JP3078885B2 - Air massager - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air massager for improving the blood circulation and inflating body muscles by sequentially inflating and deflating each air bag by supplying and discharging air to and from a plurality of air bags. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air massager of this type is provided with a distributor for distributing air from an air pump to a plurality of air bags, and the distributor sequentially supplies and discharges air to the plurality of air bags. However, as shown in US Pat. No. 3,441,496, a distributor in a conventional air massager is constituted by a motor rotating at a constant speed and a valve having a one-way sliding mechanism.

[0003]

For this reason, the order of the sequential inflation and deflation of the air bladder is uniquely determined, so that only a monotonous massage can be obtained and it is not satisfactory. Did not. The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air massager capable of obtaining various massages.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides an air bag in which a plurality of air bags are juxtaposed, an air pump for supplying air to these air bags, and a distributor for distributing air from the air pump to the plurality of air bags. An air massager that inflates and contracts each air bag by sequentially supplying and discharging air to and from a plurality of air bags, the distributor includes a motor that rotates stepwise, a supply / discharge hole to which each air bag is connected, and a motor. An air path plate for gradually switching the supply / discharge holes connected to the air pump by the rotational drive of the air pump, and the air path plate steps the number of supply / discharge holes simultaneously connected to the air pump.
It is characterized in that it is variable according to the rotation angle by changing the intermittent stop position of the motor that rotates.

According to the present invention, the air bag can be inflated and contracted one by one or inflated and contracted by two by changing the rotation angle of the stepwise rotating motor.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiment. A massage mat M in this air massager includes a base mat 1, a massage bag group 2 provided on the base mat 1, It is formed by a mat cover 3 enclosing both. Base mat 1
An elastic bag body 10 formed by joining a highly elastic plastic sheet, for example, a urethane sheet into a bag shape by a high-frequency welder, is connected to the upper and lower sides of the bag body 10 in the bag body 10. It is formed of a plurality of suspension sheets 11. As the suspension sheet 11, a plastic sheet made non-stretchable by inserting or laminating a core material such as cloth or thread is used. In addition, since the bag body 10 needs to have elasticity, a core material that hinders the expansion and contraction should not be used, but it does not hinder the lamination of elastic cloth (fabrics). Also, the base mat 1 shown here
Are fine holes 12 on the upper surface side for ejecting air to the outside.
, But this may not be necessary.

On the base mat 1, a massage bag group 2 including a plurality of air bags 201 to 213 and a spare air bag is provided. Of the massage bag group 2 in which each air bag is an independent air chamber, air bags 201 to 2
12 are arranged on the base mat 1 in a planar manner and in order, while the air bladders 213 are disposed on the air bladders 204, as is apparent from FIG. Here, as described later, one of the air bladders 201 to 212 is inflated and contracted in a pair with one located on the upper body side and one located on the lower body side. The massage bag group 2 may be provided below the base mat 1.

The mat cover 3 is a cover 32 formed on the inner side and made of a non-stretchable cloth such as a plain woven cloth or a non-woven cloth.
And a cushion material 31 wrapping the outside of the cover 32, and an outer cover 30 further wrapping the outside of the cushion material 31. The cushion material 31 is made of cotton, urethane foam, wool, or the like. A stretchable cloth such as an easily stretchable cloth or a shrink-treated cloth, and a cloth that takes into account aesthetics and touch are used. The cover 32, the cushion material 31, and the outer cover 30 are quilted with thread. The cover 32 may be a bag independent of the others. The reason why the elastic material is used for the outer cover 30 is to prevent the cushion material 31 from shrinking and becoming hard.

The massage mat M includes an air pump P, a distributor 5 for distributing air, a control circuit C, a pressure sensor S, a remote controller 6
And the like. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the distributor 5 includes a stepping motor 50, a motor mounting plate 51, a sliding ring 52, an adapter 53 mounted on an output shaft of the stepping motor 50, an air path plate 55, and a top plate 5.
6 and the like. A sliding ring 52 and an air path plate 55 are installed between a motor mounting plate 51 and a top plate 56 connected via a support column 59 with a spring 54 interposed therebetween. You. The sliding ring 52 and the air path plate 55 are driven to rotate by engagement with the adapter 53. Note that a cushion 530 is embedded in the surface of the adapter 53, so that an impact sound when power is transmitted between the adapter 53, the sliding ring 52, and the air path plate 55 when the stepping motor 50 rotates is reduced. It has become. Also, the reason why the adapter 53 is interposed without directly attaching the air path plate 55 to the output shaft of the stepping motor 50 is that the mounting angle error between the top plate 56 and the air path plate 55 is reduced by the adapter 53 and the air path plate 55. This is because it is made possible to absorb at the fitting portion.

The top plate 56 has, at its center, an air supply hole connected to an air pump P and also connected to a pressure sensor S via a sensor valve V, and a total of eight supply and discharge holes O,. It is formed as provided at intervals (45 ° intervals). The air path plate 55 that makes one surface air-tightly contact the top plate 56 is
One surface thereof is divided into an exhaust passage 551 having an exhaust hole 552 and an air supply passage 550 on the surface on the top plate 56 side. The air supply path 550 here is a T-shaped one that connects between the central air supply hole in the top plate 56 and any one of the supply / discharge holes O,. The exhaust path 551 is formed so as to communicate with all the other supply / discharge holes except the supply / discharge hole connected to the supply path 550.

The supply / discharge holes O,... In the top plate 56 are formed in the order of O,...,. Air bladders 206 and 212 are provided in the holes, and air bladders 205 and 211 are provided in the supply and discharge holes.
However, air bags 204 and 210 are provided in the supply / discharge holes, air bags 203 and 209 are provided in the supply / discharge holes, and the air bags 20 and 20 are provided in the supply / discharge holes.
2, 208, air bladders 201, 207 in the supply and discharge holes,
An air bag 213 is connected to the supply / discharge hole. Further, the distributor 5 optically detects the reference position hole 58 formed in the air passage plate 55 so that the air supply passage 550 in the air passage plate 55 is located between the air supply hole and the supply / discharge hole O. An optical sensor 57 for detecting that only the communication is established is provided.

The control circuit C for controlling the operation of the air pump P and the distributor 5 includes an additional circuit,
The remote controller 6 is connected. The remote controller 6 is used to set the state of the massage mat M and to give an operation instruction. The remote controller 6 sets the strength of the air cushion using the base mat 1, switches between the stationary and fine movements of the base mat 1, and massages using the air bladder group 2. Of strength and speed, selection of automatic massage, massage bag group 2
, The strength of waist stretching by the air bags 204 and 213 which are vertically stacked, the ON / OFF of the heater panel 4 arranged in the massage mat M, and the temperature setting at the time of ON can be performed.

Next, the movement of the distributor 5 and the massage mat M according to the instruction input from the remote controller 6 will be described. First, the stationary operation of the base mat 1 is an operation automatically performed immediately after the power is turned on. As shown in FIG. 10, the return of the origin of the distributor 5 (DIS in the flowchart of FIG. Is connected to the air supply hole, and a transition is made to a state in which air is supplied to the base mat 1. After that, the sensor valve V is once opened and the pressure sensor S is connected to the atmosphere, so that the zero correction of the pressure sensor S is performed. Then, by closing the sensor valve V, the pressure sensor S and the base mat 1 are connected. And air pump P
By supplying air to the base mat 1, the base mat 1 expands and blows out air from the micro holes 12. The jet air is warm when the heater panel 4 is energized.

The internal pressure information of the base mat 1 obtained from the output of the pressure sensor S is taken into the control circuit C to calculate the pressure evaluation and the pressure change rate, and to calculate the predicted average actually measured pressure PR for the next time and the set pressure. A comparison between PS and PS is made, and when the difference is large, the capacity correction of the air pump P is performed according to the magnitude relation. When the set pressure PS is within the tolerance (for example, within 5 mmHg), the operation of the air pump P is continued with the same capacity. Further, since the pressure sensor S has a change in temperature and a change with time, for example, 30
Zero point correction is performed by opening and closing the sensor valve V every minute to release the pressure sensor S to the atmosphere.

When the base mat 1 is filled with air in this way, the base mat 1 balances the non-stretched suspending sheet 11 and the stretchable bag body 10 by air pressure, as shown in FIG. 4 (a). However, at this time, a gap is opened between the cover 32 of the mat cover 3 and the base mat 1. Then, when the internal air pressure of the base mat 1 is going to rise due to a person getting on or a load fluctuating,
As shown in FIG. 4B, the bag body 10 extends until the gap between the cover 31 and the base mat 1 is almost completely filled. Further, if a load greater than that is applied, the cover 32 having no elasticity suppresses swelling of the entire base mat 1, so that the pressure increases and the cover 32 rapidly hardens. Further, the air that escapes from the recessed portion when the load is applied acts to extend the peripheral portion where the load is applied, but the suspension sheet 11 is made of a material that does not stretch. Since a certain portion does not swell in the height direction while maintaining a certain height, air escaping from the dent is evenly distributed over the entire base mat 1 and absorbed by the extension of the bag body 10. Also,
Only the bag body 10 is stretched by the load, and this is only a slight vertical movement of the portion between the suspension sheets 11, so that the deformation is easily damped. Therefore, it is possible to exhibit a comfortable cushioning property without pressing the side of the body, and not to cause large swaying, to cause seasickness, and to easily turn over. In the state where the base mat 1 is inflated and can be used as bedding, the massage bag group 2 is in a contracted state, so that the massage bag group 2 does not obstruct the rest.

Next, the fine movement operation of the base mat 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the set pressure PS is automatically switched between a higher HIGH state and a lower LOW state so that, for example, a HIGH state for 60 minutes and a LOW state for 10 minutes are repeated. It is. When the pressure is increased, it is easy to turn over, and the spine does not bend because the buttocks do not fall down, but the body pressure support is a point, and if you do not turn over, blood circulation will be hindered and numbness will occur After getting up, he becomes tired of poor circulation due to being in a state of illness. If the pressure is low,
Since the body pressure support is received on the whole body surface, an excessive point load is not applied and blood circulation is not hindered. However, if the LOW state is continued for a long time, the buttocks are depressed and the spine remains bent, so that it becomes difficult to sleep. By alternately repeating the HIGH state and the LOW state, only the good points of both states can be obtained. In addition,
Both of the above times may be variable because the preferred values differ from person to person.

The massage operation by the massage bag group 2 can be obtained in six types: a simple operation, a two-line operation, an alternating operation of one line and two lines, a reciprocating operation, a waist-back operation, and an automatic operation. Explaining from a simple operation, this is achieved by connecting the supply / discharge holes except for the two supply / discharge holes O in the distributor 5 sequentially to the supply air holes, thereby forming two air bags 201 to 212 connected to the supply / discharge holes. This is a mode in which expansion and contraction are sequentially performed as a set, and the operation flow of the distributor 5 at this time is shown in FIG. The air path plate 55 is basically rotated stepwise by 45 °, and the supply / discharge holes jump at 90 ° rotation. In addition, the state in which the supply / discharge hole O, which is the origin, communicates with the air supply hole is not stopped, and air is not inserted into the base mat 1 in order to immediately move to the next state. As described above, since everything connected to the air supply / discharge holes in the air supply path 550 that is not in communication with the air supply holes is in the exhaust state, during this massage operation, the base mat 1 It comes off and has no cushioning. The reason is that the lower the surface of the massage is hard, the more the swelling effect of the massage bag group 2 in the upward direction is improved. When it is desired to remove sweat or give a feeling of cool wind by squirting air from the base mat 1, the air may be temporarily stopped at the origin.

The two-series operation is based on supply / discharge holes excluding supply / discharge holes O
Air can be obtained in such a manner that adjacent two of them simultaneously communicate with the air supply holes sequentially, that is, a set of supply and discharge holes, a set of supply and discharge holes, a set of supply and discharge holes, and so on. In the mode in which the sheets are sent sequentially, the distributor 5 at this time is located at 2 degrees from the origin as shown in FIG.
After the rotation of 2.5 °, a movement based on the rotation of 45 ° is performed. By inflating the massage bag group 2 by two lines, the contact with the body becomes smoother than in the case of the single line in the simple operation, and here, the waist-stretching air connected to the supply / drain hole. Since the inflation of the bag 213 is also included in the operation, a large swell occurs in the middle.

FIG. 14 shows the alternate operation of the first and second series.
As described above, the basic operation of the distributor 5 is described in 22.
By setting it to 5 °, the above simple operation and two-line operation alternate.
Air is sent only to the supply and exhaust holes.
After the air is discharged, air is supplied to both
With supply and discharge holes Air is sent only to the
The state transition that air is sent to is made
Mode.

The reciprocating operation is represented by the order of the supply and discharge holes to be connected.
The mode is set to be ---, and a fir effect can be obtained. FIG. 15 shows this operation flow. As shown in FIG. 16, the waist-fir operation is performed by blowing air by inserting air into the base mat 1 and supplying / discharging holes in which an air bag 213 for stretching the waist and an air bag 204 located below the waist are connected. This is a mode in which air supply to the waist is alternately performed. When the air bladders 204 and 213 arranged at the waist position are inflated simultaneously, the waist is lifted largely upward as shown in FIG.

Further, the automatic operation is an operation mode in which the simple operation, the two-line operation, the alternating operation of the one-line and the two-line operation, and the reciprocating operation are combined to improve the fatigue recovery effect. In any of these operation modes, depending on the user's preference, the input from the remote controller 6 sets the strength according to the magnitude of the air pressure and the speed adjustment which is the cycle of the sequential movement of the inflation and deflation of the massage bag group 2. It is possible individually.

[0022]

As described above, in the present invention, the air bag can be inflated and contracted one by one or inflated and contracted by two by changing the rotation angle of the motor that rotates stepwise. Therefore, the massage mode can be easily changed, and a diverse and stimulating massage can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram.

2A is a partial cross-sectional view when no load is applied, and FIG. 2B is a partial cross-sectional view when a load is applied by a person riding thereon.

3A is a plan view, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a distributor.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a distributor.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the distributor.

FIG. 8 is a front view of an air passage plate.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of the massage bag group.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a stationary operation.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a fine movement operation.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a simple operation.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of a two-series operation.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of a 1-series 2-series alternating operation.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of a reciprocating operation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a waist-fir operation.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an automatic operation.

[Explanation of symbols] 2 massage bag group 5 distributor

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

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of air bags, comprising: a plurality of air bags arranged side by side; an air pump for supplying air to the air bags; and a distributor for distributing air from the air pump to the plurality of air bags. In an air massager in which each air bag is inflated and deflated by sequential air supply / discharge to the air distributor, the distributor is a step-rotating motor, a supply / discharge hole to which each air bag is connected, and a supply / discharge hole connected to an air pump by rotational driving by the motor. together with and a gradual switching air passage plate, the air passage plate is intermittent stop position of the motor for rotating step the number of supply and discharge holes connected simultaneously to the air pump
An air massager characterized by being variable according to the rotation angle by changing the position . 2. The air massager according to claim 1, wherein the air path plate is able to jump over an arbitrary supply / discharge hole. 3. The air massager according to claim 1, wherein a cushion material is interposed at a drive connection portion between the motor and the air path plate. 4. A pressure adjusting means in the air bag, and a speed adjusting means for adjusting a cycle of sequential movement of inflation and contraction of the plurality of air bladders, and both of the adjusting means are individually adjustable. The air massager according to claim 1, wherein: