JPH09299423A - Treating finger for massaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable driving or controlling of a treating finger unit by arranging a sensor between a support member pivoted on a treating finger arm and a member to be supported slidably engaged with the support member to detect a pressing force between both. SOLUTION: A treating finger unit 70 is made up of a first treating finger 72 to be brought into contact with a shoulder 21 of a person 80 to be treated and a second treating finger 73 to be brought into contact with a pressure point on his back. The second treating finger 73 is made up of a treating finger arm 73a, a second contact part 73b, a cylindrical support member 71, a member 71a slidably supported on the support member 71, a pad 71b formed successively to the member 71a to be supported. A pressure sensor 69 is disposed between the member 71a to be supported and the support member 71 to detect a vertical force working on the pad 71b when the pad 71b is brought into contact with a pressure point on the back of the person to be treated to perform a pointillage. A force detected by the sensor 69 is inputted into a control mechanism to control the driving of the treating finger unit 70, thereby keeping the pressing force constant.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a massager that massages a person to be treated, and more particularly to a treatment finger that comes into contact with an affected area of the person to be treated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are known various massage devices for eliminating stiffness by pressing and stimulating a person's shoulder, waist and the like. These devices can be classified by type into chair type, bed type, and handy type.
An electric stimulation type can be mentioned. Among these devices, a chair-type massage machine (90) as shown in FIG. 9 is particularly popular. This massage machine (90) is a chair (91) on which the person receiving the massage (hereinafter referred to as "the person to be treated") sits.
Two arms (93) and (93) project from the backrest (92) of the patient. At the tip of the arms (93) and (93), the treatment fingers (94) ( 94). Arm (93) (93),
It is connected to an arm drive section (not shown) provided inside the backrest (92), and the treatment fingers (94) (94) perform a hitting operation in the vertical direction, a lateral rubbing operation, etc. by the arm drive section. Go and give a massage to the person to be treated.

[0003]

With the above-mentioned massage machine,
When the massage is performed by hitting the shoulder of the user, the shoulder is hit by aligning the treatment finger with the upper part of the shoulder and then reciprocating the treatment finger in the vertical direction. This striking operation is performed by controlling the vertical driving force of the treatment finger by the arm driving unit. Therefore, when the user moves the shoulder up and down, left and right during the massage, the pressing force by the treatment finger is not constant.

An object of the present invention is to provide a treatment finger of a massage machine in which the pressing force of the treatment finger is applied vertically to the affected area, the pressing force is measured, and the drive of the treatment finger can be controlled. .

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a treatment of a massage machine which is rocked by a treatment finger drive section (74) to sandwich and / or press an affected area of a user. The treatment finger (70) includes a treatment finger arm (73a) connected to the treatment finger drive unit (74), and the treatment finger arm (73a).
At the tip of the treatment finger arm (73a) and a contact portion (73b) pivotally supported by the treatment finger arm (73a), and the contact portion (73b) is supported by the treatment finger arm (73a). 71), a supported member (71a) slidably engaged with the supporting member, and a pad (71b) arranged at the tip of the supported member and contacting the affected part of the user (80). , The supporting member (71) and the supported member (71
A sensor (69) for detecting the force in the pressing direction applied between the support member (71) and the supported member (71a) is provided between the sensor and the member (a).

Further, the drive of the treatment finger drive section (74) is controlled by a control mechanism.
When controlled by (65), the sensor (69) is electrically connected, and when the detection value of the sensor (69) exceeds a predetermined value, a signal is transmitted from the control mechanism (65) and the treatment finger drive unit It is also possible to control the driving direction of the treatment finger (73) by the (74) so as to be opposite to the pressing direction. This allows the person to be treated (80)
However, even if the upper body is moved during the massage, the affected area is not overloaded. Similarly, when the detection value of the sensor (69) is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the treatment finger drive unit (74) may be controlled so as to move in a direction in which the treatment finger (73) is further pressed against the affected area. In this case, when the user (80) moves his / her upper body during massage and the pressing force between the treatment finger (73) and the affected area becomes small, the treatment finger (73) further presses the affected area so that the treatment is performed. Since the finger drive section (74) is driven, a predetermined pressing force can be obtained.

Further, the support member (71) and the treatment finger arm (73a)
The contact part (73b) is inadvertently urged by an elastic body such as a leaf spring (71c) so that the support member (71) returns to the treatment finger arm (73a) at a predetermined angle. To prevent it from rotating.

[0008]

With the above structure, the pad (71b) for pressing the affected part of the person to be treated (80) rotates with respect to the treatment finger arm (73a). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. Pad (71
The pressing direction A (FIG. 8) of b) is perpendicular to the affected area, the bias of the pressing force due to the inclination of the pad (71b) is prevented, and the detecting direction B of the pressing force by the sensor (69) is the same. . Therefore, the pressing force applied to the affected area by the contact portion (73b) can be accurately detected. When the contact portion (73b) is rotated with respect to the treatment finger arm (73a), the pad (71b) is rotated as shown in FIG.
The pressing direction A of is not perpendicular to the affected area (see FIG.
Since a part of b) and the pad (71b) strongly hits the affected area, uniform pressing force cannot be obtained. Also, this contact part (73
This is because even if the sensor (69) is provided in b), the detection direction B of the sensor (69) and the direction of the pressing force A do not coincide with each other, so that the pressing force cannot be accurately detected.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the treatment finger of the present invention is applied to the chair type massage machine (11) shown in FIG. Also a massage device
As (10), as shown in FIG. 3, two treatment fingers are provided, and one treatment finger (72) contacts the upper part or the upper part of the shoulder (81) of the person to be treated (80) with the other treatment finger. It is applied to a massage device (10) in which a finger (73) applies acupressure to acupoints near the spine of the back (82). In the present invention, the treatment finger (7
Applies to 3). Hereinafter, the chair type massage machine (1
In 1), the arrow F side is the front and the arrow R is the right. Also,
The “vertical plane” means a vertical plane parallel to the front-rear direction. The shaded area in FIG. 1 represents the upper half of the body of the person to be treated (80).

The chair (12) with the massage device (10) is
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seat surface on which the user (80) sits
(16), a backrest (13) formed upward from the rear end of the seat surface (16), and armrests (17) (17) formed upward from the left and right of the seat surface (16) Composed of. The backrest (13) is a back contact (14) with which the back of the user (80) contacts, and the back contact (14).
It is composed of side portions (15) and (15) which are continuous to the left and right of each of the sides and protrude forward of the back contact (14). The back contact (14) is formed to a position slightly lower than the shoulder of the person to be treated (80) when the person to be treated (80) sits down, and the side portions (15) and (15) are It is formed to a position slightly higher than the head of 80).

A casing (18) having a front and rear opening is fixed to the upper back side of the backrest (13), and one massaging device (10) (10) is accommodated in each of the left and right inside the casing (18). There is. 3 is a perspective view of the massage device (10) on the right side, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the massage device (10) seen from the opposite side, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are taken along line XX of FIG. Figure 2 shows a plan view of the massaging device (10) section taken along section. Although only the massage device (10) on the right side will be described below, a similar massage device (10) is also provided on the left side. The massage device (10) includes a pair of treatment fingers (72) (73) that come into contact with the shoulder or the like of the user (80) to rub and massage the affected area, and the treatment fingers (7).
2) Arm (20) with (73) at the front end.
Massage operation to the person to be treated (80) includes up and down and forward and backward movements of the arm (20), swinging movements of the treatment fingers (72) and (73) in a vertical plane, and up and down movements of the treatment fingers (72) and (73). It is performed by combining the four movements of the approaching / separating movements in the directions.

First, the treatment finger will be described. Treatment finger The treatment finger (70) provided at the front end of the arm (20) described later is
First and second treatment fingers (72) that move up and down in the vertical direction
(73) and the treatment finger drive section (7) for driving the treatment fingers (72) (73).
4) is provided. The treatment finger drive section (74) includes a treatment finger drive motor (76) for driving the treatment fingers (72) (73).
The drive direction and drive force of the control mechanism (65) of the control unit (65) are controlled. 5 and 6, the wiring from the control mechanism (65) to the motor (76) is omitted.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the treatment finger (70) taken along the line YY of FIG. A treatment finger drive unit (74) that drives a pair of treatment fingers (72) (73) that come into contact with the person to be treated (80) and rubs and sandwiches the affected area swings together with a semicircular pulley (79) described later. Deployed on the cover (77). The semi-circular pulley (79) is pivotally supported on the front end of the frame body (31) of the arm (20) described later. A groove for guiding a wire (59) described later is formed in an arc portion of the semi-circular pulley (79),
The ends of the wires (59) connected to the angle adjusting member (58), which will be described later, are fixed to both ends of the arc.

As shown in FIG. 3, the treatment finger (70) has a first contact portion (72b) which comes into contact with the affected part of the user (80) at the tip of the treatment finger arm (72a) bent in an L shape. First treatment finger having
(72) and the tip of the second treatment finger arm (73a) at the person to be treated (8
It has a second treatment finger (73) having a second contact portion (73b) that comes into contact with the affected part (0). The first contact part (72b) hits the upper part of the shoulder (81) of the user (80) or the upper part to the front part, and the second contact part (72b)
The contact portion (73b) is positioned so as to abut the acupoint near the spine on the back of the user (80).

The second contact portion (73b) provided at the tip of the treatment finger arm (73a) of the second treatment finger (73) has a treatment finger arm (73).
A cylindrical support member (71) axially supported by a), and the support member (71)
A supported member (71a) slidably fitted to the
The pad (71b) is provided continuously with (71a) and applies acupressure to the acupoint on the back of the user (80). Support member (71)
Is rotatably supported by the treatment finger arm (73a).
The axis of the support member (71) is biased by the leaf spring (71c) so as to be perpendicular to the treatment finger arm (73a).

When a vertical force is applied to the pad (71b), a sensor (69) is provided at a position between the supported member (71a) and the supporting member (71) as shown in FIG. It As the sensor (69), it is possible to use a pressure sensor having a strain gauge inside, and the pressure sensor has a resistance value of the strain gauge which changes when the circular plane is distorted in the axial direction by a load, The load condition can be detected. Sensor (6
9) is electrically connected to the control mechanism (65).

Near the other end of each treatment finger arm (72a) (73a),
Each of them is pivotally supported by the cover (77) and has a partial gear (75) at the end.
(75a) is cut. The treatment fingers (72) (73) are driven by the treatment finger drive motor (76) provided on the cover (77). A pinion gear (76b) is fitted on the rotary shaft (76a) of the treatment finger drive motor (76), and the gear (76b) meshes with a worm wheel (76c) pivotally supported by the cover (77). are doing. Worm wheel (76c) has first intermediate gear (78)
Is integrally provided, and the partial gear (75) of the first treatment finger (72) is meshed with the first intermediate gear (78). A second intermediate gear (78a) axially supported by the cover (77) meshes with the first intermediate gear (78), and the second intermediate gear (78a)
The partial gear wheel (75a) of the second treatment finger (73) is meshed therewith. When the treatment finger drive motor (76) is driven, the first and second treatment fingers (72) (73) move toward or away from each other via the gears, and by repeating this operation, the user to be treated It is possible to perform a rubbing and pinching operation of the affected part in (80).

During this sandwiching and rubbing operation, the second treatment finger (73)
However, when the contact part (73b) swings in the direction of approaching the affected part around the pivotal position to the cover (77), the pad (71b) of the contact part (73b) causes the affected part of the user (80) to be affected. Hit In this state, when the treatment finger arm (73a) is further swung toward the person to be treated (80), the contact portion (73b) pushes the affected portion and applies acupressure.

When the pad (71b) receives a vertical force,
The sensor (69) provided between the supported member (71a) and the supporting member (71) receives a load and is distorted, and the load can be detected as a signal. The value detected by this sensor (69) is transmitted to the control mechanism (65), and the treatment finger drive motor (76) is transmitted.
It is used to control the driving force. For example, when the detected value of the sensor (69) is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, a signal is transmitted from the control mechanism (65) to the treatment finger drive motor (76), and the driving direction of the treatment finger (73) is opposite to the pressing direction. Change direction. As a result, it is possible to prevent an overload from being applied to the affected area.

Arm The arm (20) is an angle adjusting mechanism (50) that pivotally supports the treatment finger (70) at the front end and swings it in a vertical plane, and a forward-backward moving mechanism that slides the arm (20) back and forth. (30) and an elevating mechanism (40) for sliding the arm (20) up and down. [Lifting mechanism] The lifting mechanism (40) includes a screw shaft (45) for vertically moving up and down on a frame body (41) fixed to the casing (18).
It also has two guide shafts (46) (47). Screw shaft (45)
Is arranged between the two guide shafts (46) (47). Both ends of the guide shafts (46) and (47) are fixed to the frame body (41), respectively.
The lower end of the (45) is rotatably supported, the upper end thereof penetrates the frame (41), and the pulley (48) is provided at the penetrating end. An elevating motor (49) is provided in the frame body (41) and is connected to the pulley (48) of the screw shaft (45) via a belt (49a). Frame
The (41) includes a lifting screw shaft (45) and two guide shafts (46) (4
A moving member (60) is provided by penetrating through 7) in parallel with each other. Driving the lifting motor (49) drives the lifting screw shaft (45)
Rotates, and the moving member (60) moves up and down by the screw thrust.

[Back-and-forth moving mechanism] The back-and-forth moving mechanism (30) comprises a frame (3
1) has a screw shaft (34) for longitudinal movement in the front-rear direction and two guide shafts (35) (36) parallel to the screw shaft (34). Guide shaft (35) (3
Both ends of 6) are fixed to the frame (31), and the screw shaft (34)
Has a front end rotatably supported, a rear end penetrating the frame body (31) and a pulley (37) at the penetrating end. In the frame body (31),
A longitudinal movement motor (38) is provided and is connected to the pulley (37) of the screw shaft (34) via a belt (38a). Frame (3
1) The screw shaft (34) for forward and backward movement and two guide shafts (35) (36)
, The moving member (60) is provided by penetrating in parallel with each other, and when the forward-backward moving motor (38) is driven, the forward-backward moving screw shaft (34) rotates, and the moving member (60) is moved by the screw thrust. Moves back and forth.

[Angle Adjustment Mechanism] The frame body (31) is further provided with an angle adjustment mechanism (50) for swinging the treatment fingers (72) (73) in a vertical plane. The angle adjusting mechanism (50) includes a frame body (31) having an angle adjusting screw shaft (53) and two guide shafts (54) (55) parallel to each other in the front-rear direction. These shafts (53), (54) and (55) are arranged in parallel with the shafts (34), (35) and (36) of the forward-backward movement mechanism (30) with the frame body (31) interposed therebetween. A front end of the angle adjusting screw shaft (53) is rotatably supported by the frame body, the other end penetrates the frame body (31), and a pulley (56) is provided at the penetrating end. The frame body (31) further includes an angle adjusting motor (57) connected to the pulley (56) via a belt (57a). Both ends of the guide shafts (54) and (55) are fixed to the frame body (31), respectively. In the frame body (31),
An angle adjusting member (58) is provided by penetrating the angle adjusting screw shaft (53) and the two guide shafts (54) and (55) in parallel with each other. The angle adjusting member (58) is connected to a part of the wire (59) for performing the angle adjusting operation of the treatment finger (70). The wire (59) includes pulleys (59) that are axially supported in front of and behind the frame (31).
Both ends are fixed to the semicircular pulley (79) of the treatment finger (70) via a) and (59b). When the angle adjusting motor (57) is driven, the angle adjusting screw shaft (53) rotates and the angle adjusting member (58) moves back and forth due to the screw thrust. When the angle adjusting member (58) is moved rearward, the upper portion of the semi-circular pulley (79) is pulled backward, and the semi-circular pulley (79) swings in the direction in which the treatment finger (70) is directed upward. . Also, the angle adjusting member (58)
When is moved forward, the lower part of the semi-circular pulley (79) is pulled backward, and the semi-circular pulley (79) swings in the direction in which the treatment finger (70) is directed downward.

Description of Operation The operation of the massage machine (10) having the above configuration will be described below. When performing a massage, the user (80)
Sitting on (12), the following operation is performed so that the treatment fingers (72) (73) are at desired positions. The operation from is
It is possible to start from any of them, or the same operation may be repeated. The arm (20) is moved forward by the forward / backward movement mechanism (30). The elevating mechanism (40) moves the treatment finger (70) to a desired height. The angle adjusting mechanism (50) adjusts the angle of the treatment finger (70) to a desired angle. The treatment finger drive unit (74) allows the first and second treatment fingers (72).
The first contact part (72b) contacts the upper part or the upper part of the shoulder (81) of the user (80) to the front part so that the second contact part (72) approaches the second part.
The contact portion (73b) is positioned so as to contact the acupuncture point near the spine of the back (82).

From the above operation, as shown in FIG. 6, the treatment fingers (72) (73) and the arm (20) are supported by the backrest (1
3) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8b, the first treatment finger (72) is applied to the shoulder (81) of the user (80) and the second treatment is applied to the acupoint of the back (82) by the operation. The finger (73) is in contact with it. The second contact part (73b) is a leaf spring until it hits the affected part.
Since it is maintained at a predetermined angle with respect to the treatment finger arm (73a) by the urging force of (71c), the contact part (73b) does not hit the affected part with the contact part (73b) facing downward or turned over.

The operation of kneading and sandwiching the shoulder (81) of the user (80) is
The treatment finger drive unit (74) allows the first and second treatment fingers (72) (73).
This is performed by repeating the approaching and separating operations of. The first contact part (72b) presses the upper part of the shoulder (81) of the person to be treated, and the second contact part (73b) is the acupoint near the spine of the back (82) of the person to be treated (80). Press. The pressing force of the second contact portion (73b) is applied vertically to the acupuncture point because the contact portion (73b) swings with respect to the treatment finger arm (73a). Second contact part at this time
The pressing force of (73b) is detected by the sensor (69).

In order to perform a kneading operation similar to a manual kneading operation, the forward / backward moving mechanism (30), the elevating mechanism (40), the angle adjusting mechanism (50) and the treatment finger driving section (74) are interlocked. Specifically, the treatment finger drive section (74), the forward-backward movement mechanism (30), the lifting mechanism (40) and the angle adjustment mechanism (50), the treatment finger (72)
Simultaneously with the approaching motion of (73), the arm (20) is moved forward and downward to rub the affected part of the person to be treated (80) and sandwich the treatment finger.
At the same time as the separating operations of (72) and (73), the arm 20 is moved backward and upward, and the treatment finger 70 may be operated so as to make a circular motion in a vertical plane. In this case also, the pressing force of the treatment finger (73) can be measured by the sensor (69).

When the pressure sensor is used as the sensor (69), the pressing force is detected as a resistance value. Sensor (6
When the detection value of 9) is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the control mechanism (65) stops the kneading operation, or the treatment finger (70) is in the direction opposite to the pressing direction, that is, the treatment finger (70) is treated. By controlling the treatment finger drive mechanism (74) so as to move in the direction of releasing the person (80), it is possible to prevent an overload on the person to be treated (80).

When the contact part (73b) is separated from the affected part, the contact part
(73b) returns to the direction in which the predetermined angle is maintained with respect to the treatment finger arm (73a) again by the urging force of the leaf spring (71c) (Fig. 8a), and the contact portion (73b ) Does not face down or turn over.

In the above embodiment, the contact portion (73b) is
Although it is pivotally supported so as to be swingable in a vertical plane, it may be swingable in the left-right direction, or may be swingable in the left-right and vertical planes.

[0029]

[Effect] The pressing force of the user (80) by the treatment finger (73) acts vertically on the pad (71b), so that the bias of the pressing force due to the inclination of the pad (71b) can be prevented, and , Contact part
Since the pressing direction of the affected part of (73b) and the detection direction of the force of the sensor (69) coincide with each other, accurate pressing force can be detected. Also, a control mechanism (65) for controlling the treatment finger drive unit (76).
When the detection value of the sensor (69) is transmitted to, and the driving force of the treatment finger drive unit (76) is adjusted based on the detection value,
Even if the user (80) moves his / her upper body and an overload is applied to the affected area, the load is directly detected by the treatment finger (73), and the treatment finger drive section (76) is driven based on the detected value. The direction and strength can be controlled, and the overload on the affected area can be prevented. Furthermore, the contact part
When the elastic body such as the leaf spring (71c) urges the treatment finger arm (73a) to maintain a predetermined angle with respect to the treatment finger arm (73a), the contact portion (73b) rotates carelessly and the pad The side part of (71b) does not hit the affected part.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair-type massage machine on which a user is seated.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chair-type massage machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a massage device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the massage device of FIG. 3 viewed from the opposite side.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a massage device in which an arm and a treatment finger are stored on a backrest.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a massage device in which an arm and a treatment finger are projected from a backrest.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the treatment finger in a state where the first and second treatment fingers are in contact with the affected part of the user.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a second treatment finger.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a conventional chair-type massage machine.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a conventional treatment finger.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (10) Massage device (69) Sensor (73) Second treatment finger (73a) Second treatment finger arm (73b) Second contact portion (71b) Pad (80) Person to be treated

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A treatment finger of a massage machine that is swung by a treatment finger drive section (74) to nip, massage and / or press an affected area of a user, wherein the treatment finger (70) is a treatment finger drive section. A treatment finger arm (73a) connected to (74), and a contact portion (73b) pivotally supported on the treatment finger arm (73a) at the tip of the treatment finger arm (73a). The contact portion (73b) includes a support member (71) pivotally supported by the treatment finger arm (73a), a supported member (71a) slidably engaged with the support member, and a tip of the supported member. Deployed and treated
(80) is provided with a pad (71b) that contacts the affected part, and between the support member (71) and the supported member (71a), a support member
A treatment finger of a massage machine, comprising a sensor (69) for detecting a force in a pressing direction applied between the (71) and the supported member (71a). 2. The support member (71) and the treatment finger arm (73a) are
The treatment finger of the massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the support member (71) is biased by the elastic body so as to return to the treatment finger arm (73a) at a predetermined angle. 3. The treatment finger drive section (74) and the sensor (69) are
Electrically connected to the control mechanism (65) and sensor (69)
When the detection value of exceeds a predetermined value, the driving direction of the treatment finger (73) by the treatment finger drive section (74) is changed to the opposite direction to the pressing direction by a signal from the control mechanism (65). The treatment finger of the massage machine according to claim 1 or 2.