Blanket Apparatus with Multiple Electromagnetic Radiation Sources

Abstract

A electromagnetic radiation apparatus comprising multiple electromagnetic radiation sources within a blanket, full body wrap or other covering, including a sleeping-bag-like device configured to cover at least a portion of a body. The sources may operate independently, separated or overlapped in time, simultaneously and/or in other coordinated fashion. A controller with at least two independent outputs is coupled to the first and second radiation sources for controlling emission parameters. The multiple sources may have different spectral content, e.g. envelope shape and nominal wavelength, and emission power. Electromagnetic shielding minimizes EMF exposure to the body.

Claims

1. A electromagnetic radiation apparatus, comprising: a blanket, full body wrap, or covering configured to wrap around or cover at least a portion of a body; a controller having at least two outputs; a first electromagnetic radiation source coupled to a first output of the controller, the first electromagnetic radiation source configured to emit radiation in a first wavelength range, wherein the first electromagnetic radiation source is positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering and said body; and, one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources coupled to a one or more other outputs of the controller, the one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources configured to emit radiation in an alternate wavelength range different from the first wavelength range, wherein the one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources are positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering and said body; wherein the controller is configured to independently control the first and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources via the first and one or more other outputs to provide electromagnetic radiation to said body.

2. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first wavelength range is in the red light spectrum, and a second wavelength range is in the far-infrared spectrum.

3. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first electromagnetic radiation source comprises a plurality of red light emitting sources distributed throughout the blanket, full body wrap, or covering.

4. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources comprise wires that meander throughout the blanket, full body wrap, or covering, and emit far-infrared radiation when electrical current is passed through the wires.

5. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a third electromagnetic radiation source coupled to a third output of the controller, the third electromagnetic radiation source configured to emit radiation in a third wavelength range different from the first and second wavelength ranges, wherein the third electromagnetic radiation source is positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering and the body.

6. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 5, wherein the third wavelength range is in the blue light spectrum between 450 nm and 495 nm.

7. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to independently control at least one of current, voltage, duty cycle, and waveform shape for each of the first and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources.

8. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 1, further comprising electromagnetic shielding around the wires that provide current to the first and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources to reduce unintentional electromagnetic field radiation exposure to said body.

9. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 8, wherein the electromagnetic shielding comprises grounded wires wrapped around the wires that provide current to the first and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources in a helical configuration.

10. The electromagnetic radiation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the blanket, full body wrap, or covering is made of a waterproof polyurethane material and is configured to trap heat inside when wrapped around or covering the human body.

11. A method of providing electromagnetic radiation, the method comprising: providing a blanket, full body wrap, or covering configured to wrap around or cover at least a portion of a body in close proximity, the blanket, full body wrap, or covering comprising: a first electromagnetic radiation source configured to emit radiation in a first wavelength range, wherein the first electromagnetic radiation source is positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering and the body; and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources configured to emit radiation in an alternate wavelength range different from the first wavelength range, wherein the one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources is positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering and the body; coupling the first electromagnetic radiation source to a first output of a controller; coupling one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources electromagnetic radiation sources to an alternate output of the controller; and independently controlling, via the controller, the first electromagnetic radiation source and the one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources to emit electromagnetic radiation directed toward the body.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first electromagnetic radiation source comprises one or more red light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to emit radiation in the red light spectrum between 620 nm and 750 nm.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the second electromagnetic radiation source comprises a wire configured to emit far-infrared radiation between 3 m and 1000 m when electrical current is passed through the wire.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the first wavelength range is in the red-light spectrum between 620 nm and 750 nm, and the second wavelength range is in the far-infrared spectrum between 3 m and 1000 m.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the third wavelength range is in the blue light spectrum between 450 nm and 495 nm.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising: providing a third electromagnetic radiation source configured to emit radiation in a similar or alternate wavelength ranges from the first and second wavelength ranges, wherein the third electromagnetic radiation source is positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering and the body; coupling the third electromagnetic radiation source to one or more outputs of the controller; and independently controlling, via the controller, the third electromagnetic radiation source to emit electromagnetic radiation directed toward the body.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the third electromagnetic radiation source comprises one or more blue light emitting sources configured to emit radiation in the blue light spectrum.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising shielding the first and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources to protect the body from low frequency or extremely low frequency electromotive force (LF-EMF or ELF-EMF) radiation emitted by wires carrying current to the radiation sources.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein shielding the first and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources comprises wrapping a grounded wire around each wire carrying current to the radiation sources in a helical configuration.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein independently controlling the first and one or more other electromagnetic radiation sources comprises varying at least one of current, voltage, duty cycle, or amplitude of a driving waveform supplied by the controller to each radiation source.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, which will become more apparent as the description proceeds, are described in the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] FIG. 1 is an apparatus diagram illustrating an embodiment of the electromagnetic radiation apparatus.

[0019] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the blanket, full body wrap, or covering of the electromagnetic radiation apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be used and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

[0021] The following description is provided as an enabling teaching of the present apparatuses, and/or methods in its best, currently known aspect. To this end, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate that many changes can be made to the various aspects of the present apparatuses described herein, while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present disclosure. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present disclosure can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present disclosure without utilizing other features.

[0022] Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations to the present disclosure are possible and can even be desirable in certain circumstances and are a part of the present disclosure. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure and not in limitation thereof.

[0023] The terms a and an and the and similar references used in the context of describing a particular embodiment of the present invention (especially in the context of certain claims) are construed to cover both the singular and the plural. The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein.

[0024] All apparatuses described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (for example, such as) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the application and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the application otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the application. Thus, for example, reference to an element can include two or more such elements unless the context indicates otherwise.

[0025] As used herein, the terms optional or optionally mean that the subsequently described event or circumstance can or cannot occur, and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.

[0026] The word or as used herein means any one member of a particular list and also includes any combination of members of that list. Further, one should note that conditional language, such as, among others, can, could, might, or may unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain aspects include, while other aspects do not include, certain features, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required for one or more particular aspects or that one or more particular aspects necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular aspect.

[0027] In one exemplary embodiment, the electromagnetic radiation apparatus includes both carbon-fiber wires configured to generate far-infrared electromagnetic radiation and an array of red light emitting diodes (LEDs) configured to generate red light therapy. The carbon-fiber wires and red LEDs are both disposed within the interior of the blanket in an interspersed arrangement to allow simultaneous irradiation of the body with both far-infrared and red light when the blanket is in use. In other exemplary embodiments, other or additional electromagnetic sources emitting in different parts of the spectrum, such as blue light between 450-495 nm or green light between 495-570 nm, may be combined together with the red and infrared sources in a multiple wavelength therapy blanket. The blanket is not required to include both near-infrared and far-infrared sources in every embodiment, and some implementations may only utilize one of the infrared wavelength ranges.

[0028] In the exemplary embodiment, the combination of both red light therapy and far-infrared therapy are included in the same treatment blanket. The red light, having a relatively shorter wavelength between 620-750 nm, penetrates into the skin and outer muscle tissue in an effort to provide healing, rejuvenating and anti-inflammatory effects. Red and near-infrared light therapy has also been clinically studied to provide cognitive and psychological benefits such as improved mood and sleep. The far-infrared radiation, with a longer wavelength between 3-1000 m, is thought to penetrate deeper to warm the muscles, bones, and joints. Far-infrared therapy often targets detoxification, muscle relaxation, reduction of inflammation, decreased stress, and improved sleep quality.

[0029] Each wavelength range targets different tissue depths and produces different biological responses. The combination may amplify the benefits of each allowing the body to better relax and heal through the variety of wavelengths. For example, with the outer muscle more relaxed from the red light therapy, the inner muscle may more easily relax and get increased benefits from the far infrared. With the inner muscle more relaxed, the outer muscle and skin may be more relaxed, allowing for increased benefits from the red light.

[0030] The close conformal proximity of the red and infrared sources to the body when disposed within the therapy blanket allows for a higher intensity of wavelengths to be applied using a lower input power compared to a conventional sauna enclosure where the sources are farther away.

[0031] FIG. 1 is an apparatus diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an electromagnetic radiation apparatus (100). The apparatus (100) includes a blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) configured to wrap around or cover at least a portion of a human body (120) in close proximity.

[0032] The apparatus (100) further includes a microcontroller-based controller (130) having at least a first output (131), a second output (132), and optionally a third output (133) and optionally more outputs not shown in the figures. The controller (130) utilizes a modulation which may be independently selected to drive the outputs (for example, stead state DC, pulse width modulation, sinusoidal or generalized wave shaping modulation). This microcontroller provides sufficient processing power while minimizing power consumption. A first electromagnetic radiation source (140) is coupled to the first output (131) of the controller (130). The first electromagnetic radiation source (140) comprises a plurality of emitting sources configured to emit near-infrared radiation in a first wavelength range (141) of 800-950 nm. In some embodiments the emitting sources are high-power infrared emitters. The first electromagnetic radiation source (140) is positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) and the body (120).

[0033] A second electromagnetic radiation source (150) is coupled to the second output (132) of the controller (130). The second electromagnetic radiation source (150) comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes configured to emit red light in a second wavelength range (151) of 600-700 nm, different from the first wavelength range (141). The second electromagnetic radiation source (150) is also positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) and the body (120).

[0034] In some embodiments, the apparatus (100) may further include a third electromagnetic radiation source (160) coupled to the third output (133) of the controller (130). The third electromagnetic radiation source (160) comprises a plurality of light emitting sources configured to emit blue light in a third wavelength range (161) of 400-495 nm, different from the first wavelength range (141) and the second wavelength range (151). The third electromagnetic radiation source (160) is also positioned inside the blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) between the blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) and the body (120). In some embodiments the apparatus may include further electromagnetic radiation sources configured in similar or different configurations than the initial three mentioned herein.

[0035] The controller (130) is configured to independently control the first electromagnetic radiation source (140) and the second electromagnetic radiation source (150) via the first output (131) and the second output (132), respectively, to provide electromagnetic radiation to the body (120). The controller (130) may independently control various parameters of each radiation source, comprising current (170) using a constant current driver, voltage (171) using a voltage regulator, duty cycle (172) using PWM, and/or waveform shape (173) using an arbitrary waveform generator.

[0036] In some embodiments, the apparatus (100) may further include electromagnetic shielding (180) around the wires (181) that provide current to the first electromagnetic radiation source (140) and the second electromagnetic radiation source (150). The electromagnetic shielding (180) helps reduce electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation (182) exposure to the body (120). The electromagnetic shielding (180) may include grounded copper braided sleeving or aluminum foil wrapped around the wires (181) that provide current to the radiation sources in a helical configuration.

[0037] The apparatus (100) enables a method of providing electromagnetic radiation. The method includes coupling the first electromagnetic radiation source (140) to the first output (131) of the controller (130), coupling the second electromagnetic radiation source (150) to the second output (132) of the controller (130), and independently controlling the first electromagnetic radiation source (140) and the second electromagnetic radiation source (150) via the controller (130) to emit electromagnetic radiation directed toward the human body (120). The method may further include coupling the third electromagnetic radiation source (160) to the third output (133) of the controller (130) and independently controlling the third electromagnetic radiation source (160) via the controller (130). The radiation sources may be controlled using a closed-loop feedback system that monitors the output power, wavelength, and/or temperature of the LEDs and adjusts the driving parameters accordingly. The feedback system may include photodiodes, thermistors, or other sensors that provide real-time measurement data to the controller.

[0038] The apparatus may also include shielding of the first electromagnetic radiation source (140) and the second electromagnetic radiation source (150) using the electromagnetic shielding (180) to protect the human body (120) from low frequency or extremely low frequency electromotive force (LF-EMF or ELF-EMF) radiation emitted by the wires carrying current to the radiation sources. The shielding may be grounded to a common point such as the negative terminal of the power supply or the chassis of the controller to prevent ground loops and reduce interference. Independently controlling the radiation sources may involve varying at least one of current (170) using a digital potentiometer, voltage (172) using a digital-to-analog converter, duty cycle (173) using a microcontroller's PWM functionality, or amplitude of a driving waveform using a digital signal processor supplied by the controller (130) to each radiation source.

[0039] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the blanket, full body wrap, or covering (110) of the electromagnetic radiation apparatus. The blanket (110) comprises multiple layers of material with various electromagnetic radiation sources embedded within.

[0040] A plurality of red-light emitting sources (143) are distributed throughout the blanket (110). The red-light emitting sources (143) are configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in a first wavelength range (141) in the red light spectrum between 620 nm and 750 nm when powered by a first output (131) from the controller (130).

[0041] A series of wires (153) meander throughout the layers of the blanket (110). The wires (153) act as a second electromagnetic radiation source configured to emit radiation in a second wavelength range in the far-infrared spectrum between 3 m and 1000 m when electrical current from a second output (133) of the controller is passed through the wires (153).

[0042] Optionally, the blanket (110) may also include one or more blue light emitting sources as a third electromagnetic radiation source (160) coupled to a third output of the controller. The blue LEDs (160) emit radiation (162) in a third wavelength range in the blue light spectrum between 450 nm and 495 nm.

[0043] To reduce electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation exposure to the human body, the wires that provide current to the various radiation sources are wrapped with electromagnetic shielding. The electromagnetic shielding may comprise grounded wires wrapped around the current-carrying wires in a helical configuration.

[0044] The controller can independently control the various radiation sources by varying parameters such as the current, voltage, duty cycle, and waveform shape provided at its outputs. This allows the intensity and duration of radiation exposure to be precisely controlled for each wavelength range to provide effects.

[0045] The embodiments described herein are given for the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the interpretation of the present invention. The respective elements and their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, or the like of the embodiment are not limited to the illustrated examples but may be appropriately changed. Further, the constituents described in the embodiment may be partially replaced or combined together.