JP3519974B2 - Massage machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the operation of a treatment finger of a massage machine, and more particularly to a massage machine capable of further enhancing the massage effect of the treatment finger.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, chair-type or bed-type massage machines have been known which massage the affected area such as the shoulders and hips of a user. In this kind of device, a massage unit having a pair of treatment fingers is provided inside a back contact portion against which the back of the user is hit, and the treatment fingers are reciprocally moved in a vertical direction and a lateral direction to massage the affected area. A rolling massage is performed from the nape of the neck to the lower back by performing a hitting massage or a vertically moving motor that reciprocates the massage unit in the longitudinal direction of the back contact portion.

In order to enhance the massage effect on the person to be treated, the applicant, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-99392, starts the elevating operation of the massage unit and the approaching operation of the treatment finger almost at the same time. , A massager that controls the trajectory of a treatment finger to have an X-shape or a Z-shape to perform a substantially uniform massage on the entire back of the user.

[0004]

However, the stiff part is often the part above the nape of the neck, so that it is required to perform a massage in which the part above the nape is emphasized.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a massage machine which is capable of giving an effective massage with a wide variety of contrasts.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the massage machine (10) of the present invention comprises a pair of treatment fingers (40) (4).
0) and a massage unit (30) equipped with a rubbing means (50) for reciprocating the treatment fingers (40) (40) in a wide and narrow direction.
And a lifting means (20) for moving the massage unit (30) up and down along the longitudinal direction of the chair (11) against which the back of the user hits and the back contact portion (13) of a bed or the like. (50) and elevating means (20) are massage machines controlled by the control means (70), the control means (70) actuates the rubbing means (50) to bring the treatment fingers (40) and (40) close to each other. Separated and treated fingers (40) (40)
When the elevating means (20) starts moving the massage unit (30) in the descending direction at the farthest position, and reaches a predetermined interval while the widths of the treatment fingers (40) (40) approach each other. , Lifting means (2
0) stops the downward movement of the massage unit (30) and starts moving in the upward direction, and when the treatment fingers (40) (40) come closest to each other, the elevating means (20) of the massage unit (30) Control to stop the ascending movement. Further, contrary to the above, when the treatment fingers (40) (40) are closest to each other, the elevating means (20) starts moving the massage unit (30) in the descending direction,
When the width of the treatment fingers (40) (40) reaches a predetermined interval, the elevating means (20) stops the downward movement of the massage unit (30) and starts the upward movement. And treatment finger
When the (40) and (40) are farthest apart, the raising operation of the massage unit (30) of the elevating means (20) may be controlled to stop. Incidentally, with respect to the width of the treatment fingers (40) (40) described above, "farthest away" or "closest" does not mean strictly the farthest state or the closest state, and may be slightly shifted. Good.

The control means (70) sets the operating speed of the rubbing means (50) to the first rubbing speed when the width of the treatment fingers (40) (40) becomes wider than a predetermined interval, and the treatment fingers are treated. (40) When the width of (40) becomes narrower than a predetermined interval, the second kneading speed may be controlled to be slower than the first kneading speed.

Further, the massage unit (30) is equipped with a hitting means (60) which is controlled by the control means (70) and reciprocates the treatment fingers (40) (40) in the vertical direction. The striking means (60) may be activated together with the activation of (50).

Further, the control means (70) sets the actuation speed of the hitting means (60) to the first speed when the width of the treatment fingers (40) (40) becomes wider than a predetermined interval, and the treatment is performed. When the width of the fingers (40) (40) becomes narrower than a predetermined interval, it is possible to control the second speed which is higher than the first speed.

[0010]

[Action and effect] The massage finger (40) is operated by the operation of the rubbing means (50).
When the massage unit (30) is moved up and down by the lifting and lowering means (20), when the (40) is approaching and when it is separated, the tapping operation by the tapping means (60), or the treatment by the rubbing means (50). By changing the approaching / separating motion of fingers (40) (40),
A wide variety of massages can be performed, and more effective massages can be performed.

Further, the massage machine (10) of the present invention can perform a massage in which the portion of the user's neck muscles is emphasized, and a more effective massage can be performed.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A chair type massage machine (1
An example applied to 0) will be described. The present invention is not limited to the chair type, and can be applied to, for example, a bed type massage machine, and a nursing bed.

<Structure Description> Chair (11) of massage machine (10)
As shown in FIG. 1, the seat (12) on which the user sits
And a back contact portion formed upward from the rear end of the seat portion (12)
(13) and an armrest (14) formed upward on both left and right sides of the seat (12). The seat portion (12), the back contact portion (13), and the armrest portion (14) are formed by connecting metal pipes, frames or plates, etc. inside, and the outer circumference is surrounded by a patch cloth or a cushion. It

Inside the back contact portion (13), as shown in FIG. 1, an upper frame (16) and a lower frame (1) are provided at an upper portion and a lower portion, respectively.
7), and the ends of the upper and lower frames (16) (17) are connected by a pair of guide rails (18) (18) extending in the vertical direction. The upper ends of the guide rails (18) (18) extend upward beyond the upper frame (16), and
8) At the tip of (18), the head rest part (15) against which the head of the user touches
Is attached. The lower portions of the guide rails (18) (18) are pivotally supported by the frame forming the seat portion (12). Also,
The lower frame (17) is connected to a known reclining mechanism (19), and the back contact portion (13) is swingable with respect to the seat portion (12). The guide rails (18) (18) have a U-shaped cross section and are arranged so that the grooves face each other, and the massage unit (30) can be moved up and down along the guide rails (18) (18). It is installed.

A guide rail (1
8) A screw shaft (22) pivotally supported in parallel with (18), and the screw shaft (22)
An elevating means (20) including an elevating motor (21) for rotating the is provided. A pulley (23) is provided at the lower end of the screw shaft (22) and is connected to the rotary shaft of the lifting motor (21) via a belt.When the lifting motor (21) is driven, the screw shaft (22) is positively moved. Rotate or reverse. The screw shaft (22) is provided with an encoder (24) electrically connected to the control means (70) described later, and the rotation of the screw shaft (22) is transmitted to the control means (70) as a pulse signal. Sent.

Limit switches (33) and (34) are provided on the upper and lower sides of one guide rail (18) to control the signal when the massage unit (30) reaches the upper or lower movement limit. Send to means (70). The height position of the massage unit (30) is detected by counting the encoder pulse signal of the screw shaft (22) from the state where the upper or lower limit switches (33) (34) detect the massage unit (30). be able to.

The massage unit (30) is shown in FIGS.
As shown in, the chassis (32) in which the rollers (31), (31), (31) and (31) that fit in the grooves of the guide rails (18) (18) are vertically supported in pairs, respectively, (40) (40) and the treatment finger (40) (4
It is provided with a rubbing means (50) and a hitting means (60) for operating the 0). The chassis (32) has a screw tube (35) that engages with the screw shaft (22).
As described above, when the screw shaft (22) is rotated, the massage unit (30) moves up and down by the screw thrust.

The treatment fingers (40) (40) are provided with a pair of massaging balls (4) at the upper and lower ends of a plate-like arm (42) having a substantially central bent shape.
1) (41), the bent part of the arm (42) is a plate-shaped lever (4
Be pivoted to 3). The lever (43) is rotatably supported by the rubbing means (50), and the rear end of the lever (43) has a ball joint (44).
A connecting rod (45) is attached through the connecting rod (45),
It is connected to the hitting means (60).

The rubbing means (50) rotates a rubbing shaft (52) for pivotally supporting the levers (43) (43) of the treatment fingers (40) (40) in an inclined state, and the rubbing shaft (52). It has a rubbing motor (51). The power from the kneading motor (51) passes through the kneading shaft via the reduction mechanism (53).
Reached to (52). Treatment fingers (40) and (40) are pivotally supported on the kneading shaft (52) in a tilted state, and the levers (43) and (43) are connected to the connecting rods (45) and (45) to rotate. Since the kneading shaft (52) is rotated, the left and right kneading balls (41) (41) are rotated.
Repeats approaching and separating, and moves back and forth to perform a kneading operation.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, magnets (55) are attached to the rubbing shaft (52), and the magnets (55) face the rotation transition paths of the magnets (55). The rotation of the kneading shaft (52) is detected by the reed switch (56) provided on the chassis. The reed switch (56) is electrically connected to the control means (70) described later, and the magnet (5
The detection of 5) is transmitted to the control means (70) as a pulse signal.
The reed switch (56) detects the magnet (55) when the treatment fingers (40) (40) are at the farthest distance from each other.
The installation position is adjusted. The rotation of the kneading motor (51) is detected by the encoder (54) and transmitted to the control means (70) as a pulse signal. The state where the reed switch (56) detects the magnet (55), that is, the treatment finger (40) (4
By counting the number of encoder pulses of the kneading motor (51) from the state where the interval (0) is the farthest, the treatment finger (4
You can know the interval of 0) and (40). For example, a kneading motor
When the reduction ratio of (51) and the rubbing shaft (52) is set to 40: 1, for example, the reed switch (56) of the rubbing shaft (52) causes the magnet (5
After detecting (5), the encoder (54) of the rubbing motor (51) stays in the rubbing motor until the magnet (55) is detected next.
The rotation of (51) is detected 40 times. Therefore, both treatment fingers (40) (4
As for the interval of (0), when the position where the reed switch (56) of the rubbing shaft (52) detects the magnet (55) is the origin (the state where the treatment finger interval is the farthest), the rubbing motor (51) rotates 10 times. Occasionally, the treatment finger interval comes to the closest state at the middle and 20 rotations, returns to the middle at 30 rotations and returns to the origin at 40 rotations.

The striking means (60) comprises a striking shaft (62) for supporting the connecting rods (45) (45) of the treatment fingers (40) (40) in a state of being displaced from each other by 180 degrees from the axial center, and the striking shaft (62). A hitting motor (6
1) is provided. Power from the striking motor (61) is supplied to the reduction mechanism (6
It is transmitted to the hitting shaft (62) via 3). When the striking motor (61) is rotated, the connecting rod (4
5) The treatment fingers (40) and (40) reciprocate in the vertical direction via the (45) to perform a striking operation. Similarly for the hitting motor (61),
An encoder (64) is provided, and the rotation of the hitting motor (61) is controlled by a pulse signal from the encoder (64) as a control means.
Sent to (70).

The control means (70) for the operation of the massage machine (10) will be described. FIG. 5 shows a control means (70) mainly composed of a microcomputer (71). The control means (70)
It is placed in the right place of the massage machine (10). The microcomputer (71) includes a kneading motor (51), a hitting motor (61) and a lifting motor (2
Each motor drive circuit (72) (73) (74) that controls the drive of 1),
The user includes an operation unit I / F circuit (76) that receives a signal from the operation unit (79) for the user to select a massage operation, and a reclining control circuit (75) that controls the reclining mechanism (19). Encoders (54) (64) (24) that detect the rotation of the kneading motor (51), the hitting motor (61), and the lifting motor (21),
The reed switch (56) of the kneading shaft (52) and the limit switches (33) (34) provided above and below the guide rail (18) are connected. In the control means (70), the user is operated by the operation unit.
By operating (79), for example, when rubbing, hitting or rolling massage is selected, the motors (51) (61) (from the motor drive circuits (72) (73) (74) are selected according to the operation command. A command to 21) is sent and a massage is given.

The massage operation of the present invention will be described with reference to a flow chart. <Operation 1> A combination of the approaching movements of the treatment fingers (40) (40) and the elevating movement of the massage unit (30) is performed, and when the treatment fingers (40) (40) approaching movements, as shown in FIG. It is an embodiment in which a mold is made to perform a massage operation. Treatment finger (40) (40)
When the separating operation is performed, the massage unit (30) is not moved up and down. The massage operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and the subroutine of FIG.

First, the elevating motor (21) is driven to move the massage unit (30) to a predetermined height and stop it (step 1). Next, operate the kneading motor (51)
(Step 2), the state where the treatment fingers (40) (40) are most distant from each other, that is, when the reed switch (56) detects the magnet (55) (Step 3), the encoder of the rubbing motor (51) The pulse (hereinafter referred to as "pulse P") is cleared (step 4). When the pulse P is detected (step 5), the pulse P is counted up (step 6), and the lifting motor (21)
When the encoder pulse of the above (hereinafter referred to as "pulse P '") is detected (step 7), the pulse P'is counted up (step 8). Pulse P is zero, that is,
When the treatment fingers (40) (40) are most distant from each other (step 9), the elevating motor (21) is operated to start lowering the massage unit (30) and clear the pulse P ′. (Step 10).

The pulse P is a predetermined pulse value Pa (see FIG. 4)
(Step 11), the ascending mode (step 1
2) Subroutine Move to FIG. In addition, in FIG.
The pulse value Pa is the number of pulses when the interval between the treatment fingers (40) (40) in the approaching state coincides with the middle. In the subroutine FIG. 8, the pulse P ′ at the time of falling is set to the falling amount reference value P.
Store as ₀ '(step 101), clear pulse P'
(Step 102), the elevating motor (21) is reversely rotated to raise the massage unit (30) (step 103). When the pulse P is detected (step 104), the pulse P is counted up (step 105), and when the lifting pulse P ′ is detected (step 106), the pulse P ′ is counted up.
(Step 107). When the pulse P 'is P _0' matches (step 108), to stop the elevating motor (21), to stop the lifting of the massage unit (30) (step 109), returns to the main routine.

The flow chart shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is operated by operating the massage unit (30).
As shown in, each treatment finger (40) (40) draws a substantially V-shaped trajectory, and a massage massage is given to the user. When the rotation direction of the kneading motor (51) is reversed, the treatment fingers (40) (40) move in the direction opposite to that shown in FIG. 6 to give a massage to the user.

<Operation 2> In step 2 of the massage of operation 1, the kneading motor (51) is rotated at a constant speed and the striking motor is operated.
By rotating (61) at a constant speed, it is possible to perform a massage in which the motion of the motion 1 is tapped.

<Operation 3> Instead of the constant-speed tapping of the operation 2, the massage can be performed by changing the rotation of the tapping motor (61) according to the interval between the treatment fingers (40) (40). The flowchart will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

First, the elevating motor (21) is driven to move the massage unit (30) to a predetermined height and stop it (step 21: FIG. 9). Next, the kneading motor (51) is operated (step 22), and the treatment fingers (40) and (40) are in the most separated state, that is, when the reed switch (56) detects the magnet (55). (Step 23), kneading motor (5
While the pulse P of 1) is cleared, the striking motor (61) is operated at medium speed to strike at medium speed (step 24). When the pulse P is detected (step 25), the pulse P is counted up (step 26), and when the lifting pulse P'is detected (step 27), the pulse P'is counted up (step 28). The interval between the treatment fingers (40) (40) becomes narrower than a predetermined width, that is, the pulse P has a predetermined pulse value P.
b ₁ (see FIG. 4) (step 29), the kneading motor (5
The 1) is operated at low speed and the hitting motor (61) is operated at high speed (step 30). When the interval between the treatment fingers (40) (40) becomes wider than a predetermined width, that is, the pulse P reaches a predetermined pulse value Pb ₂ (see FIG. 4) (step 31), the rubbing motor (51) is turned on. The striking motor (61) is operated at high speed and at low speed (step 32).
As shown in FIG. 4, the pulse value Pb ₁ is the pulse number when the distance between the treatment fingers (40) (40) in the approaching state approaches the portion from the neck of the user, and the pulse value Pb
₂ is the number of pulses when the distance between the treatment fingers (40) (40) in the separated state approaches the neck line of the user.

The pulse P is zero, that is, the treatment finger (4
When the intervals of 0) and (40) are the largest (step 33:
10), the elevating motor (21) is operated to start the descent of the massage unit (30), and the pulse P'is cleared (step 34). The pulse P is a predetermined pulse value Pa
When it coincides with (see FIG. 4) (step 35), the pulse P ′ at this time is stored as the descending amount reference value P ₀ ′ (step 3).
6), clear pulse P ', and lift motor (2
The massage unit (30) is raised by rotating 1) in the reverse direction (step 37).

Next, it is judged whether or not the massage unit (30) is moving upward, that is, whether the lifting motor (21) is driving in the rising direction (step 38). Massage unit
When (30) is rising, pulse P'is falling amount reference value P.
_If it matches with ₀ ', if it matches, stop the lifting motor (21) and
The ascending / descending of (30) is stopped (step 40), and the process returns to B in FIG.

Flowcharts Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10,
By operating the massage unit (30), the treatment fingers (40) and (40) can effectively and slowly rub the body of the person to be treated from the nape of the user's neck and give a strong hit.

As described above, the operation of the elevating means (20) is controlled and the hitting means (60) is controlled according to the interval between the treatment fingers (40) (40).
By controlling the action of, it is possible to give a highly effective massage with a variety of variations.

Although the speed of the kneading motor (51) is changed in FIG. 9 of the flow chart, the speed of the kneading motor (51) may be kept constant. Also, a kneading motor
The speed of (51) may be changed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 and the striking motor (61) may not be operated. The tapping motor (61) may be operated at a constant speed.

The above-mentioned pulse values Pa, Pb ₁ and Pb ₂ (see FIG. 4) are desired values at the positions between the state where the treatment fingers (40) (40) are farthest apart and the state where they are closest to each other. Can be set to, and by appropriately setting these values, it is possible to give a variety of massages in which massages of kneading, tapping, and lifting are combined.

The above description of the embodiments is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or limiting the scope. Further, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a massage machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the massage unit (however, the line visible on the other side of the chassis is also represented by a solid line).

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of a massage unit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between rotation of a kneading shaft and kneading motor rotation pulses.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of control means.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a trajectory of a treatment finger of the massage machine of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of operation 1.

FIG. 8 is a subroutine diagram of operation 1.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of operation 3.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of operation 3.

[Explanation of symbols]

(10) Massage machine (20) Lifting means (30) Massage unit (40) Treatment finger (50) Rubbing means (60) Strike means

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Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of treatment fingers (40) (40) and the treatment fingers (40)
A massage unit (30) equipped with a rubbing means (50) for reciprocally moving the interval of (40) in a wide and narrow direction, a chair (11) against which the back of the user touches the massage unit (30), a back of a bed, etc. In the massage machine controlled by the control means (70), the kneading means (50) and the lifting means (20) are provided with a lifting means (20) for moving up and down along the longitudinal direction of the contact part (13). The means (70) actuates the rubbing means (50) to apply the treatment fingers (40) (4
When the treatment fingers (40) (40) are moved farthest apart from each other, the elevating means (20) starts moving the massage unit (30) in the descending direction to move the treatment fingers (40) (40). When the width of the massage unit reaches a predetermined interval, the descending movement of the massage unit (30) of the elevating means (20) is stopped and the movement in the ascending direction is started, and the treatment fingers (40) (40) When the
The massage machine is characterized by controlling 0) to stop the upward movement of the massage unit (30). 2. A pair of treatment fingers (40) (40) and the treatment fingers (40).
A massage unit (30) equipped with a rubbing means (50) for reciprocally moving the interval of (40) in a wide and narrow direction, a chair (11) against which the back of the user touches the massage unit (30), a back of a bed, etc. In the massage machine controlled by the control means (70), the kneading means (50) and the lifting means (20) are provided with a lifting means (20) for moving up and down along the longitudinal direction of the contact part (13). The means (70) actuates the rubbing means (50) to apply the treatment fingers (40) (4
When the treatment fingers (40) (40) come closest to each other, the elevating means (20) starts moving the massage unit (30) in the descending direction, and the treatment fingers (40) (40) When the width of the massager reaches a predetermined interval, the descending movement of the massage unit (30) of the elevating means (20) is stopped and the movement in the ascending direction is started, and the treatment fingers (40) (40) When the furthest away, the lifting means (20)
The massage machine which controls to stop the ascending movement of the massage unit (30). 3. The control means (70) sets the operating speed of the rubbing means (50) to the first rubbing speed when the width of the treatment fingers (40) (40) becomes wider than a predetermined interval, The massaging machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the width of the treatment finger (40) (40) becomes narrower than a predetermined interval, the second kneading speed is controlled to be lower than the first kneading speed. 4. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the rubbing means (50) and the elevating means (20) are operated by different motors (51) (21), respectively. 5. The massage unit (30) includes control means.
It is equipped with a striking means (60) which is controlled by (70) and reciprocates the treatment fingers (40) (40) in the vertical direction.
The massage machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hitting means (60) is operated together with the operation of (0). 6. The control means (70) sets the operating speed of the hitting means (60) to the first speed when the width of the treatment fingers (40) (40) becomes wider than a predetermined interval, and performs the treatment. The massage machine according to claim 5, wherein when the width of the finger (40) (40) becomes narrower than a predetermined interval, the finger is controlled to a second speed that is higher than the first speed. 7. The massage according to claim 5, wherein the rubbing means (50), the hitting means (60) and the elevating means (20) are operated by different motors (51) (61) (21). Machine. 8. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined interval of the width of the treatment fingers (40) (40) is a substantially intermediate position between the farthest state and the closest state.