JP3075773B2 - Massage machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a massage machine, and more particularly, to an upper body contact portion with which the upper body of a massaged person (user) abuts, a pair of massagers (fir balls) for pressing a massage site, The present invention relates to a chair-type or bed-type massage machine including a control unit for controlling a pressing force of a treatment element on a massage site.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of massage machine,
In order to detect the pressing force (load) applied to the massage part of the treatment element, the treatment element is provided with a pressing force sensor, and the pressing force sensor seeks the pressing force by the pressure received from the massaged person (conventionally. Example 1) or a method in which a pressing force sensor is provided in a moving unit including a treatment element, and the pressing force sensor seeks the pressing force by the pressure received from the massaged person via the treatment element (conventional example 2). It has been known.

Further, in order to detect a massaged part of a massaged person, a pressing force sensor is provided in a moving unit including a treatment element, and the treatment element is moved to detect a shoulder position. (For example, conventional example 3), or a pressing force sensor such as a strain gauge is provided on an arm supporting the treatment element, and the treatment element is moved by moving the treatment element. The neck to determine the pressing force curve by the pressure received from the massaged person through the treatment element,
A device that attempts to detect positions of a shoulder, a back, a waist, and the like (conventional example 4) is known.

[0004]

However, the massagers of Conventional Examples 1 to 4 have the following problems, respectively. That is, in the massage machines of the conventional example 1 and the conventional example 2, since the sensor is provided on the moving member such as the treatment element or the moving unit, there is a possibility that the conducting wire of the sensor may be cut, and complicated wiring is required as a countermeasure. there were. Further, in the massage machine of Conventional Example 2, since the pressing force is indirectly detected, there is a problem that the actual pressing force applied to the massaged person cannot be accurately detected. Conventional Example 3 and Conventional Example 4
However, there is a problem that the massage machine cannot detect the massage site in a short time because it takes a certain time to move the treatment element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the wiring for a pressing force sensor for detecting the pressing force applied to a massaged person by a treatment element is simple, and the pressing force can be accurately measured. It is an object of the present invention to provide a massage machine which can detect a massage site in a short time.

[0006]

The massage machine of the present invention takes the following two forms. That is, in the first embodiment, the upper body contact portion with which the upper body of the massaged person abuts, and the first body is provided so as to be reciprocable along the spine of the massaged person inside the upper body contact portion, and the massage is performed via the upper body body. A pair of treatment elements for pressing the part, a treatment element moving means for reciprocating the pair of treatment elements, and a portion provided between at least one of the pair of treatment elements and the upper body of the massaged person; A pinching strength detecting means for detecting the pinching strength sandwiched by the pinching means, and a pressing force of the pair of treatment elements on the massage site becomes a predetermined value based on the pinching strength detected by the pinching strength detecting means. And a treatment element control means for controlling the pressing force.

[0007] That is, the first massage machine is provided with a pinch strength detecting means for detecting the pinch strength pinched between at least one of the pair of treatment elements and the upper body of the massaged person. And a treatment element control means for controlling the pressing force such that the pressing force of the pair of treatment elements on the massage site becomes a predetermined value based on the clamping strength detected by the clamping strength detection means. That is the gist. Then, the pressing force of the treatment element is detected by the pinch strength detecting means, and the pressing force is controlled by the treatment element control means so that the detected pressing force becomes a predetermined value.

Here, as the pinching strength detecting means, for example, a sheet made of pressure-sensitive conductive rubber with a plurality of thin plate-shaped electrodes attached thereto is used. The pinch strength detecting means may be provided at a position sandwiched between one of the pair of treatment elements and the upper body of the massaged person, and sandwiched between both of the pair of treatment elements and the upper body of the massaged person. It may be provided at a location.

This massage machine is more preferably configured as follows. That is, the treatment element position detecting means for detecting the position of the pair of treatment elements is further provided. When a predetermined pressing force is applied to the massaged person, the pressing operation of the treatment element is stopped, the treatment element is moved by the treatment element moving means in that state, the pinch strength and the treatment element position detected by the pinch strength detection means. More preferably, the massage part of the massaged person is detected from the treatment element position detected by the detection means, and the pressing force is controlled based on the detected massage part.

[0010] More preferably, the massage machine is configured as follows. That is, the treatment element further includes a treatment element position detection means for detecting a position of the pair of treatment elements, and a treatment element protrusion amount detection means for detecting an amount of protrusion of the pair of treatment elements to the massage site. It has a function of performing control in consideration of the detection result by the child position detection means, and furthermore, moves the pair of treatment elements so that the pinch strength detected by the pinch strength detection means becomes a predetermined value. Means to detect the massaged part of the massaged person from the amount of protrusion of the treatment element at the treatment element position detected by the treatment element position detection means, and to control the pressing force based on the detected massage part. It is more preferred that

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an upper body contact portion with which the upper body of the massaged person comes into contact, and a load distribution detecting means provided inside the upper body contact portion for detecting the distribution of the load by the massaged person. And a part detecting means capable of detecting a massage part based on the load distribution obtained by the load distribution detecting means.

That is, the second massage machine has a load distribution detecting means for detecting a distribution of a load by a person to be massaged at a specific location, and determines a massaged part based on the load distribution detected by the load distribution detecting means. The gist of the present invention is that a part detecting means that can be detected is provided. Then, the distribution of the load by the massaged person is detected by the load distribution detecting means, and the massage detecting part attempts to detect the massage part from the detected load distribution.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Three embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by these.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view of the inside of a chair type massage machine M viewed from the back. In FIG. 1, the rotation of a lifting / lowering motor 1 located at a lowermost portion inside a backrest portion 10 as an upper body contact portion with which the upper body of the massaged person comes into contact is transmitted to the screw shaft 3 after being reduced by a pulley and a belt 2. You.
Reference numerals 19a and 19b denote a pair of treatment elements for pressing a massage site via the backrest 10, and are provided so as to reciprocate up and down along the spine of the massaged person inside the backrest 10.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an elevating unit as a treatment element moving means for reciprocating the pair of treatment elements 19a and 19b.
The elevating unit 4 and the screw shaft 3 are fixed to the elevating unit 4 and are connected by screw members 5a and 5b. The lifting unit 4 is mounted on guide rails on both sides of the backrest 10 by guide rollers 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d. Then, the screw shaft 3 is moved up and down by being guided by the guide rail by the forward and reverse rotation of the screw shaft 3.

The lifting unit 4 reaches the upper limit switch 7a as it continues to ascend, and reaches the lower limit switch 7b as it continues to descend. The vertical position can be recognized by detecting a pulse from the vertical movement detecting magnet reed switch 8. Each time the screw shaft 3 makes one rotation, the magnet 9 attached to the screw shaft 3 passes in front of the reed switch 8, and a pulse is generated. An arm 16 is screwed to a shaft 15 fixed to the lifting unit 4. The treatment elements 19 a and 19 b are attached to the upper end of the arm 16 via a shaft 18.

In FIG. 1 and FIG.
Among them, a sensor section 101 as a pinch strength detecting means for detecting a pinch strength pinched by one of the treatment element 19b and the upper body of the massaged person is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor unit 101 includes a vertically long rectangular sheet 301 made of pressure-sensitive conductive rubber.
And a plurality of thin plate-like electrodes 302 adhered on the sheet 301 in one vertical line, and a conductive wire 303 provided for each of these electrodes 302. Sheet 3
A rectangular thin plate electrode 304 having substantially the same size as the sheet 301 is attached to the back surface of the sheet 01. One lead 305 is also provided on the electrode 304.
The electrodes 302 and 304 and the conductors 303 and 30
5 can also be constituted by a flexible printed circuit board.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the sensor section 101.
That is, the sensor unit 101 is disposed inside the backrest 10 of the massage machine M, and the upper body of the massaged person and the treatment element 19b located behind the backrest 10 in front of the backrest 10 (left side in FIG. 4). And sandwiched between. Now, the load at the position indicated by the arrow in FIG.
The change in the resistance value of the sheet 301 caused by being sandwiched between the electrodes 302a and 304 can be read as the resistance value between the electrode 302a and the electrode 304 closest to the arrow. Here, the plurality of electrodes 3
The determination as to which of the electrodes 302 of 02 receives the input is made by a treatment element position detection unit described later.

In this embodiment, two treatment elements 19a are used.
-One of the treatment elements 19b among the 19b is the backrest portion 10.
One sensor unit 101 is provided at a position where the sensor unit 101 comes into contact with the upper body of the massaged person via the
Another similar sensor unit may be provided at a position where “a” comes into contact with the upper body of the massaged person via the backrest unit 10. In that case, the control of the two treatment elements 19a and 19b may be performed separately.

FIG. 5 is a pressing force curve (load curve) obtained when the treatment elements 19a and 19b are scanned along the massaged person from the lower limit to the upper limit. That is, not only the input of the sensor unit 101 is used as load control, but also the curve of the body of the massaged person is obtained from the relationship between the load obtained from the sensor unit 101 and the positions of the treatment elements 19a and 19b. In this case, the pressing operation of the treatment elements 19a and 19b is stopped when a predetermined pressing force is applied to the massaged person, and the treatment elements 19a and 19b are raised or lowered in that state, and the input of the sensor unit 101 at each position is performed. Get.

Apart from this method, the treatment element 19a is controlled so that the pinch strength detected by the sensor unit 101 becomes a predetermined value.
It is also possible to move the 19b up and down, obtain a curve of the body of the massaged person from the amount of protrusion of the treatment elements 19a and 19b at the treatment element position detected by the treatment element position detection means, and detect a massage site. .

Next, the electrical configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
As described above, the sensor unit 101 includes a sheet 301, a plurality of thin plate electrodes 302, and a thin plate electrode 304 for grounding.
The resistance value changes according to the magnitude of the load. The change is captured by the A / D conversion IC 702 as a change in the voltage value due to the voltage division with the resistor 701. The microcomputer 703 determines the vertical position of the treatment elements 19a and 19b from the position sensor 704 as treatment element position detection means, selects one of the plurality of electrodes 302 in the sensor unit 101, and sets the voltage level of the electrode line to A. / D conversion IC 70
Take in from 2. When the pressing force is too high or too low compared to the target pressing force, a correction instruction is given to the motor control circuit 706 to operate the pressing force control motor 707 (see FIG. 7).

A lifting motor 705 (1 in FIG. 1)
The input from the sensor unit 101 is taken in while raising or lowering the treatment elements 19a and 19b with the
-The body curve of the massaged person is determined by a method of taking in the position of 19b, and control is performed based on the result.

In this massage machine M, since the sensor section 101 is fixedly provided inside the backrest section 10, the wiring for the sensor section 101 is simple and the pressing force detection with high accuracy is achieved. Can be performed, the massage site can be detected in a short time, and the massage can be started without taking much time.

Embodiment 2 In FIG. 8, the chair type massage machine N has a load for detecting the distribution of the load by the massaged person at a position inside the backrest 10 outside the movable area of the treatment elements 19a and 19b. Sensor units 201 and 202 are provided as distribution detecting means. One sensor unit 201 is a backrest unit 1
0 along one side and receives the load from the lateral part of the back of the massaged person. The other sensor unit 202 is provided at the center of the head rest part above the backrest part 10 and receives a load from the back of the head of the massaged person. As shown in FIG. 9, these sensor units 201 and 202 are substantially the same as the sensor unit 101 of the first embodiment.

In the movable area of the treatment elements 19a and 19b, the treatment elements 19a and 19b are protruded or retracted by the pressing operation, so that the inside of the backrest 10 is hollow, but these sensor sections 201 and 202 are provided. In order to support the weight of the person to be massaged, a relatively hard cushion member 403 is provided as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the person to be massaged sits on the massage machine N, as shown in FIG.
02 is sandwiched between the cushion material 403 and the person to be massaged. And you can know the strength between them.

FIG. 10 shows a situation where the weight is applied to the sensor units 201 and 202 when the massaged person actually sits on the massage machine N. At this time, the sensor unit 201 detects the height of the back, and the sensor unit 202 detects the position of the head.

In FIG. 9, inputs from a plurality of electrodes 302 are sequentially taken. Then, the massage site of the massaged person is detected from the distribution of the load. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to estimate an effective massage site (acupoint position), perform massage as an automatic menu, or select a control pattern according to the sitting height of the massaged person.

In this massage machine N, since the sensor units 201 and 202 are fixedly provided inside the backrest unit 10, the wiring for the sensor units 201 and 202 is simple and the accuracy is high. A high pressing force can be detected, a massage part can be detected in a short time, and a massage can be started without taking much time.

Embodiment 3 Referring to FIG. 12, a chair type massage machine P has seven large and small rectangular air bags 23a to 23g inside a backrest 10.
Is arranged. Each of these air bags 23a to 23g is made into an airtight flat bag by making two front and back elastic airtight materials into a bag shape and airtightly sealing them. At the rear of each of the air bags 23a to 23g, a cylindrical air supply / exhaust port 24 is formed as shown in an enlarged manner in a circle in FIG. Reference numeral 25 denotes a compressed air supply source, which includes a compressor for generating compressed air, a compressed air distributor, a flow / pressure regulator, a timer, and the like. The compressed air supply source 25 and the air supply / exhaust port 2 of each air bag 23a to 23g
4 is connected to a supply / exhaust tube 26.

When the massager turns on the operating device, the compressed air supply source 25 is turned on, and the compressor and the distributor operate. The compressed air generated by the compressor enters each air bag 23a to 23g via each tube 26. As a result, the pressure is increased. Decompression is performed by lowering the pressure of the compressed air supply source 25 and removing air from each of the air bags 23a to 23g. The massaged person can use the air bag 2
Adjust the pressure of the air in 3a to 23f. Then, the user moves his or her body forward or backward by the air bladders 23a to 23g, and performs a massage with a strength suitable for the taste. In addition,
The configuration of the other parts of the massage machine P is the same as the massage machine M of the first embodiment.

According to the massage machine P, in addition to the above-mentioned effects of the massage machine M, the air bags 23a to 23f
This allows the massaged subject to move his or her body forward or backward, thereby performing massage with a strength that suits the taste.

[0033]

The chair-type massage machine of the present invention is constructed as described above, so that the wiring for the pressing force sensor for detecting the pressing force applied to the massaged person by the treatment element is simple, and Thus, the pressing force can be accurately detected, and the massage site can be detected in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural explanatory view of the inside of a chair-type massage machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the back.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the massage machine.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a sensor unit configuring the massage machine.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a sensor unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a pressing force curve when a massage site is detected in the massage machine.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an electric configuration of the massage machine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of load control in the massage machine.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a chair-type massage machine according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view of a sensor unit constituting the massage machine.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a state where a load is applied to a sensor unit of the massage machine.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of load distribution detection control in the massage machine.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a chair-type massage machine according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lifting motor (treatment element moving means) 10 Backrest part (upper body contact part) 19a / 19b Treatment element 101 Sensor part (pinching strength detecting means) 201/202 Sensor part (load distribution detecting means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61H 7/00 A61H 15/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An upper body contact portion with which the upper body of the massaged person comes into contact, and a reciprocating motion is provided inside the upper body contact portion along the spine of the massaged person, and the massage portion is pressed through the upper body body. A pair of treatment elements, a treatment element moving means for reciprocating the pair of treatment elements, and provided at a location sandwiched between at least one of the pair of treatment elements and the upper body of the massaged person, and sandwiched between them. A pinching strength detecting means for detecting the pinching strength, and a pressing force such that the pressing force of the pair of treatment elements to the massage site becomes a predetermined value based on the pinching strength detected by the pinching strength detecting means. Massager comprising a treatment child control means for controlling the massager. 2. A treatment element position detection means for detecting a position of a pair of treatment elements, wherein the treatment element control means has a function of performing control in consideration of a detection result by the treatment element position detection means, When a predetermined pressing force is applied to the massaged person, the pressing operation of the treatment element is stopped, and the treatment element is moved by the treatment element moving means in that state, and the pinch strength and the treatment element position detected by the pinch strength detection means are detected. 2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the massage part of the massaged person is detected from the treatment element position detected by the means, and the pressing force is controlled based on the detected massage part. 3. A treatment element control means, further comprising a treatment element position detection means for detecting a position of the pair of treatment elements, and a treatment element protrusion amount detection means for detecting an amount of projection of the pair of treatment elements to the massage site. Has a function of performing control in consideration of the detection result by the treatment element position detection means, and moves the pair of treatment elements to the treatment element moving means so that the pinch strength detected by the pinch strength detection means becomes a predetermined value. So that the massage part of the massaged person is detected from the amount of protrusion of the treatment element at the treatment element position detected by the treatment element position detection means, and the pressing force is controlled based on the detected massage part. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the massage machine is prepared. 4. An upper body contact portion with which the upper body of the massaged person contacts, and provided inside the upper body contact portion,
A massage machine comprising: load distribution detecting means for detecting a distribution of a load by a massaged person; and a part detecting means capable of detecting a massage part based on the load distribution obtained by the load distribution detecting means.