EP2272483A1

EP2272483A1 - Massage device

Info

Publication number: EP2272483A1
Application number: EP20100168309
Authority: EP
Inventors: Chichun Wu; Zhao Zhang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Weightec Electronic Tech Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-07-10
Filing date: 2010-07-02
Publication date: 2011-01-12

Abstract

The present invention relates to a massage device including a back massage module, a neck massage module and a support module. The back massage module comprises a back module housing, a back transmission assembly being in the back module housing and comprising a back motor and a back massage assembly mechanically coupled with the back motor and extending through the back module housing. The neck massage module comprises a neck module housing, a neck transmission assembly and a neck massage assembly. The neck transmission assembly is contained in the neck module housing and comprises a neck motor. The neck massage assembly is mechanically coupled with the neck motor and extending through the neck module housing. The support module connects the neck module housing to the back module housing.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This application claims priority of EP application Nos. EP10157222.0, filed March 22, 2010 , entitled "Massage Device with a Locking Mechanism" by Chi Chun Wu, and EP09169089.1, filed August 31, 2009 , entitled "Massage Device," by Chi-Chun Wu and Chi-Wu Chiang, which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Serial No. 12/551,078 (hereinafter "the application '078"), filed August 31, 2009, entitled "Massage Device," by Chi-Chun Wu and Chi-Wu Chiang, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
The application '078 is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Serial No. 11/625,255, filed January 19, 2007 , entitled "Massage Device," by Chi-Wu Chiang, which itself is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Serial No. 11/082,016, filed March 16, 2005 , entitled "Massage Device," by Chi-Wu Chiang, which itself claims priority to and the benefit of, pursuant to 35 USC §119(a), Chinese patent application Serial No. 2004200456092, filed May 11, 2004 , which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
The application '078 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Serial No. 12/103,785, filed April 16, 2008 , entitled "A Massage Device," by Chi-Wu Chiang, which itself claims priority to and the benefit of, pursuant to 35 USC §119(a), Chinese patent application Serial No. 200820091616.4, filed March 7, 2008 , entitled "A Massage Device," by Chi-Wu Chiang, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a massage device, and more particularly to a massage device providing both back and neck massaging effects

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Simulated massaging or kneading of parts of the body to aid circulation or relax the muscles has gain popularity, particularly, among people who are lack of exercise. The simulated massaging or kneading effects can be achieved electromagnetically and/or mechanically by means of a massage device. For the electromagnetic massaging or kneading, such an electromagnetic massage device is configured to generate a series of electromagnetic pulses, which are regularly directed to parts of interest of the body so as to perform massaging or kneading thereon. However, the massaging or kneading area of the massage device is limited and the massaging or kneading effects may not be very gentle.
For the mechanical massaging or kneading, the mechanical massage device is usually designed to have multiple massage nodes and a driving system to drive the massage nodes to rotate so as to stimulate massaging or kneading when applied to parts of interest of the body. Comparing to the electromagnetic massaging, the limitation of the massaging or kneading area is improved for the mechanical massaging. However, the massaging or kneading area of the conventional mechanical massage device is limited in either the back or the neck of the body.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in one aspect, relates to a massage device. In one embodiment, the massage device 1000 includes a back massage module 100, a neck massage module 200 and a support module 300.
The back massage module 100 comprises a back module housing 110, a back transmission assembly 130 and a back massage assembly 140. The back transmission assembly 130 is contained in the back module housing 110 and comprises a back motor 131. The back massage assembly 140 is mechanically coupled with the back motor 131 and extending through the back module housing 110 so that when the back motor 131 is activated, the back massage assembly 140 provides a back massage effect.
The neck massage module 200 comprises a neck module housing 210, a neck transmission assembly 220 and a neck massage assembly 230. The neck transmission assembly 220 is contained in the neck module housing 210 and comprises a neck motor 222. The neck massage assembly 230 is mechanically coupled with the neck motor 222 and extending through the neck module housing 210 so that when the neck motor 222 is activated, the neck massage assembly 230 provides a neck massage effect.
The support module 300 connects the neck module housing 210 to the back module housing 110.
In one embodiment, the support module 300 comprises a guiding member 310 and the neck module housing 210 comprises a sliding member 212 coupled with the guiding member 310 so that the sliding member 212 is movable back and forth along the guiding member 310.
In one embodiment, the guiding member 310 is a rod having a fixing end 310a mounted to the back module housing 110 and an opposite, guiding end 310b. The sliding member 212 is a hole receiving the guiding end 310b.
In one embodiment, the neck massage assembly 230 comprises a pair of massage member 230a. Each of the massage member 230a comprises a eccentric block 234, a driving shaft 232, a massage head 236 and an elastic member 238. The eccentric block 234 has a bottom surface 234a and a top surface 234b tilted to the bottom surface 243a at an angle β. One end 232a of the driving shaft 232 extends through the neck module housing 210 and is mechanically coupled with the neck motor 222. The other end 232b of the driving shaft 232 is inserted in the eccentric block 234 via the bottom surface 234a. One end 238a of the elastic member 238 is secured to the eccentric block 234 via the top surface 234b and the other end 238b of the elastic member 238 is secured to the massage head 236. Preferably, the massage head 236, for example, comprises an energy source of capable of generating thermal energy.
In one embodiment, the massage device 1000 further comprises a carriage 120 having a groove 122a. The back module housing 110 comprises a base cover 110a comprising a guiding rail 118. The groove 122a receives the guiding rail 118, so that the carriage 120 is movable back and forth along the guiding rail 118.
In one embodiment, the massage device 1000 further comprises a rack 150 secured in the base cover 110a and parallel to the guiding rail 118. The back transmission assembly 130 further comprises a worm 132 mechanically coupled with an output shaft 131a of the back motor 131, a pair of worm wheels 133a and 133b meshing with the worm 132, a first gear 134 coaxially mounted under one of the pair of the worm wheel 133a or 133b, a second gear 135 meshing with the first gear 134, a pinion gear 135a coaxially extended under the second gear 135, a third gear 136 meshing with the pinion gear 135a and the rack 150. Accordingly, when the back motor 131 is activated, the output shaft 131 a drives the worm 132 to rotate and the rotation of the worm 132 results in, in turn, the rotation of the pair of worm wheels 133a and 133b, the first gear 134, the second gear 135, the pinion gear 135a, the third gear 136, thereby moving the carriage 120 along the guiding rail118.
In one embodiment, the back massage assembly 140 comprises a pair of massage members 140a. Each of the massage member 140a comprises a driving block 142, a driving shaft 144, multiple massage heads 146 and multiple elastic members 148. The driving block 142 has a bottom surface 142a and a top surface 142b. One end 144a of the driving shaft 144 is extending through the carriage 120 and mechanically coupled with the back motor 131, and the other end 144b of the driving shaft 144 is inserted in the driving block 142 via the bottom surface 142a. The elastic members 148 connect the top surface 142b of the driving block 142 to the massage heads 146.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment, and wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a exploded view of a massage device according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 shows a cross section view of the eccentric block of the massage device in Fig. 1; and
Fig.3 shows a perspective view of the massage device as shown in Fig. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure is more particularly described in the following examples that are intended as illustrative only since numerous modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Various embodiments of the disclosure are now described in detail. Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like components throughout the views. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of "a", "an", and "the" includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the disclosure, and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used to describe the disclosure are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the disclosure. The use of examples anywhere in this specification, including examples of any terms discussed herein, is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the disclosure or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the disclosure is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification.
As used herein, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," "containing," "involving," and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to.
The description will be made as to the embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in Figs. 1-3. In accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein. This invention, in one aspect, relates to a massage device that is capable of simultaneously providing both back and neck massaging effects.
Referring to Fig. 1-3, a massage device 1000 is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention. The massage device 1000 comprises a back massage module 100, a neck massage module 200 and a support module 300 connecting the neck massage module 200 to the back massage module 100.
The back massage module 100 comprises a back module housing 110, a back transmission assembly 130 and a back massage assembly 140. The back module housing 110 comprises, for example, a base cover 110a and a top cover 110b. The top cover 110b is over the base cover 110a so as to define a chamber 110c therebetween.
The back transmission assembly 130 is contained in the back module housing 110, i.e. inside the chamber 110c, and comprises a back motor 131. The back massage assembly 140 mechanically coupled with the back motor 131 and extending through the back module housing 110, so that when the back motor 131 is activated, the back massage assembly 140 provides a back massage effect.
In this embodiment, to make the back massage assembly 140 capable of being moved along a longitudinal axis 116 of the back module housing 110, the massage device 1000 may further comprise a carriage 120 comprising a chassis member 122 and a shield member 124 over the chassis member 122. The chassis member 122 together with the shield member 124 contains the back transmission assembly 130. The back massage assembly 140 is disposed on the shield member 124 and mechanically coupled with the back motor 131. The chassis member 122 has a pair of grooves 122a. The base cover 110a further has two guiding rails 118 formed parallel to the longitudinal axis 116. The pair of the grooves 122a respectively receives the pair of the guiding rails 118, so that the back massage assembly 140 disposed on carriage 120 is moveable back and forth along the guiding rails 118. Other numbers of guiding rails and grooves corresponding to the guiding rails can also be utilized to practice the present invention.
An example of mechanically coupling the back massage assembly 140 with the back motor 131 is described as following. As shown in Fig. 1, the back transmission assembly 130, for example, further comprises a worm 132 mechanically coupled with an output shaft 131a of the back motor 131 and a pair of worm wheels 133a and 133b meshing with the worm 131. The back massage assembly 140, for example, comprises a pair of massage members 140a. Each of the massage member 140a comprises a driving block 142, a driving shaft 144, two massage heads 146 and two elastic members 148. The driving block 142 has a bottom surface 142a and a top surface 142b. One end 144a of the driving shaft 144 extends through the carriage 120, specifically the shield member 124, and coaxially coupled with one of the worm wheels 133a and 133b which meshes with the worm 132 so as to mechanically coupled with the back motor 131, and the other end 144b of the driving shaft 144 inserted in the driving block 142 via the bottom surface 142a. The elastic member 148, for example a spring, connects the top surface 142b of the driving block 142 to the of massage heads 146. Accordingly, when the back motor 131 is activated, the output shaft 131a drives the worm142 to rotate. The rotation of the worm 132 results in, in turn, the rotations of the pair of the worm wheels 133a and 133b, the driving shafts 144, the driving blocks 142, the elastic members 148 and massage heads 146, thereby providing a massage effect for the back of a user.
In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-3, each massage head 146 has a mushroom-shape. Each massage head 146 has a first structure 146a, a mushroom-shape node 146c and a second structure 146b placed between the first structure 146a and the mushroom-shape node 146c. Each massage head 146 may include an energy source capable of generating thermal energy. The energy source may include a lamp base mounted to the corresponding one of protrusions 142c, a PCB board attached to the lamp base, and heating lamps attached onto the PCB board. For example, the first structure 146a and the second structure 146b of a massage head 146 can be parts of the energy source.
Furthermore, to make the back massage assembly 140 capable of automatically moving along the guiding rails 118, the massage device 1000 may further comprise a rack 150 secured in the base cover 110a, parallel to the guiding rails 118 and operably cooperated with the back motor 131. An example of rack 150 operably cooperating with the back motor 131 is described as following. In addition to the worm 132, the pair of the worm wheels 133a and 133b, the back transmission assembly 130 may further comprise a first gear 134 coaxially mounted under one of the pair of the worm wheel 133a or 133b, a second gear 135 meshing with the first gear 134, a pinion gear 135a coaxially extended under the second gear 135, a third gear 136 meshing with the pinion gear 135a and the rack 150, such that when the back motor 131 is activated, the output shaft 131a drives the worm 132 to rotate. The rotation of the worm 132 results in, in turn, the rotation of the pair of worm wheels 133a and 133b, the first gear 134, the second gear 135, the pinion gear 135a and the third gear 136 meshing with the rack 150, thereby automatically moving the carriage 120 along the guiding rail 118.
The neck massage module 200 comprises a neck module housing 210, a neck transmission assembly 220 and a neck massage assembly 230. The neck transmission assembly 220 is contained in the neck module housing 210 and comprises a neck motor 222. The neck massage assembly 230 is mechanically coupled with the neck motor 222 and extending through the neck module housing 210 so that when the neck motor 222 is activated, the neck massage assembly 230 provides a neck massage effect.
In this embodiment, the neck module housing 210 comprises a base shell 210a and a top shell 210b together with the base shell 210a for containing the neck transmission assembly 220.
The neck massage assembly 230 comprises a pair of massage member 230a. Each of the massage member 230a comprises a eccentric block 234, a driving shaft 232, a massage head 236, and elastic member 238, for example, a spring. The eccentric block 234 has a bottom surface 234a and a top surface 234b tilted to the bottom surface 243a at an angle β. One end 232a of the driving shaft 232 extends through the top shell 210b and is mechanically coupled with the neck motor 222. The other end 232b of the driving shaft 232 is inserted in the eccentric block 234 via the bottom surface 234a. One end 238a of the elastic member 238 is secured to the eccentric block 234 via the top surface 234b and the other end 238b of the elastic member 238 is secured to the massage head 236.
An example of mechanically coupling the end 232a of the driving shaft 232 with the neck motor 222 is shown in Fig. 1. The neck transmission assembly 220 may further comprise a worm 224 meshing with an output shaft 222a of the neck motor 222 and a pair of worm gears 226a and 226b meshing with the worm 224. The ends 232a of the driving shafts 232 is respectively coaxially coupled with the pair of the worm gears 226a and 226b so as to mechanically coupling with the driving shaft 232 with the neck motor 222. Accordingly, when the neck motor 222 is activated, the output shaft 222a drives the worm 224 to rotate, so that the rotation of the worm 224 results in, in turn, the rotations of the pair of the worm gears 226a and 226b, the pair of the driving shafts 232, the pair of the eccentric blocks 234, the pair of the elastic members 238 and the pair of the massage heads 236, thereby providing a massage effect for the neck of a user.
In this embodiment shown in Figs. 1-3, each massage head 236 has a mushroom-shape. Each massage head 236 has a first structure 236a, a mushroom-shape node 236c and a second structure 236b placed between the first structure 236a and the mushroom-shape node 236c. Each massage head 236 may include an energy source capable of generating thermal energy. The energy source may include a lamp base mounted to the corresponding top surface 234b, a PCB board attached to the lamp base, and heating lamps attached onto the PCB board. For example, the first structure 236a and the second structure 236b of a massage head 236 can be parts of the energy source.
The support module 300 connects the neck module housing 210 to the back module housing 110. In this embodiment, to make the neck massage module 200 capable of moving with respect to the back massage module 100, the support module 300 may further comprises a guiding member, for example a rod 310. The rod 310 has a fixing end 310a mounted to the back module housing 110 and a opposite, guiding end 310b. The neck module housing 210 may further comprises a sliding member, for example a hole 212. The hole 212 receives the guiding end 310b, so that the neck module housing 210 is moveable back and forth along the rod 310.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to activate others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.
The present invention relates to a massage device including a back massage module, a neck massage module and a support module. The back massage module comprises a back module housing, a back transmission assembly being in the back module housing and comprising a back motor and a back massage assembly mechanically coupled with the back motor and extending through the back module housing. The neck massage module comprises a neck module housing, a neck transmission assembly and a neck massage assembly. The neck transmission assembly is contained in the neck module housing and comprises a neck motor. The neck massage assembly is mechanically coupled with the neck motor and extending through the neck module housing. The support module connects the neck module housing to the back module housing.

Claims

A massage device 1000, comprising:
a back massage module 100, comprising:
a back module housing 110;

a back transmission assembly 130, contained in the back module housing 110 and comprising a back motor 131; and

a back massage assembly 140 mechanically coupled with the back motor 131 and extending through the back module housing 110 so that when the back motor 131 is activated, the back massage assembly 140 provides a back massage effect;

a neck massage module 200, comprising:
a neck module housing 210;

a neck transmission assembly 220, contained in the neck module housing 210 and comprising a neck motor 222; and

a neck massage assembly 230, mechanically coupled with the neck motor 222 and extending through the neck module housing 210 so that when the neck motor 222 is activated, the neck massage assembly 230 provides a neck massage effect; and

a support module 300, connecting the neck module housing 210 to the back module housing 110.
The massage device 1000 of claim 1, wherein the support module 300 comprises a guiding member 310 and the neck module housing 210 comprises a sliding member 212 coupled with the guiding member 310 so that the sliding member 212 is movable back and forth along the guiding member 310.
The massage device 1000 of claim 2, wherein the guiding member 310 is a rod having a fixing end 310a mounted to the back module housing 110and an opposite, guiding end 310b and the sliding member 212 is a hole receiving the guiding end 310b.
The massage device 1000 of claim 1, wherein The neck massage assembly 230 comprises a pair of massage member 230a, each of the massage member 230a comprises:
a eccentric block 234, having a bottom surface 234a and a top surface 234b tilted to the bottom surface 243a at an angle β;

a driving shaft 232, one end 232a of the driving shaft 232 extending through the neck module housing 210 and mechanically coupled with the neck motor 222, and the other end 232b of the driving shaft 232 inserted in the eccentric block 234 via the bottom surface 234a;

a massage head 236; and

an elastic member 238, one end 238a of the elastic member 238 secured on the top surface 234b of the protrusion 234c and the other end 238b of the elastic member 238 secured to the massage head 236.
The massage device 1000 of claim 4, wherein the massage head 236 comprises an energy source of capable of generating thermal energy.
The massage device 1000 of claim 1, further comprising a carriage 120 having a groove 122a, the back module housing 110 comprising a base cover 110a comprising a guiding rail 118, the groove 122a receiving the guiding rail 118 so that the carriage 120 is movable back and forth along the guiding rail 118.
The massage device 1000 of claim 6, further comprising a rack 150 secured in the base cover 110a and parallel to the guiding rail 118, the back transmission assembly 130 further comprising a worm 132 mechanically coupled with an output shaft 131a of the back motor 131, a pair of worm wheels 133a and 133b meshing with the worm 132, a first gear 134 coaxially mounted under one of the pair of the worm wheel 133a or 133b, a second gear 135 meshing with the first gear 134, a pinion gear 135a coaxially extended under the second gear 135, a third gear 136 meshing with the pinion gear 135a and the rack 150, such that when the back motor 131 is activated, the output shaft 131a drives the worm 132 to rotate, and the rotation of the worm 132 results in, in turn, the rotation of the pair of worm wheels 133a and 133b, the first gear 134, the second gear 135, the pinion gear 135a, the third gear 136, thereby moving the carriage 120 along the guiding rail 118.
The massage device 1000 of claim 1, wherein the back massage assembly 140 comprises a pair of massage members 140a, each of the massage member 140a comprises:
a driving block 142, having a bottom surface 142a and a top surface 142b;

a driving shaft 144, one end 144a of the driving shaft 144 extending through the carriage 120 and mechanically coupled with the back motor 131, and the other end 144b of the driving shaft 144 inserted in the driving block 142 via the bottom surface 142a;

a plurality of massage heads 146; and

a plurality of elastic members 148, connecting the top surface 142b of the driving block 142 to the plurality of massage heads 146.
The massage device 1000 of claim 8, wherein the massage head 146 comprises an energy source of capable of generating thermal energy.