RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Uruguay patent applications No. 33.090 and No. 33.091 , both filed on December 7, 2010, in the Uruguay Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD

[0002] The present invention relate to a Humid Air System with applications to the health and dry shower air towel (DryShower Technology)

BACKGROUND

[0003] The use of airflows has multiple applications such as general ventilation of industrial atmospheres, air curtains, cleaning, movement of objects, etc. Between such uses, the direction to drying processes stands out, for which air to high temperature and/or low content of water is usually used. The levels of temperature and air humidity content used to dry usually adjust not only according to the characteristics wished for the drying process but also according to the form in which the quality of the object that is dried can be affected. Also, examples of use of airflows exist for elimination of particles from the human body with the intention of assuring that a suitable sanitary inner atmosphere level exists in buildings.

[0004] The prior art includes in applications in which drying, like drying hands, drying of hair and particle removal, and ones being used in airports for the explosive particle detection, the airflow stays at a constant temperature associated with either the thermal power of the heat source or the room temperature, and the humidity content is not modified.

[0005] For example, it is usually difficult to maintain comfortable conditions in the air during baths, which depends strongly on the ambient conditions, particularly, the relative humidity of the air. In case an airflow projects onto a person who is wet, the skin of the person becomes the same or lower to the one of the ambient air. When the air temperature is lower than the body temperature, it gives rise to a loss of heat and consequent sensation of cold. Also, in cases where the ambient humidity is low, air flows evaporate body humidity, thus inducing a temperature drop and ensuing loss of heat.

[0006] In both situations, the projection of the mentioned airflow would give rise to a worsening of the conditions of comfort.

[0007] This same situation could occur in bathrooms in houses and buildings.

[0008] Also, in industrial or construction environments, hygienic problems or accidents that can take place could give rise to uncomfortable situations or health risks due to very intense loss of heat that could give rise to hypothermic situations.

[0009] In medical environments as well, certain situations also could take place, such as uncomfortable situations or health risks due to a very intense loss of heat that would give rise to hypothermic situations. In order to obtain conditions in which the air that surrounds the person has the suitable hygrothermal characteristics, air with the necessary characteristics may be impelled into the surroundings, through a series of flows that can be regulated and possibly modifying their direction according to the requirements needed. It is desirable that this condition of comfort is obtained from the initial moment at which the air volume begins to flow.

[0010] The treatment of people who have skin burns from exposure to the sun or fire or who have bed sores, or respiratory difficulties, requires conditions that ensure a suitable asepsis, as well as the physical training conditions that ensure a suitable healing. In particular, in the healing processes of burns, sufficiently humidified atmosphere are needed to allow the maintenance of the skin in this way so that when it regenerates, it presents adequate mechanical and aesthetic characteristics. This would be ensured by obtaining a suitable interchange of heat and humidity between the regenerating skin and the surrounding air. It would be understood that the heat interchange between the human body and the atmosphere presents its own difficulties in this case, because people who have undergone extensive burns basically lose the burned skin and the consequent heat insulation that the skin provides. This problem could occur in burn centers through humidifying chambers; systems of air conditioning located permanently fixed in vats of water therapy; or systems of air conditioning located in a portable way applied in burn bed, etc.; as well as during later muscular rehabilitation, avoiding contact of the skin in the treatment of physiotherapy in an aseptic way by means of the air circulated in the rehabilitation environment by aerotherapy. Also, individual attention would be paid on applications for people with restricted mobility, the elderly, or people with disabilities.

[0011] As such, the challenge of drying of a person lies in maintaining conditions of comfort, without excessive consumption of energy induced, which implies combining a low demand of power and limited drying time.

SUMMARY

[0012] The present invention relates to a humid air system.

[0013] In one exemplary embodiment, the humid air system is used as an air towel. The air towel system for people is a system of ventilation with temperature, relative humidity, and intensity regulations using a valve system, and is designed for comfortably drying a person's body within about 5 minutes.

[0014] The air towel system impels air to obtain a comfortable atmosphere, in situations in which otherwise a person could have high losses or gains of heat or require maintenance of the skin's humidity level, to elevated ambient temperatures or lower and conditioned humidity content.

[0015] This system could be used in bathrooms, as well as in situations where heat contributions were needed in industrial atmospheres or construction environments, being able to adapt the system to operate in centralized form or it can be constructed to satisfy requirements located in existing atmospheres, or be dedicated to a given site or be portable and be used to assist sites in different locations.

[0016] Accordingly to exemplary embodiments, a system is provided that is designed to obtain the drying of people in comfortable form, to mitigate situations of hyperthermia or hypothermia. The system is composed of an adjustable impulsion device, pipes, any type and amount of valves, ventilators, units of heating, and refrigeration and humidifying units.

[0017] The system includes devices of air impulsion such as showerhead(s) with rosette, with a shower and hose system, or by means of a panel or column of nozzles from which the system projects air onto the person in stationary conditions. [0018] The system includes a system of moistening by air mixture with different inhaled humidity levels from the room where the current the air is used, from the outside or another atmosphere within the building.

[0019] In another example embodiment of the present invention, the humid air system is used as an air moisturizing system for people with skin problems and the system of cooling of patients is applied in different interventions. The system is a system of ventilation with temperature, relative humidity, and intensity regulations designed to maintain the air conditioning of the surroundings of a patient, and in some cases stabilize the patient's thermal sensation. For different treatments of skin like bed sores and allergies (pinkish), the system can offer a comfortable and non- contact solution for corporal drying that avoids the handling of the traditional methods of drying and its polluting handling.

[0020] A hygro-thermically conditioned system of air for patients impels air to obtain a comfortable atmosphere in situations in which a person could have high losses or gains of heat or require maintenance of the humidity of the skin to provide high temperature, atmosphere, or lower temperature and prepared humidity atmosphere content, thereby improving the mechanical conditions of the skin.

[0021] This system could be used in hospital environments in situations of medical uses, where equipped hygrothermal atmosphere is advisable, such as in the treatment of burned people; in patients with respiratory problems; in the generation of hypothermia induced for the cardiac intervention; and in applications in

neonatology. The system is able to be adapted in centralized form, it can be constructed to satisfy requirements located in existing places, or be dedicated to a given site or to be portable and to take care of sites in different locations.

[0022] As such, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a system to obtain the drying and thermal preparation of patients in comfortable form, to mitigate situations of hypothermia and hyperthermia or to obtain suitable environmental conditions for medical treatments, such as treatment of burns; in the attention of pulmonary problems; and in different treatments of neonatology. The system is composed of adjustable impulsion devices, pipes, any type and amount of valves, ventilators, units of heating, refrigeration, and

moisturizing.

[0023] The system includes a mixer tap for regulating the volume, temperature and humidity of the air. [0024] The system includes a unit of heating and/or refrigeration wherein different heat sources, like fossil fuel combustion, dissipation of electrical energy, and solar energy, can be used, and that assures to give air to a temperature adapted from the beginning of the system operation.

[0025] The system includes portable devices of air impulsion so as to project the air onto the person in stationary conditions, or apply the air to people with skin allergies or skin problems in general.

[0026] The devices of impulsion of air are composed of ventilators or connections to line of compressed air.

[0027] The system includes a system of constituted conduction of air of pipes that would assure the air from the units of heating and of refrigeration to arrive until the mixer key or that these are in the room where the air is used, or in any other place in which the system is used

[0028] The system is portable so that it can be located according to the preferences of the users. It is able to be applied directly in the bed of the patient, or people with restricted mobility, such as the elderly or disabled people.

[0029] The system can be located around sites where a person receives diverse burn treatments, treatments for people with bed sores and people with respiratory difficulties. The system can also be used for applications in the induction of deep hypothermia in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and similar interventions with a controlled reestablishment of the normal conditions.

[0030] The system can also be used in the later muscular rehabilitation, avoiding contact with the damaged skin in an aseptic way, in the treatment of physiotherapy, or by means of the air used in rehabilitation by aerotherapy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The above and other features and advantages will become more apparent by describing in detail example embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

[0032] FIG. 1 is a layout illustrating a schematic structure of the humid air system;

[0033] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a dryshower system with a shower head;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the dryshower system with a shower head with hose; [0035] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the dryshower system with a panel for shower and drying;

[0036] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a centralized dryshower system; and

[0037] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an air conditioning system of temperature and humidity that is applied in a balneotherapy vat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The inventive system seeks the automatic control of the temperature, intensity and humidity levels of air for drying and conditioning a wet body and/or thermally major burned patients, fulfilling the required norms of security.

[0039] The proposed design combines different speeds and temperatures from air with relative humidity levels and projects the air on a human body, thus drying it without the traditional methods of contact and friction. The obtained humidity limits lost of heat, having a favourable effect in the stabilization of the thermal sensation of a wet person after shower or seriously burned patients when they lack a percentage of their insulating barrier (i.e., their skin).

[0040] The present invention prepares hygrothermically, the air of the surroundings of the patient and projects it on the person with suitable levels of speed and turbulence to reverse the air flow to obtain a better effect. The described technology of using the drying and humidification of air to maintain thermal stabilization of the patient is capable of obtaining the suitable environmental conditions even for delicate treatment, thus increasing the time of attendance to the patient without exposing the personnel to conditions of unnecessarily elevated temperatures. The system therefore is able to develop better to function as an attendant for the patient who is being connected to machinery at this stage by lines and probes.

[0041] The availability of an air flow to high temperature or to a temperature below the atmosphere would require thermal power. This power could be obtained from different sources such as electrical energy, the combustion of biomass or fossil fuels, and solar power. The biomass and the solar energy are used in increasing form in the world being developments of technologies that efficiently turn the primary power plant into thermal energy. As far as the electrical energy, it deserves to be an outstanding factor for consideration as there are continuously increased reasons why, although it now is a very suitable power, a careful analysis of its future use to the effects of obtaining the feasibility of the system should be carried out.

[0042] The first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is using the humid air system as an air towel. The air towel system (also called dryshower technology) is considered to be a solution for drying people while assuring their comfort, specifically in bathrooms, and to avoid or to reduce the use of towels or other methods of corporal drying, preventing the latter undesirable handling of the towels, thus obtaining economic, personal and environmental benefits. Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic construction of the humid air system.

[0043] According to Fig. 1 , the system has two heat exchangers, a refrigerator 106 and a heater 108, destined to obtain, eventually, airflows to higher or lower temperature than the ambient air, as well as an interchanger of mass of water, i.e., the humidifier 103. A mixer 101 , allows the system to adjust the temperature, the volume of air, and the water evaporated in the air so that it maintains the desired air conditions throughout the corresponding activity. That is to say, that the air towel system is a localized ventilation system with regulation of intensity, temperature and humidity, regulated through of a set of valves.

[0044] The system also includes a ventilation device to impel the air. Although in most of the cases it is used to elevate temperature, it would also be used to impel air of room temperature or even a lower temperature, to obtain an adequate

atmosphere in situations in which otherwise it would be harmful for a person to have high losses or gains of heat, or to evolve in excessively dry atmospheres. It is desirable that this condition of comfort is obtained from the initial moment at which the air volume begins to flow.

[0045] This system could be used in bathrooms (basically in showers), in which a person is covered with water and could have losses of heat that give rise to cold sensations, for which the temperature would have to be raised to not more than 80 ⁵ C, requiring powers of not more of 10kW. The system can also be used in situations where contributions of heat or water elimination were needed in industrial

atmosphere or construction environments.

[0046] Returning to Fig. 1 , the ventilators 104 and 109 suck air from the room 1 10 through channels A and B, respectively, as well as from the outside through filter 105 and channel C as well as through filter 107 and channel D, respectively, and then impel the air back to the bathroom, thereby respectively forming a circuit. In one circuit there is a system that gives heat to the air flow (e.g., the heater 108) and in the other circuit there is a system that extracts heat and gives humidity (e.g. the refrigerator 106 and the humidifier 104). A mixer 101 that is composed of three standard valves V ¹ , V ² , and V ³ allows the regulation of flux, temperature and humidity, respectively, of the air. The air can leave through a showerhead 1 02 (Fig. 2.), or by means of a showerhead with hose 1 1 2 (Fig. 3.) or through a panel of shower and drying outlets 122 (Fig. 4.) allowing in all these cases obtaining an air flow with the appropriate kinematic conditions.

[0047] The heat sources (e.g., the heater 108), as well as the moistening unit (e.g., the humidifier 103) in Fig. 1 , could be manually operated and/or automatically operated. The manual operation could adjust the air conditions either to achieve a desired level of comfort or according to the treatment stage process of a patient, considering the seasonal variations of the temperature and the air humidity. Each unit of heating and refrigeration has its own air propelling system, as it is observed in Fig. 1 , which is composed of a ventilator 104 or 109, respectively, or of a connection to a line of compressed air.

[0048] The refrigerator 106 could be a mixer with outer air or a cycle of

refrigeration or other equivalent system.

[0049] The heater 108 could be a combustion chamber or a heat exchanger with a fluid of elevated temperature, which is obtained from another heat source such as solar radiation, a boiler, or an electrical resistance, or other equivalent system.

[0050] The humidifier 103 could contribute a water volume, or a mass of water, to the air .

[0051] Each one of the above components is designed in such a way so that the system can be easily transported, thereby is portable, or it can be fixed to a single room or multiple rooms, and is capable to determine the proportion of use for each room.

[0052] That is to say, the air towel system can be adapted to different situations so that it can operate in a centralized form in an installation, as schematically shown in Fig. 5, wherein a plurality of bath units 502 shares one central humid air system 504 (a exemplary detailed structure of the humid air system 504 is shown in Fig. 1 ) through series connections 506 and parallel connections 508. Alternatively, the system can be constructed to satisfy requirements of local atmospheres as schematically shown in Fig. 1 , or to be portable and being able to be operated in different locations, for which the different components are dimensioned to the effects of being able to install them on a wheeled frame. In the first case, to obtain the ventilation effect, the centralized form uses either forced air or compressed air, depending on the distances the air has to travel to come into contact with the water.

[0053] The mixer valves (or mono command valve) V ¹ , V ² , or V ³ allow the system to obtain currents of air at different temperatures and different volumes, as well as different humidity levels. The invention design considers the percentage of relative humidity environment in a season of a year according to the latitude at which that the system is used when a person combines the outside air with the saturated room air.

[0054] This would allow the system to be able to be adapted to different situations in which the air towel system is used, which are characterized by different water content in the air, different volumes, and different temperatures, and still obtain the desired air condition for its user.

[0055] The air towel system also include a impulsion device that allows it to direct the air flow towards the most suitable position, that is to say, on the body 1 00 or as a way of obtaining a current in the atmosphere. For example, the impulsion device may be the hose 1 12, or a panel of shower and drying outlets 1 22.

[0056] The air towel system also renews the air in the room 1 1 0 by venting out part of the air. The air input from the outside is filtered by the filers 1 05, 107 or is obtained from atmosphere that has already been treated.

[0057] The second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applying the humid air system in the area of the health for patients (for example, to serve as an air moisturizing system). It is considered as a solution for the drying and air conditioning of people assuring the comfort of the same, especially in burn centers, as well as to generate atmosphere suitable to provide certain medical treatments, like the treatment of lesser degree burns, bed sores and breathing problems. It also provides a system that can be used for generation of induced deep hypothermia during cardiac surgeries and in cases of neonatology for treatment of premature infants.

[0058] In this second embodiment, the underlying system is the same as shown in Fig. 1 , in that the system has two heat exchangers 108, 106 to obtain, possibly, airflows at higher and lower temperatures than the ambient air, as well as, possibly, an humidifier 1 03. According to one embodiment, it is possible for purposes of some medical treatments, to make the flow of the combined air reversed, so that combined air is removed from the immediate vicinity of the patient, thus improving the air quality in which the patient is resting.

[0059] The system is a ventilation device configured to impel air. Although in most of the cases, the air is impelled at an elevated temperature, it would also be used to impel air at room temperature or lower, to obtain an atmosphere for use in situations in which it stops a injured person from experiencing high losses or gains of heat, or to excessively dry atmospheres. It can be used to control cases such as hypothermia and hyperthermia.

[0060] As discussed above, the system could be used in situations in which atmosphere with high temperature and humidity are needed during medical treatments, such as treatment of burn victims, people with bed sores or pulmonary or bronchial respiratory problems.

[0061] The system according to the second embodiment impels conditioned air volumes as a way to obtain a comfortable and stable atmosphere for a burned person and in addition to facilitate drying after a balneotherapy treatment. Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic design for the air moisturizing system (an air conditioning system of temperature and humidity) in a balneotherapy vat 51 2.

[0062] It is noted that although only the heating circuit is illustrated in Fig. 5, as noted above, the cooling circuit as shown in Fig. 1 may also be included in the system. Combining Figs. 1 and 5, the system constitutes two circuits, one is for air of higher temperature and another one is for air of lower temperature (not shown in its combined form, but well within the skill of the ordinary artisan). As shown in Fig. 1 , each circuit has a ventilator 1 04, 109 and a heat exchanger 106, 108 and one of the circuit(the cooling circuit as in Fig. 1 or circuit 508 as in Fig. 5) also has a

humidifier ^" ! 03 or 506.

[0063] The ventilator 109 and 104 of each circuit sucks ambient air super filtrated through a set of valves V ¹ , V ² , and V ³ and outputs a mixture of the air flows, such that they impel and maintain a layer of air flow over the patient so as to make the air layer 514 serve as a second skin for the patient.

[0064] The heaters, as well as the humidifiers that are seen in Figs. 1 and 5, could be manually driven as well as automatically driven. The manual operation could allow the system to fit the air conditions either according to the desired comfort level or according to the required stage of the treatment process, considering the seasonal variation of temperature and air humidity. [0065] The heater 108 has its own system of air movement, composed of a ventilator 109 or of a connection to a line of compressed air (not shown).

[0066] The humidifier 504 contributes to a water volume in the air, i.e., the humidifier 504 evaporates a proper amount of water into the air.

[0067] Each of the components in the system are designed such the proportions of each component for use in a single balneotherapy vat, in a set of vats or allow the system to be transported, can be provided.

[0068] The system of drying and preparation of the patient (air moisturizing system) allows the optimally conditioned air only surrounding the burned person and its non-touching character facilitates the treatment process, since the patient (in this vulnerable stage) may also be connected to various lines and probes. This

improvement in the treatment of the burned patient does not uncomfortably affect the rest of the medical team, since it is not necessary to elevate the temperature of all the room, in contrast to what is being done now (the entire room must be heated, so that all those in attendance are uncomfortable.

[0069] The air moisturizing system can be applied to patients with cutaneous affections and the different components of the system may be able to be installed on a wheeled frame, so that it can operate in a portable form in different locations and thereby can be adapted to different situations. In order to obtain the ventilation effect, either forced air or compressed air will be able to be used depending on the distances of the fluid to cross.

[0070] The mixer valve as used in the second embodiment also allows the system to output airflows of different temperatures and of different volumes, as well as different humidity. This would assure to obtain conditions adapted for the different situations in which the proposed medical system can be used, characterized by airflows that could be output having different water content, different volumes, and different temperatures.

[0071] The embodiment in Fig. 5 also includes an impulsion device 508 that allows the system to orient the air flow towards the most suitable position, that is to say, on the body or to obtain a current in the atmosphere.

[0072] The proposed technology to be added in balneotherapy vats 51 2 could also be applied as well in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and IC (Intermediate Care) beds.

[0073] On the basis of the previous investigations, the commercial opportunity was found to develop portable equipment with the same technology for applications in the treatment of bed sores in the both ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients. The use of the proposed technology in later stages of the treatment of the burn patients does not preclude combining it with the already existing elements: gauze bandages, compress, or medical fields etc., and all those that would give origin to portable equipments. In this way, the pain caused by contact with these elements would be reduced, the hygiene of the process improved, the operating humidity would slow down the formation of bed sores, improving the mechanical conditions of the skin, elasticity and moisturizing and obtaining one better healing thus avoiding wounded cracks and possible later skin grafts.

[0074] In addition, the technology used in the present invention is less polluting since it generates a minor amount of hospital waste and reduces significantly the amount of elements that must be washed and sterilized.

[0075] While example embodiments have been particularly shown and described with reference to Figs. 1 -6, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of example embodiments, as defined by the following claims.