U.S. patent number 3,687,143 [Application Number 05/086,254] was granted by the patent office on 1972-08-29 for pressure bandage and a method for producing the pressure bandage.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Schneeberger Kork AG. Invention is credited to Robert G. Braunschweig, Victor Schneeberger.
United States Patent |
3,687,143 |
Schneeberger , et
al. |
August 29, 1972 |
PRESSURE BANDAGE AND A METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE PRESSURE
BANDAGE
Abstract
A pressure bandage whereby heat is directly transmitted to the
body and the therapeutic effect is substantially improved by
applying a heatable bandage under pull and pressure to the part of
the body to be treated. To this end the heatable pressure bandage
is elastically extensible and has self-adhering closures enabling
proper application of the bandage to parts of different size of a
body.
Inventors: |
Schneeberger; Victor (Dulliken,
CH), Braunschweig; Robert G. (Olten, CH) |
Assignee: |
Schneeberger Kork AG (Soleur,
CH)
|
Family
ID: |
5750782 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/086,254 |
Filed: |
November 2, 1970 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 11, 1969 [DT] |
|
|
P 19 56 683.7 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
602/2;
219/211 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05B
3/342 (20130101); A61F 7/007 (20130101); H05B
2203/017 (20130101); H05B 2203/003 (20130101); H05B
2203/014 (20130101); A61F 2007/0001 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H05B
3/34 (20060101); A61f 007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/254,399,402,242,303.1 ;219/211,527 ;338/209,211 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Trapp; Lawrence W.
Claims
What we claim is:
1. A therapeutic bandage comprising a pair of planar sheets
defining a bandage body, a heating element including electric
conductor means sealed between said sheets, a supply cable
including electric conductors and having one end disposed between
said sheets, the ends of said conductor means and said conductors
being electrically connected, releasable fastening means on opposed
edge portions of said bandage body for cooperatively securing said
bandage in operative position, said sheets and heating element
being elastically extensible, and pressure proof and inextensible
capsules adhered between said sheets and enclosing said electric
connections between said conductor means and conductors to relieve
said connections of any stress, whereby said bandage and heating
element may be stretched over a portion of a body and securely
retained in position by said fastening means to preclude air spaces
therebetween and uniformly apply pressure and heat to the covered
body area.
2. A bandage according to claim 1, wherein said elastically
extensible heating element comprises an elongated cable-like member
and is cemented with and between said sheets which comprise
prevulcanized rubber.
3. A bandage according to claim 2, wherein said heating element
comprises an elastically extensible core a flexible copper litz
braided along a helical line around said core with a plait of
elastic insulating yarn enclosing said extensible core.
4. A bandage according to claim 3, wherein the ends of said cable
and the ends of said heating element are surrounded by an
insulating sleeve and clamped where led though the walls of said
capsules.
5. A bandage according to claim 4, wherein said conductors of the
cable and connecting ends of said core and heating conductor
respectively are clamped between cuttings of the wall of a capsule
body and a capsule cover fixed to the capsule body.
6. A bandage according to claim 1, wherein said heating conductor
is disposed along a zig-zag line with parallel straight portions of
the conductor at a distance of 1.5 to 3.5 mm from each other.
7. A bandage according to claim 1, wherein said heating conductor
is connected to a low-voltage source designed for a maximum heating
power of 0.043 W/cm.sup.2.
8. A bandage according to claim 1, wherein said fastening means
comprises pads of self-adhering closure means disposed at opposite
sides of said elastically extensible sheets and at least at one end
of said bandage outside the area covered by the heating
conductor.
9. A method for producing a pressure bandage for heat treatment of
parts of a human or animal body and comprising an elastically
extensible heating element enclosed and sealed between elastically
extensible sheets, wherein said heating element is cemented in the
desired disposition to the inner side of a first vulcanized rubber
sheet, whereafter a second vulcanized rubber sheet is cemented to
the first rubber sheet and to said heating element
respectively.
10. A method according to claim 9, wherein said heating conductor
is first applied in zig-zag configuration around pins inserted into
a flat gauge wherein said pins are shiftable in a direction
perpendicular to the plane of the gauge but are secured against
removal from the gauge, whereafter a cement is applied to the one
surface of one of said rubber sheets and the gauge is applied
against this surface with the heating conductor engaging said
surface and cement applied thereto respectively, whereafter said
gauge is removed as soon as the cement has sufficiently hardened
for binding said heating conductor to said sheet, whereafter said
second rubber sheet is applied to the surface of said one rubber
sheet carrying the heating conductor.
11. A method according to claim 10, wherein hardening of the cement
is accelerated by connection of the heating conductor to an
electric source for heating it.
12. A method according to claim 10, wherein said gauge comprises a
flat carrier of transparent insulating material.
13. A bandage according to claim 1, wherein the elasticity of said
sheets enables application substantially throughout the area
thereof against the portion of the body under treatment at a
pressure in the order of 0.05 Kg/cm.sup.2.
14. A bandage according to claim 1, wherein said bandage has a
heating capacity of not more than 0.042 W/cm.sup.2.
Description
This invention relates to a pressure bandage and method using this
pressure bandage for heat treatment of a human or animal body, said
pressure bandage having a heating conductor sealed between rubber
sheets.
Heating pads of this type for heat treatment of parts of a body are
known. Such pads are moisture-proof but they are only suitable for
being loosely applied onto the part of the body to be treated.
Experiments have shown, however, that heating pads loosely applied
onto the part of the body have a number of disadvantages and are of
limited therapeutical efficiency. It was found that the temperature
is much lower where the pads contact the body than where there is
an isolating air cushion between the heating pad and the body.
Therefore, local overheating may occur and the therapeutical effect
is bad or the treatment with the heating pad may even be injurious
to health.
The above disadvantages of prior heating pads loosely applicable
onto parts of the body may be avoided if a heatable bandage
according to this invention is used, which is elastically
extensible in all directions and may be applied around parts of a
body under appropriate pull, whereby the bandage is pressed against
the body with a substantially uniformly distributed pressure over
the full heated area of the bandage. A heatable bandage of this
type should fullfill a number of important conditions, this being
only possible when the bandage has a number of technical features
as explained hereafter and as claimed. As mentioned above, the
bandage should be elastically extensible in all directions to an
appreciable extent without damage to the imbedded conductor system.
Further, the bandage needs easily engageable and disengageable
closures allowing interconnection of the bandage ends with any
desired length of the bandage within a determined range in order
that the bandage may be applied to parts of a body of different
size and shape with appropriate pull and pressure. The bandage
according to this invention broadly comprises a heating conductor
wound along a helical line onto an elastically extensible core and
adapted to produce the required heat when connected to a
low-voltage source, said heating conductor being enclosed and
sealed between elastically extensible sheets, a cable for
connection of said heating conductor to said source, connections
between ends of said heating conductor and the conductors of said
cable being enclosed in pressure proof and inextensible capsules,
and self-adhering closures at opposite ends of said bandage
allowing closure of said bandage with any length of the same when
applied around a part of a body under appropriate pull and elastic
elongation whereby said bandage is uniformly applied against the
surface of the body at a desired pressure.
This invention also relates to a method for producing a bandage as
set out above, wherein said heating conductor is cemented in the
desired disposition to the inner side of a first vulcanized rubber
sheet, whereafter a second vulcanized rubber sheet is cemented to
the first rubber sheet and heating conductor respectively.
The invention also encompasses a novel and most efficient method
for heat treatment of parts of a human or animal body, comprising
providing a heatable elastically extensible bandage having
self-adhering closures at its ends, applying said bandage to the
part of the body to be treated with appropriate tension and
elastical elongation of the bandage in order that the bandage is
uniformly applied against the body at an appropriate pressure, and
connecting said heatable bandage to a low voltage source for
applying heat from said bandage to said body.
This invention will now be explained in detail with reference to
the accompanying drawing, wherein
FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the pressure bandage,
FIG. 2 is a section along line II--II in FIG. 1 on a somewhat
larger scale,
FIG. 3 shows a length of the heating conductor on a substantially
enlarged scale,
FIG. 4 is a top view of a connecting capusle with the cover thereof
removed,
FIG. 5 is a section of the connecting capsule of FIG. 4,
FIG. 6 shows a gauge used for production of a pressure bandage as
shown in FIG. 1,
FIG. 7 is a section of the gauge of FIG. 6,
FIG. 8 shows the same gauge with a heating conductor applied
thereto when laid onto a rubber sheet of the bandage to be
produced,
FIG. 9 shows the pressure bandage in longitudinal section and
FIG. 10 shows a top view of another embodiment of the pressure
bandage.
The heatable pressure bandage illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has two
prevulcanized rubber sheets 1 and 2 cemented to each other in
sealing, moisture-proof condition. In the middle portion of the
bandage a heating conductor 3 trained in a zig-zag or accordion
fashion is imbedded between rubber sheets 1 and 2, the ends of said
heating conductor being soldered to the blank ends of conductors 5
of a cable 6 within rigid connecting capsules 4. The inlet for the
cable 6 is reinforced by a rubber sheet 7. The tongues at the ends
of the bandage are covered with pads of easily engageable and
disengageable closures, for instance hook closures 8 and 9
engageable in any desired relative position, one of such pads being
provided at the upper and the other of such pads being provided at
the lower side of the bandage.
In order to obtain sufficient elastic extensibility of the heating
conductor, the same is a highly flexible copper litz 10 wound onto
a rubber core 11 along a helical line and so braided with a plait
12 of elastic insulating yarn enclosing said core 11 that the litz
wires 10 cross the yarns of plait 12 in places. In this way the
litz wires 10 are secured against relative shifting on the core 11.
The whole structure shown in detail in FIG. 3 is highly extensible
and also compressible such that the heating-conductor system may
always adapt its shape to the shape of the bandage without any
dangerous stresses acting between the rubber sheets 1 and 2 and the
heating conductor respectively.
Experience has shown that it is of particular importance that the
connecting places between the heating conductor and the conductors
5 of cable 6 are never subjected to pull or any other stresses. To
this end such connections are accommodated in rigid capsules. An
embodiment of such a capsule is shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5.
The cup-shaped capsule body 4 has two notches in its wall portion,
the heating conductor 3 with core 11 and the conductors 5
surrounded by a suitable insulating sleeve being led in through
such cuttings. The blank conductor ends are twisted and soldered
together within the capsule, the connection being thus entirely
free of any stresses. The conductor portions led through said
notches are clamped between the capsule body 4 and a capsule cover
14 riveted or cemented to the capsule body. The rivet 15 is
surrounded by a collar 16 of the capsule body 4 such that direct
contact between the blank conductors and the metallic rivet is
prevented.
The following values have found to be satisfactory for a practical
embodiment of the heatable pressure bandage:
The prevulcanized rubber sheets preferably have a thickness of 1 mm
each, an extensibility of 600 percent and a strength or hardness of
not more than 35 shore. The extensibility of the heating-conductor
system is 80 percent. This results in a bandage which may be
applied to parts of the body which are usually treated with heat
with a uniformly distributed pressure in the order of 0.05
kg/cm.sup.2. The heating conductor of the bandage is connected by
means of cable 6 to a power source having a regulating transformer
of which the highest output voltage is 48 volts. The heating
conductor is so designed that a maximum heating power of 0.042
W/cm.sup.2 is obtained for the maximum voltage of 48 volts. With
this heating power overheating and burning cannot possibly occur
and the surface temperature of the body usually rises to about
40.degree. C. If heating to a lower temperature is desired the
output voltage of the power source may be reduced whereby
continuous adjustment or adjustment in small steps is possible. If
heating to higher temperatures is desired, this is only possible if
heat losses from the outer surface of the bandage are prevented by
covering the bandage with isolating coverings or the like. The
distance between parallel straight portions of the heating
conductor may be selected from 2 to 3 mm, while the diameter of the
heating conductor system with the core 11 and the plait covering it
may be in the order of 1 to 1.5 mm. A distance of 3 mm between
parallel portions of the heating conductor with a thickness of the
rubber sheets of 1 mm is optimal.
For producing the bandage a gauge as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7
is used. This gauge has a flat carrier 17 of transparent insulating
material such as "Plexiglass". Tubular pins such as rivets 18 are
slidably mounted in rows of bores, but they cannot fall out of the
bores due to a radial flange at one end and tapered portion at the
other end thereof.
For applying the conductor to the gauge, the latter is laid onto a
flat surface, for instance a table, as shown in FIG. 7, whereby the
pins 18 are moved upwardly with the tapered end spaced from the
upper surface of the gauge carrier. With the gauge in this position
the heating conductor may now easily be applied thereto whereby the
heating conductor system is fixed near its one end to one of the
pins 18 and is then applied round the pins in accordion fashion
with appropriate pull and under slight elastic extension. The
heating conductor system is then fixed to a pin 18 near its other
end. After application of the heating conductor to the gauge or
prior to this operation the blank ends of the heating conductor are
soldered to the conductors 5 of the cable 6 and are inserted into
the capsules 4. When the heating conductor is fully applied to
gauge 17, and the capsules 4 are closed, the gauge is turned upside
down and is laid onto the upper surface of rubber sheet 1 provided
with a binding agent. When touching the rubber sheet the pins 18
are pushed upwardly until the heating conductor now contacts the
binding agent or cement applied to sheet 1 and is slightly
compressed between the carrier of the gauge and rubber sheet 1. The
heating conductor may now be connected to a suitable electric
source in order to heat the binding agent at least near the heating
conductor and thereby to accleerate hardening of this agent. When
the heating conductor sufficiently adheres to the rubber sheet 1
the gauge 17 is removed whereby the heating conductor may easily
slide off the tapered end portions of rivets 18. The upper rubber
sheet 2 is now applied as shown in FIG. 9 and is cemented to the
lower rubber plate in a suitable press not shown. At the same time
or afterwards the pads 8 and 9 of the closure are applied. The use
of a gauge 17 of transparent material is advantageous in that it
may always be checked whether the heating conductor is applied to
the rubber sheet 1 in proper disposition and the gauge with the
heating conductor may again be lifted off for rearrangement of the
heating conductor thereon if necessary.
The pressure bandage shown by way of example in FIG. 10 corresponds
to the same of FIGS. 1 to 5 in structure, but has a different
shape. Any other shape is feasible. Corresponding parts are
designated with the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1. In the
bandage of FIG. 10, which is bigger than the one shown in FIG. 1, a
number of pads 8 and 9 respectively of the closure are shown, such
pads 8 and 9 being so disposed that the bandage ends may be
connected to each other in any desired position within a determined
range, the length of the closed bandage being thus continuously
variable. Pads 8 of the closure are within the area covered by the
heating conductor 3, while the other pads 9 are disposed outside
the area covered by the heating conductor 3 and on the other side
of the bandage. Therefore, the bandage may always be closed in a
manner that no pads of the closure are between the heating
conductor and the body to be treated. The uniform distribution of
the heating effect is thus not affected by the closing pads 8 and
9.
Practical therapeutic experiments show that the heat of a pressure
bandage closely contacting the body properly enters into the body.
Therefore, the effect of the pressure bandage described above when
used in accordance with this invention is different and more
efficient than heat treatment with prior heating pads adapted for
being loosely applied to the body. The bandage which is absolutely
water-proof may be disinfected or washed after each use.
The heat directly transmitted from the flexible bandage onto and
into the body is particularly suitable for treatment of all pains
favorably responding to heat. In case of dorsal vertebra arthrosis
the bandage encloses the body like a mantle or a broad elastic belt
with intensive heating, whereby the patient feels safe and relaxed.
A favorable influence was also found with so called degenerative
diseases such as arthrosis, spondylitis and muscle rheumatism,
periarthritis humeroscapularis and neuralgy. Further, the bandage
may be used for muscle relaxation, unswelling of tissue, secondary
influencing of the neurovegetative system in the sense of an
alteration and normalization of disturbed reactions. Treatment of
diseases of the kidney and of the bladder are also possible.
Forehead-bandages for treatment of sinusitis or head-bandages for
producing a hyperemia in the head skin against alopecia may also
advantageously be used. The method according to this invention is
further applicable for antifat treatment by acceleration of the fat
nutrition.
* * * * *