JP2001353195A - Human body supporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inexpensive chair capable of adjusting a poset vibration and imparting the stimulation to a sitting person. SOLUTION: A non-air-permeable support bag 35 and support units 20-23 housed inside the bag and provided with countless foamed granular bodies 40 to be aggregated in the state of being tightly adhered to each other and turned to a solidified state along the body shape of the sitting person as the inside of the bag is deaerated are respectively provided on the surface parts of a seat part 11 and a backrest part 12. The vibrator 43 for generating fixed vibration is respectively attached to the back surface parts of the support units 20-22. A suction and exhaust device 50 for taking air in and out the support bag 35 is provided. The suction and exhaust device 50 is provided with a stop valve for adjusting the degree of deaeration inside the support bag 35 and holding an adjusted deaeration state. By adjusting the degree of the deaeration inside the support bag 35 and changing the hardness of the support units 22-22, the strength of the fixed vibration stimulation generated by the vibrator 43 is changed and supplied to the sitting person.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a body support device such as a chair having a seat and a backrest.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in order to sufficiently provide a good relaxing feeling in a seated state in a chair, a support unit is provided on the front side of a seat and a backrest, respectively. It has been proposed by the applicant that the backrest can be adapted to the shape of the occupant sitting on the chair.

Each of the support units has, for example, a structure having a non-breathable support bag, and a myriad of foamed granules housed in the bag and gathering in close contact with each other as the inside of the bag is degassed. is there. By fully evacuating the inside of the support bag of each unit while keeping the weight in these units, the support unit can be solidified by assembling innumerable expanded granules along the body shape of the occupant. . Thereby, the body surface of the seated person can be supported so as to be wrapped by the support unit.

On the other hand, in order to give a vibration stimulus to a seated person,
2. Description of the Related Art A vibrator has been conventionally incorporated in a backrest portion of a chair or the like. Therefore, when the vibrator is attached to the support unit, the vibrator can be driven in a state where the body surface of the occupant is supported so as to be wrapped by the support unit, and a vibration stimulus can be given to the occupant.

[0005] By the way, it is convenient to change the intensity of the vibration stimulus according to the situation and preference of the seated person. In order to satisfy such demands, it is general to adjust the driving voltage supplied to the vibrator to change the vibration intensity of the vibrator. However, for that purpose, means for adjusting the voltage in the drive circuit of the vibrator is required. When such a means is provided, the use of a high-cost vibrator is inevitable, so that the cost of a body supporting device such as a chair provided with the vibrator is inevitably increased.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive body support device capable of adjusting the intensity of a certain vibration stimulus generated by a vibrator.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to an apparatus main body whose surface is covered with a support unit having an inflatable and contractible non-breathable support bag; A vibrator attached to the support unit and generating a certain vibration, and an opening / closing valve for adjusting the degree of deaeration in the support bag and maintaining the adjusted deaeration state, to supply air to the support bag. And a supply / exhaust device for taking in and out.

[0008] In the present invention, the support bag of the support unit may contain an infinite number of granules as described in claim 2, and air is simply taken in and out without accommodating such granules. It may be a non-breathable air bag. Further, the present invention can be implemented as a body support device such as a chair or a mat. Further, the mounting position of the vibrator according to the present invention may be on the front side or the back side of the support unit, or may be mounted inside the support unit, specifically, inside the support bag via a suitable support. In the present invention, the number of vibrators attached to one support unit may be one or more.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the inside of the support bag of the support unit is evacuated by the air supply / exhaust device,
By closing the on-off valve at an appropriate time, the degree of swelling of the support bag can be adjusted, and the feel supported by the apparatus main body can be changed according to the user's preference and the like. By driving the vibrator in this state, a vibration stimulus can be given to the user supported by the apparatus main body.

In this case, if the support bag is adjusted to a hard state, the vibration of the vibrator is given to the user through the entire support bag. Further, when the support bag is adjusted to be in a soft state, the vibration of the vibrator is absorbed by the flexible deformation of the support bag, and the vibrator is attenuated in accordance with the flexible deformation with the vibrator as a center. Vibration is given to the user. If the swelling of the support bag is adjusted to an intermediate hardness between the two states, the vibration of the vibrator is absorbed to some extent according to the hardness, and the vibration of the vibrator is applied to the user to some extent through the entire support bag. In addition, the vibration of the vibrator, which is attenuated to some extent in accordance with the flexible deformation, is provided to the user centering on the portion where the vibrator is located.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the support unit is brought into close contact with each other as the support bag and the support bag are accommodated in the bag and the inside of the support bag is evacuated, and is solidified along the body shape of the user. It is characterized in that it is formed with an innumerable number of granular bodies in a state.

[0012] In the present invention, as the inside of the support bag is degassed, countless granules are gathered along the body shape of the user leaning on the support unit. Deforms to support it according to its body shape. In this case, if degassing is sufficiently performed by the on-off valve, countless granular bodies are aggregated along the body shape of the user and solidified. Also, when the deaeration is released by opening the on-off valve, the support bag is appropriately inflated by the air introduced into the support bag, and the myriad of granular materials inside can be moved in the direction in which the force is applied thereto. And opening the on-off valve and finishing the degassing halfway, countless granular materials,
The members are gathered to some extent so as to follow the body shape of the user, become hardened to some extent, and can move to some extent in the direction in which the external force is applied. Therefore, also in the present invention, the constant vibration generated by the vibrator can be given to the user supported by the support unit by changing it according to the hardness of the support unit according to the degree of deaeration in the support bag. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the vibrator is attached to a back surface of the support unit so as to be supported by the apparatus main body.

In the present invention, the rigid feeling of the vibrator can be buffered by the support unit. Moreover, since the vibrator is supported from the back side by the rigid device body, the vibration of the vibrator is prevented from escaping to the back side and attenuated, and the entire support unit is effectively vibrated, and the vibration stimulation is given to the user. Can be given.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus main body is a chair main body having a seat portion and a backrest portion, wherein the support portion for the seat portion covering the surface of the seat portion and the surface of the backrest portion are covered. The vibrator is attached to at least the back support unit among the back support units.

According to the present invention, the invention of claim 1 can be implemented in a back support unit covering at least a backrest of a chair. Therefore, the constant vibration generated by the vibrator at least for the back of the user sitting on the chair body is changed according to the hardness adjustment based on the deaeration of the support bag of the back support unit, and the user's preference And so on.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a chair as a body support device. This chair 10 has a seat 11, a backrest 12, an armrest 13, a leg rest 14, and the like, and is in the form of a so-called easy chair. Has taken. Footrest 1 in the illustrated example
4 includes a front portion 14a located on the toe side and a rear portion 14b located on the seat 11 side.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom of the seat 11 and the back of the backrest 12 are each provided with a chair body 15 as a device body made of a material having relatively high rigidity such as synthetic resin or wood. The illustrated chair main body 15 includes a seat main body 15a, a backrest main body 15b, and the like. The backrest body 15b
The tilt angle of the seat body 15a with respect to the seat body 15a may be changed by a reclining mechanism (not shown).

A seat support unit 20 described below is provided on the upper surface of the seat body 15a.
An upper support unit 21 for the back and a lower support unit 22 for the waist are provided on the front side of the backrest body 15b, that is, on the occupant side. Furthermore, the leg support unit 23 is also provided on the leg mounting table 14. The support units 21 and 22 arranged side by side form a back support unit.

The basic configurations of the support units 20 to 23 are common to each other. That is, each of the support units 20 to 23 includes a cover member 30 sewn in a bag shape, a non-breathable support bag 35 housed inside the cover member 30, a front cover 30a of the cover member 30, and a support And a cushioning material 45 provided between the bag 35. The cushion material 45 as a backing material is made of, for example, a thin urethane foam.

Support bag 3 housed in cover member 30
Numeral 5 is a thin bag made of a non-breathable and flexible material, in which a myriad of granules, preferably an elastically deformable foam granule 40 are accommodated. The foamed granular material 40 uses a primary foamed styrene foam (having a spherical shape), but is not limited to a spherical shape and may be a small piece-shaped foamed material. The innumerable expanded granules 40 have such a property that when the inside of the support bag 35 is degassed, they are gathered to increase the density and generate a suitable rigidity. When air is introduced into the airbag 35, the above-mentioned assembled state is released, and when an external force is applied, the airbag can relatively freely move in the support bag 35 in a direction in which the external force is applied. The thickness of the support bag 35 accommodating the innumerable foamed granules 40 is 5 cm or more, preferably 10 cm or more when the occupant is not seated.

The cover member 30 is composed of a front cover 30a facing the occupant M (see FIG. 3) with a body receiving surface, and a back cover 30b facing the chair body 15 side. Since the front cover 30a is the side that the body touches,
Materials having a good touch, such as natural leather, artificial leather, and woven fabric, are used. An openable / closable fastener (not shown) is provided at an inconspicuous portion of the cover member 30, for example, at an appropriate position of the back cover 30b so that the support bag 35 can be taken in and out.

Each support unit 20 for the seat and the back
A vibrator 43 for providing a user with a vibration stimulus is attached to. Each vibrator 43 is located, for example, on the back surface of the support units 20 to 22,
It is arranged between the back side portion of the support bag 35 and the back cover 30b. Each of these vibrators 43 is fixed to the back cover 30b, and is supported by the chair body 15 from the back. Each vibrator 43 generates a certain vibration by electric or electromagnetic driving.

The hardness of each support bag 35 is adjusted by the degree of deaeration of the support bag 35 by the air supply / exhaust device 50 shown in FIG. Details of the supply / exhaust device 50 are shown in FIG. The supply / exhaust device 50 includes a control unit 51, an air supply pump 52, an exhaust pump 53, and an electromagnetic three-way switching valve 5.
4 and electromagnetic on-off valves 55 to 58 and the like.

A remote controller 59 as an operation unit is electrically connected to the control unit 51 formed using a microcomputer or the like. By operating various switches provided on the remote controller 59,
The control unit 51 includes each vibrator 43, each pump 52,
3 and the operations of the valves 54 to 59 are respectively controlled as described later. The remote controller 59 includes, for example, a switch for selecting each support bag 35, the selected support bag 35.
Has a switch or the like for designating the hardness of “strong”, “weak”, and “medium”.

The air supply pump 52 is connected to the selected support bag 3.
5 is used to feed air into
Is used to evacuate the inside of the selected support bag 35. The three-way switching valve 54 switches a flow path by moving a valve body (not shown). In the first flow path switching state of the valve 54, the air supply operation of the air supply pump 52 is applied to the selected support bag 35, and the communication with the exhaust pump 53 is cut off. In the second flow path switching state of the three-way switching valve 54, the exhausting operation of the exhaust pump 53 is applied to the selected support bag 35, and the communication with the air supply pump 52 is cut off.

The on-off valves 55 to 58 are individually connected to the support bags 35 of the support units 20 to 23, respectively.
That is, the support bag 35 of the seat support unit 20
The opening / closing valve 55 for the seat is connected to the supply / exhaust port (not shown), and the opening / closing valve 56 for the back is connected to the supply / exhaust port (not shown) of the support bag 35 of the upper support unit 21. A waist opening / closing valve 57 is connected to a supply / exhaust port (not shown) of the bag 35. or,
A leg opening / closing valve 58 is connected to a supply / exhaust port (not shown) of the support bag 35 of the leg support unit 23.
These on-off valves 55 to 58 select the support bags 35 as they are opened and adjust the hardness of the selected support bags 35 as they are closed, for example, “strong” or “medium” or “weak”. Is used as a means for retaining In addition, 60 in FIG.
9 shows a filter provided in the air piping system to prevent the passage of zeros and the like.

Next, the operation of the chair 10 of this embodiment will be described.

When the occupant M adjusts the support state of the occupant M in the chair 10 as necessary, the instruction may be given to the control unit 51 by the remote controller 59.
At first, under the control of the control unit 51, all the on-off valves 55 to 58 are fully opened, and the three-way switching valve 54 is switched to the first switching state in which the air supply pump 52 is selected. Thereafter, the air supply pump 52 is driven for a certain period of time under the control of the control unit 51 (at this time, the exhaust pump 53 is stopped). After this air supply, all of the on-off valves 55 to 58 are closed under the control of the control unit 51. Therefore, the inside of each support bag 35 is in a predetermined inflated state by the air supply, so that the foamed granular material 40 inside can freely move within the support bag 35 to some extent. As described above, in a state where each support bag 35 is softly swollen, the hardness of each support bag 35 is selectively maintained at “weak”.

In this initial state, the occupant M sits on the chair 10. Next, if necessary, the seated person M operates the remote controller 59 to select a desired support unit and designate its hardness.

This designation makes the hardness of the support bag 35 “strong”.
If the instruction is, the control unit 51 controls
The two-way selector valve 54 selects the exhaust pump 53.
, And only the open / close valve connected to the designated support bag 35 is opened. For example, if the support bag 35 of the upper support unit 21 for the back is specified, the on-off valve 56 for that is opened.
Next, the exhaust pump 53 is driven by the control of the control unit 51 (at this time, the air supply pump 52 is stopped). The drive time of the exhaust pump 53 varies depending on the number of the support bags 35 selected. Therefore, the inside of the designated support bag 35 is evacuated with the exhaust operation of the exhaust pump 53.

With this deaeration, the innumerable foamed granules 40 in the support bag 35 are gathered in close contact with each other and
Is solidified along the body shape of the occupant M, and supports the occupant M so as to enclose the body regardless of individual differences such as the body shape. In this case, since the degassing is performed for a sufficiently long time in accordance with the designation of “strong”, the innumerable expanded granules 41 are sufficiently assembled, and the hardness of the support bag 35 thus degassed is a so-called “strong”. "State. This state is maintained by closing the on-off valve connected to the degassed support bag 35 under the control of the control unit 51.

When the desired hardness of the support unit is designated as "medium" by operating the remote controller 59 of the seated person M after the seating, the same as in the case of the designation of "strong". Under the control of the control unit 51, the three-way switching valve 54 is switched to the second switching state in which the exhaust pump 53 is selected, and only the open / close valve connected to the designated support bag 35 is opened. The pump 53 is driven. The driving time of the exhaust pump 53 varies depending on the number of the selected support bags 35, but is shorter than when the "high" hardness is designated. Therefore, the inside of the designated support bag 35 is evacuated to some extent with the exhaust operation of the exhaust pump 53.

Along with this degassing, the innumerable foamed granules 40 in the support bag 35 are gathered to a certain degree in close contact with each other and follow the shape of the occupant M. Instead of wrapping the body to some extent.
Due to such halfway deaeration, the hardness of the deaerated support bag 35 is in an intermediate state between the above “strong” and “weak”, that is, a so-called “medium” hardness. This state is maintained by closing the on-off valve connected to the degassed support bag 35 under the control of the control unit 51.

As described above, at least one support unit 20 is operated based on the operation of the remote controller 59.
Support bag 3 of at least one of units 23 to 23
The hardness of No. 5 can be adjusted to one of “strong”, “medium”, and “weak” according to the preference of the user sitting on the chair 10 and the like. Thereby, the seated person M can select his / her sitting comfort.

When the occupant M gives an instruction to drive one or more vibrators 43 by the remote controller 59 after adjusting the hardness of the support bag 35 of at least one support unit as described above. ,
Since the selected vibrator 43 is driven based on the control of the control unit 51, the driving can give a vibration stimulus to the seated person M and perform a vibration massage.

In this vibration massage, when the hardness of the support bag 35 is adjusted to "weak", the support bag 35 is freely deformed and the vibration of the vibrator 43 is easily attenuated. Can be given to the seated person M. Moreover, at this time, the weak vibration stimulus can be locally applied to the occupant M around the position where the vibrator 43 vibrating is located.

When the hardness of the support bag 35 is adjusted to “strong”, the support bag 35 hardly attenuates the vibration of the vibrator 43, so that a strong vibration stimulus is given to the occupant M. Can be. In addition, at this time, the entire support bag 35 that is solidified in the “strong” state can be vibrated to apply the strong vibration stimulus to the occupant M over a wide area.

When the hardness of the support bag 35 is adjusted to “medium”, the support bag 35
Vibration stimulus having an intermediate strength between the weakness and the "weakness" can be given to the seated person M. Moreover, in that case, while vibrating the entire support bag 35 which is solidified in the “medium” state to some extent,
The vibration stimulus of the medium intensity can be given to the occupant M about the position where the vibrator 43 is located.

As described above, the constant vibration generated by the vibrator 43 depends on the hardness of the support unit according to the degree of deaeration in the support bag 35 according to the preference of the seated person M sitting on the chair 10 and the like. The seated person M
Can be given to. That is, although the vibration generated by the vibrator 43 is constant, the intensity of the vibration of the vibrator 43 applied to the occupant M according to the hardness of the support bag 35 which varies depending on the deaeration of the support units 20 to 22. Can be adjusted.

Therefore, there is no need to change the intensity of vibration of the vibrator 43 itself, and no means for adjusting the voltage is required in the drive circuit. Therefore, as described above, the vibrator 43 that generates a constant vibration can be used, so that the cost of the chair 10 including the vibrator 43 can be reduced.

Also, since each vibrator 43 is mounted on the back surface of each support unit 20 to 23, the sense of rigidity of the vibrator 43 is reduced.
3 can be cushioned by the expanded granular material group 40. Therefore, it is excellent in usability. Moreover, due to the arrangement of the vibrators 43, the vibrators 43 are supported by the rigid chair body 15 from the back side. Therefore, as the vibration of the vibrator 43 is prevented from escaping to the back side and attenuating, the entire support unit solidified by sufficient degassing is effectively vibrated, and the vibration stimulation is given to the occupant. Can be.

When the present invention is implemented as a chair 10 as in the present embodiment, the vibrator 43 may be installed at least corresponding to the back of the user.

Further, in the above embodiment, the hardness of the selected support bag is controlled in a plurality of steps by the control unit, for example, "strong", "medium".
Although the adjustment is performed in three steps of “weak”, the adjustment may be performed steplessly instead. In this case, the remote controller 59 is provided with hardness adjustment switches for deaeration and exhaust, respectively, and the control unit 51 controls each valve 54 so that deaeration or exhaust is continued while the switches are kept pressed. -58 and by releasing the switch press when the desired hardness feel is obtained,
What is necessary is just to comprise so that the control part 51 may control the target valve etc. so that that state may be maintained.

[0046]

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the hardness of the support bag of the support unit is changed by the air supply / exhaust device to adjust the intensity of the vibration given to the user by the vibrator generating a constant vibration. Because of this, it is possible to adjust the vibration stimulus given to the user's body supported by the support unit despite using a vibrator that generates a constant vibration, and to adjust the voltage to the drive circuit of the vibrator. Since no means is required, a body support device that can be obtained at low cost can be provided.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the constant vibration generated by the vibrator is changed in accordance with the adjustment of the hardness of the support bag of the back support unit covering at least the backrest of the chair-type body support device. It is possible to provide an inexpensive chair-type body support device that can be given to a user sitting on a chair body.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a chair according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line F2-F2 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the waist support unit along the line F3-F3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a supply / exhaust system of the chair shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Chair (body support device) 11 ... Seat 12 ... Backrest 15 ... Chair main body (device main body) 20 ... Seat support unit 21 ... Upper support unit (back support unit) 22 ... Lower support unit (for back) Support unit) 35 Support bag 40 Foamed granular material 43 Vibrator 50 Supply / exhaust device 51 Control unit 52 Air supply pump 53 Exhaust pump 54 Three-way switching valve 54-58 Open / close valve

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) A61H 15/00 350 A61H 15/00 350E 390 390D (72) Inventor Yuji Suzuki 43 Horiyamashita, Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Hadano Plant, Toshiba Tec Corporation (72) Inventor Yasuhisa Yamazaki 43rd Horiyamashita, Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Hadano Plant, Toshiba Tec Corporation (72) Hiroaki Kobayashi 43rd Horiyamashita, Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture Toshiba Tec Hatano Plant, Inc. F term (reference) 3B096 AA02 AB05 AC15 AD03 4C100 AF02 BA03 BA06 BB03 BB05 BB06 BC12 BC14 CA06 CA07 CA08 DA04 DA05 DA06 DA10 EA09

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus body whose surface is covered with a support unit having a non-breathable support bag that can be inflated and contracted; a vibrator attached to the support unit to generate a certain vibration; A body support device, comprising: a supply / exhaust device that adjusts the degree of deaeration and has an on-off valve that maintains the adjusted deaeration state, and that supplies air to and from the support bag. 2. The support unit, and the support bag, and a myriad of the support bags accommodated in the bag and innumerable as the inside of the support bag is degassed and brought into a solidified state along the body shape of the user. The body support device according to claim 1, wherein the body support device is formed with a granular material. 3. The body support device according to claim 1, wherein the vibrator is attached to a back surface of the support unit so as to be supported by the device main body. 4. The chair body having a seat portion and a backrest portion, wherein the device body includes a seat support unit covering the surface of the seat portion and a back support unit covering the surface of the backrest portion. The chair-type body support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vibrator is attached to at least the support unit for the back.