Device to regulate humidity and temperature of the surface of a support element

Abstract

A moisture and temperature control device on the surface of a support element of a mattress or cushion includes a casing formed by at least two parts defining an interior chamber. Capsules of one or more phase change materials (PCM) are situated in the interior chamber. The capsules have a lowest crystallization temperature that is higher than about 25° C. and have a highest melting temperature that is lower than about 40° C.

1 . A device for regulating the moisture and temperature on the surface of a support element of a mattress or cushion, the device comprising
 a casing formed by first and second parts that define an interior chamber therebetween, and   capsules of phase change material (PCM), the capsules being situated in the interior chamber and having a lowest crystallization temperature of above about 25° C. and having a highest melting temperature that is less than about 40° C.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the capsules are microcapsules with diameters of 10 to 500 μm. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the capsules comprise at least two materials of the PCM type, of which a first PCM has a crystallization temperature that is lower than that of the second PCM. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the PCM capsules are applied above and/or within a support constituting a first intermediate layer permeable to air and water vapor, forming a 3D fabric. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 4 , further comprising a second intermediate sheet made of thin fibrous nonwoven material, coated at least on its upper face with the PCM microcapsules, the second intermediate sheet being situated above the upper surface of the first intermediate layer. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the PCM capsules are applied above and/or within a fibrous non-woven porous material constituting an intermediate layer that is thicker than the first and second parts. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising an intermediate sheet of fibrous nonwoven material, coated at least on its upper surface with the PCM microcapsules, which microcapsules have a diameter of about 10 to about 500 μm and being distributed at about 105 to about 107 microcapsules/cm2, and the intermediate sheet being thinner than the first and second parts. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein that the PCMs comprise paraffinic hydrocarbons having at least one chain in C-14, of which a first PCM whose phase change temperature is between about 25° and about 30° C., and a second PCM whose change phase temperature is between about 30° and about 35° C. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the PCMs comprise alkane and lycosane. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein a permeability to water vapor of the second part is lower than that of the first part, wherein a flow of air enters the interior chamber via an injection port and evacuates from the interior chamber via perforations when the casing is inflated by pressurized air injected continuously through the injection port so as to create an overpressure in the chamber, and wherein the second part is substantially airtight between the injection port and the perforations, the perforations being arranged far enough away from the injection port so that substantially an entire volume of the chamber is crossed by the air circulating between the injection port and the perforations. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the first part includes a porous or perforated substrate, permeable to water and air, the substrate being coated on at least one face by a substantially continuous polymer layer, impermeable to liquid water and air, and presenting molecular transfer properties of the water vapor, and the second part includes a fabric coated on at least one of its sides with a layer of polymer having molecular transfer properties to the water vapor. 
     
     
         12 . A method of regulating the temperature and moisture on the surface of a support element of the mattress or cushion type and in the vicinity and in contact with a body of an individual lying there, using a device according to  claim 1 , wherein the following is performed:
 1) arranging the casing flat between the support element and the body of an individual, so that the first part is turned towards the body of the individual and the second part faces the side of the support element, and   2) injecting air under pressure into the interior chamber through an injection port and at a pressure and at a rate such that the casing remains inflated in overpressure despite the evacuation of the air through perforations and despite support of the body on the casing, whereby an air pressure inside the casing relative to ambient is sufficient to permit air circulation throughout a volume of the interior chamber.