JP3088968B2 - Air cell for massage machine and massage machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an air cell for a massage machine and a massage machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a massage machine which can perform a massage operation such as acupressure, fir, hit, etc. by using an air cell which can be expanded and contracted by supplying and discharging air.
As this air cell, one having a balloon structure,
Some of them have a bellows structure on the cell periphery. For example, some footrests provided in chair-type massage machines have a pair of left and right leg recesses, and in this type of footless, the air cells are attached to the opposing side surfaces in each recess and the bottom surface in the recess, respectively. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-895
No. 40).

[0003] In this case, in order to prevent the legs from being expelled from the recess when the air cell on the bottom surface in the recess is inflated, the air cells provided on the opposing side surfaces in the recess are within the allowable range from the bottom surface in the recess. It was necessary to dispose it at a site that was far away (a site near the front of the leg supported by the concave portion).
Further, since an air cell having a bellows structure is generally formed by blow molding, the bellows is normally in an extended state. Therefore, when using such an air cell,
When the air is discharged from the air cell, it is necessary to provide a compression urging means made of a spring, rubber or the like in order to contract the air cell.

[0004]

In the case of the footrest described above, since the air cell provided on the opposite side surface in the concave portion needs to be kept away from the bottom surface in the concave portion, the disadvantage is that the footrest itself must be enlarged and bulky. was there. In addition, when an air cell is provided in such a portion, there is a disadvantage that the contact with the leg becomes unstable when the air cell is extended, and the acupressure effect cannot be sufficiently exerted. In addition, in order to enhance the effect of preventing the legs from being expelled from the concave portion due to the expansion of the air cells in the concave bottom surface, the air cells provided in the concave bottom surface are delayed in inflation timing more than the air cells provided in the opposed side surfaces in the concave portion. Such control was sometimes required. Therefore, there is also a disadvantage that the control is complicated and complicated.

On the other hand, in the case of an air cell having a bellows structure, the compression urging means for contraction is required as described above. This also leads to an increase in the size of the structure around the air cell mounting portion in a footrest or the like. Was calling. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, including a massage machine, a method of manufacturing an air cell so that the structure around the mounting portion can be reduced in size and simplification in an apparatus using the air cell and the like, particularly An object of the present invention is to provide an air cell which is effective for solving problems in structure and control when used in a massage machine or the like.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the following technical measures have been taken in order to achieve the above object. That is, in the air cell according to the present invention, the air cell itself undergoes a curve expansion in which the expansion direction changes obliquely during the expansion from the contracted state. Therefore, for example, when this air cell is provided on the opposite side surface in the concave portion of the above-mentioned footrest, acupressure is first started from the side surface of the leg supported in the concave portion, and gradually the shiatsu action directed toward the bottom surface in the concave portion. It can be used to change to.

[0007] In this case, the air cell has a function of pressing the leg against the inner bottom surface of the recess in accordance with the extension, and the leg is not displaced from the recess.
Therefore, on the opposite side surface in the concave portion, the mounting position of the air cell can be arranged closer to the bottom surface in the concave portion,
There are advantages such as miniaturization and simplification of the structure as a footrest. Further, even when the air cell is provided on the bottom surface in the recess, between the air cell provided on the opposite side surface in the recess,
There is no need to perform troublesome control such that the expansion timing is set to a predetermined delay relationship.

The air cell is not limited to use in a footrest of a chair-type massage machine. In this air cell, there are many cases in which various restrictions can be solved as a mounting structure thereof, and a reliable and sufficient pressing force directed in an oblique direction. Therefore, it can be said that the versatility as an air cell can be improved accordingly. As a structure for extending the curve of the air cell, the outer periphery of the cell is formed in a bellows structure, and a massage operation is performed by expanding and contracting the bellows in the axial direction.
Then, it is structurally simplest to provide a difference in allowable extension between the opposite bellows on both sides in the extension direction.

[0009] The structure for providing a difference in the extension allowable amount may be a structure in which the number of bellows formed is asymmetric or a structure in which the wall thickness is different between mutually opposing regions on both sides in the extending direction on the outer periphery of the cell. It is possible. That is, when air is supplied to the inside, the air cell having such a structure has a small extension in a region where the number of bellows is formed or a region where the thickness is thick, and conversely, a region where the number of bellows is formed or the thickness is small. The elongation increases in the region. As another air cell according to the present invention, in the case where the outer periphery of the cell is formed with a bellows structure, the contracted state of the bellows is held as a normal state due to the properties of the cell forming material itself. There is something to say.

In this air cell, when the internal air is discharged, the air cell attempts to return to the contracted state by itself, so that it is not necessary to provide a compression urging means to the air cell. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and simplify the structure around the mounting portion of the air cell, including the case of the above-described footrest. In the manufacturing method according to the present invention for obtaining an air cell in which the bellows is normally contracted, the bellows structure provided on the outer peripheral portion is formed into a shape in which the bellows is elongated, and first, a cell molded body is formed. And
While maintaining the cell compact at a predetermined temperature,
Shrink the bellows. Then, while keeping the bellows in a contracted shape, it is stored in a water tank and the cell molded body is cooled by the water in the water tank .

If a water tank capable of accommodating the cell molded body is used during the cooling, a leak test of the air cell can be performed in parallel with or subsequent to the cooling step, and the manufacturing process of the air cell can be partially simplified. . In the above-mentioned molded cell, by making the number of bellows formed asymmetrical in opposite regions on both sides in the extension direction on the outer periphery of the cell, it is also possible to obtain an air cell capable of curve extension.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an air cell 1 according to the present invention.
1 shows a first embodiment. This air cell 1 is formed in a cylindrical shape with an outer peripheral surface having a bellows structure,
The expansion and contraction operation in the axial direction is enabled by supplying and discharging air to the inside. In the air cell 1, the number of bellows formed in one region (5 on the left side in FIG. 1) and the number of bellows formed in the other region (2 on the right side in FIG. ). That is, the air cell 1 is not rotationally symmetrical about the central axis, and among the bellows in the region, those that do not make one round of the cell outer circumference at the concave and convex circumferential ridges are included. Will be.

Therefore, when air is supplied to the air cell 1 to perform the elongating operation, the elongation is small in a region where the number of bellows is small, while the expansion is large in a region where the number of bellows is large. As the degree of elongation progresses, a curve elongation that is directed to one side (right side in FIG. 1) occurs during the elongation. In addition, as a material for forming the air cell 1, vinyl acetate or the like is used when a soft (soft) system is used based on various conditions such as required elastic strength, hardness, and use site. When a system is used, PP, PE, or the like is used. The thickness of the air cell 1 as a whole may be adjusted according to the required hardness.

The air cell 1 having such a configuration is used, for example, as a massage drive unit 4 provided for a footrest 3 of a chair-type massage machine 2 as shown in FIGS. In addition, this chair type massage machine 2
For reclining, the footrest 3 and the backrest 6 can swing with respect to the seating surface 5 automatically or manually, and in conjunction with each other or independently. The footrest 3 has a pair of left and right recesses 10 for inserting a leg by means of left and right side walls 7 and a separation hill 8 provided at the center of the both side walls 7. The legs 11 can be distributed and supported.

The massage drive unit 4 is provided on the inner surface facing the inside of the recess 10, and is provided on the inner bottom surface of the recess 10, with the first acupressure unit 12 pressing the ankle of the leg 11 from both the left and right sides. A second acupressure part 13 is provided to abut the calf of the leg 11 from both the left and right sides. In the first acupressure part 12, the air cell 1 described above is provided between the side wall 7 and the separation hill 8 so as to face each other. These air cells 1 are mounted such that the direction of direction when the curve is extended is directed to the inner bottom surface of the concave portion 10.

Accordingly, by extending each air cell 1 in the left-right direction synchronously, both sides of the leg 11 supported by the concave portion 10 are pressed in a pinching manner.
Is pressed against the inner bottom surface of the recess 10 simultaneously with the finger pressure. Therefore, during shiatsu, leg 11
Is kept in a stable state, and the leg 11 is not naturally expelled from the recess 10. Further, since the displacement of the legs 11 is prevented in this manner, the air cell 1
It can be mounted close to the inner bottom surface of the recess 1, so that the side wall 7 of the footrest 3 does not need to be unnecessarily high.

In the second acupressure part 13, a flexible and elastic rocking piece 15 projecting to both sides with a center part in the width direction as a fixing part 14 is provided with left and right air cells 1 provided at its lower part.
It is made to be able to swing. Each air cell 1 is attached so that the directional direction at the time of extending the curve is directed to a direction in which the air cells 1 approach each other in the left-right direction. The acupressure piece 17 is provided at the swing end of each of the swing pieces 15. Therefore, by extending the respective air cells 1 in the left-right direction synchronously, both sides of the leg 11 supported by the concave portion 10 are pressed with a finger pressure in a pinched manner. At this time, the acupressure of the leg 11 by the acupressure piece 17 is smoothly performed, and the abutment point of the leg 11 is stably and surely brought into contact with the acupressure point of the leg 11, so that a sufficient acupressure can be developed.

Of course, during the acupressure, the leg 11 is kept in a stable state, and the leg 11 is naturally not ejected from the concave portion 10. Although not shown, a third acupressure part may be provided as the massage driving part 4 on the inner bottom surface of the concave part 10 so as to acupressure the ankle or calf of the leg 11 from the back side. In this case, the first acupressure part 12, the second acupressure part 13, and the third acupressure part may be operated independently, or may be operated with a predetermined interlocking relationship. In the case of interlocking, as described above, the first acupressure part 12 and the second acupressure part 13 both have the function of preventing the leg 11 from being dislodged from the concave part 10, and therefore, the first and second acupressure parts 12 and 13. Shiatsu part 12,
13 and the third acupressure part can be controlled to supply air at the same time.

Advantages common to the first acupressure part 12 and the second acupressure part 13 include, in particular, the fact that acupressure utilizing air pressure does not cause excessive acupressure exceeding a predetermined pressure. Is a cylindrical shape, so that expansion and contraction can be performed smoothly and efficiently. FIG.
Shows a second embodiment of the air cell 1 according to the present invention. In the air cell 1 according to the second embodiment, the concavity and convexity amount H of the bellows in one region (left side in FIG. 5) is different from the other region (right side in FIG. 5) between the opposite half-peripheral regions around the outer periphery.
Is formed to be larger than the unevenness amount h of the bellows.
That is, in the air cell 1, each bellows is formed eccentric toward one side.

Therefore, when air is supplied to the air cell 1 and the elongating operation is performed, the elongation is small in a region where the smaller bellows unevenness amount h is set, and the larger bellows unevenness amount H is set in the region where the smaller bellows unevenness amount h is set. Curve elongation (pointing to the right in FIG. 5) is caused by an increase in elongation in the region. FIG.
Shows a third embodiment of the air cell 1 according to the present invention. In the air cell 1 according to the third embodiment, the thickness t of the bellows in one region (left side in FIG. 6) is the thickness of the bellows in the other region (right side in FIG. 6). It is formed thinner than T.

Therefore, when air is supplied to the air cell 1 to perform the elongating operation, the elongation is large in the region of the thinner bellows thickness t, whereas the thicker bellows thickness T is larger.
Curve elongation (pointing to the right in FIG. 6) will occur due to the reduced elongation in the region indicated. FIG. 7 shows a fourth embodiment of the air cell 1 according to the present invention. In the air cell 1 according to the fourth embodiment, a bellows is provided in one region (left side in FIG. 7) and a bellows is provided in the other region (right side in FIG. 7) between the opposite half-peripheral regions around the outer periphery. It has not been done.

Therefore, when air is supplied to the air cell 1 and the air cell 1 is extended, the air cell 1 is hardly stretched in a region where there is no bellows, whereas the air cell 1 is stretched only in a region where the bellows are provided. The curve is extended (directed to the right in FIG. 7). Each of the air cells 1 of the respective embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 has the first structure shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.
The air cell 1 of the embodiment can be used as it is. FIG. 8 shows another air cell 20 according to the present invention.

The air cell 20 is in a normal state, that is, in a no-load state in which the air supply pressure is not applied, and a contracted state is maintained due to the properties of the forming material itself. That is, the air is forcibly expanded by supplying air to the inside, and automatically returns to the contracted state when the air is discharged. In order to surely and promptly return to the contracted state at the time of air discharge, each bellows has a tapered surface portion 21 and a cylindrical cross-sectional portion 22 having a radial length shorter than the tapered surface portion 21. Is formed.

The air cell 20 having such a configuration is, for example, described with respect to the above-described footrest 3 (see FIG. 2).
It can be used as a third acupressure part provided on the inner bottom surface of the recess 10. In this case, since the air cell 20 self-contracts when the internal air is discharged, it is not necessary to provide a compression urging means.
Therefore, there is an advantage that the footrest 3 can be miniaturized (thinned). In order to manufacture this air cell 20, first, as shown in FIG.
For example, it is molded as usual by blow molding or the like. Then, before the cell molded body 30 is cooled by breaking the temperature rising state of the predetermined temperature, the bellows is contracted, and the bellows is immediately cooled.
Store in one. Therefore, the cell molded body 30 is held in the water tank 31 in a shape in which the bellows is contracted.

Next, water is poured into the water tank 31 after a short period of time (that is, while the cell molded body 30 is maintained at a predetermined temperature), so that each cell molded body is cooled. Cool 30. By doing so, it is possible to obtain the air cell 20 in which the bellows shrinks normally.
For example, in blow molding, generally, the surface temperature immediately after molding as the cell molded body 30 is about 200 ° C., but in the case of a vinyl acetate resin, this temperature is in the range of 60 ° C. to 80 ° C. around 70 ° C. Then, a state called "rubber fluidization", which is soft and convenient for processing such as deformation, is obtained. In the case of PE or PP, the range of 90 ° C to 110 ° C around 100 ° C corresponds to this.

The high-temperature molded cell 3 after molding is
0 is blown with cooling air or cooling water at a predetermined temperature or allowed to cool to reach the above-mentioned suitable temperature. Then, after the bellows of the cell molded body 30 has been contracted, the cell body 30 may be immediately cooled to room temperature or lower in the water tank 31. The length at the time of molding (the bellows is extended) as the cell molded body 30 is 90
mm, the length to shrink the bellows is, for example, 20 mm
And However, regarding this size, the number of bellows formed, the cell diameter, the wall thickness, etc., are not limited at all.
It can be changed arbitrarily.

The water tank 31 is preferably formed to be long and thin so that a plurality of cell molded bodies 30 can be stored at one time.
Further, in each cell molded body 30, it is preferable that a nozzle portion 32 used as an air supply / discharge port when used as the air cell 20 is disposed so as to face upward in the water tank 31. In this way, the air cell 20 is
Before taking out from the inside, it is easy to supply air to each nozzle portion 32 to make the nozzle portion 32 full (2 kgf / cm ² ), which can correspond to a leak test of internal air.

Therefore, the manufacturing process of the air cell 20 can be partially simplified. This air cell 20
The manufacturing method of the air cell 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS.
Can be similarly performed. By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, although the air cells 1 and 20 have been described as having a cylindrical shape,
It can also be formed as a quadrangular prism shape or the like.

The method of using the air cells 1 and 20 is not limited to the above. Other than a massage machine is also possible. When manufacturing the air cell 20, the method of forming the cell molded body 30 is not limited to blow molding, but may be injection molding or the like. Further, when cooling the cell molded body 30, water may be stored in the water tank 31 in advance, and the cell molded body 30 may be loaded therein . A molded body 30 with a bellows extended is molded as the molded body 30,
After cooling this once, it is also possible to heat the cell compact 30 again at a required time, raise the temperature to a predetermined temperature, and then contract the bellows. This is convenient when the manufacturing process is divided in the middle.

[0030]

As is apparent from the above description, the air cell according to the present invention in which the curve elongation is caused, when adopted in a footrest or the like of a chair type massage machine,
It is possible to use the finger pressure while pressing the leg to the bottom surface in the concave portion, so that there is no restriction on the mounting position of the air cell, and the structure as a footrest can be reduced in size and simplified. Further, since it is not necessary to give a slow relationship to the inflation timing for each mounting position of the air cell, there is no complication in terms of control.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the use in the footrest of a chair-type massage machine, and in many cases, various restrictions can be eliminated as the structure of the air cell mounting portion, and a reliable and sufficient pressing force in an oblique direction can be exerted. Therefore, it can be said that the versatility as an air cell can be improved accordingly. On the other hand, in the air cell of the present invention in which the bellows contracted state is maintained as a normal state, it is not necessary to provide a compression urging means when the internal air is discharged, so that the structure of the air cell around the mounting portion is reduced. And simplification is possible. Then, such an air cell is obtained by a manufacturing method according to the present invention in which a bellows-shaped cell molded body having an elongated shape is formed, and then the bellows is contracted and cooled, which is simple, quick, and low in cost. .

If a water tank capable of accommodating the cell molded body is used at the time of cooling the cell molded body, a leak test of the air cell can be performed in parallel with or subsequent to the cooling step, and the manufacturing process as the air cell is partially simplified. Can be

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an air cell according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a chair-type massage machine using the air cell of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front sectional view showing a first acupressure part of the footrest shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front sectional view showing a second acupressure part of the footrest shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an air cell according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing an air cell according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partially crushed side view showing an air cell according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing another air cell according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a process of manufacturing the air cell shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 air cell (the one that expands the curve) 20 air cell (the one where the contracted state is normal)

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61H 7/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An air cell for a massage machine which is capable of performing a massage operation by expansion and contraction by supply and discharge of air, wherein the outer periphery of the cell is formed to have a bellows structure, and massage is performed by expansion and contraction of the bellows in the axial direction. The air cell itself performs an operation, and by making a difference in the allowable amount of extension between the opposite bellows on both sides in the extension direction, a curve extension occurs in which the extension direction changes obliquely during the expansion of the air cell itself from the contracted state. An air cell for a massage machine, characterized in that: 2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the number of accordion bellows is asymmetrical in opposite regions on both sides in the elongation direction on the outer periphery of the cell, thereby producing the difference in the elongation allowable amount. For air cell. 3. The air cell for a massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the contracted state of the bellows is held as a normal state by the cell forming material itself. 4. A massage machine comprising the air cell for a massage machine according to claim 1.