DE3443780A1 - Method for hydraulic and/or pneumatic massage, and a massaging device for carrying out the method - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for hydraulic and/or pneumatic massage of the human body or parts of the body, and a massaging device for carrying out the method, massaging taking place by means of a large number of nozzles distributed over the body or body part to be treated and automatically pivoting to and fro in predetermined angular ranges, and the fluid being fed in a closed circulation in that it is collected in a collecting vessel after it has acted upon the body or body part to be treated and is fed from the collecting vessel back to the nozzles via a circulation pump. <IMAGE>

Description

description

to the patent application relating to methods for hydraulic and / or pneumatic massage and massage device for performing the method The invention relates to a method and a massage device for hydraulic and / or pneumatic Massage through a fluid emerging from nozzles, the direction of which can be changed. A liquid and / or gaseous fluid can be used here. In particular the fluid can consist of mixtures of liquids, e.g. water, and gases, e.g. air, and / or oxygen and / or ozone and / or vapors.

In a known fluid valve with a directed outlet jet a constantly changing direction (DE-OS 31 50 879) that occurs in hydrotherapy is used, the massage effect is over a continuously changing surface area achieved. The jets of the fluid hit the on an annular surface treating Body part on. The size of the ring area can be by a manually adjustable control knob can be changed to a limited extent; in order to treat larger areas, the valve must be movable and by hand be moved. This requires constant operation of the device, which is one requires high personnel costs, especially if one is over a long period of time Time-lasting massage should be applied.

The invention is based on the object of a massage method and to create a massage device that require less operation and After a single start, a long-lasting, even massage without Enable operation.

To solve this problem, in the method according to the invention the massage by means of a large number of over the body or body part to be treated distributed, in each case automatically pivotable back and forth in predetermined angular ranges Nozzles made and the fluid guided in a closed circuit, in demves after its action on the body or body part to be treated in a collecting container collected and fed back to the nozzles from the collecting container by means of a circulation pump will.

The method according to the invention offers the possibility of a massage can also be carried out over a longer period of time without major operating effort, whereby simultaneously it is ensured that the point of impact of the rays of the fluid on the body changes constantly. This creates a uniform den Whole body massage is achieved that is more effective than an expensive one Hand massage with a spray nozzle.

The inventive method has the further advantage that it is very saves energy and water, since the fluid is circulated, preferably through filters, is pumped around and in the method according to the invention essentially only for compensation of fluid losses and / or, if necessary, new fluid to change the fluid temperature with a higher or lower temperature from the outside into the closed fluid circuit, is preferably introduced into the collecting container.

According to the invention, the nozzles, preferably in several rows across the length of the body to be treated or

Body part, so arranged in such a number and their rays aligned as well as the size of their swivel areas are dimensioned so that in essentially all parts of the body area to be treated are massaged intensively.

The pivoting movement of each nozzle or groups is preferably carried out of nozzles independent of and arbitrarily to the pivoting movement of the other nozzles or other groups of Nozzles to achieve a good massage effect. But it can also be advantageous if the pivoting movement of all nozzles or of Subgroups of the nozzles takes place synchronously.

According to the invention, the massage is essentially closed Cabin made in which the body of the person to be treated, preferably with the exception of the head. To regulate the intensity of the massage, the pressure of the fluid emerging from the nozzles can be adjusted. As a fluid can Water, preferably with the addition of medicinal herbal infusions and / or marine or Bath salts, can be used. But it can also be an essentially gas and / or vaporous fluid, which consists in particular of air and / or water vapor, is used will.

A mixture of water and / or can advantageously also be used as the fluid Gases and / or vapors, in particular a mixture of water and / or air and / or Oxygen and / or ozone and / or water vapor can be used.

The massage device according to the invention is characterized in that on a supply pipe with a plurality of serving as nozzles, for example in one Row of juxtaposed bores provided with nozzles over an area distributed, the length of which is approximately the length of the body or body part to be treated corresponds, connected by an automatically reversible drive are rotatable about their longitudinal axis in an adjustable angular range, and that a Collection container is provided in which the fluid after its action on the to treating body or body part is collected and the one with the suction line Circulation pump is connected, the pressure side of which is connected to the supply pipe, to which the jet pipes are connected, preferably in the suction line a filter is installed in the circulation pump and preferably a closed, Preferably made of plastic cabin is provided in which a bed surface for the person to be treated and the nozzles are arranged. Advantageously is at the lower end of the lying surface, which is preferably inclined by about 50, the is sealed to the adjacent walls of the cabin, the collecting container for arranged the fluid.

In the case of the massage device according to the invention, preference is given to it in the feed pipe A pressure control valve is arranged to the jet pipes to reduce the pressure of the nozzles to be able to regulate escaping fluids and thus the intensity of the massage effect.

According to the invention, the size of the angular range in the massage device the pivoting movement of the nozzles can be changed in that the reversible drives the nozzles with adjustable stops or adjustable limit switches that reverse the direction of rotation of the drives and thus the swivel range of the Limit nozzles.

For the drive of the jet pipes one is advantageous through the flowing through Fluid-powered drive device is provided, the direction of rotation of which is automatic is reversible.

Such drive devices are known, for example, in lawn sprinklers, which sprinkle a limited sector, the boundaries of which are adjustable. With such The drive device is an impeller that is acted upon by the water flowing through it provided that a reduction gear that the nozzles for the outlet of the Water-containing jet pipe of the lawn sprinkler in one through adjustable stops limited angular range rotates back and forth, whereby the direction of rotation of the drive device, if this reaches one of the stops, is changed in each case that a reversible switching element is moved into its other end position, whereby the direction of the water flow hitting the impeller is changed, so that the impeller and thus the drive device in the opposite direction turns. This rotation continues until the drive device at the second Stop arrives and thereby the reversible switching element back into its other Moved end position, whereby the direction of the impeller is reversed.

Instead of a fluid-driven drive device, a electrical drive can be provided, which preferably consists of electric motors, those driven with low voltage, i.e. with a voltage less than or equal to 24 volts will. To the range of rotation of the electric motors that preferably are provided with a reduction gear to the desired angular range to limit, two changeover switches are provided instead of the two stops mentioned above, which switch the direction of rotation of the drive motor as soon as one or the other Limit of the desired angular range is reached. These two switches can also be adjustable to change the limits of the angular range. the Use of electric motors to drive the nozzles offers the advantage of that without changing the pressure or the amount of flowing through the jet pipe Water, by changing the engine speed, the speed of rotation of the jet pipe can be changed.

Have proven to be particularly advantageous for driving the jet pipes Standstill motors proved that by a bias in the form of a spring or of a weight in the middle position of the desired angular range and their pivoting from the central position to one side or the other caused by applying a voltage in one direction or the other can be, whereby by the choice of the amplitude of the voltage the size of the angular range, around which the standstill motor from its center position to one or the other Page is panned, can be changed. The use of standstill motors to drive the nozzles has the advantage that not only without changes to the Pressure or the amount of water flowing through the nozzles, their speed of rotation regulated by changing the voltage can be, but to this there is also the possibility that, by anchoring the amplitude of the tension, the angular range, over which the standstill motor moves back and forth without adjusting stops or switches can be changed in a simple manner and without inertia. In particular when using standstill motors there is the possibility that an operator or the person to be treated, the speed of rotation of the nozzles and the size the angular range of their rotational movement can change practically at will. Also at the use of standstill motors, limit switches can be provided that the limit the desired angular ranges in which the individual nozzles rotate, by then, when the standstill motor in question turns to a When the limit switch has been reached, reverse the polarity of the voltage supplied to the standstill motor. Here a synchronous movement of all nozzles is prevented.

If desired, the rotary movements of all jet pipes or one or more subgroups of the jet pipes when using electric drives be electrically or mechanically coupled, so that the coupled radiant tubes or move nozzle groups synchronously.

In the drawings is an embodiment working with water jets of the device according to the invention. It shows: Fig. 1 a Device according to the invention in side view, and FIG. 2 shows the device according to FIG. 1 from the front.

In a cabin 2, which is at its front with a multi-part horizontally sliding sliding doors lockable entry opening 4 provided is, a lying surface 6 is arranged, which inclines towards a water tank 8 is. At the front of the cabin 2, an opening 7 is attached through a Curtain can be closed. The head of a patient lying in the cabin protrudes through the front opening 7 and rests on an extension 6 'of the Lying surface 6. At the top, the cabin is closed off by a curved ceiling 9. the end The water used for massage is supplied to the water tank 8 by one in a room 10 under the lying surface 6 housed circulating pump 12 sucked in and one Distributor pipe 1.4 supplied to the several jet pipes in the upper area of the cabin 2 1 are connected and distributed over the length of the cabin.

The water tank provided with an overflow 15 is via a Thermostatic mixer tap (not shown) the water required for the massage Temperature supplied via an inlet 17. Optionally, the suction line 13 of the Circulation pump 12 also directly with the cold and / or hot water supply via solenoid valves connected to e.g.

to generate short-term cold water shocks ".

Between the distributor pipe 14 and each jet pipe 16 there is one Drive device consisting of a fixed and a rotatable part 20 provided in which the Nozzles 16 held horizontally and are rotatable about their longitudinal axis. The jet pipes 16 are at their from the drive device 20 facing away from the end supported in a bearing 22, which is in one of the stationary Part of the drive device attached traverse 24 is housed. Any drive device 20 has an impeller which is acted upon by the water flowing through it and which over a reduction gear the associated jet pipe 16 in one by stops rotates back and forth in a limited angular range. The distance between the attacks is adjustable so that the area in which the water jets hit the patient act, can be adjusted. When hitting the one stop is a reversible switching element in the drive device into its other End position moves, thereby changing the direction of the flow of liquid on the impeller strikes, is changed so that the jet pipe 16 rotates in the opposite direction, until the switching element is reversed by the second stop.

Drive devices of this type are known for lawn sprinklers, they are therefore not shown in detail here in the drawing.

The jet pipes 16 are provided with a multiplicity of bores 26 and curved in its central area. To regulate the pressure of the Water reaching the jet pipes 16 is a valve in the distributor pipe 14 J8 provided with which the massage effect of the hitting the patient's skin Water jets is affected.

A filter 19 is installed in the suction line 13 of the circulation pump 12. The cabin 2 including the sliding doors provided in the area of the entry opening 4 is preferably made of plastic and can be essentially sealed tightly, so that the treatment can be carried out in a substantially closed space can, whereby it is avoided that spray water and / or fumes from the cabin after penetrate outside. Only the head of the person to be treated is outside the closed Cabin mounted on the extension 6 'of the lying surface, as already mentioned.

The effect and function of the massage device according to the invention is characterized in that the human body to be treated is in a closed, preferably made of plastic cabin 2 is located and from a large number of automatically moving nozzles, which a certain water pressure have been sprayed. The arrangement of the spray nozzles and the adjustable pressure of the Water capture every square centimeter of the body surface and achieve one certain massage effects that have an impact on health and well-being. The massage device according to the invention enables a fully automatically controlled treatment process, which replaces manual activity. The water temperature can be cold or warm from 00 C to a maximum of 400 C or it can alternate suddenly. the The duration of the application is adjustable from 1 to 60 minutes. All of these functions can also be fully automatic, i.e. run electronically, e.g. by means of a control device shown schematically at 30.

The massager according to the invention has the advantage that it has the effects the well-known manual hand massage, such as kneading and rubbing certain parts of the human body and the resulting hyperemia of the upper and lower skin layers, with the help of jets of water that are constantly moving at a certain pressure generated. Because the whole body or the front or back with it continuous water pressure and the appropriate temperature is detected the effect is particularly lasting and has been used in the treatment of many so-called diseases of civilization well proven.

The advantages that can be achieved with the massage device according to the invention exist in particular that the time-consuming and costly hand massage that has been customary up to now with a nozzle or a hose through an even, covering the whole body and thereby replacing hydromassage that is many times more effective. Also the areas of application are of various kinds. This is particularly evident from the large number of over the body surface wandering jets of water. The pressure can be adjusted so that an even, healing and stimulating hyperemia of the upper layers of the skin or one in the deeper layers Regional deep tissue massage is possible. As a result, e.g. rheumatism, obesity, Overweight or cellulite, which is so widespread in women, has a beneficial effect. try have shown, for example, that a strong cold (flu, runny nose) is completely healed after one or two applications of about 30 minutes.

All information and characteristics disclosed in the documents are, as far as they are new to the state of the art, individually or in combination, as essential to the invention claimed.

Claims (1)

Claims 1. Method for hydraulic and / or pneumatic Massage of the human body or parts of the body by means of a nozzle exiting Fluids, the direction of which can be changed, that the massage can be done by means of a variety of over the body to be treated or Body part distributed, in each case predetermined angular ranges automatically back and forth carries out pivotable nozzles and the fluid is guided in a closed circuit in which, after it has acted on the body or body to be treated, Body part collected in a collecting container and by means of this a circulation pump is fed back to the nozzles. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it is indicated that the fluid in the closed circuit is pumped through filters. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that g e -k e n n z e i c Note that the nozzles, preferably in several rows across the length of the to be treated Body or body part, so arranged in such a number and their rays aligned as well as the. Size of their pivot areas are dimensioned so that essentially all areas of the body area to be treated are massaged. 4. The method according to one or more of claims 1 Bs 3, characterized G e k e n n n z e 1 c h n e t that essentially only to compensate for fluid losses and / or to change the fluid temperature, new fluid, possibly with a higher one or lower temperature from the outside isn the closed fluid circuit, preferably is introduced into the collecting container. 5. The method according to one or more of claims 1 bts 4, characterized it is not noted that the pivoting movement of each nozzle or of groups of nozzles independent of and arbitrarily to the pivoting movement of the other nozzles or other groups of nozzles takes place. 6. The method according to one or more of claims 1 or 4, characterized it is not indicated that the swiveling movement of all nozzles or of subgroups of the Nozzles done synchronously. 7. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 6, characterized It is not noted that the massage takes place in an essentially closed manner Cabin made becomes, in which the body is to be treated Person, preferably with the exception of the head. 8. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 7, characterized it is noted that the pressure of the fluid emerging from the nozzles is adjustable. 9. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterized it is not noted that the fluid used is water, preferably with additions of Herbal infusions and / or sea or bath salts, is used. 10. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterized it is noted that an essentially gaseous and / or vaporous Fluid, in particular air and / or water vapor, is used. 11. The method according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterized it is not noted that the fluid is a mixture of water and / or gases and / or vapors, in particular from water and / or air and / or oxygen andZor Ozone and / or water vapor is used. 12. Massage device for performing the method according to one or more of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that on a feed pipe (14) with a plurality of serving as nozzles, arranged approximately in a row next to one another Bores (26) provided jet pipes (16) distributed over an area, the length of which corresponds approximately to the length of the body or body part to be treated, connected are, which by an automatically reversible drive (20) about their longitudinal axis in are rotatable in an adjustable angular range, and that a collecting container (8) is provided in which the fluid after its action on the body to be treated or Body part is collected and connected to the suction line (13) of a circulation pump (12) is connected, the pressure side of which is connected to the supply pipe (14) on which the jet pipes (16) are connected. 13. Massage device according to claim 12, characterized in that g e k e n n -z e i c h n e t that a filter (19) is installed in the suction line (13) of the circulation pump (12) is, 14. Massage device according to claim 12 or 13, characterized g e -k e n n z e i c h n e t that a closed, preferably made of plastic cabin (2) is provided is, in which a lying surface (6) for the person to be treated and the nozzles (16) are arranged. 15. Massage device according to one or more of claims 12 to 14, as a result, that at the lower end of the preferably by about 5 ° inclined lying surface (6), which faces the adjacent walls of the cabin (2) there is sealed, the collecting container (8) is arranged for the fluid. 16. Massage device according to one or more of claims 2 to 15, in that there is a pressure control valve in the feed pipe (14) (18) is arranged. 17. Massage device according to one or more of claims 12 to 16, thereby g e k e n n n z e i c h n e t that as a drive for the jet pipes (16) each a drive device (20) operated by the fluid flowing through is provided whose direction of rotation can be reversed automatically. 18. Massage device according to one or more of claims 12 to 16, thereby g e k e n n n z e i c h n e t that as a drive for the jet pipes (16) each an electric motor is provided. 19. Massage device according to one or more of claims 12 to 16, thereby g e k e n n n z e i c h n e t that as a drive for the jet pipes (16) each a standstill motor is used. 20. Massage device according to one or more of claims 12 to 19, by the fact that the size of the angular range of the pivoting movement the Nozzles (26) is adjustable. 21. Massage device according to one or more of claims 12 to 20, in that the speed of the swivel movement the nozzles (26) can be changed.