JPH10263030A - Air massager - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air massager which is increased in acupressure effects. SOLUTION: An air massager includes a massager main body 20, bags 30-32 placed on the massager main body 20 and inflated and contracted by supplying and exhausting air, and an air supply device 20 supplying and exhausting air to and from the bags 30-32, and gives a massage to the part of the body to be treated by supplying air from the air supply device 20 and exhausting the air for time expansion and contraction of the bags 30-32. Mounting means (storage pockets 41a-43b) are provided to correspond to the pressing areas W of the bags 30-32, an acupressure member 50 is provided removably via the mounting means, and the part of the body to be treated is pressed and released by the acupressure member 50 to increase acupressure effects.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air massager for supplying air to and exhausting air from an air supply device to a bag to expand and contract the bag to massage a treatment target.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an air massage machine for expanding and contracting a bag body by supplying and discharging air from an air supply device to massage a treatment target is widely known.

[0003] In this type of air massage machine, generally, a massaged part is pressed by a bag inflated by air supply, and massage is performed. A pressing region of the bag presses the treated part. The advantage is that the so-called soft pressing can be performed because the bag is deformed so as to be depressed according to the magnitude of the reaction force received from the treated part at the time of pressing, because the bag is pressed by the inflation force by air. There is something that is not always satisfactory in terms of the so-called acupressure effect.

Further, as a device capable of obtaining a finger pressure effect by utilizing the expansion and contraction of the bag by air supply / exhaust, there is a massage device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-197934. This massage device swings or rotates an arm provided with a massager by expansion and contraction of an air cell, that is, a bag body, so that the massager presses a treatment portion with the massager to perform massage. It is composed. The massage device described in this publication is a device in which an arm is rotated by an expanding / contracting air cell and a massage element provided on the arm presses the treatment target portion, so that an acupressure effect can be obtained. However, although the pressing force utilizes the force generated by the expansion of the air cell, since the pressing force is applied via the arm, the pressing force acts directly on the treatment target via the massager. On the other hand, there is a problem that a user cannot feel a good massage, such as feeling uncomfortable because the pressure is too strong. Further, the massage device described in the above-mentioned publication has a configuration in which the massager cannot be replaced because the massager is fixedly attached.

[0005]

As described above, among the conventional air massage machines, the one in which the treatment target is directly pressed by the bag body has the advantage that soft massage can be performed. There is a disadvantage that it is not always satisfactory in terms of obtaining the effect,
In the case where the arm is rotated by the inflation of the bag body and the treatment target is pressed by the massager provided on this arm, acupressure effect can be obtained, but on the contrary, the pressing force is too strong and it is difficult for the user. There is a disadvantage that a good massage effect cannot be obtained due to giving a pleasant feeling.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an invention according to claim 1 is provided with a massage machine main body and an expansion / contraction system provided by the air supply / exhaust air provided in the massage machine main body. An air massager, comprising: a bag body for supplying air to the bag body; and an air supply device for supplying / exhausting air to / from the bag body. On the machine,
The air massage machine is provided with a detachable acupressure member corresponding to a pressing area of the bag via an attaching means provided on the bag.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the detachable acupressure member is provided corresponding to the pressing area of the bag, the acupressure member is treated according to the inflation of the bag. When the reaction force received from the treated portion increases by pressing the portion, the pressing force is buffered by deforming the bag body so as to be concave according to the magnitude of the reaction force, so-called soft finger pressure It has an effect of obtaining an effect. In addition, since the acupressure member can be removed, it has the effect of being able to massage only with the bag.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air massage machine in which the attachment means according to the first aspect of the present invention is constituted by a storage pocket provided in a cover covering the bag body.

As described above, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the mounting means in the first aspect of the present invention is constituted by a storage pocket provided on a cover for covering the bag body. In addition to the function, the acupressure member can be easily attached to and detached from the cover, and the acupressure member can be reliably positioned at a position corresponding to the pressing area of the bag.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an air massage machine for a leg will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire air massage machine A. As shown in FIG. 1, the air massage machine A comprises an air supply device 10, a massage device 20, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air supply device 10 has a housing 11 and an air generating means 12 (FIG. 4) comprising an air compressor housed in the housing 11.
Air distributor 13 which supplies and exhausts air generated by being connected to the air generating means 12 to a bag 30 or a bag 32 provided in the massage machine main body 20 described later.
The air distributor 13 and a control means 14 (see FIG. 4) including a microcomputer for controlling the air supply device 12 and the like are provided. The air generating means 12 and the air distributor 13 are connected by an air hose 12a, and air is supplied and exhausted from the air distributor 13 to the bag 30 or the bag 32 via the air hose 15. It is supposed to.

The air distributor 13 comprises a rotary valve (not shown) and a stepping motor (not shown) for driving the rotary valve.

An operation panel 11a is provided at the front of the housing 11. The operation panel 11a has a mode setting button 16a for setting a massage mode, a time setting button 16b for setting a massage time, and a power supply. A switch button 16c, a start switch button 16d, and the like are provided. A display unit 11b is provided adjacent to the operation panel 11a. The display unit includes a pilot lamp (not shown) for displaying the set massage mode, massage time, and power-on. Is provided.

A connection portion 17 is provided on a side wall of the housing 11, and the connection portion 17 is provided with the air hose 15.
A connector 15a provided at one end of the air hose 15 is detachably connected. The other end of the air hose 15 is connected to one branch pipe of a branch connection pipe 19 having four branch pipes 19a to 19d. 19a is connected. A power cord 18 is provided on the rear wall of the housing 11.

Next, the massage machine body 20 will be described. The massage machine main body 20 includes a support base 21,
Bags 30 to 3 provided on the upper surface of the support base 21
2 and so on.

As shown in FIG. 1, the support base 21 has a rectangular projection formed from above, and has a pair of support parts 22 opposed to each other at both longitudinal ends and projecting upward in the figure. Is formed. The surfaces of the support portions 22 facing each other are formed as concave arc surfaces, and the bag body 30 is formed by the concave arc surfaces.
When the bags 31 and 32 are inflated, they function to support the bags 31 and 32 so that they do not fall outward. In addition, support table 2
An arrangement portion 23 formed on a flat surface is provided between the first and second support portions 22. A plurality of covers 40 formed of hooks or the like for accommodating the bags 30 or 32 are provided in the arrangement portion 23. 1 (only two are shown in FIG. 1).

The cover 40 is disposed on the arrangement portion 23.
A pair of cylindrical side covers 41 and 42 formed of cloth or the like provided at both ends of the pair of side covers, and a cylindrical cover provided at an intermediate portion between the pair of side covers 41 and 42. A central cover 43, and a pair of these side covers 41, 4;
2 and a connecting portion 44 to which the lower ends of the central cover 43 are attached and positioned,
The connecting part 44 is provided with the attachment 24. The distance between the center cover 43 and the side covers 41 and 42 provided on both sides of the center cover 43 is determined by positioning the legs, that is, the calves.
The interval is set so that the legs can be pressed and massaged when 0 to 32 are expanded and contracted. The gap formed by the center cover 43 and the side covers 41 and 42 provided on both sides of the center cover 43 is a leg placement portion 60.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bag 30, the bag 31, and the bag 32 are removably provided in the center cover 43 and the side covers 41 and 42, respectively. ing. In the figures of the bag body 30, the bag body 31, and the bag body 32, one end sides of the air hoses 30a to 32a are respectively connected to the rear end surfaces,
The other ends of the air hoses 30a to 32a are connected to branch pipes 19b, 19c and 19d of the branch connection pipe 19, respectively. Since the branch pipe 19a is connected to the other end of the air hose 15 as described above, the bags 30 to 32 are connected to the air supply device 10 via the branch connection pipe 19 and the air hose 15.
Is connected to the air distributor 13 (see FIG. 4).

The bags 30 to 32 are made of a flexible and resilient member, and when contracted, are formed into a flat cylindrical bag having a substantially elliptical cross section. As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2, it expands into a substantially elliptical shape having a large minor axis, and when air is exhausted, it returns to its original state and becomes flat. The central portion in the up-down direction of each of the bags 30 to 32 has a predetermined width along the longitudinal direction as shown by hatching consisting of broken lines in FIG. (Only one side of the bag 30 and the bag 31 is shown in FIG. 1).

A band-like member 45 made of cloth or the like which forms a storage space between both sides of the central cover 43 is provided at a position corresponding to the pressing area W of the bag body 30 on both sides of the central cover 43. By attaching both longitudinal edges to the central cover 43 by sewing or the like, the front side is opened in FIG.
3a and 43b are provided. Similarly, at the side of the side covers 41 and 42 corresponding to the pressing area W of the bags 31 and 32 on the side facing the center cover 43, the storage space is formed by the side surfaces of the side covers 41 and 42. The band-shaped member 45 made of cloth or the like forming the side cover 41 is sewn at both longitudinal edges thereof.
1 and 42, the front side is opened and the rear side is not shown in FIG.
a and 42a are provided.

The side covers 41 and 42
The storage pockets 41a and 42a formed in the center cover 43 and the storage pockets 43a and 43b formed in the center cover 43 constitute attachment means.

Next, the both side covers 41 and 42 will be described.
The acupressure member 50 provided in the storage pockets 41a and 42a formed in the center cover 43 and the storage pockets 43a and 43b formed in the center cover 43 will be described.

The acupressure member 50 is formed of a rod-like body having a substantially half-moon cross section and substantially the same length as the length of the storage pockets 41a and 43b in the longitudinal direction. The pressing member 50 is made of an elastic member such as rubber, and is set to have a hardness that gives a finger pressure effect when pressing the treated portion as air is supplied to the bags 30 to 32 and inflated. is there. The acupressure member 50 can be inserted into and removed from the storage pockets 41a and 43b along the longitudinal direction through the opening. Then, the bag 31, the inside of the side cover 41, 42 and the central cover 43,
In a state in which the bag 32 and the bag 30 are stored, the acupressure member 50 is inserted into the storage pockets 41 a and 43 b and attached to the side covers 41 and 42 and the center cover 43.

When massaging the legs, that is, the calves, the legs are formed between the center cover 43 and the side covers 41 and 42 located on both sides of the center cover 43 as shown in FIG. When the leg portion F, that is, the calf portion is positioned on the mounting portion 60 and air is supplied to the bags 30 to 32 in this state, the bags 30 to 32 are changed from the solid line state shown in FIG. Becomes
The inflation of the bags 30 to 32 causes the acupressure member 50 to move.
Moves from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, and with this movement, the leg F is pressed, and this pressing is strongly pressed locally by the acupressure member 50. An effect can be obtained.

The acupressure member 50 presses the leg F by the inflation of the bags 30 to 32. At this time, the acupressure member 50 receives a force due to the reaction due to the pressing.
When the reaction force increases, as shown in FIG.
Since the members 32 through 32 have flexibility, they are slightly concavely deformed as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 according to the reaction force received by the acupressure member 50. FIG. 4 is an exaggerated view to help understand the phenomenon that the bags 30 to 32 are deformed so as to be dented by the reaction of the acupressure member 50.

As described above, the pressing force is weakened by the deformation of the bag bodies 30 to 32 so as to be depressed, and the user is prevented from receiving discomfort by receiving an excessively strong pressing force on the legs. That is, the acupressure effect is obtained by the pressing force of the acupressure member 50, and when the pressing force is large, the deformation is caused by the deformation of the bags 30 to 32, so that a good acupressure effect can be obtained without causing discomfort.

Next, control of the air massage machine A configured as described above will be described with reference to a control block diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, an air distributor 13 is connected to the air generator 12 via an air hose 12a.
5. Bags 30, 31, and 32 are connected via a branch connection pipe 19 (not shown in FIG. 4) and air hoses 30a, 31a, and 32a connected to the branch connection pipe 19. Further, as described above, the air supply device 10 is provided with the control means 14 for controlling the air generation means 12 and the air distributor 13, and the control means 14 is provided with various types of settings set on the operation panel 11a. The air generator 12 and the air distributor 13, that is, a stepping motor (not shown) that is a part of the air distributor 13 is controlled in accordance with the massage mode, the massage time, and the like.

The various massage modes include a "strong mode" with a large pressing force, a "weak mode" with a small pressing force, a "simultaneous mode" in which the legs F are massaged simultaneously, and only one of the legs. A "partial mode" for massaging is provided, and a program for controlling the air generator 12 and the air distributor 13 corresponding to each mode is stored in a memory means (not shown) provided in the control means 12. When any one of the massage modes is set, the control unit 14 reads out the program corresponding to the set massage mode from the memory unit and sets the operation panel 11
This massage mode is executed during the massage time set from a.

Next, the operation of the air massage machine A will be described.

First, prior to use, the connector 15a of the air hose 15 is connected to the connection portion 17 of the air supply device, and the power switch button 16c is operated to close the power switch. Next, the mode setting button 1 provided on the operation panel 11a
6a is operated to set a desired massage mode, for example, “simultaneous mode” and “strong mode”, and a desired massage time is set by the time setting button 16b. After the unit is positioned, the start switch is closed by operating the start switch button 16d. When the start switch is closed, the control means 14 calls and executes the set "simultaneous mode" and "strong mode" from the memory means (not shown). That is, in this case, since the "simultaneous mode" is used, air is simultaneously supplied to the bags 30 to 32 and the "strong mode" is set.
Therefore, the air supply means 12 and the air distributor 13 are operated so as to supply and exhaust air so as to increase the supply amount of air so as to greatly inflate the bags 30 to 32. When the elapsed time has elapsed, the control means 14 controls the air generation means 12 and the air distributor 13 to stop.

The leg, which is the part to be treated, is pressed / relaxed by the acupressure member 50 disposed in the storage pockets 41a to 43a following the expansion and contraction of the bags 30 to 32, and massage is performed. At this time, an acupressure effect is obtained by the acupressure member 50. At this time, when the pressing force of the acupressure member 50 increases and the reaction force received from the legs increases, the bag 3 corresponding to the acupressure member 50
As described above, the pressing force is buffered because the portions 0 to 32 are depressed and deformed as described above, so that the user can obtain a good acupressure effect without feeling discomfort caused by the pressing force being too strong. A good massage is given from.

When the user desires a massage by expanding and contracting only the ordinary bags 30 to 32 without desired acupressure effect, the acupressure member 50 is removed from the storage pockets 41a to 43a, so-called soft. You can do a great massage.

Also, storage pockets 43a and 43b provided in the central cover 43 for storing the acupressure member 50 and storage pockets 41a provided in the side covers 41 and 42,
42a is a center cover 43 and a side cover 4 respectively.
Since the acupressure member 50 is formed by the band-shaped member 45 attached to the first and second sewing machines 42 by sewing or the like,
In addition to being able to be reliably positioned at a position corresponding to the second pressing region W, it can be easily attached to and detached from the storage pockets 43a, 43b and the storage pockets 41a, 42a.

As described above, the air massage machine A
Is provided so as to provide a removable acupressure member 50 via storage pockets 43a, 43b and 41a, 42a provided in the central cover 43 and the side covers 41 and 42 corresponding to the pressing areas W of the bags 30 to 32. Accordingly, when the reaction force received from the leg F by the acupressure member 50 pressing the treated portion, that is, the leg F in accordance with the inflation of the bags 30 to 32, increases, the magnitude of the reaction force increases. Since the pressing force is buffered by deforming the bag body so as to be concave, a so-called soft acupressure effect can be obtained. In addition, since the acupressure member 50 is removable, massage can be performed only by expanding and contracting the bags 30 to 32 if desired.

The acupressure member 50 is formed of the bags 30 to 32.
Of the acupressure member 50 from the storage pockets 43a, 43b and 41a, 42a because the storage pockets 43a, 43b and 41a, 42a provided in the central cover 43 and the side covers 41, 42 are detachably provided. And the acupressure member 50 can be reliably positioned at a position corresponding to the pressing area W of the bag 30.

In the above embodiment, the acupressure member 50 is formed by a rod having a half-moon shape in cross section. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be arranged linearly along the pressing region W. When such a large number of projections are arranged linearly, there is an advantage that a finger pressure effect can be obtained more by each projection. In addition, a configuration in which high hardness protrusions are linearly arranged on a flexible band-shaped base may be adopted. In such a case, the flexible band-shaped base is arranged along the surface of the leg, which is the part to be treated. The deformation due to the depression of the bags 30 to 32 is advantageous in that good finger pressure can be applied along the surface of the leg.

In the above embodiment, a pair of leg rests 60, 60 are formed by the bag 30, and the bags 31, 32 disposed on both sides of the bag 30. However, in this case, each of the leg mounting portions 60 may be formed by two bags facing each other, that is, a pair of leg mounting portions 60 may be formed by four bags. is there. However, when a pair of leg rests 60 are formed by three bags as in the above-described embodiment, the massage machine body 20 can be reduced in size and the number of bags can be reduced. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is advantageous in terms of cost.

Further, in the above embodiment, the mounting means is provided with the covers 43, 41 for covering the bags 30, 32 and 32.
And 42 are formed by storage pockets 43a, 43b and 41a, 42a formed by a band-like member 45, but this is not limitative.
A so-called strip-shaped magic tape may be attached to 3, 41 and 42, and a magic tape to be attached to and detached from the magic tape may be attached to the acupressure member 50, and the attachment means may be constituted by both of these magic tapes. In this case, when the acupressure member 50 is removed, a cover member that covers the magic tape provided on the covers 43, 41, and 42 is provided, and when performing massage by expansion and contraction of only the bags 30 to 32, the legs are used. It is desirable because the Velcro does not directly contact the clothing such as pants to be covered.

In the above-described embodiment, the acupressure member 50 is not covered with the covers 41 to 4 covering the bags 30 to 32.
3. Storage pockets 41a to 43b as attachment means
And the acupressure member 50 is attached to the storage pockets 41a to 43b. However, the attachment area such as a velcro hook or a hook is provided directly in the pressing area W of the bags 30 to 32. Alternatively, the acupressure member 50 may be attached and detached.
However, as in the above embodiment, the mounting means is
To 43, the cover is removed from the bag each time the acupressure member 50 is attached and detached, as in the case where the attaching means is provided to the bags 30 to 32, and the operation of attaching the cover is performed again. There is an advantage that the attachment and detachment of the acupressure member 50 is easy because the above is not necessary.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a leg massager has been described.
This is applicable to other types of air massage machines, such as a chair type air massage machine or a mat type air massage machine, and the acupressure member corresponding to the pressing area of each bag in these types of air massage machines. In the chair type air massage machine, the attaching means may be provided on a cover that covers the seat or the backrest, and in this case, the cover corresponds to a cover that covers the bag body. But it is not. Also, in a mat type air massage machine, an attachment means for arranging the acupressure member on the cover covering the mat portion may be provided. In this case, the cover corresponds to a cover covering the bag body.

[0043]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, the detachable acupressure member is provided through the attaching means provided corresponding to the pressing area of the bag body.
When the acupressure member presses the treated portion in response to the inflation of the bag and the reaction force received from the treated portion increases, the bag deforms so as to be dented in accordance with the magnitude of the reaction force. Since the pressing force is buffered, the soft pressure effect is obtained. In addition, since the acupressure member is removable, it has the effect that massage can be performed only with the bag.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the mounting means in the first aspect of the present invention is constituted by a storage pocket provided on a cover for covering the bag body. In addition, the acupressure member can be easily attached to and detached from the cover, and the acupressure member can be reliably positioned at a position corresponding to the pressing area of the bag.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a leg air massage machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the massage machine main body of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating deformation of the bag when inflated in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A air massage machine 10 air supply device 20 massage machine main body 30-32 bag body 41a-43b storage pocket (attachment means) 50 acupressure member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A massage machine main body, and a bag body provided in the massage machine main body and expanded and contracted by supply and exhaust of air,
An air supply device for supplying / exhausting air to / from the bag body; and an air massager for supplying / exhausting air from / to the air supply device to inflate / contract the bag body and massage the treatment target. An air massage machine characterized in that a detachable acupressure member is provided corresponding to a pressing area of the bag body via an attachment means provided on the body. 2. An air massage machine according to claim 1, wherein said attachment means is constituted by a storage pocket provided in a cover for covering the bag body.