JP2006158565A - Massage unit and massage machine equipped with it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a massage machine for applying massage to a region to be treated, such as the toes or the like, by enfolding the region to be treated from the sides. <P>SOLUTION: The massage machine comprises a gutter-shaped concave section 15 for receiving the toes, bottom airbags 20-22 arranged on the bottom of the gutter-shaped concave section which work as lifting means for lifting the toes, side airbags 16-19 arranged on the both sides of the gutter-shaped concave section, and a control means 50 for controlling the supply and discharge of air to or from the airbags. The control section lifts the toes using the bottom airbags 20-22 and then applies massage to the toes by repeating supply and discharge of air to or from the side airbags 16-19. With such a configuration, the airbags on both the sides enfolds the sides of the toes and a massage of comfort touch, such as a massage performed by a massager by enfolding the toes with the hands, can be achieved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a massage unit that massages a treatment site by an air bag that expands and contracts when air is supplied and exhausted, and a massage machine including the massage unit.

  Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a massage machine that massages a treatment site by providing airbags that expand and contract by air supply and exhaust on both side and bottom surfaces of a bowl-shaped recess that receives the treatment site of the user. The described massage machine is known.

In the massage machine described in Patent Document 1, the airbag on only both sides of the bowl-shaped recess is inflated and contracted to press and massage the treatment site such as the lower limb from the side, or the airbag on both sides is inflated. In this state, the air bag on the bottom surface is inflated and pressed to be massaged from the bottom surface side while being held so that the treatment site does not escape.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-128289

  However, in the massage machine described in this patent document, when massaging with a side airbag, the force to press the treatment site against the bottom surface side of the bowl-shaped recess works, and the force to hug the side of the treatment site is difficult to work, I didn't feel like a masseuse massaging her hand.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a massage machine capable of massaging a treatment site such as a toe from the side.

  In order to solve the above problems, a massage unit of the present invention is provided with a bowl-shaped recess for receiving a treatment site, a lift means that is disposed on the bottom surface of the bowl-shaped recess and lifts the treatment site, and is provided on both side surfaces of the bowl-shaped recess. A side air bag that expands and contracts by air supply and exhaust to massage the treatment site, and a control means that controls the operation of air supply and exhaust and lift means to the air bag. In this case, after the treatment site is lifted by the lift means, the treatment site is massaged by repeatedly supplying and exhausting air to the airbag.

  Examples of the lift means include a bottom airbag that expands and contracts by air supply and exhaust. An acupressure protrusion for applying acupressure to the treatment site can also be attached to the bottom airbag.

  In addition, the massage machine of the present invention is provided with a legrest for placing the legs of the user in front of the seat part of the chair, and the massage unit that receives the toes of the user at the tip of the legrest. Is deployed.

  At the bottom of the bowl-shaped recess of the massage unit that receives the toes, three bottom airbags for the base of the toes, for the arch, and for the heel are arranged along the front and rear direction of the foot, and at least the toes The lift means for inflating the airbag for the base and the heel and lifting the toes can be provided.

  According to the massage unit of the present invention, the air bag on both sides is inflated because the air bag on both sides is inflated after the lift means is actuated by the control means to raise the treatment site. The side of the part is embraced, and a massage with a comfortable feel close to that of a massage performed by a masseuse by hand can be performed.

  If a bottom air bag is used as the lift means, a power source (air pump) common to the side air bag power source can be used as the power source.

  Moreover, if a shiatsu protrusion is attached to the bottom airbag, acupressure massage on the bottom surface of the treatment site can be performed by the lift means.

  Moreover, according to the massage machine of this invention, the massage of the comfortable touch close | similar to the touch at the time of massaging as the masseur embraces with a hand with respect to the side surface of a toe can be performed.

  In addition, when three bottom airbags (for toe base, arch, and heel) are provided, at least the toe base and heel airbags are inflated, so that the toes are evenly front and back Can be lifted to.

  Hereinafter, the massage unit of the present invention will be described based on a chair type massage machine equipped with the massage unit. As shown in FIG. 1, a legrest 7 that also serves as a leg massage unit is disposed in front of the seat portion 1 of the chair-type massage machine 10, and the legrest 7 has a tip that also serves as a footrest. The foot massage unit 8 is arranged. A well-known thing can be used for the massage unit 4 deployed in the backrest 2 of the chair. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the massage unit 4 has a pair of left and right treatment fingers 3, 3 that can be moved up and down along the backrest 2, and moves the treatment fingers 3, 3 closer to and away from each other. It is possible to apply massage massage to the user, or swing it up and down to give it a massage. The backrest 2 is covered with a cloth cover (not shown).

  The leg rest 7 serving also as a leg massage unit is connected to the front of the seat portion 1 via a connecting frame 9 so as to be rotatable and positioned at an arbitrary angle.

  The legrest 7 is formed with a pair of hook-shaped recesses 6 and 6 for inserting the legs (calf portions) of the user into the unit casing 5 made of resin or the like, and the respective recesses 6 and 6 are respectively relative to each other. Side air bags 11 and 11 are provided on the side wall surfaces facing each other.

  The side airbag 11 can be made of polyethylene or the like by blow molding. When the side airbag 11 is completely adhered to the side wall surface of the recess 6, stress is generated at the bonded portion of the side airbag 11 during expansion and contraction, so that only a part of the side airbag 11 is attached to the side wall surface of the recess 6. It has been.

  The side airbag 11 is connected to an air pump 13 (see FIG. 6) via a piping tube (not shown) and an electromagnetic valve 12. The electromagnetic valve 12 switches between communication of the air pump 13 and the side airbag 11 or switching between disconnecting the communication and communication of the side airbag 11 with the atmosphere. The side airbag 11 is expanded by receiving the supply of air from the air pump 13 by communicating with the air pump 13, and the air in the airbag 11 is exhausted and contracted by communicating with the atmosphere. By repeating this expansion and contraction, massage is performed by pressing the calf of the user held in the recesses 6 and 6 from the side or releasing the pressure.

The four side airbags 11 provided in the legrest 7 are integrally operated by one electromagnetic valve 12.
The surface of the legrest 7 is covered with a cloth cover (not shown). By covering the legrest 7 with the cloth cover, the side airbag 11 does not adhere to the side wall surface of the recessed part 6. It does not fall inward and can be held along the side wall surface.

  Next, the foot massage unit 8 of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a foot massage unit 8 is rotatably connected to the tip of the leg rest 7. The foot massage unit 8 is connected to the leg rest 7 by a link mechanism (not shown) so as to maintain a substantially horizontal state (state shown in FIG. 1) regardless of the rotation of the leg rest 7. The foot massage unit 8 maintains a horizontal state even if the foot is rotated upward to substantially the same height as the seat portion 1. Therefore, when the legrest 7 is rotated to almost the same height as the seat portion 1, the legs can be extended forward with the user sitting on the massage machine 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the foot tip massage unit 8 is formed with a pair of heel-shaped recesses 15 and 15 for inserting the user's foot tips (portions below the heel) into a resin unit housing 14. In addition, side air bags 16 to 19 are provided on opposite side wall surfaces of the respective recesses 15 and 15, and three bottom air bags 20, 21 and 22 are provided on the bottom surfaces of the respective recesses 15 and 15. Formed.

  The side airbags 16 to 19 can be made of polyethylene or the like by blow molding. When the side airbags 16 to 19 are completely bonded to the side wall surface of the recess 15, stress is generated in the bonded portions of the side airbags 16 to 19 during expansion and contraction. It is attached to the side wall surface.

  The four side airbags 16 to 19 are connected to the air pump 13 via piping tubes (not shown) and electromagnetic valves 23 to 26, respectively (see FIG. 6). The electromagnetic valves 23 to 26 switch between communicating the air pump 13 and the side airbags 16 to 19 or blocking the communication to communicate the airbags 16 to 19 with the atmosphere. The side airbags 16 to 19 are expanded by receiving the supply of air from the air pump by communicating with the air pump 13, and the air in the airbags 16 to 19 is exhausted and contracted by communicating with the atmosphere. . By repeating this expansion and contraction, massage is performed by pressing the toes of the user held in the recesses 15 and 15 from the side or releasing the pressure.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an opening 30 is formed on the bottom surface of each recess 15 of the foot tip massage unit 8. The unit housing 14 is reinforced by a metal pipe frame 31 that forms the periphery of the unit housing 14 fixed to the back side thereof, and the pipe frame 31 is connected to the legrest 7 by a link mechanism (not shown). A base plate 32 is fixed to the back side of the unit housing 14. The base plate 32 is fixed to the pipe frame 31 together with the unit housing 14 with screws 33.

  Three airbags 20, 21, 22 are disposed on the bottom surface of each recess 15 of the foot tip massage unit 8 in the front-rear direction of the foot tip (in the direction from the toe toward the heel). The most front (toe side) airbag 20 is an airbag for the base of the toes, and is installed on the bottom surface of the recess 15. The rearmost (heel side) airbag 22 is a heel airbag, and is installed on the bottom surface of the recess 15. The central airbag 21 is an arch airbag and is installed between the bottom surface of the recess 15 and the base plate 32.

  These three airbags 20 to 22 are formed in a bag shape by welding the outer periphery of a pair of upper and lower sheets obtained by laminating urethane on a nylon cloth. Of the three airbags, acupressure protrusions 34 and 35 are attached to the top surfaces of the toe base airbag 20 and the arch airbag 21, respectively. The acupressure protrusions 34 and 35 are attached by fitting the lower end flange portions of the acupressure protrusions 34 and 35 into holes provided on the upper surface of the upper sheet of the airbag. The acupressure projection 35 provided on the arch airbag 21 is higher than the acupressure projection 34 provided on the toe base airbag 20, and the airbag 21 is inflated and contracted from the opening 30 provided on the bottom surface of the recess. Depending on the, it will come and go. Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the acupressure protrusion 35 provided on the arch airbag 21 is more than the center of the bottom surface of the recess 15 in the left-right direction so as to correspond to the arch of the sole inserted into the recess 15. It is provided at a position close to the inside.

  These three airbags 20 to 22 are connected to the air pump 13 via piping tubes (not shown) and electromagnetic valves 27 to 29, respectively (see FIG. 6). The electromagnetic valves 27 to 29 switch between communicating the air pump 13 and the airbags 20 to 22 or blocking the communication to communicate the airbags 20 to 22 with the atmosphere. Each of the airbags 20 to 22 communicates with the air pump 13 so that air is supplied from the air pump 13 and expands. By communicating with the atmosphere, the air in the airbags 20 to 22 is exhausted and contracted. The

  When the arch airbag 21 is contracted, the acupressure protrusion 35 protrudes slightly from the opening 30. Even if the user steps on the sole of the foot, the acupressure protrusion 35 strongly hits the sole and feels pain. I'm trying to keep things from happening.

  The foot tip massage unit 8 is also covered with a cloth cover (not shown), and by covering the surface with the cloth cover, the side airbags 16 to 19 do not have to be bonded to the side wall surface of the recess 15. It does not fall into the recess 15 and can be held along the side wall surface.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the control means 50 and the connection between the air pump 13 and the air bags 11 and 16 to 22. The electromagnetic valves 12 and 23 to 29 for controlling the supply of air to the airbags 11 and 16 to 22 are opened / closed by a signal from the control means 50, and supply air to the corresponding airbags at the time of opening to close them. The air bag corresponding to the generation is communicated with the atmosphere. The control means 50 is composed of a microcomputer, and is provided at an appropriate position of the massage machine 10. In addition to the opening / closing signal to the electromagnetic valve, the control means 50 also sends a signal to stop driving the air pump 13 and sends a control signal to the massage unit 4 of the backrest 2.

  The user sits down on the chair-type massage machine 10, the legs (calves) are inserted into the recesses 6, 6 of the leg rest 7, and the feet are inserted into the recesses 15, 15 of the toe massage unit 8, respectively. Then, the electromagnetic valve 12 and the electromagnetic valves 23 to 26 are opened and the air pump 13 is driven to inflate the four side airbags 11 of the legrest 7 and the side airbags 16 to 19 of the foot massage unit 8. The legs and feet of the user are pressed from the side, and the pressure is released by closing the electromagnetic valves 12 and the electromagnetic valves 23 to 26 and contracting the side airbags. By repeating, it is possible to massage the leg and the tip of the foot from the side.

  Here, the foot massage unit 8 is provided with three airbags 20 to 22 on the bottom surface of the recess 15, but the side airbags 16 to 19 with these airbags 20 to 22 contracted. FIG. 4 shows a state where the is expanded. Since the foot tip F in the concave portion 15 indicated by a two-dot chain line is placed on the bottom surface of the concave portion 15 without being lifted, when the side airbags 16 to 19 are inflated, the foot tips are pressed against the bottom surface as indicated by arrows. Receive power. Therefore, in the state in which the bottom airbags 20 to 22 are contracted, even if the side airbags 16 to 19 are inflated, they cannot be pressed from the side so as to embrace the side surfaces of the toes.

  Therefore, when at least the front toe base airbag 20 and the rear heel airbag 22 are inflated among the three bottom airbags 20 to 22, the toe F is lifted as shown in FIG. . When the side airbags 16 to 19 are inflated after being lifted, the airbags 16 to 19 are pressed down so as to embrace the side surfaces of the toes from right next to the toes as shown by arrows in FIG. By repeating the expansion and contraction of the airbags 16 to 19, it is possible to perform a massage with a comfortable touch that is close to the touch when the masseur performs a massage by embedding the toes by hand from the side.

  Here, the front toe base airbag 20 and the rear heel airbag 22 act as lift means for lifting the toes. As the lift means, all three airbags 20 to 22 including the arch airbag 21 as shown in FIG. 2 may be inflated. However, if only the front and rear airbags 20 and 22 are inflated, the air pump Since the air from 13 can be concentrated and supplied to two airbags, the ascending speed of the foot can be increased.

  Further, since the airbags 20 to 22 are formed by welding the outer periphery of a pair of upper and lower sheets, the reaction at the time of inflating by supplying air can be accelerated compared to those formed by blow molding. This has the effect of further increasing the speed of the previous climb.

  As the lift means, a moving plate that moves up and down by a motor can be used in addition to the airbag.

  The above-described three bottom airbags 20 to 22 as lift means repeatedly expand and contract by individually opening and closing the electromagnetic valves 27 to 29, and press the soles with these airbags 20 to 22. Can do. When the toe base airbag 20 is inflated, the acupressure projection 34 can acupressure massage the vicinity of the toe. When the arch airbag 21 is inflated, the acupressure projection 35 is applied to the area around the arch acupressure massage. If the heel airbag 22 is inflated, acupressure massage can be performed by pressing the vicinity of the heel. At this time, if the side airbags 16 to 19 are inflated in advance, the toes can be prevented from escaping upward, and the soles can be effectively pressed.

  As a method of applying acupressure with the arch airbag 21, in addition to inflating only the arch airbag 21 and directly pressing the arch with the acupressure protrusion 35, all three bottom airbags 20 to 22 are inflated as shown in FIG. After the toes are lifted, the front toe base airbag 20 and the rear heel airbag 22 are contracted. The contraction proceeds slowly, and as the contraction progresses, the sole of the foot is lowered by its own weight, and the force applied to the arch of the acupressure protrusion 35 gradually increases, and as a result, the acupressure can be gradually applied to the arch. .

  The side airbags 16 to 19 can be inflated and shrunk simultaneously, but can be independently inflated and shrunk, so that the side airbag 11 of the legrest 7 is inflated and the calf is fixed. If the side airbags 16 (18) and 17 (19) are alternately inflated and contracted, the left and right sides of the toes are alternately pressed to move the toes alternately to the left and right. As a result, from the left and right sides of the lower calf Stretch can be given to the heel.

It is a perspective view of the chair type massage machine carrying the massage unit of this invention. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view along the front-back direction of the leg | foot of the massage unit, and shows the state which lifted the toe which is a treatment part, omitting a side airbag. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view along the front-back direction of the foot | leg of the massage unit, and shows the state which has omitted the side airbag and lowered the toe which is a treatment part, and applied acupressure on the arch. It is a typical front view of the massage unit, and shows a state where a foot is lowered and massage is performed by a side airbag. It is a typical front view of the massage unit, and shows a state where massage is performed by a side airbag after lifting the tip of the foot. It is explanatory drawing which shows the electrical connection of a control means, and the connection of an air pump and an airbag.

Explanation of symbols

8 Footrest (massage unit)
15 Hook-shaped recess 20 Bottom air bag (lifting means)
21 Bottom air bag (lift means)
22 Bottom air bag (lifting means)
16 Side airbag 17 Side airbag 18 Side airbag 19 Side airbag 50 Control means 1 Seat portion 7 Leg rest 13 Air pump

Claims (5)

A bowl-shaped recess for receiving the treatment site, a lift means provided on the bottom surface of the bowl-like depression for lifting the treatment site, and provided on both sides of the bowl-like depression, expanded and contracted by air supply and exhaust, A side air bag for massaging the part; and control means for controlling the operation of the air supply, exhaust and lift means to the air bag, the control means lifts the treated part by the lift means, A massage unit characterized in that the treatment site is massaged by repeatedly supplying and exhausting air to the airbag. 2. The massage unit according to claim 1, wherein the lift means comprises a bottom airbag that expands and contracts by air supply and exhaust. The massage unit according to claim 2, wherein the front bottom airbag is provided with an acupressure protrusion for applying an acupressure to a treatment site. The legrest which mounts a user's leg part in front of the seat part of a chair is provided, and a user's foot is received in the tip of a legrest. A massage machine, wherein the massage unit is provided. Three bottom airbags for the base of the toes, for the arch, and for the heel are arranged on the bottom surface of the bowl-shaped recess of the massage unit that receives the toes along the front-rear direction of the foot, 5. The massage machine according to claim 4, wherein an air bag for at least the base of the toes is inflated to lift the toes.