JP2698377B2 - Water-flow type body surface stimulator - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention uses fluid force to stimulate a human body surface,
The present invention relates to a water flow type body surface stimulating device suitable for mental health care, particularly for activating metabolism.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of various information devices, automation of office equipment has been greatly advanced. Along with this, the number of people who are driven into a mentally unhealthy state called techno stress is increasing rapidly. These people often do not have adequate means to recover from excessive mental stress, and furthermore, suffer from many mental and physical illnesses such as autonomic imbalance, depression, neurosis, and visceral disorders. There are many cases that are driven. Of course, there is a means to cope with these diseases from a medical standpoint, but the present invention provides a means to recover the human body from a mentally excessive stress state from the viewpoint of prevention before reaching the disease. The purpose is to:

Generally, in the event of excessive stress, people make some attempt to restore and maintain their health using some means. For example, counseling by psychiatrists and psychologists, various types of exercise (including travel, etc.), change of mood, reading, creation of music, art, etc., or appreciation of these activities (artistic activity) Eating and drinking of alcohol etc. However, there are many environmental factors that cannot be dealt with in these examples. For example, in the case of, people who are stressed often do not have a place to receive counseling due to reasons such as busyness, and even if they do, they do not have the mental space to visit. Many. Also, in the case of these, these are active activities that can only be done if they are physically healthy, and are not suitable for cases of excessive stress. On the other hand, in the case of, although it is mainly a mental act, it is an active act that requires the patient to be active, and it is difficult to recover from a physical part in terms of stress.

On the other hand, from the medical and physiological point of view, a water flow type health device and the like utilizing the effect of stimulating the shaking of the body surface due to the flow of water have been developed. For example, it is disclosed in JP-A-61-90661, JP-A-61-240958 or a magazine "Monthly Regya Sangyo Kogyo 230, pp. 150-153," Aqua Fitness Research "". These generate, for example, a water flow having a flow velocity in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the height direction around a user entering a bath tub, and directing such a water flow directly and continuously to the user. It is intended to give a stimulus by applying it to. More specifically, when an object is placed in a fluid, a Karman vortex is generated when the flow velocity exceeds a certain value, causing the object to vibrate left and right.If the object is a soft elastic body, it flows cleanly along its surface. The fluid used is a method that utilizes a phenomenon in which the fluid that has become unstable is peeled off and the pressure applied to the surface of each part of the object changes accordingly.

In the case of such a water flow system, it can be said that the pine surge effect is large as experimental results are shown in the above-mentioned publication. However, the water-flow type body surface stimulating device shown in these is, firstly, for slimming beauty mainly for light training. In other words, as in the case of the above-described method, the exercise may be accompanied by cardiopulmonary load and muscle fatigue, and the exercise effect in an active form is expected. This is, in the case of the above-mentioned publication method, while receiving the water flow from the front in a state where the user is orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the height direction, while grasping a support rod or the like and supporting the back with a back plate or the like, that is, It can also be understood from the stimulation method of receiving a water flow in a manner against the flow.

Secondly, when examining the state of the water flow, the user can be treated by a linear flow flowing in the bathtub in one direction, a linear shower jet flow flowing in one direction, or a rotating flow around the axis. It is designed to stimulate the body surface of the user. However, the stimulus (vibration) of the human body using the fluid force is governed by the characteristics of the fluid as the excitation force and the compliance (degree of softness) of the body surface of the human body. Here, it is not appropriate to consider that the compliance of the human body surface is an elastic body as described above, and it is necessary to consider the viscoelastic body for some parts. Considering these points, as in the past,
For example, simply applying a uniform flow of water to the human body causes almost no body surface vibration, that is, the pine surge effect, on the back (back) along the spinal cord. In other words, the treatment is limited to the local stimulation of the abdomen and the like, and the overall treatment effect is not yet sufficient.

Third, the treatment state of the user is discussed. As described above, this is a method in which the user receives a water flow from the front surface in a state perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to the height direction, that is, receives the water flow in a form against the flow.
Therefore, the user receives the water flow in a standing posture or a sitting posture in a state facing the flow. In other words, the user does not lose power completely and cannot receive treatment in a weakened state. This is one of the examples in the above publication.
The same applies to the treatment of a sleeping posture on a board, which is indicated as one, because the patient receives a shower jet from above. In this way, the body surface is likely to be hard in a state in which the muscles are more or less energized, and the stimulating effect of the water flow is not likely to increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a completely passive form of health for a subject who is mentally and physically stressed without cardiopulmonary load or muscle fatigue. Focusing on sleep and bathing, which are indispensable to daily life, to maintain or recover from the condition, it is possible to perform treatment very effectively with a bathing sensation that also has a sleep effect, and furthermore, body surface stimulation by water flow It is an object of the present invention to provide a water-flow type body surface stimulating device that allows a user to receive treatment in a weakened state in order to further enhance the effect.

Configuration In order to achieve the above object, the present invention generates a uniform flow that flows in one direction in the entire bathtub in which the user takes a bath and directly and continuously hits the user, and It is characterized by generating a partial jet that directly and continuously hits the user in a uniform flow.

Further, the user is placed in a state in which the water flow by such a uniform flow or the water flow by the uniform flow and the jet flow is applied from the support side in a state substantially parallel to the height direction of the user or at an acute angle with respect to the height direction. A support member is provided for supporting one or both of the head and the rear thigh or hip above the knee.

In addition, a uniform flow that flows in the bathtub in one direction from the inlet opening side to the outlet opening side to directly and continuously hit the user is generated, and is fixed or fixed in the water flow on the inlet opening side. A shielding turbulence plate comprising a shielding portion and an opening portion is provided so as to be detachably mounted.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a basic concept or principle for configuring the present embodiment will be described. The phenomenon of the stimulation (vibration) of the human body using the fluid force is basically governed by various characteristics of the fluid as the vibration force and the compliance (degree of softness) of the body surface of the human body. Here, the factors governing the phenomena are: (1) Fluid flow velocity Disturbance intensity Disturbance spectrum (size of vortex and its intensity distribution) (2) Body surface (viscoelastic body): epidermis, fat layer, muscle, skeleton (Almost rigid body) Compliance (degree of softness) Layer thickness, contact area (3) The contact angle between the fluid and the body surface (the position of the user in water) is important.

Further, phenomena occurring on the body surface due to mutual interference of these factors can be classified as follows.

(A) Only deformation due to frictional stress and inertial force of water (B) Forced vibration (C) Self-excited vibration (flutter) Of these phenomena, the most effective method in terms of stimulating the body surface is It is to generate self-excited vibration (flutter). In this respect, the self-excited vibration phenomenon of a viscoelastic body such as a human body surface has not been well understood in terms of fluid engineering. However, when considering the human body surface, the following analogy can be made.

First, the compliance (softness) of the human body varies greatly depending on the parts of the body surface, but it can be broadly classified as follows: (a) Hard parts The front of the chest, the lower leg, the spine (the part along the spinal cord),
Side chest, shoulder, anterior thigh (b) Soft parts Flank, arm, hip, rear thigh, neck, upper shoulder,
It can be classified into the front of the abdomen. As described above, the value of the above (2) is different depending on the body part, which means that the natural frequency of each part is naturally different.

Therefore, in order to cause an effective vibration, it is necessary to properly match the parameters of the fluid serving as the excitation force for each of the parts of the human body.

Therefore, in configuring the present embodiment, it is possible to change the fluid condition to be exposed to each part of the human body (user). More specifically, using a flush with a uniform flow and a partial jet, for example, while forcibly applying a pulsating jet to the entire back surface which is a hard part of the body surface to generate a forced vibration, The soft part is exposed to a uniform flow to generate self-excited vibration. Further, in such a treatment, the user is configured to be able to receive the treatment in a weakened state where the power is completely released.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the water-flow type body surface stimulating device in this embodiment, and FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (c) show the configuration of the bathtub therein. First, there is provided a bathtub 1 large enough to allow a user to enter at least in a state close to a sleeping posture. The bathtub 1 is installed on a horizontal table, and is connected by a track-shaped circulating portion 2 from the outlet opening 1b to the inlet opening 1a of the bathtub 1 so that the water 3 can circulate in the same horizontal plane. A system has formed. next,
The entire inside of the bathtub 1 is moved from the inlet opening 1a side to the outlet opening 1b.
A mechanism is provided for generating a uniform flow 4 flowing horizontally in one direction towards the side. This is mainly composed of an axial flow pump 6 provided in a part of the circulation part 2 and driven by a motor 5, and is provided at an appropriate position in the circulation part 2 in order to form a good uniform flow 4. Is corner ben 7 and current plate 8
Is also prepared, and is configured to ensure uniformity of the flow in the bathtub 1. Here, the motor 5 is a 7.5 W AC
A motor is used, and the flow rate of the uniform flow 4 is
It is configured so that the flow rate can be appropriately changed.

Incidentally, the maximum flow velocity (average in cross section) at the inlet opening 1a of the bathtub 1 is 2.5 m / sec, and the maximum flow rate is about 500 / sec. Further, the water depth in the bathtub 1 is about 500 to 600 mm. Then, the cross-sectional shape and size of the entrance opening 1a of the bathtub 1 are set to 40.
0mm x 400mm square, 500mm x 500mm square, 500mm x 3
Experiments were conducted to generate a uniform flow 4 for several types of rectangles of 00 mm and rectangles of 400 mm x 200 mm.
A good uniform flow 4 could be generated therein.

Next, a mechanism for generating a jet 11 in the same direction as the uniform flow 4 in the bathtub 1 in which the uniform flow 4 flows is provided. In this embodiment, in order to form a jet 11 to which forced pulsation is applied in this embodiment, a spiral magnet pump 12 (for example, having a maximum flow rate of 500 /
min, 2 inches in diameter) and the fluid element 13 with the flow control valve 14,
It is combined with the electromagnetic adjustment valve 15. And the fluid element
The ends of the ejection pipes 16a and 16b, which are branched into two by 13 and selectively eject the jet 11, are disposed at the inlet hole 1a of the bathtub 1, and water is drawn into the spiral magnet pump 12. The pipe 17 is provided with its end positioned outside the outlet opening 1b. Here, when the diameter of the ejection pipes 16a and 16b, which are the outlets of the jet 11, is 2.5 inches, the maximum flow velocity of the jet 11 is about 4 m / sec.
And

In essence, a diaphragm pump 19 may be used instead of the combination of the spiral type magnet pump 12 and the fluid element 13 as shown by a virtual line in FIG.

In this way, a water flow is generated in the bathtub 1 by the uniform flow 4 and the jet 11 from the inlet opening 1a side toward the outlet opening 1b side. The user is supported to receive such a water flow in a weakened state close to a lying posture in a supine state, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 (a). For this reason, for example, a support 21 that supports the head of the user and a support 22 that supports the knee portion in the region of the rear thigh or the hip above the knee are provided, and two portions are supported. The back side faces the entrance opening 1a.

That is, it is important that the user can take a relaxed posture by using the buoyancy of the fluid (water 3) in the bathtub 1.
This is because, as described above, the body surface becomes stiff when the muscles are strong, and the stimulating effect of the water flow does not increase. That is, self-excited vibration is less likely to occur. On the other hand, by using the supports 21 and 22 to support the user in the water near the sleeping position in the bathtub 1, the buoyancy of the water 3 is used to soften the body surface of the user. State can be maintained. At this time, it is also important that the user of the bathtub 1 is supported in a posture in which the uniform flow 4 and the jet 11 effectively hit the back side thereof. Only two parts, the knee and the knee, are supported by the supports 21 and 22. That is, at least the spine, the shoulder, the interscapula, the waist, the side chest, and the flank around the back of the user are exposed to the mainstream uniform flow 4. I have. In addition, according to the above-mentioned publications and the like, the water stream is directed to the user in a direction orthogonal to the height direction, but in this embodiment, the user is supported in a substantially sleeping posture. It is also important that the contact is made substantially parallel to the height direction or at an acute angle, that is, along the height direction. Furthermore, it is also important that water is applied to the user from the side supported by the supports 21 and 22. In other words, contrary to the conventional feeling against the flow, when the rider gets on the flow in a range where the flow is not flown (set at such a flow velocity), the treatment is performed as if the rider was not.

The bathtub 1 has a planar shape as shown in FIG. 1 (b), and the water flow hitting the back of the user goes to the front and flows to the thighs and feet. . Also,
When the user is present in the bathtub 1, the flow is naturally blocked by the human body and detoured.

The method of supporting the user in the bathtub 1 is not limited to the method shown in FIG. 1A, but may be any of various methods as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3F.

(A) is that the head is supported by the support 21 and the vicinity of the hip is supported by the support 23 having good stability.

(B) is such that the support 23 supports only one portion of the hip.

(C) provides a support 24 for supporting the rear thigh, and the posture of the user as a whole is closer to the sleeping posture.

(D) is a structure in which a support 25 having flatness such as a seat of a chair is supported from the rear thigh to the vicinity of the hip.

(E) shows a configuration in which only the supporter 21 supports only the head of the user.

(F) is a structure in which supports 21, 22, and 23 are provided to support two parts of a head, a knee, a rear thigh, and a hip at three places. At this time, for example, the support 22 may be moved up and down so that the state of the knee can be changed.

The operation and effect of the present embodiment in such a configuration will be described.

First, the evaluation of the effect of the uniform flow 4 flowing in the bathtub 1 on the human body, that is, the user, is evaluated with reference to FIGS. 1 (a) and 3 (a).
(F). When the average flow velocity of the uniform flow 4 exceeds about 1.5 m / sec, vibration of the body surface occurs around the flank. Further, when the flow side exceeds 2.0 m / sec, vibration extends to the front of the abdomen, and body surface vibration also occurs in the arms, rear thighs, and hips. In other words, the higher the flow velocity of the uniform flow 4, the more self-excited vibration (especially the flank), but for some parts of the body, there are many forced vibrations that simply result from the flow velocity fluctuations of the flow. That is, when an object (cylindrical or human body) is present in the uniform flow 4, the flow is accelerated on the side of the object (at most,
About twice the flow rate of the uniform flow). In addition, since the flow separates behind the side surface of the object, the flow velocity near the separation point changes greatly with time due to the release of the separation vortex, and vibration occurs around the relatively soft flank of the body surface. It will be easy.

Next, the jet 11 will be considered. First, in the case of only the uniform flow 4 described above, the body surface vibration hardly occurs on the back portion along the spinal cord where the nervous system is most concentrated (in any case, the user is supported in a weakened state and the uniform flow 4 is not generated). Therefore, even when only the uniform flow 4 is used, a more effective stimulus can be received than before.) Therefore, other excitation forces are required to stimulate these sites. At this time, since these parts (the spine, the side chest, the scapula, etc.) are originally thinner at the body surface (that is, the fat layer) and are relatively hard, large energy is required to cause forced vibration. And the energy of a vortex having an appropriate wave number is required. In this embodiment, a jet 11 is used as an excitation force for such a portion in addition to the uniform flow 4.

The feature of the flow of the jet 14 is that it largely depends on the distance from the outlet of the jet, that is, the distance l from the outlet of the jet pipes 16a and 16b. That is, while the width of the jet increases in proportion to the distance l, the maximum flow velocity and the intensity of the turbulence attenuate in inverse proportion to the distance l. Eruption pipe
How to set the distance 1 from the exits 16a and 16b and the position of the user, particularly the back, is an important factor in the treatment effect. Incidentally, as described above, when the diameter of the ejection pipes 16a and 16b is 2.5 inches, the distance 1 is 200 mm and 400 m.
FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (d) show how the velocity distribution of each jet 11 changes in the flow direction at m, 600mm and 800mm. In the figure, the horizontal axis i scale indicates 5 cm. The position where the optimum effect was obtained was about 40 cm from the outlet.

Further, in order to more effectively perform body surface vibrations at these sites, it is desirable that the strength of the jet 11 and the structure (spectrum) of the turbulence can be artificially varied. From this point of view, in this embodiment, the jet formed by adding forced pulsation
11 is used. Where the pulsation frequency is 0.1Hz
It was carried out by changing between ~ 0.2Hz. Fig. 5 (a)
In (d), as an actual measurement example, the distance l is set to 400 mm and 500 mm.
The state of the time-dependent flow velocity fluctuation of the pulsating jet 11 when changing to mm, 600 mm, and 700 mm is shown. Note that an electromagnetic current meter (measurement range: 2 m / sec) was used for the measurement, and the pump pressure of the spiral magnet pump 12 was reduced to about 2/3 of the fully opened state. The pulsation frequency was set to 1.8 Hz. For example, the fifth
According to the measurement results shown in FIG. (A), the flow velocity fluctuation (the velocity component in the flow direction is u) reaches about 1.5 m / sec, and FIG.
As shown in (d), it can be seen that the attenuation decreases as the distance 1 increases. Therefore, when the pulsating jet 11 is applied to the user, the relationship between the distance l from the outlets of the ejection pipes 16a and 16b, the position of the human body, and sometimes the position of the back is important. In the present embodiment, for example, the positional relationship is set such that the back of the user is located within a range of 100 mm to 500 mm from the outlets of the ejection pipes 16a and 16b. In addition, the vibration of the body surface (back) surface caused by such a pulsating jet 11 was a forced vibration.

By the way, when the diaphragm pump 19 is used as a pulsating jet source, since this pump is a positive displacement type, it generates a large amount of noise and has poor energy efficiency. However,
According to the combination of the spiral type magnet pump 12 and the fluid element 13, the system becomes so compact that it is incomparable to mechanical switching and valve switching.
This is the most excellent pulsation forming mechanism.

However, when the uniform flow 4 and the pulsating jet 11 are used in combination as in the present embodiment, an effective vibration stimulus is also applied to the back part of the body, where the uniform flow 4 alone is insufficient, and greatly. The evaluation of bodily sensation was obtained when the treatment effect was obtained.
In addition, a passive (passive) exercise effect can be obtained. That is, without forcing muscle load,
Effective stimulation of the body surface at the same time exerts a slight load on lung function, intensifies metabolism, stimulates secretion of hormones, restores and maintains physical health, and restores mental health. Will be maintained. In addition, in this embodiment, since the bathing is performed for a relatively long time (about 30 minutes to 1 hour), the water temperature is set to a relatively low temperature (2 to 5 degrees lower than the body temperature) and the water is exposed to the flow in such water. By continuing, energy consumption is large, and naturally leads to fat layer consumption. Furthermore, a relaxed state, both physically and mentally, is ensured during the treatment, and the bathing treatment has a sleep effect.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. Basically, it is based on the above-mentioned embodiment, but taking the following points into consideration. That is, as described above, in order to effectively match various parameters of a fluid serving as an excitation force for each part of the human body in order to cause an effective vibration, the human body (water treatment) In order to make the person's body vibration effectively, it is necessary to forcibly control the turbulence existing in the flow. In addition, the human body has a remarkable individual difference in body surface structure among fat people (thick people), muscular people, and lean people. It is necessary that the structure of the flow (that is, the structure of the turbulence, the strength) can be variously changed according to such individual differences. Incidentally, in the above-mentioned JP-A-61-90661 and JP-A-61-240958,
It merely changes the velocity of the uniform flow.

In this embodiment, in the basic structure capable of changing the flow velocity of the uniform flow as shown in FIG. 7, a flow turbulence plate as shown in FIG. 6 is provided to change the flow structure.
Further, in such a treatment, the user is configured to be able to receive the treatment in a weakened state where the power is completely released.

That is, FIG. 7 shows the overall configuration of the water-flow type body surface stimulating device in the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the bathtub portion therein. Basically, it is the same as that shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. First, a bathtub 1 having a size at which a user can enter at least in a state close to a sleeping posture is installed on a horizontal table, and is connected by a track-shaped circulation part 2 from an outlet opening 1b of the bathtub 1 to an inlet opening 1a. A circulating system is formed in which the water 3 can flow in the same horizontal plane. Next, a uniform flow generating mechanism for generating a uniform flow 4 that flows horizontally in one direction from the entrance opening 1a side to the exit opening 1b side in the entire bathtub 1 is provided. This is mainly composed of an axial flow pump 6 driven by a motor 5, and a corner ben 7 is provided at an appropriate position in the circulation part 2 in order to form a favorable uniform flow 4.

Further, the water temperature used in this embodiment is slightly lower than the body temperature.
32-36 ° C.

In this embodiment, the shielded turbulent flow plate 26 is provided in the underwater where the uniform flow 4 flows and positioned outside the entrance opening 1a of the bathtub 1. The shielding turbulence plate 26 may be fixed, but in this embodiment, it is of a cassette type, and is detachably mounted from above by a mounting guide 27 as shown in FIG. It is configured.

Due to the presence of the shielding turbulence plate 26, turbulence is generated in the uniform flow 4 which flows from the entrance opening 1a into the bathtub 1 and hits the user. Such a flow structure (turbulence) is caused by a shielded turbulent plate
It depends on the structure, dimensions and flow velocity of the uniform flow 4. In this embodiment, for example, four types of shielding turbulence plates 26a to 26d as shown in FIGS.
d is prepared in a cassette-type structure, and any one can be used interchangeably. These shielding turbulence plates 26
a to 26d are of the same size (WL = 50cm square), and can be used properly according to the individual difference of the user, or even when used by the same person, replace the series with the same type with different aperture ratio etc. Or something to do.

Here, the individual shielding turbulence plates 26a to 26d will be described. First, FIG. 7 (a) shows an example of a turbulent flow grid 26a in which a shielding portion 28a and an opening portion 28b are formed in a grid shape. Specifically, the grating width WB = the opening width WO = 10 cm and the opening ratio OR = 0.36
It is of such a structure.

FIG. 2B shows a perforated plate 26b in which a plurality of openings 28b are formed in a circular shape at equal intervals. Specifically, the structure has an opening diameter WR = 7 cm and an opening ratio OR = 0.38.

FIG. 3C shows a strip plate 26c in which the shielding portion 28a is formed in a strip shape. Specifically, grating width WB = opening width WO = 10c
m and an aperture ratio OR = 0.6.

FIG. 4D shows a strip plate 26d in which the shielding portion 28a is formed in a cross shape. More specifically, the structure has a lattice width WB = 10 cm and an aperture ratio OR = 0.64.

In this manner, a uniform flow 4 with turbulence caused by the shielding turbulence plate 26 flows from the inlet opening 1a side to the outlet opening 1b side in the bathtub 1.
Is generated. The user is supported to receive such a water flow in a weakened state close to a lying posture in a supine state as shown in FIG. 6 (a), for example. Therefore, for example, the support 29 supporting the head and neck of the user and the support 30 supporting the rear thigh above the knee in the region above the knee or above the hip in the region of the hip are included. Provided, 2
The part is supported, and the back side faces the entrance opening 1a. That is, it is equivalent to the support by the supports 21 and 22 of the first embodiment.

That is, it is important that the user can take a relaxed posture by using the buoyancy of the fluid (water 3) in the bathtub 1.
This is because, as described above, the body surface becomes stiffer in a state where power is applied to the muscle, and the stimulating effect of the water flow does not increase. That is, automatic vibration is less likely to occur. On the other hand, by using the support pairs 29 and 30 to support the user in the water in the bathtub 1 in a state close to a sleeping posture, the buoyancy of the water 3 is used to maximize the body surface of the user. It can be maintained in a soft state. At this time, it is also important that the user of the bathtub 1 is supported in a posture in which the uniform flow 4 accompanied by the turbulent flow effectively hits the back side of the user, and in this embodiment, for example, the head of the user And only the upper part of the knee and the upper thigh are supported
29, 30 support. That is, at least the spine centered on the back of the user, the scapula, the interscapular area,
Almost the entire waist, side chest and side abdomen are exposed to the uniform flow 4. In addition, according to the above-mentioned publications and the like, the water stream is directed to the user in a direction orthogonal to the height direction, but in this embodiment, the user is supported in a substantially sleeping posture. It is also important that the contact is made substantially parallel to the height direction or at an acute angle, that is, along the height direction. Further, it is also important that a water flow is applied to the user from the side supported by the supports 29 and 30. In other words, contrary to the conventional feeling against the flow, when the rider gets on the flow in a range where the flow is not flown (set at such a flow velocity), the treatment is performed as if the rider was not.

Then, the water flow hitting the back of the user goes to the front and flows to the thighs and feet. In addition, when the user is present in the bathtub 1, the flow is naturally blocked by the human body and detoured.

In addition, the method of supporting the treatment shield in the bathtub 1 is not limited to the method shown in FIG. For example, similarly to the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the head and neck may be supported by the support 29 and the vicinity of the hip may be supported by a stable support. Further, only one portion of the hip portion may be supported by such a stable support. Further, a flat support such as a chair seat may be used to support the rear thigh and the vicinity of the hip. Alternatively, only the head and neck of the treatment shield may be supported as the support 29 only. Further, a support may be provided at three places to support the head, neck, knee, rear thigh, or hip at two places.

The operation and effect of the present embodiment in such a configuration will be described.

First, in this embodiment, in order to form various turbulences, several types of turbulence grids 26a shown in FIG. 8A are used as the shielding turbulence plates 26, specifically, the following four types are used. Measure it. Here, the size of the turbulent grid 26a is WL as described above.
= 50 cm square, and four kinds of samples having the lattice width WB and the opening width WO as parameters are referred to as samples S1 to S4.

S1 WB = WO = 10 cm, OR = 0.36 (that is, the one shown in FIG. 8 (a) where two shielding portions 28a are formed at equal intervals vertically and horizontally) S2 WB = 7 cm, WO ≒ 7.5 cm , OR = 0.34 (three shielding parts 28a are formed at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions) S3 WB = 5cm, WO = 6cm, OR = 0.36 (four shielding parts 28a are arranged at equal intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions) Formed) S4 WB = 3cm, WO ≒ 6cm, OR = 0.48 (formed with 5 shielding portions 28a vertically and horizontally at 5 intervals) Using these four types of samples S1 to S4, When the flow velocity distribution, turbulence intensity, and spectrum (turbulence structure) of the case were examined, the velocity of the uniform flow 4 was constant (here, V = 1.
Under 5 m / sec), the larger the lattice width WB and the greater the resistance to flow, the stronger the turbulence, and the larger the opening width WO,
The size of the turbulence tended to increase. In addition, a course was obtained in which the turbulence intensity in the flow direction attenuated in inverse proportion to the distance L in the flow direction (that is, 1 / L times).

That is, four types of samples S1 to S4 having almost the same aperture ratio OR
Considering first, according to the sample S1 having a large lattice width WB, strong turbulence appears, and it is difficult to attenuate widely in the flow direction. In the case of this sample S1, an effective turbulent flow was obtained up to about 10 times (about 100 cm) the lattice width WB as the distance L. On the other hand, in the sample S4 having a small lattice width WB, the intensity of the turbulence is not so strong as to the left and attenuates immediately in the flow direction (according to actual measurement, the lattice width WB = about 10 times the width of 3 cm). It is.

For this reason, these samples S1 to S4, for example, the sample S1 having strong disturbance, were particularly effective for a thick user. In addition, as for the age of the patients, those who were younger tended to prefer those whose lattice width WB was wider and more disordered, and those who were older tended to prefer those whose lattice width WB was narrower and less disturbed. It is. Of course, there are large individual differences, but in general, the relationship between these four types of samples S1 to S4 and the effective body surface vibration and sensation for each age is as shown in Table 1. It was done. In Table 1, the column marked with a circle is the part that gave good results.

This is the case with the turbulent grid 26 shown in FIG.
The same applies to not only the a type but also the perforated plate 26b type in the figure (b), the strip plate 26c type in the figure (c), and the cross plate 26d type in the figure (d). The strength of the turbulence is determined by the size of the shielding portion that blocks the flow, and the size of the vortex is governed by the area (dimension) of the opening 28b.

Further, the intensity of the turbulence is attenuated while being diffused in the flow direction from the individual installation of the shielding turbulence plate 26. Shielded turbulence plate
In order to effectively expose the turbulence caused by the subject 26 to the back of the user, the center of the subject O
(For example, assuming that the distance between the supports 29 and 30 is 1 as shown in FIG. 6, a half point 1/2 of the center point between the support points, or the treatment if there is no support 29 and 30) If the person is in a posture when taking a bath, the horizontal distance L to the center point of the upper body is important. In view of this point, the distance L is 30 to 100 cm when the results of the uniformity in the plane direction and the strength due to the attenuation and the body surface vibration obtained by converting the turbulence intensity distribution on the plane parallel to the shielding turbulence plate 26 are used. Was the best. By the way, when the distance L is less than 30 cm, a disturbance that is partially too strong appears, and a strong signal is partially generated in the body, and discomfort (pain) is felt. Conversely, when the distance L exceeds 100 cm, the turbulence intensity distribution on a plane parallel to the shielding turbulence plate 26 becomes uniform, but the turbulence intensity is weakened, and effective body surface vibration is unlikely to occur. Things.

A sufficient effect can be obtained even if the opening 28b of the shielding turbulence plate 26 is intensively opened toward the spinal cord or abdomen on the back of the human body. This is, for example, the eighth
The strip plate 26c or the cross plate 26d type shown in FIGS.

Further, although not shown as an example, a shielded turbulent flow plate having a cocoon-shaped opening portion or a circular orifice shape was tried as a shielding turbulent flow plate. (Where the flow intensity is large), that is, body surface vibration occurs only along the opening shape, and it is difficult to obtain vibration along the entire back of the human body.

The thickness of the shielding turbulence plate 26 used in the present embodiment in the flow direction is not as important as the left, and a plate having a thickness of about 3 to 10 mm is sufficient.

However, by making the uniform flow 4 with an appropriate turbulence as in the present embodiment, an effective vibration stimulus is also applied to the back part of the body where the mere uniform flow 4 alone feels insufficient, and the It was a bodily sensation evaluation that the treatment effect was obtained. It also provides a passive (passive) exercise effect. That is, the muscle load is not forcibly applied, and a slight load is given to the lung function, and at the same time, the metabolism becomes intense by effective body surface stimulation, the secretion of hormones is promoted, and the body is physically recovered and maintained in a healthy state, And,
It will be restored and maintained mentally well. In addition, in this embodiment, since the bathing is performed for a relatively long time (about 30 minutes to 1 hour), the water temperature is set to a relatively low temperature (2 to 5 degrees lower than the body temperature) and the water is exposed to the flow in such water. As we continue, energy consumption is large and, of course,
It also leads to fat layer consumption. Furthermore, a relaxed state, both physically and mentally, is ensured during the treatment, and the bathing treatment has a sleep effect.

Effects The present invention applies a uniform flow and a partial diversion to a user as described above, so that an effective stimulus is given to a body surface having a soft part or a hard part, and It is possible to improve the effect, and to apply the water flow from the support side along the height direction of the user from either side of the user's head and the back thigh or hip above the knee. Since the support member for supporting one or both of the parts is provided, the treatment can be performed in a soft state on the body surface which is in a sleeping state in a bath tub and is in a weakened state using buoyancy of water. The surface stimulus effect can be maximized, and a uniform flow accompanied by turbulence by a shielded turbulence plate is applied to the user, so it is effective for body surfaces with soft or hard parts To stimulate the treatment and improve the treatment effect In particular, it is possible to easily control the strength of the turbulence by simply selecting and using the structure of the shielding turbulence plate, the aperture ratio, etc. as appropriate, and according to the age, constitution, etc. of the user. The patient can receive optimal stimulation, and ultimately maintain a healthy state in a completely passive manner without suffering cardiopulmonary stress or muscle fatigue for a subject who is mentally and physically stressed, or It can be recovered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is a vertical sectional front view of a bathtub portion, FIG. 1 (b) is a plan view of a bathtub portion, and FIG. ) Is a vertical sectional side view of the bathtub, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration, FIG. 3 is a vertical front view showing various modifications of the support system, FIG. 4 is a velocity distribution characteristic diagram of the jet, FIG. The figure shows the velocity fluctuation diagram of the pulsating jet, and FIGS.
Fig. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional front view of a bathtub, Fig. 7 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration, and Fig. 8 is a front view showing various examples of a shielded turbulent plate. FIG. 1 ... bathtub, 4 ... uniform flow, 11 ... jet, 21-25 ... support member, 26 ... shielding turbulent plate, 28a ... shielding part, 28b ...
Opening part, 29, 30 ... Support member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Naoki Kiyoshi, Inventor Ricoh 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Yasuro Hayashi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-61-240958 (JP, A) JP-A-61-90661 (JP, A) JP-A-1-124189 (JP, U)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A uniform flow which flows in the bathtub in one direction to directly and continuously hit a user, and is directly and continuously applied to the user in the uniform flow. A water-flow type body surface stimulating device characterized in that a partial jet corresponding to the above is generated. 2. A uniform flow that flows in the bathtub in one direction and directly and continuously hits the user, and the water flow by this uniform flow is substantially parallel to the height direction of the user. Support one or both of the subject's head and the above-knee rear thighs or hips in a state or in a state where it is applied from the support side at an acute angle to the height direction. A water-flow type body surface stimulating device comprising a support member. 3. A uniform flow that flows in one direction in the entire bathtub and directly and continuously hits the user, and is directly and continuously applied to the user in the uniform flow. The user is placed in a state in which the uniform jet and the jet are applied with water from the support side in a state substantially parallel to the height direction of the user or at an acute angle to the height direction. A water flow type body surface stimulating device characterized in that a supporting member is provided for supporting one or both of a head portion and a rear thigh or a hip above the knee. 4. A uniform flow which flows in the bathtub in one direction from the inlet opening side to the outlet opening side and directly and continuously hits the user, and generates a uniform flow in the water at the inlet opening side. A water-flow type body surface stimulating device, characterized in that a shielding turbulence plate comprising a shielding portion and an opening portion is fixedly or detachably disposed on the device.