JP2004230190A - Foot massage machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a convenient foot massage machine allowing continual recognition of the positions of acupressure protrusions at present regardless of the rise and fall of the acupressure protrusions. <P>SOLUTION: This massage machine is provided with a casing 2 having a footrest 1 for placing feet, at the upper face; an upper massage section 4 comprising upper air cells 3 disposed on the footrest 1; a lower massage section 7 comprising lower air cells 5 built in the casing 2, and the acupressure protrusions 6 projecting from the lower air cells 5; a reciprocating mechanism for driving to reciprocate the lower massage section 7 in the longitudinal direction of the feet placed on the footrest 1; and a control part for controlling the respective air cells and reciprocating mechanism. The tips of the acupressure protrusions are always projected upward from the footrest 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a foot massage machine for placing a foot and massaging the foot.

  As a conventional foot massage machine of this type, as shown in FIG. 7, a housing 2 having an upper surface as a footrest 1, an upper massage part 4 including an upper air cell 3 disposed on the footrest 1, A lower massage unit 7 including a lower air cell 5 built in the housing 2 and a finger pressure projection 6 protruding from the lower air cell 5; a reciprocating mechanism for driving the lower massage unit 7 to reciprocate in the longitudinal direction of the foot; Some have a control unit for controlling 3, 5, and a reciprocating mechanism (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Such a foot massage machine is used by placing a foot on the footrest 1 to supply air to the upper air cell 3 to expand and contract the upper air cell 3 so that the upper part of the foot can be massaged and the lower part can be massaged. By supplying air to the air cell 5 and inflating and contracting the lower air cell 5, the acupressure protrusion 6 is put in and out, so that acupressure massage of the sole can be performed. Shiatsu massage is available.
JP 2000-167021 A

  However, in such a conventional example, since the acupressure projections appear and disappear from the bottom of the footrest each time, and the acupressure projections move under the footrest during massage use, it is difficult to recognize the position of the acupressure projection at the present time. There is a problem that it is not easy to use.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a foot massage machine that can constantly recognize the current position of the acupressure projection regardless of whether the acupressure projection is up or down and that is easy to use. The task is to do so.

  In order to solve the above problem, the foot massage machine according to the present invention has a housing having a footrest on which the foot can be placed on an upper surface, and an upper massage part including an upper air cell disposed on the footrest, A lower massaging part comprising a lower air cell incorporated in the housing and a finger pressure projection protruding from the lower aircell; a reciprocating mechanism for reciprocatingly driving the lower massaging part in a longitudinal direction of a foot placed on a footrest; A control unit for controlling the air cell and the reciprocating mechanism is provided, and the tip of the acupressure projection is always projected above the footrest. As in the past, the position of the acupressure projection was not known until the acupressure projection did not protrude from the footrest, but regardless of whether the acupressure projection was up or down, the position of the acupressure projection at the present time can be constantly recognized even during massage. become.

  In addition, control is performed such that the foot is held from both sides by air pressure while the upper air cell is inflated, and the lower massage unit is driven to reciprocate while the lower air cell is inflated and the acupressure projection is projected upward. It is also preferable to have a control unit. In this case, massage can be performed such that the acupressure projection reciprocates back and forth with the foot held by the upper air cell and the acupressure projection protruding, and the acupuncture pressure applied by the masseur while pressing the sole of the foot Can be reproduced, and a strong sense of acupressure can be obtained even when compared to acupressure that simply pushes up from below.

  It is also preferable that a plurality of acupressure projections are provided in the lower massage section in the width direction of the foot on the footrest, and the amount of upward projection of the acupressure projections on the arch side is increased. In this case, the tip of the acupressure projection can be reliably applied to the sole even in a concave shape such as an arch, and the entire sole can be massaged firmly.

  In the present invention, as described above, the tip of the acupressure projection always protrudes above the footrest, so that the position of the acupressure projection could not be known unless the acupressure projection protruded from the footrest as in the prior art. Irrespective of whether the massage is up or down, the position of the acupressure protrusion at the present time can be constantly recognized even during the massage, which has the effect of improving usability.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of recesses 8 having a width for accommodating a foot are provided in the housing 2 serving as the body of the foot massager, and the bottom of the recess 8 serves as a footrest 1 on which a foot can be placed. ing. Upper air cells 3 are mounted on both side surfaces of the recess 8, respectively, and the upper massage cells 4 are formed by mounting the upper air cells 3. In the upper massage section 4, air is supplied from an air source such as a compressor, and the upper air cell 3 expands or contracts so that massage can be performed.

  Below the footrests 1 in the housing 2, a lower massage part 7 composed of a lower air cell 5 and an acupressure protrusion 6 driven up and down by the lower aircell 5 is arranged, respectively. Has long holes 9 long in the front-rear direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the foot, and the acupressure projections 6 are located in each of the long holes 9. Then, air is supplied to the lower air cell 5 to expand or contract the lower air cell 5, so that the acupressure projection 6 can be moved up and down.

  A reciprocating mechanism for reciprocating the lower massage unit 7 back and forth is provided in the housing 2. The reciprocating mechanism includes a drive motor 10, a screw shaft 11 driven to rotate by the drive motor 10, and a movable plate 12 to which the screw shaft 11 is screwed. The movable plate 12 with which the screw 11 is screwed can be driven back and forth. The movable plate 12, which is reciprocally driven back and forth, has a lower massage unit 7 mounted thereon. The reciprocating drive of the movable plate 12 causes the lower massage unit 7 to be reciprocated. The reciprocating drive mechanism and each of the air cells 3 and 5 are controlled and driven by a control unit.

  When using the foot massager configured as described above, the foot is placed on the platform 1 so that the foot is placed in the recess 8, and the upper air cell 3 is driven to press both sides of the foot with the upper air cell 3. Air massage to release the pressure can be performed. By driving the lower air cell 5, the acupressure projection 6 is moved up and down, and the acupressure of the sole of the foot can be massaged by the acupressure projection 6. At this time, the position of the acupressure protrusion 6 is changed by reciprocatingly driving the lower massage unit 7, so that an arbitrary position on the sole can be massaged.

  Further, the reciprocating drive range in which the acupressure projection 6 is reciprocated by the foot massage machine can be changed according to the size of the user's foot. For example, the acupressure protrusion movement range L can be varied as shown in Table 1 below by the foot size selection input of the operating device 13 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, 14 is a power button, and 15 is a selection button for selecting a foot size.

  As a method of changing the acupressure protrusion moving range L, for example, a movement recognizing detection plate 16 is provided on the reciprocating movable plate 12, and a recognition sensor 17 for recognizing the position of the movement recognizing detection plate 16 is fixedly provided. In advance, the position of the current position is recognized by detecting the movement recognition detecting plate 16 with the fixed recognition sensor 17, and the movement by the reciprocating mechanism is performed so that the acupressure protrusion 6 does not move beyond the set movement range. Is regulated. In this case, the position of the acupressure projection 6 can be easily recognized by using each position signal of the detection plate 16 for movement recognition (creating a different perforation pattern for each position) using, for example, a photo interrupter with a built-in optical sensor.

  By doing so, the reciprocating movement range of the acupressure protrusion 6 can be easily changed by the input of the foot size under the control of the control unit, and the acupressure protrusion exceeds the foot size of the person to be massaged (over the heel). 6 protrudes and eliminates dangerous acupressure, such as rubbing the heel side of the foot, so that it is possible to perform safe and optimal acupressure massage suited to the user's foot size.

  In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the tip of the acupressure projection 6 is always projected above the footrest 1. In other words, the acupressure protrusion 6 projects upward from the footrest 1 even when the lower air cell 5 is contracted. Although the position of the acupressure protrusion was not known until the acupressure protrusion 6 did not protrude and retract from the footrest 1 as in the related art, the position of the acupressure protrusion 6 at the present time can be continuously recognized even during massage irrespective of the presence or absence of the acupressure protrusion 6. become able to.

  Next, an example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 will be described. This example is also basically the same as the above example, and only different points will be mainly described. In the case of the present example, the upper air cell 3 is inflated while the foot 18 is placed on the footrest 1 as shown in FIG. In a state where the acupressure projection 6 is projected, the control unit can control the acupressure projection 6 to reciprocate back and forth as shown in FIG. 5B. Performing shiatsu massage under the control of the control unit in this way can reproduce the shiatsu acupuncture, which is like pressing a sole while pressing a sole like a masseuse, compared with acupressure that simply pushes up from below. Even so, a strong sense of shiatsu can be obtained.

  Next, an example of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 will be described. This example is also basically the same as the above example, and only different points will be mainly described. A plurality of acupressure projections 6 are provided in the lower massage part 7 in the width direction of the foot on the footrest 1. Of the plurality of acupressure projections 6, the amount of protrusion of the acupressure projections 6 on the arch side is increased. is there. In the case of this example, the acupressure projection 6a having a large amount of upward projection on the arch side and the acupressure projection 6b having a small amount of projection opposite thereto are provided. In this case, the tip of the acupressure projection 6 can be reliably applied to the sole even in a concave shape such as an arch, and the entire sole can be massaged firmly.

(A) is a partially cutaway plan view of an example of an embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a schematic perspective view of the whole. 1A is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 1A. It is a top view explaining the variable system of a reciprocating motion same as the above. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a main part of the same operating device. FIG. 9 shows a main part of another example of the above, where (a) is a cross-sectional view and (b) is a perspective view. It is sectional drawing of the principal part of another example same as the above. The conventional example is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is sectional drawing.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Footrest 2 Housing 3 Upper air cell 4 Upper massage part 5 Lower air cell 6 Acupressure protrusion 7 Lower massage part

Claims (3)

A housing having a footrest on which the foot can be placed on the upper surface, an upper massage part including an upper air cell arranged on the footrest, a lower air cell built in the housing, and a finger pressure protruding from the lower air cell A lower massage part comprising a projection, a reciprocating mechanism for reciprocatingly driving the lower massage part in a longitudinal direction of the foot placed on the footrest, and a control part for controlling the air cells and the reciprocating mechanism; A foot massager characterized in that the tip of the foot is always protruded above the footrest. Control to hold the foot from both sides with air pressure while the upper air cell is inflated, and to control to drive the lower massage part to reciprocate with the lower air cell expanded and the acupressure protrusion protruding upward. The foot massage machine according to claim 1, further comprising a part. 2. The foot massage machine according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of acupressure projections are provided in the lower massage part in the width direction of the foot on the footrest, and the amount of upward projection of the acupressure projections on the arch side is increased.

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