JP2000325417A - Air massaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air massaging apparatus which can increase massaging patterns. SOLUTION: A plurality of air bags 13A-13P to be expanded or contracted with the supply or discharge of air are mounted on a cushion part 12 (the body of the massaging apparatus). Ducts 15A-15P and 16A-16P are connected respectively to the air bags to individually guide air to be supplied to or discharged from them, an air distributor 34 is connected by communicating with the ducts 15A-15P while an air distributor 35, by communicating with the ducts 16A-16P. A pump 32 is connected to the air distributor 34 and a pump 33 to the air distributor 35. The pump 32, the air distributor 34 and the ducts 15A-15P form a first air supply/discharge system and the pump 33, the air distributor 35 and the ducts 16A-16P, the second air supply/discharge system. Two time lengths, long and short, are selectable as required for the expansion of the same air bag until it reaches a specified pressure between the supply of air to the air bag with a single pump in one air supply/discharge system and the simultaneous supply of air thereto with the pumps in both the air supply/discharge systems.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mat type or chair type air massaging machine for inflating and deflating a plurality of air bags to massage a part to be treated by a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air massage machine has a pump for generating compressed air, a single air distributor including a rotary valve connected to an outlet of the pump via an air hose, and an air distributor connected to the distributor. The air is supplied to and exhausted from the plurality of air bags attached to the massage machine body one by one through the conduit, which inflates and contracts the air bags, thereby performing massage. Conventionally, as described above, the supply / exhaust system for supplying / exhausting compressed air to / from the air bag has one
There is only a system and, of course, only one pump is provided.

[0003]

Conventionally, when a single air supply / exhaust system is used, when each air bag is inflated and deflated, the inflated air bag reaches a predetermined pressure for exerting a compressive force on the treatment portion. The time required for inflation (hereinafter abbreviated as inflation time) depends only on the capacity of a single pump. Therefore, the required expansion time is constant depending on the capacity of the pump. By the way, in air massage,
If the required inflation time can be changed, the mode of massage can be increased, and it can be selected according to the user's preference. However, such a thing cannot be satisfied with a conventional air massage machine, and improvement is desired.

[0004] Conventionally, the degree of inflation of an air bag also depends on the capacity of a single pump, so that the compressive force applied to a treatment target with the inflation is constant. By the way, in air massage, if the compression force can be changed,
The number of massage modes can be increased and can be selected according to the user's preference. However, such a thing cannot be satisfied with a conventional air massage machine, and improvement is desired.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air massage machine capable of increasing the number of massage modes.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a massage machine main body, a plurality of air bags attached to the main body, which expand and contract by air supply and exhaust, and a conduit for guiding air supplied and exhausted to and from the air bag. And an air distributor provided in communication with the conduit, and a pump connected to the air distributor.

In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a plurality of sets of a supply / exhaust system including the pump, the air distributor, and the conduit, and each of the supply / exhaust systems is provided with each of the air bags. Are connected individually.

In the present invention and each of the following inventions, an air bag formed of, for example, a synthetic resin such as a polyethylene resin or rubber, or the like, may be directly fixed to the massage machine main body or housed in a cover bag. Alternatively, the cover bag may be attached by fixing the cover bag to the massage machine body.
Each conduit can be made of soft vinyl chloride or an elastomer such as rubber or silicone rubber, or can be made of a rigid synthetic resin or metal. Moreover, both air distributors and both pumps may be connected to the massage machine body via an air hose to form an air supply / exhaust unit separately provided from the massage machine body. The present invention and each of the following inventions can be applied to an air massage machine of a mat type or a chair type, and the number of air supply / exhaust systems in the present invention is not limited to two as long as it is two or more.

In the present invention and each of the following inventions, pumps of each set of air supply / exhaust systems are simultaneously driven with respect to an air bag attached to a massage machine main body.
By simultaneously supplying air from each supply / exhaust system and inflating the air bag to a predetermined pressure in a short inflation required time, by selecting a smaller number of supply / exhaust systems and driving their pumps, The air bag can be inflated to a predetermined pressure by an air supply from the selected air supply / exhaust system in a required inflation time longer than the short inflation required. By selecting the number of supply / exhaust systems to be used in this way, the air bag can be inflated to a predetermined pressure in the required inflation time.

In carrying out the invention of claim 1,
As in the invention according to claim 2 which depends on this invention, it is preferable that the performance of the pumps of the respective supply / exhaust systems be the same.

In carrying out the invention of claim 1,
As in the invention according to claim 2 dependent on the present invention, the supply and exhaust system is a first and a second system, and
A pump having a higher flow rate and a lower pressure than the pump of the second supply / exhaust system is used as the pump of the supply / exhaust system, and the flow rate of the pump of the second supply / exhaust system is higher than that of the pump of the first supply / exhaust system. It is preferable to use a pump having a small size and high performance.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the selective use of the two supply / exhaust systems having different pumping performances, the first system includes:
After the supply / exhaust system is operated first, the use mode can be switched between a case where a time difference drive for operating the second supply / exhaust system after a certain time interval and a case where it is not performed. In the case of the time lag drive, first, the air bag is rapidly inflated by a large discharge flow rate of the pump of the first air supply / exhaust system, and then high pressure air is supplied from the second air supply / exhaust system in that state. The inflation pressure is increased at the end of the inflation to give the user more pressure. When the first air supply / exhaust system is selected and the air bag is inflated without performing the time lag drive,
Since the inflation pressure of the air bag is low, the user is pressed with a force lower than the above-mentioned pressing force. By using the first and second air supply / exhaust systems having the pumps having different performances as described above, the compression force applied to the user can be changed in two ways.

Further, in any one of the first to third aspects,
In carrying out the invention described in the paragraph, as in the invention of claim 4 dependent on the invention, the air supply / exhaust system is first and second two systems, and the air bag has a pair of air supply / exhaust ports. It is preferable to connect a conduit of the first supply / exhaust system to one of the supply / exhaust ports and to connect a conduit of the second supply / exhaust system to the other supply / exhaust port. In this way, when the air supply / exhaust systems are simultaneously driven to supply air to the air bladders, the air guided through the conduits from the respective systems does not merge before entering the air bladders and interfere with each other. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the air supply loss due to the vortex or the like generated due to the merging, and to smoothly supply the air to the air bag and inflate the air bag quickly.

In practicing the invention according to any one of the first, third, and fourth aspects, each of the supply / exhaust systems has the same configuration as the invention according to the fifth aspect, which is dependent on the invention. The pump may be of a different type. In the present invention, the different types of pumps include a diaphragm pump having a large discharge flow rate, a piston pump having a high air supply pressure, a rotary pump, and the like, and a pump of the same type, for example, a tire diaphragm pump. Even
In the present invention, pumps of different types can be used in which the discharge flow rates are adjusted to be different from each other by changing the drive frequency. By selecting such a different kind of pump, for example, the invention of claim 3 can be carried out.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a mat type air massage machine 11.
This massage machine 11 has a mat portion 12 as a massage machine body, a group of air bags formed by a plurality of treatment air bags 13A to 13P, and an air bag 13A.
13P, a first group of conduits formed by the same number of conduits 15A to 15P, and the same number of conduits 16A to 16A to air bags 13A to 13P.
16P, a second group of conduits, an air supply / exhaust device 17,
And a control device 18 (see FIG. 2).

The mat section 12 includes a massage board 21 for receiving a user's body lying thereon. A backing sheet 22 is attached to the back surface of the substrate 21,
Frames 23 are respectively attached to both side surfaces of the massage substrate 21, and a headrest 24 is attached to one longitudinal surface of the substrate 21. Further, the mat section 12 includes the massage board 21,
Frame 23, headrest 24, air bags 13A-1
3P, and a mat cover 2 covering the air supply / exhaust device 17 disposed on the surface of the other end of the substrate 21 in the longitudinal direction.
5 and the cover 25 is removable.

The massage substrate 21 may be formed of a hard material, but in the present embodiment, it is formed so as to be bent at the center in the longitudinal direction, whereby the mat portion 12 can be folded in two, which is convenient for transportation and storage. What is going on. The backing sheet 22 is made of freely deformable cloth or the like. The frame 23 and the headrest 24 are each formed of a foamed material such as a urethane foam resin, and the frame 23 is formed of a mat portion 12 so that the mat portion 12 can be easily folded.
Are separated at the center in the longitudinal direction. The mat cover 25 is made of freely deformable cloth or the like, and its peripheral portion is detachably attached to the massage board 21 or the like.

Each of the air bladders 13 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view when it is integrally formed of a polyethylene resin and contracted.
A to 13P have a pair of supply / exhaust ports 26, 27. These air supply / exhaust ports 26 and 27 are respectively connected to the air bags 13A to 13A.
It is provided separately at both ends in the longitudinal direction of 3P. Each of the air bags 13A to 13P is inflated by being supplied with air through the air supply / exhaust ports 26 and 27, and is inflated.
It is contracted by evacuating through 7.

The air bladders 13A to 13P are arranged at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the massage substrate 21 on the surface side of the massage substrate 21. 12 are mounted symmetrically with respect to the width direction. These air bladders 13A to 13P are partially overlapped with each other so as to be able to air massage the range from the shoulder to the lower limb of the user lying on the mat portion 12 and have a high density between the headrest 24 and the air supply / exhaust device 17. And is arranged between.

Each of the air bags 13A to 13P is attached to the massage board 21 by attaching a bush or a screw inserted through the attachment piece 28 integrally formed on one side edge of each of the air bags 13A to 13P and the massage board 21. In this case, each of the air bags 13A to 13P is mounted on the massage board 21 with its mounting piece 28 facing the headrest 24 side. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the air supply / exhaust device 17 includes a housing 31 fixed to a massage board 21.
And first and second pumps 32 and 33 which are built in the housing 31 and operate the pump by, for example, electromagnetically driving the diaphragm, and the discharge ports of both the pumps 32 and 33 are individually connected via air hoses. And first and second air distributors 34 and 35 connected to the first and second air distributors. The first and second pumps 32 and 33 are, for example, diaphragm pumps having the same performance (flow rate and pressure). These two pumps 32, 33
Is disposed at the center in the width direction of the mat portion 12 at one end in the longitudinal direction. The first air distributor 34 is arranged at one end in the longitudinal direction toward one end in the width direction of the mat portion 12, and similarly, the second air distributor 35 is arranged at the one end in the longitudinal direction.
Are arranged close to the other end in the width direction. Double distributor 3
4, 35 are conduit connection ports 34a,
35a are distributed to the headrest 24 side of the mat portion 12, that is, toward the other end in the longitudinal direction, at the above-mentioned two positions. The conduit connection port 34a has the same number of connection ports (not shown) as the respective conduits 15A to 15P inside. Similarly, the conduit connection port 35a has the same number of the respective conduits 16A to 16P inside. (Not shown).

Each of the first and second air distributors 34 and 35 is composed of a rotary valve having an exhaust portion. The rotary valve operates to supply and exhaust air to and from the air bladders 13A to 13P in accordance with the rotation of the valve body. The bags 13A to 13P are inflated and contracted one by one along the arrangement direction, or the air bags 13A to 13P are simultaneously or selectively inflated and contracted as desired.

In order to enable such expansion / contraction,
One end of each of the group of conduits 15A to 15P made of soft vinyl chloride is connected to the conduit connection port 34a of the first air distributor 34, and the other end is individually connected to the supply / exhaust port 26 of each of the air bags 13A to 13P. Then, the pipe is arranged near one end of the mat portion 12 in the width direction. Therefore, the first pump 32
And the air distributor 34 connected thereto and the conduits 15A to 15P connected thereto are respectively connected to the air bags 13A to 13P.
And a first air supply / exhaust system for supplying / exhausting air to / from each other.

Similarly, the inflation of each of the air bags 13A to 13P
Another group of flexible PVC conduits 1 to allow shrinkage
6A-16P, one end thereof is connected to the conduit connection port 35a of the second air distributor 35, and the other end is individually connected to the supply / exhaust port 27 of each of the air bags 13A-13P. The pipe is arranged near the other end in the width direction. Therefore, the second pump 33, the air distributor 35 connected thereto, and the conduits 16A to 16P connected thereto,
A second air supply / exhaust system for individually supplying / exhausting air to / from each of the air bags 13A to 13P is provided.

A control device 18 (see FIG. 2) for controlling the supply / exhaust operation of the air supply / exhaust device 17 is
7 and a control unit 18a such as a remote controller (not shown) connected to the control unit 18a.
Is operated by a user or the like. This control device 18
The drive of the pumps 32 and 33 and the air distribution operation of the air distributors 34 and 35 are controlled in accordance with various operation modes specified by an operation input from the input unit 18b. The input unit 18b can input a command for selecting the length of time required for inflation of the air bag in each of the operation modes.

[0027] In the air massage machine having the above structure,
When performing air massage by inflating and deflating each of the air bags 13A to 13P one by one in the direction in which they are arranged, or by selecting and inflating and deflating an air bag at a desired position, the user needs to make sure that the air bags are The length of time required for inflation to reach a predetermined pressure (expansion time required) can be instructed by the input unit 18b.

When the required expansion time is specified to be short by this input operation, one of the first and second air supply / exhaust systems, for example, the first air supply / exhaust system is controlled by the control unit 18a.
Only the supply / exhaust system is driven to perform the supply / exhaust operation, and the second supply / exhaust system is not driven. In the air supply operation in this case, only the first pump 32 of the first air supply / exhaust system is driven, and the compressed air generated by the first pump 32 is supplied to the air bag to be supplied. The air supply / exhaust port 26
Only from the first air distributor 34 to the conduits 15A-1
Supplied via any of 5P. Therefore, the supplied air bag is inflated to a predetermined pressure in the first required inflation time depending on the discharge flow rate and the pressure of the first pump 32, and reaches there. The first required expansion time is longer than the second required expansion time described below. When such a first required inflation time is selected, the number of times of inflation and deflation is small as a whole, so that a relatively slow air massage can be performed.

When a long expansion time is specified by an input operation at the input section 18b, the first and second air supply / exhaust systems having the same performance are controlled by the control section 18a. Both pumps 32 and 33 are simultaneously driven to perform a supply / exhaust operation. Therefore, for the air bag to be supplied, the compressed air generated by the first pump 32 supplies one of the conduits 15A to 15P from the first air distributor 34 to one supply / exhaust port 26. The compressed air generated by the second pump 33 is supplied to the other air supply / exhaust port 27 from the second air distributor 35 through the conduit 16A.
Ｐ16P. That is, since the air supply is performed at twice the capacity as compared with the conventional art, the second inflation time required for the supplied air bag to reach the predetermined pressure is shortened to half of the first inflation time. it can. Then, when such a second required inflation time is selected,
The number of times of expansion and contraction as a whole increases,
You can do a quick air massage with the ratio.

As described above, in various operation modes, the user operates the input section 18b to select the first or second required inflation time, so that the desired air bladder can be set at the desired required inflation time. Can be inflated to obtain a desired massage mode and air-massage the treated part.

Each of the air bags 13A to 13P has a pair of air supply / exhaust ports 26 and 27, and one of the air supply / exhaust ports 26 is connected to one of the conduits 15A to 15P of the first air supply / exhaust system. In addition, since one of the conduits 16A to 16P of the second supply / exhaust system is connected to the other supply / exhaust port 27, the two supply / exhaust systems are driven as described above to supply air to the air bag to be supplied. The air supply loss in the case of care can be reduced. That is, when air is supplied to the air bag after merging the conduits of the two air supply and exhaust systems, the compressed air sent from the two air supply and exhaust systems interferes with each other at the merging portion to generate eddies and the like. An air supply loss occurs. However, since air is supplied to the air bags independently of each other without merging the air supply, the air supply loss due to the merging is eliminated, the air bag can be supplied smoothly, and the air bag is quickly inflated accordingly. Can be done.

FIG. 3 shows a mat type air massage machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the pump 13 included in the first and second air supply / exhaust systems is provided.
2 and 133 have different performances, for which different types of pumps are employed. To explain a specific example, the first
As the pump 132, a diaphragm type pump which has a low discharge pressure but can secure a large discharge flow rate is adopted, and the second pump 133 can secure a high discharge pressure than the first pump 132 but has a high discharge flow rate. Uses a small piston pump. Further, the input unit 18b of the control device 18 can designate the strength of the pressing force by the air bag. Except for the above points, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, including the parts not shown in FIG. 3. Therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted together with the operation and effect thereof.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, only one of the air supply / exhaust systems is driven to inflate / deflate a desired air bag, and both air supply / exhaust systems are simultaneously driven. The object of the present invention can be solved by changing the required inflation time of the air bag by selecting whether to inflate / deflate a desired air bag. In addition, air massage is usually performed in these operations in a weak compression mode.

In the second embodiment, when the high compression mode is selected and designated by the input unit 18b, the two supply and exhaust systems are operated so as to overlap with a time difference. That is, after the first supply / exhaust system having the first pump 132 having a larger flow rate and a lower pressure than the second pump 133 of the second supply / exhaust system is operated first by the control of the control unit 18a, After a while, the second supply / exhaust system having the second pump 133 having a smaller flow rate and a higher pressure than the first pump 132 of the first supply / exhaust system is driven. The first pump 1 of the first air supply / exhaust system is first driven by this time difference drive.
The high-pressure air is supplied from the second pump 133 of the second supply / exhaust system in this state after the air bag to be supplied is inflated quickly by the large discharge flow rate of 32. for that reason,
The inflation pressure of the air bag to be supplied is sharply increased at the end of the inflation, so that the user can apply a stronger pressing force to perform massage. Conversely, the control unit 18 prevents the above-described time difference drive from being performed in normal use.
When the first air supply / exhaust system is selected and the air bag is inflated, the air bag is inflated at a low pressure. Therefore, the user is given a compression force lower than the strong compression force to massage the air bag. Can be. As described above, in the second embodiment, the compression force applied to the user can be changed in two ways by using the first and second air supply / exhaust systems having pumps with different performances. Therefore, it is possible to perform desired massage by selecting any one of the strong and weak compressing forces according to the user's preference for the treated part.

In each of the first and second embodiments, the exhaust from the inflated air bag is performed by the air distributor. Instead, the air distributor is omitted, and only the supply and exhaust distribution is performed. The pump may be used to perform the exhaust. In this case, it is possible to switch between performing the exhaust by one of the two supply and exhaust systems and performing the exhaust simultaneously by the respective pumps of the two supply and exhaust systems by an input operation at the input unit. Can be. In this way, the forced exhaust can be performed from the air bag using the suction capacity of the pump, so that the exhaust time can be shortened. Along with being able to select two stages of evacuation time when exhausting with two pumps, the number of times of expansion and contraction of the entire air massage machine, that is, the number of massages can be increased. Further, in such an implementation, it is possible to use one air supply / exhaust system exclusively for air supply and use the other air supply / exhaust system exclusively for air exhaust. In such a case, in combination with the control of the air distribution operation of the two air distributors, when an air bag is inflated by the air supply / exhaust system dedicated to air supply, the air bag is already adjacent to the air bag. The air in any other inflated bladder, such as an inflated bladder, can be forced to deflate by a dedicated air supply and exhaust system. Therefore, the evacuation time is shortened, and the number of times of expansion and contraction of the entire air massage machine, that is, the number of times of massage can be increased.

Although each of the first and second embodiments is configured as described above, a pair of twist air bags may be added to the air bag on the headrest side in these embodiments. These torsional air bladders are arranged so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the mat portion so as to correspond to the scapula portion of the user lying on the mat portion, and the conduits connected to these air bladders are the first and second air bladders. Sorted into any of the two conduit groups. By inflation of one of the air bags for twisting, a twist can be given to the upper body of the user. In the inflation of the air bag, the selection of the inflation required time or the selection of the time difference inflation is performed. It goes without saying that it can be applied.
Further, in the present invention, the operation unit may be instructed so that both the selection of the required expansion time and the selection of the time difference expansion can be performed.

[0037]

According to the air massage machine according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, the inflation time required for inflating the air bag to a predetermined pressure is changed, or the air bag is inflated with the inflation of the air bag. Since the pressing force applied to the user can be changed, the mode of massage can be diversified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 (A) is a plan view partially showing the entire configuration of a mat type air massage machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention; (B) is a substantially vertical side view showing the configuration of the entire air massage machine according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the air massage machine shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view partially showing the entire configuration of a mat type air massage machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Massage machine 12 ... Mat part (massage machine main body) 13A-13P ... Air bag 15A-15P ... Conduit (1st supply / exhaust system) 16A-16P ... Conduit (2nd supply / exhaust system) 17 ... Air supply / exhaust device 18 ... Control device 18a ... Control unit 18b ... Input unit 26,27 ... Supply / exhaust port 32,132 ... First pump (first supply / exhaust system) 33,133 ... Second pump (second supply / exhaust system) 34 ... First Air distributor (first supply / exhaust system) 35 ... second air distributor (second supply / exhaust system)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Abe 43 Horiyamashita, Hadano-shi, Kanagawa Toshiba Tec Co., Ltd. Hadano Plant (72) Inventor Toshio Arakawa 43 Horiyamashita, Hadano-shi, Kanagawa TOSHIBA TEC Co., Ltd. Inside plant (72) Inventor Noriyuki Iwata 43 Horiyamashita, Hadano-shi, Kanagawa F-term (reference) 4C100 AD02 BA05 BB05 BC12 BC13 CA15 DA01 DA04 DA05 DA08 DA10

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A massage machine main body, a plurality of air bags attached to the main body and expanded and contracted by air supply and exhaust, a conduit for guiding air supplied and exhausted to and from the air bag, and a communication with the conduit. In an air massage machine including the provided air distributor and a pump connected to the air distributor, a plurality of sets of a supply / exhaust system including the pump, the air distributor, and a conduit are provided, and these supply / exhaust systems are provided. An air massage machine, wherein each air bag is individually connected to each of the air bags. 2. The air massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the pumps of the respective air supply / exhaust systems have the same performance. 3. The supply / exhaust system includes a first and a second system, and a pump having a higher flow rate and a lower pressure than a pump of the second supply / exhaust system is used as a pump of the first supply / exhaust system. The air massage machine according to claim 1, wherein a pump having a smaller flow rate and a higher pressure than the pump of the first supply / exhaust system is used as the pump of the second supply / exhaust system. 4. The air supply / exhaust system includes a first and a second system, and the air bag has a pair of air supply / exhaust ports, and one of the air supply / exhaust ports is provided with a conduit of the first air supply / exhaust system. The air massage machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a pipe of a second air supply / exhaust system is connected to the other air supply / exhaust port. 5. The air massage machine according to claim 1, wherein pumps of the respective supply / exhaust systems are of different types.