JP2003325614A - Chair type massager - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a chair type massager allowing a plurality sitting positions of a user even though it is provided with a footrest having a leg housing groove. <P>SOLUTION: The chair type massager is provided with the footrest 3 connected to a chair body 2 and capable of massaging a human body leg by air. The footrest 3 is provided with a pair of footrest bodies 21 having the leg housing groove 22. An outside face 24a of one wall 24 of groove providing walls 24 and 25 providing the groove 22 is planar. Both footrest bodies 21 are turnably connected. By turning both footrest bodies 21, the footrest 3 can take a first usage attitude and a second usage attitude. In the first usage attitude, a pair of the leg housing grooves 22 faces upward. In the second usage attitude, outside faces 24a are exposed upward and they are continuous to be used as a planar footrest face. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chair-type massage machine equipped with a footrest that is connected to a chair body and can massage a human foot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among footrests for foot massage, which are connected to a chair body and project toward the front of the seat, there are known footrests having a pair of foot accommodating grooves. In this footrest, an air bag that expands and contracts by air supply and exhaust is provided on the groove defining wall that forms the foot accommodating groove. You can massage by compressing and relaxing along the width direction. On the other hand, with a flat footrest without a foot accommodating groove, massage as described above cannot be performed.

Further, a footrest having a pair of foot accommodating grooves is
It can be used by arranging it at an arbitrary position between a first position projecting in a substantially horizontal posture on the front side of the seat portion and a second position arranged in a substantially vertical posture so as to be bent downward from the seat portion. It is provided.

However, the shape of this footrest is kept constant. Therefore, especially in the state of being arranged in the first position, the user can move his / her foot to a desired position on the footrest, or the user can cross-legged the seat without massaging the foot. There is an inconvenience that the groove defining wall becomes an obstacle when taking a comfortable sitting posture such as sitting down, and improvement thereof is required. In addition, when the footrest is arranged at the second position, the human foot cannot be supported by this footrest, so that the user cannot take a comfortable sitting posture with the legs extended.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a chair-type massage machine in which a user can take various sitting postures despite having a footrest having a foot accommodating groove. Especially.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a footrest, which is connected to a chair body and air massages a human foot in the width direction of the foot, has a foot accommodating groove. And a pair of foot rests whose outer surfaces of one of the groove defining walls are flat. The foot rests are rotatably connected, and the foot rest rotates the pair of foot rests. Thus, the first use posture in which the pair of foot accommodating grooves face upward and the second use posture in which the outer surfaces are exposed upward and are continuous in a planar shape can be selectively taken.

In the present invention, the number of air bags arranged on the groove defining wall defining the foot accommodating groove and expanding and contracting for massage may be one or more, and in order to massage the human foot. In addition to the inflating and deflating air bag, it is not hindered to arrange an air bag having another function such as holding a human body foot in the foot accommodating groove on the groove defining wall. In the present invention, the configuration in which the pair of footrests are rotatably connected is not limited to the configuration described in the embodiments below, and an appropriate configuration can be adopted. In the present invention, the outer surface of both foot rests being flat is not limited to being completely flat, but it may have small irregularities or large curvatures that do not hinder the free placement of the human foot. Or, it means that a gentle inclination or the like is allowed. Therefore, when the footrest is in the second use posture, the outer surfaces of the footrests being flat are not limited to being completely flat, and the human foot can be placed freely without any support. This means that fine irregularities that do not hinder the user, a large curve, or a gentle inclination is allowed. In the present invention, it is not impeded that a cushion layer such as a urethane sheet is attached to the outer surfaces of both foot rests to improve the feeling of contact between the outer surfaces and the human foot.

According to the present invention, when the footrest is projected to the front side of the seat of the chair body in the first position and the footrest is in the first use posture, the air bag of the footrest is inflated and contracted. Thus, the foot portion of the seated occupant housed in the pair of upward-facing foot accommodating grooves can be massaged by compressing / relaxing along the width direction thereof.

When the footrest at the first position is in the second use posture, the outer surfaces of the pair of footrests are continuous with each other in a planar manner to form an upward footrest surface. The part can be placed on the groove defining wall without being disturbed.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The chair type massage machine shown by reference numeral 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a chair body 2, a footrest 3, and a drive unit 4.

The chair body 2 includes a seat 11 and the seat 11.
For example, a backrest 12 is provided on the rear side of the seat 11 so as to be able to move up and down via a reclining mechanism (not shown), and legs 13 provided on both sides in the width direction of the seat 11 also serving as armrests, for example.

1 (A) and 2 (A), reference numeral 14 indicates frame members on both sides of the seat portion 11 in the width direction, and a base end portion of an arm 15 is pivotally attached to a front end portion of the frame member 14. Are rotatably connected to each other. Both arms 15
The front ends of are connected by a bridge 16 provided over them, and a connector 17 projecting forward is connected to the center of the bridge 16 in the longitudinal direction.

A table moving device 18 is arranged below the seat 11. By the platform moving device 18, for example, the one arm 15 is rotated to an arbitrary position between a first position with the tip end facing forward and a second position with the tip end facing downward. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the footrest base 3 is provided with a pair of footrests 21 having the same structure. These foot rests 21 have a single foot accommodating groove 22 and a pair of airbags 23 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and the foot rest 21 is viewed from the direction in which the foot accommodating groove 22 extends. The shape is concave. The foot accommodating groove 22 is formed between the hollow groove defining walls 24 and 25 facing each other. An outer surface 24a of one of the groove defining walls 24 that does not face the foot accommodating groove 22 is formed in a flat shape. A back surface 21a corresponding to the groove bottom of the footrest 21 is also formed in a planar shape, and the back surface 21a and the outer surface 24a are substantially perpendicular to each other and are continuous with each other.

Each air bag 23 is inflated and deflated in synchronization with air supply and exhaust. These air bags 23 are arranged on the inner surfaces of the groove defining walls 24 and 25 facing the foot accommodating groove 22, respectively.

At the corners formed by the outer surface 24a and the back surface 21a of both foot rests 21, through holes are formed along the direction in which the foot accommodating groove 22 extends. A shaft 26 formed of a round bar slightly longer than the through hole penetrates the through hole and is attached to the footrest 21. The shaft 26 and the through hole are relatively rotatable along their circumferential direction. Therefore, each footrest 21 can be rotated about its axis about the shaft 26 passed through each corner. Both ends of the shafts 26 individually passed through the foot rests 21 and the other ends thereof are connected by a connecting member 27. The connecting member 27 may be a U-shaped tube.

As described above, the footrest base 3 constituted by the both footrests 21 and the shaft 26 and the connecting member 27 for connecting them to each other is arranged in the first position, which will be described later. By rotating both foot rests 21 around 26, either the first use posture shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B or the second use posture shown in FIG. 4 can be selected. These changes in the use posture are made by the user.

In the first use posture, the outer surfaces 24a of the groove defining walls 24 of the foot rests 21 are substantially vertical and contact each other, and the foot accommodating groove 22 faces upward.
At this time, the back surfaces 21a of the two foot rests 21 face downward and continue in a substantially horizontal plane. In the second use posture, the back surfaces 21a of both footrests 21 are substantially vertical and are in contact with each other, and the outer surface 2 of the groove defining wall 24 of both footrests 21 is in contact with each other.
The parts 4a are exposed upward and face upward, forming a substantially horizontal footrest surface and continuing. At this time, the foot accommodating grooves 22 of the both foot rests 21 face each other and face sideways.

In order to maintain the first use posture, opening preventing means is provided across both foot rests 21. As shown in FIG. 1 (A) and FIG. 3 (A), this means is rotatably attached to one footrest 21 and a shaft-shaped locking projection 28 and the other footrest 21. It is formed of a hook-shaped locking body 29 attached. The locking body 29 is fixed to the locking projection 2
The foot rests 21 can be held open by holding the foot rests 21 in the first use posture, and the foot rests 2 can be held by removing the locking bodies 29 from the locking projections 28.
1 can be opened to the second use posture.

Each of the foot rests 21 is provided with a treatment element which is operated when the foot rest 3 is at least in the second use posture. In this embodiment, the vibrator 30 is used as this treatment element. Therefore, back side 2
A groove 31 that opens to 1 a is formed in both footrests 21, and a vibrator 30 is installed in this groove 31. The groove 31 is formed, for example, at the corner, but the position of the vibrator 30 is displaced so as not to interfere with the shaft 26 passing through this corner. Specifically, when the footrest 3 is in the first use posture, the vibrator 30 is arranged above the shaft 26 in FIG. 3B showing this posture from the back side, and the footrest 3 is in the second use posture. Is located laterally of the shaft 26 in FIG.

One connecting member 27 of the footrest 3 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 (A) and 2 (A), it is connected to the connector 17 and cantilevered in the longitudinal center of the frame 16. Therefore, the foot rest 3 is rotated to an arbitrary position between the first position and the second position through the arm 15, the frame 16, and the connector 17 by the operation of the platform moving device 18 described above. It 1 (A) (B) and FIG. 2 (A)
As shown in (B), the footrest 3 in the first position has the seat portion 11
Is arranged so that the posture in which the foot accommodating groove 22 extends forward and extends along the front-rear direction. Also, the second
Although not shown, the footrest 3 at the position is arranged so as to be bent downward from the front end of the seat portion 11 so that the foot accommodating groove 22 extends in the vertical direction.

The drive device 4 is arranged below the seat 11. The drive device 4 includes an air pump (not shown), a ventilation path that connects the discharge port of the pump and each of the airbags 23, an electromagnetic valve provided with an exhaust port in the ventilation path, the electromagnetic valve, the pump, and the like. It is equipped with a controller for controlling the. Air is supplied to each air bag 23 by operating the solenoid valve by the controller so as to open the ventilation passage when the air pump is operated, and the solenoid valve is operated so as to close the ventilation passage when the operation of the air pump is interrupted. The air discharged from each air bag 23 is discharged to the atmosphere through the exhaust port of the solenoid valve, so that each air bag 23 is exhausted. Then, by repeating such an operation a predetermined number of times, each airbag 2
3 is expanded and contracted synchronously.

The controller of the drive unit 4 controls the strong / weak operation and stop of the vibrator 30. Further, in the present embodiment, the drive device 4 includes an air distribution device (not shown) such as a rotary valve that communicates with the air passage upstream of the solenoid valve. A treatment air bag provided on at least one of the seat portion 11 and the backrest 12 of the chair body 2 at each of the distribution ports of the distribution device, for example, a human body as shown in FIGS. 1 (B) and 2 (B). Upper body treatment air bags 6 to 8 are connected via air tubes. Air is supplied to and exhausted from the air bags 6 to 8 for the shoulders, the back, or the waist through the air distributor. Thereby, the airbags 6 to 8 are individually or inflated and deflated in a designated order, and an air massage is applied to the upper body of the human body leaning on the backrest 12. Further, when the backrest 12 is provided with a treatment means, a so-called mechanical treatment means is adopted in which the treatment element of this means massages by hitting or rubbing the upper body of the human body while moving along the vertical direction of the backrest 12. You can also

The command to the driving device 4 is input by the user using a remote controller (not shown).

In the chair-type massage machine 1 having the above structure, when the footrest 3 is placed in the first position and used, the seated person shows the footrest 3 in FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (B). It can be used in the first use posture or the second use posture shown in FIGS.

When the first use posture is selected, the lower legs of the seated person's feet (both legs) are placed in the pair of foot accommodating grooves 22 facing upward of the footrest 3, and the footrest 3 is used. You can massage both feet of the seated person. In this case, since the air bag 23 of the footrest 3 is inflated and contracted by the drive device 4, the human body foot portion accommodated in the foot accommodating groove 22 is accordingly compressed / relaxed from both sides along the width direction thereof. Therefore, the human foot can be air massaged.

Further, the footrest 3 placed at the first position
Is in the second use posture when, for example, air massage is not performed on both feet. In this second use posture, the groove defining walls 2 of the pair of footrests 21 that have been combined in the first use posture
All of the outer surfaces 24a of the No. 4 are upward footrest surfaces and are continuous in a substantially horizontal plane (see FIG. 4), and this surface is provided in front of the seat portion 11.

Therefore, the extended legs of the user sitting on the chair body 2 are placed on the footrest base 3 in the second use posture without being disturbed by the groove defining walls 24 and 25 of the base 3. be able to. At this time, the human foot can be freely moved to a desired position on the footrest 3 in the second use posture, and even when the occupant sits cross-legged so as to protrude from the seat 11. The platform 3 does not get in the way. Therefore, it is possible for the seated person to take any sitting posture that he or she feels comfortable.

Then, as described above, the vibrator 30 can be operated via the drive unit 4 with the seated person's foot resting on the footrest 3 in the second use posture as necessary. In this case, the vibration massage can be applied to the lower leg of the human body from below. In addition, such a vibration massage by driving the vibrator 30
Even when the foot rest 3 is in the first position and in the first use posture,
It can be given if necessary. In this case, it does not matter whether or not massage is performed by expanding and contracting the air bag 23.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Since this embodiment has basically the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description of the configuration and operation thereof is omitted. Will be described.

In the second embodiment, an air bag 35 is used as a treatment element in place of the vibrator on the foot rest 3, and this air bag 35 has the foot rest 3 in the second position when the foot rest 3 is in the first position. In this state, it is attached to the outer surface 24a of the groove defining wall 24 which is the upper surface thereof. The air passage for these air bags 35 is formed as a system different from the other air bags 23, and the air bag 35 is inflated by controlling the solenoid valve provided in the air passage of this different system by the controller. It is supposed to be contracted.
This expansion and contraction is performed only when the footrest 3 is in the first position and in the second use posture. The configuration other than the points described above is the same as that of the first embodiment, including the configuration not shown in FIG.

Also in the chair type massage machine of the second embodiment, the structure of the foot rest 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the foot rest 3 projected to the front side of the seat is shown in FIG. With the second use posture shown, the seated person can take various sitting postures that he / she likes.

[0034]

According to the present invention, by placing the footrest in the second use position in the state of protruding to the front side of the seat, the user can use the footrest even though the footrest has the foot accommodating groove. It is possible to provide a chair-type massage machine that can take various sitting postures.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 (A) is a plan view showing a chair type massage machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention with a foot rest thereof in a first use posture with a part cut away. (B) is a side view showing the massage machine in the same state.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of the chair-type massage machine according to the first embodiment, with a part of the chair massager being in a second use posture, with a part cut away. (B) is a side view showing the massage machine in the same state.

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the chair type massage machine according to the first embodiment viewed from the front side in a state where the footrest is in the first use posture. FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing the footrest in the same state as seen from the back side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the chair type massage machine according to the first embodiment in a state where the footrest is in the second use posture.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating switching of the use posture of the footrest of the chair-type massage machine according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a chair type massage machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a state where a footrest is in a second use posture.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Chair massager 2 ... Chair body 7 ... Footrest 8 ... Drive device 11 ... Seat 21 ... Footrest 22 ... Foot storage groove 23 ... Airbag 24, 25 ... Groove defining wall 24a ... Outer surface of groove defining wall 24 26 ... Axis 27 ... Connecting member 30 ... Vibrator (treatment child) 35 ... Airbag (Medical child)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A chair main body having a seat portion, a pair of foot accommodating grooves formed between the groove defining walls that are connected to the chair main body and project toward the front side of the seat portion, and that face each other. A chair-type massager including a footrest having an air bag which is arranged on at least one of the opposite groove defining walls and expands and contracts by air supply and exhaust, and a drive device which supplies and exhausts air to and from the air bag. In the machine, the footrest has a foot accommodating groove, and a pair of footrests having a flat outer surface of one of the groove defining walls is rotatably connected to the footrest. By the rotation, the footrest selectively selects a first use posture in which the pair of foot accommodating grooves face upward and a second use posture in which the outer surfaces are exposed upward and are continuous in a plane. A chair-type massage machine designed to be adopted. 2. The chair-type massage machine according to claim 1, wherein a treatment element used in the second use posture is provided on an outer surface of the one groove defining wall.