JP2001333947A - Machine to straighten one's back - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a machine for straightening one's back to have a good effect on relieving fatigue and easing a pain in the lower back. SOLUTION: This machine for straightening one's back consists of a sleeping bed 3 which is formed with a pair of placing boards 7, 8 to be able to hold a lower half of the body on one side and the upper half of the body on the other side lying on one's face down and a basic body 2 to support this sleeping bed 3. Each placing boards 7, 8 is pivoted with the basic body 2 turnably up and down on a fulcrum set up at the point coming down a certain distance from the top of each board inside ends. Moreover, each placing board 7, 8 is structured to equip driving means 15, 16 turnably up and down between at least horizontal point and a set slant point lowering toward outside ends.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a back stretching apparatus for stretching a back muscle to recover from fatigue and alleviate back pain.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At a certain age, low back pain often develops due to fatigue caused by work or the like. In such a case, it is common to perform gymnastics in which the body is bent backward or bent forward to stretch the back muscles and thereby alleviate back pain. However, since the above-mentioned gymnastics is performed in a posture in which the weight of the upper body rests on the legs and hips, an effect of relieving low back pain cannot be expected much.

[0003] In view of the above, the present applicant has provided a bed portion composed of a pair of mounting tables, and the user placed the upper body on one mounting table, placed the lower body on the other mounting table, and laid down on the bed section. There has been proposed a spine stretching device that bends in a letter shape in a side view to stretch the spine of a user to recover fatigue and alleviate back pain (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-4).
No. 2065).

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional back stretching device, the bed portion simply bends in an elliptical shape, and the function of stretching the back muscle is not sufficient, and therefore, recovery from fatigue and alleviation of back pain are alleviated. However, there is a problem that the effect of (1) cannot be sufficiently obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a spine stretching device capable of sufficiently obtaining effects such as recovery from fatigue and alleviation of lower back pain.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a back stretching apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a bed portion comprising a pair of mounting tables capable of mounting a lower body on one side and an upper body on the other side in a prone state; A backrest stretching device provided with a base supporting the bed portion, wherein each of the mounting tables constituting the bed portion is provided at a fulcrum provided at a position separated from the upper surface of the inner end portion by a predetermined distance downward. And a drive means for vertically rotating each of the mounting tables between at least a substantially horizontal position and a predetermined inclined position at which the outer end side is lowered. Is what it is.

Further, in the above configuration, a foot on which the foot can be placed on the outer end of the mounting table on which the lower body is mounted, with the mounting table inclined to a predetermined inclined position. A table is provided, and a locking device for locking the ankle is provided on the table.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A back muscle stretching device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. A spine stretching device, generally indicated by reference numeral 1 in FIG.
A bed 3 supported by the base 2;

The base 2 has a rectangular base plate 5 having legs 4 at the four corners of the bottom surface, and a pair of right and left support columns erected at the center of both side edges of the base 5. 6 is provided.

On the other hand, the couch 3 is constituted by a pair of mounting tables 7 and 8 arranged opposite to each other so as to form a state where the couch 3 is divided at the center in the longitudinal direction.
In this embodiment, the lower body is mounted on the mounting table 7, and the upper body is mounted on the mounting table 8, respectively.

Each of the mounting tables 7 and 8 has a top plate 9 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and a pair of left and right frames 10 supporting the left and right side edges of the top plate 9 from below (FIG. 2). , FIG. 7). Each frame 10 is integrally formed with an extension 11 that extends downward from the inner end of the mounting tables 7 and 8 (the end that is closer to and opposed to each other). That is, each of the mounting tables 7 and 8 has a pair of left and right extending portions 11 at the inner ends thereof, and as shown in FIGS. 6 are pivotally connected to the upper end portion thereof by a pivot pin (constituting the “fulcrum” in the present invention) 12 provided therethrough.

Accordingly, the mounting tables 7 and 8 can be vertically rotated (that is, rotated about the horizontal axis) at the fulcrum provided at a position separated from the upper surface of each inner end by a predetermined distance downward. (Movably), and is pivotally supported by the support 6 (base 2). The mounting table 7 shown in FIG.
(8) The fulcrum (axial center of the pivot pin 12) from the upper surface at the inner end
Is preferably about 5 to 20 cm.
If the distance L is less than 5 cm, the action of pulling the body of the user described later becomes insufficient, while if it exceeds 20 cm, the action of pulling the body of the user becomes too strong, and the user feels pain. There is a possibility that the downward rotation of the mounting tables 7 and 8 may be hindered.

The distance (pitch) P between the pivot pin 12 on the mounting table 7 and the pivot pin 12 on the mounting table 8 is 10 to 2
It is preferably about 5 cm. However, a configuration in which P is set to 0 cm (that is, the mounting tables 7 and 8 are pivotally supported on the same axis) may be adopted.

The gap between the mounting tables 7 and 8 is covered from above by a cover 13 provided between the left and right columns 6. The cover body 13 is formed of a relatively strong thin plate-like member having a width substantially equal to the pitch P. As shown in FIG.
Through the downward legs 13a formed at both ends,
It is attached to the upper ends of the left and right columns 6.

The lower surfaces of both side edges of the cover 13 are slidably in contact with the upper surfaces of the top plates 9 of the mounting tables 7 and 8. Also,
At the inner ends of the mounting tables 7 and 8, downward curved portions 9 a formed by extending the respective top plates 9 inward are formed.
Each curved portion 9a has an arc-shaped cross section having a radius substantially equal to the distance L, and as shown in FIG.
The cover 13 and the mounting tables 7 and 8
And no gap is created between them.

Further, in the drawing, reference numeral 15 denotes a driving unit on the mounting table 7 side, and reference numeral 16 denotes a driving unit on the mounting table 8 side. The driving means 15 and 16 respectively include a rack member 17, a motor 18, a pinion gear 19,
And a roller 20.

Each of the mounting tables 7 and 8 is provided with a connecting rod 21 (see FIGS. 2 and 7) for connecting the left and right frames 10 on the lower surface side of the top plate 9.
Are provided with their upper ends fixed to the intermediate portions of the connecting rods 21, respectively. More specifically, each rack member 1
Numeral 7 is a rod-shaped member having a rectangular cross section and curved in an arc shape in a side view. The rack member 17 on the driving means 15 side has a center of the arc formed by a pivot pin 12 on the mounting table 7 side. On the other hand, the rack member 17 on the driving means 16 side is arranged so that the center of the arc coincides with the axis of the pivot pin 12 on the mounting table 8 side. I have. Many teeth forming the rack are formed on the inner surface of each rack member 17.

Each of the motors 18 is provided with a reduction gear device and a brake device (ie, a geared motor with a brake), and each has a vertically long box-shaped motor case 22 erected on the base portion 5. It is housed in the upper part of the inside. A pinion gear 19 is provided on the output shaft of each motor 18, and each pinion gear 19 meshes with the rack member 17. Further, each roller 20 is rotatably supported on the outer side surface of the motor case 22 so as to be in rolling contact with the outer surface of the rack member 17, and between the roller 20 and the pinion gear 19. Rack member 1
7, the pinion gear 19 and the rack member 1 are inserted.
7 is maintained.

With the above configuration, when the motor 18 is rotated forward and backward, each of the mounting tables 7 and 8 has a substantially horizontal position (see FIG. 2) in which the outer end (free end) side is slightly lower.
Each of the outer ends is vertically rotated between predetermined lower inclined positions (see FIG. 11).

Note that the mounting table 7 and the mounting table 8 have different rotation ranges. That is, while the mounting table 8 rotates in a range of about 45 °, the mounting table 7 is
In order to make it easier for the user to get on and off the vehicle, the device is rotated to a lower position within a range of about 50 ° larger than the mounting table 8. Accordingly, the height position of the motor 18 and the length of the rack member 17 are different between the driving unit 15 and the driving unit 16.

Each component of the driving means 15 and each component of the driving means 16 are so arranged that the leading ends of the rack members 17 do not interfere with each other when the mounting tables 7 and 8 are both turned to the lower end. , Are provided at positions shifted in the left-right direction (the width direction of the bed part 3) (see FIG. 6). Further, the back extension device 1 is provided with a remote controller (not shown) that can be operated by a user who lies down on the couch 3, and by operating this remote controller, the motor 1 of each of the driving units 15 and 16 is operated.
The mounting tables 7 and 8 can be raised or lowered by rotating the base 8 forward and backward, or stopped at an arbitrary angle. The mounting tables 7 and 8 can be independently adjusted in angle.

At the outer end of the mounting table 7, a foot table 25 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, guide members 26 are attached to the opposing surfaces of the left and right frames 10 at the outer ends of the mounting table 7, and both ends are formed in gaps between the guide members 26 and the top plate 9. The slide plate 27 is provided slidably in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 7 (longitudinal direction of the mounting table 7) with the portion inserted.
Is fixed to the lower end of the slide plate 27.

A shaft 29 is pivotally supported on the frame 10 via a bearing 28, and a pinion gear 30 fixed at the center of the shaft 29 and a rack fixed at the center of the rear surface of the slide plate 27. And 31 are meshed. Thereby, axis 2
When the handle 32 provided at one end of the turn 9 is turned, the slide plate 27 and the footrest 25 move in the arrow F direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a fixing screw 33 that penetrates the one frame 10 and reaches the side surface of the slide plate 27 is screwed into the one frame 10. After moving to height,
By tightening the fixing screw 33, the footrest 25 (and the slide plate 27) can be fixed at that position. Reference numeral 34 denotes a notch formed in the slide plate 27 for inserting the toe portion in use, and reference numeral 35 denotes a notch formed in the top plate 9 of the mounting table 7, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 9, the foot table 25 is rotated in a state where the mounting table 7 is rotated to a lower end (a predetermined inclined position) of a rotation range.
It is configured so that it is in a substantially horizontal state with a slight downward descent, and a foot can be placed thereon. (That is, the user can ride on the footrest 25 in a standing posture.) Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a locking tool for locking the ankle is provided on the upper surface of the footrest 25. 36 are provided. The locking member 36 includes a pair of left and right toe locking portions 36a and a heel locking portion 36b. The toe locking portion 36a and the heel locking portion 36b are formed by fixing both ends of a flexible band-shaped member made of thick cloth, synthetic resin, or the like to the upper surface of the footrest 25. The ankle can be detachably locked by inserting a toe into the portion 36a and then hooking the heel on the heel locking portion 36b. In this specification, "ankle" means "a part below the ankle of the foot".
It means.

Reference numeral 37 denotes a pair of left and right holding members erected on the mounting table 8. The holding member is a member for holding the upper body of the user at a predetermined position on the mounting table 8 by holding the holding member under the armpit or grasping it with a hand. A member 37 is used. Although not shown, a male screw is formed at the lower end of each holding member 37, and the male screw is screwed with a female screw in a screw hole 38 formed in the mounting table 8 to thereby hold the holding member 37. Is removably attached to the mounting table 8. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of screw holes 38 are formed at appropriate intervals in the longitudinal direction of the mounting table 8. 37 can be changed.

Next, a mode of use of the back stretching device 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. Prior to use, the positions of the footrest 25 and the holding member 37 are set according to the physique (height) of the user. In addition, by operating the remote controller, only the mounting table 7 on the lower body side is previously rotated to the lower end (a predetermined inclined position) of the rotation range.

From this state, first, the user S rides on the footrest 25 as shown in FIG.
To the footrest 25. Next, the user S operates the remote controller from the state of FIG. 9 to rotate the mounting table 7 upward to the upper end (substantially horizontal position) of the rotation range. And
The left and right holding members 37 are sandwiched between the armpits, and the lower body is placed on the mounting table 7.
In a prone position with the upper body placed on the mounting table 8 (state of FIG. 10).

Next, the user operates the remote controller again from the state shown in FIG. 10 to simultaneously rotate the mounting table 7 and the mounting table 8 downward. Then, as described above, the mounting table 7 and the mounting table 8 are pivotally supported by the pivot pins 12 located at a predetermined distance downward from the upper surfaces of the respective inner ends, so that the mounting tables 7 and 8 rotate downward. As a result, the distance between the mounting table 7 and the mounting table 8 increases. As a result, the body of the user S is bent in the shape of a side view around the waist in a prone (crawl) state, and at the same time, the lower body and the upper body are pulled outwards opposite to each other. The muscles (back muscles) and joints around the back are fully extended. Therefore, a remarkable effect of recovering fatigue and alleviating low back pain, which cannot be obtained by the conventional device, can be obtained.

Further, the ankle is locked by the locking device 36 and the holding member 37 is sandwiched under the armpit, so that the user S
Are held at predetermined positions on the mounting tables 7 and 8, respectively. Therefore, as the distance between the mounting table 7 and the mounting table 8 increases, a slippage occurs between the body and the mounting tables 7 and 8, and the pulling action does not decrease. A stretching action is obtained.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the mounting tables 7 and 8 are turned to the lower ends (predetermined inclined positions) of the respective turning ranges while the user S is lying down. This will maximize the effect of stretching the back muscles. However, in general, it is not necessary to rotate to this point, and it is sufficient to operate the remote controller when a desired extension action is obtained during the rotation and stop the mounting tables 7 and 8 at that position. (Even in this case, since the motors 18 are each provided with the brake device as described above, the stationary mounting tables 7 and 8 do not rotate downward due to the weight of the user S.)

Then, when the mounting tables 7 and 8 are stopped at that position for a while, and the back is sufficiently extended, the remote controller is thereafter operated to raise the mounting table 8 to a substantially horizontal position. When the mounting table 7 is lowered to the lower end of the rotation range as shown in FIG.

Needless to say, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above, the driving means 15 and 16 are constituted by a combination of a pinion gear 19 rotated by a motor 18 and a rack member 17. However, the driving means is not limited to this, and a driving means for moving the mounting table up and down by the expansion and contraction of an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder may be employed.

It is also conceivable to provide the drive means with a safety device for preventing a certain amount of pulling action from acting on the user's body. Further, the configuration of the locking device 36 for locking the ankle is not limited to the above, and may be a locking device for fixing the ankle using a hook-and-loop fastener, for example. Further, the configuration of the holding member 37 is also arbitrary, and for example, the mounting table 8
The upper body may be held by grasping the handle fixed above by hand. Further, the body (upper body) of the user may be fixed to the mounting table 8 with a belt that can be disengaged by a hook-and-loop fastener or the like. In addition, various configurations other than those described above can be adopted for the means for adjusting the position of the foot table 25 in the longitudinal direction of the mounting table 7 and fixing it at a desired position.

Further, members for preventing slipping are attached to the upper surfaces of the mounting tables 7 and 8, and the body is pulled outward by the frictional force between these members and the body (clothes) of the user. A configuration in which the locking member and the holding member are omitted may be considered.

Further, a configuration as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 is also conceivable. In the spine extension device 1a, a substantially oval hole 40 extending across the mounting tables 7 and 8 is formed in the center of the bed 3. That is, the top plates 9 of the mounting tables 7 and 8 are formed with U-shaped inclined portions 41 and 42 that are inclined inward and downward, respectively.
At the lower ends of the top plates 1 and 42, notches 43 and 44 formed by cutting the top plate 9 in a U-shape are formed. The cover body 13 also has an inclined portion 45 inclined inward, and has a configuration in which a portion located between lower ends of both inclined portions 45 is cut off. (Therefore, the cover body 13 is divided into two parts on the left and right sides.) The cutouts 43 and 44 and the cut-out portion of the cover body 13 constitute the hole 40.

With such a configuration, even if the user is slightly obese and has a belly, the abdomen fits into the recess formed by the inclined portions and the holes 40. Thus, the feeling of pressure on the abdomen is reduced, and a suitable feeling of use can be obtained. Further, an effect of increasing the sense of stability of the body in the prone state can be obtained.

[0037]

As described above, in the back stretching apparatus according to the present invention, each of the mounting tables constituting the bed portion is located at a position separated from the upper surface of the inner end by a predetermined distance downward. Since it is pivotally supported up and down at the provided fulcrum, when the user lies down on the bed and rotates both mounting tables downward from a substantially horizontal position, the user's body is centered on the waist. At the same time, the lower body and the upper body of the user are pulled outward in directions opposite to each other as the space between the mounting tables increases, and the back muscles are sufficiently extended. Thereby, the effects of recovering from fatigue and alleviating back pain can be sufficiently obtained.

Further, in the apparatus provided with the footrest and the locking device, the user can easily get on and off the bed, and the lower body of the user is held at a predetermined position on the mounting table, thereby providing a pulling action. Can be prevented from decreasing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a back muscle stretching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the back extension device.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a state where the mounting table is rotated downward.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a side view as viewed in the direction of arrows CC in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged bottom view of a main part of the mounting table, as viewed in the direction of arrows DD in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a use mode of the back extension device.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a use mode of the back extension device.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a use mode of the back extension device.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a spine extension device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

13 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line GG of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a Back muscle stretching apparatus 2 Base 3 Bed part 6 Post 7,8 Placement stand 11 Extension part 12 Pivot pin (fulcrum) 15,16 Driving means 17 Rack member 25 Footrest 36 Locking tool

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A back stretching apparatus comprising: a bed portion comprising a pair of mounting tables capable of mounting a lower body on one side and an upper body on the other side in a prone state, and a base supporting the bed portion; Each of the mounting tables constituting the unit is pivotally supported by the base so as to be vertically rotatable at a fulcrum provided at a position separated from the upper surface of the inner end by a predetermined distance downward, and further, each of the mounting tables A drive means for vertically rotating at least between a substantially horizontal position and a predetermined inclined position in which the outer end side is lowered. 2. A footrest on which a foot can be placed is provided at an outer end of the mounting stand on which the lower body is to be placed, in a state where the mounting stand is inclined to a predetermined inclined position. 2. The spine extension device according to claim 1, wherein a locking device for locking the ankle is provided on the footrest.