JP2001120630A - Massage chair - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To satisfactorily prevent the leakage of sound even when a user has left a massage chair without cutting off the power source of the chair having a function of generating the sound such as a music or the like during massaging. SOLUTION: A chair body 3 massages a user sitting on a seat 3a by massaging balls 31, and a speaker 39 generates sound such as music or the like to the user. Whether the user sits on the seat 3a or not is judged according to whether an optical path between a light emitting element 33a and a photodetector 33b is obstructed or not. When the user does not sit, the volume of the speaker is lowered, while when the user sits, the volume of the speaker is raised. Thus, even when the user has left the body 3 without cutting off the power source, the leakage of the sound to the circumference can be satisfactorily prevented. Since the volume of the speaker 39 is gradually changed, a user's relaxation is not disturbed by the change of the volume.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a massage chair provided with a seat on which a user can sit, and for giving a massage to a user sitting on the seat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a massage chair of this type, there is known a chair provided with a seat on which a user can sit and massage means for giving a massage to a user sitting on the seat. In the massage chair configured as described above, the user can be massaged by giving various stimuli, such as squeezing, tapping, and pushing, to the user sitting on the seat by the massage means. In addition, in this type of massage chair, it is also considered that a sound such as music is generated to the user while the massage means performs the massage, so that the user can receive the massage in a more relaxed state. I have.

[0003]

However, in a conventional massage chair, attention is paid only to giving a relaxing effect by generating a sound to a user. Was not considered. When the user is sitting on the seat, the sound is absorbed and attenuated by the body of the user, and is relatively hard to leak to the outside. However, if the user moves away from the massage chair without turning off the power, the above-mentioned sound can be heard well in the surroundings, which may be annoying to others.

[0004] If the power is always turned off when the user leaves the massage chair, it is possible to prevent the sound from leaking to the outside as described above. The function for the purpose of massage and relaxation is not fully exhibited. Also,
In order to use this type of massage chair without worrying about the power supply, the user must use it alone in a relatively quiet room. In this case, time and place restrictions occur, and the original massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation may not be sufficiently exhibited even by the restrictions.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a massage chair having a function of generating sound such as music during a massage, which can prevent sound from leaking even when the user leaves the massage chair without turning off the power. Made for the purpose of preventing.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a seat on which a user can sit, and massages the user seated on the seat. A massage chair provided with a massage means for applying, wherein a voice generating means for generating a voice for a user seated on the seat portion, and whether the user is seated on the seat portion is determined. Judging means, when the judging means judges that the user is not seated, lowers the volume of the sound generating means, and when the judging means judges that the user is seated, the sound volume of the sound generating means is decreased. And a volume control means for raising the volume.

[0007] In the present invention thus constructed, the massage means applies a massage to the user sitting on the seat,
The sound generating means generates sound such as music for the user sitting on the seat. For this reason, massage can be performed very effectively while relaxing the user.
Further, in the present invention, the determination means determines whether or not the user is sitting on the seat, and when the determination means determines that the user is not seated, the volume control means controls the volume of the sound generation means. When the determination means determines that the user is seated, the volume control means increases the volume of the sound generation means. Therefore, even if the user leaves the massage chair without turning off the power, the volume control means lowers the volume, so that sound can be prevented from leaking to the surroundings. Further, when the user sits down again, the volume control means increases the volume, so that the user can receive a massage while listening to the voice at an appropriate volume.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the user is not seated, the volume of the sound generating means can be reduced, so that even if the user is away from the massage chair without turning off the power, the sound can be heard around. Leakage can be satisfactorily prevented. For this reason, there is no need to always use nerves so as not to forget to turn off the power supply during use, and there is no restriction on time or place. Therefore, in the massage chair of the present invention, the massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation, which the massage means and the sound generating means have, can be exhibited extremely well.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the volume control means gradually or continuously increases or decreases the volume of the sound generating means in a stepwise or continuous manner. It is characterized by changing the volume. In the present invention, the volume control means changes the volume gradually or continuously when increasing the volume of the sound generating means and when decreasing the volume. When the volume suddenly increases or decreases, the user may be stressed in return.However, in the present invention, since the volume gradually changes, the change in the volume impairs the relaxed state of the user. It can be prevented well. Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1,
There is an effect that the massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation, which the massage means and the sound generating means have, can be exhibited more favorably.

[0010] The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
In addition to the configuration described above, the voice generating means is configured to be arranged separately from the seat, and a transmitting unit that transmits an infrared signal corresponding to the voice, and the transmitting unit is provided on the seat side, A receiving unit for receiving the infrared signal transmitted from the
A reproducing unit for reproducing the infrared signal received by the receiving unit as audio.

[0011] The voice generating means in the present invention converts the infrared signal transmitted from the transmitting section which can be arranged separately from the seat section,
The received infrared signal is received by a receiving unit provided on the seat side, and the received infrared signal is reproduced as sound by the reproducing unit. As described above, according to the present invention, the transmitting section that generates the infrared signal corresponding to the voice can be arranged separately from the seat, so that the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the seat is improved. In addition, since transmission and reception are performed by an infrared signal between the reception unit provided on the seat side and the transmission unit, unlike a radio using radio waves, no signal leaks out of the room, and a device in a separate room is used. It does not affect it.

Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second aspects of the present invention, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the seat portion is improved, and the massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation are more excellently exhibited. And the effect on the equipment in the separate room can be further reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of any one of the first to third aspects, the determining means determines whether a predetermined optical path is interrupted by a user's body or the user's body. When the body reflects ultrasound emitted in a predetermined direction,
It is characterized in that it is determined that the user is sitting on the seat.

[0014] The determination means in the present invention, when a predetermined optical path is interrupted by the user's body, or when the user's body reflects the ultrasonic wave emitted in a predetermined direction, the user can determine the position of the seat. Judge that you are sitting in the club. As a means for determining whether or not the user is seated, a configuration for detecting and determining the weight of the user may be considered, but in this case, when a force is applied in a direction to push up the user by the massage means, etc. However, there is a possibility that it is erroneously determined that the user is not seated. On the other hand, in the present invention, the above-described determination is performed based on whether or not the predetermined optical path is interrupted, or whether or not the ultrasonic wave emitted in the predetermined direction is reflected. Can be done accurately.

Therefore, according to the present invention, in addition to the effects of any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not the user is seated and to prevent the sound from leaking to the surroundings. The effect is obtained that the prevention can be more favorably performed, and the massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation can be exhibited more favorably.

[0016]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a use state of a massage chair to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the massage chair according to the present embodiment has a chair body 3 including a seat 3a (see FIG. 2) on which a user S can sit.
And a transmitting unit 7 which is configured separately from the chair body 3 and can be connected to an audio output terminal (not shown) of the television receiver 5.
And

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the chair body 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the chair body 3 is configured as a chair having a seat 3a, a backrest 3b, an armrest 3c, and a leg 3d as main parts, and a pair of firs in the center of the backrest 3b. A ball 31 is provided. This fir ball 3
1 is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), and moves in a vertically long elliptical shape in a plane perpendicular to the seat portion 3a and the backrest portion 3b. This type of mechanism is well known and will not be described in detail here.

Behind the armrest 3c, there are provided three sets of light emitting elements 33a and light receiving elements 33b facing each other in the vertical direction. When the user S sits on the seat 3a, the light emitting element 33
The light path from a to the light receiving element 33b is blocked. That is, the light emitting element 33a and the light receiving element 33b are provided with a human body detection switch 33 for determining whether the user S is seated.
(See FIG. 4).

A receiving section 37 for receiving an infrared signal transmitted from the transmitting section 7 as described later is provided on both upper sides of the backrest section 3b, and a pair of left and right speakers is provided inside the receiving section 37. 39 are provided. Speaker 39
As shown in FIG. 3, is arranged so that when the user S sits on the seat 3a and leans on the backrest 3b, a sound is generated toward the head Sa of the user S. Therefore, when the user S is seated, the sound generated by the speaker 39 is absorbed and attenuated by the body of the user S including the head Sa, and hardly leaks to the outside.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration from the transmission section 7 to the speaker 39 via the reception section 37.
As shown in FIG. 4, the transmission section 7 has a transmission circuit 41 to which an audio input is made from the above-described audio output terminal. This audio input may be an audio line-out signal such as a radio or stereo signal, in addition to the signal from the television receiver 5 in FIG. 1, and is a signal of the L channel and the R channel. When the audio input is made, the transmission circuit 41 outputs the transistor Tr1 and the resistor R
The infrared light-emitting element 43 is driven via 1 to generate an infrared signal corresponding to the audio input.

The receiving section 37 includes an infrared light receiving element 45 for receiving infrared light generated by the infrared light emitting element 43, and a resistor R
2 and a coil L2, and the infrared signal is converted into an electric signal by a circuit in which these are connected in series. This electric signal is input to the receiving circuit 47 via a capacitor C1 for removing noise (DC component). The receiving circuit 47 converts the electric signal into a signal for driving the speaker 39, and the converted signal is input to the speaker 39 via the following path. That is, the capacitor C2 for removing noise (DC component), and the main volume 5 as a mechanical variable resistor adjusted by the user S
1. The signal is input to the speaker 39 through an electronic volume 55 as an electronic variable resistor adjusted by a timer circuit 53 described later and a main amplifier 57 in order.

As a result, the sound corresponding to the L channel of the above-mentioned audio input from the left speaker 39 and the sound corresponding to the R channel from the right speaker 39 correspond to the settings of the main volume 51 and the electronic volume 55, respectively. Output at the volume. When one of the optical paths from the light emitting element 33a to the light receiving element 33b is interrupted, that is, when the human body detection switch 33 is closed, the timer circuit 53 continuously reduces the resistance value of the electronic volume 55 to the minimum value. When the human body detection switch 33 is opened, the resistance value of the electronic volume 55 is continuously and gradually increased to the maximum value.

Therefore, when the user S is seated and the human body detecting switch 33 is closed, as shown in FIG.
9 gradually increases gradually and reaches the maximum value max (that is, the volume set by the user S on the main volume 51) after a time Δt. When the user S separates from the chair body 3 and the human body detection switch 33 is opened, the volume of the speaker 39 continuously decreases gradually and reaches the minimum value min (for example, 0) after the time Δt. The change in the volume may be stepwise.

As described above, in the massage chair of the present embodiment, even if the user S leaves the chair body 3 without turning off the power, the volume of the speaker 39 gradually decreases to the minimum value min, and Can be satisfactorily prevented from leaking to the surroundings. For this reason, it is not necessary to always use nerves so as not to forget to turn off the power when using the massage chair, and there is no restriction on time or place.

When the user S sits down again,
By the operation of the timer circuit 53, the volume of the speaker 39 gradually rises to a volume (maximum value max) corresponding to the main volume 51. Therefore, the user S can receive the massage while listening to the sound from the speaker 39 at a desired volume. Therefore, in the massage chair of the present embodiment, the massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation, which the fir ball 31 and the speaker 39 have, can be exhibited extremely well. In addition, since the volume of the speaker 39 changes gradually and continuously, it is possible to properly prevent the change in the volume from causing stress on the user S and damaging the relaxed state.

Further, since the transmitting section 7 for generating an infrared signal corresponding to a voice can be arranged separately from the chair body 3, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the chair body 3 is improved. Further, since transmission and reception are performed by an infrared signal between the receiving unit 37 and the transmitting unit 7 provided in the chair body 3, unlike the radio using radio waves, the signal does not leak to the outside, and the equipment in another room is not provided. Has no effect on For this reason, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the chair main body 3 is improved, and the massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation can be more favorably exhibited, and the influence on the equipment in another room can be further reduced. .

Moreover, in the chair body 3, since the receiving portions 37 are provided on both sides of the upper portion of the backrest portion 3b, the following effects are produced. That is, in winter or the like, the user S may wear a blanket or the like after sitting on the chair body 3,
In such a case as well, the receiving section 37 is exposed, so that sound can be satisfactorily generated from the speaker 39.

In the above embodiment, the fir ball 3
1 and its driving mechanism to the massaging means, the above-described configuration from the transmitting section 7 to the speaker 39 to the sound generating means, the human body detection switch 33 (that is, the light emitting element 33a and the light receiving element 33b) to the determining means, and the timer circuit 53 The electronic volume 55 corresponds to a volume control unit, and the speaker 39 corresponds to a playback unit. Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment at all, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, an ultrasonic sensor for judging that the user S is sitting on the seat portion 3a when the body of the user S reflects ultrasonic waves emitted in a predetermined direction is used as the judging means. In addition, a sensor using a limit-type microswitch, a sensor that determines the weight of the user S by detecting the weight of the user S with a pressure sensor, or an infrared sensor of a pyroelectric effect type is used. Things can also be employed.

However, when the fir ball 31 is applying a force in the direction of pushing up the user S or the like, if the pressure sensor or the like is used, it may be determined that the user S stands. On the other hand, in the above embodiment, the light emitting element 3
Since it is determined whether or not the user S is sitting on the basis of whether or not the optical path between 3a and the light receiving element 33b has been blocked, the determination can be made extremely accurately. Moreover, since the optical path passes near the thigh of the user S, the above determination can be made very accurately even during the massage. Therefore, it is possible to more preferably prevent the sound from leaking to the surroundings, and it is possible to more suitably exert the massage function and the function for the purpose of relaxation.

Further, in the above embodiment, the maximum value max of the volume of the speaker can be set by the user S operating the main volume 51, but the minimum value min of the volume of the speaker is also set by the user S. The setting may be made by an operation. Further, a source of an audio signal may be provided inside the chair body 3, and the sound generated from the speaker 39 may be a pseudo sound such as a synthesizer.
When the source of the audio signal is built into the chair body 3, music selection is performed according to the operation mode of the fir ball 31,
It is also possible to automatically adjust the volume and sound quality (balance between high and low sounds, etc.). If the chair body 3 is provided with a well-known heart rate sensor, blood pressure sensor, muscular strength sensor, and the like, it is also possible to perform the above-described music selection, volume adjustment, sound quality adjustment, and the like according to the state of the user S detected by these sensors. Becomes

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the chair main body 3 may be provided with video reproducing glasses 61 and an information input section 63.
Here, the video reproduction glasses 61 include a liquid crystal display inside, and can project the same video as the television receiver 5 of FIG. Also, the information input unit 63 includes:
Information such as the weight, height, age, and gender of the user S can be input. For this reason, in the chair body 3 shown in FIG. 6, even when the screen of the television receiver 5 is arranged in a place where the screen of the television receiver 5 cannot be directly viewed, the user S can enjoy the same image as the television receiver 5. . When the above information is input to the information input unit 63, the fir ball 3
It is also possible to control the operation 1 in accordance with the information and to apply the most suitable massage to the user S. Further, if the heart rate sensor and the like are provided in the chair body 3, not only the control of the speaker 39 described above, but also the brightness and contrast of the image projected on the video playback glasses 61 can be controlled by the user
Can be adjusted in accordance with the state of operation and the operation mode of the fir ball 31.

Further, the chair body 3 shown in FIG. 2 or FIG.
In the embodiment, three sets of the light emitting element 33a and the light receiving element 33b are provided in the vertical direction to constitute the human body detection switch 33.
It is also possible to detect the speed at which the user S stands up or sits down. Therefore, when the processing shown in FIG. 7 is executed by the timer circuit 53 when the human body detection switch 33 is opened and closed, the change speed of the volume can be set according to the speed at which the user S rises or sits down. . That is, in the process of FIG. 7, the speed at which the user S rises or sits is detected from the detection signals of the three light receiving elements 33b in S1, and Δt corresponding to the speed is calculated in subsequent S3. By executing the above-described processing based on the Δt calculated in this way, the movement of the user S and the change in the volume of the speaker 39 come to correspond. In this case, the sound of the speaker 39 can be more effectively prevented from leaking, and the change in the volume of the speaker 39 can be more effectively prevented from causing stress on the user S.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a use state of a massage chair to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the chair body.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a speaker and a user's head.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a circuit configuration from a transmission unit to a speaker.

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing a change in volume of a speaker by the circuit.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a modification of the chair body.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a modification of the processing in the circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Chair body 3a ... Seat part 3b ... Backrest part 3c ... Armrest part 3d ... Legs 5 ... Television receiver 7 ... Transmission part 31 ... Fir ball 33 ... Human body detection switch 33a ... Light emitting element
33b ... light receiving element 37 ... receiving unit 39 ... speaker 41 ... transmitting circuit
43: infrared light emitting element 45: infrared light receiving element 47: receiving circuit
51: Main volume 53: Timer circuit 55: Electronic volume
57: Main amplifier 61: Video playback glasses 63: Information input unit S:
User Sa ... Head

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A massage chair comprising: a seat on which a user can sit; and massage means for massaging a user seated on the seat. Voice generating means for generating a voice, and a determining means for determining whether or not a user is seated on the seat portion. When the determining means determines that the user is not seated, the voice generating means Volume control means for lowering the volume and increasing the volume of the sound generation means when the determination means determines that the user is seated. 2. The volume control device according to claim 1, wherein the volume control means changes the volume gradually or continuously when increasing the volume of the voice generating means and decreasing the volume. massage chair. 3. A transmitting unit configured to be arranged separately from the seat and transmitting an infrared signal corresponding to the sound, wherein the transmitting unit is provided on the seat side, and The massage chair according to claim 1, further comprising: a receiving unit that receives the transmitted infrared signal; and a reproducing unit that reproduces the infrared signal received by the receiving unit as sound. 4. When the predetermined optical path is interrupted by the user's body, or when the user's body reflects ultrasonic waves emitted in a predetermined direction, the determination means determines that the user is in the seat. The massage chair according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the massage chair is determined to be seated on a part.