System and methods for monitoring and/or controlling temperature in a therapy device

Abstract

A temperature therapy system and a method for temperature control for such a temperature therapy system are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a temperature therapy system has a retention mechanism and a plurality of temperature modulation systems attached to the retention mechanism, wherein each of the plurality of temperature modulation systems comprises a thermoelectric cooler. The wearable personal temperature therapy system may have a plurality of temperature sensors and a plurality of conductive flags, wherein each of the plurality of conductive flags is adhered to a respective thermoelectric cooler and a respective temperature sensor. The wearable personal temperature therapy system may have a control module electrically coupled to each of the plurality of temperature modulation systems and each of the plurality of temperature sensors, wherein each of the temperature modulation systems is controlled based on a control voltage applied to the thermoelectric cooler of the respective temperature modulation system.

1 .- 9 . (canceled) 
     
     
         10 . A method for temperature control of a therapy device, comprising:
 receiving, at a control module of the therapy device, control instructions for temperature therapy;   determining, based on a temperature setpoint indicated by the control instructions, a cooling mode or a heating mode; and   applying, to a thermoelectric cooler of a temperature modulation system of the therapy device, a control voltage configured to generate a low temperature or a high temperature at the thermoelectric cooler, wherein the control voltage is based on a time-based offset or a constant offset between the temperature setpoint and an output of a temperature sensor thermally coupled to the thermoelectric cooler.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein applying the control voltage further comprises duty cycling the control voltage based on a difference between an output of the temperature sensor and a target temperature. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein for the cooling mode, the target temperature is determined based on one or more of: the temperature setpoint, the time-based offset, and/or a calibration constant. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the time-based offset is a temperature offset determined based on a piecewise function of time. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein for the heating mode, the target temperature is determined based on one or more of: the temperature setpoint, the constant offset, and/or a calibration constant. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein for the cooling mode, the temperature setpoint is within the range of 50-60° F. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein for the heating mode, the temperature setpoint is within the range of 104-109° F. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein receiving control instructions for temperature therapy further comprises:
 receiving, from a client application operating at a computing device communicatively coupled to the control module, the control instructions.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the computing device is communicatively coupled to the control module using a wireless communication protocol. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the wireless communication protocol is a Bluetooth protocol. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein receiving control instructions for temperature therapy further comprises:
 receiving, via an input device electrically coupled to the control module, the control instructions.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the temperature sensor is thermally coupled to the thermoelectric cooler by a conductive flag.