GB2537817A

GB2537817A - Smart meridian tapper

Info

Publication number: GB2537817A
Application number: GB1506629.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Su Lin Goh Carol; Lai Ching Ho Helen
Original assignee: Meiban International Pte Ltd
Current assignee: Meiban International Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2015-04-20
Filing date: 2015-04-20
Publication date: 2016-11-02
Anticipated expiration: 2035-04-20
Also published as: GB201506629D0; SG10201503310YA; GB2537817B

Abstract

A smart tapper or a beater for tapping body meridian points counts and digitally records the number of taps or beats, with each count being reflected on an LCD display screen 14. The smart tapper is rechargeable and data can be wirelessly transmitted to electronic device hardware and corresponding software applications (or apps) download of count data for personal health tracking and monitoring purposes, for sharing of data via social media or for use in games playable on mobile platforms found in smart-phones or tablet PCs. The tapping count data could also be captured by a local or cloud server for data analysis and targeted marketing. The tapper has an interchangeable conical tapping head 3, massage heads 6, microphone 10, audio speaker output 13, micro USB port 15 and an electronic unit 11 including for example an accelerometer, memory, audio output, sensor and vibrator in the handle 9.

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No. GII1506629.3 RTM Date:29 September 2015 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Bluetooth (page 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17) Facebook (page 1, 4, 14, 15) Instagram (page 1, 4, 14, 15) Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo

SMART MERIDIAN TAPPER

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention here relates to a field of massager products, in particular to a smart tapper or a beater for tapping the body meridian points, and more particularly, a smart tapper that is rechargeable and is able to count with each tap or beat on the body meridian points, with each count being reflected on the LCD panel display. It can also be wirelessly connected to any electronic device hardware and its corresponding software applications (or "apps") so that the user can download the tapping count data for personal health tracking and monitoring purposes, sharing of the tapping count data via social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. or even creation of related meridian tapper games via relevant software applications (or "apps") that is customisable and playable on mobile platforms found in smart-phones or tablets PC.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM), it considers many points on a human body such as the heart, large intestine, spleen, urinary bladder etc. as meridian points. In TCM, it was widely believed that by stimulating the meridian points on a human body, it can stimulate blood flow and energy "qi" within the body, thus eliminating fatigue. A meridian point tapper or beater is designed to stimulate the energy flow within the body through a series of systematic and regular hitting.

It is well-known in the prior art that there are various types of meridian point tapper/beater that exists. An example is patent number CN 202942380U that discloses a tapper or beater for meridians. As disclosed in CN 202942380U, the design of the tapper or beater can absorb the relatively large inertia impact and yet provide the beat effect with moderate strength on any part of the human body.

Another patent CN 200620129894.5 discloses a massager which has a handle and a head massage portion, wherein the presence of the elastic rod aids in self-regulating the striking force on the human body, thus ensuring that the impact force on human body is moderate and not too heavy or too light on the user.

Patent CN 2281790Y discloses another massage stick which is like a shiatsu beating stick wherein one end of a bunch of massage stick is being tightened and the other end is forming an open state, with the tightened bunch in contact with human body on the meridian points.

As highlighted in the prior art, most of these meridian beater/tapper mentioned in the prior art are not equipped with any relevant function or capability for the user to be able to keep track, monitor and analyze the number of taps / beats that the user have done, etc. Neither does it have any function to store the number of taps / beats at any one time during usage nor does it has any visual aid for the user to visually see the number of taps / beats that he / she has done at any one time.

Hence in response to what was available in the prior art, the embodiment in the present invention serves to provide a smart meridian tapper or beater, having the capability to be able to aid the user to track or monitor his/her personal health. It is also smart enough to communicate wirelessly to the cloud database downloading and uploading of information in real-time. It has the capability to communicate wirelessly to any electronic device hardware and its corresponding software applications (or "apps") so that the user can download and see the tapping count data in real-time for personal health tracking and monitoring purposes. Product usage data is captured wirelessly by a local server or a server on a real-time cloud platform. In addition, data analytics is generated to analyze the user behavioral and usage patterns. Targeted marketing advertisements or health-related write-ups or articles are streamed to the user periodically through the software applications (or "apps") that the user has installed on his/her electronic device. It also allows sharing of the tapping count data via social media platforms such as Facebook, lnstagram, etc. or even creation of related meridian tapper games via relevant software applications (or "apps) that are customisable and playable on mobile platforms found in smart-phones or tablets PC. An example could be having your own virtual avatar being created in the virtual world via relevant software applications (or "apps") and watching your own virtual avatar grow and become stronger with more tapping counts / beats being recorded for a certain period of time. A reward system is implemented at different levels of the virtual avatar growth stage such that the user would then need to "unlock" them at different levels of the game in order to proceed further.

The overall design of the tapper or beater for the embodiment in the present invention is the same as the one disclosed in our earlier patent CN 202942380U, but with more additional features like the incorporation of a smart electronic unit embedded within the handle of the embodiment of the present invention. The smart electronic unit is equipped with a micro-processing unit whereby the counting function can be programmed via the firmware within the micro-processing unit such that it can assist the user to count whenever any meridian point on the human body is being hit or tapped. There is a LCD screen to display every beat or tap count when the user beats or taps on the human body with the meridian tapper/beater. It also has a built-in rechargeable battery which has sufficient capability to power-up, and can be recharge via the micro-USB connector port or via wireless charging. This tapper can be adapted to use disposable non-rechargeable battery.

The smart electronic unit contains a compact accelerometer with a counting function that is able to count for every beat count when the user beats or taps on the human body with the meridian tapper/beater. There is also a small speaker embedded within the meridian tapper / beater with an audio output that can be programmed via software firmware embedded within the micro-processing unit to inform the user which meridian point on the human body to hit first in a systematic manner with or without actual tapping on the body meridian points. The user can opt for the following, i.e. to listen to the voice-guide on where to hit the body meridian points without actual tapping on the body meridian points, or to follow the voice-guide and hit on the respective guided body meridian points, or to just hit on the respective guided body meridian points without following the voice guide. Alternatively, the user can also opt to turn-off the voice-guided system and just hit on the body meridian points, with an audio count output for each tap or beat. Thus, the present invention can be customized to suit the usage preferences of the user In addition, there is also a small microphone embedded inside the electronic unit for voice-activated feature, such as to record the user's voice to create his/her pace of workout to be stored inside the smart tapper for playback when using the smart tapper. Moreover, the electronic unit within the smart tapper has the capability to store the number of beats count or tapping count data with the incorporation of a memory chip / module. In addition, there is also a wireless-enabled unit (e.g Bluetooth, WIFI, Near Field Communication or NFC unit, etc.) that is embedded inside the electronic unit at the handle portion of the meridian tapper/beater for wireless communication with third party devices.

There is also a multi-purpose switch that is embedded and flushed along the handle portion of the meridian tapper/beater. It is configured to work with the vibrator unit located inside electronic unit at the handle portion of the meridian tapper/beater. The functions of the switch are as follows: (a) To switch on or off the meridian tapper/beater before or after usage with either a short or long press on the multi-purpose button, wherein the vibration from the vibrator unit can be customized to be either short or long depending whether it is a short or long press on the multi-purpose button; (b) To pair up the meridian tapper/beater with another electronic hardware device (for example smart-phones, tablets PC, personal computers/notebook, laptops etc); (c) To reset the counter back to zero as displayed on the LCD screen.

However, these functions as stated above are not limited to a form of one button, but can also be of several buttons as well as a touch-screen platform. The multi-purpose switch can be manually depressed, slide or knob rotatable-type, touch-based or even voice-activated.

Other than having the reset functions being controlled from the multi-purpose switch, the reset function for the counter can also be controlled from the relevant software applications (or "apps") installed on the electronic device hardware (for example, smart-phones, tablets PC, personal computers/notebook, laptops etc.).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings attached here are to aid in better understand the description of the invention here. The drawings are not to scale and they are to be used for merely illustrating the principles and concepts of the invention.

To aid in the description of the invention, the drawings are broken up into various Figures as described below: Figure 1A illustrates a perspective view of one side of the embodiment of the present invention, with the protruding massage heads facing up.

Figure 1B illustrates a side view of the embodiment of the present invention, highlighting the electronic unit.

Figure 2 illustrates another perspective view of the other side of the embodiment of the present invention with the conical tapping head facing up.

Figure 3 illustrates the side view profile of the embodiment of the present invention when it is flexing in use, activating a sensor that feedback to micro-processing unit. Figure 4 illustrates how the embodiment of the present invention can be wirelessly connected to different hardware electronic devices and its corresponding software applications (or "apps") and cloud database.

Reference numbers 1 Body 2 Sleeve 3 Conical Tapping Head 4. Support Piece (Conical Tapping Head side) Support Piece (Protruding Massage Heads side) 6 Protruding Massage Heads 7 Protruding portion (Conical Tapping Head side) 8 Protruding portion (Protruding Massage Heads side) 9 Handle Microphone 11 Electronic Unit (Components include accelerometer, micro-processing unit with in-built software firmware, memory module, rechargeable battery, programmable audio output, sensor unit, vibrator unit & wireless-enabled unit (e.g Bluetooth, WIFI, Near Field Communication or NFC unit, etc.) 12 Multi-Purpose Switch 13 Audio Speaker Output 14 Screen Micro-USB Connector Port 16 Wireless Connection 17 Smart-phone

18 Tablet PC

19 Personal Computer! Laptop/ Notebook computer Cloud Database

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the following description, details are provided to describe the embodiment of the application. It shall be apparent to the person skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practiced without such details.

The present invention here relates to a smart tapper! beater. It is wirelessly able to communicate to third party devices and connects to the cloud database for ease of data analysis to uniquely cater to the user personal profile and exercise behavior.

Figure 1A illustrates the view of one side of the body 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, with the conical tapping head 3 facing down and protruding massage heads 6 facing up. Conical tapping head 3 can be inter-changeable with different materials for different health and therapeutic purposes. The body 1 of the embodiment comprises of a handle 9 extending all the way to the protruding portion 7 and 8, which gives an inflexion point to the other end of the body 1 The protruding portion 7 and 8 are directly opposite of each other, in which protruding portion 7 is linked to support piece 4 on the conical tapping head side, and protruding portion 8 is linked to the support piece 5 on the protruding massage heads side. As mentioned earlier, the inflexion point between the protruding portion 7 and 8 allows for some slight deflection when it is hit on the human body meridian points.

Moreover as highlighted in Figure 1A and Figure 1B, there is an electronic unit 11 embedded inside the handle portion 9, whereby the electronic unit 11 consists of an accelerometer linked to a micro-processing unit with in-built software firmware, memory module, vibrator unit, wireless-enabled unit (e.g Bluetooth, WIFI, Near Field Communication or NEC unit etc.) as well as a programmable audio output all integrated within a small circuitry. There is an audio speaker output 13 that can be embedded at the base of the handle 9 or at any point along the handle 9. The electronic unit 11 is battery-powered via a rechargeable battery for it to operate. It can be recharge via a micro-USB connector 15. A multi-purpose switch 12 enables the user to switch on or off the function of the electronic unit 11.

With the multi-purpose switch 12 on, the electronic unit 11 will be activated and the accelerometer is able to provide feedback to the micro-processing unit with each pressure sensed from each tap or beat on the body meridian points. The accelerometer is able to convert analogue signal from each tap or beat into digital signal for the micro-processing unit. The micro-processing unit will then convert the digital signal into analogue form as input for the small speaker. Hence each count is being amplified in the form of an audio output for the user through a small speaker. The audio output can be programmed via the software firmware within the micro-processing unit to inform the user which meridian point on the human body to hit first in a systematic manner with or without actual tapping on the body meridian points. In addition, there is also a small microphone 10 embedded inside the electronic unit 11 for voice-activated feature, such as to record the user's voice to

II

create his/her pace of workout to be stored inside the smart tapper for playback when using the smart tapper. As illustrated in Figure 1A, other than audio output, the user can also visually see the number of counts on the LCD panel screen 14 that is embedded along the handle of the smart tapper/beater.

As illustrated in Figure 1A, the body 1 is typically made of flexible polymeric-like material so that the protruding portion 7 and 8 that are linked to the two support pieces 4 and 5 would be able to withstand constant flexing and tapping when hit on the human body meridian points. Sleeve 2 is attached to one end of the body 1 such that it can either encapsulate support pieces 4 and 5 together or only either one of the support piece 4 or 5. In fact, the protruding massage heads 6 belongs to a part of the sleeve 2. Sleeve 2 is typically made of flexible polymeric-like material. The sleeve 2 portion can be customised to suit different users with different threshold of pain when their body meridian points are hit by the tapper/beater. The beat or tapping effect will be slightly harder when the support pieces 4 and 5 are encapsulated together as compared to encapsulating either support piece 4 or 5. This may be suitable for users who would prefer a harder and firmer tapping impact on their body meridian points. Having one support side being encapsulated will be more suited for users who would prefer a slightly lesser tapping impact on their body meridian points.

Figure 2 illustrates another perspective view of the other side of the embodiment of the present invention with the conical tapping head 3 facing up. The design and configuration is exactly similar to what was described in Figure 1A. The only difference is that for Figure 2, the user would be using the conical tapping head 3 to tap or hit on the human body meridian points. The protruding massage heads 6 has a wider coverage area for hitting on the human body meridian points.

As highlighted in Figure 3, it illustrates the side view profile of the embodiment of the present invention when it is flexing in use. From this side view profile, it illustrates the sleeve 2 being attached at one end, the protruding portion 7 and 8 which will deflect either left or right (as denoted in the left or right arrow shown in Figure 3) when it is being hit or tapped on the human body meridian points, activating a sensor in the that feedback to the micro-processing unit.

Figure 4 illustrates how the embodiment of the present invention can be wirelessly connected to different hardware electronic devices and its corresponding software applications (or "apps"). The electronic unit 11 within the smart tapper has a memory module that is able to store the number of beats count or tapping count data. The smart tapper can be wirelessly connected via any current wireless technology 16 (e.g Bluetooth, WIFI, Near Field Communication or NFC unit etc.) to any electronic device hardware (for example smart-phone 17, tablets PC 18, personal computers/notebook/laptops 19 etc.) or to cloud database 20 to upload/download information in real-time. Using relevant corresponding software applications (or "apps"), the user can download the count data (example number of beats/tap on the meridian points) for personal health tracking and monitoring purposes. The downloading of count data can also be done via the micro-USB connector port 15 connecting to any electronic device hardware as mentioned earlier. Product usage data is captured wirelessly by a local server or a server on a real-time cloud platform. In addition, data analytics is generated to analyze the user behavioural and usage patterns. Targeted marketing advertisements or health-related write-ups or articles are streamed to the user periodically through the software applications (or "apps") that the user has installed on his/her smart device. It is smart enough to communicate wirelessly to the cloud platform (database) downloading and uploading of information in real-time. It also allows sharing of the tapping count data via social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. or even creation of related meridian tapper games via relevant software applications (or "apps") that is customisable and playable on mobile platforms found in smart-phones and/or tablets PC. Thus this will make the smart meridian point tapper more appealing to the young and the social-media savvy crowd.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description of the preferred embodiment is intended to be purely illustrative of the principles of the invention, rather than exhaustive thereof, and that changes and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and that the present invention is not intended to be limited other than as expressly set forth in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system of utilizing the smart meridian point tapper or beater, comprising of the following: * Tapping or beating of the human meridian points o Wherein the number of counts or taps are digitally recorded; and * Downloading or transferring the number of counts or taps via o current wireless technology such Bluetooth, WIFi, Near Field Communications (or NFC) for connection to any available electronic device hardware such as smart-phone, tablet PC, personal computer, laptop, notebook, etc. or via o a output connector port; and * Sharing of tapping count data via social media platforms such as Facebook, lnstagram, etc. or creation of related customisable meridian tapper games that is playable on mobile platforms found in smart-phones or tablets PC; and * Capturing of count data or taps by a local server or a real-time cloud server for data analytics to analyze the user behavioural and usage patterns, o wherein targeted marketing advertisements or health-related articles are streamed to the user periodically through the software apps, and o wherein recommended tapping / beating exercise customised to improve the user's health is streamed to the user based on theISintelligent analysis of the user profile and his/her behaviour and usage patterns.
A smart meridian point tapper or beater of claim 1, wherein * the relevant software application/s is able to support the appropriate meridian tapper games created; and * the appropriate meridian tapper games are customizable and playable on the mobile platforms found in smart-phones and/or tablets PC.
3 A smart meridian point tapper or beater of claim 1, comprising of a body made of flexible polymeric-like material or any other suitable material, * wherein one end consist of a handle extending all the way to the protruding portion, which gives an inflexion point to allow for deflection when in contact with the human body meridian points; and * wherein the handle end is embedded with an integrated electronic unit consisting of the following: o an accelerometer, o a micro-processing unit with in-built software firmware, memory module, o programmable audio output, o rechargeable battery, o sensor unit; o vibrator unit, I6 o wireless-enabled unit (e.g Bluetooth, WIFI, Near Field Communication or NFC unit etc.), o audio speaker output, o small microphone, and o multi-purpose switch; * wherein the handle end has a output connector port (e.g. micro-USB connector port) and * wherein the handle has a panel screen (e.g. LCD panel) for visual display; and * wherein the other end of the body consists of a sleeve that encapsulates at least one or two flat portions together; and * wherein the sleeve has a conical tapping head side with a conical tapping head and a protruding massage heads on the other side.
4. A smart meridian point tapper or beater of claim 3, wherein * the rechargeable battery can be recharged via the micro-USB connector or via wireless charging.
5. A smart meridian point tapper or beater of claim 3, wherein * the memory module is for storing data which can later be downloaded to any available electronic device hardware such as smart-phone, tablet PC, personal computer, laptop, notebook, etc.; and * wherein the user can utilise the data via relevant software applications.

6 A smart meridian point tapper or beater of claim 3, wherein * the conical tapping head is inter-changeable and can be made of different materials for different health and therapeutic purposes.IS