|Número de publicación||US7211774 B2|
|Tipo de publicación||Concesión|
|Número de solicitud||US 11/207,916|
|Fecha de publicación||1 May 2007|
|Fecha de presentación||19 Ago 2005|
|Fecha de prioridad||19 Ago 2005|
|También publicado como||US20070039948|
|Número de publicación||11207916, 207916, US 7211774 B2, US 7211774B2, US-B2-7211774, US7211774 B2, US7211774B2|
|Inventores||Yen-Fu Chen, John W. Dunsmoir, Francis X. Kinstler, Sheryl S. Kinstler|
|Cesionario original||International Business Machines Corporation|
|Exportar cita||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Citas de patentes (13), Citada por (3), Clasificaciones (8), Eventos legales (4)|
|Enlaces externos: USPTO, Cesión de USPTO, Espacenet|
The present invention is related generally to inductive heating devices, and more particularly to an inductive heating device for applying heat to the body of a human.
Heat is widely used to treat various types of illness and injury. Heated garments or pads of various sizes and shapes often are used to apply heat to a given area of the body affected by the illness or injury.
Many heating pads simply store heat energy from an external source, such as an oven, but the heat from these types of devices dissipates and eventually disappears completely. Consequently, these devices quickly lose their effectiveness.
Other types of heating pads include an internal heat source that can provide continuous heat, but these devices typically rely on electricity and resistance heating to power the internal heat source. Cords or bulky batteries are required to provide the necessary electricity. Such cords or batteries can interfere with a patient's mobility and also expose the patient to a risk of electrocution or strangulation.
Thus, current methods of heating a garment or pad are often cumbersome and ineffective, and there is a need for a system that can provide continuous heat without electrical cords or batteries.
Induction heating is a well-known method for producing heat in an object without the need for wires or batteries, and has been used for some time in such diverse applications as cooking appliances and welding tools. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,581 (issued Sep. 26, 2000), U.S. Pat. No. 6,727,483 (issued Apr. 27, 2004). In general an induction heating system requires a coil and an alternating electrical current. When connected to the alternative electrical current, the coil produces a varying magnetic field. In turn, the magnetic field induces an electric current in an object when the object is placed within the magnetic field. The resistance to electric current in the object causes the object to emit heat.
Notwithstanding current applications of induction heating, though, no known product applies the principles of induction heating to address the need for a garment or pad that can provide continuous heat without electrical cords or batteries.
The present invention is an induction heating system comprising a first article having a metallic mesh lining; and a second article having a coil for receiving an alternating electrical current; wherein the coil induces a current in the metallic mesh lining when the second pad is placed in close proximity to the first pad and the coil receives an alternating electrical current; whereby the current induced in the metallic mesh lining causes the metallic mesh lining to generate heat that can be applied to a body through contact with the first article.
Additionally, this inventive induction heating system may further comprise a controller circuit in the second article for detecting an eddy current in the coil and operating a switch to turn the alternating electrical current off when no eddy current is detected in the coil.
The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be understood best by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The invention described in detail below is a method and apparatus for providing a continuous source for heat that can be applied to a person without electrical cords or batteries. Referring to
The current in metallic mesh lining 110, in turn, creates eddy currents in second article 115, and an optional controller circuit can be integrated into second article 115 to detect such eddy currents. In one embodiment of the invention, the controller comprises a conductor detection module that detects the presence (or absence) of a ferrous or non-ferrous conductor in first article 105. The controller further comprises a service module that operates a switch to the alternating electrical current source. Accordingly, such a controller can detect the presence of first article 105 and switch the alternating electrical current source on and off as first article 105 is moved in and out of range. Moreover the strength of the eddy currents is proportional to the amount of heat generated in first article 105, and the controller can adjust the current through coil 120 as needed to control the heat in first article 105. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, coil 120 is a copper coil having a diameter of three inches, and the alternating electrical current source applies fifty volts at 50–60 cycles per second, with a maximum of fifty watts per coil. This embodiment can produce a pulse output in increments of 0.1 seconds, which can be controlled for precise generation of heat.
The present invention has many too many applications to possibly enumerate them all here. Instead, a few broad examples are provided that illustrate some of the broader applications and the preferred modes of operation.
In one embodiment, the second article is a pad that is placed in a bed or chair, and the first article is a garment or pad that is worn by or placed upon a patient or other person in need of therapeutic heat. The first article is activated when the patient sits in the chair or lies in the bed.
Other useful embodiments include blankets and shoe warmers, furniture, and golf carts.
A preferred form of the invention has been shown in the drawings and described above, but variations in the preferred form will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The preceding description is for illustration purposes only, and the invention should not be construed as limited to the specific form shown and described. The scope of the invention should be limited only by the language of the following claims.
|Patente citada||Fecha de presentación||Fecha de publicación||Solicitante||Título|
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|US6043469 *||25 Ene 1999||28 Mar 2000||The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army||Tailored mesh susceptors for uniform induction heating, curing and bonding of materials|
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|US20020092846||15 Oct 2001||18 Jul 2002||Mikio Yamamoto||Induction heating device for rolling roller and method of induction heating|
|US20030213799||24 Mar 2003||20 Nov 2003||Takaaki Tanaka||Induction heating roller apparatus and image formation apparatus|
|Patente citante||Fecha de presentación||Fecha de publicación||Solicitante||Título|
|US8907257 *||29 Dic 2010||9 Dic 2014||Korea Institute Of Industrial Technology||Contactlessly chargeable heater|
|US20080164247 *||4 Ene 2007||10 Jul 2008||Yen-Fu Chen||Induction Heating System|
|US20130032589 *||29 Dic 2010||7 Feb 2013||Korea Institute Of Industrial Technology||Contactlessly chargeable heater|
|Clasificación de EE.UU.||219/634, 219/600|
|Clasificación internacional||H05B6/02, H05B6/10|
|Clasificación cooperativa||H05B6/105, H05B6/06|
|Clasificación europea||H05B6/10S, H05B6/06|
|6 Sep 2005||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, NEW Y
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:CHEN, YEN-FU;DUNSMOIR, JOHN W.;KINSTLER, FRANCIS X.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:016730/0060
Effective date: 20050817
|6 Dic 2010||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|1 May 2011||LAPS||Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees|
|21 Jun 2011||FP||Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee|
Effective date: 20110501