JP3519868B2 - Massage equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a treatment element attached to an output end of an arm mechanism having a plurality of degrees of freedom.
The present invention relates to a massage device that massages a human body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a massaging device has been widely used, which has a massaging mechanism incorporated in a backrest of a chair and massages the back or the like of a user sitting on the chair. For example, the massage device shown in FIG. 6 has a frame (10) of a chair,
The reciprocating drive mechanism (80b) is connected through the lifting drive mechanism (80a), and the arm (61) is connected to the output part of the reciprocating drive mechanism (80b).
And a treatment element (60) is attached to the tip of the arm (61). Lifting drive mechanism (80a) and reciprocating drive mechanism
Reference numerals (80b) each include a motor (not shown) as a drive source, and the rotation of the motor is decelerated by a reduction mechanism (not shown) and is transmitted to the output section as a reciprocating motion.

In the above massage device, first, the initial position of the treatment element (60) is determined according to the body of the person to be treated (9). At this time, the elevating drive mechanism (80a) and the reciprocating drive mechanism (80b) are operated by operating a remote controller or the like to move the treatment element (60) to the initial position. After that, by rotating the motors of the lifting drive mechanism (80a) and the reciprocating drive mechanism (80b) in the forward and reverse directions, the arm (61) ascends and descends within a certain range and simultaneously swings back and forth. The person to be treated (9) is massaged.

[0004]

However, in the conventional massage device, when the massager (60) is moved to the initial position according to the body of the person to be treated (9), the accuracy of the operation of the remote controller is high. Good positioning is difficult. Therefore, in order to perform further fine adjustment, it is necessary to manually move the treatment element (60) to the optimum position, but in this case, the lifting drive mechanism (80a) and the reciprocating drive mechanism (80b) from the output side of the reduction mechanism. Since it is driven, there is a problem that a large amount of force is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a massage device which can easily move a treatment element to an appropriate initial position by hand.

[0006]

A massage device according to the present invention comprises an arm mechanism having a plurality of degrees of freedom, and a plurality of actuators for driving the arm mechanism in each degree of freedom.
It is composed of a treatment element attached to the output end of the arm mechanism and a control circuit for controlling the operation of each actuator. Each actuator is linked with a displacement sensor for detecting the amount of displacement for each degree of freedom and a force sensor for detecting the magnitude of the force exerted for each degree of freedom. Further, the control circuit, based on the deviation between the target value of the force to be exerted for each degree of freedom and the current force value detected by the force sensor, the force control means for controlling each actuator and the displacement for each degree of freedom. Based on the deviation between the target value of the amount and the current displacement value detected by the displacement sensor, position control means for controlling each actuator, and when moving the treatment element to the massage start position,
By setting the force target to substantially zero, the treatment
Decrease the force that the person should exert on the treatment child toward zero.
In this way, the force control mode is set by the force control means.
1-mode control means, memory means for capturing the current displacement value output from each displacement sensor in the state where the positioning of the treatment element in the force control mode is completed, and storing this as initial position data, and when starting the massage operation ,
With the initial position data stored in the memory means as the target value, the second mode control means for setting the position control mode by the position control means, and the predetermined force pattern with the target value in the state where the positioning of the treatment element is completed. As a third mode control means for executing a massage operation in the force control mode.

In the above massage device, first, the force control mode is set with the force target value being substantially zero. In this state, the person to be treated exerts a force on the treatment element to move the treatment element to an appropriate position to receive the treatment. In this process, the target value of the force to be exerted for each degree of freedom is set to zero, so the control deviation becomes the current value of the force detected by the force sensor, and control is performed to make this control deviation zero. The operation is performed. That is, for each degree of freedom
The control is performed so that the forces having the same magnitudes as the respective force current values and in the opposite directions are exerted. As a result, the force to be applied to the treatment element by the person to be treated decreases toward zero, and the treatment element can be easily moved. With the positioning of the treatment element in the force control mode completed, the current displacement value output from each displacement sensor is stored in the memory means as initial position data.

When the massage operation is performed immediately after the manual positioning of the treatment element, the force control mode in which a predetermined force pattern is set as a target value is subsequently set. On the other hand, when the massager is displaced from the initial position at the start of the massage operation, the position control mode in which the initial position data stored in the memory means is the target value is set. As a result, each actuator is driven, and the treatment element is moved to the initial value and positioned. After that, a force control mode in which a predetermined force pattern is set as a target value is set.

In the massage operation by force control,
Since the control is performed so as to change the force that the treatment element should exert on the person to be treated in a predetermined pattern, even if the person to be treated moves a little, massage is performed with an appropriate force.

In a specific configuration, the control circuit further includes an ID input means for inputting ID data for identifying the user and an ID together with the initial position data when the initial position data is stored in the memory means. It comprises data registration means for storing data in the memory means, and data reading means for reading the initial position data registered corresponding to the ID data when the ID data is input when setting the position control mode. .

In this specific configuration, when the initial position data obtained by the positioning of the treatment element in the force control mode is stored in the memory means, the self-ID data is input at the same time so that the initial position data becomes the ID data. With the memory means. After that, when the massage operation is started in a state where the treatment element is displaced from the initial position, the person to be treated inputs his / her own ID data. As a result, the initial position data of its own registered in the memory means is read, and the treatment element is automatically moved to the initial position by the position control using the data as the target value.

[0012]

According to the massage device of the present invention,
The force control that makes the target value zero makes it possible to easily move the treatment element to an appropriate initial position, and yet, the force control that makes the predetermined force pattern the target value provides a comfortable and effective massage. You can

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. The massage device according to the present invention is attached to a frame (1) of a chair as shown in FIG. 1, and a pair of treatment elements (6) and (6) can rub the shoulder of the user. The massage device shown in FIG. 1 has a pair of left and right attached at positions corresponding to both shoulders, but since these have the same configuration, illustration and description of one are omitted.

As shown, the frame (1) has a fixed base.
(11) is fixed, and a first motor (2) having a vertical output shaft is mounted on the fixed base (11). An elevating base (21) is connected to the output shaft of the first motor (2), and a second motor (3) having an output shaft in the front-rear horizontal direction is mounted on the elevating base (21). The output shaft of the second motor (3) is connected to a reciprocating block (31) which is guided to move in the front-rear horizontal direction. Therefore, reciprocating block (31)
Can be reciprocally driven in the vertical X-axis direction by the first motor (2), and horizontally by the second motor (3).
Reciprocating drive is possible in the axial direction.

The reciprocating block (31) includes a pair of treatment elements (6).
A head (41) having (6) is attached, and the head (41) is rotationally driven about the φ axis by a third motor (4) attached on the reciprocating block (31). In addition, the pair of treatment elements (6) (6) are attached to the head (41) at the fourth position.
The motor (5) is driven to open and close around the θ axis.

As described above, the pair of treatment elements (6) (6) can be driven in a total of four degrees of freedom in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, the φ-axis rotation, and the θ-axis rotation shown in FIG. Thus, by coordinating the driving for these four degrees of freedom with each other, massage operations in various modes are realized.

FIG. 2 shows a drive control system for one arbitrary axis in the massage device. A similar drive control system is configured for the other three axes,
The first to fourth motors (2), (3), (4) and (5) are represented by a motor (82) in FIG. Therefore, the following control operation is executed for each of the four drive control systems using the motors (2), (3), (4), and (5) as drive sources.

The motor (82) is driven by the current supplied from the motor driver (81). The motor (82), an angle sensor (83) for detecting the rotation angle of the output shaft,
It has a built-in force sensor (84) to detect the force exerted by the output shaft. Thus, the actuator 8 including the motor driver 81, the motor 82, the angle sensor 83 and the force sensor 84 is configured.

In order to drive and control the actuator (8),
It is equipped with a control circuit (7) consisting of a microcomputer. A memory (71) for storing various data described later is connected to the control circuit (7).

A remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) for the user to give various commands to the massage device
The control signal from the remote controller (72) is input to the control circuit (7) through the interface (73). The detection signals from the angle sensor (83) and force sensor (84) of the actuator (8) are A / D converter (74).
Is input to the control circuit (7) via. The control circuit (7) creates a control signal for the actuator (8) according to these input signals, and the control signal is supplied to the motor driver (81) of the actuator (8) via the D / A converter (75). To be done. As a result, the motor (82) of the actuator (8) is driven and various operations described later are realized.

Initial Position Registration of Treatment Element When the person to be treated (9) undergoes treatment for the first time, first, a force control mode for setting the force target value to zero is set. FIG. 4 shows a control block constructed by the control circuit (7) in the force control mode. The force exerted by the output shaft (85) of the motor (82) is detected by the force sensor (84), and the deviation between the detection signal and the force target value is supplied to the well-known PID controller (70). The generated control signal is a motor driver
Input to (81). The motor driver (81) generates a drive current according to the control signal and supplies it to the motor (82). As a result, the motor (82) is driven so that the control deviation approaches zero. Here, if the force target value is set to zero,
The motor (82) is driven so that the detection signal from the force sensor (84) becomes zero.

With the above force control mode set,
The person to be treated holds the head (41) and the treatment elements (6) and (6) shown in FIG. 1 and moves the treatment elements (6) and (6) to the position of the shoulder to be treated. As a result, an external force acts on the output shaft (85) in FIG. 4, and the motor (82) is driven by the above-mentioned force control so as to cancel this external force. Therefore, the force that the person to be treated should exert on the head (41) and the treatment elements (6) and (6) decreases toward zero, and the treatment element can be easily moved to the shoulder position. Become.

When the positioning of the treatment element in the force control mode is completed, the current displacement value output from the angle sensor (83) shown in FIG. 2 is the A / D converter (74) and the control circuit (7).
After that, it is stored in the memory (71) as initial position data. It should be noted that the user to be treated can input his or her own ID data by operating the remote controller (72) when positioning the treatment element. The input ID data is registered in the memory (71) together with the initial position data for the four drive control systems.

Initial movement of treatment element The position control mode is set except when the massage operation is started immediately after the registration of the initial position, that is, when the treatment element is set to the initial position at the start of the massage operation. , The treatment element is moved to the initial position.

FIG. 5 shows a control block constructed by the control circuit (7) in the position control mode. The rotation angle of the output shaft (85) of the motor (82) is detected by the angle sensor (83), and the deviation between the detection signal and the displacement target value is supplied to the well-known PID controller (70), which is created by this. The generated control signal is input to the motor driver (81). The motor driver (81) generates a drive current according to the control signal and supplies it to the motor (82). Here, when the displacement target value is set to the initial position, the motor (82) is driven so as to move the treatment element toward the initial position.

When the user inputs the ID data at the start of the massage operation, the initial position data registered together with the ID data is read from the memory (71), and the initial position data is used as the displacement target. It is set as a value.

Massage Operation After the treatment element is set to the initial position, a force control mode having a predetermined force pattern as a target value is set. In the massage operation by force control, control is performed so as to change the force that the treatment element should exert on the person to be treated in a predetermined pattern. Therefore, even if the user moves a little, the massage is performed with an appropriate force.

FIG. 3 shows a specific control procedure executed by the control circuit (7) in order to realize the above operation. First, in step S1, a flag Touch_flag used for switching control described later is set to NO, and further in step S2.
After setting the force target value Fref to 0, the force control mode is set in step S3.

Next, in step S4, the absolute value of the current force value Fnow is compared with a threshold value Flim of the current force value for determining that the user has contacted the treatment element or the like. Sets the flag Touch_flag to YES in step S5, and otherwise moves to step S6 without changing the flag. When the user applies a force to the treatment element in order to perform the initial movement of the treatment element, YES is determined in step S4 and the flag To is determined in step S5.
uch_flag is set to YES.

In step S6, the flag Touch_flag is set to Y.
Whether or not it is ES, and if YES, step S
Then, the process shifts to 7, and it is determined whether or not the ID data is further input. Here, if NO is determined, the process returns to step S4. When the person to be treated has performed the initial movement, the flag Touch_flag is YES, so the process proceeds to step S7 and waits for subsequent input of ID data. And
When the ID data is input after the completion of the initial movement, the input ID data and the initial position data are registered in the memory in step S8. Then, move to step S9,
Start the massage operation.

When the person to be treated has experience of receiving treatment in the past by this apparatus, since the ID data and the initial position data have already been registered, the ID data can be input without performing the initial movement of the treatment element. To do. In this case, NO is determined in step S4 and NO in step S5,
The process moves to step S10 and waits for input of ID data.

Then, when the ID data is input, the position control mode is set in step S11, and the position data registered corresponding to the input ID data is read out in step S12. The data is set to the target displacement value. As a result, the treatment element is initially moved to the position of the shoulder of the user to be positioned.
Then, after the force control mode is set in step S13, the process proceeds to step S9, and the massage operation is started.

According to the above-described massage device of the present invention, for the user to be treated for the first time, during the first treatment, the treatment element is initially moved to the position of the shoulder of the person to be treated. It is possible to register the position. Here, the initial movement of the treatment element can be performed with a light force. In addition, for the person to be treated whose initial position has been registered, the treatment element can be automatically moved to the initial position by inputting his or her own ID data, so that a comfortable treatment can be performed at an appropriate position. Can receive. Further, in the massage device according to the present invention, since force control is adopted for the massage operation, the treatment is always performed with the optimum force regardless of the slight displacement of the treated portion,
A high massage effect can be obtained.

The above description of the embodiments is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing the scope.
Further, it goes without saying that the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a massage device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a drive control system of the massage device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure in the massage device.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of a force control mode.

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of a position control mode.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional massage device.

[Explanation of symbols]

(1) Frame (2) First motor (3) Second motor (4) Third motor (5) Fourth motor (41) Head (6) Treatment child (8) Actuator

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An arm mechanism having a plurality of degrees of freedom, a plurality of actuators for driving the arm mechanism in each degree of freedom, and a treatment element attached to an output end of the arm mechanism.
In a massage device including a control circuit that controls the operation of each actuator, each actuator has a displacement sensor for detecting a displacement amount of each degree of freedom, and a magnitude of force exerted for each degree of freedom. And a force sensor for detecting the force, the control circuit controls each actuator based on the deviation between the target value of force to be exerted for each degree of freedom and the current force value detected by the force sensor. The force control means, the position control means for controlling each actuator based on the deviation between the target value of the displacement amount for each degree of freedom and the current displacement value detected by the displacement sensor, and the treatment element are moved to the massage start position. When making the force
By setting the threshold to substantially zero, the
To reduce the force that should be applied to the treatment child toward zero
Then, the first mode for setting the force control mode by the force control means.
Mode control means , memory means for capturing the current displacement value output from each displacement sensor in the state where the positioning of the treatment element in the force control mode is completed, and storing this as initial position data, and when starting the massage operation. , A second mode control means for setting a position control mode by the position control means using the initial position data stored in the memory means as a target value, and a predetermined force pattern as a target with the position of the treatment element completed A massage device comprising, as a value, third mode control means for executing a massage operation in a force control mode. 2. The control circuit further comprises an ID input means for inputting ID data for identifying a user, and a memory for storing the ID data together with the initial position data when the initial position data is stored in the memory means. 2. A data registering means for storing in the means, and a data reading means for reading the initial position data registered corresponding to the ID data when the ID data is inputted in setting the position control mode. Massage device according to.