Heating Pad Cover

Abstract

A fabric cover for a heating pad having an exposed surface of the cover comprising a fabric with a nap of loose closed loop nonmatting plush pile and a strap or extension of the cover, attached at one end to the cover and a strip of Velcro hook material secured at the other end thereof on the side opposite the plush pile surface of the cover so that when the cover, enclosing the pad, and the extension are wrapped about a person, the Velcro hook will come in contact with the plush pile and secure itself thereto to hold the pad about the wearer and provide for infinitely adjustable attachment.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a fabric covering for therapeutic apparatus and more particularly to a fabric cover for a heating pad with means for securing the heating pad on the body of the wearer and providing infinitely variable adjustment.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Covers of the type generally disclosed herein are used to enclose a heating pad of well-known construction having heating elements encased in a generally flat, flexible pad of rubberized fabric. These covers generally consist of a bag or envelope like container made from a soft fabric that protects the wearer from direct contact with the warm or hot nonporous rubberized surface of the pad and also provides a comfortable cushion between the wearer and the pad.

It is also well known to provide such covers with means such as straps or zippers to facilitate temporarily fastening it to various parts of the body of the wearer so that the pad contained therein may be retained in proper disposition on the wearer. A cover such as this is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,975,329. Use of straps such as these tended to be awkward in that tying, buckling, or snapping them required at least both hands of the wearer, and in placing the pad in some position on the body, such as an arm or shoulder, would require assistance.

Such straps further limited the smallest circumference that the pad and cover could be wrapped around without interfering or wrapping over an opposing strap so that, for instance, a cover such as disclosed in the aforementioned patent could not be used to wrap and hold the pad about the arm of the wearer unless the pad and cover was short enough so that it would not completely overlap itself.

The above deficiency was overcome by providing a cover with attaching means especially adapted for holding the pad on portions of the body providing a small circumference such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,617,916. However, this cover was limited to use on only such areas as it did not provide sufficient length to encircle larger portions of the body such as the chest or back.

The present invention provides a cover for a heating pad or such that has means for retaining the pad in proper disposition on the body of the wearer, such means being infinitely adjustable so as to secure the pad in proper disposition on generally any portion of the wearer. The attaching means of the cover also can be retained in a generally flat position on the cover when not being employed to secure the cover about the wearer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A pad cover, conforming to the shape of the pad to be enclosed, is provided with an extension or strap of sufficient length so that together they are capable of completely encircling generally any portion of the body. The cover has a closable opening into which a conventional heating pad is placed with the cord and controls extending therethrough. To retain the heating pad on the body of the wearer a small strip of Velcro hook material is sewn onto the end of the strap. At least one surface of the cover and strap comprises a suitable material having a loose, closed loop, nonmatting pile which is readily grasped by the Velcro hooks. A strip of Velcro hook material is sewn on the face of the extension opposite the cover and extension surface of plush pile fabric. The hook material is able to be attached to any exposed portion of the plush pile surface, thereby permitting the pad to be wrapped on a portion of the body of generally small circumference and being infinitely adjustable up to a circumference nearly equal to the total length of the cover and extension.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of heating pad cover according to the present invention enclosing a heating pad of well-known shape;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line II--II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line III--III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the heating pad cover; and

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of the cover of FIG. 4 in a flat, folded position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The cover 10 is shown in FIG. 1 enclosing a heating pad of a well-known configuration and generally comprises an envelope or container having a front and back face 11 and 12 which are secured together along the peripheral edges such as by sewing. An opening 13 is provided a short distance along the peripheral edge of the cover 10 for access to the interior of the cover and through which the pad 14 is inserted, with the electrical conductor 15 and control 16 for the pad extending therethrough when the pad 14 is enclosed by the cover 10. The opening 13 is generally closable through any well-known means such as a zipper or snaps 17 so that the pad is retained within the cover 10. It is evident that the opening can be placed anywhere in the cover and that for the purposes of this invention, it is not necessary that it be along the periphery but could also be an opening in either face.

Extending from the periphery of the cover 10 and at one end thereof is an extension or strap 18 that can either be an integral extension of the cover 10 or a separate strap attached thereto as by sewing. A short strip of Velcro hook fastener material 19 is attached to the free end of the extension 18. Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 2,717,437 issued on Sept. 13, 1955 for a detailed disclosure of the Velcro hook components and characteristics; however, it generally provides numerous rows of short, upstanding hook members 20 integrally woven into the material. (FIG. 3)

The cover 10 and extension 18 are made from a fabric of generally porous nature that has a relatively good transmission of heat. The cover fabric also has at least one surface 22, which is made the outer surface of the cover, of closed loop nonmatting plush pile, which can be securely grasped by the Velcro hook material 19. A commercially available example of such a material is available from Charles W. Fifield Jr. Co. Inc., Boston, Massachusetts, under the name of MAR-LON.

In using the cover 10 containing a heating pad, the wearer can place it over the portion of the body to be heated and wrap the cover and extension so as to tightly encircle the body and press the Velcro strip against any exposed area of the plush surface of the cover so that the pad remains in place on the wearer. It is evident that the largest circumference that can be encircled is only limited by the total length of the pad cover plus extension, while there is virtually no minimum circumference that can be encircled as any exposed plush surface of either the cover or the extension provides a closed loop pile which cooperates with the Velcro hooks on the end of the strap to provide secure attachment.

The cover 10 as shown in FIG. 2 is made reversible, i.e., either surface can be placed adjacent the wearer, by the provision of the plush pile surface 22 being provided on both faces 11 and 12 of the cover and extension and the Velcro hook material 19 provided on both faces at the end of the extension 18; however, it is evident that it is necessary to provide the plush pile fabric on only one face of the cover and one face of the extension and the Velcro hook material on the opposite face and at the free end of the extension in which case, although the cover would not be reversible it would still be infinitely adjustable.

Referring to FIG. 4, another cover 24 is shown which encloses the more conventional rectangular heating pad and which can be used in the same manner described above. However, rather than obtaining the desired overall length to enable the cover to be retained about the torso of the wearer by one length extension, the cover 24 has two shorter extensions 26 and 28 with the Velcro hook material 19 attached to the free end of only one extension 28. Also, the cover 24 of FIG. 4 is shown as not having the closed loop nonmatting plush pile on the face 30 on which the Velcro hook material 19 is attached.

The extensions 26 and 28 can be folded to a flat unobtrusive position such as shown in FIG. 5, and held there by the Velcro hook material 19 on extension 28 engaging the back face of extension 34 which is made from the above-identified closed loop plush fabric. It is to be understood that in this instance the back faces of the cover 24 and extensions 26, 28, (the faces opposite the view of FIG. 4) are made of such material whereas the front face can be made of any suitable material and not necessarily one that engagingly cooperates with the Velcro hook material. It is also apparent that the ability of extensions 26 and 28 to be held in a flat position on cover 24 is also provided for in the single extension 18 of cover 10 by folding the extension 18 so as to overlie the cover and pressing the Velcro hook material 19 into retaining engagement with the closed loop nap of the fabric.

Thus, a versatile, low-cost cover is provided having integral attaching means so that the cover containing the pad can be securely held on the body, the attachment means being capable of securing the cover to the body throughout an infinitely variable range of circumferences with the largest circumference preferably capable of enclosing an adult torso. Further, the attaching means are able to be secured in a flat generally unobtrusive position when not being employed to retain the cover and pad on the body of the wearer.

Claims

I claim:

1. Envelope means for containing a heating pad and flexible attachment means for supporting said envelope means on the body of a user, said envelope means and attachment means integrally connected along common ends and wherein:

said attachment means comprises a single strap;

at least one face of said strap and said envelope means includes a fabric characterized by a closed loop nap extending substantially along the full length of each;

a strip of hook material secured to said strap at an end opposite said common end and on a face opposite said closed loop nap for releasable engagement with said closed loop nap when in a face to face relationship; whereby,

said envelope means and said attachment means can tightly encircle appropriate portions of the body of the user for support thereon for variable adjustment up to substantially any circumferential distance less than the total length of said envelope means and said strap.

2. Envelope means for containing a heating pad and flexible attachment means for supporting said envelope means on the body of a user, said envelope means and attachment means integrally connected along common ends and wherein:

said attachment means comprises two straps, each of said straps extending from and connected to opposite ends of said envelope means;

at least one face of said straps and said envelope means includes a fabric characterized by a closed loop nap extending substantially along the full length of each;

a strip of hook material secured to one of said straps of said attachment means at an end opposite said common end and on a face opposite said closed loop nap for releasable engagement with said closed loop nap, whereby,

said envelope means and said attachment means can tightly encircle appropriate portions of the body of the user for support thereon for variable adjustment up to substantially any circumferential distance less than the total length of said envelope means and attachment means.

3. The envelope means and attachment means of claim 2 wherein said fabric characterized by a closed loop nap is secured along the length of both faces of said envelope means and said strap; and,

said hook material is secured to each face of said strap; whereby;

either face of said envelope means and strap can be readily placed next to the body of the user.

4. The envelope and attachment means of claim 3 wherein said fabric characterized by a closed loop nap is secured along the length of both faces of said envelope and attachment means; and,

said hook material is secured to both faces of said attachment means; whereby,

either face of said envelope and attachment means can be readily placed next to the body of the user.