Thermal blanket with elastic fit

A thermal blanket for thermal treatment of areas of the body, comprising a foldable bodyside panel composed of double layers of thermoplastic sheet material heat-sealed together to define therebetween at least one passage communicating between an inlet opening and an adjacent outlet opening, and a soft, foldable exterior panel extending along said bodyside panel in parallel relation therewith:

• said bodyside and exterior panels being coplanar and having peripheral edges secured together to form a unitary foldable blanket;
• said exterior panel having soft loop-providing pile over substantially the entire exterior surface thereof;
• said blanket being provided with at least one attachment patch which projects beyond a free edge at a first end of said blanket and which is elastically stretchable in directions towards and away form said edge;
• said attachment patch having bodyside-facing hook-providing fabric for releasable attachment to said loop-providing pile of said exterior surface at a generally opposite second end of said blanket for maintaining said blanket in an interlocked but elastic relation about a body area for thermal treatment thereof;
• said blanket including an irregular, generally inverted, U-shaped central portion having an upper base portion, a first dependent leg and a second dependent leg which together define a patella opening;
• two upper leg-encircling portions extending in opposite directions from said base portion;
• and two lower leg-encircling portions each respectively extending in opposite directions from one of said dependent legs;
• said blanket being provided with at least two of said attachment patches which each respectively project beyond a free edge of one of said upper leg-encircling portions and one of said lower leg-encircling portions.

A thermal blanket for thermal treatment of areas of the body, comprising a foldable bodyside panel composed of double layers of thermoplastic sheet material heat-sealed together to define therebetween at least one passage communicating between an inlet opening and an adjacent outlet opening;

• and a soft, foldable exterior panel extending along said bodyside panel in parallel relation therewith;
• said bodyside and exterior panels being coplanar and having peripheral edges secured together to form a unitary foldable blanket;
• said exterior panel having soft loop-providing pile over substantially the entire exterior surface thereof, said blanket being provided with at least one attachment patch which projects beyond a free edge at a first end of said blanket and which is elastically stretchable in directions towards and away from said edge;
• said attachment patch having a bodyside-facing hook-providing fabric for releasable attachment to said loop-providing pile of said exterior surface at a generally opposite end of said blanket for maintaining said blanket in an interlocked but elastic relation about a body area for thermal treatment thereof;
• said blanket including a four-sided central portion and two integral wrapping portions which each extend in opposite directions from said central portion, one of said wrapping portions being provided with at least one of said attachment patches projecting beyond a free edge thereof for interlocking connection with the external surface of the other of said wrapping portions;
• said blanket also including parallel and flexible inlet and outlet tubes extending along one of said wrapping portions;
• said inlet and outlet tubes being connected at one end to said inlet and outlet openings, respectively, and at their opposite ends to a fluid coupling element;
• said one of said wrapping portions being provided with a band of material secured over said inlet and outlet tubes for maintaining said tubes in a parallel relation and preventing twisting and kinking thereof.