US20150144122A1

US20150144122A1 - Heating pack

Info

Publication number: US20150144122A1
Application number: US13/261,880
Authority: US
Inventors: Jonghwan Oh
Original assignee: ARASAFE Co Ltd
Current assignee: ARASAFE Co Ltd
Priority date: 2011-11-14
Filing date: 2012-11-14
Publication date: 2015-05-28
Also published as: WO2013073834A1; KR101181309B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heating pack including: a heating element; a first pack in which the heating element is charged therein and sealed; a second pack sealing the inside thereof in a state where the first pack is accommodated therein, and having a water introducing hole through which water is introduced through one of a front surface and a rear surface thereof; and a temporary blocking member attached in a state in which it blocks the water introducing hole, wherein the temporary blocking member is melted by water. Accordingly, in a normal state, the heating element can be prevented from being contaminated or acting as a heater due to the introduction of foreign matter from outside. Also, when a life jacket wearer falls into the water, the heating element is melted by the water, so that the heating element may be heated without any additional action taken by the wearer.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a heating pack, and more particularly, to a heating pack which generates heat through a chemical reaction with water.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a heating pack generates heat by the principle that liquid heating element or heating element powder which is charged in the heating pack has a chemical reaction with water.
Such a heating pack is portable and has been widely used in various leisure industries. For instance, the heating pack can be mounted on a life vest that a person wears in order to prevent a drowning accident during a leisure activity at the water's edge in a river, a lake, or a sea.
That is, the heating pack can prevent hypothermia because most of persons who wear the life vests die from hypothermia which causes body temperature decline.
Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 1, a conventional life vest which includes a heating pack will be described.
As shown in the drawing, the conventional life vest 10 includes: a floater (not shown) mounted in an inner space part of an outer cover; and a heating pack 20 which generates heat by a chemical reaction.
Therefore, due to heat generation of the heating pack 20, the conventional life vest can prevent that body temperature of a sufferer who falls into water drops suddenly.
However, the heating pack 20 applied to the conventional life vest 10 includes an impact metal plate disposed inside a vinyl pack and is sealed in a state where it filled with sodium acetate of a liquid phase to cause exothermic reaction by the metal plate. So, when an unexpected external shock is applied to the life vest while the wearer is acting normally, the heating pack may generate heat even though the wearer does not fall into water.
Moreover, the heating pack using the metal plate and the sodium acetate cannot continuously keep the heating temperature for a long time because the exothermic reaction is rapidly progressed.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a heating pack which causes a chemically exothermic reaction only in circumstances that the heating pack comes into contact with water.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a heating pack which can keep the exothermic reaction for a long time.

Technical Solution

To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a heating pack including: a heating element; a first pack which is sealed in a state where it charged with the heating element; a second pack serving to seal the first pack which is accommodated therein and having a water introducing hole formed at one of the front face or the rear face thereof for introducing water into the heating pack; and a temporary blocking member which is adhered onto the second pack in such a way as to block the water introducing hole and is melted down by water.
Moreover, the temporary blocking member is formed of a compound of starch flour and glycerin gelatin.
The temporary blocking member is manufactured in the form of a thin sheet and is cut in such a way as to be larger than the water introducing hole, and then, is joined to the second pack.
Here, the second pack is made of a water-proofing material.
Furthermore, the size of the water introducing hole is in the range of 4 mm to 8 mm.
The water introducing hole includes a partitioning member which divides and partitions an inlet of the water introducing hole into a plurality of holes.
Additionally, when the front face of the second pack is quartered, the water introducing hole is formed at a bisected portion of the lower part.
In addition, the water introducing hole is formed at the left side edge of the upper end of the left side quadrant or at the right side edge of the upper end of the right side quadrant of the lower part.

Advantageous Effects

As described above, the heating pack according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the temporary blocking member which is adhered onto the second pack in such a way as to block the water introducing hole and is melted down by water, thus preventing the heating element from being polluted or generating heat due to invasion of external foreign matters, and facilitating the exothermic action of the heating element without any action of the wearer since the temporary blocking member is melted down by water when the wearer of the life vest falls into water.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional life vest including a heating pack.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a heating pack according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a life vest.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the heating pack according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a water introducing hole and a temporary blocking member of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an adhered structure of the temporary blocking member of FIG. 2.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached FIGS. 2 to 6.
For your reference, in the following description, a heating pack 1000 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is applied to a life vest 10, but is not restricted to the above and may be applied in various leisure industries to which exothermic reaction is utilized.
The heating pack 1000 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is arranged in the front face part of the life vest 10, and includes: a heating element 100; a first pack 200 which is sealed in a state where it charged with the heating element 100; a second pack 300 serving to seal the first pack 200 which is accommodated therein and having a water introducing hole 310 formed at one of the front face or the rear face thereof for introducing water into the heating pack; and a temporary blocking member 400 which is adhered onto the second pack 300 in such a way as to block the water introducing hole 310 and is melted down by water.
As shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that the heating pack 1000 be received and mounted in a pocket part 11 of the life vest 10, but is not restricted to the above and may be fixed between an outer cover and an inner cover of the life vest 10 in a backstitched state.
First, because the heating element 100 generates heat in order to prevent the phenomenon that a wearer's body temperature drops in a situation that the wearer who wears the life vest 10 cannot be rapidly rescued after falling into water, it uses powdered compound which generates heat by causing a chemical reaction when it comes into contact with water.
The powdered compound is made up of ingredients, such as aluminum, quicklime, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydroxide, and so on. Because technology related with the heating element 100 which generates heat by reacting with water has been previously known, its detailed description will be omitted. But, if a composition ratio of the compound which forms the heating element 100 is adjusted, the heating time and heating temperature can be set in various ways.
In the meantime, the first pack 200 is sealed in the state where it is charged with the heating element 100, and is made of a material which can absorb moisture well.
That is, the first pack 200 serves as a medium to absorb and transfer water necessary for the exothermic action in the state where it is charged with the heating element 100.
Furthermore, the first pack 200 may be made with cotton fabrics, nonwoven fabrics, or paper bags which are cheap and is well usable. In this instance, because the paper bag tears easily and is transformable when it comes into contact with water, it must be above a predetermined thickness.
In this embodiment of the present invention, the first pack 200 is formed in a rectangular shape, but is not restricted to the above and may be formed in various shapes, such as a circle or a polygon.
The second pack 300 seals the first pack 200 which is accommodated therein, and hence, it is preferable that the second pack 300 be made of aluminum or synthetic resin material with water-proofing property.
The second pack 300 made of aluminum material prevents that direct sunlight or moisture breaks into the heating element 100 accommodated in the first pack 200 so as to conserve the heating element 100 in safety, and easily transfers heat generated by the exothermic action of the heating element 100.
Of course, the second pack 300 may be selectively made of synthetic resin, such as PVC which is inexpensive, if it provides the water-proofing function.
Moreover, it is preferable that the second pack 300 is sealed through the thermosetting method that heats the edges of two wrappers (of the front face and the rear face) in a state where the two wrappers are faced and stacked.
Meanwhile, the second pack 300 has the water introducing hole 310 formed at one of the front face and the rear face thereof.
That is, the water introducing hole 310 is a passage for supplying water to the heating element 100 to prevent a drop of the wearer's body temperature after the wearer falls into water. Water introduced into the second pack 300 through the water introducing hole 310 causes heat generation of the heating element 100 by wetting the first pack 200.
Furthermore, because the water introducing hole 310 is varied in water inflow rate according to the size and location thereof and it has an influence on the exothermic action of the heating element 100, it is necessary to limit the size of the water introducing hole 310. Here, in the drawings, the water introducing hole 310 is formed in a circular shape, but is not restricted to the above and may be formed in various shapes , such as a triangle or a rectangle.
In the meantime, if the water introducing hole 310 is formed in the circular shape, it is preferable that the diameter of the water introducing hole 310 be 4 mm to 8 mm.
If the diameter of the water introducing hole 310 is less than 4 mm, the exothermic action does not go smoothly because the inflow rate and speed of water for the exothermic action are reduced significantly, but if the diameter of the water introducing hole 310 exceeds 8 mm, the exothermic duration time of the heating element 100 is reduced remarkably because the inflow rate and speed of water for the exothermic action are increased.
Additionally, the water introducing hole 310 may include a partitioning member 311 which divides and partitions an inlet of the water introducing hole 310 into a plurality of holes (See FIG. 5( b)).
The partitioning member 311 serves to prevent foreign matters of a certain size from invading the second pack 300 through the water introducing hole 310.
It is preferable that just one water introducing hole 310 is formed in the second pack 300.
The reason is as follows. Because pressure of the outside (outside of the second pack) is higher than pressure of the inside (inside of the second pack) before the exothermic action, water is naturally introduced, and it rapidly causes the exothermic action. However, because the inside pressure is increased more than the outside pressure by the inside heat during the exothermic action, it blocks the water supply into the water introducing hole 310, thus adjusting the heat generation duration time of the heating element 100.
Moreover, when the front face of the second pack 300 is quartered, it is preferable that the water introducing hole 310 be formed at the left side edge of the upper end of the left side quadrant(L) or at the right side edge of the upper end of the right side quadrant(R) of the lower part.
The above was obtained through test results at various positions of the water introducing hole 310.
As the test results, the exothermic action of the heating element 100 was the best when the water introducing hole 310 was formed at the left side edge of the upper end of the left side quadrant or at the right side edge of the upper end of the right side quadrant of the lower part.
In the meantime, the temporary blocking member 400 is adhered onto the second pack 300 in such a way as to block the water introducing hole 310. The temporary blocking member 400 is a safety device which ordinarily blocks the water introducing hole 310 in order to prevent the heating element 100 from being polluted or generating heat due to invasion of external foreign matters and is melted down by water so as to open the water introducing hole 310 when time passes after the wearer of the life vest 10 fell into water.
The temporary blocking member 400 is made with a compound of starch flour and glycerin gelatin.
The glycerin gelatin ingredient provides flexibility to prevent the starch flour from being easily broken by external shock in case that the pure starch flour is solidified.
In concrete, the temporary blocking member 400 is made in the form of a thin sheet which is manufactured through the steps of mixing starch flour and glycerin gelatin, putting in water, boiling the mixture for a predetermined period of time, and drying the mixture. Next, the thin sheet is cut in such a way as to be larger than the water introducing hole 310, and then, is joined to the second pack 300.
Here, preferably, the cross section thickness of the front or rear wrapper of the second pack 300 is removed into two parts, and then, the temporary blocking member 400 is interposed between the two parts (See FIG. 6).
Alternatively, the temporary blocking member 400 may be attached over the inner face of the front or rear wrapper of the second pack 300.
As described above, because the heating pack according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the temporary blocking member 400 which is adhered onto the second pack 300 in such a way as to block the water introducing hole 310 and is melted down by water, the heating pack can prevent the heating element 100 from being polluted or generating heat due to invasion of external foreign matters and facilitate the exothermic action of the heating element 100 without any action of the wearer since the temporary blocking member 400 is melted down by water when the wearer of the life vest 10 falls into water.

Explanation of Essential Reference Numerals in Drawings

10: life vest
100: heating element
200: first pack
300: second pack
310: water introducing hole
400: temporary blocking member

Claims

1. A heating pack comprising:

a heating element;

a first pack which is sealed in a state where it charged with the heating element;

a second pack serving to seal the first pack which is accommodated therein and having a water introducing hole formed at one of the front face or the rear face thereof for introducing water into the heating pack; and

a temporary blocking member which is adhered onto the second pack in such a way as to block the water introducing hole and is melted down by water,

wherein the temporary blocking member is manufactured in the form of a thin sheet made with a compound of starch flour and glycerin gelatin and is cut in such a way as to be larger than the water introducing hole, and then, is joined to the second pack, and

wherein the size of the water introducing hole is in the range of 4 mm to 8 mm, and the water introducing hole includes a partitioning member which divides and partitions an inlet of the water introducing hole into a plurality of holes.

2. The heating pack according to claim 1, wherein the second pack is made of a water-proofing material.

3. The heating pack according to claim 1, wherein when the front face of the second pack is quartered, the water introducing hole is formed at a bisected portion of the lower part.

4. The heating pack according to claim 3, wherein the water introducing hole is formed at the left side edge of the upper end of the left side quadrant or at the right side edge of the upper end of the right side quadrant of the lower part.