Heating blanket

Inventors

Augustine, Scott D. • Arnold, Randall C. • Augustine, Ryan S. • Deibel, Rudolf A. • Entenman, Scott A. • Lawrence, Gordon D. • Leland, Keith J. • Neils, Thomas F.

Assignees

Augustine Temperature Management LLC

Abstract

An electric blanket including a flexible sheet-like heating element, a shell comprising two flexible sheets covering the heating element, one or more welds coupling the sheet of the shell about the edges to hermetically seal the heating element there between; and a flexible insulating layer extending over the heating element and covered by the shell providing at least one of thermal insulation and electrical insulation, wherein the heating element is held in position between the two sheets of the shell without using connectors that pierce the two sheets.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to an electric heating pad, mattress, mattress overlay, or electric heating blanket for warming a body of a person or a patient. The device includes a flexible sheet-like heating element with a first side and a second side comprising an electrical heating element, and the heating element is enclosed by a shell covering the heating element, where the shell includes first and second flexible sheets defining edges.

The shell hermetically seals the heating element by one or more welds coupling the first flexible sheet to the second flexible sheet about the edges, thereby defining a pouch that encloses the heating element. The heating element is secured to the shell via the one or more welds and held in position between the first and second flexible sheets of the shell without using connectors that pierce the first and second flexible sheets of the shell and without using an adhesive bond that adheres the first or second side of the heating element to the shell.

A flexible insulating layer extends over the first side of the heating element and is covered by the shell, where the flexible insulating layer provides at least one of thermal insulation and electrical insulation. The heating element produces a substantially uniform watt density output across a surface area due to having a surface area of generally uniform electrical resistance per unit area, and the electric heating pad, mattress, or overlay is conformable to curves of the body of the person or the patient.

In embodiments including zone-based sensing, a temperature sensor is coupled to the heating element at a first location that defines a first temperature zone, and the first temperature zone is associated with conductive contact with the body when the pad, mattress, or overlay supports the body. Additional features include a temperature controller and an electric power source configured to maintain temperature relationships between a first temperature and a second temperature at a second temperature zone.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims cover four main inventive groupings, totaling four independent claim sets. Across these independent claims, the inventive coverage centers on a weld-formed hermetically sealed pouch shell that secures a flexible sheet-like heating element without connector piercing or adhesive bonding, optionally combined with insulation, conformability, uniform watt density, and zone-based temperature sensing/control.

Overall, the independent claims define an electric heating pad, mattress, or overlay with a flexible sheet-like heating element enclosed in a hermetically sealed shell pouch formed by welds, explicitly avoiding connector piercing and adhesive bonding to secure the heating element. The claims further include a flexible insulating layer, conformability to body curves, and, in specific independent coverage, uniform watt density output, temperature zoning via a temperature sensor, and temperature control logic using a temperature controller and electric power source.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications