GB2106372A - Heating device - Google Patents

Abstract

A heating device, comprising electrical heating elements (24) disposed in a diver's suit (21), incorporates separate sources of electrical supply for the heating elements (24) on opposite sides of the diver's body (20). The electrical supply may be batteries (25, 26) or may be secondary windings (28, 29) of a transformer (30). In the former case the batteries may be mounted on the diver (20) at the same side as the element or elements (24) to which each is connected, or in either case the electrical source (25, 26, 28, 29) may be remote from the diver (10). The provision of independent power supplies to the opposite sides of the diver (10) precludes electric shock from passing across the diver's body in the event of insulation failure. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Heating device This invention relates to a heating device, and more particularly to a device for use by a diver for the purpose of self heating.

It is known to provide electrical heating elements within the fabric of divers' suits.

However, the provision of such elements gives rise to the possibility of an electric shock being received by the diver in the event of a breakdown of the insulation provided in the suit or around the supply means. In the salt water environment in which such suits are usually used such an electric shock can readily prove fatal, even if relatively low voltages are involved, especially if the shock is transmitted across the diver's body in the chest region.

To avoid or at least substantially reduce the risk of such a shock occurring, electrically heated suits are provided with very sensitive electric circuit breakers which are adapted to cut off the electric power supply to the heating elements within a few milliseconds of a breakdown of the insulation being detected. These breaker devices are of necessity very expensive since they are required to be very sensitive, quick acting and fail safe.

Consequently such devices are located, together with the electrical power, remote from the diver, i.e. in a boat, submarine or diving bell, and are in connection with the diver by means of an umbilical cord.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heating device which avoids or substantially avoids the disadvantages of the abovementioned heating systems.

The invention provides a heating device for use by a person comprising a covering garment adapted to cover at least a part of said person, said garment including at least one electrical heating element disposed at each side of said person in use of said garment, the or each heating element disposed at each side of said person being provided with a source of electrical power in electrical connection therewith which is electrically isolated from the or each heating element disposed at the other side of said person and source of electrical power therefor. Each electrical power source may be mounted on the person at that side thereof at which the or each heating element to which it is connected is disposed, or may be remote from the person, but be connected with said element or elements by means of an electrical conductor which is electrically insulated from the other side of the person.

The garment may cover a limb and the heating element or elements may be disposed within the fabric of said covering garment in the region of said limb.

The power source when mounted on the person may be adapted to be mounted on that limb or at the waist of the person on the same side thereof as that limb. If the power source is remote from the person the electrical connector may run from the power source to the person to be connected to the element at that side of the person. In these ways, even in the event of a breakdown in electrical insulation provided by or within the fabric of the covering garment and an electric shock being received by the person, such shock will not pass across the person's body. Any shock received by the person will be constrained within the limb concerned or to the side of the body between the limbs on one side only.

Each electrical power source may comprise a battery or batteries providing a power output for the heating of one limb or part thereof at low voltage. Alternatively each power source may be a secondary winding of a respective transformer, or a secondary winding which is independent of one or more other secondary windings of the same transformer which provides a power source for the other heating element or elements in the garment.

By these means the worst electric shock which may be received by the person is of low voltage in a limb or in one side of the body. Such a shock, even in the environment of salt water, may be felt but would be completely harmless.

Preferably, in the case of a power source mounted on the person, a plurality of batteries are disposed within a flexible container.

The covering garment may comprise a glove, sock, sleeve or stocking. Alternatively the garment may comprise a suit adapted to cover all or substantially all of the body of the person but having a heating element in one or each of several limb covering portions of the suit. In the latter case each heating element may be connected to a respective power source which may be located in the suit on the same side of the body as that heating element or comprise a respective remotely located battery or transformer secondary winding.

Alternatively each heating element on any one side of the person's body may be connected to a common power source located either in the suit on that side of the body or remote from the body but electrically insulated from any power source provided for heating elements on the other side of the person's body.

A switch device may be provided between the or each heating element and the or the respective power source. Such switch device may be disposed within the fabric of the covering garment and operable by pressure applied to the garment on the outside thereof.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 illustrates in side elevation a first embodiment, and Fig. 2 illustrates a second and a third embodiment at the left and right hand halves of the Figure respectively.

Referring now to Fig. 1 there is shown a diver 10 wearing a diving suit 1 The diving suit 11 is of the dry undergarment type known as a "woolly bear" and in use is covered by a waterproof outer suit (not shown). Attached to the suit 11 are gloves 12 and socks 13. Each giow 12 and sock 13 has provided within the fabric thereof an electric heating element 14. A container 1 5 for batteries 1 6 is secured around the waist of diver 10 at his right hand side to provide a source of electrical power for heating element 1 4 in right hand glove 1 2. A similar container is provided at the left hand side of diver 10 to provide a source of electrical power for a heating element in the left hand glove.Another container 1 7 is secured to the right hand thigh of diver 10 to provide a source of electrical power for heating element 14 in right hand sock 1 3 and a further similar container is secured to the left hand thigh to provide a source of electrical power for the heating element in the left hand sock. Each container 1 5, 1 7 contains five 2 volt batteries 1 6 which are in series electrical connection with the respective heating element 14 by means of conductors 1 8 disposed within the suit 11. In the electrical circuit between a set of batteries 1 6 and the respective heating element 14 is a pressure operable switch 19, only one being shown, which may be operated through the outer suit by pressure on the outside of the outer suit.In this way any particular heating element 14 may be energised when desired or the batteries 1 6 may be conserved if a heating element 14 is not required to be operative.

Referring now to Fig. 2, and in particular the right hand side of the diver 20 shown therein wearing a diving suit 21 of the aforementioned "woolly bear" type, the gloves 22 and socks 23 which are attached to the suit 21 incorporate heating elements 24. A battery 25, which is remote from the diver 20 is connected to the heating element 24 in the diver's right hand glove 22 and another battery 26 which is also remote from the diver 20 is connected to the heating element 24 in the diver's right hand sock 23. The two batteries 25, 26 are connected to the heating elements 24 by means of respective electrical leads 27 which are contained in either individual respective umbilical cords or a single umbilical cord (not shown). In the latter case the electrical leads may be incorporated in a single multi-core cable if desired.Alternatively a single battery and electrical lead may be provided for both heating elements disposed on the right hand side of the diver 20. In practice the suit heating equipment for the left hand side of the diver 20 would be a mirror image of that described above in relation to the right hand side. However there is no electrical connection between the heating equipment for the right hand side of the suit and that for the left hand side, separate batteries and leads being provided for the two sides of the suit, even though the leads may be carried in a single umbilical cord if desired.

In the accompanying Fig. 2 the heating equipment illustrated for the left hand side of the diver 20 is different from that described above for the right hand side of the diver 20 in one particular respect. Instead of batteries 25, 26 referred to above, in the embodiment shown for the left hand side of diver 20 the leads 27 are connected to individual secondary windings 28, 29 of a transformer 30. Winding 28 is connected to heating element 24 of left hand glove 22 and winding 29 is connected to heating element 24 of left hand sock 23.The heating elements 24 of the left hand glove 22 and left hand sock 23 may be connected to a single secondary winding by a common lead 27 if desired, but in any event with this embodiment separate leads and separate secondary windings are provided for connection to heating elements on opposite sides of the diver 20, irrespective of whether separate primary windings or a single primary winding is provided for the two sides.

By means of the heating devices of the invention there is no electrical connection between the left and right hand sides of the body.

In this way, even if there is a breakdown of electrical insulation around the batteries 16, the conductors 1 8 or 27 and/or the heating elements 1 4 or 24 there will be no tendency for an electrical shock to traverse the diver's body from side to side, particularly in the region of the heart.

Consequently any shock experienced by the diver will be restricted to the limbs and/or the sides of the body and should be harmless.

Other embodiments of heating device will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. For example, instead of gloves and/or socks, sleeves and/or stockings may incorporate heating elements 14 or 24 so as to provide heating of the arms and/or legs as well as or instead of the hands and feet. In the case of container 15, it may be secured to the diver's arm instead of his waist, and in the case of container 1 7 it may be secured to the diver's waist or his calf. Alternatively one container disposed on the right hand side of the diver 10 could provide a source of electrical power to the right hand glove and right hand sock, and likewise on the left hand side. Similarly instead of leads 27 being attached to diver 20 at his waist the leads for the glove heating element may be attached to the arms and those for the socks to the legs.

The container 1 5 is shown as containing five batteries 1 6. Obviously one battery or a number other than five batteries could be provided if desired. It is preferred that container 1 5 or 1 7 be flexible within the constraint provided by the batteries 1 6, and for this reason multiple rather than single batteries are preferred. In this way the container 1 5 or 17 will readily adopt the shape of the diver 10 in the region to which it is secured.

As an alternative to the exteriorly applied pressure operated switching means described above a mercury 'position sensitive' switch may be used. In such a case the switch may be disposed so as to be in the 'off' mode when the diver is stood in an upright position and in the 'on' mode when the diver is in a horizontal or nearly horizontal position such as is adopted when swimming. Such switches are readily sealed so as to be waterproof.

The abovementioned embodiments are described in relation to a 'dry' type suit but the invention is equally applicable for use with a 'wet' suit.

Claims (14)

1. A heating device for use by a person comprising a covering garment adapted to cover at least a part of said person, said garment including at least one electrical heating element disposed at each side of said person in use of said garment, the or each heating element disposed at each side of said person being provided with a source of electrical power in electrical connection therewith which is electrical isolated from the or each heating element disposed at the other side of said person and source of electrical power therefor.

2. A heating device according to claim 1 wherein each electrical power source is mounted on the person at that side thereof at which the or each heating element to which it is connected is disposed.

3. A heating device according to claim 2 wherein each power source is mounted at the waist of said person.

4. A heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said garment is adapted to cover a limb of said person and at least one heating element is disposed within the fabric of said garment in the region of said limb.

5. A heating device according to claim 4 when dependent on claim 2 wherein each power source is mounted on the limb in the region of which is disposed the or each heating element to which that power source is connected.

6. A heating device according to claim 1 wherein each electrical power source is remote from said person but is connected to a respective element or elements at one side of said person by means of an electrical conductor which is electrically isolated from the or each heating element disposed at the other side of said person and electrical conductor or conductors connected therewith.

7. A heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein each electrical power source comprises at least one battery.

8. A heating device according to claim 7 wherein each electrical power source comprises a plurality of batteries mounted in a flexible container.

9. A heating device according to claim 6 wherein each electrical power source comprises a secondary winding of a respective transformer.

10. A heating device according to claim 6 wherein each electrical power source comprises a secondary winding which is independent of one or more other secondary windings of a common transformer providing a power source for the other heating element or elements in the garment.

11. A heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 wherein a switching device is provided between each power source and the heating element or elements to which it is connected.

12. A heating device according to claim 11 wherein each switching device is disposed within the fabric of said garment and is operable by pressure applied to the garment at the outside thereof.

1 3. A heating device according to claim 11 wherein each switching device comprises a position sensitive switch.

14. A heating device according to claim 1 3 wherein each switch is disposed so as to be in the open circuit mode when the person is in an upright position and in the closed circuit mode when the person is in a substantially horizontal position.

1 5. A heating device according to any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein said garment is a diving suit.

1 6. A heating device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings.