JPH09299428A - Massaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep the position of an applicator for therapy at the initial position regardless of changing in the posture of a person receiving therapy and to make soft movement of the applicator for therapy possible in a massaging apparatus wherein the applicator for therapy is reciprocally driven by means of a motor. SOLUTION: An angle sensor 83 and a force sensor 84 are linked with the output shaft of a motor 82 and a control circuit 7 for the motor 82 calculates an elastic deformation position when it is assumed that a force pattern to be exhibited by the motor 82 is generated by an elastic repulsive force of an imaginary elastic member and calculates a target value of force by multiplying a deviation between the elastic deformation position and the present value of the position detected by the angle sensor 83 by the elastic coefficient of the above described elastic member. In addition, based on the deviation between the target value of the force and the present value of the force detected by the force sensor 84, the motor 82 is controlled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a massage device having a treatment element attached to an output end of an arm mechanism which is reciprocally driven by an actuator.

[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. 9 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), and then the motors of the lifting drive mechanism (80a) and the reciprocating drive mechanism (80b). Rotate in the reverse direction. As a result, the arm (61) ascends and descends within a certain range, and simultaneously swings back and forth to move the treatment element (6
The person to be treated (9) is massaged by (0).

[0004]

However, in the conventional massage device, the elevating drive mechanism (80a) and the reciprocating drive mechanism (80b) reciprocate within a certain range according to one or a plurality of pre-defined displacement patterns. The person to be treated (9) himself always applies the treatment element (6
It must be pressed against 0) and adjusted to obtain the proper pressing force. Therefore, the pressing force to be given to the user (9) is left to the user (9). Further, when the person to be treated (9) is pressed by the treatment element (60) and gradually changes his / her posture, the pressing force is lowered and there is a problem that a sufficient massage effect cannot be obtained.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention have devised a massage device which employs conventionally known force control for controlling the pressing force. In the massage device, the output of the drive mechanism is feedback-controlled so that the deviation is zero based on the deviation between the target force value and the current force value with a predetermined force pattern as the target value, and the predetermined force pattern is obtained. Will be given a massage in.

However, in the conventional massage device employing force control, when the user is pressed by the treatment element and gradually changes his posture, force control is performed to set the pressing force to a predetermined target value. Therefore, there is a problem that the operating position of the treatment element is gradually displaced from the initial position when the massage is started. In addition, since the force control is performed so that the treatment element exerts a predetermined pressing force, the movement of the treatment element becomes rigid due to sensitive reaction to a slight movement of the user, and the massage performed by the massage There was a problem that such soft operation could not be realized.

An object of the present invention is to provide a massage device capable of maintaining the operating position of the treatment element at the initial position regardless of the change in the posture of the user, and yet realizing the soft movement of the treatment element. Is to provide.

[0008]

In the massage device according to the present invention, a treatment element is attached to the output end of an arm mechanism that is reciprocally driven by an actuator, and the operation of the actuator is controlled by a control circuit. A position sensor for detecting the position of the output end of the actuator and a force sensor for detecting the magnitude of the force exerted by the output end are connected to the actuator. Further, assuming that the control circuit generates a force pattern to be exerted by the output end of the actuator as a function of time, and the force pattern is generated by the elastic repulsive force of the virtual elastic member. First arithmetic processing means for calculating the elastic deformation position of the elastic member, and a deviation between the calculated elastic deformation position and the current position value detected by the displacement sensor is multiplied by the elastic coefficient of the elastic member, It comprises a second arithmetic processing unit for calculating a force target value, and force control means for controlling the actuator based on a deviation between the calculated force target value and the force current value detected by the force sensor.

In the above massage device, the force pattern to be exerted by the output end of the actuator is replaced with the virtual deformation position of the elastic member, and the elasticity of the elastic member is changed depending on the deviation between the deformation position and the current position value. The force target value is calculated by multiplying the coefficient. Therefore, a control operation equivalent to the case where the elastic member is interposed between the actuator and the arm mechanism and the position of the arm mechanism is controlled so as to apply a predetermined pressing force to the treated portion is realized.

Here, the force target value changes periodically with reference to zero, but when the force target value becomes zero, the elastic deformation position of the elastic member is controlled with the position in the free state as the target. As a result, the treatment element returns to the initial position at the start of the massage each time the force target value becomes zero. Therefore, even if the user changes his / her posture, the operating position of the treatment element does not shift.

When the posture of the user is changed, the change in the position of the portion to be treated is absorbed within the elastic deformation range of the virtual elastic member. The movement of the massager is smooth, and a soft massage operation is realized.

In a specific configuration, the control circuit further includes control means for moving the arm mechanism to a predetermined initial position when the time change rate of the current position value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When the user suddenly changes his / her posture, the treatment element moves at high speed so as to follow this movement.
In this case, in this specific configuration, the temporal change rate of the current position value of the output end of the actuator exceeds a predetermined threshold value, and the arm mechanism returns to the initial position at the start of massage. Therefore, runaway of the massage device is prevented and safety is ensured.

In another specific configuration, the control circuit further includes input means for inputting the elastic coefficient of the elastic member. According to the specific configuration, it is possible to adjust the flexibility of movement of the treatment element associated with the massage operation.

[0014]

According to the massage device of the present invention,
Regardless of the change in the posture of the person to be treated, the operating position of the treatment element can be maintained at the initial position, and the soft movement of the treatment element realizes comfortable and effective massage.

[0015]

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) and (6) can be driven in a total of four degrees of freedom in the X axis direction, the Y axis direction, the φ axis, and the θ axis 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 data necessary for a control operation described later is connected to the control circuit (7).

Further, a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as "remote controller" for the user to input various commands and data to the massage device)
It is equipped with a remote control (72), and the remote control (7
The control signal from 2) is input to the control circuit (7) via the interface (73). Detection signals from the angle sensor (83) and force sensor (84) of the actuator (8) are input to the control circuit (7) via the A / D converter (74). In response to these input signals, the control circuit (7) turns the actuator
A control signal for (8) is created, and the control signal is supplied to the motor driver (81) of the actuator (8) via the D / A converter (75). As a result, the actuator (8)
The motor (82) is driven to implement various operations described below.

FIG. 3 shows a control circuit in the massage operation.
(7) represents the control procedure executed. First, in step S1, the first timer variable T0 and the internal clock Time
After resetting to 0, in step S2 the internal clock
The time data generated by Time is assigned to the second timer variable T. Next, in step S3, it is determined whether or not the difference between the second timer variable T and the first timer variable T0 is larger than a predetermined control cycle δt, and if NO, steps S2 and S3 are repeated. Then, in step S3, YE
When it is determined to be S, the process proceeds to step S4 and the second
After substituting the value of the timer variable T into the first timer variable T0, in step S5, the current position value Jnow and the current force value Fnow are detected by the angle sensor 83 and the force sensor 84.
Is detected.

Subsequently, in step S6, the operation amount of the compliance control having the characteristic configuration of the present invention is calculated. FIG. 4 shows a specific procedure for calculating the compliance control operation amount. First, in step S61, the compliance control position J defined by the following equation 1
Calculate c.

[0025]

## EQU1 ## Jc = Ff (t) / K + J0 where Ff (t) is a force pattern function to be exerted by the output shaft of the motor (82), and is defined by the following equation 2, for example. K is a motor (82) with compliance control
Is a spring constant of a spring virtually connected to the output shaft of.
J0 is the position (initial position) of the output shaft of the motor (82) at the start of treatment.

[0026]

## EQU00002 ## Ff (t) = A.multidot. {1-cos (2.pi./B.t)} where A is the amplitude of the force pattern and B is the period of the force pattern.

That is, the compliance control position Jc calculated by the equation 1 is the elastic deformation amount (Ff when it is assumed that the force pattern function Ff (t) of the equation 2 is generated by the elastic repulsive force of the virtual spring. (t) / K) and the initial value J0 of the motor (82) at the start of treatment are the total value.

For example, regarding the fourth motor (5) for directly driving the treatment elements (6), (6) shown in FIG. 1, between the output shaft of the motor (5) and the treatment elements (6), (6). A virtual spring intervenes in
As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the user 9 is considered to be pressed by the tip of the spring having the spring constant K. In this case, the initial position J0 of the equation 1 corresponds to the position of the spring base end when the spring is in the natural state as shown in FIG. 8A, and the compliance control position Jc at this time coincides with the initial position J0. To do. When the user (9) is pressed by the force pattern function Ff (t) as shown in FIG. 8 (b) with reference to this initial position, the spring contracts by Ff (t) / K. The position of the spring base end portion of is calculated as the compliance control position Jc by the above mathematical expression 1.

The spring constant K can be set to an appropriate value by the user (9) by operating the remote controller (72) shown in FIG.

After the compliance control position Jc is calculated in step S61 of FIG. 4, step S6 of FIG.
At 2, the force target value Fref is calculated by the following equation 3.

## EQU3 ## Fref = K (Jc-Jnow) As a result, the elastic repulsive force when the spring is deformed by the deviation between the compliance control position Jc and the current position Jnow is set as the force target value Fref.

Next, in step S63, the force target value Fref
Is set as the force deviation Ferr, the control operation amount u (t) for the motor is calculated based on the force deviation Ferr, and the control operation amount u (t) is calculated. It is output to the motor in step S65.

FIG. 6 shows a control block constituted by the control circuit (7) in force control. 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 known.
The control signal supplied to the regulator (70) and generated thereby is input to the motor driver (81). Motor driver
(81) generates a drive current according to the control signal,
Supply to (82). As a result, the motor (82) is driven so that the control deviation approaches zero.

After the compliance control operation amount is output to the motor in step S6 of FIG. 3, the speed of the output shaft of the motor (82) is calculated in step S7. That is,
As shown in FIG. 5, in step S71, the current speed value Vnow is calculated by the following equation 4, and then in step S72, the current position value Jnow is substituted into the previous position Jold by one control cycle.

## EQU00004 ## Vnow = (Jnow-Jold) /. Delta.t

After that, in step S8 of FIG. 3, it is judged whether or not the current speed value Vnow exceeds a predetermined speed upper limit value Vlim. If YES, it is determined that the posture of the user is suddenly changed. Since the treatment element may move at a dangerous speed, the process proceeds to step S9, and the treatment element is moved to the initial position by position control. Then, returning to step S1, the treatment is restarted from the initial position. by this,
The safety of the user is ensured.

FIG. 7 shows a control block formed by the control circuit (7) in position control. Motor (82)
The angle of rotation of the output shaft (85) of the sensor is detected by the angle sensor (83), and the deviation between the detection signal and the position target value is known as P.
It is supplied to the ID controller (70), and the control signal generated thereby 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).

When NO is determined in step S8 of FIG. 3, the process proceeds to step S10, and it is determined whether or not the treatment is finished. If NO, the process returns to step S2 to continue the treatment. If YES is determined in step S10, the treatment element is moved to the initial position by position control in step S11, and a series of massage operations is ended.

As described above, in the massage device according to the present invention, by introducing the compliance control, the operating position of the treatment element can be maintained at the initial position regardless of the change in the posture of the user, and yet, Comfortable and effective massage operation can be realized by the soft movement of the massager. Moreover, by changing the spring constant of the compliance control, the flexibility of the massage operation by the treatment element can be adjusted, and effective treatment can be performed.

The description of the above embodiments is for the purpose of illustrating the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing the scope thereof.
In addition, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that 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 flowchart showing a procedure for calculating a compliance control operation amount.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a speed calculation procedure.

FIG. 6 is a control block diagram of force control.

FIG. 7 is a control block diagram of position control.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the principle of compliance control.

FIG. 9 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 element (8) Actuator

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In a massage device in which a treatment element is attached to an output end of an arm mechanism that is reciprocally driven by an actuator, and the operation of the actuator is controlled by a control circuit, the actuator detects the position of the output end. The position sensor and the force sensor for detecting the magnitude of the force exerted by the output end are linked, and the control circuit generates the force pattern that the output end of the actuator exerts as a function of time. Means, first calculation processing means for calculating an elastic deformation position of the elastic member on the assumption that the force pattern is generated by an elastic repulsive force of a virtual elastic member, the calculated elastic deformation position and displacement A force target value is calculated by multiplying the deviation from the current position value detected by the sensor by the elastic coefficient of the elastic member. 2. A massage device comprising: two arithmetic processing units; and force control means for controlling an actuator based on a deviation between the calculated force target value and a force current value detected by a force sensor. 2. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises control means for moving the arm mechanism to a predetermined initial position when the temporal change rate of the current position value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. . 3. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises an input means for inputting an elastic coefficient of the elastic member.