Patent Publication Number: US-2012023782-A1

Title: Thermal Therapy Boot

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/369,099 filed on Jul. 30, 2010, entitled “Hot Cold Boot.” 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to thermal treatment and therapeutic devices, and more specifically to a cushioned boot for application of thermal therapy. 
     Athletes, dancers, and labor workers often suffer from injury to their legs and feet. Intense activities can lead to overexertion of muscles and overextension of bones and ligaments, which may result in injury. Injuries such as sprains, muscle tears, and hairline bone fractures are fairly common in professions involving strenuous physical activity. Though slightly less common, these injuries are also a risk to an ambulatory individual, who could trip, fall, or have an object dropped on their foot. After an injury occurs, it is imperative that a person applies appropriate medical attention to the injured area in a prompt fashion. Ice and cold packs are used to reduce the swelling of sprains and fractures, while heat is used to loosen sore or overextended muscles and ligaments. 
     To provide necessary care, a variety of ice packs, cold packs and heat packs may be applied to the injury. Unfortunately, these treatments are not adapted to remain in place without additional support. Injured individuals will often tie the thermal therapy pack to their injured limb in an effort to maintain the desired care on the injured area. This technique can be problematic, as the stability of the treatment is based on securement of the wrapping or attachment means, which generally necessitates limitation of a user&#39;s mobility in order to maintain placement of the treatment. Certain types of footwear have been used to hold a thermal therapy treatment in place on a user&#39;s foot or leg; however these devices lack insulation means and ample modularity with respect to positioning of treatments. The present invention provides an effective thermal therapeutic device for the feet having insulation means to improve heat or cold retention. The present invention also offers a multitude of thermal treatment retention options for a user with an injured foot or lower leg. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The prior art contains a variety of thermal therapeutic boot devices for providing hot or cold therapy to an injured calf, ankle or foot. These devices have familiar design and structural elements for the purposes of treating injuries with thermal therapy, however they are not insulated to provide improved thermal retention, nor do they provide recesses on all sides of the boot to provide modular thermal therapy application. 
     Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,318 discloses a cold compress system comprising a hollow waterproof bag having means for securing the same to a body part, a tube and valve assembly, and a reservoir for holding cold water. The bag is operably secured to one end of the tubing and said reservoir is operably secured at the opposing end. A valve at the reservoir end of said tubing controls the flow of water from the reservoir into the tubing and resultantly into the hollow bag. A user secures the hollow bag to his or her injured body part by utilizing the securing means and then opens the valve to allow cold water to flow into the bag, thus applying cold water to the injured body part. Smith does not disclose a fabric covered, foam insulated boot, or compartments for retaining a thermal pack. 
     Elkins, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0019657 discloses a thermal therapeutic device having a boot shape, thermally conductive gel insulation, a recess for storing a thermal gel pack, a recess on the bottom for a pressure distributing means, and fastening means on its front. A thermal pack is placed in the recess of a boot being worn by a user. The liquid then transfers thermal energy throughout the therapy boot. Elkins does not disclose the use of foam insulation, waterproof material, or a compartment at the base of the boot for a thermal pack. 
     Caselnova, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0073281 discloses a thermal therapeutic pad and boot. Said pad contains a standard thermally conductive gel and has raise nubs disposed about its upper surface. This pad may be used in the sole of a boot. Alternatively the boot may have pads of varying shapes disposed within the boot to provide thermal therapy to different regions of an injured foot. Caselnova does not disclose a fabric covered foam boot attached by fasteners to a user&#39;s foot, nor does it disclose recesses along the posterior and base of the foot for retaining a thermal pack. 
     Hanson, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0100264 discloses a thermal therapeutic boot made of fabric and having two recesses on either side of the boot for retaining thermal packs. Said boot attaches to a user&#39;s leg and foot by means of fasteners on its front. Ice or thermal packs may be placed within side pockets to provide thermal therapy to injured portions of a user&#39;s leg. Hanson does not disclose foam insulation or plastic waterproofing, nor does it disclose a recess on the bottom of the boot for retaining a thermal pack. 
     The devices disclosed by the prior art do not address the need for insulation to retain thermal energy, nor do they provide compartments for retaining thermal packs on any surface of the device. The current invention relates to a device for providing thermal therapy to an injured foot or leg. It substantially diverges in structural elements from the prior art, consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to the existing thermal therapeutic boot devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of thermal therapeutic boots now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new insulative device with recesses for retaining thermal packs on all surfaces of the device, wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when applying hot or cold compresses to an injured foot or leg. The device comprises a boot, a plurality of pockets disposed about the boot&#39;s outer surface, and a plurality of attachment means to secure the device to a user&#39;s foot and leg. Said boot comprises of insulating walls of interior cushion covered by a fabric layer, and a plastic waterproof layer outer layer. The insulating cushion may be constructed of foam, soft rubber, or any soft, insulative material. 
     The boot is secured to a user&#39;s foot by a set of straps extending from one side of the boot across the front of the foot and fastening on the opposing side of said boot. The straps may fasten with hook and loop fastening, snaps, buttons, or any other fastening means and may be suitable and adjustable to accommodate different users. Disposed along the boot&#39;s sidewalls, posterior, and base are pocket recesses for retaining thermal packs such as ice bags, ice packs or heat packs. The variety of options for placement of thermal packs provides a user with the ability to target different parts of the foot with varying levels of thermal therapy. A waterproof plastic layer or coating over the boat&#39;s foam and fabric layers allows a user to add ice to the pocket recesses without getting the injured foot wet. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved thermal therapeutic boot device having all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thermal therapeutic boot device having a cushioned insulative material to improve retention of thermal energy within the device. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thermal therapeutic boot device having a multitude of pocket recesses disposed about its surfaces to provide a user with a variety of options for placement of thermal packs or ice. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved thermal therapy boot device having a waterproof outer covering to allow ice to be added directly to the device without a user&#39;s foot getting wet. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above invention will be better understood and the objects set forth above as well as other objects not stated above will become more apparent after a study of the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes use of the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a therapeutic boot according to the present invention. A thermal pack is being inserted into a pocket along the base of said boot device. 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of a therapeutic boot device according to the present invention. A thermal pack is being inserted into a pocket on the lateral side of said boot device. 
         FIG. 3  shows an overhead view of a therapy boot device according to the present invention with three thermal packs retained within the boot sidewalls and posterior region. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the thermal boot device. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for applying hot or cold therapy to a user&#39;s injured foot or leg. This is for representative purposes only and should not be considered limiting in any respect. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2  there is shown a thermal therapy boot according to the present invention. The device comprises a supporting boot  11 , a plurality of pockets  12 , and a plurality of securing straps  13 . The supporting boot  11  includes two lateral side portions, a posterior (back) portion, and a sole (base) portion. The device is shaped like a standard boot with an open toe region and a missing tongue along its front face. This structure allows the boot to be easily slipped on and off an injured foot without requiring the user to flex or strain his or her ankle. The supporting boot is secured to a user&#39;s foot by a set of securing straps  13 . In the preferred embodiment, there is a strap disposed at the top of the supporting boot  11 , another at the end of the boot before the open toe region, and a third strap in between, near the inner apex of the user&#39;s angle joint. Each strap is permanently affixed on the inner side of the boat, where the inner side is the left side with respect to the right foot, and the right side with respect to the left foot. Fasteners on an opposing side of the boot  11  removably secure the straps  13  in place. Any common fastener such as hook and loop fasteners, snaps, or buttons may be used. The securing straps  13  themselves may be adjustable, elastic or of similar construction to the supporting boot  11  to provide secure attachment of the boot and adjustability therefor. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown an overhead view of a thermal therapeutic boot according to the present invention. Pocket recesses  12  are permanently affixed to the interior of both lateral side portions and along the posterior portion of the supporting boot  11 . An additional pocket  12  is positioned along the sole region of the boot support  11 . These recesses  12  are adapted to receive ice or thermal gel packs of the hot or cold type. By providing a plurality of pockets, the device allows a user to insert varying types of thermal therapy as needed for different areas of the injured foot. The pockets  12  are constructed of the same fabric and waterproofing material as the supporting boot  11 , including plastic or otherwise water impermeable material. The cushioning insulation of the boot  11  improves retention of the hot or cold thermal energy by providing a high thermal resistance, preventing rapid conduction through the boot and giving a user a longer duration of therapeutic benefits. The waterproof plastic layer or coating prevents a user&#39;s foot from becoming moistened when serious or emergency situations render it necessary to insert ice into the pocket recesses  12 . 
     In use, an individual places an injured foot into the device by sliding it through the open front and between the side portions of the boot  11 . The user then grasps each securing strap  13  in turn and extends it across the open front of the supporting boot  12  before fastening it to the opposing side using the fastening means. Once the device is secured a user may insert ice, hot packs, or cold packs into the pocket recesses  12  according to a user&#39;s preference and the nature of injury. Multiple thermal therapy types may be used by insertion into different pocket recesses  12 . Alternately, the thermal packs may be inserted prior to inserting the user&#39;s foot and securement of the boot thereto. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.