Patent Publication Number: US-2015065923-A1

Title: Apparatus for heat strain reduction

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention broadly relates to an apparatus equipped with receptacles for enabling a user to cool off his or her extremities in order to reduce heat strain. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     It is well recognised that rehabilitation of fire fighters is a pressing issue which is constantly addressed by agencies and authorities from around the world. Studies have revealed that the maximum time period of strenuous work a fire fighter can sustain is approximately 45 minutes. The fire fighter&#39;s body temperature will get to a dangerous level if this time period is exceeded. It has been proven that forearm submersion in a cooling agent is the best way to cool core body temperature for working fire fighters. 
     Previous attempts to facilitate forearm submersion include provision of a chair with a water basin at the armrest level. This however has the shortcoming that a supply of customised chairs which are cumbersome to transport and carry is required. This is a problem as there is usually not enough room in a fire truck to carry customised chairs. In fact, most tire tracks are stripped back to bare essentials only when used on long duration jobs so chairs would most likely not be available. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of overcoming or ameliorating the above shortcoming or which will at least provide a useful alternative. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for reducing heat strain, the apparatus including; 
     at least one receptacle adapted to carry a coolant; and 
     a web attached to the receptacle; 
     wherein the web is adapted to engage and be suspended from a foreign object to support the receptacle. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a pair of receptacles. 
     Preferably, the web is in the form of a strap having one end attached to one of the receptacles and an opposite end attached to the other receptacle. The strap is preferred to be adjustable in length by way of art adjusting means. The adjusting means is preferably a buckle. 
     The strap is preferred to include one or more slits. Preferably, the slits are spaced apart along the length of the strap. The step may include a holding means adapted to facilitate removable attachment of a wet towel to the strap. 
     It is preferred that the or each receptacle is cylindrical in shape. The or each receptacle may be in other shape or form suitable for carrying the coolant. The receptacle includes an enhanced band located towards its upper end and adapted to be connected to or form an integral part of the strap. Preferably, the receptacle also includes an enhanced bottom adapted to support the weight of the coolant. More preferably, the enhanced band and bottom are connected by an extension of the strap, the extension being adapted to strengthen the body of the receptacle. The enhanced bottom is preferred to be made of a high wear-resistant material The receptacle has a body which is preferred to include a porous wall so as to facilitate heat dissipation. The porous wall is preferably made of a plastic mesh. Even more preferably, the receptacle further includes an enhanced rim defining an opening. 
     Preferably, the or each receptacle is adapted to receive a disposable carrier which is configured to carry the coolant. The disposable carrier is preferably in the form of a plastic bag. In a preferred embodiment, the plastic bag is longer than the receptacle such that after insertion, an uppermost portion of the plastic bag may be folded over the enhanced rim of the receptacle. The plastic bag may include a marker to indicate the maximum capacity to avoid over-filling of water. 
     The foreign object may be the neck and shoulder of a human being or a chair. 
     When the foreign object is a human being, the strap is preferred to be hung around the neck and over the shoulders of the user. As such, the apparatus is firmly supported by the user whose forearms are free to be inserted into the pair of receptacles, respectively. 
     When the foreign object is a chair, two slits are preferred to be selected to engage two upper corners of the back of the chair, respectively. As such, each of the upper corners is received in the corresponding selected slit thereby securely interlocking the receptacle to the chair. As a consequence, the position of each receptacle is fixed with respect to the chair facilitating insertion of the forearms of a user who is sitting on the chair info the respective receptacles. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention may be belter understood from the following non-limiting description of a preferred embodiment, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 1  including a plastic bag for carrying water; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 1  being applied on a human body; and 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the apparatus of  FIG. 1  being mounted on a chair. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an apparatus  10  for reducing heat strain is shown. The apparatus  10  has a pair of receptacles  12  &amp;  14  and a web. Each receptacle  12 ,  14  is adapted to carry a coolant such as water. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the web is in the form of a strap  16  having a portion  18  attached to an enhanced band  22  located towards an upper end of the receptacle  12 , and another portion  20  attached to an enhanced band  24  of the receptacle  14 . In the present embodiment, the enhanced band  22  is stitched onto the portion  18  of the strap  16 . It should however be noted that the band  22  may form an integral part of the strap  16 . The strap  16  is adjustable in length by way of an adjusting means in the form of a buckle  26 . More than one buckle may be provided along the length of the strap  16  to provide flexibility. The strap  16  has a series of slits  28  which are spaced apart along the length of the strap  16 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , each receptacle  12 ,  14  is cylindrical in shape. Each receptacle  16  also includes an enhanced bottom  30 ,  32  which are configured to support the weight of the coolant (not shown). Taking receptacle  12  as an example, the enhanced band  22  and bottom  30  are connected by an extension  34  of the strap  16 . The extension  34  is provided to strengthen the body  36  of the receptacle  12 . The enhanced bottoms  30  &amp;  32  are made of a high wear-resistant material such as Cordura™. The body  36  of, for example, receptacle  12  has a porous wall  38  so as to facilitate heat dissipation. The porous wall  38  is made of a plastic mesh. The enhanced bottom  30  serves the purpose of protecting the mesh from making direct contact with the ground and wearing out as a result. Each receptacle  12 ,  14  also has an enhanced rim  40 ,  42  defining an opening  44 ,  46 . 
     Turning to  FIG. 2 , as an example, receptacle  12  is configured to receive a disposable carrier in the form of a plastic bag  48  which in turn carries the coolant. Although not shown in  FIG. 2 , an identical plastic bag (not shown) is provided for receptacle  14 . The plastic bags  48  are disposable and applied for hygiene reasons. The plastic bag  48  is designed to be longer than the receptacle  12  such that alter insertion, an uppermost portion  50  of the plastic bag  48  may be folded over the enhanced rim  40  of the receptacle  16  so as to secure the position of the plastic bag  48 . Although not shown in the accompanying drawings, the plastic bag may contain a marker to indicate its maximum capacity so as to avoid over-filling of water which will result in an overflow after insertion of the forearms. 
     Turning to  FIG. 3 , wherein the web is adapted to engage and be suspended from a foreign object to support the receptacle. 
     It should be noted that the foreign object may be the neck and shoulder of a human being or a chair. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , when the foreign object is a human being, the strap  16  is hung around the neck  54  and over the shoulders  56  of the user  52 . As such, the apparatus  10  is firmly supported by the user  52  whose forearms  58  &amp;  60  are free to be inserted into the pair of receptacles  12  &amp;  14 , respectively. It will be appreciated that the apparatus  10  may be utilised by a fire fighter while resting under just about any circumstances. For instance, once equipped with the apparatus, the fire fighter can sit up against a wall, a tree log, a tree stump, against a fire truck tyre or on a bench etc. and have the receptacles, which are receiving the forearms, resting on the ground. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , when the foreign object is a chair  61 , two slits  62  &amp;  64  are selected to engage two upper corners  66  &amp;  68  of the back  70  of the chair  61 , respectively. As such, each of the upper corners  66 ,  68  is received in the corresponding selected slit  62 ,  64  thereby securely interlocking the receptacle  10  to the chair  61 . As a consequence, the position of each receptacle  12 ,  14  is fixed with respect to the chair  61  facilitating insertion of the forearms  58 ,  60  of a user (not shown) who is sitting on the chair  61  into the respective receptacles  12  &amp;  14 . Note that the plastic bags  48  are omitted in  FIG. 4  in order to facilitate clear illustration of the placement of the forearms  58  &amp;  60 . It will be appreciated that the apparatus of the present invention is suitable for mounting onto most chairs with a back including camping chairs and plastic moulded chairs. It will be appreciated that the apparatus of the present invention may be mounted on different designs of chairs. This is significantly advantageous as some fire trucks do have some sort of chairs and many staging areas do have chairs of different descriptions, most of which the apparatus  10  will fit. For long duration jobs, it is commonplace to have a staging area set up at for example a sports field or stadium where a large number of fire trucks can be parked and where a large number of fire fighters can rest between operations. Typically, a large number of different chairs are randomly brought out from the club or a local community centre. It is therefore advantageous that the apparatus  10  can be applied to chairs of different designs and configurations. 
     It is contemplated that the apparatus of the present invention may be manufactured in a size which would fit into the pocket of a fire fighter uniform. It is also contemplated that the strap includes a holding means adapted to facilitate removable attachment of a cooling means such as a wet towel to the strap. As such, a towel can be soaked in cool water and then wrapped around the neck of the user in order to generate an outstanding cooling effect. 
     Now that a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in some detail it will be apparent to a skilled person in the art that the apparatus of the present invention may offer at least the following advantages:
     1. it is easy to carry and use;   2. it is highly versatile being able to be used with or without a chair thereby significantly reducing the fire fighters waiting time;   3. it is adaptive being able to be mounted on chairs in different sizes, designs and configurations; and   4. it is re-usable by different fire fighters only requiring a change of the plastic bag;   

     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. All such variations and modifications are to be considered within the scope and spirit of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.