U.S. patent application number 11/260706 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-09 for patient comfort apparatus and system.
Invention is credited to Thomas Peter Anderson, Randall C. Arnold, Scott D. Augustine.
Application Number | 20060052853 11/260706 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29250667 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060052853 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Augustine; Scott D. ; et
al. |
March 9, 2006 |
Patient comfort apparatus and system
Abstract
Apparatus and a system for thermally comforting a patient
include pneumatic, convective device providing thermal treatment
for persons or animals. The pneumatic convective device is adapted
to fit around a person's neck and provides convective warming
focused or directed primarily on the thorax or body core. The
pneumatic convective device includes an inlet, a region in
distribution with the inlet for distributing a stream of
pressurized, thermally treated air, and a permeable member for
emitting pressurized, thermally treated air from the distribution
region.
Inventors: |
Augustine; Scott D.;
(Bloomington, MN) ; Anderson; Thomas Peter;
(Savage, MN) ; Arnold; Randall C.; (Minnetonka,
MN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Terrance A. Meador;INCAPLAW
Suite K
1050 Rosecrans Street
San Diego
CA
92124
US
|
Family ID: |
29250667 |
Appl. No.: |
11/260706 |
Filed: |
October 27, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10411865 |
Apr 10, 2003 |
|
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11260706 |
Oct 27, 2005 |
|
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60371314 |
Apr 10, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
607/104 ;
607/108 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F 2007/0018 20130101;
A61F 2007/0091 20130101; A61F 7/00 20130101; A61F 2007/0234
20130101; A61F 7/02 20130101; A61F 2007/006 20130101; A61F 7/0097
20130101; A41D 2400/32 20130101; A61F 2007/0094 20130101; A61F
2310/0097 20130101; A41D 2400/14 20130101; A41D 13/0025 20130101;
A61F 7/0085 20130101; F16L 37/098 20130101; F16L 31/00
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
607/104 ;
607/108 |
International
Class: |
A61F 7/00 20060101
A61F007/00 |
Claims
1-32. (canceled)
33. A method of dispensing a pneumatic convective device for
individual use comprising: providing a plurality of contiguous
pneumatic convective devices in a dispensing means; and separating
one pneumatic convective device from the plurality of contiguous
pneumatic convective devices along perforated lines between the
plurality of contiguous pneumatic convective devices.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein the dispensing means is a roll
of contiguous pneumatic convective devices.
35. The method of claim 33, wherein the dispensing means is a sheet
of contiguous pneumatic convective devices.
36. The method of claim 33, wherein each contiguous pneumatic
convective device includes: a distribution region for distributing
a stream of pressurized air; an inlet in communication with the
distribution region for receiving a stream of pressurized air; a
permeable member for emitting pressurized air from the distribution
region; a region in which air is not distributed; an indentation in
the region for receiving the neck of a person; and a mechanism
acting with the indentation for releasably retaining the pneumatic
convective device against the neck of the person.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein the distribution region
includes a first sheet and a second sheet sealed together
continuously about a periphery.
38. The method of claim 37, wherein the permeable member is a
portion of the first sheet.
39. The method of claim 37, wherein the inlet is located in the
second sheet.
40. The method of claim 37, wherein the distribution region further
includes attachment between the first and second sheets at multiple
locations within the peripheries.
41. The method of claim 37, wherein the mechanism consists of
integral straps in the region on each side of the indentation.
42. The method of claim 37, wherein the mechanism consists of a
line with two end clips attachable to the region at either side of
the indentation.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 60/371,314 filed Apr. 10, 2002.
[0002] This application contains subject matter related to that of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ for "FORCED AIR WARMING
UNIT" and PCT Patent Application Ser. No. ______, for "PATIENT
COMFORT APPARATUS AND SYSTEM", filed concurrently with this
application, and to that of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No.
______, for "FORCED AIR WARMING UNIT".
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] The invention is directed to a patient comfort system that
includes pneumatic convective devices receivable on a human or
animal body which receive a stream of pressurized, thermally
conditioned air, distribute the pressurized air within a pneumatic
structure, and emit the air through one or more surfaces for
convective transfer of heat between the thermally conditioned air
and the body. In particular, the invention is directed to the
warming of human or animal bodies in a clinical setting by
providing thermal treatment to wearers of the system while
permitting movement of the user and enhancing clinical
convenience.
[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0006] Pneumatic devices which transfer heat between
thermally-conditioned air and a body are known. For example, there
are inflatable pneumatic devices that receive a stream of
pressurized, warmed air, inflate in response to the pressurized
air, distribute the warmed air within a pneumatic structure, and
emit the warmed air onto a body to accomplish such objectives as
increasing comfort, reducing shivering, and treating or preventing
hypothermia. These inflatable devices are typically characterized
as "blankets" or "covers". Arizant Healthcare Inc., the assignee of
this application, makes and sells such devices under the BAIR
HUGGERS brand. One such device is the Model 522 Upper Body
Blanket.
[0007] Inflatable pneumatic warming blanket or cover devices are
adapted especially for use with supine persons and are typically
deployed by being laid directly on a person lying on a bed, a
gurney, or a surgery platform, so as to drape over or cover some
portion of the person. Because these devices are designed to cover
and hang about or over a supine person, they are not easily or
readily deployed on persons who are standing, sitting, reclining or
moving. In particular, inflatable blankets are not suitable in a
clinical setting in which it is desirable to warm a patient, and
also necessary that the patient be able to move about and between
various postures. In addition, there are a variety of clinical
settings in which patient warming is desirable, with each setting
requiring its own unique access to patient anatomy that may not be
afforded by an inflatable blanket. For example, examination or
treatment of a patient in a primary acute care unit (PACU) could
call for access to patient lines in the chest area, setting IV's in
the arm, application of a stethoscope to the back and/or side, or
application of a blood pressure cuff. Further, patient mobility
throughout a clinic or a hospital is highly desirable, but would be
severely curtailed with use of inflatable blankets. For example,
transporting a patient to an x-ray or MRI location in a wheelchair,
would be made problematic with an inflatable blanket.
[0008] There is also an advantage in not changing established and
familiar algorithms of care in which both patients and nurses deal
with clinical garments, such as gowns, and nurses know how to
deliver care in all circumstances where a patient is wearing a
clinical garment. If an inflatable blanket were to be used for
warming, a new algorithm would be required to deal with this new
element in clinical practice.
[0009] One attempt to adapt an inflatable pneumatic blanket for
non-supine postures is embodied in U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,963,
assigned to Augustine Medical, Inc. and incorporated by reference.
In this adaptation, an inflatable pneumatic blanket having a
head-section drape is provided with an aperture in the head section
drape that is large enough to accommodate the head of a person
sitting in a chair. However, this adaptation has a limited use in
that a person using it must remain in a sitting or reclining
posture in order for the device to drape over the person's body and
retain warmed air and heat about the person. Such devices are not
designed to accommodate movement or changes in the person's posture
or to allow easy access to patient anatomy. These devices are meant
to treat hypothermia by driving calories into the patient.
[0010] Other inflatable pneumatic warming devices designed for use
with supine persons employ tubular structures to at least partially
surround a person, and utilize sheets of material extending across
the person and the structures to retain warmed air and heat about
the person. These devices are even less adaptable than blanket
devices for non-supine uses. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.
5,300,101 and 5,674,269, which are incorporated by reference.
[0011] A need exists for a pneumatic convective device that
achieves the objectives of increased comfort, reduced shivering,
and treatment or prevention of hypothermia in a clinical or medical
office setting where patients must be able to change postures and
enjoy a certain amount of mobility without a significant impact on
or change to the treatment algorithm. For example, when visiting a
physician for an examination, a patient may be ushered into an
examination room, asked to remove clothing in order to permit
examination, and given a thin cloth gown to wear while awaiting the
physician. In this environment, the patient may be chilled, may
shiver, or may be in a condition conducive to hypothermia. Patient
anxiety is frequently exacerbated by this cold discomfort.
Concomitant with a heightened level of anxiety, patients perceive
time as slowing and this anxious waiting period can seem to be
prolonged. The cold discomfort can cause a one hour wait to seem
like 2 hours to the patient. People tend to vasoconstrict when
frightened, and vasoconstriction can lead to reduced peripheral
temperature and increased blood pressure, and can make IV access
much more difficult. Finally, there is evidence that feeling cold
increases the perception of pain. A thin cloth gown provides little
in the way of insulation, warmth, and comfort in such
circumstances. Therefore, in addition to the patient satisfaction
and comfort produced by a bath of thermally-treated air, providing
warmth to a cold patient in a medical setting should produce the
following unexpected benefits: 1.) reduced blood pressure and
easier IV access; 2.) reduced pain sensation; 3.) normalizing of
the patient's perception of time slowing; 4.) reduced anxiety and
reduced need for medication. These and other objectives are
realized when a patient is maintained in a state of "thermal
comfort."
[0012] It would be advantageous to provide a course of action, a
method, or an instrument by which a patient could be maintained in
a state of thermal comfort characterized by a comfortable, healthy
temperature while awaiting the physician and even while undergoing
examination or treatment. An inflatable blanket or cover could be
deployed for this purpose, but would be very impractical because
the patient would be required to remain supine or maintain a prone
or sitting position. Clinical convenience and utility dictate a
more flexible solution in which a pneumatic, convective device
serves a warming function in one or more forms that permit movement
of the user and of the device itself on the user for examination.
It would be particularly advantageous if the solution comported
with present modes of treatment that presume the use of clinical
garments. For optimal heating, such forms should focus or
concentrate the convective effect on the portion of a body being
warmed that has the highest concentration of cutaneous thermal
receptors. This portion includes the head, neck, chest and
abdomen.
[0013] Pneumatic devices that thermally condition persons while
standing and/or moving are known. One such device, described in
U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,295 incorporates a pneumatic, convective means
into an article of clothing that is intended for heavy-duty use in
an unfriendly environment. The objective of this device is to warm
and ventilate by general application of pressurized, heated air
through the inside of a closed article of clothing. The
pressurized, heated air is provided through a valve system from a
source that is convenient to a particular unfriendly environment,
such as an exhaust manifold of a motorcycle engine. The article of
clothing is fitted to the wearer's body and is closed in order to
afford protection against the environment in which the device is
deployed. Thus, the device further requires a means for ventilating
moisture from within the article of clothing. Its normally closed
configuration and complicated pneumatics make this device
inconvenient and impractical to use for patient comfort in a
clinical environment.
[0014] A pneumatic garment, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,468,299,
includes a hooded overcoat intended to be used in unfriendly
environments for heating and ventilating a person. This device's
structure and operation make it also unsuitable for use in
maintaining patient comfort in a clinical environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The invention provides pneumatic convective thermal
treatment of the feeling of being cold by means of pneumatic
convective for use on a patient in a clinical setting. The
invention includes a pneumatic convective device, as well as a
system and method employing such a device to maintain comfort a
patient by warming. The pneumatic convective devices provide
effective convective warming that is focused or directed primarily
on or to the most thermally sensitive regions of a user. These
devices are also simple to manufacture, store, and deploy for use.
Finally, because this invention is meant to produce or induce a
state of thermal comfort in a patient, without providing
hypothermia therapy, airflow exiting the pneumatic convective
device of less than 15 CFM (cubic feet per minute) and a
temperature of less than 105.degree. F. are preferred.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0016] FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate a pneumatic convective device
according to an embodiment of the invention as an inflatable bib.
FIGS. 1D-1I illustrate various elements for engaging the device of
FIGS. 1A and 1B about the neck of a user. FIG. 1J is a perspective
view drawing showing engagement of the combination in a warming
system. FIG. 1K shows the pneumatic convective device provided on a
roll for dispensing.
[0017] FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate an air hose coupling adapted for use
with the pneumatic convective device of FIGS. 1A-1K.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] The invention is embodied as a pneumatic convective device
receivable on a human or animal body in a clinical setting which
receives a stream of pressurized, thermally conditioned air,
distributes the pressurized air within a pneumatic structure, and
emits the air through one or more surfaces for convective transfer
of heat between the thermally conditioned air and the body. Various
specific embodiments of the invention are illustrated and discussed
according to an example in which a human body is warmed by focusing
or concentrating convective warming on the body core in order to
permit patient movement and to enhance clinical convenience,
although this is not intended to suggest that the invention may not
be used for cooling, which, indeed, it may. The pneumatic
convective device may be deployed for use with humans, animals,
patients, clinicians, practitioners, observers, and so on.
[0019] Further, use of the term "convective" to denote the transfer
of heat to a body refers to the principal mode of heat transfer, it
being understood that heat may at the same time be transferred
between a device according to this invention and a body by
conduction and radiation, although not to the degree of
convection.
[0020] The pneumatic convective device has a pneumatic portion for
receiving and distributing at least one stream of pressurized,
thermally conditioned air in a structure for being disposed on,
adjacent, or next to the core, thorax, or chest of a body.
[0021] The embodiments of the invention illustrated and discussed
below are inflatable. That is, their structures, flaccid when not
in use, tauten when receiving a stream of pressurized air. The
illustrations portray these structures in both inflated and
uninflated states, with the understanding that inflation of these
embodiments is not necessary to practice of the invention. Indeed,
as consideration of the embodiments will make clear, inflatability
itself is not necessary to practice of the invention.
[0022] FIGS. 1A-1K illustrate an exemplary pneumatic convective
device which embodies the invention. The device 150 is formed by
sealing together two sheets 160 and 162, at least one of which is
permeable. In this case, the sheet 160 is permeable, with its
permeability represented by apertures 166. The sheets 160, 162 are
sealed together continuously along their peripheries 168, with a
rather wide uninflatable region 169 extending from the peripheries
inwardly of the sheets. Within a distribution region 170 surrounded
by the uninflatable region 169, the sheets are sealed together
intermittently at a plurality of locations 172. An opening or inlet
port 163 is provided through the sheet 162, and a quadrilateral
hose card 164 with a hole is mounted to the sheet 162 over the
inlet port 163, with the hole in the hose card 164 aligned with the
inlet port 163. The inlet port 163 may receive the end of an air
hose from which a stream of pressurized, thermally-treated air
flows into the space between the sheets 160 and 162. At least one
of the sheets 160 and 162 is permeable to air. In this example,
only the sheet 160 is air permeable, although this is not intended
to so limit the scope of the invention. The permeability of the
sheet 160 may be provided by characteristics of the material from
which it is formed; alternatively, holes or apertures 166 may be
formed in it during the process which joins the sheets 160 and 162.
Or, permeability of the sheet 160 may result from the
characteristics of its formative material and from formed
apertures.
[0023] A U-shaped indentation 177 is formed at one end of the
device 150, with an open margin along the upper edge 178 of the
device 150. As thus far described, the device 150 may be disposed
over the chest region of a user, with the sheet 160 facing the
user, and the user's neck received in the indentation 177. In this
disposition, the device is operated for its intended purpose when
the end of an air hose is received in the hole of the hose card
164. A stream of pressurized, thermally treated air flowing through
the end of the air hose into the device inflates and is distributed
through the distribution region 170, and is emitted through the
permeable sheet 160 in the direction of a user's chest. When held
in position against, adjacent to or over a user's chest by elements
described below, a hospital gown may be put on the user in the
usual fashion so that the device 150 is positioned between the
user's chest and the gown. Alternatively, the pneumatic device may
be placed over the patient's gown or shirt much like a bib.
[0024] The elements for maintaining the device 150 disposed against
a user's chest with the user's neck received in the indentation 177
all act between the user's neck and the device, in the area of the
indentation 177. One such element is a pair of tie straps 180a and
180b flanking the open end of the indentation. These straps may be
provided integrally with the device 150 by means of two lines of
weakness 182a and 182b formed in the uninflatable region 169,
displaced inwardly from the upper edge 178. The straps 180a and
180b may be freed as shown in FIG. 1D to provide two ends for tying
together behind as user's neck. FIG. 1E shows two release liners
183a and 183b exposing adhesive layers to attach the device 150 to
patients' clothing/person. FIG. 1F shows a line 190 with two end
clips 191 attachable to the device 150 at either side of the
indentation 177. FIGS. 1G and 1H show the device 150 somewhat
elongated so that it extends to the knees of a user. In this
regard, the device resembles the inflatable thermal blanket
disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,963. This device is
distinct from the blanket of the '963 patent in that it does not
include the various draping features of the '963 blanket. In FIGS.
1G and 1H, an aperture 192 is formed in the portion 169a of the
uninflatable region 169 that abuts the top edge 178. A longitudinal
line of weakness 194 is formed in the uninflatable region 169a,
running from the upper edge 178 to the aperture 192, and two
lateral lines of weakness 196a and 196b are formed in the
uninflatable region portion 169a, displaced inwardly from the upper
edge 178. The uninflatable region may be cloven into two opposing
sections that may be separated to receive the neck of a user. Two
straps 198a and 198b may be realized by tearing the uninflatable
region portion 169a along the lines of weakness 196a and 196b and
tied behind the neck of the user to retain the device 150 for use.
Instead of straps, the two opposing sections yielded by cleaving
the sealed section along the line of weakness 194 may be releasably
held together by other mechanisms such as hook and eye elements
199a and 199b, as shown in FIG. 1I, as well as by clips, Velcro
buttons, string, snaps, repositionable adhesive, double-sided
adhesive, hook and loop, rivets, and any and all equivalents
thereof.
[0025] The embodiment of the pneumatic convective device
illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1J and described above, has a distribution
region 170 for distributing a stream of pressurized air, the inlet
163 is in communication with the distribution region 170 for
receiving a stream of pressurized air, a permeable member (sheet
160) for emitting pressurized air from the distribution region, a
region 169 in which air is not distributed, an indentation 177 or
opening 192 in the region 169 for receiving the neck or head of a
person and a mechanism 180a/180b, 183a/183b, 190/191, 198a/198b,
199a/199b, and any and all equivalents acting with the indentation
177 or opening 192 for releasably retaining the pneumatic
convective device against the neck of a person.
[0026] An air hose end may be adapted for use with the pneumatic
convective device embodiments described herein. The air hose end
may be in the form of an elongate cylinder or frusto-conical
section. Materials for this form are well known and include, for
example, hard molded plastic. Such a hose end is describe below in
relation to FIGS. 2A-2D.
[0027] FIG. 1J illustrates a patient 108 in the standing position
wearing the pneumatic convective device 150, as described above.
The pneumatic convective device 150 may also be worn by a patient
108 in a sitting position, such as in FIG. 1G. The patient may be
in a doctor's office in an out-patient facility, or any other
suitable location. The pneumatic convective device 150 is shown how
it would be attached to the patient. An end 258 of an air hose 260
is connected to the pneumatic convective device 150 may be received
with the hose card 164 to provide a stream of pressurized,
thermally treated air directed into the device 150 through inlet
port 163. The other end of the air hose 258 is connected to a
warming unit 114 that can provide a stream of pressurized,
thermally controlled air to the device, like the one described in
co- pending, concurrently filed patent application "FORCED AIR
WARMING UNIT" which is incorporated herein by this reference. The
temperature at the hose-end, prior to the air entering the
pneumatic convective device 150, may range from ambient to
42.degree. C. The average air temperature delivered to the patient
may be less than this, depending on the gown design. The airflow at
the hose-end, prior to the air entering the pneumatic convective
device 150, may be between 5-15 CFM. The pressure inside the
pneumatic convective device 150 may range of 0.25 to 0.75 inches
H.sub.20. The warming unit 114 may be mounted on an IV pole 116, as
illustrated.
[0028] When the stream of pressurized, thermally treated air is
provided to the device 150, the device 150 tautens and air is
emitted through the sheet 160, treating the person 108 with
thermally controlled air. As can be appreciated with reference to
FIG. 1J, with the pneumatic convective device 150 worn by a person
108, the device 150 is disposed so that the permeable sheet 160
faces the person 108 primarily in the chest region. Thus when
pressurized, thermally treated air is provided to the device 150,
it is distributed within the device, and emitted through the sheet
160, focusing or concentrating the emitted air primarily on the
person's upper thorax. Convection will then cause heat transfer
between the emitted, thermally treated air and the person's body
core or diminish heat loss from the person's body to the
environment.
[0029] Refer to FIG. 1C for an understanding of how the embodiment
shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B may be constructed. The sheets 160 and 162
may have an identical laminate structure in which a layer (160a,
162a) of extruded synthetic material is lined with a layer (160b,
162b) of non-woven material. If a laminate structure is selected,
holes or apertures 166 are formed through both layers 160a, 160b of
the sheet 160. The sheets 160 and 162 are oriented to have the
extruded layers (160a and 162a) facing, and the seals 168, 172 are
formed by a gluing process or by a heating or ultrasonic process
acting through one of the layers of non-woven material. Examples of
non-woven material include any one or more of polyester, cotton,
rayon, polypropylene, and wood pulp. Examples of extruded synthetic
material include polypropylene, polyesters, and polyurethanes.
Holes or apertures 166 may be formed during the process which joins
the sheets 160 and 162
[0030] One advantage of the embodiment disclosed is that the
pneumatic convective devices may be provided to the user in bulk
fashion, such as in sheet form, a dispenser box or on a roll 140,
as shown in FIG. 1K. For example, the pneumatic convective devices
150 provided on a roll dispenser 140 may have perforated lines 151
separating each device. Users may simply select a new pneumatic
convective devices 150 for application in the field, say in the
patient's dressing room or at the patient's care site and separate
it from the roll along the perforated lines 151. This allows for
more cost-effective inventory storage and ease of
accessibility.
[0031] In FIGS. 2A-2D, an air hose 260 has an end 258, which is in
the form of a nozzle 210 attached to the air hose 260 at an annular
junction 212. The nozzle 210 may transition from a tubular rear
section 211 through an angle less than 90.degree. to a tubular
forward section 214. It is desirable that the nozzle 210 be
provided with a mechanism to releasably couple it with a hose card
of the pneumatic convective devices of FIGS. 1A-1J. An example of
such a mechanism is shown in these figures. Opposing slots 220 are
cut longitudinally along the forward section 214 of the nozzle,
extending to its end 217. An annular flange 216 is formed
circumferentially around the forward section 214 seated over the
slots 220, back from the end 217. A flexible U-shaped latch 222
comprising opposing tongs is mounted to the inside of the nozzle
210, extending from the end 217 where the tongs are received in the
slots 220, to the end of the rear section 213 in which a groove 223
is cut to receive and seat the spring end of the U-shaped latch
222. Finger pieces 225 mounted on the outsides of the tongs are
received in the slots 220, behind the annular flange 216. The tongs
have wedge-shaped pieces 227 mounted to their ends, forward of the
annular flange 216. As best seen in FIG. 2A, the tongs of the latch
222 flex together toward the interior of the nozzle, away from the
slots 220 in response to pressure applied to the finger pieces 225.
According to the illustration in FIG. 2B, when the pressure is
released, the tongs spring back to the annular flange 216. With
reference to FIG. 1J, in operation, the nozzle 210, on the end of
the air hose 260 is brought to an inlet port 163, the tongs are
flexed together as in FIG. 2A and the end of the forward section
214 is inserted into the inlet port 163 far enough for the annular
flange 216 to abut the hose card 164. The flexing pressure on the
tongs is released and the tongs spring back against the annular
flange 216. The hose card is held between the wedge-shaped pieces
227 and the annular flange 216, thereby maintaining the air hose
260 engaged or coupled to the pneumatic convective device served by
the input port 163. The nozzle 210 can be disengaged or decoupled
from the device by squeezing the tongs of the latch 222 together
and removing the forward section 214 of the nozzle from the inlet
port 127.
[0032] Preferably, the diameter of the inlet port is larger than
that of the nozzle to allow for easy entry of the nozzle. As the
latch is engaged, the nozzle is secured against the inlet port
perimeter and abuts the annular flange, thus securing the fit to
reduce or eliminate air leakage where the inlet port and the nozzle
are joined. The nozzle may also be configured to swivel to
accommodate the diverse range of motion the devices will experience
in various settings.
[0033] The embodiments that are illustrated and described above are
meant to be representative, and not limiting, of our invention.
Other variations and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled
in the art upon reading this description. For example, the
illustrations and description show a pneumatic convective device
disposed on or at the front of a clinical garment for convectively
warming the chest of a person. The pneumatic convective device
could also be mounted to or disposed at the back or sides of the
garment, or may be adapted, sized, or constructed to extend along
more or less of the thorax than shown in the illustrated
embodiments of this invention.
* * * * *