JP2003339811A - Massage machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a massage machine for performing the optimum massage according to the constitution, the physique and psychological characteristics of a person to be treated. <P>SOLUTION: In this massage machine, treatment elements are moved up and down along the back of the body including the occipital region, the neck, the back, the waist, the buttocks and the legs to apply specified movement of the treatment elements changed according to a microcomputer program to a plurality of regions of the body to thereby produce the massage effect. The massage machine is provided with a means for measuring the features of the body shape and the constitution thereof and a physiological amount measuring means for measuring the physiological amount. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a massage machine. More specifically, the present invention relates to a massage machine that can perform several types of massages based on a program of a microcomputer, and that is equipped with means for measuring the body shape and physiological changes of the user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A chair-type massage machine is composed of a backrest, a seat and legs, and a massage mechanism having a plurality of massaging elements for supporting the body which are incorporated in the respective parts so that the massaging elements can perform specific movements. A contact pressure is applied to produce a massage effect. This treatment operation is controlled by a controller having a microcomputer, and various massage programs can be realized by controlling the massage location, massage type, massage speed, and the like.

It is desirable that the massage is adjusted by reflecting the taste and physiological condition of the user. As feedback of the physiological condition, the pulse, body temperature, skin electrical resistance, etc. of the user are detected, this data is processed as the degree of relaxation of the user, and the massage program is adjusted to increase the degree of relaxation. Things have been proposed.

[0004]

However, the massage machine ultimately provides the most desirable massage for the person based on not only the physical condition depending on the measurement time of the user but also the constitution, physique and psychological characteristics. What can be provided is desired. Moreover, the user himself / herself wants to know what his / her physical condition and constitution are and where his / her physical weaknesses are. A massage machine having such a constitution analysis function has not been realized so far.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a massage machine capable of performing an optimal massage according to the constitution, physique and psychological characteristics of the user. And

[0006]

The massage machine of the present invention classifies the person to be treated from the physiological data and the body shape data and derives the constitutional characteristics according to the measured type from a database prepared in advance, and the information is stored. It is possible to display and to provide a massage program that is optimal for the constitutional characteristics.

That is, the massage machine of the present invention is a massage machine that massages a plurality of parts of the body while moving the massager up and down along the back surface of the body, and means for measuring the characteristics of the body shape and constitution. And a physiological amount measuring means for measuring a physiological amount.

The features of the body shape and constitution are seat height,
It is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of the degree of bending of the spine, the weight and the amount of body fat.

The physiological amount is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of pulse rate, skin temperature, sweating rate, blood pressure and cardiac potential.

By determining which of a plurality of numerical regions individually set the physiological amount data measured by the physiological amount measuring means, or the body shape data or the numerical values processed by a predetermined calculation algorithm. It is preferable to discretize the data.

It is preferable that the person to be measured is type-divided based on the combination of the discretized measurement items.

The measurement type obtained by dividing the type is used as the blood type, body type self-report, psychological test, or IQ.
It is preferable to obtain the type feature by analyzing which category of general human type classification based on the test result correlates with statistics based on the experiment of the person to be treated, and store the type feature.

It is preferable that the measurement type obtained by the physical measurement and the physiological amount is displayed on the liquid crystal mounted on the remote controller.

It is preferable that the type characteristics corresponding to the measurement type are displayed on the liquid crystal mounted on the remote controller.

When there are a plurality of type characteristics corresponding to the above-mentioned measurement types, a list of contents that the user wants to know including personality, physical examination, exercise ability evaluation, and illness prediction is displayed so that the user can select list items. It is preferable to display the required type characteristics by making an input.

It is preferable to display how the type input by the user has a relative relationship with the measurement type.

By numerically displaying a plurality of type classifications, the type features are made into a multidimensional vector, and the relative relationship between the measurement types is represented by the degree of matching, which is the number of matching vector elements,
It is preferable to display the relative relationship according to the number of elements of the vector.

It is preferable to display the relative relationship based on the combination of the matching degree and the measurement type.

It is preferable to display the relative relationship as compatibility between humans.

It is preferable to have selection means for executing a massage program according to the type.

It has an input means for the purpose of massage, including fatigue recovery, stiffness elimination, diet and beauty.
It is preferable to execute a massage program according to a combination of the input from the input means and the measurement type.

It is preferable to have a selection means for executing a massage program by a combination of the relaxation degree detection obtained based on the physiological amount measurement and the measurement type.

According to the present invention, by providing the means for measuring the characteristics of the body shape and constitution and the means for measuring the physiological amount, it is possible to provide a massage suitable for the constitution of the patient.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The massage machine of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A massager according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 comprises a back massage unit 1 and a leg support L provided in front of a seat (seat plate) 2. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the back massage unit 1 has a known structure.
On the backrest 8 standing from the rear of the seat part 2 on which the user sits, a general massage unit 7 having a massager 70 that massages the shoulder, back and waist of the user, It is arranged so that it can be moved up and down along the backrest 8. The back massage unit 1 is covered by a cloth cover (not shown), and the massage unit 7 is hidden by the cover.

Further, a remote control 5 is stored in the storage pocket 4 of the armrest 3. Storage pocket 4
Is fastened around the armrest 3 with a belt 6.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a remote controller equipped with the physiological amount measuring means in this embodiment. Reference numeral 10 is a remote control housing, and 11 is a physiological measurement module for the second finger, which is arranged on the upper side surface of the remote control.

The physiological amount measuring module 11 in the present embodiment has, for example, a pulsed photosensor 17 shown in FIGS.
And the thermistor 18 for the skin thermometer is mounted.
12 is another electrode, 13 is a selection button on the remote controller,
14 is a liquid crystal display.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the remote controller is held by both hands for the physiological amount measurement in this embodiment. Forefinger F
_{1 is applied} to the physiological amount measuring module 11 and the thumb F ₂ is applied to the electrode 1
By hitting 2, both sides of the remote control are easily gripped as if they were wrapped in the palm P. Since the housing is an insulator, the resistance value can be measured by applying a voltage between both electrodes and detecting a weak current change.

4 to 5 show detailed views of the physiological amount measuring module. The electrode housing 15 has a long hole at the center.
The photo sensor 17 and the thermistor 18 which are opened by “a” and supported by the support member 16 are installed inside the elongated hole 15 a through the transparent cover 19. Photo sensor 1
Reference numeral 7 is for emitting infrared rays and detecting a ray of light reflected by hitting the skin of the index finger F ₁ and having four metal lead legs.

The thermistor 18 has a temperature measuring section hardened with an epoxy resin and has two metal lead legs. The temperature measuring unit is arranged so that its tip directly protrudes from a hole formed in the transparent cover so that it can directly come into contact with a finger, and is supported by an opening edge of the transparent cover 19 via a flexible sealing material 20.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a substrate for relaying the signal line, which is arranged below the supporting member 16. A metal thin film pattern (not shown) for soldering the lead legs of the photo sensor 17 and the thermistor 18 on the upper surface of the substrate 21.
Are formed. A lead wire 22 is attached to the lower surface of the sensor signal processing board 22.

Here, since the relay board 21 is screwed to the electrode casing 15, the support member 16 is fixed by being sandwiched between both members.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control system of the remote controller in this embodiment. Physiological amount measurement module 11, skin electrical resistance measurement electrode 12, cardiac potential measurement electrodes 41, 42
Are connected to the sensor processing board 23. The sensor processing board 23 is composed of a drive circuit and a data processing circuit for each measuring means, and transmits physiological amount information to the remote control processing board 25 via the communication means 24. The remote-control processing board 25 transmits the physiological amount information together with the remote-control operation information to the main body control board 26 on the side of the massage machine via the signal line wired to the storage pocket 4 and the armrest 3.
On the other hand, the main body control board 26 transmits the control state information to the remote control processing board 25. The remote control processing board 25 displays the required remote control based on the control status information, and at the same time transmits the measurement command and the control status information to the sensor processing board 25. The main body control board 25 can send command data to the voice synthesis board 27 and perform voice guidance from a speaker 28 provided on a backrest or the like. In addition, the main body control board 25
2 is connected to the selection button 13 and the liquid crystal display 14 shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of discretization of measurement data, and the average heart rate, respiration rate and skin temperature are given as examples of measured amounts. Normal measured quantities are scattered around the average value. Therefore, by dividing the neighborhood of the average value into three sections, that is, a normal section, a larger section, and a smaller section, it is possible to classify the data for one measured amount into three. Here, since each of the three measured quantities is divided into three sections, the data can be classified into 27 areas. These 27 areas are called measurement types.

FIG. 8 shows a group of users to be treated who have stiff shoulders, which are classified according to the measurement type. It is considered that the measurement type having a frequency higher than the average frequency m has a higher correlation with the characteristic of shoulder stiffness. In this case, the type sample No. larger than the average by twice the standard deviation is used. 8 and 17 are given the attribute of stiff shoulder (H: high). Also, the type with a standard deviation larger than the average is stiff shoulder (M: media
um) and others are given an attribute called shoulder stiffness (L: low). Features that give classification by this attribute (shoulderability)
Are called type characteristics.

Next, another statistical processing method for type features will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram in which a group of persons to be treated who habitually improve exercise and a group of persons to be treated who rarely exercise are classified by measurement type. With regard to such contrasting features, it is considered that a group with a large frequency difference in the same type has a high correlation with the features. Here, with respect to the feature that the exercise is improved by extracting one having a standard deviation larger than the average in one graph and having a standard deviation smaller than 1/2 of the average in the other graph, sample No. 2, 8, 4, 8,
11 type A groups correspond. Also, regarding the feature of not exercising much, the sample No. 6, 17, 19, 2
1 type B group corresponds. Therefore, with respect to the type characteristic of exercise habit, the attributes of the type A group are exercise habit (H), the group B are exercise habit (L), and the other types are attributes of exercise habit (M).

In the above example, for one type feature, 3
Seed attributes have been given, but more attributes can be used for classification.

Similarly, an appropriate measurement type is set for the classification of various physiological and psychological characteristics of humans, and the correlation between the classification and the measurement type is measured data collection and statistical processing to determine the measurement type. Various attributes can be added. As a result, it is possible to present the user information that is useful for massage and use it for massage control.

FIG. 10 shows measurement classifications 1-27 and type characteristics.
It is a matrix display of the correlation with the attributes A to J. Here, the number of attributes of the type feature is fixed to three, and values from 1 to 3 are assigned and digitized. Based on this table, the degree of approximation between measurement types can be calculated. The user can input the measurement type obtained by another person and know the degree of approximation with his or her own measurement type. It is possible to display the compatibility between the measurement types based on the degree of approximation and the measurement type. The simplest way to calculate the degree of approximation is to count the number of matching column vector elements in the table. For example, the degree of approximation between measurement types 1 and 2 is 5. Of course, the count may be calculated by weighting the coincidence of each element. If the correlation matrix display of FIG. 10 is one data sheet, this is one component of the entire database. The whole consists of a combination of a method of discriminating measurement data into measurement types and a set of type characteristics as shown in FIG. The shaded area is one data sheet.

By using these correlation matrix display sheets shown in FIGS. 10 to 11, it is possible to judge the symptoms such as stiffness and chills based on the basic data of the individual, and the optimum personalized person suitable for these medical conditions. It will be possible to perform a massage.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of a control flow chart of the massage machine according to the present embodiment. The constitution determination information input is an item that the user wants to know, or a measurement type of the partner who wants to know the compatibility.

As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-366308, a preliminary massage is performed, and at the same time, physiological amount measurement and body shape sensing are performed to collect and process measurement data. The degree of relaxation for each massage part is calculated by the physiological reaction, and is used as the data of the process plan of the massage program executed thereafter. Further, the result of constitutional judgment including compatibility judgment is displayed.

Further, in the present invention, the method using the fuzzy aggregation of the measurement data shown in FIGS. 13 to 14 is optimally used instead of the discretization method of the measurement data shown in FIG. A massage can be performed. The fuzzy aggregation will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of fuzzy aggregation of measurement data. Normal measured quantities are scattered around the average value. Therefore, by dividing the neighborhood of the average value into a normal fuzzy set, a larger fuzzy set, and a smaller fuzzy set, and assigning a membership function, it is possible to express the data for one measured quantity by the degree of membership to the fuzzy set. Here, since each of the three measured quantities is divided into three fuzzy sets, the data can be classified into a combination of 27 fuzzy sets. These 27 combined fuzzy sets are called measurement types.

FIG. 14 shows membership function values m1, m2, and m3 for each measured amount, and the belonging evaluation value M for each measurement type is represented by the following evaluation function. Regarding this person to be treated, the sample No. Types 14 and 17 have the highest degree of belonging.

[0048]

According to the present invention, in addition to the physiological amount feedback, the massage based on the physical constitution judgment is performed,
An optimal personal massage can be performed based on the physical and psychological characteristics of the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a massage machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a remote controller including the physiological amount measuring means of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view showing a state in which the remote controller of FIG. 1 is held by both hands for physiological amount measurement.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the physiological amount measuring module of the remote controller shown in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a physiological amount measuring module of the remote controller shown in FIG.

6 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the massage machine of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method of discretizing measurement data in the massage machine of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a histogram showing the frequency of occurrence of stiff shoulders for different measurement types.

FIG. 9 is a histogram showing the frequency of occurrence of exercise habits with respect to measurement types.

FIG. 10 is a correlation matrix display sheet between measurement types and type features.

FIG. 11 is a table showing a relationship between a database and a correlation matrix display sheet.

FIG. 12 is a massage control flowchart showing an embodiment of the massage machine of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a fuzzy aggregation method of measurement data in the massage machine of the present invention.

14 is a correlation matrix display sheet between measurement types and type features corresponding to fuzzy aggregation of the measurement data of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 back massage unit 2 seats 5 remote control 7 massage unit

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) A61H 15/00 350 A61B 5/10 300C F term (reference) 4C017 AA02 AA10 AA14 AA16 AB03 4C027 AA06 GG18 4C038 VA05 VB27 4C100 AA00 AD00 AE15 AF02 AF03 AF11 BA03 BA05 BC00 CA06 DA04 DA05

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A massager that massages a plurality of parts of a body while moving a massager up and down along a back surface of the body, and measures a body shape and a constitutional characteristic and measures a physiological amount. A massager equipped with a means for measuring physiological amounts. 2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the body shape and constitution is at least one selected from the group consisting of sitting height, degree of spine bending, body weight and body fat mass. 3. The physiological value includes pulse, skin temperature, sweat rate,
At least one selected from the group consisting of blood pressure and cardiac potential
The massage machine according to claim 1 or 2, which is a seed. 4. The physical quantity data measured by the physiological quantity measuring means, or the figure data or the numerical value processed by a predetermined calculation algorithm is discriminated into which of a plurality of numerical areas set individually. The massage machine according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the data is discretized. 5. The massage machine according to claim 4, wherein the measurement target person is divided into types based on the combination of the discretized measurement items. 6. The measurement type obtained by dividing the types is blood type, body type self-report, psychological test, or IQ.
The massaging machine according to claim 5, wherein a type feature is obtained by analyzing which category of general human type classification based on the test result is correlated with the statistics based on the experiment of the person to be treated, and the type feature is stored. . 7. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the measurement type obtained from the body shape measurement and the physiological amount is displayed on a liquid crystal mounted on a remote controller. 8. The liquid crystal mounted on the remote controller displays the type feature corresponding to the measurement type.
Massage machine described. 9. When there are a plurality of type characteristics corresponding to the measurement type, a list of contents that the user wants to know including personality, health checkup, exercise ability evaluation, and illness prediction is displayed, and the user selects a list item. 7. The massage machine according to claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein a required type characteristic is displayed by inputting for. 10. The massage machine according to claim 9, which indicates how the type input by the user has a relative relationship with the measurement type. 11. A type feature is multi-dimensionally vectorized by numerically displaying a plurality of type classifications, and the relative relationship between measurement types is represented by a degree of matching, which is the number of vector elements that match, and the number of elements of the vector is represented. The massage machine according to claim 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10, which displays a corresponding relative relationship. 12. The massage machine according to claim 11, which displays a relative relationship based on a combination of the matching degree and the measurement type. 13. The massage machine according to claim 12, wherein the relative relationship is displayed as compatibility between humans. 14. The selecting means for executing a massage program according to the type, claim 6, 7, 8,
The massage machine according to 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13. 15. A massage program including input means for the purpose of massage including fatigue recovery, stiffness elimination, diet and beauty, and executing a massage program according to a combination of the input from the input means and the measurement type. 6,
The massage machine according to 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13. 16. The selection means for executing a massage program according to a combination of the relaxation degree detection obtained based on the physiological amount measurement and the measurement type, and claim 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 or. 13. The massage machine described in 13.