JP2007143782A - Massaging machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a grip massaging by stable force. <P>SOLUTION: Treating elements 2b and 2a are installed at respective tips of a pair of arms 4b and 4a, upper and lower, rotatably supported vertically and an actuator 26 for grip massaging is so arranged as to energize both the arms in the direction of making both the treating elements approach it. The actuator is operated by air pressure while a pressure sensor S is provided to detect the air pressure in the actuator and a control means C to control the operation of getting the air supplied to or discharged from the actuator according to the pressure values detected with the pressure sensor, thereby enabling the control of the force for the grip massaging. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a massage machine that can be gripped and massaged by a pair of treatment elements.

  Conventionally, massage machines capable of performing massage massage, shiatsu massage, and the like have existed, but in recent years, massage machines capable of performing grip massage in addition to these massages have been provided.

  By the way, in grabbing massage, the treatment element does not press the human body, but the human body is sandwiched between the pair of treatment elements, so there is a high risk of applying excessive pressure to the human body. To avoid this point As shown in Patent Document 1, it is preferable to drive the treatment element with an actuator that operates with air pressure. This is because it functions also as an air spring, so that excessive pressure can be released.

However, since the conventional system only controls the supply / discharge of the actuator based on the discharge pressure of the pump for supplying air and the opening / closing time of the solenoid valve, it causes variations in actuator characteristics, air leaks in pipes, etc. Even if a decrease in massage power occurs due to the problem, it was not possible to detect, and there was a problem that a massage with a stable force could not be performed.
JP 2001-111282 A

  The present invention has been invented in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a massage machine capable of performing a grip massage with a stable force.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the massage machine according to the present invention has a treatment element disposed at each tip of a pair of upper and lower arms supported so as to be pivotable up and down, and a direction in which both treatment elements approach each other. Provided with an actuator for gripping massage that urges both arms, the actuator is operated by air pressure, a pressure sensor for detecting air pressure in the actuator, and a pressure sensor for detecting the air pressure in the actuator. And control means for controlling supply / discharge of air to / from the actuator in accordance with the pressure value. The force for grasping massage can be controlled.

  At this time, it is preferable that the control means increases the pressure in the actuator to the pressure selected by the pressurizing force selection switch. Grasp massage can be performed according to personal preference.

  Further, it is desirable that the control means constantly monitors the pressure in the actuator via a pressure sensor and controls air supply / discharge according to the pressure change state. When the user desires a stronger massage or a weaker massage, the movement of pressing or releasing the body against the treatment element is detected from the pressure change and the air control in the direction desired by the user is performed. be able to.

  In this case, it is desirable that the control means change the maximum pressure in the actuator from the tendency of pressure change in the actuator during a plurality of air supply / discharge operations. It is possible to accurately detect the direction desired by the user and perform pressure control in the desired direction.

  Since the present invention controls the supply and discharge of air to the actuator according to the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor that detects the air pressure in the actuator for gripping massage, the force for gripping massage can be controlled. It can be done and can be held and massaged with a stable force.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 shows a massage mechanism 33 capable of gripping massage according to the present invention. The massage mechanism 33 is disposed in a freely swingable state in the back of the chair, and between the side plates 11 and 11 at both ends in the width direction constituting the frame, the vertical drive shaft 12 and the strength drive shaft (see FIG. (Not shown) and a movable unit 14 are provided. In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a treatment element lower cover.

  The vertical drive shaft 12 is rotationally driven by a vertical drive motor 15 fixed to one side plate 11, and rollers 16 and pinions 17 are attached to both ends thereof. Since the roller 16 rolls on a rail disposed in the backrest and the pinion 17 meshes with a rack attached to the rail, the massage mechanism moves along the rail in the backrest by driving the vertical drive motor 15. And run up and down. The strength drive shaft is rotationally driven by a strength motor fixed to the other side plate 11, and a gear for rotating the movable unit 14 is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the movable unit 14 has a width drive shaft 20 and two slide guide shafts 21 and 21 installed between a pair of left and right gear plates 19 and 19, and a pair of left and right treatment element units 7 (FIGS. 2 and 2). 3 shows only one treatment element unit 7), and both ends of the width drive shaft 20 that can freely rotate about the shaft with respect to both gear plates 19, 19 are connected to the massage mechanism. It is arrange | positioned between the side plates 11 and 11 by being rotatably supported by a pair of side plates 11 and 11. The teeth 19a on the outer peripheral surface of the gear plate 19 are meshed with the gear of the strong and weak drive shaft, and when the strong and weak drive shaft rotates, the movable unit 14 rotates around the axis of the width drive shaft 20 and treatment is performed. The amount of protrusion of the treatment elements 2b, 2a provided in the child unit 7 to the front side of the backrest is changed. The width driving shaft 20 is rotationally driven by a width driving motor fixed to one side plate 11.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the treatment element unit 7 includes an arm pace plate 22 as a treatment element support member, an upper arm 4b with the treatment element 2b attached to the tip, a lower arm 4a with the treatment element 2a attached to the tip, and the like. The arm base plate 22 that rotatably supports the base end portions of the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a by a support shaft 23 includes a feed nut 24 that is screwed into a threaded portion of the width drive shaft 20, and The sliders 25 and 25 are slidably fitted to the slide guide shafts 21 and 21, and the axial positions of the width drive shaft 20 and the slide guide shaft 21 are changed by the rotation of the width drive shaft 20. The threaded portion formed on the width drive shaft 20 has one of the left and right sides where the feed nuts 24 and 24 of the pair of treatment element units 7 and 7 mesh with each other as a reverse screw. It from each arm base plate 22 in the left-right pair of treatment elements units 7,7 and away from approaching each other by the rotation of the width drive shaft 20.

  When the vertical drive shaft 12 is driven by the vertical drive motor 15, the massage mechanism 33 moves up and down in the backrest as described above to change the positions of the treatment elements 2b and 2a up and down. Further, when the strength driving shaft is driven by the strength driving motor, the movable unit 14 rotates around the axis of the width driving shaft 20 as described above, so that the treatment element 2b as viewed from the width driving shaft 20 moves forward. The amount of protrusion, that is, the strength with which the treatment element 2b presses the human body changes. Further, by driving the width drive shaft 20 with the width drive motor, the pair of left and right treatment element units 7 and 7 approach and separate from each other in the left and right direction, which is the axial direction of the width drive shaft 20, and the left and right treatment elements 2b, Change the interval 2a.

  In this massage machine, by combining the above-described operations by the three motors, the treatment elements 2b and 2a are allowed to perform a three-dimensional compound operation to realize a so-called massage massage. In order to enable drive control, feedback control is performed by providing sensors that detect the vertical position, protrusion amount (strength), width position, and the like.

  Airbags 26 and 27, which are actuators for gripping and massaging, are provided between the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a. When the airbag 26 is inflated by the supply of air, as shown in FIG. 5, the arms 4a and 4b are rotated around the support shaft 23 in the direction in which the treatment elements 2b and 2a at the tips of the arms 4b and 4a approach each other, On the contrary, the airbag 27 rotates the arms 4a and 4b in the direction in which the treatment elements 2b and 2a move away. By the approaching / separating operation of the pair of treatment elements 2b and 2a arranged at intervals in the vertical direction by the airbags 26 and 27, the treatment elements 2b and 2a can grasp and massage the human body. .

  Furthermore, a pair of left and right treatment elements 2b, 2a are provided, and the treatment elements 2b, 2a are in a state where the movable range of the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a is limited with respect to the arm base plate 22. Since the upper and lower treatment elements 2b and 2a are both in contact with the back of the human body by rotating within the movable range, When the float lock airbag 28 provided between the upper arm 4b and the arm base plate 22 is inflated, the upper arm 4b (and the lower arm 4a) rotate around the support shaft 23 with respect to the arm base plate 22 for treatment. In order to push the child 2b to the front side of the backrest, it is possible to obtain a state in which only the upper treatment element 2b is in contact with the human body, and also functions as an air spring. By increasing the urging force of the upper arm 4b due to the expansion of the airbag 28, the area in which the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a are rotatable with respect to the arm base plate 22 is narrowed, and the airbag 28 is maximized. When inflated, the rotation range is substantially zero. However, when a large load is applied to the treatment element 2b, the airbag 28 contracts, so that the load on the human body does not become excessive.

  And each said operation | movement in this massage machine is performed under control of the control part C shown in FIG. The vertical sensor, strength position sensor, width position sensor, vertical rotation sensor, dynamic rotation sensor, and width rotation sensor in the figure are for driving control of the vertical motor, the dynamic motor, and the width motor. A pressure sensor AU for detecting the pressure in the airbag 26 for massaging is an air drive unit including an air pump and an electromagnetic valve for supplying and discharging air to and from the airbags 26 to 28.

  When the gripping massage is supported from the operation unit, the control unit C controls the air driving unit AU to supply and discharge air to and from the airbags 26 and 27 to perform the above-described gripping massage operation. The pressure of the pressure sensor S is monitored, and when the pressure reaches the set value Ps as shown in FIG. 1, the supply of air to the airbag 26 is stopped and the state is maintained for a while, and then the airbag 26 The treatment elements 2b and 2a are returned by exhausting the air and supplying air to the airbag 27. Even if there is an air leak or the like in the pipe, it is possible to increase the pressure to the set pressure Ps and perform a grip massage with a stable force.

  As shown in FIG. 7, two stages of pressure set values Ps1 and Ps2 are provided, and air is supplied to the airbag 26 in accordance with a user operation of a pressure selection switch (not shown) provided in the operation unit. If the pressure set value that will stop the operation can be switched between the two values Ps1 and Ps2, gripping massage with strength according to the user's preference can be performed.

  Further, when the user desires a stronger massage, if the body is pressed against the treatment elements 2b and 2a, the detected pressure rises as shown in FIG. , 2a, the detected pressure decreases as shown in FIG. For this purpose, by constantly performing pressure detection via the pressure sensor S by the control unit C, it is possible to detect the above rise and fall, and when the rise occurs, the pressure set value Ps If the control is performed to increase the pressure and decrease the pressure set value Ps when the above-described decrease occurs, the pressure control in the direction desired by the user can be performed.

  However, in order to avoid erroneous detection due to sudden movement of the user, when performing the above control, as shown in FIG. It is desirable to change the set pressure only when the process continues several times.

It is a time chart which shows operation | movement of an example of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of a massage mechanism same as the above. It is a perspective view of a movable unit same as the above. It is a disassembled perspective view of a treatment element unit same as the above. It is a side view which shows the same grip massage operation | movement. It is a block circuit diagram same as the above. (a) and (b) are time charts showing other operations. It is a time chart about a pressure change. It is another time chart about a pressure change.

Explanation of symbols

2b, 2a Treatment element 4b, 4a Arm 26 Air bag (actuator)

Claims (4)

  A treatment element is provided at each tip of a pair of upper and lower arms supported so as to be pivotable up and down, and a grip massage actuator is provided to urge both arms in a direction in which both treatment elements approach. The actuator is operated by air pressure, and a pressure sensor for detecting the air pressure in the actuator, and air supply / discharge to / from the actuator according to the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor. And a control means for controlling the massage machine.   2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means increases the pressure in the actuator up to a pressure selected by a pressurizing force selection switch.   3. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means constantly monitors the pressure in the actuator via a pressure sensor and controls supply / exhaust of air in accordance with a change state of the pressure.   4. The massage machine according to claim 3, wherein the control means changes the maximum pressure in the actuator from the tendency of the pressure change in the actuator during a plurality of air supply / discharge operations.

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