Hot and/or cold pad

1. A heating and cooling device for delivering heating and cooling energy to the body, comprising:

a heating and cooling pad which can be connected to the body, which has an upper face and a lower face and on the lower face of which an adhesive surface is provided for fastening the heating and cooling pad to the surface of the skin of the body, and which comprises at least one heating and cooling element arranged to convert electrical energy emitted by an electrical energy source into heating and cooling energy;

a control unit which is provided to receive the energy source, which has a signal processor and which is provided to output an open-loop and/or closed-loop control signal arranged to control the energy output from the energy source to the heating and cooling element in an open-loop and/or closed-loop manner;

wherein the heating and cooling pad and the control unit can be electrically and mechanically connected to one another by at least one electrical connector, via which the electrical energy can be transmitted to the heating and cooling element, and at least one magnetic connector;

and wherein the heating and cooling pad has a square overall shape with rounded corners and a periphery,

and the overall shape has eight approximately-triangular heating elements having resistive heating conductors,

wherein each heating element extends from the center of the square overall shape as far as the periphery of the square overall shape of the heating pad,

and wherein each of the eight heating elements has two parts, specifically a portion at the center of the heating pad and a further portion at the periphery of the heating and cooling pad,

both the portion at the center and the portion at the periphery having the resistive heating conductors,

wherein the resistive heating conductors of the portions at the center of each of the eight heating elements are closer together to each other than the resistive heating conductors of the portions at the periphery of the respective heating element, and the portion at the center and the portion at the periphery of each of the heating elements are electrically connected to one another such that when a current is applied to each of the heating elements, the portions at the center heat up more quickly than the portions at the periphery.

2. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the heating and cooling pad and the control unit can be electrically and mechanically connected to one another by:

a further electrical connector via which the electrical energy can be transmitted to the heating and cooling element, and

a further magnetic connector.

3. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical energy source and the heating and cooling element are designed to heat and/or cool the heating and cooling pad by 20 K in less than 1 minute, preferably in less than 20 seconds, particularly preferably in less than 5 seconds.

4. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the heating and cooling device comprises at least one posture sensor and the posture sensor is designed to detect the posture and/or the movement of the body at least in part and to generate posture data arranged to control the energy output from the energy source to the heating and cooling element in an open-loop and/or closed-loop manner.

5. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the heating and cooling device comprises a radio unit for transmitting and/or receiving data.

6. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , the heating and cooling device comprising a temperature sensor which is designed to generate temperature data and the signal processor is designed to generate the open-loop and/or closed-loop control signal for open-loop and/or closed-loop control of the electrical energy source depending on the temperature data.

7. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein electrodes are arranged on the lower face of the heating and cooling pad and the signal processor is designed to determine the muscle tension by electromyography and/or the skin resistance by measuring the conductance.

8. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the adhesive surface of the heating and cooling pad comprises an adhesive, preferably a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

9. The heating and cooling device according to claim 8 , wherein the adhesive is gel-like.

10. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the heating and cooling pad is a disposable element and the control unit is a reusable element.

11. The heating and cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the heating and cooling device comprises a vibration generator which is designed to convert electrical energy emitted by the electrical energy source into mechanical energy which can be transmitted to the body.