JP2003144504A - Massage machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a massage machine made variable in its striking speed and applying varied and effective striking and rolling massage. SOLUTION: A pair of operation fingers 71 and 71 and a reciprocating means for moving the operation fingers forwardly and rearwardly to perform striking massage are provided at the massage unit 28 arranged at the backrest part 14 of a chair 12 and the massage unit 28 is moved so as to rise and fall along the longitudinal direction of the backrest part 14 to be connected to a lift means so as to enable rolling massage. The reciprocating means and the lift means are connected to a control means 37 to be controlled in driving. The control means drives the reciprocating means and the lift means at the same time to apply striking and rolling massage. At this time, the striking speed due to the reciprocating means is made variable without changing the rolling speed by the lift means.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the operation of a treatment finger of a massage machine, and more particularly to a massage machine capable of further enhancing a hitting rolling massage effect.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, chair-type or bed-type massage machines have been known which massage the affected area such as the shoulders and hips of a user. This kind of massage machine includes a pair of treatment fingers inside the back contact portion which is touched by the back of the user, a kneading massage for moving the treatment fingers toward and away from each other, a hitting massage for vibrating the treatment fingers up and down, and There is one that can perform a rolling massage from the nape of the neck to the waist by moving the treatment finger up and down in the longitudinal direction of the back contact portion.

There are also massage machines that can switch the operating speed of the reciprocating means for rubbing and striking to "high, low", etc.
With this type of device, the user can select a desired operation speed and receive a massage of desired intensity.

Further, there is also known a massage machine capable of performing a so-called "beating rolling massage" in which a rolling massage and a hitting massage are simultaneously performed.

[0005]

However, in the tapping rolling massage, the tapping operation speed, that is, the operation speed of the reciprocating means is constant over the entire rolling range. Therefore, the massage has little change in strength,
It was monotonous and easy to get tired of.

Even in a massage machine capable of switching the operating speed of the reciprocating means, when performing the rolling massage by hitting, the reciprocating means is driven at a constant speed at the operating speed selected by the user. Therefore, in order to obtain a stronger massage, for example, when the operation speed of the reciprocating means is set to the above "high", a strong stimulus is given to a part with severe stiffness (e.g. shoulder, waist, etc.). However, the effect was too strong for the part that was not so stiff (for example, the back) and the opposite effect was sometimes obtained. On the contrary, when the operation speed of the reciprocating means is set to "low", there is a disadvantage that a sufficient stimulation cannot be obtained in a portion with high stiffness.

The object of the present invention is to vary the speed of the striking motion in the striking rolling massage, which is rich in variation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a massage machine that can give an effective massage.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the massage machine according to the present invention has a massage provided on a chair (12) against which the back of the user is hit, a back contact part (14) such as a bed. The unit (28) includes a pair of treatment fingers (71) (71) and a reciprocating means for reciprocating the treatment fingers to perform a hit massage, and the massage unit (28) includes a back contact portion (14). Is vertically moved along the longitudinal direction to be linked to the elevating means so as to enable rolling massage, the reciprocating means and the elevating means are connected to the control means (37) to control the drive, and the control means is
By simultaneously driving the reciprocating means and the elevating means, while performing a beating, in a massage machine performing a beating rolling massage that moves the massage unit (28) in the longitudinal direction,
The control means (37), when performing a rolling massage by hitting,
The hitting speed by the reciprocating means can be automatically changed without changing the rolling speed by the elevating means.

For example, the operating speed of the reciprocating means is periodically changed. Also change it in stages. Also, change continuously.

Further, the operating speed of the reciprocating means is made faster at both ends of the rolling movement range of the elevating means than at the center.

Further, the cycle of change in the operating speed of the reciprocating means is
The cycle at both ends of the rolling movement range by the elevating means is shorter than that at the center.

[0012]

ACTION AND EFFECT The hitting rolling massage is performed by operating both the elevating means and the reciprocating means by the control means. During this tapping rolling massage operation, the control means drives the elevating means at a constant speed to move the massage unit up and down along the longitudinal direction of the back contact portion at a constant speed. On the other hand, the control means makes the operating speed of the reciprocating means variable stepwise or continuously in a predetermined cycle, for example.

Therefore, when a tapping rolling massage is performed, the tapping speed is changed to change the intensity of the massage to give a massage that is not monotonous and rich in change.

Further, the operating speed of the reciprocating means is set at the central portion (corresponding to the back portion) of the rolling movement range of the lifting means.
If you make it faster at both ends (equivalent to the shoulders and waist), the shoulders and waist generally tend to get stiffer than the back. It is possible to receive a highly effective hitting rolling massage over the entire length of the rolling range.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A chair type massage machine (1
An example applied to 0) will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to the chair type, and can be applied to, for example, a bed-type massage machine, a care bed, and the like.

In the embodiment, when the user sits down on the chair (12) shown in FIG. 1, the abdomen side is the front, the back side is the rear, and the right hand side is the right side.
The left hand side is left. Further, a massage motor (55) is used as a reciprocating means for rubbing and striking a treatment finger, and a lifting motor is used as a lifting means for lifting and lowering the massage unit (28).
Use (32).

Structure Description The chair (12) of the massage machine (10) is, as shown in FIG. 1, formed from a seat portion (13) on which the user is seated and upward from the rear end of the seat portion (13). And a back contact part (14) and an armrest part (15) formed upward on both left and right sides of the seat part (13). The seat portion (13), the back contact portion (14), and the armrest portion (15) are formed by connecting metal pipes, frames or plates, etc. inside, and the outer peripheries thereof are patch cloth (16) and cushion ( Surrounded by 17).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back contact portion (14) has an upper frame (20) and a lower frame (2) at the upper and lower portions, respectively.
1), the upper and lower frames (20) and (21) are connected at both ends by a pair of guide rails (22) and (22) extending in the vertical direction. The upper ends of the guide rails (22) (22) should be
It extends upward beyond and is connected by a head rest frame (27) having a head rest part (26) against which the head of the user is hit. The lower portions of the guide rails (22) (22) are pivotally supported by the frame forming the seat portion (13). Further, the lower frame (21) is connected to a known reclining mechanism (24), and the back contact portion (14)
Are swingable with respect to the seat portion (13).

The guide rails (22) (22) have a U-shaped cross section and are arranged so that the grooves face each other, and the massage unit (28) is arranged along the guide rails (22) (22). It is mounted so that it can be raised and lowered.

Further, a screw shaft (30) is pivotally supported on the upper and lower frames (20) and (21) in parallel with the guide rails (22) and (22), as shown in FIG. A pulley (31) is fitted at the lower end of the lifting motor (32) mounted on the lower frame (21) and is linked to the pulley (33) of the lifting motor (32) via a belt (34).
By driving the (32), the screw shaft (30) rotates normally or reversely. The screw shaft (30) penetrates the upper frame (20), and an encoder (35) for measuring the number of rotations of the screw shaft (30) is provided at the upper end. The encoder (35) is connected to the control means described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, the massage unit (28) has rollers (40) (4) fitted in the grooves of the guide rails (22) (22).
0) (40) (40) a pair of side plates (41) (41) pivotally supported up and down respectively, and an upper support rod (43) connecting the upper and lower ends of the side plates (41) (41), respectively. It comprises a lower support rod (44). The lower support rod (44) includes an elevating member (45) having a screw hole that meshes with the screw shaft (30). When the screw shaft (30) is rotated by driving the elevating motor (32). The massage unit (28) moves up and down along the guide rails (22) and (22) by the screw thrust.

As shown in FIG. 2, the limit of movement of the massage unit (28) in the vertical direction is detected by limit switches (47) and (48) provided above and below one guide rail (22). The limit switches (47) and (48) hit the upper support rod (43) or the lower support rod (44) when the massage unit (28) reaches the upper or lower movement limit, and the massage unit (28 It is detected that the rising or falling of) has reached the limit, and it is transmitted to the control means (37).

A gear box (50) is provided at approximately the center of the upper and lower support rods (43) (44). The gearbox (50) has a kneading shaft (51) that penetrates in the left-right direction and rotates at a low speed, and a kneading shaft (5
It has a striking shaft (52) that penetrates the gear box (50) in the left-right direction below 1) and rotates at a high speed. A massage shaft (53) that drives these two shafts (51) and (52) projects from the bottom surface of the gearbox (50). A pulley (54) is fitted to the lower end of the massage shaft (53), and the pulley (54)
Is a massage motor (55) attached to the lower support rod (44)
The pulley is connected to the pulley (56) through the belt (57), and the massage shaft (53) is rotated forward or backward by the rotation of the massage motor (55).

The description of the internal structure of the gearbox (50) will be omitted, but the operation is such that when the massage shaft (53) is rotated in the forward direction, only the rubbing shaft (51) moves slowly in the direction of arrow A in FIG. When the massage shaft (53) is rotated in the reverse direction, the kneading shaft (51) does not rotate because the clutch is disengaged and the striking shaft (52) does not rotate. Only (52) is a known one that rotates at a high speed in the direction of arrow B in FIG.

A pulley (54) provided on the massage shaft (53)
Is equipped with an encoder (58) described later, massage shaft (53)
The rotation speed of is detected. The encoder is electrically connected to the control means (37) described later.

The kneading shaft (51) is located on the upper side of the gearbox (50), and both ends (51a) of the shaft protruding from the gearbox (50) are bent in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 5, at one end of the kneading shaft (51), on the same side as the bending direction of the end,
A protrusion (61) having a magnet (60) therein is formed.
Also, on the wall surface of the gearbox (50), facing the rotation transition path of the magnet (60), there are three reed switches (63) (64).
A substrate (66) comprising (65) is provided. The reed switches are provided one above, one behind and one below the kneading shaft.

These reed switches (63) (64) (65) are electrically connected to the control means (37). When the upper reed switch (63) detects the magnet (60), the kneading balls (70) (70) described later are the farthest apart from each other, and the lower reed switch (65) detects the magnet (60). When doing, the distance between the opposing massaging balls is the closest. Further, since the kneading shaft (51) rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3, when the rear reed switch (64) detects the magnet (60), the kneading balls move from the separated state to the approaching state. It means that the distance between the kneading balls facing each other is in the middle of the approach and the separation.

The striking shaft (52) is a shaft located below the gearbox (50), and both ends (52a) of the shaft protruding from the gearbox (50) have a striking shaft as shown in FIG. It is eccentric by a distance H from the axis of (52). The eccentric direction of the end is
They are symmetrical to each other, that is, they are offset by 180 °.

The treatment fingers (71) (71) are arranged on the left and right of the gear box (50) as shown in FIGS. Treatment finger (71)
Is a pair of massaging balls (70) attached inwardly to both ends of a plate-like arm (72) whose center is bent in a dogleg shape.

The arm (72) is pivotally supported by the plate-shaped lever (73) at the bent portion. The proximal end of the lever (73) has a kneading shaft (51).
It is rotatably supported at the end of. The end of the rubbing shaft (51) (51
Since (a) is bent as described above, the lever (73) is attached in an inclined state with respect to the kneading shaft (51), and the kneading shaft (5
When 1) rotates, the lever (73) swings left and right due to the inclination of the end (51a).

A connecting rod (75) is attached to the lower end of the lever (73) via a ball joint (74), and the connecting rod (75) is a striking shaft.
It is pivotally connected to an eccentric member (76) provided at the end of (52).

On each arm (72), pins (77) and (78) for restricting the swinging angle of the arm (72) with respect to the lever (73) are provided so as to vertically project. Also, the arm (72) is
The lever (73) and the spring (79) are connected to each other at a position lower than (78). The spring (79) constantly biases the lower part of the arm (72) toward the lever. Therefore, under no load,
The lower pin (78) is moved to the lever (73) by the urging force of the spring (79).
Is in contact with. When the massage is started and the massaging ball (70) is pressed against the user, the massaging ball (70) swings within the swing range of the lever (73) against the biasing force of the spring (79). It is movable.

Each operation of the massage machine (10) is performed by a command from an operation unit (not shown). The operating part is a lifting button that adjusts the height of the massage unit (28) to "up, down", a rolling button that starts the rolling operation,
A kneading button that starts the kneading operation, a hitting button that starts the hitting operation, a width adjustment button that adjusts the interval between the kneading balls to either "wide, middle, or narrow", the speed of the kneading operation, the hitting operation to "high, Speed control button to adjust to "medium, low",
An operation 1 button for starting operation 1 described later, a reclining button for operating the reclining mechanism, a stop button for stopping each operation, and the like are provided. When the user presses the button and the command signal input to the operation unit, the control means (37)
Sent to.

The control means of the massage machine (10) will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a control means (37) mainly composed of a microcomputer. The control means (37) is arranged at an appropriate position of the massage machine (10). The microcomputer (80) includes a massage motor drive circuit (82) for controlling the drive of the massage motor (55), an output value of the encoder (58) provided on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53), and a kneading shaft. A massage detection circuit (83) that receives output values from the reed switches (63), (64) and (65) that detects the rotation angle of (51) is connected.

The massage motor drive circuit (82) is a PWM
A circuit (not shown) is provided to perform pulse width modulation to adjust the drive average voltage supplied to the massage motor (55),
The rotation speed of the massage motor (55) can be controlled.

The massage detection circuit (83) detects whether or not the massage motor (55) is rotating at a predetermined rotation speed by detecting the encoder pulse. If the massage motor (55) is out of the predetermined rotation speed, the massage motor drive circuit is driven. The circuit (82) adjusts the supply voltage. Also, reed switches (63) (64) (6
The output value from 5) is received, and the interval between the opposing massaging balls 70, 70 is determined.

The microcomputer (80) includes a lift motor drive circuit (84) for controlling the drive of the lift motor (32), an output value of an encoder (35) for detecting the rotation speed of the screw shaft (30), and a massage. An up / down position detection circuit (8) that receives the output values from the upper / lower limit switches (47) (48) that detect the upper and lower limits of the unit (28).
5) is connected.

The rotation speed of the screw shaft (30) from the state where the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28) is
Elevating position detection circuit as integrated value of encoder pulse (85)
And the current position of the massage unit (28) is measured. The current position of the massage unit (28) can be measured by using both the lower limit switch (48) and the upper and lower limit switches (47) (48) as a reference.

Further, the microcomputer (80) is connected with an operation section I / F circuit (87) which receives an operation signal from the operation section (86). As described above, the microcomputer (80) has a large number of operation buttons, and command signals from each of these buttons are transmitted to the microcomputer (80) via the operation unit I / F circuit (87) to perform various controls. Done.

Further, the control means (37) is provided with a reclining control circuit (89) for controlling the reclining mechanism (24) and swinging the back contact portion (14). Since the reclining control circuit (89) is publicly known, its explanation is omitted.

Description of Operation First, the basic operation of the massage machine (10) will be described. The massage operation of the present invention is operation 1 described later.
Is.

When the massage machine (10) is turned on, the initial position of the massage unit (28) is confirmed. This is the amount of movement of the massage unit (28) and the screw shaft (30).
This is because the determination is made by integrating or subtracting the number of pulses of the encoder (35) provided in the. In the present invention, the initial position of the massage unit (28) is the upper movement limit position where the massage unit (28) and the upper limit switch (47) come into contact. Therefore, the massage unit (28) moves upward until it is detected by the upper limit switch (47). When the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28), the integrated value of the encoder pulse of the screw shaft (30) is reset. From this state, each operation of the massage machine (10) can be performed.

[Elevating / lowering operation of massage unit] When the user presses any one of "up / down" of the up / down button, a command signal is sent to the control means (37) and the operation section I / F circuit (87). ), Input to the microcomputer (80), and the lifting motor drive circuit
It is output to (84) as UP signal or DOWN signal. Upon receiving the signal, the lifting motor (32) rotates in a predetermined direction.
The number of rotations of the screw shaft (30) by the lifting motor (32) is counted as an integrated value of the encoder pulse when the massage unit (28) is descending, and the massage unit (28) is raised. During operation, the number of encoder pulses is subtracted from the integrated value. The current position of the massage unit (28) can be determined from the integrated value of this encoder pulse.

The massage unit (28) moves up and down until one of the upper and lower limit switches (47) and (48) detects it, and by pushing the stop button of the operating section, the lifting motor ( The drive of 32) can be stopped and the massage unit (28) can be stopped at any position.

[Rolling Massage Operation] In the rolling massage, the massage unit (28) is attached to the back contact portion (14).
Is an operation of repeatedly moving up and down along the longitudinal direction of.
In the following, the rolling range is set to the guide rail (22) (2
Although it is the full length of 2), the rolling range is, for example, around the shoulder,
It can be around the back, around the waist, or in a desired range.

When the user pushes the rolling button of the operation section of the massage unit (28), the command signal is transmitted to the control means (3
7) and the microcomputer via the operation unit I / F circuit (87).
It is input in (80). The microcomputer (80) sends a DOWN signal to the lift motor drive circuit (84). In response to the signal, the lifting motor (32) rotates in the direction of lowering the massage unit (28), and lowers the massage unit (28) along the back contact portion (14). When it is detected by the lower limit switch (48) that the massage unit (28) has moved to the lower ends of the guide rails (22) and (22), transmission of the DOWN signal is stopped and the UP signal is sent from the microcomputer (80). Sent.

In response to the UP signal, the elevating motor (32) rotates in a direction to raise the massage unit (28), and raises the massage unit (28) along the back contact portion (14).
The upper limit switch (47) allows the massage unit (2
When it is detected that 8) has moved to the upper ends of the guide rails (22), (22), the transmission of the UP signal is stopped and the microcomputer (80) transmits the DOWN signal.

By repeating the above-described operation, the massage unit (28) can be repeatedly moved up and down along the longitudinal direction of the back contact portion (14) to perform rolling massage. The rolling massage can be stopped by pressing a stop button or a timer (not shown).

In the above description, the drive of the elevating motor (32) after the rolling command signal is input is started in the descending direction, but may be started in the ascending direction.

Further, by simultaneously performing the rolling massage and the kneading operation or the hitting operation described later, the kneading rolling massage or the hitting rolling massage can be carried out.

[Kneading operation] When the user presses the kneading button, a command signal is sent to the control means (37) in the same manner, and the operating section I is pressed.
It is input to the microcomputer (80) through the / F circuit (87) and output to the massage motor drive circuit (82) as an MSG signal. When the massage motor drive circuit (82) receives the MSG signal, it rotates the massage motor (55) so that the massage shaft (53) rotates forward, and only the rubbing shaft (51) moves in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Drive to rotate. Lever (73) is a kneading shaft (51)
Since it is tilted with respect to the center of rotation of
When (51) is rotated, the kneading balls (70) make a reciprocating motion substantially parallel to the left-right direction in which the opposite kneading balls (70) (70) approach and separate as shown by the arrow C in FIG. , The massage is given to the user. At this time, since the lower end of the lever (73) is rotatably supported by the eccentric member (76) via the ball joint (74) and the connecting rod (75), the tilting movement of the lever (73) is hindered. There is no.

When the kneading shaft (51) rotates, the gear box (5
Reed switches (63), (64) and (65) provided in (0) detect the magnet (60) in order. When each reed switch detects the magnet (60), the detection signal is transmitted to the massage detection circuit (83). When the upper reed switch (63) detects the magnet (60), a signal (WIDE signal) indicating that the mass between the massaging balls (70) (70) is in the widest state is sent to the massage detection circuit (83). And rear reed switch
When the (64) detects the magnet (60), a signal indicating that the mass between the massaging balls (70) and (70) is in the middle (MIDDLE signal),
When the lower reed switch (65) detects the magnet (60), a signal (NARROW signal) indicating that the distance between the massaging balls (70) and (70) is the narrowest is sequentially detected by the massage detection circuit.
Sent to (83).

It is also possible to change the distance between the kneading balls (70) (70) without performing the kneading operation, that is, only to adjust the width. In this case, if you press the width adjustment button on the operating section and select one of the kneading ball intervals "wide, medium, narrow", an MSG signal is sent to the massage motor drive circuit (82), and the massage motor (55) Only the rubbing shaft (51) is rotated. Kneading axis (5
By the rotation of 1), the kneading balls (70) (70) interval is changed, and signals indicating the kneading ball interval are sequentially detected from the reed switches (63) (64) (65). Predetermined signal (either WIDE signal, MIDDLE signal, NARROW signal) indicating the massage ball interval selected by the user
Is detected, the massage motor drive circuit (82) stops the drive of the massage motor (55), and the massage balls (70) (70)
Stop moving. As a result, the kneading ball interval becomes the interval desired by the user.

[Strike operation] When the user presses the strike button, a command signal is sent to the control means (37), and the operation unit I / F circuit
It is input to the microcomputer (80) via (87) and output to the massage motor drive circuit (82) as a TAP signal. When the massage motor drive circuit (82) receives the TAP signal, the massage motor (5) rotates the massage shaft (53) in the reverse direction.
5) is driven to rotate only the hitting shaft (52) in the direction of arrow B in FIG. The eccentric member (76) is pivotally supported eccentrically with respect to the rotation center of the striking shaft (52), and the base end of the lever (73) is pivotally supported by the kneading shaft (51) which does not rotate. When (52) is rotated, the massaging balls (70) and (70) make a reciprocating motion substantially in the vertical direction as shown by an arrow D in FIG. 4, and give a massage to the user. When the massage shaft (53) makes one revolution, the beating shaft (52) also makes one revolution and one striking operation is performed. That is, the number of hits is set to match the number of encoder pulses from the encoder (58) provided on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53) (hereinafter referred to as “TAP-PLS”).

In the above kneading operation and hitting operation, the operating speed of the kneading balls can be adjusted by changing the rotation speed of the massage motor (55). The operation speed can be adjusted by pressing the speed adjustment button on the operating unit and selecting one of the speeds "high, medium, low".
This is performed by adjusting and applying the drive average voltage to the massage motor (55) by the WM circuit. When the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) is adjusted to a desired speed, the speed of the massaging balls (70) (70) operated by the motor (55) changes. Whether or not the massaging balls (70) (70) are adjusted to the desired speed is measured by measuring the pulse (TAP-PLS) interval from the encoder (58) arranged on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53). It can be determined by

[Operation 1] Operation 1 is the massage operation of the present invention. In the embodiment, a tapping rolling massage operation in which the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) is cyclically changed sequentially to low, medium and high will be described.

The following is a description with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and the timing chart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the massage motor (55) is an M motor and a lifting motor (3
2) is indicated by the S motor.

This massage operation is started by pressing the operation 1 button on the operation unit. When you press the action 1 button
(Step 1), the command signal of operation 1 is sent to the control means (37) and input to the microcomputer (80) via the operation unit I / F circuit (87).

When the microcomputer (80) receives the command signal,
Send a TAP signal to the massage motor drive circuit (82).
The massage motor drive circuit (82)
In order to rotate 5) at a low speed, the PWM circuit performs pulse width modulation (step 2). At this time, the lifting motor (32) for lifting the massage unit (28) is stopped.

When the massage motor (55) rotates and the low-speed tapping operation is started, the encoder of the massage shaft (53)
TAP-PLS corresponding to the number of hits is transmitted from (58) to the massage detection circuit (83). The elevating motor (32) is not driven until the massage detection circuit (83) counts a predetermined TAP-PLS set in advance.

The massage detection circuit (83) has a predetermined TAP-PLS
When counting (step 3), the microcomputer (80) transmits a DOWN signal to the lift motor drive circuit (84). The lifting motor drive circuit (84) rotates the lifting motor (32) in the direction to lower the massage unit (28) (step 4). The rotation of the lift motor (32) is performed at a constant speed.

After starting the rotation of the lifting motor (32), a predetermined TAP-
The rotation number of the massage motor (55) is maintained at a low speed until the massage detection circuit (83) counts PLS (step 5).

In step 5, the massage detection circuit (83)
However, when the predetermined TAP-PLS is counted, the massage motor drive circuit (82) performs pulse width modulation by the PWM circuit to switch the massage motor (55) from low speed to medium speed (step 6).

Similarly, in step 6, when the massage detection circuit (83) counts a predetermined TAP-PLS, the massage motor drive circuit (82) switches the massage motor (55) from medium speed to high speed. Therefore, pulse width modulation is performed by the PWM circuit (step 7).

Further, in step 7, similarly, when the massage detection circuit (83) counts a predetermined TAP-PLS, the massage motor drive circuit (82) changes the massage motor (55) from high speed to low speed again. In order to switch, pulse width modulation is performed by the PWM circuit (step 5).

The operations from step 5 to step 7 are repeated until the massage unit (28) continues to descend and is detected by the lower limit switch (48) (step 8). In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the massage unit (28) is detected by the lower limit switch (48) of step 8 after the operation of step 7, but the lower limit switch () is detected in steps 5 to 7. 48)
Also detects the massage unit (28), the process proceeds to the following step 9.

When the lower limit switch (48) detects the massage unit (28), the detection signal is sent to the ascending / descending position detection circuit (85) to stop the transmission of the DOWN signal to the ascending / descending motor drive circuit (84). Then, the drive of the lifting motor (32) is stopped. At the same time, the massage motor drive circuit (82) switches the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) to a low speed (step 9).

In the state of step 9, the massage detection circuit
The elevating motor (32) maintains a stopped state until (83) counts a predetermined TAP-PLS set in advance (step 10).

The massage detection circuit (83) has a predetermined TAP-PLS
When counting, the microcomputer (80) sends an UP signal to the lift motor drive circuit (84). Lifting Motor Drive Circuit (84)
Rotates the lifting motor (32) in the direction of raising the massage unit (28) (step 11). This lifting motor
The rotation of (32) is similarly performed at a constant speed.

After the rotation of the elevating motor (32) is started, the operation similar to the above step 5 to step 7 is repeated by counting the TAP-PLS and switching the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) (step 12).

When the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28), the detection signal is sent to the ascending / descending position detection circuit (85) to stop the transmission of the UP signal to the ascending / descending motor drive circuit (84). Then, the drive of the lifting motor (32) is stopped.
At the same time, the massage motor drive circuit (82) switches the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) to a low speed (step 1
3). In the flowchart of FIG. 7, step 12
After the end of the operation of step 13, the upper limit switch of step 13 (47)
Although the massage unit (28) is detected by the step, if the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28) in step 12, the following step 1
Go to 4.

The operation from step 2 to step 13 is defined as one cycle, and the cycle is repeated until the stop button is pressed or the operation is stopped by the timer (step 14). A changing tapping rolling massage is performed. In addition,
In the flowchart of FIG. 7, the stop determination is performed after the end of one cycle, but when the stop instruction is input, the massage motor (55) and the lifting motor (32) are set to stop driving at any stage. be able to.

In the above embodiment, the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) is changed based on the TAP-PLS from the encoder (58), but the encoder pulse from the screw shaft encoder (35) is counted. And massage unit
It is also possible to change the speed according to the moving distance in (28).

In the above embodiment, the massage motor is used.
The rotation speed of (55) was changed in three stages in the order of low, medium and high, but it may be set to high, medium and low, or low to high.
Alternatively, it may be continuously changed from high to low. further,
The speed switching may be in two steps, four steps or more.

9 to 11 show another embodiment of the hitting rolling massage of the present invention. In the embodiment of the above operation 1, the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) is switched in three stages, but FIG. 9 shows the massage motor (5
This is an embodiment in which the rotation speed of 5) is gradually increased and decreased from low speed to high speed and from high speed to low speed. In this embodiment, since the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) continuously changes, the change in the massage intensity of the hit also becomes smooth.

FIG. 10 shows that the cycle of speed change of the motor (55) of the embodiment of FIG. 9 is short at both ends of the rolling range of the massage unit (28) and is long near the center. The cycle of the speed change of the motor (55) may be gradually lengthened from the start of rolling descent or rising to the end, or conversely shortened. The movement distance of the massage unit (28) can be performed based on the encoder pulse from the encoder (35) provided on the screw shaft (30).

In FIG. 11, the massage motor (55) at both ends of the rolling range is changed so that the rotation speed is high and the rotation speed near the center is low. According to this embodiment, the shoulders (corresponding to the upper end of the rolling range) and waist (corresponding to the lower end of the rolling range) are generally easy to stiffen.
A strong massage can be applied to, and a weak massage can be applied to the back area (corresponding to the center of the rolling range) that is not so stiff. The rotation speed of the massage motor (55) can be changed based on the encoder pulse from the encoder (35) of the screw shaft (30) as in the above.

In the past, the same strength massage was applied to the entire rolling range. Therefore, if the shoulders and hips are set to have just the right amount of strength, the back is too stimulating, and vice versa. When the strength is set to high, the shoulder and the waist may not be sufficient, but in the present embodiment, strong stimulation can be applied to the shoulder and the waist, and weak stimulation can be applied to the back. It is resolved and a highly effective massage can be given.

In the kneading rolling massage, the operation speed of the massage motor (55) can be changed as in the hit rolling massage. When performing a kneading operation, the MSG signal may be output to the massage motor drive circuit (82) instead of the TAP signal. Even when performing a rubbing operation, TAP-PLS is output from the encoder (58) as in the striking operation, so the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) can be switched based on TAP-PLS. It may be performed based on the output from the reed switches (63) (64) (65) of the kneading shaft (51).

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a massage machine.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the back contact portion of the massage machine with the patch cloth removed.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a massage unit.

FIG. 4 is a left sectional view of the massage unit taken along line XX of FIG.

5 is a right cross-sectional view of the massage unit taken along the line YY of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of control means.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of operation 1.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart of the operation 1.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

(10) Massage machine (28) Massage unit (32) Lifting motor (37) Control means (51) Kneading axis (52) Strike shaft (55) Massage motor (70) Rubbing ball

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takeya Matsushita             2-5-3 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture             Within Yo Denki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhiro             2-5-3 Keihan Hondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture             Within Yo Denki Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4C100 AE07 AE19 AF06 AF07 AF17                       BA03 BB04 BC02 CA06 DA05                       EA12 EA13

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A massage unit (28) provided on a chair (12) against which the back of the user is hit, a back contact portion (14) of a bed or the like.
In addition, a pair of treatment fingers (71) (71), and a reciprocating means for reciprocating the treatment fingers to perform a hit massage, the massage unit (28), in the longitudinal direction of the back contact portion (14). It is vertically moved along and is connected to the elevating means so as to enable rolling massage.The reciprocating means and the elevating means are connected to the control means (37) to control the driving, and the control means simultaneously operates the reciprocating means and the elevating means. A control unit (37) for a massage machine that drives and strikes while performing a rolling massage that moves the massage unit (28) in the longitudinal direction.
Is a massage machine characterized by automatically changing the hitting speed by the reciprocating means without changing the rolling speed by the lifting means when performing the hitting rolling massage. 2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means (37) periodically changes the operating speed of the reciprocating means. 3. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means (37) changes the operating speed of the reciprocating means in a stepwise manner. 4. The massage machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means (37) continuously changes the operating speed of the reciprocating means. 5. The control means (37) is characterized in that the operating speed of the reciprocating means is set to be higher at both end portions than at the central portion of the rolling movement range of the elevating means.
Massage machine described in. 6. The control means (37) according to claim 2, characterized in that the cycle of change in the operating speed of the reciprocating means is shorter at both end portions than at the central portion of the rolling movement range of the elevating means. Massage machine.