Device for passive local cooling of the human body
A portable, passive heat sink with contact pressure and thermally active medium addresses impracticality and lack of targeted cooling in existing devices, providing efficient mobile cooling on well-circulated body areas.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- DE · DE
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- MENZINGER WERNER
- Filing Date
- 2026-04-11
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-25
AI Technical Summary
Existing body cooling devices are impractical for mobile use, require external power, and lack targeted cooling for specific body areas.
A portable, passively acting heat sink with a thermally active medium that generates contact pressure for improved thermal coupling, utilizing a temperature difference for cooling without external energy input.
Enables simple, effective, and mobile cooling tailored to well-circulated body areas, achieving efficient heat dissipation through direct skin contact.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical field The present invention relates to a device for local cooling of the human body, in particular a portable device for passive cooling of body areas by direct skin contact. State of the art Various devices for the local cooling of body areas are known in the prior art, such as cooling packs, gel packs, or actively powered cooling systems. However, these known solutions have disadvantages. In particular, they are often impractical in their application, unsuitable for mobile use, or require an external power supply. Furthermore, cooling often occurs in a non-specific manner and without adaptation to suitable body areas for effective heat dissipation. Description of the invention The invention is based on the objective of providing a device that enables simple, effective and mobile cooling of the body. This problem is solved by a device having the features of claim 1. The device is designed as a portable, passively acting heat sink intended for direct thermal coupling with the skin. Cooling occurs without external energy input and is based on a temperature difference-induced heat exchange between the cooling element and the body surface. In a preferred embodiment, the heat sink is designed in such a way that contact pressure is generated upon contact with the skin, thereby achieving improved thermal coupling. The heat sink can have a closed volume containing a thermally active medium, in particular a liquid, a gel or a phase-changing material. The device is suitable for repeated use and can be provided in different embodiments with regard to shape, size and material properties. The application is preferably carried out on well-circulated areas of the body, especially on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. Brief description of the drawing Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a device (1) that rests against a part of the body, in particular a palm (2), and generates a contact pressure (3), whereby a large-area thermal coupling takes place between the cooling element and the skin surface. Example of implementation Fig. 1 shows a device (1) designed as a portable cooling element and in direct contact with a part of the body, in particular the palm of the hand (2). The device (1) is designed so that it can be gripped by one hand, whereby a contact pressure (3) is exerted on the contact surface between the device and the body surface. This contact pressure (3) achieves improved thermal coupling between the device (1) and the palm of the hand (2). The device (1) contains a thermally active medium and is designed for passive cooling, with heat transfer occurring through direct contact. The application is preferably carried out on well-circulated areas of the body, especially on the palms of the hands, but can also be carried out on other suitable parts of the body. Reference symbol list 1. Heat sink 2. Body part, especially palm 3. Contact pressure / force applied
Claims
Device for local cooling of the human body, characterized in that it is designed as a portable, passively acting cooling element intended for direct thermal coupling with the skin in order to influence body temperature. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooling takes place without external energy supply and is based exclusively on a temperature difference-based heat exchange between the cooling element and the body surface. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heat sink is manually accessible and suitable for repeated use. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cooling element is intended for use on well-vascularized body regions, in particular on the palms of the hands and / or soles of the feet. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cooling element is designed in such a way that a defined contact pressure is generated upon contact with the skin. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heat sink contains a closed volume with a thermally effective medium. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the medium is designed as a liquid, gel or phase-changing material. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer shell is elastically deformable at least in sections in order to enable planar thermal coupling. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed independently of a specific geometric shape. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is intended for use in the fields of sports, regeneration, and health-related applications.