JPH1099392A - Massage machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute an effective massage by almost simultaneously starting the elevating operation of a treating finger and starting the going or returning operation of the treating finger and almost simultaneously starting the lowering operation of the treating finger and starting the going or returning operation of the treating finger. SOLUTION: When an operation button is pressed, a control circuit drives a massage motor 55 and moves rubbing balls 70 back and forth in a horizontal direction. When a rubbing operation is started and the interval of the rubbing balls 70 becomes widest, the control circuit drives an elevating/lowering motor 32 and lowers a massage unit 28. When the interval of the rubbing bails 70 becomes narrowest, the control circuit stops the driving of the elevating/lowering motor 32. When the interval of the rubbing balls 70 becomes widest again in a state where the vertical movement of the massage unit 28 is stopped, the elevating/lowering motor 32 is driven and the massage unit 28 is elevated. Then, when the interval of the rubbing balls 70 becomes narrowest, the driving of the elevating/lowering motor 32 is stopped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the operation of a massage finger of a massage machine, and more particularly, to a massage machine capable of enhancing the massage effect of the massage finger.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are known chair-type and bed-type massage machines which massage an affected part such as a shoulder and a waist of a user. In this type of device, a pair of treatment fingers are provided inside a back contact portion against which the back of the user touches, and the treatment fingers are moved toward and away from each other by a motor that reciprocates laterally,
Rolling massage is performed from the neck muscles to the waist direction by pinching and rubbing the affected part or by moving the treatment finger up and down by a motor that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the back contact part.
In order to enhance the massage effect for the user,
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-253060, the rotation direction and rotation speed of the motor for driving the treatment finger are measured by a timer, and the rotation speed of the motor is controlled every time-up output of the timer, and the operation of the treatment finger is performed. A chair-type massage machine that changes speed is shown. In this device, a unit on which a treatment finger and a motor that appear and disappear toward a backrest and perform acupressure and a motor are movable up and down along the backrest of the chair by a motor for lifting and lowering. .

[0003]

In the massage machine described above, the rotation speed of the motor for driving the treatment finger is determined by a timer regardless of the operation direction of the treatment finger. The operating speed does not always match,
The treatment intensity of the treatment finger varied, and it was difficult to give an effective massage.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a massager capable of performing an effective massage by simultaneously starting the elevating operation of the treatment finger and starting the reciprocating operation of the treatment finger in the wide and narrow directions. It is.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a massage machine according to the present invention comprises a pair of treatment fingers provided on a backrest of a chair, a bed or the like on which a user's back touches,
In a massage machine provided with elevating means for elevating and lowering the treatment finger along the longitudinal direction of the back contact portion, and reciprocating means for reciprocating in a direction in which the distance between the treatment fingers changes widely.
Start of the raising operation of the treatment finger by the elevating means, and start of the forward or return operation of the treatment finger by the reciprocating means are performed almost simultaneously, and start of the lowering operation of the treatment finger by the elevating means,
The control means is provided for substantially simultaneously performing the forward or backward movement of the treatment finger by the reciprocating means. The lifting / lowering means and the reciprocating means can each drive the treatment finger with a different motor.

Further, the control means stops the lifting operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering means and completes the forward / back operation of the treatment finger by the reciprocating means at substantially the same time, and performs the lowering operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering means. Means for substantially simultaneously stopping the movement of the treatment finger and completing the forward or return operation of the treatment finger by the reciprocating means.

[0007]

[Function and Effect] In addition to the massage operation performed on the user by the reciprocating movement of the treatment finger, the massage is performed by the vertical movement of the affected part, which is started almost simultaneously with the movement, and the synergistic effect is obtained. You can get a very good massage. By performing the start of the reciprocating operation and the start of the elevating operation almost at the same time, it is possible to perform sharp kneading and kneading massage. If the start of the reciprocating operation and the start of the elevating operation are not performed substantially at the same time, the treatment finger may change from rising to lowering or from lowering to rising in the middle of the reciprocating operation, resulting in a massage operation without sharpness. Further, at the highest position or the lowest position of the elevating / lowering operation of the treatment finger, the forward or backward operation of the treatment finger is performed by one.
By adding an operation performed more than once, the massage can be varied, and the user does not get tired of the massage operation.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a chair-type massage machine (1).
An example applied to (0) will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to a chair type, but can be applied to, for example, a bed-type massage machine, furthermore, a nursing bed. In the following, the forward and backward movements due to the reciprocating movement of the treatment finger are referred to as approach and separation movements between the treatment fingers. In the embodiment, the direction in which the user faces the chair (12) in FIG. 1 is referred to as front, the opposite direction is referred to as backward, the right hand side is referred to as right, and the left hand side is referred to as left.

[0009] Chair structure described massage machine (10) (12), as shown in FIG. 1, a seat which sit in treated person (13), is upwardly formed from the rear end of the seat portion (13) A backrest (14), and armrests (15) formed upward on both left and right sides of the seat (13). The seat portion (13), the back contact portion (14), and the armrest portion (15) are each formed by connecting a metal pipe, a frame, a plate, or the like inside, and the outer periphery is formed of a patch cloth (16) or a cushion ( Surrounded by 17).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the back contact portion (14) has an upper frame (20) and a lower frame (2) at an upper portion and a lower portion, respectively.
The upper and lower frames (20) and (21) are provided with a pair of guide rails (22) and (22) extending in parallel in the vertical direction at both ends. The upper ends of the guide rails (22) and (22) are the upper frame (20)
And is connected by a headrest frame (27) having a headrest (26) at the tip of which the head of the user touches. The lower portions of the guide rails (22) are pivotally supported by a frame forming the seat (13). Further, the lower frame (21) is connected to a known reclining mechanism (24),
Is swingable with respect to the seat (13). The guide rails (22) and (22) have a U-shaped cross section, are arranged so that the grooves face each other, and the massage unit (28) can be moved up and down along the guide rails (22) and (22). Installed. In addition, guide rails are provided on the upper and lower frames (20) and (21).
(22) A screw shaft (30) is pivotally supported in parallel with (22). As shown in FIG. 2, a pulley (31) is fitted to the lower end of the screw shaft (30),
The pulley (3) of the lift motor (32) provided on the lower frame (21)
3) and the belt (34), and 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 the screw shaft
An encoder (35) for measuring the rotation speed of (30) is provided.
The encoder (35) is connected to a control circuit described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, the massage unit (28) includes rollers (40) (4) fitted in grooves of the guide rails (22) and (22).
(0) (40) (40) a pair of side plates (41) (41) pivotally supported vertically, and an upper support rod (43) connecting the upper and lower ends of the side plates (41) (41), respectively. A lower support rod (44) is provided. The lower support rod (44) includes an elevating member (45) provided with a screw hole that meshes with the screw shaft (30), and when 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. The movement limit of the massage unit (28) in the elevating direction is, as shown in FIG. 2, one guide rail (22).
Are detected by limit switches (47) and (48) provided above and below, respectively. The limit switch (47) (48), when the massage unit (28) reaches the upper or lower movement limit, hits the upper support rod (43) or the lower support rod (44),
It detects that the rising or lowering of the massage unit (28) has reached the limit and sends it to the control circuit (37).

A gear box (50) is provided substantially at the center of the upper and lower support rods (43) and (44). The gearbox (50) has a kneading shaft (51) that penetrates in the left-right direction and rotates at low speed, and a kneading shaft (5).
A hitting shaft (52) that rotates at a high speed through the gear box (50) in the left-right direction below 1). 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 the massage motor (55) attached to the lower support rod (44)
The pulley (56) is connected via a belt (57), and the rotation of the massage motor (55) causes the massage shaft (53) to rotate forward or backward. The description of the internal structure of the gearbox (50) is omitted, but its operation is performed by the massage shaft (5).
When 3) is rotated forward, only the massaging shaft (51) is rotated at a low speed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3, and the beating shaft (52) does not rotate with the clutch disengaged, while the massage shaft (53) When is rotated in the reverse direction, the kneading shaft (51) does not rotate with the clutch disengaged, and only the hitting shaft (52) rotates at a high speed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. A pulley (54) provided on the massage shaft (53) is provided with an encoder (not shown), and detects the rotation speed of the massage shaft (53). The encoder is electrically connected to a control circuit (37) described later.

The massaging shaft (51) is a shaft located above the gearbox (50), and both ends (51a) of the shaft protruding from the gearbox (50) are bent in the same direction. As shown in FIG. 5, at one end of the kneading shaft (51), on the same side as the bending direction of the end,
A projecting piece (61) having a magnet (60) therein is formed.
Also, on the wall of the gearbox (50), three reed switches (63) (64) are opposed to the rotation transition path of the magnet (60).
A substrate (66) comprising (65) is provided. One reed switch is provided above, behind, and below the kneading shaft.
These reed switches (63), (64), (65) are electrically connected to the control circuit (37). When the upper reed switch (63) detects the magnet (60), the massaging balls (70) (7
0) When the distance between the balls is the longest, and when the lower reed switch (65) detects the magnet (60), the distance between the opposing kneading balls is the closest. Also,
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 balls have shifted from the separated state to the close state, In addition, it means that the interval between the opposing kneading balls is between the approach and the separation.

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. Each of them is eccentric by the distance H from the axis of (52). The eccentric direction of the end is
They are symmetrical with each other, that is, they are shifted by 180 °.

The treatment fingers 71, 71 are disposed on the left and right of the gear box 50, as shown in FIGS. Treatment finger (71)
Are a pair of kneading balls (70) attached inwardly to both ends of a plate-like arm (72) whose center is bent in a U shape. The arm (72) is pivotally supported at a bent portion by a plate-like lever (73). The base end of the lever (73) is rotatably supported by the end of the kneading shaft (51). Since the end (51a) of the kneading shaft (51) is bent as described above, the lever (73) is connected to the kneading shaft (51).
When the massaging shaft (51) rotates, the lever (73) swings left and right 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). ).

Each arm (72) is provided with pins (77) and (78) for restricting the swing angle of the arm (72) with respect to the lever (73) so as to project upward and downward, respectively. The arm (72) is connected to the lower pin
At a position lower than (78), it is connected to the lever (73) by a spring (79). The spring (79) always urges the lower part of the arm (72) in the lever direction. Therefore, with no load,
By the biasing force of the spring (79), the lower pin (78) moves the lever (73).
Is in contact with When the massage is started and the massage ball (70) is pressed against the user, the massage ball (70) swings within the swing range of the lever (73) against the urging force of the spring (79). It is possible to move.

Each operation of the massage machine (10) is performed by a command from an operation unit (not shown). The operation unit includes an elevating button for adjusting the height of the massage unit (28) to `` up, down '', a kneading button for starting a kneading operation, a hitting button for starting a hitting operation, and an interval between the kneading balls as `` wide, medium ''. ,
Width adjustment button to adjust to any of "narrow", speed adjustment button to adjust the speed of kneading operation and hitting operation to any of "fast, medium, slow", operation 1 button to start operation 1 described later, reclining mechanism It has a reclining button for operating the, a stop button for stopping each operation, and the like. When the user presses the button and the command signal input to the operation unit is
It is transmitted to the control circuit (37).

A circuit as a control means for controlling the operation of the massage machine (10) will be described. FIG. 6 shows a control circuit (37) mainly composed of a microcomputer. Control circuit (37)
Are deployed in place on the massage machine (10). Microcomputer (8
0) includes a massage motor drive circuit (82) for controlling the driving of the massage motor (55), and a pulley (5) of the massage shaft (53).
Output value of encoder (58) deployed in 4) and kneading shaft (51)
A massage detection circuit (83) that receives output values from the reed switches (63), (64), and (65) for detecting the rotation angle is connected. The massage motor drive circuit (82) includes a PWM circuit (not shown), performs pulse width modulation, adjusts a driving average voltage supplied to the massage motor (55), and controls the rotation speed of the massage motor (55). Can be controlled. The massage detection circuit (83) detects whether the massage motor (55) is rotating at a predetermined rotation speed by detecting the encoder pulse, and if the rotation is out of the predetermined rotation speed, the massage motor drive circuit (82) ) To adjust the supply voltage. Also, the output values from the reed switches (63), (64), (65) are received, and the interval between the opposing massage balls (70), (70) is determined.

The microcomputer (80) includes an elevating motor drive circuit (84) for controlling the driving of the elevating motor (32), an output value of an encoder (35) for detecting the number of rotations of the screw shaft (30), and a massager. A vertical position detection circuit (8) that receives output values from upper and lower limit switches (47) and (48) that detect the upper and lower limits of the unit (28)
5) is connected. The rotation speed of the screw shaft (30) from the state where the upper limit switch (47) detects the massage unit (28) is calculated as the integrated value of the encoder pulse,
The sum is calculated at (85), and the current position of the massage unit (28) is measured. Note that the current position of the massage unit (28) can be measured based on both the lower limit switch (48) or the upper and lower limit switches (47) and (48).

An operation unit I / F circuit (87) for receiving an operation signal from the operation unit (86) is connected to the microcomputer (80). As described above, the microcomputer (80) has a large 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.

Further, the control circuit (37) is provided with a reclining control circuit (89) for controlling the reclining mechanism (24) and swinging the backrest (14). Note that the reclining control circuit (89) is well-known and will not be described.

[0022] Operation First, an explanation will be given of the basic operation of the massage machine (10). In addition, the massage operation of the present invention is the operation 1 described later.
It is. When the power of the massage machine (10) is turned on, the initial position of the massage unit (28) is confirmed. This is because the amount of movement of the massage unit (28) is determined 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 the upper movement limit position where the massage unit (28) and the upper limit switch (47) are in contact. Therefore, 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.

When the user presses one of the "up" and "down" buttons on the up / down button, a command signal is sent to the control circuit (37) and the operation unit I / F circuit (87) ) Through the microcomputer (80)
(84) is output as an UP signal or a DOWN signal. Upon receiving the signal, the lifting motor (32) rotates in a predetermined direction.
When the massage unit (28) is performing a descending operation, the number of rotations of the screw shaft (30) by the elevating motor (32) is counted as an integrated value of the encoder pulse, and the massage unit (28) is moved upward. During operation, the number of encoder pulses is subtracted from the integrated value. From the integrated value of the encoder pulse, the current position of the massage unit (28) can be determined. The massage unit (28) is either an upper or lower limit switch.
(47) Until the detection is made in (48), the ascending or descending operation is performed, and it can be stopped at any position.

[Kneading operation] When the user presses the kneading button, a command signal is similarly sent to the control circuit (37), and the operation unit I is operated.
The signal is input to the microcomputer (80) via the / F circuit (87) and output as an MSG signal to the massage motor drive circuit (82). Upon receiving the MSG signal, the massage motor drive circuit (82) rotates the massage motor (55) so that the massage shaft (53) rotates forward, and moves only the massage shaft (51) in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Drive in rotation. Lever (73), kneading shaft (51)
Is pivoted at an angle to the center of rotation of the
When the (51) is rotated, the kneading balls (70) perform a reciprocating motion substantially parallel to the left and right directions in which the opposing kneading balls (70) and (70) approach and separate as shown by an arrow C in FIG. The massage is given to the user. At this time, the lower end of the lever (73) is rotatably supported on the eccentric member (76) via the ball joint (74) and the connecting rod (75), so that the tilting movement of the lever (73) is not affected. There is no. When the massaging shaft (51) rotates, the gearbox (5
Reed switches (63), (64), (65) provided in (0) sequentially detect the magnet (60). When each reed switch detects the magnet (60), a 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 interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) is the widest is transmitted to the massage detection circuit (83). And rear reed switch
When (64) detects the magnet (60), a signal (MIDDLE signal) indicating that the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) is intermediate,
When the lower reed switch (65) detects the magnet (60), a signal (NARROW signal) indicating that the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) is the narrowest is sequentially detected by the massage detection circuit.
Sent to (83).

Without performing the kneading operation, the interval between the kneading balls (70) and (70) can be changed, that is, only the width adjustment can be performed. In this case, pressing the width adjustment button of the operation unit and selecting any of the massage ball intervals `` wide, medium, narrow '', an MSG signal is transmitted to the massage motor drive circuit (82), and the massage motor (55) is Only the kneading shaft (51) is rotated. Massage axis (5
With the rotation of 1), the interval of the kneading balls (70) and (70) changes, and signals indicating the kneading ball intervals are sequentially detected from the reed switches (63), (64) and (65). Predetermined signal indicating the massage ball interval selected by the user (WIDE signal, MIDDLE signal, NARROW signal)
Is detected, the massage motor drive circuit (82) stops driving the massage motor (55), and the massage balls (70) (70)
Stop moving. Thereby, the kneading ball interval becomes a desired interval of the user. In this state, the massage unit
Rolling massage can be performed by raising and lowering (28), and by performing a beating operation, beating massage can be performed at a massage ball interval desired by the user.

[Hit operation] When the user presses the hit button, a command signal is sent to the control circuit (37) and the operation unit I / F circuit
The signal is input to the microcomputer (80) via (87), and output as a TAP signal to the massage motor drive circuit (82). Upon receiving the TAP signal, the massage motor drive circuit (82) rotates the massage motor (5) so that the massage shaft (53) rotates in the reverse direction.
5), and only the hitting shaft (52) is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 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 kneading shaft (51). When (52) is rotated, the kneading balls (70) and (70) make a reciprocating motion in a substantially vertical direction as shown by an arrow D in FIG. 4 to apply a beating massage to the user.

In the above kneading operation and hitting operation, the operating speed of the kneading balls can be adjusted by changing the rotation speed of the massage motor (55). The operation speed can be adjusted by pressing the speed adjustment button on the operation unit and selecting one of the speeds “fast, medium, slow”.
This is performed by adjusting and applying a drive voltage to the massage motor (55) by a WM circuit (not shown). 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 the massaging balls (70) and (70) are adjusted to the desired speed is determined by measuring the interval of the encoder pulse from the encoder (58) provided on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53). it can.

Next, the massage operation of the present invention will be described. [Operation 1] The start of the raising and lowering operation of the massage unit (28) and the start of the approaching operation of the massaging balls (70) and (70) are simultaneously performed, and the raising and lowering operation of the massage unit (28) is stopped. A massage operation (hereinafter, referred to as "operation 1") for separating the massaging balls (70) and (70) from time to time will be described with reference to FIG. 7A, a timing chart FIG. 7B, and a flowchart FIG. Note that the arrows in FIG. 7A indicate the transition paths of the left and right kneading balls. First, after the massage unit (28) is moved to a desired height position, the operation 1 button of the operation unit is pressed (step 1).
Sent to (37). When receiving the command signal, the microcomputer (80) sends the MSG signal (FIG. 7B) to the massage motor drive circuit (82).
Then, the massage motor (55) is driven to reciprocate the massaging balls (70) (70) in the left-right direction (step 2).

When the kneading operation is started and the distance between the kneading balls (70) and (70) is maximized (FIG. 7A), the upper reed switch is turned on.
A WIDE signal is transmitted from (63) (step 3). Control circuit
When (37) receives the WIDE signal, the lifting motor drive circuit (84)
The DOWN signal (FIG. 7b) is transmitted to the motor, and the elevating motor (32) starts driving to lower the massage unit (28).
(Step 4). By the operation of step 4, the opposing massaging balls (70) (70) move downward while approaching each other.

The kneading shaft (51) further rotates, and the kneading balls (70)
When the interval of (70) becomes the narrowest (of FIG. 7A), a NARROW signal is transmitted from the lower reed switch (65) (Step 5, of FIG. 7B). When the control circuit (37) receives the NARROW signal, transmission of the DOWN signal from the elevating motor drive circuit (84) is stopped, and the driving of the elevating motor (32) is stopped (step 6).

In the state where the lifting of the massage unit (28) is stopped, the kneading shaft (51) further rotates, and the kneading balls (70) (7)
The interval of (0) is widened, and the interval between the massaging balls (70) and (70) is again maximized (FIG. 7A).
A WIDE signal is transmitted from 3) (step 7). When the control circuit (37) receives the WIDE signal at the lowering position of the massage unit (28), an UP signal is transmitted to the elevating motor drive circuit (84) (FIG. 7B) to drive the elevating motor (32), Raise the massage unit (28) (step 8). By the operations in steps 7 and 8, the opposing massaging balls (70) and (70) move upward while approaching each other.

The kneading shaft (51) is further rotated, and the kneading balls are again rotated.
When the interval between (70) and (70) becomes narrowest (FIG. 7A), a NARROW signal is transmitted from the lower reed switch (65) (step 9). When the NARROW signal is received, the transmission of the UP signal of the lift motor drive circuit (84) is stopped (FIG. 7B), and the drive of the lift motor (32) stops (step 10).

In a state where the lifting of the massage unit (28) is stopped, the kneading shaft (51) further rotates, and the kneading balls (7) are again rotated.
0) (70) reaches the widest interval, a WIDE signal is transmitted from the upper reed switch (63), and the state returns to step 3. The above cycle is repeated until the stop button is pressed.

According to the massage of operation 1, the kneading ball (70)
The so-called `` massaging operation '', in which the massaging operation that shifts from the state where the interval of (70) is the widest to the state that is the narrowest, and the raising operation of the massage unit (28) start at the same time,
(70) From the state where the interval of (70) is the widest, the kneading operation to shift to the narrowest state and the lowering operation of the massage unit (28) can be simultaneously started, so-called `` kneading operation '' can be performed, The massage effect by the pinching and kneading operation and the massage effect by the raising and lowering operation are synergistic, so that a more effective massage can be performed.

In the above embodiment, the lifting operation is performed based on the detection signals from the reed switches (63) and (65) for detecting the rotation of the massaging shaft (51). 28) When the screw shaft (3
The encoder pulse number of (0) may be detected, and in the subsequent elevating operation, the elevating operation may be performed based on the encoder pulse number. That is, the number of encoder pulses of the screw shaft (30) counted at the time of descending or ascending may be set as the reference pulse number, and the stop of the elevating operation at the transition may be set as the reference pulse number counting time. By this, massage balls (70) (7
0), it is possible to prevent the displacement of the elevating position caused by the influence of the load applied to the massage unit (28). The number of encoder pulses of the screw shaft (30) counted at the time of descent is set as a reference pulse number, and at the time of ascending, when an encoder pulse having a predetermined value smaller than the reference pulse number is counted, the ascending operation is stopped, so that The massage can be performed while lowering the massage position. Conversely, massage may be performed while increasing the number of encoder pulses of the screw shaft (30) at the time of ascending to be larger than the number of encoder pulses of the screw shaft (30) at the time of the descending.

Based on the encoder pulse from the encoder (58) provided on the pulley (54) of the massage shaft (53),
Similarly, it is of course possible to start and stop the elevating operation.

FIG. 9A and the timing chart FIG.
11 is another example of the operation 1. The arrows in FIG. 9a indicate the transition paths of the left and right kneading balls as described above. This embodiment transmits the DOWN signal of the massage unit (28) simultaneously with the WIDE signal of the massage balls (70) and (70), and
When the massage ball (70) (70) moves in the approaching direction, the massage unit (28) descends,
When the massaging balls (70) and (70) move in the separating direction, the massaging unit (28) is a massaging operation in which the massaging balls (70) and (70) perform a reciprocating linear motion in an oblique direction. It is. This places particular emphasis on the "massaging down" massage of operation 1 above. In the massage operation, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the massage unit (2
In the raising position and / or the lowering position of 8), one or more kneading pinching operations may be performed with the lifting of the massage unit stopped.

In each of the above embodiments, the raising and lowering operation of the massage unit (28) is performed by the approach of the massaging balls (70) and (70).
Although performed simultaneously with the start of the separating operation, the ascending and descending operations and the approaching and separating operations need not be performed completely at the same time, and as shown in FIG. It may be started slightly before and after. In FIG. 11, a portion surrounded by a circle indicates a portion before and after the start of the ascent / descent operation and the approach / separation operation.

In each of the above embodiments, the rotational speed of the massage motor (55) in the massage operation is constant, but the rotational speed of the massage motor (55) when the massaging balls (70) and (70) are approached. By changing the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) when separating the massage balls (70) and (70), a variety of massages can be performed. In this case, although there are individual differences among the patients, the massage balls (70) (7
It is considered that the massage effect is higher when the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) when approaching 0) is lower than the rotation speed when separating. In addition, the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) can be changed between when the elevating motor (32) is rotating and when it is stopped. Specifically, when the elevating operation is performed together with the contacting / separating operation (see, for example, FIG. 7A), the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) is stopped, the elevating operation is stopped, and only the approaching / separating operation is performed. When the rotation speed is lower than the rotation speed of the massage motor (55) during the operation (see, for example, FIG. 7a), effective kneading and kneading can be performed effectively.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a massage machine.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a back contact portion of the massage machine from which a patch has been removed.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the massage unit.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the massage unit taken along line XX of FIG. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the massage unit taken along a line YY in FIG. 3 and viewed in a direction of an arrow.

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

FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a transition path of a kneading ball in operation 1;
b is a timing chart of the operation 1;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an 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 transition path of a kneading ball showing another embodiment of the present invention, and b is a timing chart thereof.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a transition path of kneading balls according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (10) Massage machine (28) Massage unit (32) Elevating motor (37) Control circuit (51) Kneading shaft (55) Massage motor (70) Kneading ball

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takeya Matsushita 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhiro 2 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka 5-5, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pair of treatment fingers provided on a backrest portion of a chair, a bed or the like to which a back of a user touches, elevating means for moving the treatment fingers up and down along the longitudinal direction of the backrest portion, In a massage machine provided with a reciprocating means for reciprocating in a direction in which the distance between the treatment fingers is changed in a wide and narrow manner, the start of the ascent operation of the treatment finger by the elevating means and the start of the forward or backward movement of the treatment finger by the reciprocation means are substantially completed. A massage machine comprising: control means for simultaneously performing a start of a lowering operation of a treatment finger by an elevating unit and a start or a return operation of a treatment finger by a reciprocating unit. 2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the lifting means and the reciprocating means drive the treatment finger by different motors. 3. The control means stops the lifting operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering means and completes the forward / back operation of the treatment finger by the reciprocating means almost simultaneously, and controls the lowering operation of the treatment finger by the lifting / lowering means. 3. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the massager is a means for substantially simultaneously stopping and reciprocating the treatment finger by the reciprocating means. 4. The control means is means for causing the reciprocating means to perform at least one forward and / or return operation of the treatment finger at a maximum ascending position or a maximum descending position of the treatment finger by the elevating means. The massage machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the reciprocating means performs the separating operation of the treatment finger faster than the approaching operation.