CN108309726B

CN108309726B - Linkage mechanism for foot massager

Info

Publication number: CN108309726B
Application number: CN201810177427.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵萍; 陈文秀; 赵康荏; 陈浩东; 王一帆
Original assignee: Hefei University of Technology
Current assignee: Hefei University of Technology
Priority date: 2018-03-02
Filing date: 2018-03-02
Publication date: 2020-03-31
Anticipated expiration: 2038-03-02
Also published as: CN108309726A

Abstract

The invention relates to a linkage mechanism for a foot massager, which comprises a first wheel disc, a second wheel disc, a crank rocker mechanism, a massage rod and a first cam, wherein the first wheel disc can rotate, the massage rod is used for massaging the instep, the first cam rotates along with the second wheel disc to drive a first sole massage plate to move along a straight line, and the second wheel disc and the first wheel disc are directly or indirectly linked with each other in the aspect of rotation; one end of a crank of the crank rocker mechanism is fixedly connected with the first wheel disc to do circular motion along with the first wheel disc, and one end of the massage rod is rotatably connected onto a rocker of the crank rocker mechanism so that the other end of the massage rod massages the instep back and forth under the driving of the rocker. The invention can realize comfortable and effective massage on a plurality of positions of the sole and the instep simultaneously through simple transmission; the invention not only achieves the massage purpose through the massage rod, but also properly positions the feet of the human body and applies the downward pressing acting force, thereby avoiding the operation of manually applying the downward stepping force or the complicated process of using a foot fixing device.

Description

Linkage mechanism for foot massager

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of physical therapy devices, in particular to a linkage mechanism for a foot massager.

Background

For historical reasons, the rehabilitation industry has developed in our country later than developed countries. However, under the attention and promotion of governments and related departments in China, a certain achievement is achieved by referring to the development mode and thought of the rehabilitation industry of internationally developed countries. With the steady progress of economic development and the population transformation period, China faces the problems of high working pressure, aging population and the like. The foot massager can effectively help people relax and exercise.

At the present stage, most foot massagers on the market repeatedly massage only one part of the sole of a foot, because the back of the foot is not massaged, the artificial force of stepping down is required to be applied, and channels and acupuncture points at all parts of the sole of the foot cannot be fully massaged. For example, chinese patent publication No. CN203122992U discloses a foot sole massager, which belongs to the field of massage devices, and comprises a base and a massage roller, wherein the base is a box body with a roller groove, two side plates of the box body are in a shape of a house ridge with a high middle and two low sides, a rotatable massage roller is arranged in the roller groove, a group of gear-shaped massage raised heads is fixedly sleeved on the massage roller, and each massage raised head has 6-10 massage teeth. The invention adopts the sole massager with one massage roller, and achieves the health care effect equivalent to the park massage stone path by specially designing the size and the shape of the massage raised head of the massage roller.

Or, only the instep is beaten, and the sole is not massaged. For example, chinese patent publication No. CN103948339A discloses a foot bath device capable of massaging the instep, which includes a foot bath tub, and is characterized in that: the front part of the cavity of the foot bath basin body is provided with a beating plate, the beating plate is movably arranged opposite to the instep direction of a human body when a foot bath is performed, a water cavity is arranged inside the beating plate, the water cavity is communicated with an outlet of a miniature water pump arranged inside the foot bath basin body through a water pipe, and when the miniature water pump works intermittently, the water pressure pushes the beating plate to make intermittent contact with the instep of the human body when the foot bath is performed with beating massage; and the surface of the beating plate is provided with a water spraying hole which is communicated with the water cavity. The invention has the double massage functions of mechanical and hydraulic pressure to the instep of the human body, and is more beneficial to the health care of the feet of the human body.

Some foot massagers fix the foot by a fixing strap without applying a force for a man to step down. For example, chinese patent publication No. CN1943533B discloses a foot massage apparatus including: a housing; a pair of replaceable footprint plates (104) provided with a plurality of through holes (1041) arranged according to a specific foot massage pattern, said footprint plates being positioned on an upper plate (102) of the housing; a plurality of protrusions (104 a; 104b) extending from the through holes (1041) in each replaceable footprint plate (104); a vertical adjustment mechanism provided in the housing for adjusting an initial height of the projection (104 a; 104 b); a horizontal adjustment mechanism provided in the housing for adjusting a horizontal position of the projection (104 a; 104 b); and a driving mechanism provided in the housing for driving the protrusions (104 a; 104b) to reciprocate up and down. However, the structure and transmission of this patent are complicated, resulting in high cost, and the patent fails to massage the instep. This patent also discloses a strap 206 for securing the foot. However, after the foot is fixed by the strap 206, the pressing force applied to the foot is relatively determined, and the foot cannot be relieved during the massage.

Some massage machines can massage the instep and the sole of the foot at the same time without artificially applying a downward force. For example, chinese patent publication No. CN105943368A discloses a foot massage machine including: the sole massage mechanism comprises a massage roller and a driving device, wherein the massage roller is provided with massage bulges, and the driving device drives the massage roller to rotate according to a positioning signal so as to adjust the positions of the massage bulges; the instep massage mechanism comprises a massage air bag and an inflating device, wherein the massage air bag and the inflating device are arranged above the instep; a position detector for detecting position information of the massage roller and inputting the position information to the control circuit; and the control circuit generates an inflation signal to the inflation device to inflate the massage air bag and extrude and fix the instep, then generates a positioning signal to the driving device to drive the massage roller to rotate, and adjusts the massage bulge to the position of pressing the sole of the foot according to the position information to implement finger pressing type massage operation. The present invention provides a new massage experience. However, this patent not only includes a motor and a mechanical transmission assembly adapted thereto, but also requires an inflator device, which is complicated in structure and control, resulting in excessive cost.

Some massage machines are simple in structure and control complexity, and can massage the instep and the sole of the foot at the same time without applying a downward force artificially. For example, chinese patent publication No. CN104706521A discloses a foot bath device, which includes a tub, a plurality of sole rollers disposed at the bottom of the tub, and a top cover disposed at the top of the tub, and the key technology is as follows: the foot massage device is characterized in that the barrel body or the top cover is hinged with a rocker arm, a spring is arranged between the rocker arm and the barrel body or the top cover, and an instep roller for instep massage is arranged at the free end of the rocker arm. The foot massage device is simple in structure and convenient to use, the sole rollers can massage the acupuncture points of the soles, and the instep rollers can massage the acupuncture points of the instep simultaneously. Therefore, the foot bath device has more comprehensive massage effect on both feet. However, the sole rollers and the instep rollers of the foot bath are not linked, a plurality of driving sources are required, and the position of the instep rollers cannot move back and forth along the instep after the feet are put in place, and only a small area of the instep can be massaged, so that the massage effect is limited. In addition, because the rocker arm applies a downward pressing force to the foot by using the spring, after the foot is put in place, the change range of the clamping force applied by the foot is small, and the foot has no time to relieve in the massage process.

By studying the above five technical solutions, those skilled in the art cannot obtain a satisfactory foot massager even if they are combined. In particular, it is more challenging to provide a foot massage device which has a simple structure, a small number of driving sources, can massage the sole and the instep of the foot at the same time, has a wide instep massage area, and can press and relax the foot during the massage process.

Disclosure of Invention

Aiming at the defects of the prior art, the invention provides a linkage mechanism for a foot massager, which has a simple structure, can realize comfortable and effective massage on multiple positions of the sole and the instep simultaneously by only one power source, and can realize better massage effect by applying downward acting force to the foot intermittently without applying downward stepping force artificially when the massage rod massages the instep.

The invention discloses a linkage mechanism for a foot massager, which is arranged in or on the foot massager and comprises a first rotary disc, a second rotary disc, a crank rocker mechanism, a massage rod for massaging the instep and a first cam rotating along with the second rotary disc to drive a first sole massage plate to move along a straight line, wherein the second rotary disc and the first rotary disc are directly or indirectly linked with each other in the aspect of rotation; one end of a crank of the crank rocker mechanism is fixedly connected with the first wheel disc to do circular motion along with the first wheel disc, and one end of the massage rod is rotatably connected onto a rocker of the crank rocker mechanism so that the other end of the massage rod massages the instep back and forth under the driving of the rocker. By the mode, the massage rod not only realizes massage on the instep, but also applies downward pressure to the foot in the process of pushing the foot tip area to the ankle area, so that a user does not need to apply downward treading force artificially, and in the process of pulling back the massage rod from the ankle area to the foot tip area, a small force is applied to the instep only under the action of the gravity of the massage rod, so that the foot is relieved, the foot is pressed and relaxed in the massage process, and fatigue and over-massage are not easy to cause. In the process, the second wheel disc linked with the first wheel disc drives the first foot massage plate to massage the foot bottom at the same time, and the foot bottom and the instep can be massaged only by one power source, so that the foot massage device is simple in structure and low in cost.

According to a preferred embodiment, the other end of the massage rod is rotatably connected with a massage roller, and the massage roller is preferably arranged in such a manner that a middle region in the axial direction thereof is inwardly recessed. Through setting up the massage gyro wheel for massage to the instep is gentler, more comfortable, even under the condition of massage for a long time, can not cause the massage excessively. The massage roller is arranged in a mode that the middle area in the axial direction of the massage roller is inwards sunken, so that the massage roller can be more attached to the outline of the instep, the massage area of the instep is increased, and the situation that excessive massage occurs in the local area due to the small contact surface is reduced.

According to a preferred embodiment, the massage rod comprises an elastic element that can be stretched or compressed along the length of the massage rod and a first rod and a second rod connected by the elastic element. By adding the elastic element on the massage rod, the massage rod plays a role in buffering the massage and protecting the feet.

According to a preferred embodiment, the linkage further comprises: the third wheel disc is arranged at an interval with the second wheel disc and is directly or indirectly linked with the first wheel disc in terms of rotation, and the second cam rotates along with the third wheel disc to drive the second foot massage plate to move along a straight line. By the mode, the foot massager can massage two parts of the sole at the same time, can massage the tiptoe area and the heel area at the same time by setting a proper distance, and only needs one power source.

According to a preferred embodiment, the first cam and the second cam are provided in such a manner that a first moving direction of a first moving component of the first sole massage plate in the vertical direction by the first cam and a second moving direction of a second moving component of the second sole massage plate in the vertical direction by the second cam are different from each other at least in part of the time. Through this mode, the in-process that first sole massage board and second sole massage board massaged the sole, the ankle also can take place a small amount of rotations from time to time, can realize the massage to the ankle mildly.

According to a preferred embodiment, at least one fourth wheel disc is arranged between the first wheel disc and the third wheel disc, the fourth wheel disc is directly or indirectly linked with the first wheel disc in terms of rotation and is used for driving a disc-shaped massage wheel to massage a middle area between a toe and a heel, the disc-shaped massage wheel comprises a disc-shaped portion and at least two massage columns which are arranged on the disc-shaped portion and can rotate around respective axes, the axes of the massage columns are arranged in a manner of intersecting with a rotation plane of the disc-shaped portion, and a first outer contour of each massage column at least partially exceeds a second outer contour of the disc-shaped portion on a projection plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the fourth wheel disc. Through this mode, can massage the middle part region of sole simultaneously, because the skin of sole middle part region is more tender, so use here the pivoted massage post to massage this part region, it is gentler to compare in the massage of toe and heel, improves the comfort level to this part region massage.

According to a preferred embodiment, the at least two massage posts are arranged in a manner that the diameters are different from each other and are increased or decreased in a clockwise direction by one rotation around the rotation axis of the disc-shaped massage wheel. Through the mode, the disk-shaped massage wheel can massage the massaged area through the massage columns with different diameters and sizes in the rotating process alternately, so that the disk-shaped massage wheel can be subjected to small dynamic change at the compressed position of the blood vessel of the massaged area when the sole is massaged, and the compressed force is alternately applied, thereby reducing the possibility of unsmooth blood flow and excessive massage.

According to a preferred embodiment, the angular velocity of the fourth wheel disc is set lower than the angular velocity of the second wheel disc or the angular velocity of the third wheel disc. Since the massage area of the fourth wheel is located between the toe and heel of the sole of the foot, this area of the sole of the foot is much more tender than the skin of the toe and heel, and is also more likely to experience irritation. Thus, it is more comfortable to massage this area less frequently than the toe and heel.

According to a preferred embodiment, the crank and rocker mechanism comprises: the crank comprises a first connecting rod serving as the crank, a second connecting rod serving as the connecting rod and a third connecting rod serving as the rocker, wherein one end of the second connecting rod is rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting rod, and the other end of the second connecting rod is rotatably connected to one end of the third connecting rod.

According to a preferred embodiment, said interlocking in rotation with said first wheel, directly or indirectly, is by means of a belt drive and/or a chain drive. The belt transmission has the effects of low noise and good stability, and can reduce the uncomfortable feeling brought to a user by noise. The chain transmission has the advantages of large bearing capacity, high transmission efficiency and difficult slipping, and can adapt to working environments with higher temperature and higher humidity.

The invention provides a linkage mechanism for a foot massager, which has at least the following advantages:

(1) the invention can realize comfortable and effective massage on a plurality of positions of the sole and the instep simultaneously through simple transmission;

(2) the massage rod not only achieves the massage purpose, but also properly positions and applies the downward pressing acting force to the feet of the human body, thereby avoiding the operation of manually applying the downward stepping force, improving the comfort of the massage process, and the massage rod only applies relatively large pressure to the feet in the pushing process from toes to ankles and only applies relatively small pressure to the feet under the action of gravity in the pulling process from the ankles to the toes, so that the feet are pressed and relaxed in the massage process, and the situations of unsmooth blood flow, fatigue and over-massage are not easy to cause;

(3) the elastic element is added in the massage rod, so that the massage rod plays roles of buffering massage and protecting feet;

(4) the quick return characteristic of the crank-link mechanism is well utilized, so that the massage rod can extrude and massage at a slow speed in the process of pushing towards the ankle and return at a fast speed in the process of returning;

(5) the invention has single degree of freedom, and can massage the instep and the sole of the foot only by one power source.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a simplified structural schematic of a preferred embodiment of the linkage mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic structural diagram of a preferred embodiment of the massage roller of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a simplified schematic illustration of the structure of a preferred embodiment of the spring element of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a simplified schematic view of the structure of one preferred embodiment of the disc-like massage wheel of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a simplified schematic view of the structure of a preferred embodiment of the first sole massage plate of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a simplified structural schematic of a preferred embodiment of the first or third wheel disc of the present invention; and

figure 7 is a simplified schematic diagram of the construction of a preferred embodiment of the second or fourth wheel disc of the present invention.

List of reference numerals

11: the first disk 12: second disk 13: third wheel disc

14: fourth wheel disc 20: crank rocker mechanism 21: first connecting rod

22: second connecting rod 23: third connecting rod 30: massage rod

31: first rod 32: second rod 33: elastic element

331: the sleeve 332: compression spring 40: massage roller

51: first cam 52: second cam 61: first sole massage plate

611: first base plate 612: the massage ball 62: second sole massage plate

70: disc-shaped massage wheels 71: the disk portion 72: massage column

Detailed Description

The following detailed description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", and the like, indicate orientations and positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are used only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, should not be considered as limiting the present invention.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," "secured," and the like are to be construed broadly and can, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, "above" or "below" a first feature means that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact with each other via another feature therebetween. Also, the first feature being "on," "above" and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly on and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature includes the first feature being directly under and obliquely below the second feature, or simply meaning that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include", "including", and "includes" mean including, but not limited to.

The phrases "at least one," "one or more," and/or "are open-ended expressions that encompass both association and disassociation in operation. For example, each of the expressions "at least one of A, B and C", "at least one of A, B or C", "one or more of A, B and C", "A, B or C" and "A, B and/or C" refers to a alone a, a alone B, a alone C, A and B together, a and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together, respectively.

The terms "a" or "an" entity refer to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms "a" (or "an"), "one or more," and "at least one" are used interchangeably herein. It should also be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," and "having" may be used interchangeably.

The invention discloses a linkage mechanism for a foot massager.

According to a preferred embodiment, referring to fig. 1, the linkage mechanism may include a first rotatable wheel 11, a second rotatable wheel 12, a crank rocker mechanism 20, a massage rod 30 for massaging the instep, and a first cam 51 rotated with the second wheel 12 to move a first sole massage plate 61 in a straight line. Preferably, in the present invention, the foot and the foot may be used alternately. For example, the instep is the instep of the foot.

Preferably, the first cam 51 rotating with the second disk 12 is preferably realized in such a manner that the first cam 51 and the second disk 12 may share a common rotating shaft, or alternatively, the first cam 51 is fixed on the second disk.

Preferably, the linkage is mounted in or on the foot massager.

Preferably, the first sole massage plate 61 can make a linear reciprocating motion along the first sliding pair by the first cam 51. It is conceivable that the linear reciprocating motion may be a motion under the combined action of the gravity of the first sole massage plate 61 itself, the external force of the foot exerted on the first sole massage plate 61, the external force of the first cam 51 exerted on the first sole massage plate 61, and the external force exerted by the first sliding pair at the time of the massage.

According to a preferred embodiment, the second wheel 12 can be rotationally interlocked with the first wheel 11, directly or indirectly. Preferably, the linkage in the present invention means that when one of two or more members moves or changes, the other member moves or changes accordingly.

According to a preferred embodiment, one end of the crank rocker mechanism 20 may be fixed to the first wheel disc 11 for circular movement therewith. Preferably, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the conditions under which the crank exists in a crank and rocker mechanism include: the sum of the shortest and longest rod lengths is less than or equal to the sum of the remaining two rod lengths, and the crank is the shortest rod.

According to a preferred embodiment, one end of the massage rod 30 is rotatably connected to the rocker of the crank-rocker mechanism 20 such that the other end of the massage rod 30 massages the instep of the foot back and forth under the driving of the rocker. By the way, the instep can be massaged in a scraping mode. Preferably, the other end of the massage rod 30 may be a free end. Before use, the massage rod 30 is lifted, the feet are put in proper positions, and then the massage rod 30 is put down to contact with the instep. Preferably, in the case where the other end of the massage rod 30 massages the instep in a sliding frictional manner, a protective layer may be provided between the massage rod 30 and the instep and/or a lubricant may be applied to the massage rod 30 to prevent the massage process from causing an abrasion. It is also conceivable to make the other end of the massage rod 30 in a smooth form.

According to a preferred embodiment, the massage rod 30 is configured to: when the other end of the massage rod 30 is massaging the instep, a first included angle between the massage rod 30 and a first straight line is always an acute angle, wherein the first straight line passes through the rotation center of one end of the massage rod 30 and is perpendicular to the plane of the foot placing position. In this way, the massage bar 30 can always apply a pressing force to the foot in the process of being pushed from the fingertip area to the ankle area, thereby improving the massage effect without manually stepping down. It should be noted that this is only a preferred embodiment and is not essential, for example, the massage rod 30 may be arranged such that the first angle of the massage rod 30 to the first straight line alternates between an acute angle and an obtuse angle during the massage of the instep at the other end of the massage rod 30. That is, the first included angle is initially acute during the progress of the massage rod 30 from the toe region to the ankle region, and is transited from the acute angle to the obtuse angle immediately before reaching the ankle.

According to a preferred embodiment, referring to fig. 1 and 2, the other end of the massage rod 30 may also be rotatably connected with a massage roller 40. By the mode, the foot dorsum can be massaged in a rolling manner through the massage roller 40, the foot dorsum can be massaged under the condition that a protective layer is not arranged or lubricant is not smeared, the number of articles required for massaging the foot dorsum and the operation process are simplified, and the foot dorsum is more convenient to use. Preferably, the massage roller 40 includes at least a rigid inner layer and a flexible outer layer. The rigid inner layer can reduce the increase of resistance caused by the deformation of the inner layer in the massage process, and the mechanical transmission efficiency is improved. Preferably, the rigid inner layer is coupled to the rotating shaft of the massage roller 40 through a bearing. Preferably, the flexible outer layer comprises a first outer layer located on the outside and a second outer layer located between the first outer layer and the inner layer. The first outer layer may have a first modulus of elasticity. The second outer layer may have a second modulus of elasticity different from the first modulus of elasticity. Preferably, the first elastic modulus is less than the second elastic modulus. Through the mode, can set up a softer first skin in order to laminate the instep as far as, then set up a rigidity than first skin bigger second skin, as a supporting layer to first skin support effect with the effort as far as disperse on the instep cambered surface, improve massage effect.

Preferably, the massage roller 40 is disposed in such a manner that a central region in the axial direction thereof is depressed inward. Through this mode, can make the surface of massage gyro wheel 40 laminate with the instep as far as possible to massage most regions of instep as far as fully, strengthen the massage effect, simultaneously, avoided the area of contact of massage gyro wheel 40 and instep little to lead to the pressure of area of contact department big, prevent to the local region of instep relapse, high strength press and cause the injury.

Preferably, the surface of the massage roller 40 for contact with the instep may be provided with a plurality of convex massage protrusions. By this means, greater stimulation can be applied to the instep, improving the comfort during massage. Wherein the massage protrusions are provided in such a manner that the height thereof is gradually increased from the middle region of the massage roller 40 to both sides thereof and the area of the surface contactable with the instep is gradually decreased. Because the fitness of the massage roller 40 and the instep gradually decreases from the middle area to both sides when the massage roller 40 is used for massaging, the force applied to the instep also gradually decreases from the middle area to both sides, and the massage protrusions are arranged in a way that the heights of the massage rollers 40 gradually increase from the middle area to both sides and the area of the surface capable of contacting with the instep gradually decreases, so that the massage stimulation of the massage protrusions applied to all positions on the instep is kept consistent as much as possible, and the discomfort caused by excessive local stimulation to a user is prevented.

According to a preferred embodiment, referring to fig. 1 and 3, the massage rod 30 may include an elastic member 33 capable of being stretched or compressed in a length direction of the massage rod 30 and a first rod body 31 and a second rod body 32 connected by the elastic member 33. Preferably, the elastic member 33 may include a sleeve 331 opened at both ends and a compression spring 332. The first and

second rods

31 and 32 may be inserted from different openings of the sleeve to connect to the first and second ends of the compression spring 332, respectively.

According to a preferred embodiment, referring again to fig. 1, the linkage mechanism may further comprise: a third wheel 13 which is arranged at a distance from the second wheel 12 and is directly or indirectly linked with the first wheel 11 in terms of rotation, and a second cam 52 which rotates with the third wheel 13 to drive a second foot massage plate 62 to move along a straight line. Preferably, the angle between a first line connecting the centres of rotation of the first 11 and second 12 wheels and a second line connecting the centres of rotation of the second 12 and third 13 wheels is greater than 90 ° and less than 180 °. Preferably, the direct interlocking with the first disk 11 referred to in the present invention means interlocking one disk with the first disk 11 directly through a transmission and interlocking with the first disk 11 indirectly means interlocking one disk with another disk which is interlocked with the first disk 11 in terms of rotation directly or indirectly through a transmission. The drive means are, for example, a drive chain and/or a drive belt.

According to a preferred embodiment, the first cam 51 and the second cam 52 may be provided in such a manner that a first moving direction of a first moving component of the first sole massage plate 61 in the vertical direction by the first cam 51 and a second moving direction of a second moving component of the second sole massage plate 62 in the vertical direction by the second cam 52 are different from each other. That is, while the first sole massage plate 61 is moved upward by the movement of the first cam 51, the second sole massage plate 62 is moved downward by the movement of the second cam 52. Or vice versa. In this way, under the action of the first cam 51 and the second cam 52, the present invention not only massages the toe area and the heel area of the foot through the first foot massage plate 61 and the second foot massage plate 62, respectively, but also generates periodic relative movement of the foot relative to the leg through the difference of the moving directions of the first foot massage plate 61 and the second foot massage plate 62 in the vertical direction, thereby achieving the effects of exercising and massaging the ankle joint.

Preferably, referring to fig. 5, the first sole massage plate 61 may include a first base plate 611 and a plurality of massage balls 612 connected to the first base plate 611. In this way, the first sole massage plate 61 can massage multiple points of the toe at the same time, thereby improving the massage effect. Preferably, the first sole massage plate 61 may include six massage balls. The six massage balls can be arranged side by side in a row of three. Preferably, the massage ball 612 and the first base plate 611 may be connected by a spring. By the mode, the massage on the soles can be buffered to a certain extent, and the comfort of the massage is improved. Preferably, the second sole massage plate 62 may have the same structure as the first sole massage plate 61, and thus, the description thereof will be omitted.

According to a preferred embodiment, with reference to fig. 1, 4, between the first wheel disc 11 and the third wheel disc 13 there may be provided at least one fourth wheel disc 14, which is rotationally interlocked with the first wheel disc 11, directly or indirectly, and which is used to bring the disc-shaped massaging wheels 70 to massage the middle region between the toe and the heel. Preferably, a fourth wheel 14 correspondingly carries a disc-shaped massage wheel 70. The disc-shaped massage wheel 70 may be directly or indirectly secured to the fourth wheel 14. The direct fixation is, for example, to fix the corresponding disc-shaped massage wheel 70 to the disc-shaped massage wheel 70 by means of adhesion and/or screw connection. The indirect fixing is, for example, fixing the corresponding disc-shaped massage wheel 70 and the fourth wheel 14 on the same rotation shaft.

Preferably, the disc-shaped massage wheel 70 may include a disc portion 71 and at least one massage post 72 provided on the disc portion 71 and rotatable about an axis thereof. Particularly preferably, the disc-shaped massage wheel 70 may include a disc-shaped portion 71 and at least two massage posts 72 provided on the disc-shaped portion 71 and rotatable about respective axes. The axis of the massage post 72 may be arranged in such a manner as to intersect the rotation plane of the disk 71. Preferably, on a projection plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fourth wheel 14, the first outer contour of the massage post 72 at least partially exceeds the second outer contour of the disc 71.

According to a preferred embodiment, at least two massage posts 72 are arranged in a manner that the diameters are different from each other and are increased or decreased in a clockwise direction by one rotation around the rotation axis of the disc-shaped massage wheel 70. Alternatively, at least two massage posts 72 are provided in such a manner that the distance from the distal end of the second outer contour to the rotational axis of the disc-shaped massage wheel 70 is gradually decreased or gradually increased in the clockwise direction of one rotation around the rotational axis of the disc-shaped massage wheel 70. In the case where at least two massage pillars 72 are provided on the disc-shaped massage wheel 70 and the diameters of the massage pillars 72 are the same, blood vessels in the region to be massaged are repeatedly compressed at approximately the same position with the same force in a short period, so that the blood vessels in the region to be massaged are in a compressed state of the same degree for a long period of time, which is highly likely to cause blood flow insufficiency and over-massage of the region. In this way, the disk-shaped massage wheel 70 can alternately massage the massaged area through the massage columns 72 with different diameters and sizes in the rotating process, so that the compressed positions of the blood vessels of the massaged area can be dynamically changed slightly when the disk-shaped massage wheel 70 massages the soles of the feet, and the compressed force is alternately changed, thereby reducing the possibility of unsmooth blood flow and excessive massage. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the starting point of the clockwise rotation of the disc-shaped massage wheel 70 about the rotational axis thereof may be the position of the massage pole 72 having the largest or smallest diameter.

According to a preferred embodiment, the angular velocity of the fourth wheel 14 is set in such a way that it is lower than the angular velocity of the second wheel 12 or the angular velocity of the third wheel 13. Since the massage area of the fourth wheel 14 is located between the toe and heel of the sole of the foot, this area of the sole of the foot is much more tender and more sensitive to irritation than the skin of the toe and heel. Thus, it is more comfortable to massage this area less frequently than the toe and heel. Furthermore, at least one massage column 72 is provided on the disc-shaped massage wheel 70, and under the condition of consistent angular velocity, the massage frequency of the disc-shaped massage wheel 70 to the sole of the foot is at least equal to or even higher than the massage frequency of the first foot massage plate 61 to the toe or the massage frequency of the second foot massage plate 62 to the heel, so that the angular velocity of the fourth wheel disc 14 is set to be lower than the angular velocity of the second wheel disc 12 or the angular velocity of the third wheel disc 13, which helps to improve the comfort of the massage.

According to a preferred embodiment, the crank and rocker mechanism 20 may comprise: a first connecting rod 21 as a crank, a second connecting rod 22 as a connecting rod, and a third connecting rod 23 as a rocker. One end of the second connecting rod 22 is rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting rod 21. The other end of the second connecting rod 22 is rotatably connected to one end of a third connecting rod 23. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the crank and rocker mechanism 20 may also include a frame. The frame may be a housing of the foot massager. Alternatively, the frame may be a connector that is fixed relative to the housing of the foot massager. Preferably, in the working state, the first connecting rod 21 and the second connecting rod position 22 may be located at one side of the third connecting rod 23. The massage bar 30 may be positioned at the other side of the third connecting bar 23. It is also conceivable that the massage rod 30 is located on the side of the third connecting bar 23 close to the foot placing position.

According to a preferred embodiment, the mutual linkage in rotation with the first wheel 11, directly or indirectly, can be through a belt drive and/or a chain drive. For example, a belt drive is taken as an example. The first 11 and third 13 sheaves may be single-grooved pulley sheaves, a simplified construction of a preferred embodiment of which can be seen in fig. 6. The second sheave 12 and the fourth sheave 14 may be double-grooved pulley sheaves, a simplified construction of a preferred embodiment of which may be seen in fig. 7. The first wheel disc 11 and the second wheel disc 12, the second wheel disc 12 and the fourth wheel disc 14, and the fourth wheel disc 14 and the third wheel disc 13 are respectively connected through belts. Then, only one driving source is needed to drive any one wheel disc, and linkage of all massage parts can be realized. In the same way as in chain drives, it is only necessary to change the double-grooved pulley disk correspondingly to a sprocket disk with two sprockets. The single-groove pulley disc is correspondingly changed to a sprocket disc with one sprocket. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the belt transmission has the advantages of low noise and good smoothness, and can reduce the uncomfortable feeling of the user caused by the noise. The chain transmission has the effects of large bearing capacity, high transmission efficiency and difficult slipping, and can adapt to working environments with higher temperature and higher humidity, for example, the foot massager is arranged in the foot tub. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the two transmission modes for realizing the linkage are only partial preferred embodiments, and that there are other alternative embodiments for realizing the linkage, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. For example, the discs may be driven by bevel gears and/or worm gears.

According to a preferred embodiment, the linkage mechanism of the present invention can massage both feet at the same time by setting the width of the member for massage, for example, 30 to 45mm, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Thus, a linkage mechanism may be provided in a foot massager. Or the linkage mechanism can be used for massaging a single foot by setting the width of the component for massaging, for example, 8-12 mm. Therefore, two linkage mechanisms can be arranged in one foot massager to respectively massage the left foot and the right foot. The component for massaging is, for example, at least one of the massage roller 40, the first foot sole massage plate 61, the second foot sole massage plate 62, and the massage pole 72.

According to a preferred embodiment, the diameters of the first wheel disc 11, the second wheel disc 12, the third wheel disc 13 and the fourth wheel disc 14 may be the same, for example, 60mm each. The disk 71 may be circular and 100mm in diameter. The massage posts 72 may be of the same diameter, for example 30mm each and may be evenly distributed over a circumference of 90mm in diameter. The massage roller 40 may have a diameter of 24 mm. The diameter of the foot massage ball may be 5 mm. The centre-to-centre distance of the second wheel disc 11 and the third wheel disc 13 may be 300 mm. The fourth wheel 14 is located on the line of symmetry of the second wheel 12 and the third wheel 13. The centers of the second wheel disc 12, the third wheel disc 13 and the fourth wheel disc 14 are maintained above a plane. The first disc 11 may be spaced 180mm from the second disc 12 by the centre. A second angle between a line connecting the centers of rotation of the first and

second wheels

11 and 12 and the horizontal may be 25 °. In the crank-rocker mechanism 20, the length of the first connecting rod 21 may be 40 mm. The length of the second connecting rod 12 may be 210 mm. The third connecting bar 13 may be in the form of a triangular plate. The long rod of the triangle may be 180mm long, the short rod may be 38mm long, and the other rod may be 155mm long. An obtuse angle in the triangle is 125 °. The length of the massage bar may be 185 mm. Preferably, the elastic member 33 may include a sleeve 331 opened at both ends and a compression spring 332. Both ends of the compression spring 332 are retracted into the insides of both ends of the sleeve 331, respectively. Preferably, the parameters of the compression spring 332 may be: the material and the code number are 50CrVA, the diameter of a spring wire is 5.00mm, the middle diameter of the spring is 105mm, the number of effective turns is 5, the allowable shear stress of a compression spring is 450MPa, the elastic modulus is 200000MPa and the shear modulus is 80000 MPa.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the third connecting bar 13 in the form of a triangular plate is only a preferred embodiment. The third connecting rod 13 only needs to be provided with three pivotal connection points. The two rotary connecting points are used as the rotary connecting points of the rocker in the crank rocker mechanism between the connecting rod and the frame. The other rotary connecting point is used as a rotary connecting point for connecting the massage rod. For example, the third connecting rod may be a T-shaped rod, and a rotation connecting point is provided at each of three end points.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a linkage mechanism for a massager is disclosed, the linkage mechanism comprises a first wheel disc 11 capable of rotating, a second wheel disc 12, a crank rocker mechanism 20, a massage rod 30 for massaging instep, and a first cam 51 rotating with the second wheel disc 12 to drive a first sole massage plate 61 to move along a straight line, wherein the second wheel disc 12 and the first wheel disc 11 are directly or indirectly linked with each other in terms of rotation; one end of a crank of the crank rocker mechanism 20 is fixedly connected to the first wheel disc 11 to do circular motion therewith, and one end of the massage rod 30 is rotatably connected to a rocker of the crank rocker mechanism 20 so that the other end of the massage rod 30 massages the instep back and forth under the driving of the rocker. Preferably, the linkage is mounted in or on the massager.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a linkage mechanism for a massager is disclosed, the linkage mechanism comprises a first wheel disc 11 capable of rotating, a second wheel disc 12, a crank rocker mechanism 20, a massage rod 30 for massaging the back of a hand, and a first cam 51 rotating with the second wheel disc 12 to drive a first sole massage plate 61 to move along a straight line, wherein the second wheel disc 12 and the first wheel disc 11 are directly or indirectly linked with each other in terms of rotation; one end of a crank of the crank rocker mechanism 20 is fixedly connected to the first wheel disc 11 to do circular motion therewith, and one end of the massage rod 30 is rotatably connected to a rocker of the crank rocker mechanism 20 so that the other end of the massage rod 30 massages the back of the hand back and forth under the driving of the rocker. Preferably, the linkage is mounted in or on the massager.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a foot massager is disclosed that may include a support body, a control module 80, and a drive device 90 electrically connected to the control module 80. The foot massager can also comprise a first wheel disc 11, a second wheel disc 12, a crank rocker mechanism 20, a massage rod 30 for massaging the instep, and a first cam 51 which rotates with the second wheel disc 12 to drive a first foot bottom massage plate 61 to move along a straight line. The crank-rocker mechanism 20 may include a first connecting rod 21 as a crank, a second connecting rod 22 as a connecting rod, and a third connecting rod 23 as a rocker. One end of the first connecting rod 21 is fixed to the first wheel 11. The other end of the first connecting rod 21 is pivoted to one end of the second connecting rod 22. The other end of the second connecting rod 22 is pivoted to one end of the third connecting rod 23. The other end of the third connecting rod 23 is pivoted on the supporting body. The first wheel 11 and the second wheel 12 are each pivoted to a support body, on which a drive device 90 for driving the first wheel 11 and/or the second wheel 12 is mounted. One end of the massage rod 30 is pivoted on the third connecting rod 23, and when the first connecting rod 21 makes a circular motion along with the first wheel disc 11, the other end of the massage rod 30 can massage the instep back and forth under the driving of the third connecting rod 23.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are exemplary, and that those skilled in the art, having benefit of the present disclosure, may devise various arrangements that are within the scope of the present disclosure and that fall within the scope of the invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the present specification and figures are illustrative only and are not limiting upon the claims. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A linkage mechanism for a foot massager, which is arranged in or on the foot massager and is characterized by comprising a first wheel disc (11), a second wheel disc (12), a crank rocker mechanism (20), a massage rod (30) for massaging instep and a first cam (51) which rotates along with the second wheel disc (12) to drive a first sole massage plate (61) to move along a straight line,

when the massage is performed, the linear reciprocating motion is the motion under the combined action of the gravity of the first sole massage plate (61), the external force exerted on the first sole massage plate (61) by the feet, the external force exerted on the first sole massage plate (61) by the first cam (51) and the external force exerted by the first sliding pair,

wherein the second wheel (12) and the first wheel (11) are rotationally linked directly or indirectly to each other;

one end of a crank of the crank rocker mechanism (20) is fixedly connected with the first wheel disc (11) to do circular motion along with the first wheel disc,

one end of the massage rod (30) is rotationally connected on the rocker of the crank rocker mechanism (20) so that the other end of the massage rod (30) massages the instep back and forth under the driving of the rocker,

the massage bar (30) is configured to: when the other end of the massage rod (30) is used for massaging the instep, a first included angle formed by the massage rod (30) and a first straight line is always an acute angle, wherein the first straight line penetrates through the rotating center of one end of the massage rod (30) and is perpendicular to the plane of the foot placing position.

2. The linkage mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a massage roller (40) is rotatably connected to the other end of the massage rod (30), and the massage roller (40) is disposed in such a manner that a central region in an axial direction thereof is recessed inward.

3. A linkage according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the massage rod (30) comprises an elastic element (33) which is stretchable or compressible in the length direction of the massage rod (30) and a first rod body (31) and a second rod body (32) which are connected by the elastic element (33).

4. The linkage mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: the third wheel disc (13) is arranged at an interval with the second wheel disc (12) and is directly or indirectly linked with the first wheel disc (11) in terms of rotation, and the second cam (52) rotates along with the third wheel disc (13) to drive the second foot massage plate (62) to move along a straight line.

5. The linkage mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the first cam (51) and the second cam (52) are provided in such a manner that a first movement direction of a first movement component of the first sole massage plate (61) in the vertical direction by the first cam (51) and a second movement direction of a second movement component of the second sole massage plate (62) in the vertical direction by the second cam (52) are different from each other at least in part of the time.

6. A linkage mechanism according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that at least one fourth wheel disc (14) is provided between the first wheel disc (11) and the third wheel disc (13), which wheel discs are rotationally linked to each other directly or indirectly and which are used to bring disc-shaped massage wheels (70) to massage the middle region between the toe and the heel,

wherein the disc-shaped massage wheel (70) comprises a disc-shaped portion (71) and at least two massage posts (72) provided on the disc-shaped portion (71) and rotatable about respective axes, the axes of the massage posts (72) being arranged in such a manner as to intersect with a rotation plane of the disc-shaped portion (71),

wherein, on a projection plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fourth wheel (14), the first outer contour of the massage post (72) at least partially exceeds the second outer contour of the disc (71).

7. The linkage mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the at least two massage posts (72) are arranged in a manner that the diameters thereof are different from each other and are increased or decreased in a clockwise direction by one rotation around the rotation axis of the disc-shaped massage wheel (70).

8. A linkage according to claim 6, characterised in that the angular velocity of the fourth wheel (14) is set lower than the angular velocity of the second wheel (12) or the angular velocity of the third wheel (13).

9. A linkage according to claim 1, wherein the crank-rocker mechanism (20) comprises: a first connecting rod (21) as the crank, a second connecting rod (22) as the connecting rod and a third connecting rod (23) as the rocker,

one end of the second connecting rod (22) is rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting rod (21), and the other end of the second connecting rod (22) is rotatably connected to one end of the third connecting rod (23).

10. The linkage according to claim 1, 2, 4, 5 or 9, characterized in that the linkage with the first wheel disc (11) directly or indirectly with respect to rotation is by means of a belt drive and/or a chain drive.