Tubed lamination heat transfer articles and method of manufacture
First Claim
1. A heat transfer pad, blanket, or garment comprising,stress-relieved flexible tubing disposed in a self-sustaining serpentine configuration without being externally supported and adapted to receive heating/cooling fluids therethrough;
- a first flexible fabric substantially permeable to vapor and air; and
means for supporting said stress-relieved flexible tubing to said first flexible fabric.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A human heat transfer article in the form of pads, blankets, or garments which is a bilayer or trilayer lamination, incorporating flexible fluid-carrying tubes, to contact the skin to modulate the flow of heat to or from the human body, and a method of manufacture therefor. The tubes are stress-relieved to prevent their return to their original configuration. The manufacturing method provides for the mass automated or semi-automated production of flexible, breathable heat transfer pads, blankets, and garments which have fluid-carrying plastic tubing in a self-sustaining, stress-relieved pattern captured between two layers of flexible breathable fabric.
206 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A heat transfer pad, blanket, or garment comprising,
stress-relieved flexible tubing disposed in a self-sustaining serpentine configuration without being externally supported and adapted to receive heating/cooling fluids therethrough; -
a first flexible fabric substantially permeable to vapor and air; and means for supporting said stress-relieved flexible tubing to said first flexible fabric. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A laminated fabric product having a flexible fabric substrate, a flexible fabric liner and a stress-relieved flexible tubing disposed in a self-sustaining serpentine configuration sandwiched between said substrate and liner, said flexible fabric product for use in forming heating/cooling pads, blankets, or garments, said laminated fabric product formed by the process of:
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(a) forming a stress-relieved, self-sustaining flexible tubing disposed in a serpentine configuration upon a tubing fixture by the steps of; (1) providing a tubing fixture having tubing retaining means for receiving and retaining flexible plastic tubing in a predetermined serpentine configuration, (2) inserting the tubing into said tubing retaining means to orient said tubing in the predetermined serpentine configuration and to restrain the tubing into said predetermined serpentine configuration, (3) heating the restrained tubing to a temperature sufficient to impart a memory to said tubing so that the tubing is in a substantially stress-relieved condition, and, (4) cooling the tubing; (b) providing a flexible fabric substrate that is substantially permeable to vapor and air; (c) applying adhesive material, in a substantially uniform pattern, to the flexible fabric substrate in an amount and pattern that does not significantly interfere with the vapor and air permeability of the fabric substrate; (d) orienting the tubing fixture to overlie the fabric substrate such that the flexible tubing faces the applied adhesive material surface of the fabric substrate; (e) moving the tubing fixture in the direction toward the fabric substrate such that the flexible tubing contacts the adhesive material surface of the fabric substrate; (f) releasing the flexible tubing from the tubing fixture so that the serpentine-shaped tubing is supported upon the fabric substrate; (g) providing a flexible fabric liner overlying the tubing and fabric substrate; (h) applying pressure between the fabric liner and fabric substrate to adhesively bond the fabric liner to the fabric substrate so that the stress-relieved, self-sustaining tubing is retained therebetween, to thus form the laminated fabric product. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification