HEATING PAD

Abstract: A heating pad intended for being carried on the body, in particular for patients suffering from rheumatic and other ailments which make it necessary for some parts of the body to be kept warm. The pad consists of an envelope (1) provided with an insert (2) consisting of one or more flexible sheets (3) of Plastics material, each sheet being provided on one face or both with a protruding pattern of plastics material consisting of a great number of air- or gas-filled bubbles or small bodies (4). The insert (2) preferably consists of a plurality of interconnected thin, flexible sheets (3) which on one face are provided with a great number of evenly distributed, preferably circular, hollow air-filled protuberances (4) of soft plastics material. The heating pad, which may have any convenient shape and size, can be provided with a belt (5) of elastic material, whereby it can be fastened in the desired position on the body of the carrier. It can also form part of garments, e.g. be inserted in the shoulder region, the back and/or the front part of a waistcoat or jacket.

Description: Heating pad Technical field The present invention relates to a heating pad inten¬ ded in particular for patients suffering from rheumatic and other ailments which make it necessary for some parts of the body to be kept warm. Background of the invention Electric heating pads, in particular, have hitherto been used for that purpose. Such pads, however, cannot be used when the patients are out of doors oτ when they are moving around. One has to use, instead, an insulating ma¬ terial of one kind or another, e.g. camel-hair articles, but one cannot thereby keep a sufficiently high temperature of the skin in the sick regions. • Mattresses and sitting pads provided with inserts of foamed plastics for protection from cold are known, cf. for instance the German OS No. 2 033 981 and No. 2 30793S. The inventor has, in connection with the development of the present invention, examined whether this material could be used for heating pads to be carried on the body, but it has proved that said material does not give an adequate thermal effect. Description of the invention It has now been found, according to the 'invention, that an adequate thermal effect can be achieved by u^ of a special insulating material which is characterised by a great number of air- or gas-filled bubbles or small bodies. The heating pad according to the invention, which is based upon this recognition, consists of an envelope pro¬ vided with an insert of insulating material, and the cha¬ racteristic feature of the invention is that the insert consists of one o more flexible sheets of plastics mate¬ rial, each sheet being provided on one face or both with a protruding pattern of plastics material consisting of a great number of air- or gas-filled bubbles or small bodies. When the heating pad is being used, warm air will be stored in these small bubbles, and- the heating pad will consequently be in a position to retain the body heat to such an extent that, under the pad, a skin temperature of e.g. up to 36.5 C can be reached. The surface area of the air-filled pattern can advantageously amount to at least 20 of- the surface of the sheets. When use is made of a plurality of sheets, these are preferably welded together at their edges, so as to cons¬ titute an insert consisting of coherent sheets. The envelope is made preferably of soft fabric, e.g. flannel, and is preferably detachable, e.g. provided with a "bur"-type fastener. Preferred embodiment. A particularly suitable heating pad consists, accor¬ ding to the invention, of a plurality of interconnected thin, flexible plastics sheets which on one face are pro¬ vided with a great number of evenly distributed, preferably, circular, hollow air-filled protuberances- of soft plastics material. Such a. material is manufactured, for instance, by the firm of NPE Emballage A/S, Haslev, Denmark. Description of drawing In the drawing. - Fig. 1 shows schematically, on a reduced scale, an embodiment of the heating pad according to the invention seen from the face intended for contact with the body of 5 the user, a corner of the envelope having been removed so as to make it possible to see the upper insert sheet, and Fig. 2 shows schematically, on a reduced scale, the same embodiment in perspective, a corner being shown open 0 so as to allow a view of the insert which is also open. In the drawing, 1 is an envelope, e.g. of flannel. 2 (Fig. 2) is an insert consisting of thin, flexible, transparent plastics sheets 3 which are provided on one face with a great number of protuberances 4 evenly dist- 5 ributed, consisting of air-filled bubbles of thin soft plastics material. The sheets are welded together at their edges. In the embodiment shown, the sheets are disposed so that one surface - the one facing the body of the user - shows protuberances, while the other surface is smooth. 0 The heating pad is provided with a belt 5 of elastic material, whereby the pad can be fastened in the desired position. 6 (Fig. 1) represents a "bur"-type fastener, e.g. the fastener sold under the trade name of Velcro. 5 In the embodiment shown, the surface area of the soft air-filled protuberances constitutes about 25 of the sheet area. Their height, in natural size, is about 2 mm. In order to attain a suitably high skin temperature, it has proved sufficient for the insert to have a total 0 thickness of just under 1 cm, and since the sheets are extremely light, the heating pad is very pleasant to wear and does not hamper the working ability. It has also to be mentioned that a pattern as the one shown allows an adequate ventilation between the heating 5 pad and the skin, which contributes to the comfort in use. The heating pad according to the invention may, of course, have any shape and size, as it can be intended -BϋREA T OMPI for use in different regions of the body, and it can also form part of garments, e.g. be inserted in the shoulder region, the back and/or the front part of a waistcoat.

Claims: Patent Claims 1. A heating pad consisting of an envelope 1 pro¬ vided with an insert 2 of insulating material, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the insert 2 consists of one or more flexible sheets 3 of plastics material, each sheet having on one face or both a protruding pattern of plastics material consisting of a great number of air- or gas-filled bubbles or small bodies 4. 2. A heating pad according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the insert 2 consists of a plurality of interconnected thin, flexible sheets 3 which, on one face, are provided with a great number of evenly distributed, preferably circular, hollow air- filled protuberances 4 of soft plastics material. REAT OMPI _

Inventors: PETERSEN K
Applicants: MERCATOR REKLAM OCH MARKNADSFO, MERCATOR REKLAM OCH MARKNADSFOERING AB
Application year: 1978
Main classification: A61F7
IPC codes: A61F7