Patent Publication Number: US-2015059390-A1

Title: Low temperature wearable cooling device for stimulating weight-loss and related methods

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Provisional Application No. 61/824,718, EFS ID 15808997, Conf #6735, Filed by John K Buche/Bryce Johnson (customer #61226) on May 17, 2013, Titled “Low temperature garment for stimulating weight-loss and related methods”. 
     Provisional Application No. 61/886,234, EFS ID 17031128, Conf #6387, Filed by Wayne B Hayes on Oct. 3, 2013, Titled “WEIGHT LOSS VIA COOLING OF PALMS OF HANDS, SOLES OF FEET, AND FACIAL CHEEKS” 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT: 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     This application claims benefit of the above cross-referenced Provisional Application Nos. 61/824,718 and 61/886,234. The subject matter of this disclosure is in the field of apparatus and related methods of calorie burning in mammals via low-temperature stimulation. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     Mammals must maintain a roughly constant core body temperature to survive; in humans this temperature is roughly 98 degrees fahrenheit or 38 degrees celcius. If the body or parts thereof drop below that temperature, the body will typically burn calories in an effort to maintain that temperature. The calories thus burned may induce weight loss under appropriate conditions. One such mechanism may be through Brown Adipose Tissue, although the calorie burn may not be exclusive to this mechanism. Mammals possess two types of fat tissue: White Adipose Tissue (WAT) and Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT). WAT cells store energy. Large WAT cells represent large energy stores. Excessive energy storage in WAT cells manifests as obesity in humans. WAT cells shrink as energy is consumed. Mammalian cells, including but not limited to BAT cells, consume energy from WAT cells and other sources to generate body heat. Exposure to low temperature (a) stimulates energy consumption by BAT and other cells and (b) can sometimes transform WAT into BAT. 
     Adult Humans possess BAT, which is located primarily in the neck, shoulder, and back (paravertebral) areas. See, e.g., Nedergraard, Bengtsson, and Cannon, “Unexpected evidence for active brown adipose tissue in adult humans”, Am J. of Endocrinol Metab. 293:E444-E452, doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00691.2006; see also, e.g., Lee, Swarbrick, and Ho, “Brown Adipose Tissue in Adult Humans: A Metabolic Renaissance” (doi: 10.1210/er.2012-1081), 2013. (“Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a key role in energy homeostasis and thermogenesis in animals, conferring protection against diet-induced obesity and hypothermia . . . . BAT activity correlates positively with increment of energy expenditure during cold exposure . . . suggesting regulatory links between BAT, cold-induced thermogenesis, and energy metabolism. These recent discoveries represent a metabolic renaissance for human adipose biology, overturning previous belief that BAT had no relevance in adult humans. They also have implications for the understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of obesity and its metabolic sequelae.”) In other words, BAT is stimulated when we are cold. However, this does not imply that BAT is the only metabolic result of cold exposure, nor does it imply that BAT is necessary for cold exposure to increase our metabolism, nor does it imply that it is the BAT itself that should or must be stimulated by cold in order to produce a metabolic response. Thus, although BAT may be involved in burning calories, we do not believe that BAT is necessary for cold exposure to induce an increased metabolism. Thus this application stands independently of whether or not BAT is stimulated by cold exposure. 
     In view of the discovery of BAT in adult humans, many have tried to accomplish weight-loss in humans by exposing BAT areas to low temperatures so that energy consumption or transformation of WAT to BAT is stimulated. For instance, Tim Ferriss, as described in his book “The Four Hour Body” (Random House, 2010), induced weight-loss by full-body immersion into a bathtub containing ice water. Although capable of stimulating weight-loss by promoting bodily energy consumption, full-body immersion in ice water is extremely uncomfortable, possibly unhealthy, and requires extraordinary bravery and exertion of willpower to accomplish. To alleviate these difficulties, Ferriss also stimulated weight-loss by placing a bag of ice on the back of his neck and shoulders (common locations of BAT) while sitting on a couch. The bag of ice was only about 60% as effective as the full-body ice bath. Furthermore, a bag of ice sitting on the neck requires the user to remain stationary. In other words, placing a bag of ice on the shoulders may be less effective than a more concentrated or wider-area application of low temperature to areas of the body that may contain BAT, and more constraining than a cooling device that can be worn while the user is mobile. And again, as we point out above, there is no evidence to suggest that direct application of cold specifically to the areas that contain BAT is any more effective than more general cold exposure. 
     Others have created garments, not disclosed for weight loss, designed to place ice (or any cold material) against the skin. For example, Southwest Technologies Inc. (STI) sells a vest and neck-wrap called Elasto-Gel™, used for the therapy of aching muscles, or hot-cold treatment of injuries. However, the designs of Elasto-Gel™ vests and neck-wraps are sub-optimal for calorie burning since (1) they do not cover a sufficiently large area of the body to induce significant calorie burn; (2) the garments cannot be comfortably worn simultaneously since the neck-wrap and vest overlap coverage below the neck; (4) the Elasto-Gel material stays cold for only 10-15 minutes, which is too short a duration to stimulate significant calorie burn; and (5) the garments do not contain removable or replaceable cold-packs so (a) the entire device must go into the freezer in order to re-chill it after use, and (b) it cannot be easily machine-washed; (6) they are not disclosed for weight loss. 
     Other companies sell vests for cooling the body in a warm environment. For example Pro-Ice sells a “Scapula/Cervical Collar.” These vests are not disclosed for the purpose of weight loss. 
     Recently a garment called the “Cool Fat Burner (ice Harness)” has been disclosed for weight loss purposes. This garment targets BAT in the shoulder and upper back area but not the neck. Although we do not believe BAT needs specifically to be targeted, the Cool Fat Burner does believe it, and yet is still sub-optimal for targeting the BAT in the front of the shoulder because it does not apply low temperatures to the front and top of the shoulder when worn. The garment is sub-optimal for transferring heat from the body because the gel packs are solid when frozen and thus do not conform to the contours of the body (this solidity also makes the garment very uncomfortable to wear when it is frozen). That is to say: the cold packs of the vest do not apply low temperature to the front and top of the shoulder, so that the garment is not entirely effective at cooling the body therein, nor even in transferring heat effectively from the skin except at the discrete points where its solid frozen surface tangentially contacts the skin. Also, the interface between the device and the skin appears sub-optimal for heat transference because neither the vest nor the solid gel packs conform to the curves of the human body. The vest only has three small gel packs that are not optimal at sufficiently cooling the body. Additionally, the Cool Fat Burner may actually be too cold for optimal fat burn; evidence suggests that a higher-than-freezing temperature is more effective for fat burn since freezing temperatures cause blood to rush from the skin, reducing heat transfer out of the body. (We suggest wearing a shirt under our wearable cooling devices for that reason.) In addition, the Cool Fat Burner has no insulation on its outer layer, which means that it extracts heat from the environment just as effectively as from the body, thereby warming up faster than it should. Finally, all of these garments have a visual appearance that is “technical” in nature, and thus would not be socially acceptable to wear in a formal, business, or social context. 
     In sum, several garments exist that may, whether intentional or not, result in calorie burn due to exposure of the body to low temperatures. These garments are not entirely satisfactory because the same do not efficiently or effectively apply low temperatures to the body. Most garments, like Pro-Ice Scapula/Cervical Collar, are not marketed for weight loss. Some garments, like the Elasto-Gel, do not stay cold long enough. The “Cool Fat Burner (ice Harness)”, does not conform to the contours of the body, does not adequately target areas of the body that would stimulate BAT, does not have an insulating layer, and is very uncomfortable to wear since the gel packs are large and solid while frozen. Finally, all of them are aesthetically displeasing to the eye. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS 
     Disclosed are several embodiments of wearable cooling devices for applying low temperatures to areas of the human body to stimulate calorie burn. It is an objective of this disclosure to describe wearable cooling devices so that low temperatures are comprehensively applied to areas of the body that will stimulate calorie burn independent of stimulation of areas containing BAT. A further objective of this disclosure to describe wearable cooling devices that induce calorie burn significantly above resting metabolic rate, even if the wearer is resting. A further objective of this disclosure is to describe wearable cooling devices that exchange heat from an effective skin-to-device interface. A further objective of this disclosure is to describe a wearable cooling device that is easily used in that only a few pieces need to be placed in a freezer or refrigerator, rather than many pieces, and so that these pieces freeze in a convenient duration of time. A further objective of this disclosure to describe wearable cooling devices that are wearable in a socially acceptable social, formal, or business context; in particular that the vest resembles a waistcoat or vest portion of a three-piece suit. Further objectives will become apparent from study of the following description and accompanying figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Other objectives of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the invention has been shown and described. The manner in which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached figures in which: 
         FIG. 1 : is a first embodiment of a garment for applying low temperatures to areas of a human body, which may be a collar merged with a cape; 
         FIG. 2A : depicts inside back and inside front views of a second embodiment which may be a vest; 
         FIG. 2B : depicts outside back and outside front views of the second embodiment; 
         FIG. 2C : depicts an “extender”, which may extend the circumference of the waist of the vest in order to fit users with a large waist circumference; 
         FIG. 3 : depicts a fourth embodiment, which may be a collar or neck tie; 
         FIG. 4 : depicts a fifth embodiment, which may be a palm cooler. 
     
    
    
     It is to be noted, however, that the appended figures illustrate only a few possible embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosed apparatus may admit to other equally effective embodiments that will be appreciated by those reasonably skilled in the relevant arts. Also, figures are not necessarily made to scale but are representative. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  depicts both back and front views of a first embodiment a garment for applying low temperatures to areas of the human body. As shown, the garment is defined by: a collar  6  that is configured to fit around the neck of a wearer; cape  1  that merges with the collar and extends over the front of the shoulders and down the back of a wearer; and torso belt  3  with a buckle  4  that is attached to the bottom of the cape  1  wherein the torso belt is configured to be secured around the torso of a wearer; and suspenders  8  between the belt  3  and the shoulder portion of the cape  1  and collar  6 . In one embodiment, the collar  6  features closure mechanisms  5  on the front. Suitably, the closure mechanism may be hook and loop fasteners (e.g., Velcro, elastic, string, straps, clips, buttons with adjustable holes, or any other mechanism that allows the collar  6  to be finely adjusted to the neck-size of a wearer (note that a zipper or buttons or any other fastener could also work). The suspenders  8  are suitably positioned near the center of the chest (inside of the nipples of a wearer, both for comfort and to facilitate pulling the collar  6  inwards and downwards to maintain tension of the collar  6  over the shoulders) and configured for tightly interfacing the garment and the front of the shoulders. The cape  1  may be (a) long down the back for positioning the cape  1  at a tight interface along the back of a wearer; and wide at the front for positioning over the shoulders. Suitably, the cape  1  and collar  6  are constructed of material that is configured to remain at low temperatures for extended periods of time. The against-the-skin part of the suspenders  8  and belt  3  may suitably be made of a soft, comfortable material, although the main function of the straps are to be strong. In one embodiment, adjustment mechanisms can be provided to the belt buckle  4 , the sides of the belt  9 , at the closure mechanisms  5  of the collar  6 , and along the suspenders  7 , to fit the embodiment comfortably and snugly against the skin. The garment may also have an insulating layer between the cold material and the outer surface, reducing the rate of heat transfer with the surrounding environment. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the illustrated garment covers the shoulder, neck, and back regions of the body. Suitably, the garment is configured to mold to the shape of the human body so that a garment-to-skin interface results for effective heat transfer between the garment and the skin. Other shapes that cover more of the body (for example, the full torso including under the arms to the waist, and the stomach area) may also be used to stimulate calorie burn. 
     Operation of the First Embodiment 
     In operation, the garment may be worn around the neck, over the shoulders and down the back of a wearer. First, the garment may be chilled, for example, by placing the same in a refrigerator or freezer. Second, the belt buckle  4  and all the closure mechanisms of the collar  5  need to be opened. Third, the garment may be donned by: (a) putting the arms through the space bordered by the cape  1 , the straps suspenders, and the belt  3 ; (b) placing the collar around the neck and the cape on the shoulders and down the back. Fourth, the belt buckle and the closure mechanisms  5  of the collar may be closed around the torso and neck respectively. Fifth, the belt  3  may be tightened so that it is firmly in place. Sixth, the straps  8  can be adjusted  7  to so that the cape  1  forms a tight interface with the skin around the shoulders, shoulder, and back. Seventh, the closure mechanisms  5  of the collar  6  can be closed and adjusted to be held firmly but comfortably around the neck while still allowing comfortable breathing. Eighth, the garment may be worn for some duration of time while heat is extracted from the areas of the body that interface with the garment. Suitably, the effectiveness of the garment is enhanced by (a) thoroughly covering and contacting areas of the body that effectively extract heat from the body; (b) forming an effective interface between the garment and the skin, thus enhancing the surface area available for heat transfer between the cold material and the skin; (c) allowing the user to move around rather than having to remain stationary; (d) allowing the user to easily throw the entire garment into a freezer or refrigerator or other chilling device; (e) allowing for insulation between the cool material inside the garment and the exterior environment. 
     Second Embodiment 
       FIG. 2A  depicts inside back (left) and inside front (right) views of a second embodiment of a garment for applying low temperatures to parts of the body. As shown, the garment may be a waistcoat (vest). The vest may have pockets  16  which may hold cold material (e.g., packets of ice or gel, or other cold material which may have a high heat capacity). As shown, the garment may have one pocket  16  draped over each shoulder. The ice packets may be designed to fit snugly into the pockets so the ice packets have little range of motion while inside the pockets. When the ice packets (not shown) are in the pockets, they produce a bulge  10  in each pocket so filled. Suitably, the pockets have an opening that may remain closed by hook and loop fasteners  12  (eg Velcro). The number, size, and layout of the pockets may suitably change so long as the coverage area of the body is substantial enough to significantly induce calorie burn. The cold packs can be removed from the pockets for separate chilling and also so that the whole garment may be laundered. Alternately the cold packs may remain in the garment so the entire apparatus may be placed into a freezer. There may be three pockets  16  across the middle of the back. There may be one pocket  16  each on either side of the belly in the front. There may be one pocket each under each arm in the vest, extending approximately to the waist. There may be one large pocket covering the lower back. Each pocket may have a suitably sized cold pack inside. Pockets may be double-sewn, and have bar tacks on stress points for re-enforcement. The front of the vest may suitably be closed using hook and loop fasteners  18 , although any other fasteners such as buttons, zippers, clips, button-and-loop, straps, etc., may be used. The vest contains non-functional esthetic elements  20 . 
       FIG. 2B  depicts the outside back (left) and outside front (right) of the vest. The front of the vest may be closed by hook-and-loop fasteners  18 . Visible through the “V-neck” of the closed vest is a top back pocket  16 , its fastener  12 , and its pillow fold  14 . The vest may have one or more straps  22  designed to adjust the circumference of the waist of the vest by securing them through buckles  24 . Finally, the outer-facing layer may contain an insulating material such as polyurethane under a protective coating, to reduce heat exchange with the surrounding environment, thus allowing the cold material to remain cold for a longer duration. 
     Operation—Second Embodiment 
     In operation, one chills the cold packs (not pictured) in a fridge, freezer, or other chilling device, either separately or while they are inside the pockets  16 . Once chilled, if the cold packs are not already in the pockets  16 , one places the sealed cold packs (not pictured) into one or more pockets  16 . The garment may then be worn like a vest. The tightness-of-fit may be adjusted using the hook-and-loop fasteners  18 , and the strap(s)  22  and buckle(s)  24 . The user then wears the vest for as long as desired. Suitably, the set of cold packs may be removed from the pockets so that same may be frozen separately from the garment, allowing several sets of same to be used sequentially in the garment without interruption, and so that the garment can be laundered without the cold packs installed; or the entire apparatus can be thrown into the chilling device, in order to chill it for the next time it is worn. The vest may also be worn without the cold packs inserted, or when the cold packs are not, in fact, cold. 
       FIG. 2C  depicts an “extender”, which is designed for individuals with particularly large bellies. It may be rectangular fabric  41 , with one dimension being the same length as the hook-and-loop vest fasteners  18 . One side the extender has hooks  40  designed to latch to the loops  18  on the vest. The other side of the extender has loops  42  designed to latch to the hooks  18  on the vest. Thus placed, the extender increases the circumference of the vest around the belly, thus allowing individuals to wear the vest even if the circumference of their waist is too large for the vest itself. 
     Third Embodiment 
     A third embodiment may be a shirt (not pictured). Suitably, the shirt may feature pockets for housing cold-packs in a similar fashion to the second embodiment, similar to if the vest did not open at the front. In one embodiment the pockets are placed on the inside of the shirt so that that the cold packs can be closer to the skin. Preferably, the over-the-shoulder pocket should cover the top, back, and front of the shoulder region. The shirt may suitably feature adjustment mechanism on front, side, and back thereof for tightening the fit of the shirt around the torso of the wearer. The adjustment mechanism may be ties, buttons, elastic, straps, zippers, Velcro strips, or any other fastening mechanism allowing adjustment. 
     Operation—Third Embodiment 
     In operation, the garment may be worn like a shirt after the cold packs have been chilled. Usage of the third embodiment is virtually identical to that of the second embodiment, save that the former is donned like a shirt, rather than a vest. The closure or adjustment mechanisms of the shirt may be manipulated to control the tightness of the fit, which may control comfort or tightness of the cold packs against the skin. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
       FIG. 3  depicts a fourth embodiment of a garment for applying low temperatures to the body to stimulate calorie burn. As shown, the garment defines a collar for the neck. The collar may come in two nearly identical parts that join together, differing only in the section where they join, where one of the said parts has hooks  36  and the other one has loops  38  on the corresponding section where they join, this joint providing adjustment to the neck circumference of the wearer. However the embodiment may also come as one piece where the hook-and-loop sections  36  and  38  are permanently joined and the area thus freed may also hold cold packs, thereby providing extra cooling. The pockets  34  are integral to the collar, having closure  12  which may be identical to the pocket closures of the second embodiment. 
     The ties  30  may be an extension of the fabric, or any type of adjustable fasteners (hook-and-loop, straps, clips, elastic, buttons, etc.). If the ties  30  are simply cloth, then the collar may be fastened around the neck by tying the ties into a knot. The pockets  34  may suitably contain cold material as in the above embodiments, wherein the cold material can be independently removed and chilled, and so that the garment can be laundered. The outer-facing layer may contain an insulating material such as polyurethane, to reduce heat exchange with the surrounding environment, thus allowing the cold material to last longer. 
     Operation—Fourth Embodiment 
     The fourth embodiment can be used independently of, or in conjunction with any other compatible embodiments (except the first embodiment, which has an integrated collar). The garment may suitably be worn around the neck. The circumference of the collar may be adjusted by means of adjusting the connection between the hooks  36  and loops  38 . Preferably, the ties  30  are tied into a knot to hold the collar in place, firmly pressing the cold material against the neck. When the cold material stops being cold or when the user wishes to stop, the knot is untied and the collar is replaced into a chilling device. 
     Fifth Embodiment 
     The fifth embodiment may be a palm cooler, depicted in  FIG. 4 . Suitably, the palm cooler has cold material  52 , supporting structure  54 , and a strap  50  that secures the palm cooler to the palm of the hand, with buckle  56  allowing adjustment of both size and fit to the wearer&#39;s hand. In usage, one first chills the palm cooler in a cooling device, then straps the device to the palm of their hand, whereby heat will be extracted from the user&#39;s core via their palm. When finished, the user may then remove the palm cooler and re-insert it into a cooling device in preparation for next time. When dirty, the entire device may be hand-washed. 
     Sixth Embodiment 
     The sixth embodiment (not depicted) may be an insole for a shoe. Suitably, it comprises a bottom, which is in contact with floor of the user&#39;s shoe, and a top, which is shaped like an insole and contains cooling material. The insole may be placed in a cooling device, then placed in the user&#39;s shoe, and worn, whereby the cooling material may extract heat from the user&#39;s core body via the sole of their feet. 
     CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE 
     Cold exposure causes mammals to burn calories to stay warm. As a result, chilling the body can result in accelerated weight loss. Several embodiments of a cold garment are described that provide cold stimulation of the body designed to force calorie burn with the goal of inducing weight loss. The embodiments described improve on the prior art (whether designed for weight loss or not) by (1) providing more complete application of low temperatures to areas of the body that may or may not stimulate BAT but in any case produce calorie burn; (2) providing a better heat conduction interface between the garment and the skin to effectively and efficiently transfer heat between the body and the garment; (3) by allowing flexible cold material, allowing the garment to better fit the shapes of various parts of the body; (4) by having flexible cold material, allowing more material to contact the body, thereby increasing efficiency and effectiveness of the extraction of heat from the body; (5) allowing ease-of-use by allowing the entire garment to be tossed into the chilling device without having to remove cold material from the garment; (6) by creating a garment that resembles an everyday piece of clothing (a waist-coat or vest), allowing the garment to be worn in a social, formal, or business environment; (7) by placing hook-and-loop in more appropriate places, allowing the garment to be adjusted to a greater variety of body shapes. 
     We note that other embodiments are possible. For example, a wearable cooling device in the form of trousers, shorts, a jacket with sleeves, a hat, a full shoe, etc., are all possible. Fasteners for all embodiments could come in my forms such as zippers, buttons, clips, straps, hook-and-loop, etc. The precise number, layout, and configuration of pockets depicted herein may be modified without departing from the intent of the disclosure, as long as there exists enough cooling to substantially stimulate the metabolism of the wearer. The pockets themselves could be closed or fastened in many ways including but not limited to “pillow” folds, hook-and-loop fasteners, zippers, buttons, clips, etc. The pockets could be attached to the garment by sewing, bonding, or other means; or the pockets could be implemented by having two separate layers with the pockets attached to one or the other or between both. The pockets need not be openable if the cold packs or the cold material is washable. The cold material may be separable from the garment, or the garment as a whole could be constructed integrally with the cold material (as in our first embodiment). In all cases, a layer of material (fabric such as a shirt, or otherwise) could be placed between the cooling material and the wearer&#39;s skin, in order to reduce the rate of heat transfer between the cold material and the user. This may facilitate more comfort for the user, or may in fact be more effective at causing fat loss as long as the user suitably adjusts the duration during which they wear the device.