JP2011130813A - Massage machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a massage machine capable of providing more comfortable massage effects. <P>SOLUTION: The massage machine includes two support bodies 15 in each leg support part 12 for independently supporting legs, regions of a user's body formed as a pair. The leg support part 12 is configured so that the respective support bodies 15 are swingablly operated by a linear motor 20 in different directions. The swinging frequency of the swinging motions of the respective support bodies 15 by the linear motor 20 can be changed at least to 2 Hz or higher by a control part 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a massage machine that imparts a massage effect by swinging a body.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, massage machines that give external stimulation to a user's body have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The massage machine of patent document 1 comprises a chair type | mold so that a user can massage in a seating state, and it is provided in the front part of the seat part which a user can sit down, and can mount a user's leg part. The ottoman is provided with a relaxing rocking part. The relax swinging unit is, for example, a unit that reciprocally swings one foot support member that receives both ankles of the user in the left-right direction. The (the entire leg) is swung relatively slowly around the user's waist, so that the so-called goldfish movement is automatically performed. Then, the user's legs are swung from side to side relatively slowly so as to perform a so-called goldfish exercise to relieve the tension of the user's legs, that is, to provide a relaxing effect. .

JP 2008-237295 A

  By the way, in the relaxation swing part of the massage machine described above, a relaxation effect can be imparted to the entire leg part by swinging the entire leg part of the user relatively slowly. Development of a massage machine that is weak to relieve stiffness and can provide a more suitable massage effect is desired.

  This invention is made | formed in order to solve the said subject, The objective is to provide the massage machine which can provide the more suitable massage effect.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 includes a body part support means for supporting one part of a user's body, a swing drive means for swinging the body part support means, Control means for controlling the swing drive means, and the control means controls the swing drive means to swing the body part support means to swing the user's body and massage. The body part support means has a plurality of support parts for independently supporting a pair of body parts in the user's body, and is provided by the swing drive means. Each of the support portions is configured to be swingable in different directions, and the control means can change the swing frequency of the swing operation of each support portion by the swing drive means to 2 Hz or more. The gist is that it is composed.

  In this invention, the body part support means is provided with a plurality of support parts for independently supporting the paired body parts in the user's body, and each of the body part support means is provided by the swing drive means. The support portion is configured to be swingable in another direction. The control means is configured such that the swing frequency of the swing operation of each support portion by the swing drive means can be changed to 2 Hz or more. In this way, by swinging at a relatively high speed with the swing frequency of the swing operation being 2 Hz or more, a suitable massage effect is imparted to the muscles of the user's body part to relax the muscle stiffness. (See FIGS. 3A and 3B and FIG. 4).

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the massage machine according to the first aspect, the control means is configured to perform a swing operation of each support portion in order to suppress vibration that may be generated by the swing operation of each support portion. The gist is to control the swing drive means so that the swing directions are different.

  In the present invention, the swing drive means is controlled by the control means so as to change the swing direction of the swing operation of each support portion in order to suppress the vibration to the other part that may occur due to the swing operation of each support portion. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of acceleration in the entire massage machine by the swinging operation of each support portion, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of vibration and noise due to this.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the massage machine according to the first or second aspect, each of the support portions swings on the same axis, and the control means swings the support portions. The gist is to control the swing driving means so that the moving directions are opposite to each other.

  In the present invention, the support portions of the body part support means are swung on the same axis, and the swing drive means is controlled by the control means so that the swing directions of the support portions are opposite to each other. In other words, by reversing the swing direction of each support portion that can swing on the same axis, the acceleration in the entire massage machine can be more reliably offset, and the generation of vibration and noise due to the vibration can be suppressed. be able to.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the massage machine according to any one of the first to third aspects, the body part support means is configured to hold and release at least a part of the user's body. The gist is that a grip opening means for repeatedly performing the above is provided.

  In the present invention, the body part support means is provided with a grip opening means for repeatedly holding and releasing at least a part of the user's body. For this reason, in addition to the massage effect by rocking | fluctuation operation | movement, the massage effect by a holding | grip release means can be provided. Further, it is possible to increase the variation of the operation by combining the swinging operation with the gripping and releasing operation.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the massage machine according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the body part support means is configured to cause the support portions to resonate during the swinging motion. The gist is that a spring member is provided.

  In the present invention, the body part support means is provided with a spring member for resonating each support portion during the swinging motion. The swinging operation of the body part support means (each support portion) by the swing driving means can be easily performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the massage machine which can provide a more suitable massage effect can be provided.

(A) (b) is explanatory drawing for demonstrating schematic structure of the massage machine in this embodiment. (A) (b) is a top view for demonstrating expansion / contraction operation | movement of an airbag. (A) (b) is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the difference of the massage effect in various operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the massage effect at the time of changing the rocking | fluctuation frequency of rocking | fluctuation operation | movement. It is a schematic block diagram of the massage machine in another example. It is a schematic block diagram of the massage machine in another example. It is a schematic block diagram of the massage machine in another example.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Fig.1 (a) (b) shows schematic structure of the massage machine of this embodiment. The massage machine 10 of this embodiment is for the leg which supports the body part (in this embodiment leg K in this embodiment) which becomes a pair in the user's body independently in the two accommodating parts 11 which make concave shape. A total of two support portions 12 are provided.

  The base portion 13 constituting the leg support portion 12 is supported by coil springs 14 provided on the left and right wall portions 11a of the two accommodating portions 11 so as to be movable on substantially the same axis L in the left-right direction. A support main body portion 15 constituting the leg support portion 12 is fixed to the upper portion of the base portion 13, and the support main body portion 15 is formed to have a concave shape that protrudes downward. Air bags 16 that can be inflated and contracted are provided on the left and right inner wall surfaces 15 a of the support main body 15. The airbag 16 is inflated and contracted by a control unit 18 that controls driving of the air pump 17.

  On the other hand, on the lower side of the leg support portion 12, a linear motor 20 is provided as a swing driving means for swinging the leg support portion 12 in the left-right direction. The linear motor 20 is controlled by the control unit 18 and includes an electromagnet 21 fixed to the bottom 11b of the housing unit 11 and two magnets 22a and 22b having different magnetic poles.

  The electromagnet 21 includes a core 21a and a coil 21b wound around the core 21a. Power supply from a power source (not shown) to the coil 21b is controlled by the control unit 18, and the upper surface side is based on the power supply. Magnetic poles are formed on the surface. The magnets 22 a and 22 b face the electromagnet 21 in the vertical direction (up and down direction) and are arranged in parallel in the left and right direction of the lower surface of the base portion 13. For this reason, when power is supplied via the control unit 18 by the coil 21b of the electromagnet 21, the electromagnet 21 is magnetized and attracted by one of the two magnets 22a and 22b and repulsive by the other side. And the magnets 22a and 22b are moved in the left-right direction. As a result, the leg support 12 provided with the magnets 22a and 22b is oscillated (translated) in the left-right direction.

  In the massage machine 10 configured as described above, for example, a plurality of massage courses for performing a predetermined operation are set, and a swing operation of 2 Hz or more for a certain period is performed in at least one massage course. Here, this inventor performed evaluation experiment about the difference of the massage effect obtained in various massage operation | movement. In addition, the massage operation only by the grip / release operation (expansion / contraction operation) by the airbag 16, the massage operation only by the swing operation for swinging the leg support portion 12 in the left-right direction, the above-described grip / release operation and swing operation. An evaluation experiment is conducted on the massage effect of the three types of massage operations. In addition, with regard to the swinging operation, an experiment is performed on four types of operating frequencies of 2 Hz, 3 Hz, 4 Hz, and 6 Hz. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show the experimental results of each massage operation, and FIG. 3 (a) shows the difference in massage effect for the “feeling of comfort” by each massage operation. b) shows the difference in the massage effect with respect to “feeling of relaxation” by each massage operation.

  In addition to the above-described evaluation experiment, the present inventor has also separately conducted an evaluation experiment on the difference in massage effect obtained by the difference in swinging motion (see FIG. 4). Specifically, it is an evaluation experiment for a difference in “feeling of unraveling” which is a massage effect when changing from 1 Hz to 6 Hz in 1 Hz increments.

  As can be seen from FIG. 4, the difference between 1 Hz and 2 Hz is the largest, and it can be seen that a good massage effect can be obtained in a relatively high-speed rocking motion of 2 Hz or more. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 3A, by setting the oscillation frequency of the oscillation operation to 2 Hz or more, a massage effect higher than the massage effect only by the gripping / release operation can be obtained. Furthermore, as can be seen from FIGS. 3A and 3B, a more suitable massage effect can be obtained by a combined operation of the swinging operation and the gripping / opening operation. Further, by performing gripping / release operations in addition to swinging operations, it is possible to diversify the massage operations, thereby contributing to the maintenance of the user's motivation.

  Further, in the massage machine 10 configured as described above, the user's leg K is gripped by the inflation operation of the airbag 16 as shown in FIGS. The control unit 18 controls the gripping state and the open state in which the user's leg K is opened by the contraction operation of the airbag 16 as appropriate. Here, for example, when performing a swinging operation with a relatively low swinging frequency of 1 Hz or less, the swinging operation is performed with the airbag 16 contracted and the leg K opened. With such a configuration, when the user swings at a low frequency of about 1 Hz or less, if the user's leg K is gripped, the swing of the swinging motion can be reliably transmitted to the body. Compared with the open state, the swinging state of the leg K tends to deteriorate. For this reason, when the operation has a low oscillating frequency as described above, the entire leg portion K of the user sways in the inner wall surface portion 15a of the support main body portion 15 by operating in an open state. K's thigh, knee circumference and lower leg massage can be performed.

  On the other hand, when the swinging frequency of the leg support portion 12 is a relatively high speed swinging operation of 2 Hz or more, the air pump 17 is controlled by the control unit 18 to inflate the airbag 16 so that the leg K is moved. The frequency of the swinging operation is changed in the gripped state. This is because when the gripping state is set, the swinging motion of the leg support 12 is reliably transmitted, and a massage centered on the toe (ankle) on the gripping side is performed. When the airbag 16 is deflated and the leg K is opened, when the swinging operation is performed at a relatively high speed with a swing frequency of 2H or more, the leg K cannot follow the swinging motion, The hitting operation in which the airbag 16 in the contracted state is in contact with the side surface of the portion K can be performed.

  Further, each support main body 15 is configured to be able to swing in the reverse direction on the same axis L in the left-right direction, so that the support main body 15 (leg support 12) swings in the opposite directions. By operating, the movement (vibration) of the massage machine 10 due to the swinging motion can be suppressed. In addition, since the coil spring 14 is configured to resonate, a sufficient swinging operation can be realized even if the power supplied to the coil 21b constituting the electromagnet 21 is suppressed.

Next, characteristic effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The leg support portion 12 includes a plurality of support body portions 15 that independently support a pair of body parts (leg portions K) within the user's body. 12, each support main body 15 is configured to be swingable in a different direction by the linear motor 20. The control unit 18 is configured such that the swing frequency of the swing operation of each support main body 15 by the linear motor 20 can be changed to 2 Hz or more. In this way, by swinging so that the swing frequency is 2 Hz or more, it is possible to give a suitable massage effect that further stimulates the muscles of the leg K of the user and loosens the muscles ( 3 (a) (b) and FIG. 4).

  (2) Further, since each of the two support main body portions 15 provided in the leg support portion 12 is configured to be swingable in different directions, diversification of the swing operation as a massage operation can be achieved. Therefore, it can contribute to a user's motivation maintenance.

  (3) The support main body portions 15 of the leg support portions 12 are swung on the same axis L, and the linear motor 20 is moved by the control portion 18 so that the swing directions of the support main body portions 15 are opposite to each other. Be controlled. In other words, by making the swing direction of each support body 15 swingable on the same axis L reverse, the acceleration that can be generated in the entire massage machine 10 can be offset, and vibration and noise caused by the vibration Can be suppressed.

  (4) The leg support portion 12 is provided with an airbag 16 that repeatedly performs gripping and releasing operations on at least a part of the user's body (leg portion K). For this reason, in addition to the massage effect by rocking | fluctuation operation | movement, the massage effect by the expansion / contraction operation | movement of the airbag 16 can be provided. Further, it is possible to increase the variation of the operation by combining the swing operation with the gripping and releasing operation.

  (5) The leg support portion 12 is provided with a coil spring 14 for resonating each support body portion 15 during the swinging operation. The swing operation of the leg support 12 (each support main body 15) by the linear motor 20 can be easily performed.

In addition, you may change embodiment of this invention as follows.
In the above-described embodiment, the leg support portions 12 are swung so as to move in opposite directions on the substantially same axis L in the left-right direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  In the above embodiment, each leg support 12 is configured to swing in the left-right direction. However, the swing direction is not limited to this, for example, circular motion, tilting (arc motion), and vertical motion. It may be a configuration or the like. In addition, each of the following three configurations can be oscillated so that the oscillating directions of the leg support portions 12 are opposite to each other, thereby suppressing the occurrence of vibration due to acceleration in the massage machine 10 as a whole. Can be done.

  For example, the following configuration is conceivable as a configuration for circularly moving each leg support portion 12. In the massage machine 10 shown in FIG. 5, two (a total of four) disk-shaped rotating plates 30 to which rotational driving of a motor (not shown) is transmitted are respectively provided on the lower side of the base portion 13 of the leg support portion 12. Fixed. Support shafts 31a of two support members 31 erected on the bottom 11b of the accommodating portion 11 are attached to the respective midway positions in the radial direction of the respective rotary plates 30, and the leg support portions 12 are centered on the support shaft 31a. The whole is configured to rotate while maintaining the posture.

  Moreover, as a structure which tilts (arc movement) each support part 12 for legs, the following structures can be considered, for example. In the massage machine 10 shown in FIG. 6, a fixed shaft 35 a of a support member 35 in a form extending upward from the bottom portion 11 b of the accommodating portion 11 is attached to a substantially central position in the left-right direction of each base portion 13. A motor 36 is provided below each base portion 13, and is movable connected to two output shafts 36 a extending from both ends of the motor 36 in the left-right direction and to the lower surface of each base portion 13. The members 37 are alternately moved up and down in accordance with the rotational drive of the motor 36 so that each leg support 12 is moved in an arc.

  Moreover, as a structure which moves each support part 12 for legs up and down, the following structures can be considered, for example. In the massage machine 10 shown in FIG. 7, a rod-like turning member 42 that can turn at the tip of a support member 41 that extends upward from a substantially central portion in the left-right direction of a mounting table 40 that is placed on a floor surface (not shown). The base portion 13 of each leg support portion 12 is connected to the left and right end portions of the rotating member 42. Further, both ends of a holding member 43 that is in a parallel relationship with the rotating member 42 are connected to the base portion 13 to which the support main body portion 15 is fixed in order to maintain the posture. Similarly to the arc motion described above, the movable member 37 connected to the two output shafts 36 a extending in the left-right direction from both ends of the motor 36 and connected to the lower surface of each base portion 13 is provided in the motor 36. The leg support portion 12 is moved up and down alternately according to the rotational drive.

In the above embodiment, the spring member for resonating with respect to the swinging motion of each support body 15 is configured by the coil spring 14, but may be configured by another spring member such as a leaf spring.
In the above embodiment, the coil spring 14 resonates, but a structure that does not resonate may be used.

  In the above embodiment, when the swing frequency of the swing operation is about 2 Hz or more, the airbag 16 is inflated to grip the user's leg K. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Absent.

In the above embodiment, when the swing frequency of the swing operation is 1 Hz or less, the airbag 16 is in the contracted state and the user's leg K is in the open state. .
In the above embodiment, the ankle, which is a body part that forms a pair of users, is supported by the support main body part 15 and swings. However, the body part supported by the support main body part 15 is an ankle structure. Not limited to. For example, a configuration in which the shape is appropriately deformed so as to support the paired body parts such as the lower leg, the thigh, the wrist, the forearm, and the upper arm may be adopted as the support part.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Massage machine, 12 ... Leg support part as a body part support means, 14 ... Coil spring as a spring member, 15 ... Support body part as a support part, 16 ... Air bag as a grip release means, 18 ... Control Control unit as means, 20... Linear motor as swing drive means, 36. Motor as swing drive means, K... Leg part as body part.

Claims (5)

Body part support means for supporting a part of the user's body, swing drive means for swinging the body part support means, and control means for controlling the swing drive means,
A massage machine for performing massage by swinging the body of the user by controlling the swing drive means by the control means and swinging the body part support means;
The body part support means has a plurality of support parts for independently supporting a pair of body parts in the user's body, and the swing drive means moves the support parts in different directions. It is configured to be able to swing,
The massaging machine characterized in that the control means is configured such that the swing frequency of the swing operation of each support portion by the swing drive means can be changed to 2 Hz or more. The massage machine according to claim 1,
The control means controls the swing driving means so as to change the swing direction of the swing operation of each support portion so as to suppress the vibration that can be generated by the swing operation of each support portion. Machine. The massage machine according to claim 1 or 2,
Each of the support portions swings on the same axis,
The said control means controls a rocking | swiveling drive means so that the rocking | fluctuation direction of each said support part may mutually reverse direction, The massage machine characterized by the above-mentioned. In the massage machine as described in any one of Claims 1-3,
The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the body part support means is provided with a grip opening means for repeatedly holding and releasing at least a part of the user's body. In the massage machine as described in any one of Claims 1-4,
A massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the body part support means is provided with a spring member for resonating the support portions during the swinging motion.

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