US 5,989,285 · Granted 1999-11-23
The Medical Blanket That Heats and Cools You at the Same Time
Imagine a blanket that keeps you at exactly the right temperature by pumping warm or cool water through it and blowing temperature-controlled air around you simultaneously. This patent describes how to combine two cooling/heating methods at once so every part of the blanket stays perfectly balanced, instead of hot spots and cold spots fighting each other.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a blanket and bedding system that delivers temperature-controlled fluid (like water) through internal channels while also circulating temperature-controlled air around the sleeper, using heat-exchange principles to maintain uniform temperature across all sections. What's protected here is the specific combination of recirculating liquid and gas systems working together in one blanket assembly, plus the draping design that creates an air envelope around the patient.
Why it matters
This patent matters in medical settings where precise temperature control can improve patient recovery and comfort during surgery, intensive care, or post-operative rest. By combining liquid and air cooling/heating simultaneously, the system achieves more uniform and efficient temperature regulation than either method alone could provide, reducing the risk of hot spots or thermal stress on the body.
Real-world use
Hospital patients undergoing surgery or recovering in intensive care use these blankets to maintain stable body temperature, which helps reduce complications and speeds healing.
Original USPTO abstract
A temperature controlled blanket and a temperature controlled bedding system have provision of both recirculating temperature controlled fluid and temperature controlled gas to enhance performance for convectively heating or cooling a patient. Counter flow or co-flow heat exchanging principles between the temperature controlled liquid and the temperature controlled gas achieves temperature uniformity across different sections of the blanket and the bedding system. Drapes in the temperature controlled bedding system provide a gas envelope around a person using the bedding system. In a further embodiment of the bedding system, the air portion of the bedding system is provided for use with a patient bed which supplies the fluid portion of the overall bedding system. In a further embodiment of the bedding system, the fluid portion of the bedding system is provided for use with a patient bed which supplies the air portion of the overall bedding system.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,989,285
- Filing date
- 1996-08-15
- Grant date
- 1999-11-23
- Assignee
- Thermotek, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- DEVILBISS; ROGER S., QUISENBERRY; TONY M., RAJASUBRAMANIAN; SATHYA
- CPC class
- A47C21/048
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