Therapeutic Room Thermostat
First Claim
1. A medical device to maintain thermoregulation within an effective range of reflex-mediated vasoconstriction for an individual when the individual is subjected to a mild indoor cold stress, said medical device comprising:
- a remote toe temperature sensor for placement on or near a toe of the individual, the remote toe temperature sensor providing a toe temperature; and
a dual input thermostat adapted for connection to an HVAC system for adjusting an air temperature in an operational zone to a set point temperature and further adapted for connection to the remote toe temperature sensor to receive the toe temperature, the dual input thermostat including at least one control for the adjustment of a high limit room temperature setting and a low limit room temperature setting to delimit a range of temperature operation for the HVAC system and further including an air temperature sensor providing the air temperature within the operational zone;
wherein the dual input thermostat is configured to receive temperature inputs from at least the remote toe temperature sensor and the air temperature sensor and is configured to adjust the set point temperature of the HVAC system relative to the air temperature inversely and proportionately based on the toe temperature provided by the remote toe temperature sensor, the set point temperature being bounded by the range of temperature operation for the HVAC system delimited by the high limit room temperature setting and low limit room temperature setting of the dual input thermostat.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The purpose of the disclosed thermostat is to prevent age-related diseases, induced by long term cool indoor temperatures. As people age, the body produces progressively less heat while aging-impaired vasoconstriction results in progressively more heat being lost. This age-induced cold stress requires ever greater use of vasoconstriction or behavior to maintain the body'"'"'s heat balance. When behavioral regulation becomes diminished with age, vasoconstriction becomes progressive throughout life. In at risk elderly, an ongoing mild indoor cold stress can unknowingly maximize negative feedback vasoconstriction leaving it unable to further defend core body temperature. Before hypothermia occurs, positive feedback vasoconstriction activates as a defense mechanism. Like inflammation and fever, this beneficial defense mechanism can also cause harm when its use becomes excessive. The therapeutic function of this medical device is to sense skin temperature and use it to modify the indoor environment, keeping thermoregulation within the effective range of negative feedback vasoconstriction.
7 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A medical device to maintain thermoregulation within an effective range of reflex-mediated vasoconstriction for an individual when the individual is subjected to a mild indoor cold stress, said medical device comprising:
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a remote toe temperature sensor for placement on or near a toe of the individual, the remote toe temperature sensor providing a toe temperature; and a dual input thermostat adapted for connection to an HVAC system for adjusting an air temperature in an operational zone to a set point temperature and further adapted for connection to the remote toe temperature sensor to receive the toe temperature, the dual input thermostat including at least one control for the adjustment of a high limit room temperature setting and a low limit room temperature setting to delimit a range of temperature operation for the HVAC system and further including an air temperature sensor providing the air temperature within the operational zone; wherein the dual input thermostat is configured to receive temperature inputs from at least the remote toe temperature sensor and the air temperature sensor and is configured to adjust the set point temperature of the HVAC system relative to the air temperature inversely and proportionately based on the toe temperature provided by the remote toe temperature sensor, the set point temperature being bounded by the range of temperature operation for the HVAC system delimited by the high limit room temperature setting and low limit room temperature setting of the dual input thermostat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification