JP2012236063A - Massage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform effective massage by also imparting warmth to a body.SOLUTION: An arm 3 driven by a massage mechanism is provided with a support shaft 30 rotatably supporting a treatment element 2, and a heat transfer means transferring heat of a heat source 4 disposed in the support shaft to a peripheral part of the treatment element made of an elastic material is provided between the support shaft and the peripheral part of the treatment element. The heat transfer means is a heat-transferring disk part 31 provided on the support shaft, and the treatment element is formed by disposing elastic bodies each having an outside diameter larger than the disk part beside the disk part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a massage apparatus that performs massage on a human body with a treatment element also called a fir tree ball.

  There is a massage device that performs massage on the back of a human body by causing a treatment element called a komi ball to perform a massage operation. In this type, normally, a pair of treatment elements on the left and right are placed in the back of the chair, and massage is performed by applying pressure to the back of the human body through a cover provided on the front of the back. .

  By the way, in the case of massage performed by a person, the warmth of the hand of the person performing the treatment is transmitted to the user receiving the massage, but the treatment device of the massage device is at room temperature (or a little higher than room temperature due to frictional heat with the cover) is there. Here, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-102919, if a heat source is provided in the treatment element so that the treatment element can give not only power but also warmth to the human body. If it makes it to a user, while being able to create the sensation of receiving a massage by a human hand, this sensation enhances the sense of satisfaction of the massage.

  However, since the treatment element applies pressure to the human body, it is formed of a rubber-based elastic body and is configured as a rotatable roller in order to improve the slip between the treatment element and the cover. In this case, in this case, it is difficult to give heat to the outer periphery of the treatment element that comes into contact with the human body through the cover, which makes the human body feel warm. There is no description about the point.

JP 2005-102919 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 apparatus that can perform an effective massage while also giving warmth to a human body.

  The massage device according to the present invention includes a support shaft that rotatably supports a treatment element on an arm driven by a massage mechanism, and heat from a heat source disposed on the support shaft is applied to an outer peripheral portion of the treatment element made of an elastic material. A massage device in which a heat transfer means for carrying is provided between the support shaft and the outer periphery of the treatment element, wherein the heat transfer means is a disk portion for heat transfer provided on the support shaft, and the treatment element is It is characterized in that an elastic body having an outer diameter larger than that of the disk portion is formed on the side of the disk portion.

  Although the heat source is arranged on the support shaft, heat that can make the human body feel warm by the heat transfer means can be effectively given to the outer periphery of the treatment element.

  As the heat transfer means, one made of a high thermal conductivity material provided integrally with the support shaft can be suitably used.

  In addition to the support shaft, the heat source can be disposed in a disk unit integrated with the support shaft. In the latter case, it is not necessary to bend the harness connected to the heat source.

  It is also possible to dispose a thrust washer made of a low friction coefficient member between the disk portion and the elastic body, or to form a bearing interposed between the elastic body and the support shaft and the thrust washer with a heat insulating material. This is preferable in terms of smooth rotation of the resin and suppression of deterioration over time of the elastic body. In addition, if a hole is formed in the disk portion, a favorable result can be obtained in terms of heat capacity.

  In addition, if a circumferential groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the disk part, it is possible to effectively prevent the disk part from causing pain to the human body, and in particular, the outer peripheral surface of the disk part and the elastic body. The outer peripheral surface of the elastic body has a continuous curve in the cross section in the axial direction, and further, by making the radius of curvature in the cross-sectional direction of the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body and the outer peripheral surface of the disk portion having the concave groove substantially the same, The durability of the elastic body (treatment element) at the boundary between the disk and the disk portion can be improved.

  When the temperature sensor for detecting heat from the heat source and the control means for controlling the current supply to the heat source according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, the heat can be appropriately controlled, and the treatment element If the cooling means which cools is provided, the treatment element and the heat source can be effectively cooled.

  The present invention is capable of performing massage with a treatment element as warm, and in particular as a heat transfer means for transferring heat to the outer periphery of a treatment element supported by a support shaft provided with a heat source. Despite the fact that the treatment element is made of an elastic material in order to convey heat at the disk part using the disk part provided on the shaft, it is easy and effective to give heat to the outer periphery of the treatment element. It can be carried out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a perspective view of a main part, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of the main part. (a) is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the above, (b) is an exploded cross-sectional view of the main part of the same, (c) is a partial cross-sectional view of another example. It is a fracture perspective view showing the whole composition same as the above. FIG. 4 shows another example, in which (a) is a perspective view of a main part, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of the main part. It is a schematic circuit diagram same as the above. It is a schematic circuit diagram of another example. It is a time chart regarding temperature control same as the above. It is a perspective view of the principal part of another example. Further, another example is shown, in which (a) is a perspective view of the main part, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the main part. It is a disassembled perspective view of another example. (a) (b) is a horizontal sectional view explaining the difference in the pull-out direction of a harness. Furthermore, it is a disassembled perspective view of another example. It is sectional drawing of the other example same as the above. (a) is a sectional view of another example, and (b) is an enlarged sectional view. It is a disassembled perspective view of another example. It is sectional drawing of another example. It is sectional drawing of the example which has earth | grounded. It is a disassembled perspective view of a different example. Further, different examples are shown, in which (a) is an exploded perspective view and (b) is a perspective view. FIG. 4 shows a reference example, in which (a) is a perspective view of a main part, and (b) is a side view of the main part.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 3 shows an example of the appearance of a massage apparatus according to the present invention, and the backrest 10 is moved up and down in the backrest 10 of the reclining chair 1. A massage mechanism (not shown) that is self-propelled is disposed on the back of the cover 11 that covers the front surface of the backrest 10 and is driven by the massage mechanism to perform a massage motion. , 2 are arranged.

  The treatment elements 2 and 2 that are paired on the left and right are formed of an elastic material and attached to the tips of the arms 3 and 3 that are driven by the massage mechanism, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support shaft 30 is fixed to the tip of the arm 3, and the treatment element 2 is disposed on the outer periphery of the support shaft 30 via a bearing 25. It is designed to be freely rotatable around its axis.

  As is apparent from the figure, the support shaft 30 is hollow and is formed of a material having high thermal conductivity and rigidity, for example, aluminum, and a disk portion 31 for heat transfer is provided at the center in the axial direction. I have. Further, the treatment element 2 is configured by disposing elastic bodies 20, 20 on the left and right sides of the disk portion 31, respectively. A heat source 4 is housed inside the support shaft 30. The heat source 4 formed of a sheathed heater or a PTC heater has a rod-like outer shape with a circular cross section. Further, when the outer diameter of the heat source 4 is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the hollow support shaft 30, and the heat source 4 is housed in the support shaft 30, the outer surface comes into contact with the inner surface of the support shaft 30 and heat is reliably transmitted to the support shaft 30. It is configured. In the figure, 35 is a screw for fixing the heat source 4.

  The disk portion 31 on which the elastic bodies 20 and 20 are located on the left and right are slightly smaller in outer diameter than the outer diameter of the elastic body 20 (although depending on the elastic modulus and thickness of the elastic body 20, the radius is 2 to 3 mm). A small one is preferable), and the outer peripheral surface has a concave groove in the circumferential direction as apparent from FIG. The reason for having such an outer diameter and a concave groove is that when the treatment element 2 comprising the elastic bodies 20 and 20 is in contact with the human body and applies pressure, the contact pressure between the rigid disk portion 31 and the human body is reduced. This is to reduce the body so that it does not feel pain.

  If the concave groove on the outer periphery of the disk part 31 has a cross-sectional shape connected to the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body 20 by a continuous curve as shown in FIG. 2 (c), the elastic body 20 (the treatment element 2) on the disk part 31 side is provided. The durability of the part can be improved.

  In the massage device including the treatment element 2, when the treatment element 2 is moved and massaged on the human body 9 while generating heat with the heat source 4, the heat of the heat source 4 is treated by the disk portion 31 of the support shaft 30. 2 (two elastic bodies 20, 20) is carried to the outer periphery. For this reason, the outer peripheral part of the treatment element 2 which contacts a human body via the cover 11 of the backrest 10 has a heat | fever which can make the human body 9 fully feel warmth. Further, in the illustrated example, the support shaft 30 is fixed so as not to rotate about the axis, and the heat source 4 is housed in the support shaft 30, so that the treatment element 2 is rotatable, but the heat source 4 is moved to the heat source 4. There is no tangling of the wiring.

  FIG. 4 shows a reference example. The treatment element 2 here has a slightly recessed central portion in the width direction of its outer peripheral surface, and a plurality of vent holes 26 provided radially from the central portion open at the recessed portions. The heat radiation from the support shaft 30 incorporating the heat source 4 reaches the outer peripheral surface of the treatment element 2 through the vent hole 26. A high thermal conductivity material may be embedded in each air hole 26 so that the high thermal conductivity material carries heat to the outer peripheral portion of the treatment element 2. In addition, when using a metal as a high thermal conductivity material, it is needless to say that one end of the high thermal conductivity material on the outer peripheral side of the treatment element 2 does not protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the treatment element 2. .

  When the heat source 4 is a PTC heater which is a temperature self-maintaining heater, no other means for temperature control is required. When the heat source 4 is a sheathed heater, a temperature sensor Th is provided as shown in FIG. 5, and if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor Th exceeds a preset temperature Tmax, a relay contact connected in series with the heat source 4 is used. A certain shut-off device 6 is activated so that the power supply to the heat source 4 is shut off. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, if a control unit 7 is provided to control the temperature detected by the temperature sensor Th to fall between the upper limit temperature Tupp (Tupp <Tmax) and the lower limit temperature Tlow, smoke fires and the like are avoided. In addition, the surface temperature of the treatment element 2 can be appropriately maintained. The temperature sensor Th may be attached to the heat transfer means in addition to being incorporated in the heat source 4. FIG. 19 shows an example in which the disk portion 31 is attached to the outer peripheral portion. Compared with the case where it is arranged in the heat source 4, the assembly is easy and the cost can be reduced, and the heat of the portion where the difference from the heat actually felt by the human body is small is detected. Control can be performed.

  In addition to the heat source 4 that heats the treatment element 2 and the heat transfer means that conveys the heat to the outer periphery of the treatment element 2, a cooling unit that cools the treatment element 2 may be provided. FIG. 8 shows a cooling unit provided with a blower 80 that sends cooling air toward the treatment element 2 in the vicinity of the treatment element 2, and the blower 80 installed on the base portion of the arm 3 is connected to the heat source 4. When the power supply is cut off, the treatment element 2 is cooled by the cooling air, and the temperature of the treatment element 2 is lowered in a short time. It becomes easy to maintain the temperature of the treatment element 2 appropriately.

  As the cooling means, a pump 81 that sends the coolant to the support shaft 30 as shown in FIG. 9 may be used. In the figure, 82 is a coolant flow path surrounding the heat source 4 on the inner peripheral surface of the support shaft 30, 83 is a coolant suction port provided in the support shaft 30 (disk portion 31 thereof), and 84 is a coolant discharge port. . The heat source 4 including the treatment element 2 can be cooled more rapidly than when the blower 80 is used.

  FIG. 10 shows a structure in which the disk portion 31 is provided on the support shaft 30 and the heat source 4 is disposed in the disk portion 31. In this example in which the rod-like heat source 4 is arranged in the disk portion 31 so that the longitudinal direction thereof is in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft 30, the heat source 4 is arranged in the axial direction of the support shaft 30. Thus, it is not necessary to bend the harness 44 reaching the heat source 4 as shown in FIG. 11, and there is no possibility that the harness 44 comes into contact with members on both sides of the backrest 10 and supporting the back of the human body.

  12 and 13 show a structure in which thrust washers 32, 32 made of a low friction coefficient member are disposed between the disk portion 31 and the elastic bodies 20, 20 disposed on the left and right sides of the disk portion 31, respectively. Show. Since the frictional resistance between the disk portion 31 of the support shaft 30 and the elastic body 20 that is rotatable with respect to the support shaft 30 can be reduced, the elastic body 20 can be smoothly rotated. The thrust washer 32 is accommodated in a recess 22 (see FIG. 12) formed on the surface of the elastic body 20 on the disk portion 31 side so that smooth rotation can be obtained. It becomes more preferable.

  Further, it is desirable that the thrust washer 32 and the bearing 25 are made of a material having high heat insulation properties so that heat is not easily transmitted to the elastic body 20. This is because the elastic body 20 made of rubber or elastomer has a possibility that its sulfidation or secular change may be accelerated by heat.

  From the viewpoint of avoiding the thermal effect on the elastic body 20, a minute gap 23 may be provided between the side surface of the disk portion 31 and the side surface of the elastic body 20 as shown in FIG. 14. Heat insulation is performed by the air layer in the gap 23. In this case, the thrust washer 32 is made to contact only the stepped portion of the support shaft 31 and the side surface of the bearing 25.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the heat capacity of the disk portion 31 is reduced by providing the hole 33 in the disk portion 31 and the heat transfer speed to the outer peripheral surface is improved. The hole 33 is provided in a portion of the disk portion 32 opposite to the human body side. In addition to reducing the time required for the outer peripheral surface of the disk portion 32 to reach the target temperature, it is possible to reduce the weight of the treatment element 2 and reduce the power required for the heat source 4.

  Even in the case where the heat source 4 is arranged on the disk portion 31, as shown in FIG. 16, circumferential grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the disk portion 31, and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body 31 and the outer peripheral surface of the disk portion 31 are formed. It is preferable to have a cross-sectional shape that is connected by a continuous curve. In particular, when the radius of curvature R1 of the outer circumferential surface of the elastic body 20 and the radius of curvature R2 of the outer circumferential surface of the disk portion 31 having the concave groove are made substantially equal (R1≈R2), the pressure applied to the treatment element 2 from the body is increased. This is preferable because it is evenly distributed and the deterioration of the connection portion of the elastic body 20 with the disk portion 31 is suppressed.

  When both the support shaft 30 on which the heat source 4 is disposed and the arm 3 are formed of a conductive material, and the arm 3 is grounded as shown in FIG. 17, insulation necessary for applying a current to the heat source 4 Since the voltage can be reduced, and the heat source 4 itself can be reduced in size and weight accordingly, as a result, the entire treatment element 2 can be reduced in size and weight.

  The fixing of the support shaft 30 to the arm 3 does not use screwing, but as shown in FIG. 18, the end portion of the support shaft 30 and the support shaft mounting hole on the arm 3 side are D-cut. It may be performed by using a key or a key. In this case, the mounting and fixing of the support shaft 30 to the arm 3 can be performed at an angle θ at which the power supply outlet and the extraction hole 33 of the heat source 4 are on the opposite side of the human body.

  FIG. 20 shows another reference example. Here, the secondary treatment element 2A located in the vicinity of the treatment element 2 is provided, and the heat source 4 is built in the secondary treatment element 2A. The secondary treatment element 2A made of metal and having a high thermal conductivity has a hemispherical tip surface, and can be moved back and forth by a rectilinear actuator 2B provided at the base end of the arm 3. It has become. When the arm 3 is driven by the massage mechanism and massage is applied by the treatment element 2 to the human body, if the auxiliary treatment element 2A is moved forward by the actuator 2B, the auxiliary treatment element 2A that performs the same movement as the treatment element 2 is moved to the human body. Makes you feel warm. It should be noted that the secondary treatment element 2A is prevented from coming into strong contact with the human body even in the forward position. In this respect, a pneumatic actuator can be suitably used as the actuator 2B. When the user feels itching or the like due to thermal stimulation, the auxiliary treatment element 2A may be moved backward so that only the treatment element 2 contacts the human body. Of course, the shut-off device 6 and the control unit 7 can be applied to those having the secondary treatment element 2A.

  In addition, although the example which has arrange | positioned the treatment element 2 to the backrest 10 by the chair type was shown, it is not limited to the thing of such a form.

2 treatment element 3 arm 20 elastic body 30 support shaft 31 disk part

Claims (13)

A support shaft that rotatably supports the treatment element is provided on the arm driven by the massage mechanism, and a heat transfer means that carries heat from a heat source arranged on the support shaft to the outer periphery of the treatment element made of an elastic material is defined as a support shaft. A massage device provided between the outer periphery of the treatment element,
The heat transfer means is a disk portion for heat transfer provided on the support shaft, and the treatment element is formed by arranging an elastic body having an outer diameter larger than that of the disk portion on the side of the disk portion. A massage device characterized by being.   2. The massage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the disk portion is made of a high thermal conductivity material provided integrally with the support shaft.   The massaging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat source is disposed inside the disk portion integrated with the support shaft.   The massage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a thrust washer made of a low friction coefficient member is disposed between the disk portion and the elastic body.   The massage apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the bearing and the thrust washer interposed between the elastic body and the support shaft are formed of a heat insulating material.   The massage device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a hole is formed in the disk portion.   The massage device according to claim 1, wherein a circumferential groove is provided on an outer peripheral surface of the disk portion.   The massage device according to claim 7, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the disk portion and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body form a continuous curve in an axial cross section.   9. The massage device according to claim 8, wherein the radius of curvature in the cross-sectional direction of the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body and the outer peripheral surface of the disk portion having the groove is substantially the same.   The massage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support shaft and the arm are formed of a conductive material, and the arm is grounded.   The massaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support shaft is fixed to the arm to prevent rotation.   The temperature sensor which detects the heat by a heat source, and the control means which controls the electric current supply to a heat source according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor are provided, The any one of Claims 1-11 characterized by the above-mentioned. The massage device described in 1.   The massage apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cooling unit that cools the treatment element.

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