Patent Publication Number: US-10779070-B2

Title: Thermal pads

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/616,297, filed Jan. 11, 2018, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to interactive pads, which may be (but are not necessarily) incorporated into devices worn by a person such as articles of clothing, personal adornments, etc. In one embodiment, a headphone has a heating element that is thermo-reactive to vibrations such as sound waves. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. The summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some aspects of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented elsewhere herein. 
     According to one embodiment, an interactive device includes a housing, configured to be positioned on or adjacent a heat-receiving surface. The housing includes a plurality of controlled-response elements for outputting heat in response to the controlled-response elements receiving a first energy input. 
     In one aspect of the invention, the interactive device is headphones. In another aspect of the invention, the interactive device is a glove. In still other aspects of the invention, the interactive device is any device for proving heat to a desirable surface. 
     According to another embodiment, headphones include a speaker for creating sound waves, and an ear pad configured to be positioned on or around an ear of a wearer. The ear pad has a plurality of controlled-response elements for outputting heat to the wearer in response to the controlled-response elements receiving sound waves created by the speaker. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a rear view of headphones according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a partial exploded view of the headphones of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a cross section view of an ear pad of the headphones of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of one type of controlled-response element appropriate for use in the headphones of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a glove according to another embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of thermal pads are described herein. Examples are provided to help with the understanding of the invention, but should not be considered limiting. The concepts presented herein can be translated to a number of different devices as shall be understood by those of skill in the art. 
     According to one embodiment of the invention, illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , headphones  100  are adapted to be worn by a user. The headphones  100  include a left-ear unit  110  and a right-ear unit  110 ′, which are connected by a band  190 . The band  190  of the embodiment  100  is configured to extend atop the head of the user, and may be fixed or adjustable as is known in the art. The band  190  may alternately be a headband configured to extend around a circumference of the head, a hat covering some or all of the head, a visor, a scarf around the neck, a bracelet around the wrist, a warmer on a display panel, a circuit board thermal stabilizer, et cetera. The left-ear unit  110  is configured to be arranged on a left ear of the user wearing the headphones  100 , and the right-ear unit  110 ′ is configured to be arranged on a right ear of the user wearing headphones  100 . The left and right ear units  110 ,  110 ′ may preferably have symmetrical or mirror-image shapes and be substantially similar; the following description is given for the left-ear unit  110  and similarly applies for the right-ear unit  110 ′ unless otherwise noted, shown, or inherent. Moreover, in some embodiments, only a left-ear unit  110  or a right-ear unit  110 ′ is present without the other. 
     In the embodiment  100 , the left-ear unit  110  is generally circularly shaped, but may be any suitable geometric shape in other embodiments. The left-ear unit  110  includes a housing  120 , a speaker  140 , and an ear pad  150 . The speaker housing  120  may have a one-piece construction or may be formed of multiple pieces, based on such factors as cost and ease of manufacture. The housing  120  has a cavity  122  extending from one side  121  and may, for example, have a shape of a circular case or a hollow puck. The cavity  122  is bordered by sidewall  123  and end wall  124 , and a second cavity  125  may extend from the cavity  122 . The second cavity  125  may be useful for housing various components, such as a power source which may power components in one or both of the left and right ear units  110 ,  110 ′. A baffle plate  132  covers the cavity  122  and may have a generally complementary shape to the sidewall  123  (e.g., a circular or disc-like shape). The plate  132  may be permanently or removably coupled to the other portions of the housing  120  using any appropriate apparatus or method, whether now known or later developed, such as complementary threading, welding, adhesive, et cetera. The plate  132  includes at least one sound output hole  134  in communication with the cavity  122 , and it may be desirable for the sound output hole  134  to be disposed in the center of the plate  132 . The speaker  140  may be positioned within or adjacent the output hole  134 , and the speaker  140  and the output hole  134  may be sized or otherwise configured (e.g., with flanges) such that the speaker  140  cannot undesirably pass entirely through the output hole  134 . 
     The speaker  140  outputs sound waves when actuated, and may be any speaker now known or later developed. For example, a front (or user-facing) side of a speaker  140  well known in the art includes a diaphragm which has a fixed outer perimeter and a movable inner area coupled to a voice coil. The voice coil sits in front of a permanent magnet, and electrical signals pass through the voice coil—turning the coil into an electromagnet which either attracts or repels the permanent magnet, moving the coil (and the inner area of the diaphragm) backwards and forwards. Alternative displacement movements of the speaker  140  may be provided by the displacement of a ceramic-piezo, polymer-piezo or carbon nanostructure film diaphragm. Movement of the diaphragm result in sound wave propagation to the localized atmosphere through cycles of compression and rarefication of air. Air may consist of naturally occurring mixtures or intentionally fortified composites such as nitrogen, oxygen, or strategically selected inert materials (e.g. gases, liquids, gels, semi-fluids, or semi-solids). 
     The ear pad  150  is generally annular and overlies the baffle plate  132  for contacting a user on or around the user&#39;s ear. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the ear pad  150  may have outer and inner layers  152 ,  154 . The outer layer  152  may be made, for example, of natural or synthetic leather, foam, vinyl, cotton, or other fabrics. It may be preferred for the outer layer  152  to allow heat to pass therethrough, and some embodiments may omit the outer layer  152  altogether. The inner layer  154  includes compositions selected to provide a controlled response to stimulus (in the embodiment  100 , audio waves). The composition may include a carrier medium and a plurality of controlled-response elements, which may be uniformly distributed in the carrier medium, or may be strategically positioned at certain locations in the carrier medium to provide the desired response at select locations of the ear pad  150 . The controlled-response elements may, for example, include three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures  155  having a core  155   a  and a plurality of spokes  155   b  extending radially outwardly from the core  155   a . The spokes  155   b  may extend outwardly at a variety of angles. Other such nanostructures  155  may for example include C-60, carbon nanotubes, graphene, silicon nanotubes, cadmium zinc nanotubes, and the like. It may be particularly desirable for the controlled-response elements to vibrate and create a frictional force when introduced to sound waves (e.g., from the speaker  140 ), ultimately outputting heat. Depending on such factors as distribution of the controlled-response elements in the carrier medium and the insulating properties of the carrier medium, heat generated by vibration of the controlled-response elements may be localized in the ear pad  150  or dissipated throughout the ear pad  150 . The heat in the ear pad  150  may be soothing to the wearer, and particularly when used in cold environmental ambient conditions. In some embodiments, the inner layer  154  includes multiple types of controlled-response elements, selected to jointly provide the desired output (e.g., warming, subsonic, ultrasonic, haptic, harmonic waveforms). 
     While the embodiment  100  includes a device (i.e., the speaker  140 ) which triggers the response of the controlled-response elements, other embodiments may forego such triggering devices; in such embodiments, the trigger may be environmental. For example, if the trigger is the introduction of sound waves, such sound waves may be created by sources not directly coupled to the device. In embodiments, a portion of the controlled-response elements may be selectively tunable to a particular frequency such that the vibration of the controlled-response elements enhances the sound from the speaker(s)  140 , for example. Such influence on the controlled-response elements may be provided by controlling the reaction of a portion of the controlled-response elements to outside energy (e.g., not energy as a result of the sound waves, supplemental, unintentional ambient energy) to the ear pad  150 . 
     The portion of the controlled-response elements may be tuned to receive and react to the outside energy, for example, by providing a reaction (such as vibrations) in such a way to counteract the outside energy. Thus, the pad  150  may be equipped with one or more sensors configured to detect the frequency of the outside energy, and activate the portion of the controlled-response elements in accordance with the detected frequency. In another example, the portion of the controlled-response elements may be reoriented to block (filter or partially block) the passing of the outside energy through the pads  150 . Accordingly, one portion of the controlled-response elements may be tuned to enhance one frequency (e.g., the sound waves from the speaker  140 ) while another portion is tuned to block another frequency. Of course, the controlled-response elements can be configured to adjust to additional frequencies as necessary or desired. 
     The ear pad  150  may be integral to the headphones  100 , or it may be a separate add-on component. Where the ear pad  150  is integral to the headphones  100 , the ear pad  150  may be connected directly to the energy source for the headphones  100 . The energy source may provide the energy necessary to effectuate the tuning of the controlled-response elements. Where the ear pads  150  are separate from the headphones  100 , the ear pad  150  may be provided with a connector (e.g., a 3.5 mm connector) for plugging the ear pad  150  into the headphones  100 . In still another embodiment, the ear pad  150  may be provided with a standalone energy source for providing outside energy thereto (e.g., a battery). The amount of energy to the ear pad  150  may be controlled by a controller located on the headphones  100  or the ear pad  150 , as the case may be. The controller may be configured to control all and/or various portions of the controlled-response elements. In embodiments, the ear pad  150  may be wirelessly connected to a user&#39;s device (e.g., smartphone, watch, laptop, visor, glasses), and the user may engage with the device in order to control the application of energy to influence the controlled-response elements. 
     The ability to influence the controlled-response elements may be particularly useful where the headphones  100  are utilized in multiple environments. Because the controlled-response elements may be tunable to a particular resonant frequency, the user may be able to selectively increase and decrease the response of the controlled-response elements to the amount of energy applied to the ear pads  150 , which may be both a result of the soundwaves (e.g., from the speaker  140  and/or noise from the environment). For example, in a crowded room, the response of a portion of the controlled-response elements can be adjusted to block out the unwanted noise, while in a quiet room, all of the controlled-response elements may be focused on enhancing the sound from the speakers  140 . 
     As noted above, pads can be incorporated for use in other devices as well. According to another embodiment  200 , illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a glove  205  is equipped with a pocket  210  for receiving a thermal pad  205 . The thermal pad  250  is substantially similar to pad  150 , except as shown or as would be inherent. Like pad  150 , the thermal pad  250  includes an inner layer with compositions selected to provide a controlled response to stimulus as described herein. The pad  250  may optionally include an outer layer. The controlled-response elements operate in conjunction with one another to jointly provide the desired output. In embodiments, the desired output is heat, although other outputs (e.g., vibrations, electrical impulses, etc.) are also contemplated within the scope of the invention. 
     The controlled-response elements are triggered by the input of energy to the pad  250 . As mentioned herein, the input may be from a device (e.g., a battery) or it may be environmental. In one embodiment, the input may simply be movement of the glove, such as the natural movement of a wearer of the glove. While prior art heat generating systems have previously required vigorous movement to activate particles, here, such movement is not necessary. As described above, the controlled-response elements can then be tuned to a particular resonant frequency if desired. The input energy can optionally be stored in the native format (e.g. thermal, electrical, chemical) or be converted into a transduced energy storage format for use at a later time. For example, input energy vibrations can be transduced via piezo transducer into electrical impulses and stored for long periods of time into an electrical capacitor charge and discharged later based on a thermostat function when the heating output function is desired. 
     From the foregoing, it shall be understood that the pads  150 ,  20  may be incorporated into many different types of devices, whether wearable or not. For example, the pads may be useful in certain types of housings, such as battery housings, computer housings, etc. where it may be desirable for the equipment to heat up in order to function properly, especially in cold environments. Thus, by providing any form of an excitation energy sufficient to activate the controlled-response elements, the pads  150 ,  250  can provide heat where needed. This may be particularly valuable where traditional types of energy, such as electricity, is scarce, and other energy forms can be utilized to activate the controlled-response elements, even speaking in the direction of the pads  150 ,  250  so as to generate sound waves. 
     Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     Further, it will be understood that certain features and subcombinations may be of utility and may be employed within the scope of the disclosure. Further, various steps set forth herein may be carried out in orders that differ from those set forth herein without departing from the scope of the present methods. This description shall not be restricted to the above embodiments. It is to be understood that while certain forms of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown.