CA1296777C

CA1296777C - Electric light bath

Info

Publication number: CA1296777C
Application number: CA000532080A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Friedrich Wolff
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-01-23
Filing date: 1987-03-16
Publication date: 1992-03-03
Anticipated expiration: 2009-03-03
Also published as: ATE64108T1; EP0275817B1; EP0275817A1; DE3770615D1

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The electric light bath consists of an infrared light source (S), which is preferably fitted with rod-like infrared radiators (IRR). A first parabolically shaped reflector (R1) has the effect of an approximately vertical irradiation of the side of the body turned to-ward the infrared light source (S). Futher reflectors (R2, R3) provide for as even an irradiation as possible from the side.
This arrangement ensures that at least 50%, but at most 90% of the body surface of the user is irradiated.
In order that the radiation intensity is strong enough for perspiration to being but not for an unpleasant heat sen-sation to occur, a controller which can be operated by the user is preferably provided.
An IR-B and an IR-C filter keeps back that part of the IR radiation which would cause a heating up of the interior body temperature. A further filter keeps back the visible range of the radiation spectrum to the extent that only light orange light is visible.
The IR radiation can be readily supplemented with UV radiation.

(Figure 1)

Description

~ ~2~7~7 l 20152-1180 Electric liqht bath The present invention relates to an electric light bath for the areal irradiation of the human body with heat.
In the area of health care, ~he sauna is very well known. It is used for warming up the body. Hot air is generated ; with as little humidity as possible, causing the body to perspire.
The heat activates the metabolism of the body, biochemical processes are promoted, glands hair follicles work better. The better circul.ation of blood through the skin provides for accelerated removal of metabolic products and perspiration purifies the body.
However, the sauna also has disadvantas~es. q'he ~hermal radiation ls lony-wave, does not penetrate far into the skln, but leads to a warming of the interior of the body. Consequently, a warming up of the blood results. This in turn has the consequence that the blood cannot absorb as much oxygen. In the case of people suffering from low blood pressure or after consumption of alcohol, after which the oxygen absorption capacity of the blood is reduced in any case, it may easily lead to feelings of dizziness, queeziness and even unconsciousness. But even when in good physical condition, the sauna can only be used for limited periods. At the latest after a perspiration session of at most 15 to 20 minutes, a break should then always be ~aken and the application of heat possibly repeated afterwards.
Further disadvantages of the sauna are the high space requirement, the elaborate installations and, last but not least, the high energy requirement.

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The search for a new solution started out from the consideration that, in order to perspire, actually it is primarily the skin which would have to be warmed to be able to induce the sweat glands to operate deliberately in this way, without the entire body being heated up. However, for this it would be necessary to apply a shorter-wave infrared radiation.
Such radiation is generated by infrared equipment, which are also commonly called electric light baths.
~ lectric liyht baths are known in which a sizeable box is heated by means of lamps or wires through which current flows.
The patient lies or slts in such a way that the head can be cooled. Thls type of llght bath ls generally sub~ectlvely felt to be extremely unpleasant and so far has only been used in cases of disorders - ln particular rheumatism.
Furthermore, infrared radiators, for example quartz infrared radiators, are known which are directed locally to individual parts of the body, preferably to joints. Electric light baths of this type, in which merely limited areas of the skin are lrradiated may well be felt subjectively to be pleasant.
However, perspiration can hardly be achieved. An increase in the radiation intensity quickly leads to an unpleasant heat sensation before the desired perspiration occurs.
The inventlon achieves ~he object o~ creating with as simple means as possible an electric light bath with which perspiration can be achieved even over a prolonged period, ie.
more than 20 minutes, without an unpleasant heat sensation occuring.

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~2~i777 2a 20152-1180 According to a broad aspect of the invention there is provided an electric light bath for the areal irradiation of the human body with heat, with at least one infrared light source, ~onsisting of at least one radiator element and of at least one reflector, wherein the infrared light source operates predominantly in the wave range between 76Q and 1300 nm, wherein at least 50~, at most however 90~ of the surface of the body can be irradiated, and wherein the radiation density acting on the surface of the body is at least sufficient to cause perspiration, but is below the limit at which a sensation of pain occurs.
After lenythy investigations, it has heen found that with a specified radiation in~ensity acting on the body, at a level still felt to be pleasant, a minimum proportion of the body's surface, preferably about two thirds, has to be irradiated in order ~or the desired perspiration to occur. This type of perspiring is very pleasant as the interior of the body is not heated up. Indeed, it is even possible to follow a sauna bath right away by taking a lengthy light bath of the type accor~ing to the invention.
If, on the other hand, too large a proportion of the body's surface is irradiated, even a minimal radiation intensity whiGh only just leads to perspiration, is subjectively felt to be unpleasant. Therefore, it is essential that not too small and not too large an area of skin is irradiated.

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To summarize, the following advantages may there-fore be mentioned in part;cular in the case of the light bath according to the invention:
1. The abovementioned advantages of the sweat bath:
S as in the sun, the body begins to perspire heavily within a few minutes. As the warming up is not produced by hot air or the very long-wave radiat;on of hollow walls, but by the IR rays, which penetrate deep into the skin, there is no strain on the circulation. The sweat bath therefore does not have to be repeated 2 or 3 times after cooling ~ down. It has a purifying and dehydrating effect Com-bined with a diet, it leads to significant wei~ht reduc-tion after a few days.-' 2. Added to this are the advantages of an IR treat-ment: infrared rays are used for the treatment of a wide variety of disorders, for example rheumatism, sciatica, gout, muscle pains, neuralg;a, skin injuries, blood ef-fusions, sprains, bruises and many more. The overall body irradiation now possible extends the application possibili-; 20 ties: increases in the circulation and metabolism of the entire cutaneous system, the skin is cleaned and tightened.
: 3. If, in add;tion the visible, in particular the light orange, light range is used, the formation of- melatonin ;s inhibited, the latter occurring to an increased extent in times when there is little external light and leading to so-called winter depression.
4. Simple assembly and immediate operational readiness permit troublefree use in many cases in which a sauna is not a straightforward proposit;on owing to the effort involved, for example at the physiotherapist's, at the hairdresser's ancl in an apartmentO Use is physiologic-ally pleasant The functional activation of the elastic fibers in the skin Leads to its tightening, so that use in beauty salons is also a consideration The invention is expLained in more detail below by way of example and ~ith reference to a drawing, in which:
F;go 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of a preferred embodiment of an infrared light source according to the invention, in cross-section;

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~2~i7~7 , Fig. 2 shows a corresponding representation in longitudinal section;
F;g. 3 shows an appropriate booth with reflective walls;
S Fig. 4 shows the intensity profile of the infra-red radiation as a function of wavelength.
Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the in-vention. An infrared light source S is shown half in cross-section (on the right) and half in a view of the broad side. An infrared heat radiator element IRR prcjects its rad;ation onto a f;rst reflector R1. This is para-bolically shaped, the radiator element IRR being located at its focal po;nt. Consequently, the rad;ation is reflec-ted downward in paralLel. The width of this reflector is at least wide enough for a person underneath to be com-pletely covered by the radiation. For an explanat;on of terminology, it should be mentioned at this po;nt that in A this ~ P ~ ~ "radiator element IRR" is understood as ~ be;ng the commerc;ally ava;lable component for the gener-; 20 ation of IRR radiation and ";nfrared light source S" ;s understood as be;ng the ent;re rad;ator unit, including radiator element IRR, housing and other components such as reflectors, defLection plates etc.
In the reflector R1 there is at the side, approxi-mately on a level with the radiator element IRR, a gapthrough which part of the radiation can pass. Thits is ~ ,7D/e ~ c~ r intercepted ~in each case by an additional -radiaLor R2, which is shaped in such a way that the radiation falls downuard at a specified, inward-directed angle A. Owing to this angling, the radiation meets the body of a user (not represented in Figures 1 and Z) not only from the front but also a Little from the side. In this way, the radiation hitting the side part of the body is intensified.
The outside distance between the two additional reflectors R2 must, on the one hand, be chosen as wide as possible in order that as great a radiation angle A as possible is formed and the lateral radiation hits ~he body as steeply as possible. On the other hand, in the interests of as compact a design as possible of the infrared light source S

~2~6~77~7 this distance should not be too great, meaning that in practice a distance of 60 cm or preferably 75 cm might be chosen.
; Th;s effect can be intensified still more by means of a further reflector R3 arranged to the sirde of the radiation source S and aligned at least approximately vertically. As will be explained further below, th;s can be used to intensify stil~ more the radiation hitting the body from the side Figure 2 sho~s a part of the longitud;nal section of the infrared source S shown in Figure 1 Aga;n a rad iator element IRR can be seen A reflector R4 forms the termination of the longitudinal side. Furthermore, two deflection plates P are shown, which act as protection against glare Figure 3 shows a sketch of a complete irrad;ation system with ;nfrared light source S, bed B underneath and reflective walls R3~ It shows in particular how the rad;-ation emitted by the infrared light source S also irradi-~ 20 ates the user U from the-side, after reflection at the ; side walls R3. The reflecting walls R3 are principally i arranged to the side of the in~rared light source S and - of the bed B. They form for example part of an irradi-; ati~n booth. The broken l;ne R'3 indicates that at least one of the walls can be designed to swing up to make con-venient entry into the booth possible. Access can also be provided however by means of a conventional door, with folding, sliding or other devices wh;ch are provided on the inside with a ref~ecting surface.
figure 4 shows with curve a the intensity profile i of a commerc;ally available infrared heat radiator element as a function of wa~elength Curve b shows the profile wieh a filter partially absorbing the vis;ble light but still j allowing light orange light to pass Finally, curve c shows the profile ~ith an infrared ~ and C absorbing filter As was already mentioned in the introduction, itis important that, on the one hand a minimum area, but on the other hand not too large an area of the body surface is irradiated in order that perspiration which is felt subject-:~ .

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-- 6ively to be pleasant is possible. In comparison, it is of secondary importance how the infrared source is arranged and whether the user sits, stands or lies. However, in any case a position which is as relaxed as possible should be aimed for. Preference should be given here to a comfortable bed, for example a water bed. A bath towel takes up the per-spiration and helps hygiene.
For use with 3 bed ~, the infrared source S is preferably horizontally aligned, as shown in F;gure 3.
The infrared radiation source S is, for example 200 cm long and at least 20 cm, preferably however 50 to 80 cm, wide. This makes it possible by means of the parabolic reflector R1 shown in Figure 1 to achieve a vertical ir-radiation of the side of the body exposed to the radiation source~
The rad;ation falling on the less steeply directed reflector R2 through the gap provided in the reflector R1 provides for as even an irradiation as possible of all three sides of the body. An intensification of the nat-Z0 urally somewhat weaker lateral irradiation can be addition-ally achieved with reflecting walls R3 arranged to the side of bed and radiation source, as shown in Figure 3.
For example, special reflector walls may be set up or the insides of a sweat bath booth are made to be reflecting.
The infrared radiation source S is 'advantageously ` designed with individual rod-like infrared heat radiator elements IRR. Elements of the 110-1U00~ type from Messrs Wolff are suitable for this, for example. With a length of the infrared source of about 200 cm, three radiator elements of this type are necessary in the case of the exempla~y embodiment.
8ecause it is important to reach the range between perspiration and the onset of an unpleasant feeling of heat in a'n optimum way , it is advantageous to provide a control unit by means of which the user himself can individually set the irradiation intensity. The design of su~h a con-trol unit is very well known to any person skilled in the art and need not be discussed at this point. In a prefer-red embodiment, the radiator e~enents are individua~ly con-``` ~;29~;7~

trollable, so that for example in the exemplary embodiment in this way the head-thorax area, the torso and the legs can be irradiated with different intensity.
The irradiation intensity should be in the range between 50 and 153 mWIcm2~ preferably however between 60 and 100 mW/cm2.
The power requirement for such a system is about 3000 watts, so that it can be plugged in at a normal socket.
In order to achieve perspiration which is as inten-s;ve as possible without an unpleasant sensation of heat, the infrared 8 and C radiation is suppressed as far as possible. Commercially available filters exist for th;s.
If necessary, a glass shroud which may be provided for the infrared light source can also be appropriately coated.
Because the radiation source also emits radiation in the v;sible light range, the user may be dazzled. In order to counteract th;s, antiglare deflection plates P
may be provided underneath the radiator elements IRR, as shown sectionally in Figure 2.
Z0 As another or an additional measure, visible light may be reduced by a filter which likewise can be vapor-deposited on to a glass shroud which may be prov;ded for the rad;ation source. As already indicated in the intro-duct~ion, the light orange ~ight has, however, a very posi-tive effect, meaning that the f;lter should advantage-ously also still allow this radiation, lying in a range between 58û and 620 nm, to pass. The rad;at;on intensity pro~ile would thus correspond to the profile denoted by b in Figure 4.
The distance between radiation source and bed ; should be chosen such that the user does not feel confined.
In most cases, a distance of 120 cm should be sufficient for this.
The type of IR irradiation according to the inven-tion can, however, also be readily combined with UV ir-radiation. An appropriate UV radiation source can either be set up separately or, advantageously, integrated in the infrared light source itself. In this case, the use of a uv-a and of a UV-C filter is advisable. An example ~L2~ii7~'7 .... .

of a UV radiat;on source wh;ch may be considered is a commercially available mercury ~ow-pressure burner.

Claims

1. An electric light bath for the areal irradiation of the human body with heat, with at least one infrared light source, consisting of at least one radiator element and of at least one reflector, wherein the infrared light source operates predominantly in the wave range between 760 and 1300 nm, wherein at least 50%, at most however 90% of the surface of the body can be irradiated, and wherein the radiation density acting on the surface of the body is at least sufficient to cause perspiration, hut is below the limit at which a sensation of pain occurs.

2. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radiation intensity acting on the surface of the body is at least 50 mW/cm2, at most 150 mW/cm2, but preferably 60 to 100 mw/cm2.

3. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 2, wherein a control device is available, by means of which the radiation power can be controlled by the user.

4. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 3, wherein the infrared light source has several rod-like radiator elements which can be controlled independently of one another.

5. An electric light bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a filter is brought into the path of rays of the infrared light source to filter out long-wave infrared (so-called B and C) radiation.

6. An electric light bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a filter is brought into the path of rays of the infrared light source to at least partially filter out visible radiation with a wavelength below 580 nm.

7. An electric light bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, including filter means in the path of rays of the infrared source to filter out long-wave infrared (so called B and C) radiation and to at least partially filter out visible radiation with a wavelength below 580 nm.

8. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 7, wherein the filter at least partially absorbing the visible radiation is translucent to light orange light in a range from 580 to 620 nm.

9. An electric light bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 and 8, wherein at least one UV radiation generator is arranged in the area of the infrared light source.

10. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 9, wherein a filter is brought into the path of rays of the UV radiation generator, which filter absorbs the radiation to a substantial degree in the UV-B and in the UV-C range.

11 20152-1180 11. An electric light bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, 8 and 10, wherein the radiator element of the infrared light source is arranged at the focal point of an at least approximately parabolically curved reflector.

12. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 11, wherein the reflector width is at least 20 cm.

13. An electric light bath as claimed in 11, wherein the reflector has at the side on the level of a radiator element a gap, and wherein an additional reflector is provided on each side, which intercepts the rays coming through the yap in the first mentioned reflector and directs them laterally onto the body.

14. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 13, wherein the outside distance of the two additional reflectors is at least 60 cm.

15. An electric light bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, 8, 10, 11 or 14, wherein the infrared light source can be horizontally aligned relative to a bed arranged underneath.

16. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 15, wherein the distance between infrared light source and bed is variable.

17. An electric light bath as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, 8, 10, 11, 14 or 16, wherein at least two reflecting walls arranged to the sides of infrared light source are provided.

18. An electric light bath as claimed in claim 17, wherein at least one of the reflecting walls can be swung.

19. A light bath as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16 or 18, wherein spaced apart antiglare deflection plates, aligned at least approximately parallel to the path of rays, are provided in the immediate proximity of the infrared light source.