Target heating method and system within a designated space

• US 10,617,221 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2016
• Issued: 04/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hui Jie
• Original Assignee: Hui Jie
• Inventors: Jie, Hui
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hare, David R
• Application Number:
  US15/513,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20170295947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,420 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/003 Lighting, radio, telephone or the like connected to the bedstead
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/04 Devices for ventilating, cooling or heating
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/048 for heating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2007/0094 using a remote control
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2007/0096 with a thermometer
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 7/00 Heating or cooling appliances for medical or therapeutic treatment of the human body heating or cooling means in connection with bedsteads or mattresses A47C21/00 ; massage, therapeutic baths A61H; hyperthermia using electric or magnetic fields or ultrasound A61N; electric heating elements H05B
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/0637 in a horizontal position
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/0625 Warming the body, e.g. hyperthermia treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/02 Automatic switching arrangements specially adapted to apparatus ; Control of heating devices thermally-actuated switches H01H37/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/0033 Heating devices using lamps
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/0071 for domestic applications

Abstract

A heating system includes a sensing and tracking module to sense length in at least one dimension of an object to-be-heated in a previously determined area. A light source module has at least one light source that can change its lighting direction and can also change its beam angle e along the at least one dimension. A control module is provided for regulating light emitted by the light source module onto the to-be heated object along the at least one dimension to match with the length of the to-be-heated object based on the length sensed by the sensing and tracking module. The heating system described above and a bed incorporated having this kind of heating system may automatically adjust its output power according to the physical characteristics of the object to-be-heated to avoid heating unrelated object, area or space so as to ensure high energy efficiency.

Claims

1. A heating system comprising:

a sensing and tracking module to sense a length in at least one dimension of an object to-be-heated in a previously determined area;

a light source module having at least one light source that changes its lighting direction and changes its beam angle along the at least one dimension;

a temperature sensing module for sensing temperature of the object to-be-heated and reducing an output power or stop operation of the light source module once the object to-be-heated reaches a previously determined temperature, wherein the temperature sensing module includes at least one movable temperature detecting device with adjustable temperature detection direction and is responsible for stopping or reducing the output power of the light source module once the object to-be-heated reaches a previously determined temperature; and

a control module for regulating light emitted by the light source module onto the to-be heated object along the at least one dimension to match with the length of the to-be-heated object based on the length sensed by the sensing and tracking module.

2. The heating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source module has a lens or a lens set for shaping the light from the light source into a desired shape and/or intensity distribution.

3. The heating system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sensing and tracking module has a distance measuring unit for measuring a distance between the object to-be-heated and light source for heating and the control module regulates a light beam angle from the light source in accordance with the length sensed by the sensing and tracking module in at least one dimension of the object to-be-heated as well as the distance to allow the light source for heating to emit light in an angle matching with the object to-be-heated in at least one dimension.

4. The heating system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the intensity distribution is a Batwing beam pattern or Lambertian pattern.

5. The heating system as claimed in claim 2, wherein a wavelength of the light for heating from the light source module is between 900nm-5000nm.

6. The heating system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the light source module is an infrared light emitting diode chip.

7. The heating system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control module calculates the intensity distribution to evenly heat the object to-be-heated based on the length in at least one dimension of the object to-be-heated and the distance between the object to-be-heated and the light source module, which are sensed by the sensing and tracking module, and regulates the light source and/or lens or lens set to reach the desired light intensity distribution.

8. The heating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the object to-be-heated is movable and the sensing and tracking module includes a radar or multiple sensors located at different locations, the sensing and tracking module determines a spatial location of the object to-be-heated based on sensed information gained by the radar or the sensors and ensures the length in the at least one dimension of the object to-be-heated,

the control module adjusts orientation of the light source for heating toward the object to-be-heated in accordance with the spatial location thereof and regulates the light source for heating according to the length in the at least one dimension of the object to-be heated so sensed by the sensing and tracking module to allow light from the light source module to have an angle matching with the length in the at least one dimension of the object to-be-heated.

9. The heating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control module also increases the output power of the light source module if the at least one temperature detecting device detects that the temperature of the object to-be-heated is below the previously determined temperature and temperature difference between the temperature of the object-to-be heated and the previously determined temperature reaches a previously determined value.

10. The heating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one temperature detecting device has a distance detecting unit responsible for detection of the distance between the object to-be-heated and the temperature detecting device so that a preprogrammed output power calculation formula in the control module is able to adjust the power of the light source module to correspond to the distance between the temperature detecting device and the object to-be-heated, the detected temperature and a preprogrammed target temperature.

11. The heating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the light source module includes a power management device, the light source module is an infrared LED chip and the power management device is responsible for supplying and regulating power to the infrared LED chip.

12. The heating system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the heating system also includes a remote control device to send the target temperature, variations of the target temperature, the output power of the light source and/or signals responsible for regulating the output power of the light source to the control module.

13. The heating system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the control module includes a communication interface sending a control signal to the control module and the control signal is sent via WiFi, ZigBee or wire.

14. The heating system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the light source module has a light source matrix and a lens or a lens set in front of the light source matrix.

15. The heating system as claimed in claim 8 further having an object temperature detecting module to detect temperature of the object-to-be heated, wherein the control module increases output power of the light source for heating when the detected temperature is below a target value.

16. A bed comprising a board, a rail and the heating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rail surrounds at least a portion of the board, a previously reserved area is formed on top of the board, elements of the sensing and tracking module and the light source module are securely provided on a portion of the rail.

17. A bed comprising a board, a bracket and the heating system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one end of the bracket is securely attached to an edge of the board and extends upward to a top of the board, a reserved area is on the top of the board and elements of the sensing and tracking module and the light source module are securely provided on a portion of the bracket.