U.S. patent application number 13/525392 was filed with the patent office on 2013-12-19 for method and apparutus for performance enhancing body cooling with thermoelectric.
The applicant listed for this patent is Felix Chow. Invention is credited to Felix Chow.
Application Number | 20130333394 13/525392 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49754663 |
Filed Date | 2013-12-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130333394 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chow; Felix |
December 19, 2013 |
METHOD AND APPARUTUS FOR PERFORMANCE ENHANCING BODY COOLING WITH
THERMOELECTRIC
Abstract
Heat accumulated inside the human body can affect performance
and may also lead to heat stroke, hyperthermia and even death. A
method and system for performance enhancing body cooling with the
use of thermoelectric cooling plate for performance enhancement and
prevention of heat stress/heat stroke/hyperthermia is described.
The system targets the glabrous skins in the palm for optimal heat
extraction and the portable device allows continuous cooling for
longer duration. A heavy-duty version of the device using multiple
thermoelectric cooling plates for cooling of body under extreme
heat conditions such as inside a tank or armored personnel vehicle
(APV) for military applications is also described.
Inventors: |
Chow; Felix; (Hong Kong,
HK) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Chow; Felix |
Hong Kong |
|
HK |
|
|
Family ID: |
49754663 |
Appl. No.: |
13/525392 |
Filed: |
June 18, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/3.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F 2007/0096 20130101;
F25B 21/02 20130101; A61F 7/10 20130101; A61F 7/007 20130101; A61F
2007/0075 20130101; A61F 2007/0078 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
62/3.2 |
International
Class: |
F25B 21/02 20060101
F25B021/02 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for performance enhancing body cooling with the use
of thermoelectric cooling plate for performance enhancement and
prevention of heat stress, heat stroke, and hyperthermia,
comprising: a housing; and a metallic cooling surface being on a
first side of the housing and being placed in contact with a user's
body; wherein the metallic cooling surface comprises a thermal
electric cooling plate.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a cooling fan
inside the housing; and a cooling fan vent on a second side of the
housing;
3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: Velcro straps
being attached to the housing and being used to secure the
apparatus to the user's body.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a temperature
sensor for measuring temperature of the user's body; and a
controller module for receiving data signal from the temperature
sensor and sending control signal for controlling the cooling fan
according to the temperature of the user's body.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising: a pulse rate
monitor for monitoring heart pulse of the user's body; wherein the
controller module controls cooling fan according to the temperature
and the heart pulse of the user's body.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: a display for
displaying the temperature and the heart pulse of the user's
body.
7. An apparatus for performance enhancing body cooling under
extreme heat conditions with the use of thermoelectric cooling
plate for performance enhancement and prevention of heat stress,
heat stroke, and hyperthermia, comprising: a housing; and a
metallic cooling surface being on a first side of the housing and
being placed in contact with a body of heat; wherein the metallic
cooling surface comprises a plurality of thermal electric cooling
plates.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising: one or more
cooling fan inside the housing; and one or more cooling fan vents
on one or more sides of the housing;
9. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising: a temperature
sensor for measuring temperature of the body of heat; and a
controller module for receiving data signal from the temperature
sensor and sending control signal for controlling the cooling fans
according to the temperature of the user's body.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising: a display for
displaying the temperature of the body of heat.
Description
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0001] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains
material, which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright
owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of
the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the
Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise
reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The presently claimed invention relates to the cooling of
human body to enhance performance and to prevent heat stroke and
hyperthermia under hot environment. This invention can be used for
professional/consumer sports device, industrial cooling device,
military combat gear and also in extreme environment such as inside
an armored personnel vehicle (APV) in military applications.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Many sports, military, and industrial activities require the
subject to perform demanding physical activities in thermally
stressful conditions, sometimes even wearing heavily insulated
clothing (e.g. body armor, protective padding, hazmat suits, and
firefighting gear etc). The accumulation of internal heat can be
performance limiting and even life threatening (e.g. heat stroke,
hyperthermia). Traditional heat extraction methods with cool
misting fans, cool beverages and apply ice on the body often make
one "feel" cooler temporarily, but these methods are minimally
effective at cooling the body's core organs.
[0004] Glabrous (hairless) skin surfaces (e.g. palms of the hands,
soles of the feet, face, and ears) contain specialized vascular
structures that facilitate heat loss. These structures are called
arterio-venous anastamoses (AVA's). AVAs in the palm allows large
flow rates of blood through the hands as part of the body's thermal
control system. When open, these structures increase the blood flow
through the hands to 6-7 1/min, more than double the resting
rate.
[0005] This invention is a performance-enhancing cooling device
designed to enhance the cooling ability of the glabrous skin
surfaces by extracting heat from the AVAs rich areas like the
palms/fingers of the hands to help cool the internal organs and
lower core temperature.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,415 discloses a body cooling apparatus
in the form of a cooling vest with water or coolant circulating
through tubes going through the vest for cooling the upper torso.
However, this system requires compressor and condenser, rendering
the device non-portable. The tubes could also be damaged by body
movement. The heat extraction process is also targeting the torso
skin surfaces which are not glabrous skin surfaces hence the
cooling efficiency will be limited. U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,701
describes a similar cooling suit with the use of heat pipe and
phase-change materials. The device also suffers from pipe
reliability and cooling efficiency problems.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,729 describes a cuff-like device to
provide personal cooling for the wearer, consisting of a flexible
sealed envelope filled with a cold-retaining gel substance enclosed
within an inner condensation-controlling and insulating fabric. The
cuff-like device is fastened around the wrist by means of an
adjustable insulated band. U.S. design Pat. D623,307S also
describes a similar device attaching to the palm with cool-gel-pack
inserts. These devices suffer from the need to replace the cool gel
pack within 60 minutes or less depending on the ambient
temperature. Direct contact of freezing cold surface to the skin
might induce constriction in blood vessels which dampens the effect
of heat extraction.
SUMMARY
[0008] It is an objective of this presently claimed invention to
provide a method and system for cooling of human body to enhance
performance and prevent heat stroke by targeting the glabrous skin
surface of the palms with the use of thermoelectric cooling plate.
The use of thermoelectric cooling plate can provide continuous
cooling as long as battery lasts. It is a further objective of this
presently claimed invention to provide a portable device to enhance
performance and prevent heat stroke during exercise, industrial or
military activities. It is a further objective of this presently
claimed invention to include an algorithm to determine the optimal
cooling temperature to avoid local blood vessels constriction. It
is still a further objective of this invention to utilize multiple
thermoelectric cooling plates to provide a method and system for
cooling of human body to enhance performance and prevent heat
stroke in extremely hot environments such as inside an armored
personnel vehicle (APV) in military applications.
[0009] In accordance with the various embodiments of the presently
claimed invention, the device consists of a thermoelectric cooling
plate and a cooling fan for heat extraction, a controller module to
control the thermoelectric cold plate temperature and to monitor
the user/device interface temperature as well as pulse rate. The
controller module executes algorithms to control the thermoelectric
plate output temperature to avoid local blood vessels constriction
and conserve battery power.
[0010] In accordance with the various embodiments of the presently
claimed invention, the device can provide 25-30% performance gain
when used during exercise (increase in work performed and
endurance). Used during resting periods will also help the body
recover faster. Results of multi-day trials indicated that the
conditioning effect from the use of the device is lasting--same
performance level is shown on days when the device is not used. The
light-weight portable device makes it ideal for sports activities
like jogging as well as for industrial or military activities under
thermally stressful environments. Heavy-duty version of device is
equipped with multiple and more powerful thermoelectric cooling
plates for more demanding environments such as inside a tank or
armored personnel vehicle (APV) in military applications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] Embodiments of the invention are described in more detail
hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates the side view of the portable body
cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently
claimed invention.
[0013] FIG. 2 illustrates the top view of the portable body cooling
device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently claimed
invention.
[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates the bottom view of the portable body
cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently
claimed invention.
[0015] FIG. 4 illustrates the interior view of the portable body
cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the presently
claimed invention.
[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates the top and bottom views of the heavy
duty body cooling device in accordance with an embodiment of the
presently claimed invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] The following description, method and apparatus for
performance enhancing body cooling with thermoelectric are set
forth as preferred examples. It will be apparent to those skilled
in the art that modifications, including additions and/or
substitutions may be made without departing from the scope and
spirit of the invention. Specific details may be omitted so as not
to obscure the invention; however, herein without undue
experimentation.
[0018] The preferred embodiment of the presently claimed invention
applies to the cooling of human body in order to enhance
performance and to prevent heat stroke and hyperthermia under
thermally stressful environment. Referring to FIG. 1, the portable
cooling device features a metallic cooling surface 101 on top of
the device. The palm of the user is to be rested on top of the
metallic cooling surface. The device has cooling fan vent 102 on
the side. The plastic housing 104 covers the side, the back and the
bottom of the device. Velcro straps 103 are attached to the side of
the device. They are to be folded upward and to encompass the hand
of the user in order to fasten the palm to the device.
[0019] Referring to FIG. 2, the presently claimed invention has a
temperature sensor 201 on top and in the center of the area where
the user's palm is placed. The temperature is sampled and used by
the cooling control module to determine the appropriate action and
output of the thermoelectric cooling plate. There is also a pulse
rate monitor 202 located at the front of the device where the
fingers will rest. The user's pulse rate will be monitored and used
to determine the appropriate cooling action.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 3, at the bottom of the device, there is a
cooling fan vent 301 for the cooling fan to expel air heated up by
the hot-side of the thermoelectric plate. The charger connector 302
is located at the tail end of the device. The display 303 shows
information such as the temperature, pulse rate and user inputs.
The user input buttons 304 allow the user to input information such
as age, weight, operation mode etc., to be used by the control
module for temperature control.
[0021] Referring to FIG. 4, a diagram of the interior of the device
showing a controller module 401 for user inputs and display,
temperature/pulse rate sampling, cooling plate output control. The
controller module has a microcontroller (MCU), which performs the
temperature control with proprietary software algorithms. The
diagram also shows a cooling fan 402, a rechargeable battery pack
403 and a thermoelectric cooling plate 404 underneath the cooling
fan.
[0022] The embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using
general purpose or specialized computing devices, computer
processors, microcontroller, or electronic circuitries including
but not limited to digital signal processors (DSP), application
specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays
(FPGA), and other programmable logic devices configured or
programmed according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
Computer instructions or software codes running in the general
purpose or specialized computing devices, computer processors, or
programmable logic devices can readily be prepared by practitioners
skilled in the software or electronic art based on the teachings of
the present disclosure.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 5, the heavy duty version of the presently
claimed invention consists of multiple cooling fans 501, multiple
thermoelectric cooling plates 503 and a controller module 502. This
version of the device is not portable and is to be mounted on
industrial, military vehicle such as tanks or armored personnel
vehicles, which could be exposed to extreme heat.
[0024] The foregoing description of the present invention has been
provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is
not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the
precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be
apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art.
[0025] The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best
explain the principles of the invention and its practical
application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to
understand the invention for various embodiments and with various
modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated.
It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the
following claims and their equivalence.
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