Conformable heating blanket

Inventors

Augustine, Scott D. • Arnold, Randall C.

Assignees

Augustine Temperature Management LLC

Abstract

Embodiments include a heating blanket. The heating blanket may include a heating element and a shell covering the heating element. The heating element has elastic properties and is disposed in the shape of a sheet. The shell may have one or more sheets of polymeric material bonded together adjacent a perimeter of the heating element. One or more wires having malleable properties are secured within the shell. The wires allow the heating blanket to be secured to a patient.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a heating blanket for surgical patient warming that includes a heating element disposed in the shape of a sheet and enclosed by a shell covering the heating element. The shell comprises at least a first sheet and a second sheet of polymeric material joined together adjacent a perimeter of the heating element by a first weld or a first bond. The heating blanket further includes a pair of bus bars coupled to the heating element and extending between two edges of the heating element.

The heating blanket also includes a securing strip securing the heating element to the shell, where a first end of the securing strip is secured to the heating element and a second end is incorporated into the first weld or the first bond. Additionally, one or more wires extend from a first edge of the heating blanket to an opposing edge, where each wire is separate from the heating element and electrically isolated from the heating element. Each wire is malleable, bendable into a shape, and configured to hold that shape such that the blanket can be secured to a patient and held in close contact with at least a portion of the patient.

Each wire extends in a direction between the first edge and the opposing edge and is secured within the heating blanket, with the wire extending perpendicular to the pair of bus bars. In described embodiments, the heating blanket may include conductive or semi-conductive heating element materials such as fabric or film, and may include polypyrrole as a conductive or semi-conductive material. The shell may be formed from polymeric materials such as PVC or urethane, and the joining may be selected among radiofrequency welds, ultrasonic welds, heat welds, or adhesive bonds with or without stitching reinforcement.

Further structural refinements include forming an elongate sheath adjacent the shell perimeter by providing a second, parallel bond between polymer sheets so that one or more wires can be inserted into the elongate sheath and the sheath end is sealed. Additional refinements describe providing tubes within the elongate sheath to create a rounded edge, including tubes made of PVC. The heating element may also include a liquid-resistant elastomeric material coating portion for at least a portion of the heating element, and described wire conductor materials may include copper or aluminum.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims in the provided set are clm-00001 and clm-00009. Across these independent claims, the main inventive features comprise a sheet-shaped heating element within a polymeric shell joined along a heating-element perimeter, a pair of bus bars coupled to the heating element, and electrically isolated malleable wires arranged to hold the blanket in close patient contact and extend perpendicular to the bus bars.

Both independent claims cover a heating blanket structure combining a sheet-shaped heating element enclosed by polymeric shell sheets joined adjacent the heating-element perimeter, bus bars coupled to the heating element, and electrically isolated malleable bendable wires that hold a shape to secure the blanket in close contact with a patient, where the wires extend perpendicular to the bus bars.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications