JP3667896B2 - Massage machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the operation of a treatment finger of a massage machine, and specifically relates to a massage machine that can further enhance the massage effect of the treatment finger.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a chair-type or bed-type massage machine that massages an affected area such as a shoulder or a waist of a user is known. In this type of device, a pair of treatment fingers are provided inside the back contact portion where the back of the user abuts, and the treatment fingers are moved closer to and away from each other by a motor that reciprocates in the lateral direction, thereby pinching the affected area. It is performed or moved up and down by a motor that reciprocates the treatment finger in the longitudinal direction of the backrest portion to perform a rolling massage from the neck to the waist.
In order to enhance the massage effect for the user, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-253060 discloses a timer for measuring the switching time of the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the motor that drives the reciprocating movement of the treatment finger. A chair-type massage machine is shown in which the rotational speed of the motor is controlled for each time-up output to change the operating speed of the treatment finger. In this device, the treatment finger moves in and out toward the back-rest part, performs circular motion, performs acupressure, and the unit equipped with the treatment finger and the motor is moved along the back-back part of the chair by the lifting and lowering motor. , Can move up and down.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the massage machine, since the rotation speed of the motor that drives the treatment finger is determined by a timer regardless of the direction of movement of the treatment finger, the direction of the treatment finger's itching and the movement speed of the treatment finger do not necessarily coincide with each other. Variations occurred in finger treatment strength, and it was difficult to give a sharp massage.
[0004]
An object of the present invention is to provide a massage machine capable of performing an effective massage, specifically, a rolling massage, by simultaneously starting the raising / lowering operation of the treatment finger and starting the contact / separation operation of the treatment finger in the wide and narrow direction. Is to provide.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a massage machine according to the present invention includes a pair of treatment fingers disposed on a backrest portion of a chair, a bed, etc. on which a user's back hits, and the treatment finger in the longitudinal direction of the backrest portion. Lifting and lowering means for moving up and down along with , a contact and separation means for approaching and separating a pair of treatment fingers in a wide and narrow direction in order to pinch and squeeze the affected area of the user sandwiched between the pair of treatment fingers , In a massage machine having separate motors for driving the lifting means and the contacting / separating means, and a control means for controlling the lifting means and the contacting / separating means , the control means operates the contacting / separating means to approach a pair of treatment fingers. When carrying out pinching by separating, the operation start of the treatment finger from the most separated state by the contact / separation means or the separation operation from the most approached state and the start of the lowering operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering means are performed almost simultaneously. After completing the second approach or separation In while performing the descent operation of therapeutic fingers, no line until the operation the separation or approach movement of the therapeutic fingers by at least one or more moving means is completed, and, approaching or from farthest state of therapeutic fingers by moving means At least one or more times while starting the separating operation from the closest approach and starting the lifting operation of the treatment finger by the lifting means almost simultaneously, and further performing the raising operation of the treatment finger after completing the first approach or separation operation The treatment finger is separated or approached by the contact / separation means until the operation is completed.
[0006]
Further, after each approach and / or separation operation of the treatment finger by the contact / separation unit is completed, the control unit temporarily stops the ascending / descending operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering unit, and continues while maintaining the stopped state in the lifting / lowering direction. Lifting means that performs the separation and / or approaching operation of the treatment finger at least once, and after the operation is completed, the approaching / separating means approaches the treatment finger from the most separated state or starts the separating operation from the most approached state almost simultaneously. The treatment finger is lifted or lowered continuously .
[0007]
[Action and effect]
In addition to the massage massage operation that the treatment finger moves to and away from the treatment finger, massage is performed by moving up and down to the affected area that starts almost simultaneously with the massage operation. You can get a massage .
By starting the approaching from the most separated state or the separating operation from the most approached state and starting the ascending / descending operation almost at the same time, it is possible to perform a sharp massage and massage. If the contact / separation operation and the lifting / lowering operation are not started almost simultaneously, the treatment finger may change from rising to lowering or lowering to rising during the contact / separation operation, resulting in a halfway massage operation.
By moving the treatment finger up and down in the waist direction from the neck muscles, it is possible to perform a massage massage without unevenness over a wide range, not locally.
Furthermore, after completion of each contact / separation operation of the treatment finger, when the contact / separation operation is performed once the ascending or descending operation is stopped and the operation for restarting the ascending / descending operation is added again, the massage is rich in change. So that the user does not get bored with the massage operation.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An example in which the present invention is applied to a chair-type massage machine (10) will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to the chair type, and can be applied to, for example, a bed type massage machine, a nursing bed, and the like.
In the examples, the direction facing the user (12) sitting on the chair (12) in FIG. 1 is the front, the reverse is the rear, the right hand side is the right, and the left hand side is the left.
[0009]
Description of structure As shown in Fig. 1, the chair (12) of the massage machine (10) is formed with a seat (13) on which the user sits and facing upward from the rear end of the seat (13). The backrest portion (14) and the armrest portion (15) formed upward on the left and right sides of the seat portion (13). The seat part (13), the backrest part (14), and the armrest part (15) are formed by connecting a metal pipe, frame, plate, or the like inside, respectively, and the outer periphery is formed by a patch cloth (16) or a cushion ( Surrounded by 17).
[0010]
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the backrest portion (14) has an upper frame (20) and a lower frame (21) at the upper and lower portions, respectively, and the upper and lower frames (20) and (21) are at both ends. They are connected by a pair of guide rails (22) and (22) extending parallel to the vertical direction. The upper end of the guide rails (22) and (22) extends to the information beyond the upper frame (20), and the head rest frame (27) has a head rest portion (26) where the head of the user hits the tip. Are connected. The lower portions of the guide rails (22) and (22) are pivotally supported by a frame forming the seat portion (13). The lower frame (21) is connected to a known reclining mechanism (24), and the backrest portion (14) is swingable with respect to the seat portion (13).
The guide rails (22) and (22) have a U-shaped cross section and are arranged so that the grooves face each other, so that the massage unit (28) can be raised and lowered along the guide rails (22) and (22). It is attached.
Further, a screw shaft (30) is pivotally supported on the upper and lower frames (20) and (21) in parallel with the guide rails (22) and (22). As shown in FIG. 2, a pulley (31) is fitted to the lower end of the screw shaft (30), and the pulley (33) and the belt (34) of the elevating motor (32) arranged on the lower frame (21) are interposed. The screw shaft (30) rotates forward or backward by driving the elevating motor (32). The screw shaft (30) passes through the upper frame (20), and an encoder (35) for measuring the number of rotations of the screw shaft (30) is provided at the upper end. The encoder (35) is connected to a control circuit described later.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 3, the massage unit (28) has a pair of rollers (40) (40) (40) (40) which are fitted in the grooves of the guide rails (22) and (22). A side plate (41) (41) is provided with an upper support rod (43) and a lower support rod (44) for connecting the upper and lower ends of the side plate (41) (41), respectively. The lower support rod (44) includes an elevating member (45) having a screw hole that meshes with the screw shaft (30), and the screw shaft (30) is rotated by driving the elevating motor (32). The massage unit (28) moves up and down along the guide rails (22) and (22) by the screw thrust.
As shown in FIG. 2, the movement limit of the massage unit (28) in the up-and-down direction is detected by limit switches (47) and (48) respectively provided above and below the one guide rail (22). When the massage unit (28) reaches the upper or lower movement limit, the limit switch (47), (48) hits the upper support rod (43) or the lower support rod (44), and the massage unit (28 ) Is detected to reach the limit, and is transmitted to the control circuit (37).
[0012]
A gear box (50) is provided in the approximate center of the upper and lower support rods (43) and (44). The gear box (50) has a stagnation shaft (51) that penetrates in the left-right direction and rotates at a low speed, and passes through the gear box (50) in the left-right direction below the stagnation shaft (51) and rotates at a high speed. It has a hitting shaft (52). Further, a massage shaft (53) for driving these two shafts (51) (52) protrudes from the bottom surface of the gear box (50). A pulley (54) is fitted to the lower end of the massage shaft (53), and the pulley (54) is passed through a pulley (56) and a belt (57) of a massage motor (55) attached to the lower support rod (44). The massage shaft (53) rotates forward or backward by the rotation of the massage motor (55).
The description of the internal structure of the gear box (50) is omitted, but the operation is to rotate only the massaging shaft (51) at a low speed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 when the massage shaft (53) is rotated forward. When the massage shaft (53) is rotated in the reverse direction, the stab shaft (51) does not rotate when the massage shaft (53) is rotated in the reverse direction. Only known ones rotate at a high speed in the direction of arrow B in FIG.
The pulley (54) provided on the massage shaft (53) includes an encoder (not shown), and the number of rotations of the massage shaft (53) is detected. The encoder is electrically connected to a control circuit (37) described later.
[0013]
The stagnation shaft (51) is a shaft located on the upper side of the gear box (50), and both ends (51a) of the shaft protruding from the gear box (50) are bent in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 5, a projecting piece (61) having a magnet (60) therein is formed at one end of the stagnation shaft (51) on the same side as the bending direction of the end. A board (66) including three reed switches (63), (64) and (65) is disposed on the wall surface of the gear box (50) so as to face the rotation transition path of the magnet (60). One reed switch is provided above, behind and below the stagnation shaft. These reed switches (63), (64), and (65) are electrically connected to the control circuit (37). When the upper reed switch (63) detects the magnet (60), the gap between the kneading balls (70) (70), which will be described later, is farthest away, and the lower reed switch (65) detects the magnet (60). When this is done, the distance between the opposing massaging balls is closest. Further, since the kneading shaft (51) rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3, when the rear reed switch (64) detects the magnet (60), the kneading ball shifts from the separated state to the approaching state. It means that the interval between the kneading balls facing each other is intermediate between approaching and separating.
[0014]
The hitting shaft (52) is a shaft located below the gear box (50), and both ends (52a) of the shaft protruding from the gear box (50) are as shown in FIG. Are eccentric from each other by a distance H. The eccentric directions of the end portions are symmetrical to each other, that is, shifted by 180 °.
[0015]
The treatment fingers (71) (71) are arranged on the left and right of the gear box (50) as shown in FIGS. The treatment finger (71) is a pair of kneading balls (70) attached inward to both ends of a plate-like arm (72) bent substantially in the center in a dogleg shape.
The arm (72) is pivotally supported by the plate-like lever (73) at the bent portion. The base end of the lever (73) is pivotally supported by the end of the stagnation shaft (51) so as to freely rotate. Since the end portion (51a) of the stagnation shaft (51) is bent as described above, the lever (73) is attached while being inclined with respect to the stagnation shaft (51), and when the stagnation shaft (51) rotates. The lever (73) swings from side to side due to the inclination of the end (51a).
A connecting rod (75) is attached to the lower end of the lever (73) via a ball joint (74), and the connecting rod (75) is an eccentric member (76 provided at the end of the hitting shaft (52). ) And is connected to it.
[0016]
In each arm (72), pins (77) and (78) for restricting the swing angle of the arm (72) with respect to the lever (73) are provided so as to protrude vertically. The arm (72) is connected to the lever (73) and the spring (79) at a position below the lower pin (78). The spring (79) always urges the lower part of the arm (72) in the lever direction. Therefore, in the unloaded state, the lower pin (78) is in contact with the lever (73) by the biasing force of the spring (79). When massage is started and the massaging ball (70) is pressed against the user, the massaging ball (70) is swung within the range of oscillation with respect to the lever (73) against the biasing force of the spring (79). It is possible to move.
[0017]
Each operation of the massage machine (10) is performed by a command from the operation unit (86) ( see FIG. 6 ) . The operation unit has an elevating button that adjusts the height of the massage unit (28) to `` up, down '', a kneading button that starts the kneading operation, a tapping button that starts the tapping operation, and the interval between the kneading balls is `` wide, middle Width adjustment button to adjust to any of ", narrow", speed adjustment button to adjust the speed of kneading operation, hitting operation to any of "fast, medium, slow", operation 1 button to start operation 1 described later, reclining A reclining button for operating the mechanism and a stop button for stopping each operation are provided. The command signal input to the operation unit when the user presses the button is transmitted to the control circuit (37).
[0018]
A circuit serving as a control means for the operation of the massage machine (10) will be described.
FIG. 6 shows a control circuit (37) mainly composed of a microcomputer. The control circuit (37) is disposed at a proper position of the massage machine (10).
The microcomputer (80) includes a massage motor drive circuit (82) for controlling the drive of the massage motor (55), the output value of the encoder (58) disposed on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53), and the kneading shaft. A massage detection circuit (83) for receiving an output value from the reed switches (63), (64) and (65) for detecting the rotation angle of (51) is connected.
The massage motor drive circuit (82) includes a PWM circuit (not shown), performs pulse width modulation, adjusts the drive average voltage supplied to the massage motor (55), and rotates the massage motor (55). Can be controlled.
The massage detection circuit (83) measures whether the massage motor (55) is rotating at a predetermined rotation speed by detecting an encoder pulse, and if it is out of the predetermined rotation speed, the massage motor drive circuit (82 ) To adjust the supply voltage. Further, the output values from the reed switches (63), (64) and (65) are received, and the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) facing each other is determined.
[0019]
The microcomputer (80) includes a lift motor drive circuit (84) for controlling the drive of the lift motor (32), an output value of the encoder (35) for detecting the rotation speed of the screw shaft (30), and a massage unit (28 ) Is connected to a lift position detection circuit (85) for receiving output values from upper and lower limit switches (47) and (48) for detecting upper and lower limits.
The number of rotations of the screw shaft (30) from the state in which the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28) is integrated by the lift position detection circuit (85) as an integrated value of the encoder pulse, and the massage unit (28 ) Is measured. The current position of the massage unit (28) can also be measured using both the lower limit switch (48) and the upper and lower limit switches (47), (48) as a reference.
[0020]
Further, an operation unit I / F circuit (87) that receives an operation signal from the operation unit (86) is connected to the microcomputer (80). As described above, the microcomputer (80) has a number of operation buttons, and command signals from these buttons are transmitted to the microcomputer (80) via the operation unit I / F circuit (87), and various controls are performed. Done.
[0021]
Further, the control circuit (80) is provided with a reclining control circuit (89) for controlling the reclining mechanism (24) and swinging the backrest portion (14). The reclining control circuit (89) is well known and will not be described.
[0022]
Description of operation First, the basic operation of the massage machine (10) will be described. In addition, the massage operation | movement of this invention is the operation | movement 1 mentioned later.
When the massage machine (10) is turned on, the initial position of the massage unit (28) is confirmed. This is for determining the amount of movement of the massage unit (28) by integrating or subtracting the number of pulses of the encoder (35) provided on the screw shaft (30). In the present invention, the initial position of the massage unit (28) is set as the upper movement limit position where the massage unit (28) and the upper limit switch (47) hit. Accordingly, the massage unit (28) moves upward until it is detected by the upper limit switch (47). When the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28), the integrated value of the encoder pulse of the screw shaft (30) is reset.
From this state, each operation of the massage machine (10) can be performed.
[0023]
[Massage unit lifting and lowering]
When the user presses one of the “up” and “down” buttons, the command signal is sent to the control circuit (37) and sent to the microcomputer (80) via the operation unit I / F circuit (87). The signal is input and output to the lift motor drive circuit (84) as an UP signal or a DOWN signal. In response to the signal, the elevating motor (32) rotates in a predetermined direction. The number of rotations of the screw shaft (30) by the lifting motor (32) is counted as an integrated value when the massage unit (28) is moving down, and the massage unit (28) is raised. When the operation is performed, the number of encoder pulses is subtracted from the integrated value. The current position of the massage unit (28) can be determined from the integrated value of the encoder pulse.
The massage unit (28) can move up or down and stop at any position until it is detected by any of the upper and lower limit switches (47) and (48).
[0024]
[Mixing motion]
When the user presses the massage button, a command signal is similarly sent to the control circuit (37) and input to the microcomputer (80) via the operation unit I / F circuit (87), and the massage motor drive circuit ( 82) is output as a MSG signal. When the massage motor drive circuit (82) receives the MSG signal, it rotates the massage motor (55) so that the massage shaft (53) rotates forward, and only the massage shaft (51) is moved in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Drive to rotate. Since the lever (73) is pivotally supported with respect to the rotation center of the kneading shaft (51), when the kneading shaft (51) is rotated, the kneading ball (70) is indicated by an arrow C in FIG. As described above, the massaging balls (70) and (70) facing each other perform a reciprocating motion substantially parallel to the left-right direction so that massage is given to the user. At this time, the lower end of the lever (73) is pivotally supported by the eccentric member (76) via the ball joint (74) and the connecting rod (75) so that the tilting movement of the lever (73) is obstructed. There is no.
When the kneading shaft (51) rotates, the reed switches (63), (64), (65) provided in the gear box (50) sequentially detect the magnet (60). When each reed switch detects the magnet (60), the detection signal is transmitted to the massage detection circuit (83). When the upper reed switch (63) detects the magnet (60), a signal (WIDE signal) indicating that the gap between the kneading balls (70) and (70) is in the widest state is sent to the massage detection circuit (83). When the rear reed switch (64) detects the magnet (60), the signal indicating that the gap between the kneading balls (70) and (70) is intermediate (MIDDLE signal), and the lower reed switch (65) When the magnet (60) is detected, a signal (NARROW signal) indicating that the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) is in the narrowest state is sequentially transmitted to the massage detection circuit (83).
[0025]
It is also possible to change the interval between the massaging balls (70) and (70) without performing the massaging operation, that is, only to adjust the width. In this case, when the width adjustment button on the operation unit is pressed and either of the kneading ball intervals “wide, medium, narrow” is selected, a MSG signal is transmitted to the massage motor drive circuit (82), and the massage motor (55) is Rotate only the kneading shaft (51). By the rotation of the kneading shaft (51), the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) changes, and signals indicating the kneading ball interval are sequentially detected from the reed switches (63), (64) and (65). When a predetermined signal (WIDE signal, MIDDLE signal, or NARROW signal) indicating the kneading ball interval selected by the user is detected, the massage motor drive circuit (82) drives the massage motor (55). Stop and stop the kneading balls (70) (70) from moving. Thereby, the kneading ball interval becomes a desired interval of the user.
In this state, if the massage unit (28) is moved up and down, a rolling massage can be performed, and if a hitting operation is performed, a hitting massage can be performed at a kneading ball interval desired by the user.
[0026]
[Striking motion]
When the user presses the hit button, a command signal is sent to the control circuit (37) and is input to the microcomputer (80) via the operation unit I / F circuit (87), and then to the massage motor drive circuit (82). Output as TAP signal. When receiving the TAP signal, the massage motor drive circuit (82) drives the massage motor (55) so that the massage shaft (53) rotates in the reverse direction, and rotates only the strike shaft (52) in the direction of arrow B in FIG. Drive. The eccentric member (76) is pivotally supported eccentrically with respect to the rotation center of the hitting shaft (52), and the base end of the lever (73) is pivotally supported by the non-rotating stagnation shaft (51). When the shaft (52) is rotated, the kneading balls (70) (70) reciprocate in the vertical direction about the shaft (51) as shown by the arrow D in FIG. Hit the massage.
[0027]
In the kneading operation and the hitting operation, the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) can be changed to adjust the operation speed of the kneading balls. The operation speed is adjusted by pressing the speed adjustment button on the operation unit and selecting one of the speeds “fast, medium, slow” by the PWM circuit (not shown) of the massage motor drive circuit (82). ) By adjusting and applying the driving voltage to. When the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) is adjusted to a desired speed, the speed of the kneading balls (70) (70) operated by the motor (55) changes. Whether or not the kneading balls (70) and (70) are adjusted to the desired speed is determined by measuring the interval between encoder pulses from the encoder (58) arranged on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53). it can.
[0028]
Next, the massage operation of the present invention will be described.
[Operation 1]
The massage unit (28) starts to move up and down and starts to move the kneading balls (70) and (70) at the same time. The massage to be performed (hereinafter referred to as “operation 1”) will be described with reference to FIG. 7a, the timing chart FIG. 7b, and the flowchart FIG. In addition, the arrow in FIG. 7a has shown the transition path of the right and left kneading balls.
In this embodiment, the upper limit of the rolling range of the massage unit (28), the position where the upper limit switch (47) arranged on the upper part of the guide rail (22) detects the massage unit (28), the lower limit, The lower limit switch (48) arranged at the lower part of the guide rail (22) is a position where the massage unit (28) is detected.
First, after moving the massage unit (28) to the position detected by the upper limit switch (47), when the operation 1 button of the operation unit is pressed (step 1), the command signal of operation 1 is sent to the control circuit (37). ).
Upon receiving the command signal, the microcomputer (80) transmits a MSG signal (see FIG. 7b) to the massage motor drive circuit (82), drives the massage motor (55), and massages (70) (70) Are reciprocated in the left-right direction (step 2).
[0029]
When the kneading operation is started and the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) becomes the widest ((1) in FIG. 7a), a WIDE signal is transmitted from the upper reed switch (63) (step 3). When the control circuit (37) receives the WIDE signal, it sends a DOWN signal ((1) in FIG. 7b) to the lift motor drive circuit (84), and the lift motor (32) starts driving, and the massage unit (28 ) Is lowered (step 4). By the operation of step 4, the opposing kneading balls (70) and (70) move downward while approaching each other.
[0030]
When the kneading shaft (51) further rotates and the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) becomes the smallest ((2) in FIG. 7a), a NARROW signal is transmitted from the lower reed switch (65) (step 5). (2) of FIG. 7b). When the control circuit (37) receives the NARROW signal, the elevating motor drive circuit (84) stops transmitting the DOWN signal, and the elevating motor (32) stops driving (step 6).
[0031]
With the massage unit (28) stopped moving up and down, the kneading shaft (51) further rotates, the spacing between the kneading balls (70) and (70) increases, and the spacing between the kneading balls (70) and (70) again. When the widest state is reached ((3) in FIG. 7a), the WIDE signal is transmitted from the upper reed switch (63), the process returns to step 3, and the operation from step 3 to step 6 is performed by the lower limit switch (48). Repeat until the massage unit (28) is detected and the DOWN-LMT signal is transmitted (step 7).
[0032]
When the massage unit (28) is detected by the lower limit switch (48) and the DOWN-LMT signal is sent to the control circuit (37), the NARROW signal is output again with the massage unit (28) stopped moving up and down. The treatment fingers (70) and (70) are moved toward and away from each other until they are transmitted.
When the control circuit (37) receives the NARROW signal (step 8), an UP signal is transmitted to the lift motor drive circuit (84) (10 in FIG. 7b), the lift motor (32) is driven, and the massage unit (28). Is raised (step 9). By the operation of step 9, the kneading balls (70) and (70) facing each other move upward while being separated from each other.
[0033]
When the kneading shaft (51) further rotates and the distance between the kneading balls (70) and (70) becomes the widest (11 in FIG. 7a), a WIDE signal is transmitted from the upper reed switch (63) (step 10). When the control circuit (37) receives the WIDE signal, the UP signal from the lifting motor drive circuit (84) is stopped and the driving of the lifting motor (32) is stopped (step 11).
[0034]
With the massage unit (28) stopped moving up and down, the kneading shaft (51) rotates further, the spacing between the kneading balls (70) (70) becomes narrower, and the spacing between the kneading balls (70) (70) again. The state becomes the narrowest, a NARROW signal is transmitted, and the process returns to step 8. The operations from Step 8 to Step 11 are repeated until the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28) and transmits an UP-LMT signal (Step 12).
[0035]
When the massage unit (28) is detected by the upper limit switch (47) and the UP-LMT signal is transmitted to the control circuit (37), the process returns to step 3.
The above cycle is repeated until the stop button is pressed. When the stop button is pressed, the operation stops at an arbitrary step.
[0036]
The massage in action 1 is a so-called “squeeze-down action” that simultaneously starts the squeeze action for shifting from the state where the kneading balls (70) (70) are the widest to the narrowest state and the descent action of the massage unit (28). "Is a stagnation operation that focuses on a wide range from top to bottom .
[0037]
In the above embodiment, the lifting / lowering operation is performed based on the detection signals from the reed switches (63) and (65) that detect the rotation of the kneading shaft (51). During the descending or ascending operation, the number of encoder pulses of the screw shaft (30) may be detected, and the subsequent ascending / descending operation may be performed based on the number of encoder pulses. That is, the number of encoder pulses of the screw shaft (30) counted at the time of descending or ascending may be used as the reference pulse number, and the stop of the moving up / down operation may be at the time of counting the reference pulse number. Thereby, the shift | offset | difference of the raising / lowering position produced by the influence of the load added to the kneading balls (70) (70) and the massage unit (28) can be prevented.
Further, it is of course possible to similarly start and stop the lifting operation based on the encoder pulse from the encoder (58) provided on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53).
[0038]
FIG. 9 a and timing chart 9 b are other examples of operation 1. The arrow in FIG. 9a has shown the transition path of the right and left kneading balls like the above.
This embodiment is a squeaking operation that places importance on both squeezing down and squeezing up.
At the time of descending rolling, the DOWN signal is transmitted in accordance with the reception of the WIDE signal and the squeeze-down operation is performed. The transmission of the DOWN signal is stopped in accordance with the reception of the NARROW signal, and the separation operation is performed in that state. This descending rolling operation is continued until the lower limit switch (48) detects the massage unit (28).
Further, during upward rolling, the UP signal is transmitted in accordance with the reception of the WIDE signal to perform a squeeze-up operation, the transmission of the UP signal is stopped in accordance with the reception of the NARROW signal, and the separation operation is performed in that state. Similarly, this upward rolling operation is continued until the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28).
In the above massage operation, as shown in FIGS. 10a and 10b, the massage unit (28) is lifted and / or lowered and the massage unit is not moved up and down at least once. Also good.
[0039]
11 and 12 show still another embodiment of the present invention.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 11 is an embodiment in which the massaging unit (28) is moved up and down continuously without almost stopping, and the kneading operation is performed. The embodiment shown in FIG. The raising / lowering operation of the massage unit (28) is stopped at the ascending position and the descending position, and the separating operation of the treatment finger is performed once.
In these embodiments, transmission of the drive command (UP signal, DOWN signal) to the lifting motor (32) is performed based on the WIDE signal and NARROW signal in the same manner as described above. On the other hand, the drive of the elevating motor (32) is stopped based on the number of encoder pulses (MSG-PLS in the figure) from the encoder (58) arranged on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53). The massage detection circuit (83) counts the number of encoder pulses when the lifting motor (32) starts driving, and when the number of pulses reaches a predetermined value, the lifting motor driving circuit (84) transfers the lifting motor (32). The transmission of the UP signal and DOWN signal is stopped and the elevation of the massage unit (28) is stopped.
The massage unit (28) is switched between rising and lowering based on detection signals (UP-LMT, DOWN-LMT) of the massage unit (28) by the upper and lower limit switches (47) and (48).
According to these embodiments, it is possible to perform a massage operation particularly focusing on the rolling operation over the entire rolling range of the massage unit (28).
[0040]
In any of the above-described embodiments, the rolling range of the massage unit (28) is the entire length of the guide rail. However, for example, the lifting distance when the kneading balls are contacted and separated a predetermined number of times may be set as the rolling range.
[0041]
Further, in the above embodiment, the lifting and lowering operations of the massage unit (28) are performed simultaneously with the start of the approach and separation operations of the kneading balls (70) and (70). The operation does not need to be performed completely at the same time, and the lifting / lowering operation may be started slightly before or after the approaching / separating operation.
[0042]
Further, in the above embodiment, the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) during the massage operation is constant, but the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) when approaching the kneading balls (70) (70) is If the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) when the balls (70) (70) are separated from each other is decreased or increased, a variety of massages can be performed.
Further, the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) can be changed between when the elevating motor (32) rotates and when it stops. Specifically, when the lifting / lowering operation is performed together with the contact / separation operation (for example, (1), (3), etc. in FIG. 7a), the rotational speed of the massage motor (55) is stopped. When only the operation is performed (for example, (2), (4), etc. in FIG. 7a), the massage motor (55) is rotated at a lower speed than that of the massage motor, so that effective massage can be performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a massage machine.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the backrest portion of the massage machine with the patch cloth removed.
FIG. 3 is a front view of the massage unit.
4 is a cross-sectional view of the massage unit taken along the line XX of FIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the massage unit taken along the line YY of FIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrows.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control circuit.
7A is a diagram showing a kneading ball transition path in operation 1, and FIG. 7B is a timing chart in operation 1. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of operation 1;
FIG. 9A is a kneading ball transition path showing another embodiment of the present invention, and b is a timing chart thereof.
FIG. 10a is a kneading ball transition path showing another embodiment of the present invention, and b is a timing chart thereof.
11A is a kneading ball transition path showing still another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11B is a timing chart thereof.
FIG. 12 a is a kneading ball transition path showing still another embodiment of the present invention, and b is a timing chart thereof.
[Explanation of symbols]
(10) Massage machine
(28) Massage unit
(32) Lifting motor
(37) Control circuit
(51) Sprung shaft
(55) Massage motor
(70) Grudge ball

Claims (2)

A pair of treatment fingers disposed on a backrest portion of a chair, bed or the like against which the user's back hits; lifting means for moving the treatment finger up and down along the longitudinal direction of the backrest portion; and the pair of treatment fingers In order to squeeze the affected area of the user sandwiched between them, a contacting / separating means for approaching and separating the pair of treatment fingers in a wide and narrow direction, a separate motor for driving the elevating means and the contacting / separating means, respectively, In a massage machine comprising a control means for controlling the lifting means and the contacting / separating means ,
When the control means activates the contact / separation means to move the pair of treatment fingers close and separate,
The operation of approaching or separating the treatment finger from the most separated state by the contact / separation means is started almost simultaneously with the start of the lowering operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering means, and after the first approach or separation operation is completed, Further, while performing the lowering operation of the treatment finger, the treatment finger is separated or approached at least once by the contact / separation means until the operation is completed , and the treatment finger is approached from the most separated state or At least one or more times while starting the separating operation from the closest approach and starting the lifting operation of the treatment finger by the elevating means at the same time, and further performing the raising operation of the treatment finger after the first approach or separation operation is completed. A massage machine characterized in that the treatment finger is separated or approached by the contact / separation means until the operation is completed . The control means temporarily stops the ascending / descending operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering means after completion of each approach and / or separation operation of the treatment finger by the contact / separation means, and continues the treatment while maintaining the stopped state in the lifting / lowering direction. apart and / or close operation of the fingers carried least once, after completion said operating, substantially simultaneously with the start of the separating operation of the approach or closest approach state from farthest state of therapeutic fingers by the moving means, by lifting means the massage machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the rise or fall operation of therapeutic fingers was performed continuously.

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