WO2002062419A1

WO2002062419A1 - Portable far-infrared temporomandibular disease treatment device

Info

Publication number: WO2002062419A1
Application number: PCT/KR2002/000160
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seong Kook Lee
Original assignee: G5 Corporation Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2001-02-05
Filing date: 2002-02-04
Publication date: 2002-08-15
Also published as: KR20010035342A; KR100412569B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays by emitting far-infrared rays to such a region as a temporomandibular region which needs to be treated. That is to say, the present invention can fix a far-infrared ray emitting part including a far-infrared pad, a heater, a heat insulator, etc. to a specific region of a human body without using hands, and properly adjust the amount of far-infrared rays emitted from the far-infrared pad by adjusting heat generated in the heater by means of a temperature controlling part. As a consequence, the present invention can ensure an easy installation of the portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays, and double therapeutic effect by allowing the far-infrared rays to penetrate into a deep part of the human body.

Description

PORTABLE FAR-INFRARED TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISEASE TREATMENT DEVICE

Technical Field The present invention relates to a treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays, and more particularly, to a portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays, which can promote lymph circulation and activate metabolism of substance by emitting far-infrared rays to a temporomandibular region and applying heat to blood vessels, nerves, and lymphatic vessels around a temporomandibular joint, thereby treating temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

Background Art

A temporomandibular joint is a joint interposed between the temporal bone and the mandible. A meniscus exists between the temporal bone and the mandible. The meniscus serves as a buffer for preventing a counterproductive effect caused when bones directly meet together and move. Temporomandibular joint disease occurs when the meniscus deviates from its normal position or is worn away. The temporomandibular joint disease has many causes, e.g., malocclusion due to tooth decay, periodontal disease, etc., stooped neck and waist to one side, and oral habits such as tooth grinding, tooth clenching, etc. as well as psychological causes, e.g., stress.

The temporomandibular joint disease is on an increasing trend, and especially lots of young people show the symptoms of the disease. With eating habits being changed and preferring to soft foods, this phenomenon happens owing to undergrowth of the mandible. In addition, the temporomandibular joint disease is caused by random establishment of dental clinics, lack of consciousness of dental treatment, little experience of doctors, shortage of efficient therapy equipments, and so on. There have been suggested many apparatuses for the purpose of treating the temporomandibular joint disease caught through the aforementioned causes. By way of example, an electronic acupuncture, a low-frequency electric stimulator, an ultrasound therapy machine, and the like have been developed.

In general, effect of acupuncture is well known. The acupuncture is an oriental medical science that gives an adequate stimulation to acupuncture points on the body to smoothly circulate blood, and decomposes waste matters like blood aggregation in muscles to treat diseases. The acupuncture is carried out by applying acupuncture to blood flesh in general. But the acupuncture has a drawback that various germs penetrate during medical treatment and rather do injury to the medically treated regions. The electronic acupuncture has been employed to solve the drawback. The electronic acupuncture lets frequency oscillated through a pulsating voltage or a low frequency in regions which are to be medically treated so as to stimulate acupuncture points on the treated regions. Therefore, the electronic acupuncture takes the same effect as the general acupuncture. However, the electronic acupuncture is inconvenient to use since the medical treatment should be performed on the basis of knowledge of the acupuncture points.

The low-frequency electric stimulator is used in such a manner that electrodes are put on the skin and a low frequency current passes through the body. The low-frequency electric stimulator is constructed such that a low-voltage and low-frequency current emitted from an oscillator is applied between a therapeutic electrode which is attached to an injured tissue and a corresponding non-electric field electrode. The applied low-voltage and low-frequency current stimulates muscles, thereby relieving pain and improving circulation.

The fact that ultrasonic waves are used for healing an injured tissue has been widely documented in a variety of technical papers for about 20-30 years. The ultrasound therapy machine heals the injury by transferring ultrasonic waves having an appropriate strength to the injured tissue. The ultrasonic waves are different in transfer depth according to frequency. To be specific, their transfer length is shortened at a low-frequency band while being elongated at a high-frequency band. The aforesaid low-frequency electric stimulator or ultrasound therapy machine cure diseases by applying electric stimulation to the body. In consideration of the fact that the temporomandibular joint disease is caused by psychological factors, e.g., stress, the method of applying electric stimulation may bring about psychological stress in patients. Furthermore, in the ultrasound therapy machine, since the depth to which it penetrates into the body is varied depending on the frequency band, the frequency band should be varied according to the injured regions. That is to say, depth of penetration is shortened in case of a low-frequency band whereas it is elongated in case of a high- frequency band. When the treatment is performed with the high frequency, the penetration can be done into a deep part of tissue but an attenuation phenomenon is also increased. As more deeper penetration is made, activity may be deteriorated and injury due to overheat may be created. Because of the above problems of the treatment method using the high frequency, treatment using a low frequency is commonly used. The treatment using the low frequency, however, is problematic in that the depth of penetration is short, and thus it is somewhat difficult in curing such a disease as temporomandibular joint disease requiring treatment of a deep part of tissue.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. An object of the present invention is to provide a treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays, which can promote safety of treatment, and improve efficiency in treatment by emitting far-infrared rays to a deep part of tissue.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease, which can more conveniently treat temporomandibular disease by being configured in a headset form. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a treatment device for treating a temporamandibular disease, which can treat temporomandibular disease in a convenient manner and take an easily portable form.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a treatment device for treating temporomandibular joint disease with far-infrared rays, the device comprising a hair band member; left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts, which are installed on left and right terminals of the hair band member, and include a) a far-infrared pad for emitting far-infrared rays, b) a heater for heating a side surface of the far-infrared pad, and c) a heat insulator for cutting off heat generated by the heater; a temperature control block being installed on either side of the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts, for controlling temperature of left and right heaters; and a portable power supply block for applying power to the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts and the temperature control block. The far-infrared pad is made of cylindrical fabrics which is coated with a far-infrared ray emitting material on other side thereof, which is not contacted with the heater. Also, the other side contacted with a temporomandibular region of the far-infrared pad may be in a concave form.

The temperature control block includes a temperature adjusting switch for adjusting temperature of the heater, a temperature measuring part for measuring temperature of the heater, and a power controlling part for controlling power applied to the heater so that the temperature measured by the temperature measuring part can maintain a temperature set by the temperature adjusting switch.

The far-infrared ray emitting parts may further include a FM/AM radio receiving block which can receive radio broadcasting. The portable power supply block may include a battery being charged with DC power, and an over-charge and over-discharge protection circuit for controlling DC power charged to the battery and preventing over-charge and over-discharge of the battery. In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays, the device comprising a cylindrical housing; a far-infrared ray emitting part being installed on an upper part inside the housing, and including a far-infrared pad for emitting far-infrared rays, a heater for heating a side surface of the far-infrared pad, and a heat insulator for cutting off heat generated by the heater; a temperature control block being installed on a lower part inside the housing, for controlling temperature of the heater; and a power supply block being installed on a lower part inside the housing, for supplying power to the far-infrared ray emitting part and the temperature control block. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Further objects and advantages of the invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG.l is a perspective view illustrating a treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.2 is an exemplary view illustrating a state that the device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays of FIG.l is worn on the head;

FIG.3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a far-infrared ray emitting part in

FIG.l ;

FIG.4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG.3 illustrating an inside structure of the far-infrared ray emitting part in FIG. 1; FIG.5 is a function block diagram for controlling operation of the device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays of FIG.l ;

FIG.6 is a perspective view illustrating a portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and FIG.7 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG.6.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

The present invention will now be described in detail in connection with preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout several views.

FIG.l is a perspective view illustrating a portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.2 is an exemplary view illustrating a state that the portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays according to the present invention is worn on the head.

Referring to FIG.l, the portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays includes a hair band 100, left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 which form a pair and include a temperature control block, and a portable power supply block 300. The hair band 100 is formed of a round elastic member to be easily attached and detached. The pair of far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 are installed on both side terminals of the hair band 100. The hair band 100 is configured such that when the device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays is secured to a user's head as shown in FIG.2, the far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 are closely contacted with the user's temporomandibular regions. The pair of far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 are installed on the left and right side terminals of the hair band 100, and emit far-infrared rays to cure temporomandibular disease. The far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 are preferably formed in a cylindrical shape but may be formed in a rectangular, conic or polygonal shape. As shown in FIGS.3 and 4, the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 are provided with a far-infrared pad 210 for emitting far-infrared rays, a heater 220 for heating a side surface of the far-infrared pad 210, and a heat insulator 230 for cutting off heat generated by the heater 220. Further, either of the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 allows the temperature control block 240 for controlling temperature of the heater 220 to be installed on the outermost side thereof.

The portable power supply block 300 of FIG.l , as illustrated in FIG.5, is connected such that power necessary for emitting far-infrared rays is supplied to the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 and the temperature control block 240. The portable power supply block 300 includes a battery 310 being charged with a predetermined level of power supplied through an adapter 400, and an overcharge/over-discharge protection circuit 320 for preventing over-charge and over- discharge of the battery 310. The portable power supply block 300 may be integrally formed with the far-infrared ray emitting parts 200, as shown in FIGS.6 and 7. The portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far- infrared rays according to the present invention may further include a FM/AM radio receiving block 250, as shown in FIGS.l , 2, and 5. It goes without saying that the FM/AM receiving block 250 is connected to an antenna 251 and an earphone 252 for receiving and listening to FM/AM radio signals. Referring to FIG. 3, the far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 are of a cylindrical shape, and permit a temperature adjusting switch 243 to be attached to a predetermined position of an outer periphery thereof so as to adjust power supplied to the heater 220 and thus adjust temperature of the heater 220. The temperature adjusting switch 243 is attached to either side of the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 to simultaneously control temperature of the heater 220 which consists of a left heater 220a and a right heater 220b, or it is respectively attached to the left and right far- infrared ray emitting parts 200 to respectively control temperature of the left heater 220a and the right heater 220b which constitute the heater 220.

In other words, when the temperature controlling switch 243 is attached to one side, a preset temperature of the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 is simultaneously controlled, while when it is attached to the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200, respectively, temperature of the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 may be set, respectively.

The far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 may be formed in a rectangular shape in order to enlarge a treatment area, i.e., a contact area. Particularly, other side surface of the far-infrared ray emitting parts 200, i.e., a portion which is directly contacted with a temporomandibular region when being treated is preferably concave such that the far- infrared ray emitting parts 200 are closely contacted with the user's face, in consideration of a three-dimensional facial configuration. Therefore, when a patient uses the portable treatment device for treating a temperomandibular disease using far- infrared rays, he/she can have a good feeling of wearing. Additionally, since the device is closely attached to the user's face, a therapeutic effect is promoted. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 3. The far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 include the far-infrared pad 210 for emitting far-infrared rays, the heater 230 for heating a side surface of the far-infrared pad, the heat insulator 230 for cutting off heat generated by the heater 230 from being transferred to the temperature control block 240, and the temperature control block 240 for controlling heat generated by the heater 220.

The far-infrared pad 210 is a part directly contacted with the temporomandibular region when being treated, and is materialized of predetermined fabrics on which a far-infrared ray emitting material is coated. Further, the far-infrared pad 210 is formed in a predetermined shape adaptable to treatment of the wide temporomandibular region. FIG. 3 shows a circular pad shape. When heat is applied to the far-infrared pad 210, the far-infrared ray emitting material emits far-infrared rays of 7-12μm. The heater 220 is interposed between the far-infrared pad 210 and the heat insulator 230, and uniformly heats a side surface of the far-infrared pad 210. The heater 220 may include a temperature sensor 220, e.g., a thermistor, to measure temperature of hot wires or self-temperature. The heater 220 is preferably operated by DC power in consideration of safety. The heat insulator 230 is interposed between the heater 220 and the temperature control block 240, and cuts off heat generated by the heater 220 from being transferred to the temperature control block 240, thereby protecting the temperature control block 240. The heat insulator 230 is made of asbestos, glass wool, quartz wool, diatomite, carbonated magnesium powder, magnesia powder, calcium silicate, pearlite, or the like.

The temperature control block 240 prevents danger of overheat in the heater 220, and it controls power supplied to the heater 220 so as for the heater 220 to maintain a constant temperature. Of course, the far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 may be comprised of the far-infrared pad, the heater and the heat insulator without the temperature control block 240. Referring to FIG. 5, the portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays includes the left and right heaters 220a and 220b, the temperature control block 240, and the portable power supply block 300. That is to say, the temperature control block 240 installed on either side of the left and right far- infrared ray emitting parts 200 is composed of a temperature measuring part 241 , a power controlling part 242 and the temperature adjusting switch 243, and controls temperature of the left and right heaters 220a and 220b respectively installed on the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200. The temperature measuring part 241 measures temperature of the left and right heaters 220a and 220b which are installed on the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 by means of the thermistor included in the heater 220. The thermistor contains two electrodes and is characterized in that resistance value is varied depending on the temperature. Furthermore, the temperature measuring part 241 provides a voltage V_DET measured by the fheremistor to the power controlling part 242, or supplies a result obtained after comparing a reference voltage corresponding to a preset temperature with the voltage V_DET measured by the thermistor to the power controlling part 242.

The power controlling part 242 controls power transferred to the heater 220 so as for the heater 220 to maintain a preset temperature. That is to say, according to the comparison result or the measurement result of the temperature measuring part 241, when temperature of the heater 220 is lower than the preset temperature, the power controlling part 242 increases power transferred to the heater 220. In contrast, when temperature of the heater is higher, the power controlling part 242 decreases power transferreded to the heater 220. Here, the preset temperature signifies a temperature at which far-infrared rays suitable for treatment are emitted. It is needless to say that the user can directly adjust the preset temperature for controlling operation of the heater 220 to be suitable for treatment by manipulating the temperature adjusting switch 243.

The portable power supply block 300 includes the battery 310 being charged with a predetermined level of DC power supplied from the adapter 400, and the over-charge and over-discharge protection circuit 320 for controlling DC power charged to the battery 320 and preventing over-charge and over-discharge of the battery 310. The portable power supply block 300 stabilizes DC power supplied from the adapter 400. Further, the portable power control block 300 can apply power to the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts 200 and the temperature control block 240 by means of the battery 310.

A Ni-Cd battery, a Ni-MH battery, a lithium-ion polymer battery, or a lead-acid battery can be used as the battery 310, most preferably the Ni-MH battery. The over-charge and over-discharge protection circuit 320 protect the battery 310 from self-generated heat when the battery is charged and discharged, and stabilizes power to assure stabilized-power supply.

The FM/AM radio receiving block 250 has the earphone 252 and the antenna 251, and operates in the same manner as existing radio sets. The FM/AM radio receiving block 250 is additionally mountable, and functions as means for relieving boredom of patients who are exhausted by a long treatment.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 illustrate a portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays, in which a far-infrared ray emitting part, a temperature control block and a power supply block are integrally formed with one another. A far-infrared pad 501, a heater 502, a heat insulator 503, the temperature control block 504, and the power supply block 505, which perform the same functions as those in FIGS. 1 through 5, are placed within a cylindrical housing 500 which is opened at one side thereof. A temperature adjusting switch 520 for setting an operating temperature of the heater 502 which heats the far-infrared pad 501 is exposed to the outside of the housing 500 for a user to adjust the temperature at any time.

Since the housing 500 takes a cylindrical shape, it makes no difference if only one heater 502 is provided, and the power supply block 505 is provided with only an over-charge and over-discharge protection circuit without a separate adapter. It goes without saying that a FM/AM radio receiving block does an additional function and accordingly existence thereof is optional.

Moreover, a handle 510 is attached in a loop shape to the opened portion of the housing 500, and it can be useful when the housing 500, i.e., the portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far-infrared rays is carried or held. The portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far- infrared rays constructed as right above operates in a similar way to that of the first preferred embodiment. Accordingly, detailed description of operation of the second preferred embodiment is omitted.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention has an advantage of ensuring a safe and effective therapeutic treatment by emitting far-infrared rays which are accustomed to a human body and reachable to a deep part of tissue to a temeporomandibular region. The present invention has another advantage of eliminating inconvenience that a user puts the device for treating temporomandibular disease on a specific region of the human body and holds it with hands by enabling the device to be secured to the specific region of the body.

The present invention has yet another advantage of avoiding others' eyes or disturbance as well as relieving boredom of patents who are exhausted by a long treatment by adding a FM/AM radio receiving block to the device for treating temporomandibular disease for the patients to listen to radio broadcasting, thereby giving mental stability to them and doubling therapeutic effect.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

1. A portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far- infrared rays, the device comprising: a hair band member; left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts being installed on left and right terminals of the hair band member, and including a far-infrared pad for emitting far-infrared rays, a heater for heating a side surface of the far-infrared pad, and a heat insulator for cutting off heat generated by the heater; a temperature control block being installed on either side of the left and right far- infrared ray emitting parts, for controlling temperature of left and right heaters; and a power supply block for applying power to the left and right far-infrared ray emitting parts and the temperature control block.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the far-infrared pad is made of cylindrical fabrics which are coated with a far-infrared ray emitting material on other side surface thereof, which is not contacted with the heater.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the far-infrared pad is shaped such that a portion contacted with a human body is concave.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the temperature control block includes: a temperature adjusting switch for adjusting temperature of the heater; a temperature measuring part for measuring temperature of the heater; and a power controlling part for controlling power applied to the heater so as for the temperature measured by the temperature measuring part to maintain a temperature set by the temperature adjusting switch.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a FM/AM radio receiving block for receiving radio broadcasting.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the portable power supply block includes: a battery being charged with DC power; and an over-charge and over-discharge protection circuit for controlling DC power charged to the battery, and preventing over-charge and over-discharge of the battery.

7. A portable treatment device for treating temporomandibular disease using far- infrared rays, the device comprising: a cylindrical housing being opened on one side thereof; a far-infrared ray emitting part being installed on an upper part inside the housing, and including a) a far-infrared pad for emitting far-infrared rays, b) a heater for heating a side surface of the far-infrared pad, and c) a heat insulator for cutting off heat generated by the heater; a temperature control block being installed on a lower part inside the housing, for controlling temperature of the heater; and a power supply block being installed on a lower part inside the housing, for supplying power to the far-infrared ray emitting part and the temperature control block.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the far-infrared pad is made of cylindrical fabrics which are coated with a far-infrared ray emitting material on other side surface thereof, which is not contacted with the heater.

9. The device as claimed in claim 7 or 8, wherein the far-infrared pad is shaped such that a portion contacted with a human body is concave.

10. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the temperature control block includes: a temperature adjusting switch for adjusting temperature of the heater; a temperature measuring part for measuring temperature of the heater; and a power controlling part for controlling power supplied to the heater so as for the temperature measured by the temperature measuring part to maintain a certain level of temperature set by the temperature adjusting switch.

11. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the portable power supply block includes: a battery being charged with DC power; and an over-charge and over-discharge protection circuit for controlling DC power charged to the battery, and preventing over-charge and over-discharge of the battery.