Cap and vest garment components of an animate body heat exchanger
AssigneeCoolSystems, Inc.
InventorWilliam Elkins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Cap and vest components of an animate body heat exchanger designed to apply a controlled temperature to parts of a human body are described. The cap and vest components are often used in combination, and the interior side edges of the cap are curvilinear and intermesh lengthwise to assure that the portion of the head underlying the junction between such edges is subjected to the controlled temperature. The vest includes not only a zipper for application and removal, but also separate lacing for close fitting adjustment.
Claims22
A component of an animate body heat exchanger, which component is designed for contact with a part of an animate body for heat exchange therewith, comprising:
- a pair of overlapping fluid bladders, a first one of which is designed to direct flow of a heat exchange fluid as desired and includes at least one layer of a compliant material enabling such layer to conform to individual variations in the shape of the body part, and a second of which is shaped and positioned to direct gas pressure against said layer to press the same into intimate contact with said body part;
- said layer having at least a pair of side edges which are contiguous lengthwise with one another when said layer is in a configuration which generally is complementary to the shape of said body part;
- an adjustment mechanism for setting the distance between said side edges;
- and a separate opening and closing mechanism for use in applying said component to said body part.
A component of an animate body heat exchanger, which component is designed for contact with a part of an animate body for heat exchange therewith, comprising:
- a pair of overlapping fluid bladders, a first one of which is designed to direct flow of a heat exchange fluid as desired and includes at least one layer of a compliant material enabling such layer to conform to individual variations in the shape of the body part, and the other of which is shaped and positioned to direct gas pressure against said layer to press the same into intimate contact with said body part;
- said layer having at least a pair of adjacent side edges which mate with one another lengthwise when said layer is in a configuration which generally conforms to the shape of said body part, said side edges themselves being configured to intermesh with one another along their length when said configuration is made.
A garment component of an animate body heat exchanger, which component is designed for contact with a part of an animate body for heat exchange therewith, comprising:
- a pair of overlapping fluid bladders, a first one of which is for containing and directing flow of a heat exchange fluid as desired and the second one of which overlies the first one and is for directing gas pressure against said first one to press the same into intimate contact with said body part;
- said first one being made up of two spaced layers of a compliant material and the second of which is made up of a third layer of compliant material which cooperates with one of the layers of said first bladder to define a gas pressure chamber overlying said first bladder for said pressing, said component being shaped into a configuration complementary to said body part and having a pair of side edges made up of the three layers, said side edges being adjacent to one another lengthwise, and intermesh with one another along their adjacency.
A garment component of an animate body heat exchanger, which component is designed for contact with the torso of a human for heat exchange therewith, comprising a pair of overlapping fluid bladders, the first one of which is for containing and directing flow of a heat exchange fluid as desired and the second one of which overlies the first one and is for directing gas pressure against the first one to press the said first one into intimate contact with said body part;
- said first one being made up of two spaced layers of a compliant material and the second one being made up of a third layer of compliant material which cooperates with one of said layers of said first bladder to define a gas pressure chamber overlying said first bladder for said pressing, said component being shaped into a configuration complementary to a human torso and, in connection therewith, being folded over to provide a pair of side edges which are contiguous with one another lengthwise;
- lacing connecting said sides for setting the distance between said sides;
- and a separate opening and closing mechanism for use in applying said garment to said human torso.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.