tending upwardly therefrom fox deEining a hea~ trea~ing compartment; said container being removably retained with-in the heating shoe with the base of said containér being supported by the heat conductive base member of sai~ shoe.
As i.ndica-ted above, in the most preferred embodiment of this invention the heat treating compartment includes a paraffin-typ~ wax material for providiny treatmen~ to a part of the human body. ~lost preferabl~ the container is removably retained in the heating shoe solely by its . own weight ~e.g. by gravity), whereby it c n ~e removed easily merely by lifting it out of the supporting shoe.
In accordance with this invention the container, with para~fin wax retained therein, is packaged c~nd sold as a separate item. Therefore, when it is desired to change the wax, a replacement package is merely su~-stitutea ~or the spent package. This completely elimQ-nates -the need for emptying the wax-containing compar~ment and thereafter cleaning it; a significant improvement over the prior art constructions that require drairling ana cleaning of the compartment prior to introducing the fresh charge o~ ~tax.
In accordance ~tith the preferred embodiment of this invention the main body of the heating shoe is a unitary, lignt-weight, injection molded part which is extremely easy and economical to fabricate. In fact, the entire weight of the system, including the con-tainer ~tith par-affin in it, ~till be less than 6 ~ounds; pre~erably in the rancye of 4 to 5 pounds~

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~5--In t~le most prc~errcd embocl.im~nt o~ tl~i!, i.rven~ion thc ncatin~ means employecl in conncction ~.;;.t:h t~le he~t conductiv~ base me~b~r of th~ shoe is a flcxi~le Eoil heater of a ~ell kno~Jn construction, and this h~ater is sec~red adhesively to tl~e heat conductive base m~mber. In this arrangement the base of th~ hea~ conducti.~7~, para~fin-retaining container .is directly supported on 1:he flexi.ble foil heater to carr~ out the heating oper2tion.
The heat conductiva base mcmber pre~erably is con-structed of aluminum, or similar high h~at conducting material. Most preferably th~ base mernb~r inc,-lucLes peripheral end ~7alls and sidcwalls which closely conform to the peripheral walls of the neat-conduc~ive con~ainer for effici~ntly trar.sm.itting heat tllrougil the peri.phera.~
container ~7alls to melt the paraffin ~Jax. Most preferably the height of the peripheral wc~lls of tne heat conductiv~
base ~.~mb~r is at least appro~iMately equal ~c~ the dcpth to wllich the heat con~uctive contailler is filled with tll~
solid paraffin wax. This provides for e~tremely effective heat tr~nsfer to the wax-retaining area OL the container for meltin~ the wax preparato:ry to carr~ing out the tllerapeutic neat treatiny op~rati.on, Other o~jects and a fuller unclerstanding o~ the invention will be had by re~erring to the ~ollo~ing description c~f the Best Mode of the Inver.t.ion, ~a~en in conjunction with th~ accompanying drawincJs.

~rie escr.~p-ti.on Or. the Dr~ nc~s Fig. 1 is an c~l~loded isometric vic-~; of a preferred embocliment o~ tlle hcat treatm2r.t systern of tllis invc-n~.ion;
Ficy. 2 is a cross-sectiol~al view o' the syst~m illustrated in Fig. 1, ~ut ~ th the parts as!,embled, except for the lid; and Fig. 3 is an exploded isometric view of the package of treating material in accordance wit'n a further -aspect of this invention.

Best Mode of the Invention Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the heat treatment sys-tme 10 in accordance wit~ this invention includes a heat conductive container 12 removably retained within a heating support member 14, also referred to hexein as a heating shoe. In fact, the heat conductive con-tainer ~2 actually is supported in the shoe 1~ solely by its o~n weight (i.e., by gravity), and c~n be removed easily b~
merely liEting it out of tne shoe. ~he construction of the system 10 is completed by a top, or cap 16 employed to close the open end o the container 12 for preventing contamination of the syst~m when it is not in use.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, tlle heat conductive container 12 J pre~erably tin-plated or formed ~rom a similar heat conductive material, includes a chaxge o paraf~in wax 18. Pre~erably the paraffin wax incluaes a skin conditioner, such as lanolin or glycerin, and is compoundecl to melt at a temperature of appro~imately 120F. The container 12 includes sloping end ~lalls 20 and sloping sidewalls 22; diverging out~ardly from a flat bottom wall 24.
Referring specifically to Fig. 3, the container 12, in accordance with the present invention, is pac~aged for salc as a separatc replacement unit for use in conjunction

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witll the hea-ting shoe 14. In fact, it can be packaged in many differen-t wa~s; one pre~Ee~red way being to retain it within a conventional box 26.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the heating shoe 14 includes a unitary injection molded housing 30, a conduc tive heater plate or base member 32, a flexible foil heater 34 and a bottom closure plate 35.
In a preferred construction o~ this invention the housing 30 is injection mold~d from a glass-i-illed plastic such as Nylon 6-6 ha~ing a melting point of cl~OUt 485F.
It is important that the plastic utili2ed to form the housing ~ave a sufficiently high melting point to prevent it from distorting or melting when it is employed to heat -tlle parafEin wax to its melting point ~e.g. approximately 120F~. It should be understood that other suitable materials can be employed to form the housing 3U provi~ed they have the reguired heat stable characteristics.
The injection molded housing 30 includes inner peripheraL end ~ralls 36 and inner peripheral sidewalls 38, all of ~hich terminate short of lower suxfaces, or margins 40 of the outer peripneral end walls 42 and sidewalls of said housing. A plurality o~ bosses 46, preferably six in n-~berv are molded as continuous extensions of the inner per.ipheral walls 36 and 38; Most preferably a boss is provided at each o the four junctions between the end walls and sidewalIs, and two addi~ional bosses are provided at the midpoint of each of the sidewalls.
These six ~osses are spaced from each other ana include upper flal: surfaces 48 su~stantially in a common horizon-tal plane Eor supportin~ the conductiv~ heater plate 32;
prefera~ly formed of aluminum or o-ther hicJhly heat con-ductive material. Eacil of tl~e bosses ~G is provided with 3~

a screw-rcceivillg passacle 50 e~:tenclincJ co~ tely throu~h its lencJtll. Scrc~ls (e.~. Sl) coopera~e ~7.ith each of ~he bosses to fi~nJ.y securc th~ eondLIc~ive hea~r plate 32 and the bottom closure plate 35 to the injection molded housing 30. When the heater plate 32 is fast:ened to thc bosses ~6, it cooperates with the inner peripheral ~lalls 36 and 38 of the housing to define a frus'~o-conical com-partment that closel,y conforms to the frustro-cPnical co~fi~uration of tlle heat conduct.ive container 12. Xn fact, the sloping end t/~lls 20 and slopin~ siclewalls 22 of the container 12 match t}le slope of the inner peripheral end walls 36 and siae~alls 38 o~ the housing 30, a'nd the bottom wa:Ll 2~ of the container 12 is,only sligh~ly smaller in width and length than a flat lo-;ler ~all 56 of the heater plate 32 ~Fig. 1).
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the heater plate 32 J in addition t:o havillg a flat low~r wall 56, includes slopin~
perip'leral ~na walls 58 ~nd slopin~ peripheral side~alls 60. One o~ the end ~7alls S~ is interrup-tcd ~t 62,'and a tongue 6~, constitu~ing a continuous e~tensioll of the ~lat lo~er wall 56, pxojects out~ardly beyond the ~nd wall 58, and t~rminates in an upwardly directed s~ction 66.
A thermostat 68 is secured to tl~e upri~hl seclion 66 of the heat conductiv~ plate 32 to control the temperature of the paraffin ~JaY~ 18. Many di~Eerent types of thermost~ts can be cmployed in this invention; one preferrcd type bein~J a conventional bimetallic adjustable appliance thermostat tnat is preset at the Eac to.ry to control the opcration o:E th~ fle~xil~lc foil hcater 3~ for maint?.ining the E~arafEill wax at tlle clcsired temperature. It shoulc~
bc unclcrstood that a va~ iable ther~lostat also could be used in corlncc tion wi-th th:;s in~cn t.ion .

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The flexible foil heater 3~ is of a conventional design; one acceptable heater be.in~ sold by Ohm~eve Co., and being rated at l47 ohms, 0.8 amps at 96 watts~ This foil heater 34 preEerably is attached by adhesive (not shown) to the lower wall 56 of the conductive heater 32.
Due to the high heat conductivity of the pla~e 32, the heat from -the fle~ible foil heater will ~e transmitted evenly over the entire plate, including the secl:ion 66, to thereby control the operation of the thermos1.~t 6~.
Note that the sloping end walls 58 and sloping sidewalls 60 of the heater plate 32 are positioned closely adjacent corresponding.sloping end walls and side~Jalls 2() and 22, respectively, of the container 12. In fact, the slopin~
end walls an~ sidewalls of the heater plate 32 exten~ up the peripheral walls.of the container 12 a aistance sub-stantially e~ual to the depth~of the solid paraffin wax retained ~Jithin said container ~Fig. 2). In an exemplary embodiment of this invention about three pounds of par-affin wax is retained in a tin-plated pan dimensioned establish a paraffin wax depth of ahout l-l/2 inches.
Referring specifically to Fig. 2, the ther~ostat 68 is located w.ithin a peripheral cha~ber 70 formed between the inner and outer peripheral wal-ls of the injectio~
mold~d housing 30 and.ex-tending comple~ely around the periphery of said housing. This chamber 70 communicates, between the spaced-apart bosses 46, with a lower compart-ment 72, located beneath the conductive heater plate 32.
Before the bot-tom plate 35 is securea to the injection molded housilly 30 to close off the cham~er 70 and com-partment 72, a convcn-tional pluy (not shot7n) is electri-c~lly connected to the leads of the foil heater through .

the thermo~;tat 68 ln a well-known conventional manner. To this end the leads 76 oE the foil heater are directed through the interruption 62 in the end wall 58 of the heater plate 32 so that the necessary connections of these leads to the thermostat 68 and plug can be made.
From the above description it should be apparent that this invention embodies several signific~nt advantages ovér the prior art. The injection molded housing 30 aids in establishing an extremely light-weight portable structure.
Tne structural arrangemen-t between the flexible foil heater 34 and the conductive heater plate 32 pxovides excellent control ~ver the heating operations to bo~h melt the paraf~in wax retained within the container 12, an~ also to maintain the ~7ax at the desired treatment t~mperature.
The unigue manner of,removably mounting the container 12 within the heat shoe l4 also constitutes a distinct ad-vantage over prior art structures. ~oreover, the individual packaging' of replacement packages e~iminates time-consuming and burdensome cleaning operations reguired with other syste~s. - , Althou~h I have described the present invention with reference to the particulax embodiment of the invention herein set ~orth, it is understood that the present dis-closure has beèn made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction may he , resorted to ~7ithout departing from the spirit,and scope of the invention. T~lus, the sco~e of the invention shoula not be limited to the fore~oing specification, but rather to the scope of the claims appended hereto.

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Claims (2)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMES ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A replacement unit usable in conjunction with a heating shoe of a portable heat treatment system to administer heat therapy to a part of the human body;
characterized in that said unit includes a heat conductive container having a base and peripheral walls extending up-wardly from said base to define a compartment, a solid body treating material only partially filling the compartment and being adapted to be melted by use of the heating shoe, and packaging means for said partially filled container.

2. The replacement unit of claim 1, characterized in that the solid body of treating material includes paraffin wax.