WO2000024277A9

WO2000024277A9 - Warm garment

Info

Publication number: WO2000024277A9
Application number: PCT/US1999/023975
Authority: WO
Inventors: Brian Doherty
Original assignee: Medstat Financial Inc Dba Ther; Brian Doherty
Priority date: 1998-10-23
Filing date: 1999-10-22
Publication date: 2002-08-22
Also published as: WO2000024277A1

Abstract

A warming garment (10) is provided including a body of flexible material including at least one pocket and a warming pouch (22) holding a phase change material having a melting/freezing temperature of greater than 93 °F and less than 150 °F that is received and held in the pocket. The invention also comprises a method of tranferring heat to an area of the body.

Description

WARM GARMENT

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/105,443 filed October 23, 1998.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a personal microclimate system and, more particularly, to a warming garment such as a vest, shirt, coat, pants or other clothing article adapted to supply heat to the covered area or areas of the wearer.

Summary of the Invention

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved, lightweight and reuseable personal warming or heating garment which reliably furnishes auxiliary heat or warmth to the wearer at a relatively constant temperature over an extended time period. Such a garment is particularly effective when worn beneath cold weather protective gear, such as insulated freezer or outdoor clothing, firefighter's clothing, bulletproof body armor or flak vests or the like.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a warming or heating garment (i.e. substantially any article of clothing) particularly adapted to supply heat to the covered area or areas of the individual wearing the garment. Such a garment may be utilized for a number of purposes including to enhance wearer comfort in a harsh cold-weather environment, to promote a stable body temperature following a medical procedure, to assist in recovery from hypothermia and even as a wrap or bandage to promote the natural healing process through the application of heat to an affected joint or soft tissue injury.

Additional objects, advantages and other novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

To achieve the foregoing and other objects, an in accordance with the purposes of the present invention described herein, an improved warming garment is provided. That improved warming garment includes a body of flexible material such as any of the fabrics commonly utilized for clothing purposes including cotton, polyester, cotton polyester blends or other appropriate materials. The body also includes at least one pocket for holding and receiving a warming pouch of phase change material. The phase change material has a melting/freezing temperature of greater than 93 °F and less than 125°F.

Preferably, the phase change material is at least one n-alkane. Accordingly, the phase change material may be selected from a group consisting of eicosane, heneicosane, docosane, tricosane, tetracosane and any mixtures thereof.

Still more preferably, the warming garment further includes a heating element for heating the phase change material and a thermostat for controlling the heating within a desired range.

More specifically describing the invention, the pouch includes a plurality of sealed chambers, each pair of adjacent sealed chambers being connected together by means of a living hinge. Additionally, each pouch includes a compartment adjacent the plurality of sealed chambers for receiving the heating element. The heating element, such as a serpentine wire, is connected by means of a power cord to a source of power which may be, for example, a battery pack carried by the wearer of the garment or a nearby electrical outlet.

The warming garment of the present invention is useful as protective gear against cold weather conditions for firefighters and others who must work in such conditions without risking exposure. Additionally, the warming garment of the present invention is particularly useful in medical applications as the application of warmth in a temperature range greater than 93 °F and less than 125 °F has been found to have therapeutic effects that promote the healing of various joint and soft tissue injuries.

Still other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the modes best suited to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.

Brief Description of the Drawing

The accompanying drawing incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrates several aspects of the present invention and together with the description serves to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a vest to illustrate the present invention; Figure 2 is a detailed front elevational view of a warming pouch of the type incorporated in the garment of the present invention such as the vest shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 2a is a detailed cross sectional view of the warming pouch of Figure 2; and Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the heating circuit for maintaining the phase change material housed in the vest of Figure 1 within a desired temperature range. Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The invention is directed to an improved personal warming (heating) garment such as the vest 10 shown in Figure 1 that is constructed with front and back panels or flaps 12, 14 connected together with adjustable shoulder straps or panels 16 so as to provide an opening 18 through which the head and neck of the wearer project. The front and back panels 12, 14 are secured at the torso of the wearer by adjustable straps or by other means such as the illustrated belt 20 that extend between the front panel and back panel about the waist of the wearer. The garment may be open beneath the upper arms of the wearer so that the arm and upper body mobility are not impeded in any way by the garment. A phase change material is encapsulated in separate plastic pouches

22, each with the same or a unique shape or configuration but each also adapted to minimize the bulkiness of the warming (heating) garment. Together the pouches 22 provide a volume of phase change material sufficient for several hours of personal warming (heating) at a comfortable temperature.

Preferably, the phase change material utilized is at least one n-alkane. Still more preferably the phase change material utilized is selected from the group consisting of eicosane, heneicosane, docosane, tricosane, tetracosane, pentacosane, hexacosane, heptacosane, octacosane, nonacosane, triacontane and any mixtures thereof. These compounds have respective melting/freezing temperatures of approximately 98.2, 104.9, 111.9, 117.7, 129.2, 128.3, 133.5, 139.1, 148.1, 146.66, 150.4°F. By mixing the n- alkanes melting/freezing temperatures between these specific values may be obtained. In one particularly useful embodiment eicosane is utilized. The inner surfaces of the front and back panels 12, 14 have at least one pocket 24 adapted to receive a respective warming pouch 22. The pockets 24 may be made of any material which is a good thermal transfer agent (e.g. polypropylene, cotton, rayon, polyester), which reduce or minimize the insulation between the pouches and the wearer. Toward this end, a mesh fabric may be used. The shoulder straps 16 and the side straps 20 are adjustable so that the wearer may adjust the device to properly fit him/her. This arrangement makes it possible to have only one or two (at most) garment sizes that will fit or conform to all uses. The straps 16, 20 are fastened by hook and loop type fasteners (i.e. Velcro) or any other type of fasteners, such as buckles or snaps known to be useful for such a purpose.

The warming pouches 22 are preferably formed with a plurality of separate sealed chambers 26 filled with phase change material having a melting/freezing temperature greater than 93 °F and less than 150°F. The separate chambers 26 are formed by heat sealing two sheets 25, 27 of plastic (e.g. Pellathane or other polyurethane, polyethylene, polyether or combination thereof) at the periphery of the desired shape to form the bag or pouch 22, then filling the pouch with the desired phase change material and heat sealing the pouch or bag along predetermined lines to form a live hinge or flexible seam 28 between the separate chambers. The seams 28 provide flexibility, but more importantly, the seams prevent the phase change material from lumping to the lowermost portions of the bag or pouch due to gravity as well as prevent the material from shifting off center due to changes in the position of the wearer.

A third layer 29 of plastic is added, sealed along the periphery of the pouch 22, but open at the top so as to form a separate compartment. A 5 heating element 30 is inserted with the element facing the phase change material. The element 30 is comprised of a substrate material and a 24 to 30 gauge insulated wire sewn or otherwise secured into place forming a serpentine configuration which is contiguous, a thermal overload device or thermostat 32 and a means to connect to a power providing cord leading to a

10 source of power such as a battery carried by the wearer or a standard electrical wall outlet. The substrate material must be one that is dielectric and has a high flash point with good insulation properties. The heating element 30 will charge the phase change material in the pouches 22 in a short period of time by heating the outer surface of the pouch 22 in the front

15 panel 12. Another heating element 30, heats the outer surface of the pouch 22 in the back panel 14.

The energy is collected within the phase change material resulting in that material changing from a solid waxy state to a semi solid or liquid state. Upon the phase change material attaining a specified temperature (93 °F -

20 125 °F), the thermal regulating device or thermostat 32 will open, causing the heating element 30 to shut down (off) until the pouch 22 containing the phase change material reaches a temperature where the phase change material returns back to a solid waxy form and the thermal regulating device or thermostat cools to where the contacts close causing the heating elements

25 to be electrified once again thereby re-heating the pouches 22 of phase change material.

The heating device operates at 9 vdc to 28 vdc at less than 20 amps. Thus, the heating element 30 may be powered through an automobile electrical outlet. Most automobile outlets are 13.8 vdc nominal. Optionally, the heating element 30 may be powered by adapting to 120 vac by means of a power converter that converts ordinary household current to the above specified 13.8 vdc.

The total weight of the vest 10 and two pouches 22 is less than 8 pounds (will vary due to chemical filling process). Electrical Specifications:

Operating Voltage 13.8 vdc Resistance 3.7 Ω

Amperage (per element) 3.7

Watts (per element) 51.5

In summary, numerous benefit result from employing the concepts of the present invention. A warming garment 10 is provided with pockets 24 that each hold a pouch 22 filled with a phase change material having a melting/freezing temperature of greater than 93 °F and less than 125 °F. Advantageously, such a garment may not only be worn beneath cold weather protective gear to protect the wearer from exposure and provide comfort in extreme cold weather conditions, but also may be utilized to provide therapeutic heat treatment to injured joints, limbs and soft tissue. The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when inteφreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.

Claims

In the Claims

1. A warming garment, comprising: a body of flexible material including at least one pocket; and a warming pouch of a phase change material having a melting/freezing temperature of greater than 93 °F and less than 150°F that is received and held in said pocket.

2. The warming garment of claim 1 , wherein said phase change material is at least one n-alkane.

3. The warming garment of claim 1, wherein said phase change material is selected from a group consisting of eicosane, heneicosane, docosane, tricosane, tetracosane, pentacosane, hexacosane, heptacosane, octacosane, nonacosane, triacontane and any mixtures thereof.

4. The warming garment of claim 1, further including a heating element for heating said phase change material and a thermostat for controlling said heating within a desired range.

5. The warming garment of claim 4, wherein said pouch includes a plurality of sealed chambers, each pair of adjacent sealed chambers being connected together by a living hinge.

6. The warming garment of claim 5, wherein said pouch includes a compartment adjacent said plurality of sealed chambers for receiving said heating element.

7. The warming garment of claim 6, wherein said heating element is a seφentine wire.

8. A method of transferring heat to an area of a body comprising: placing a warming garment including a pouch of phase change material having a melting/freezing temperature of greater than 93 °F and less than 150°F in contact with said area into which heat is to be transferred.