Stoves and furnaces – Heaters – Chemical
Patent
1992-12-07
1994-08-23
Jones, Larry
Stoves and furnaces
Heaters
Chemical
126263DB, 126263DC, 252 70, 604291, F24J 100
Patent
active
053397967
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to reusable warmers for directly applying heat to areas of the human body to relieve muscle aches, pains and the like which employ a super-cooled aqueous solution (as for example, a super-cooled, super-saturated aqueous sodium acetate solution) and an activator to initiate the crystallization of the super-cooled liquid.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Reusable warmers employing a super-cooled aqueous solution and an activator have been used by sportsmen and others for years to warm parts of the human body. Such a reusable warmer is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,390 to Stanley et al. (issued Mar. 7, 1978) generally at FIG. 1 and described generally at column 1, line 59 to column 2 line 4 as being a sealed bag-like flexible receptacle (such as polyethylene, nylon and the like) containing a super-cooled aqueous sodium acetate and an activator comprising a flexible metal strip having one or more slits or fissures, said patent being incorporated herein by reference. A reusable warmer having another type of activator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,442 to Manker (issued Oct. 10, 1989), said patent being incorporated herein by reference.
In reusable warmers of the present type, a supercooled solution, such as an aqueous sodium acetate solution, is contained in a flexible receptacle, such as a bag-like receptacle. The solution is activated by flexing or bending the activator strip. Upon activation, the sodium acetate in the super-cooled solution crystallizes and heat (i.e. the "heat of crystallization") is evolved. All references herein to reusable warmer or heat packs are meant to refer to the aforementioned type of heat pack in which a supercooled solution is provided in a flexible container, which also houses a trigger or activator for initiating crystallization.
One of the primary uses for such reusable warmers is the application of heat directly to various parts of the human body for therapeutic purposes such as to relieve muscle aches and pains, to reduce inflammation and to promote healing of damaged tissue. Other uses include those by sports participants (such as hunters, skiers and the like) or sports enthusiasts (such as spectators at sporting events) who use the warmers to keep various parts of their bodies warm during cold weather.
Unfortunately, because the supercooled solution used in the warmer is water-like in consistency, it is easily drawn by gravity. The resultant flowing of the solution presents a practical problem in applying the warmer to the human body. A person using a reusable warmer may be standing, sitting or walking, while trying to apply the warmer. The gravitational pull on the fluid, however, causes the solution to flow to the lowest possible point, making application difficult, if not impossible under such conditions.
Further, because the human body, in general, is contoured and not flat, attempts to apply the present-day warmers to areas such as the knee, even when the patient is in a horizontal position, present great difficulty. Because some portion of the region to be treated always will remain in a nonhorizontal position (i.e. not flat), the liquid naturally flows away therefrom.
In particular, it has been found that during use the super-cooled aqueous solution in the present-day, reusable warmers the supercooled liquid in the plastic bag will flow, for example, around a leg or arm or knee, from areas in the bag having too much solution, leaving other areas with too little. This phenomenon has been referred to as "saddlebagging."
Saddlebagging leads to uneven coverage by the reusable warmer of the body part area to be heated. Heretofore, the art has attempted to minimize saddlebagging by various means. These have included, for example, adding welds to the flexible, sealed container of the warmer so that the solution is restrained from freely flowing. Also, the use of very heavy gauge plastics which will not only be more resistant to bending, but will also act to restrain flow of the super-cooled solution and keep a
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patent: 4865012 (1989-09-01), Kelley
patent: 4872442 (1989-10-01), Manker
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patent: 5058563 (1991-10-01), Manker
Jones Larry
Prism Technologies, Inc.
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