JPH11253516A - Rotary valve and air massaging machine provided with same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a rotary valve which can feed air through another distribution intake and exhaust vent without being accompanied with exhaust gas through a distribution intake and exhaust vent through which gas has been already fed. SOLUTION: A rotary valve disk 57 which can selectively communicate an intake cylinder part and an exhaust cylinder part with distribution intake and exhaust vents is rotatably arranged between a valve seat body with a plurality of the distribution intake and exhaust vents a-h and an intake and exhaust body with the intake cylinder part 62 and the exhaust cylinder part 63. The valve disk 57 has a C-shaped exhaust channel 70 communicating the exhaust cylinder part and a plurality of distribution intake and exhaust vents and an intake hole 72 opening between both ends 70a and 70b of this channel and communicating one of the distribution intake and exhaust vents with the intake cylinder part. The both ends of the channel 70 are separated by a distance contg. adjoining two distribution intake and exhaust vents. A shutter part 73 which closes another intake and exhaust vent under a condition where the intake hole is communicated with one of the intake and exhaust vents between two distribution intake and exhaust vents and keeps this distribution intake and exhaust vent under an intaking condition is provided between the intake hole and one end of the exhaust channel.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used for selectively supplying and discharging compressed air to and from a plurality of treatment bags incorporated in a massage machine body of an air massage machine of, for example, a chair type or a mat type. The present invention relates to a rotary valve and a chair type or mat type air massaging machine equipped with this valve to massage by compressing / relaxing a treatment portion of a user in accordance with inflation / deflation of the treatment bag.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air massage machine compresses and relaxes a treatment part of a user through a treatment bag that expands and contracts in accordance with supply and discharge of compressed air, and massages the air. The air supply / exhaust device is provided with a rotary valve for supplying / exhausting the compressed air generated by the medical bag to / from the treatment bag. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 15 of JP-A-6-335498, this type of rotary valve includes a valve seat, a supply / exhaust body, a rotary valve, and a motor.

[0003] The valve seat has a plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports arranged at an equal distance from the center thereof, and these supply / exhaust ports are provided at equal intervals along the rotation direction of the rotary valve body. The air supply / exhaust body has an air supply cylinder at the center thereof and an exhaust cylinder at an eccentric position from the air supply cylinder. The rotary valve body is rotatably disposed between the valve seat body and the air supply / exhaust body while slidingly contacting them. This valve body has a C-shaped exhaust groove communicating the exhaust cylinder portion and the plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports,
It has an air supply hole opened between both ends of the exhaust groove and communicating any one of the distribution air supply / exhaust ports with the air supply cylinder. By the rotation of the rotary valve body, the supply cylinder portion and the exhaust cylinder portion are selectively connected to one of the distribution supply / exhaust ports. The forward / reverse rotatable motor rotates the rotary valve body.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show a plurality of, for example, eight distribution exhaust ports 101 to 108 in the rotary valve.
, An air supply cylinder 109, an exhaust cylinder 110, and an air supply hole 11.
1 and a C-shaped exhaust groove 112 are shown in a positional relationship. In the figure, reference numeral 113 denotes a rotary valve body and reference numeral 114 denotes a valve seat body.

In the state shown in FIG. 12A, since the first distribution supply / exhaust port 101 communicates with the air supply hole 111, the compressed air guided to the air supply cylinder 109 is supplied to the air supply hole 111 and the first distribution air supply port. Through the supply / exhaust port 101, the distribution supply / exhaust port 10
Supplied to the treatment bags connected to one, the treatment bags are inflated. On the other hand, since the other distribution supply / exhaust ports 102 to 108 are all opposed to the exhaust groove 112, the compressed air in each treatment bag connected to the distribution supply / exhaust ports 102 to 108 is distributed to the distribution supply / exhaust ports 102 to 108. 108 and the exhaust groove 112, the exhaust gas is discharged from the exhaust cylinder portion 110 communicating with the groove 112 to the outside of the rotary valve,
Each treatment bag connected to 108 is contracted. Next, FIG.
As shown in (B), the rotary valve body 113 is rotated, for example, clockwise by θ degrees, so that the second distribution supply / exhaust port 102 and the air supply hole 111 communicate with each other, and the first distribution supply / exhaust port 101 is provided.
The third to eighth distribution supply / exhaust ports 103 to 108 communicate with the exhaust grooves 112, respectively. Therefore, compressed air is supplied to the treatment bag connected to the second distribution supply / exhaust port 102 to expand the treatment bag and to compress the inside of the treatment bag connected to the other distribution supply / exhaust ports 101, 103 to 108. The air is expelled and the treatment bags are contracted. This operation is repeated every time the rotary valve body 113 is rotated by a predetermined angle θ, thereby sequentially inflating the treatment bags individually connected to the respective distribution supply / exhaust ports, and at the same time, the treatment bags are already inflated before this inflation. The treatment bag can be contracted to compress / relax the treatment portion.

[0006]

As described above, when the rotary valve element 113 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise,
The exhaust groove 112 faces the distribution supply / exhaust port supplied before rotation, and the compressed air in the treatment bag expanded before rotation is discharged. Thus, in the conventional one, the air supply hole 11
Only the treatment bag in communication with 1 is inflated, and all other treatment bags are contracted, so that the treatment bag expanded before the rotation of the rotary valve 113 cannot be maintained in the inflated state. is there. Therefore, when performing an air massage, there is a problem that the pressure on a desired part of the body is lengthened as necessary, and the desired part cannot be air massaged.

Incidentally, such a problem can be solved by attaching an electromagnetic valve to each of the air hoses from the rotary valve to the treatment bag and controlling the opening and closing thereof. But,
In such a configuration, there is a problem that an electromagnetic valve is required and the control is complicated accordingly.

Accordingly, a first problem to be solved by the present invention is to supply air through another distribution supply / exhaust port without using an electromagnetic valve and exhausting through the distribution supply / exhaust port already supplied. Obtaining a rotary valve.

A second object to be solved by the present invention is to provide an air massage machine capable of continuously applying air pressure to a desired part of the body for a longer time than usual compression time without using an electromagnetic valve. Is to get

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a valve seat having a plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports disposed equidistantly from a center, and an air supply cylinder at a center and being eccentric therefrom. A supply / exhaust body having an exhaust cylinder portion at a set position, between the valve seat body and the supply / exhaust body, slidably contacting the two and rotatably disposed, and the exhaust cylinder portion and the plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports; A C-shaped exhaust groove communicating with the air supply hole and an air supply hole opened between both ends of the groove to communicate any one of the distribution air supply / exhaust ports with the air supply cylinder portion. It is assumed that the rotary valve includes a rotary valve that selectively communicates the exhaust cylinder with one of the distribution supply / exhaust ports, and a motor that rotates the rotary valve.

[0011] In order to solve the first problem, the invention of claim 1 is directed to an invention in which two ends of the plurality of supply / exhaust ports adjacent to each other are provided between both ends of the exhaust groove. And a distance between the air supply hole and one end of the exhaust groove. The air supply hole communicates with one of the two air supply / exhaust ports while the other air supply hole is in communication with the other air supply / exhaust port. A shutter for closing the exhaust port is provided.

In the first aspect of the present invention, when the rotary valve body is stopped, one of the two distribution supply / exhaust ports located between both ends of the C-shaped exhaust groove communicates with the air supply hole. And the other distribution supply / exhaust port is closed by the shutter, and all other distribution supply / exhaust ports are C
It communicates with the V-shaped exhaust groove.

In this state, when the rotary valve body is rotated by a predetermined angle so that the air supply hole of the rotary valve body precedes the shutter portion in the rotation direction, the one of the ones which had been connected to the air supply hole until then. The shutter portion faces the distribution / exhaust port, and one of the distribution / exhaust ports is closed by the shutter portion without communicating with the exhaust groove. At the same time, in a state before rotation, the air supply hole communicates with the other distribution supply / exhaust port which is in communication with the exhaust groove and is positioned adjacent to the one distribution / exhaust port on the rotation direction front side with respect to the one distribution / exhaust port. Each of the distribution supply / discharge ports is communicated with a C-shaped exhaust groove.

Therefore, since the distribution supply / exhaust port which is already in communication with the air supply hole before the rotation and which is closed by the shutter section after the rotation cannot be supplied or exhausted, the rotation of the rotary valve body is restricted. Regardless of the accompanying change in supply / exhaust air, the state where air supply is maintained can be maintained.

Then, when the rotary valve body is further rotated so that the exhaust groove faces the other distribution supply / exhaust port,
At the same time as the exhaust from the distribution air supply / exhaust port is performed, the shutter unit moves in the rotation direction and closes the adjacent distribution air supply / exhaust port so that neither air supply nor exhaust is possible. In addition, when the rotary valve body is reversed by the power of the motor in the direction in which the shutter portion precedes the air supply hole in the rotation direction, even if the preceding shutter portion closes the distribution supply / exhaust port, there is no effect on supply / exhaust. However, since the exhaust groove located on the rear side of the air supply hole communicates with the already supplied air supply / discharge port, the air can be immediately exhausted through this air supply / discharge port. Therefore,
The same air supply and exhaust can be performed as before.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, massage is performed by supplying and exhausting compressed air to and from a plurality of treatment bags incorporated in the massage machine body by an air supply / exhaust device to expand and contract each of the treatment bags. Further, it is assumed that the air supply / exhaust device includes a rotary valve, and an air massage machine for selectively supplying / exhausting compressed air to / from each treatment bag via the valve.

In order to solve the second problem, the invention of claim 2 is characterized in that the rotary valve described in claim 1 is used.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, compressed air is supplied to and exhausted from each treatment bag using the rotary valve according to the first aspect of the present invention. When the air supply / exhaust is performed while rotating the rotary valve body in the direction, the inflated state of the supplied and inflated treatment bag is maintained even when the next treatment bag is inflated, and the user's treatment is performed with these two treatment bags. The same or different treatment parts can be compressed. In addition, as described above, when air supply and exhaust are performed while rotating the rotary valve body in the direction in which the shutter portion precedes the air supply hole, the air-supplied and expanded treatment bag is evacuated and contracted in the same manner as before. At the same time as the treatment section is relaxed, the treatment bag connected to the distribution / supply / exhaust port located on the front side in the rotation direction can be inflated to compress another treatment section.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The chair type air massage machine according to the first embodiment has a chair body 1 as a massage machine body, a leg rest 2 and a chair body, as shown in the perspective view of FIG.
The air supply / exhaust device 3 shown in FIG. 6 and the input means 4 shown in FIG. 6 are provided.

The chair body 1 has a seat 5, a backrest 6 attached to the rear of the seat 5, and armrests 7 provided on both left and right sides of the seat 5. The leg mounting table 2 having a pair of U-shaped groove mounting legs 2a and supporting a calf portion or the like of a user sitting on the chair body 1 from below is mounted on the front side of the seat portion 5 so as to be capable of falling. Have been. When the leg placing table 2 is raised and lowered, the leg mounting table 2 is connected to a first position that is continuous in a substantially horizontal position in front of the seat 5 and a second position that is bent downward from the seat 5 as shown in FIG. Moved across the position.

The surface of the backrest 6 against which the back of the user sitting on the chair body 1 leans, similarly to the seat portion 5, is a cloth cover that is freely deformed so as not to hinder the movement of massagers 26 and 27 described later. 6a. The backrest 6 may have a fixed angle with respect to the seat 5 or may be rotatably mounted so as to be reclined.

As shown in FIG. 1, a seat 5 of the chair body 1 is provided.
In addition, the backrest 6 is inflated according to supply and exhaust of compressed air.
Various treatment bags that shrink are incorporated. That is, the treatment bag 8 for the buttocks for air-massaging the buttocks of the user sitting on the seat 5 and the treatment bag 9 for the thighs for air-massaging the thighs of the user. Each of them extends in the width direction and is incorporated. The backrest 6 incorporates a pair of waist treatment bags 10 for air-massaging the leaning part of the user leaning thereon and a back treatment bag 11 for air-massaging the back muscles of the user. I have.

The backrest 6 incorporates a neck-shoulder massaging mechanism 12 as a neck-shoulder massaging means located above the waist treatment bag 10 and the back muscle treatment bag 11. The mechanism 12 is unitized so as to be easily incorporated into the backrest 6 and the like.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The neck and shoulder massage mechanism 12 includes a base 21, a first rotating plate 22, and a pair of second
It includes a rotating plate 23, a shoulder treatment bag 24, a pair of neck treatment bags 25, a pair of shoulder press massagers 26, and a pair of neck press massagers 27.

The base 21 connected to the backrest 6 is made of a hard synthetic resin plate, an iron plate or the like, and a metal hinge base 28 is fixed to a lower front surface thereof with a plurality of screws 29, for example. The hinge base 28 has one or more shaft insertion cylinders 28a at the top, and has bearing plate portions 28b at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The first rotating plate 22 made of a hard synthetic resin plate or the like is arranged on the front surface of the base 21. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
Has, at its lower part, one or more shaft insertion cylinders 22a which are arranged alternately with respect to the shaft insertion cylinders 28a. Both ends of the shaft insertion cylinders 22a, 28a have bearing plates. A first hinge shaft 30 fixed to 28b and extending in the left-right direction is passed therethrough.

The hinge base 28, the shaft insertion tube portion 22a, and the first hinge shaft 30 form a hinge mechanism. Therefore, the first rotating plate 22 is rotatably attached to the front side of the base 21 via the hinge mechanism. The rotation of the first rotation plate 22 about the first hinge shaft 30 is performed along the direction in which the first rotation plate 22 comes into contact with or separates from the upper side of the shoulder A (see FIG. 2) of the user. For example, torsion coil springs 31 are wound around both ends of the first hinge shaft 30, respectively, and one end of the spring 31 is hooked on the hinge base 28, and the other end is provided on the lower front surface of the first rotating plate 22. I am hooked. Thus, the first rotating plate 22 is constantly urged by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 31 in a direction overlapping the front surface of the base 21.

The shoulder treatment bag 24 includes a first rotating plate 22.
, That is, between the base 21 and the first rotating plate 22, only the non-expandable sheet edge formed by the lower edge thereof is fixed to the base 21 via the screw 29. . Therefore, the treatment bag 24 can be expanded as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 when the compressed air is supplied, whereby the first rotating plate 21 rotates and tilts forward. Has become.

A hinge fitting 35 is attached to the center of the front surface of the first rotating plate 22. The metal fitting 35 has a pair of parallel shaft insertion cylinders 35a extending in the vertical direction of the first rotating plate 22. The pair of second rotation plates 23 have a pair of shaft insertion cylinders 23a continuously combined with the shaft insertion cylinders 35a, and penetrate these mutually continuous shaft insertion cylinders 23a, 35a. It is rotatably attached to the front surface of the first rotating plate 22 via a second hinge shaft 36 provided as follows. The rotation of the two second rotation plates 23 about the second hinge shaft 36 is performed along the direction in which the user's neck B (see FIG. 2) comes into contact with and separates from the side. A coil spring 37 and a spring cover 38 for covering most of the spring 37 are disposed between the pair of shaft insertion cylinders 23a of the hinge fitting 35. One end of the torsion coil spring 37 is hooked on the front surface of one second turning plate 23, and the other end of the spring 37 is hooked on the front surface of the other second turning plate 23. Thus, the pair of second rotating plates 23 are always urged in a direction overlapping with the front surface of the first rotating plate 22 by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 37, respectively.

The pair of neck treatment bags 25 have the same size and are integrally connected via a non-inflating sheet portion 25a at a central position. These treatment bags 25 are disposed between the first rotating plate 22 and the second rotating plate 23, respectively, and only the non-expandable sheet portion 25a is provided on the first rotating plate 22 together with the hinge fitting 35. It is fixed with screws and the like. Therefore, the pair of neck treatment bags 25 can be expanded as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 when compressed air is supplied, so that the two second rotating plates 23 come closer to each other. It is designed to rotate.

The pair of shoulder massagers 26 and the pair of neck massagers 27 are each made of rubber. The shoulder pressing massagers 26 are respectively provided to project from the front surface of the second rotating plate 23 and are provided in an oblique posture as shown in FIGS. A wide range of aspects can be imposed on them. The neck pressure massager 27 projects from the front surface of the second rotary plate 23 in such a manner that it rises vertically from the inclined upper end of the shoulder pressure massager 26, and the neck B
To a wide range of aspects.
In the present invention, the shoulder pressure massager 26 and the neck pressure massager 27 may be integrally and continuously formed as a single component, or may be integrally formed with the second rotating plate 23.

As shown in FIG. 6, the air supply / exhaust device 3 disposed below the seat 5 is
1, an air supply means 42, and a rotary valve 43 serving as an air distributor. Air supply means 42
Is composed of an air compressor or the like and generates compressed air. A rotary valve 43 to which compressed air generated by the supply means 42 is supplied via an air hose 44
Distributes compressed air to the treatment bags 8 to 11, 24, 25, etc., and supplies / discharges the air. As will be described later in detail, the first distribution / supply / exhaust port a of the valve 43 has the aforementioned The treatment bag 11 for the back muscles is communicated via an air hose 45, and the air hose 4 is similarly connected to the second distribution supply / exhaust port b.
6 are connected to each other, and the pair of waist treatment bags 10 are individually connected to the branch hose portions 46a of the hose 46 which are branched into two. The treatment bag 8 for the buttocks is connected to a third distribution supply / exhaust port c having a rotary valve 43 via an air hose 47. Similarly, the treatment bag for the thigh is connected to a fourth distribution supply / exhaust port d. 9 is communicated via an air hose 48. An air hose 49 is communicated with a fifth distribution supply / exhaust port e of the rotary valve 43, and the pair of neck treatment bags 25 are individually connected to a forked branch hose portion 49a of the hose 49, respectively. Have been. Similarly, the shoulder treatment bag 24 is connected to a sixth distribution supply / exhaust port f of the rotary valve 43 via an air hose 50. The rotary valve 43 has spare seventh and eighth distribution supply / exhaust ports g and h, which are closed by a plug (not shown) in a non-vented state.

The control means 41 composed of a microcomputer or the like has various massage modes. Among them, air massage is performed according to the massage mode designated by the input operation of the input means 4 composed of, for example, a remote controller. The operation of the supply means 42 and the rotary valve 43 is controlled. Compressed air is supplied to and exhausted from each of the treatment bags 8 to 11, 24, and 25 according to the order and time determined in the mode designated by this control, and the designated massage mode is executed.

The various massage modes specified include a full body massage mode in which the treatment bags 8 to 11, 24, and 25 are repeatedly inflated and contracted in a predetermined order for a predetermined time to massage the entire user, An upper body massage mode in which the treatment bags 10, 11, 24, and 25 of the backrest 6 are repeatedly inflated and contracted in a predetermined order for a predetermined time to massage the entire upper body of the user. A lumbar massage mode in which a user's lumbar region is massaged in a point manner by repeatedly inflating and deflating simultaneously for a predetermined time, a treatment bag 11 for the back muscles
Is a back muscle mode in which the user repeatedly inflates and contracts for a predetermined period of time to massage the back muscles of the user in a point manner. Massage mode in which the patient is massaged in a point manner, and the shoulder treatment bag 24 is repeatedly inflated and contracted for a predetermined time for the shoulder A of the user.
There is a shoulder massage mode or the like that massages in a point manner. In addition, there is a shoulder massage mode that is also executed in the whole body and upper body massage mode.

The shoulder massage mode is a massage mode for the shoulder A.
After the inflation of the neck treatment bag 2 during the inflation period,
In this mode, the shoulder A is pointedly massaged by repeatedly inflating and contracting the treatment bags 24 and 25 for a predetermined period of time.

Further, the designated massage mode includes a combination of the various point massage modes. These modes can be specified by the input operation of the input unit 4. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 40 denotes a power cord.

Next, the air valve 43 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The air valve 43 includes a mounting base 51 made of an iron plate for fixing the valve 43 to an appropriate position, and a metal motor bracket connected to the base 51 by a claw engagement of a locking claw 52 and a locking hole 53. 54, a valve seat 55, a supply / exhaust body 56, a rotary valve 57, and a motor 58.
And

A valve seat 55 made of a synthetic resin is screwed through the mounting base 51 so as to pass therethrough. As shown in FIG. 9, the valve seat body 55 has a bearing hole 61 at the center thereof, and has the plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports a to h provided at an equal distance from the bearing hole 61. ing. These distribution supply / exhaust ports a to h are equally distributed in the circumferential direction at a constant pitch. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a joint rubber 62 is attached to the valve seat body 55 from outside the mounting base 51. The rubber 62 is provided with a plurality of joint holes 62a individually communicating with the respective distribution supply / exhaust ports a to g. The air hoses 45 to 50 are individually inserted and connected to these joint holes 62a. .

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the supply / exhaust body 56 made of synthetic resin has a supply cylinder portion 62 at the center thereof, and the supply cylinder portion 62 is eccentric from the supply cylinder portion 62.
And an exhaust cylinder 63 parallel to the exhaust cylinder 63. This supply / exhaust body 56
Has a circular exhaust receiving groove 64 on the surface opposite to the surface from which both cylindrical portions 62 and 63 protrude, and the exhaust cylindrical portion 63 is opened on the bottom surface of the groove 64. An air supply cylinder 62 is opened at the center of the opposite surface surrounded by the exhaust receiving groove 64. The air supply / exhaust body 56 is fixedly disposed on the motor bracket 54 side with the both cylindrical portions 62 and 63 passed through holes 65 and 66 formed in the motor bracket 54 and slightly separated from the valve seat body 55. The air hose 44 is connected to the air supply cylinder section 62, and the exhaust cylinder section 63 is opened to the atmosphere as it is, or communicates with the sound deadening chamber via an air hose (not shown) or the like as necessary. .

7 to 10, reference numeral 67 denotes an encoder plate for detecting rotation information of the rotary valve body 57.
A rotary valve body 57 made of synthetic resin is swaged through the central portion of the rotary valve. The rotary valve body 57 to which the encoder plate 67 is connected in this manner is rotatably disposed between the valve seat body 55 and the air supply / exhaust body 56 in sliding contact therewith. The rotary valve body 57 has an outer cylindrical portion 68 opened to the motor bracket 54 side in FIG. 7 and a short inner cylindrical portion 69 provided concentrically inside this and also opened to the motor bracket 54 side.
And

The rotary valve body 57 is provided with an exhaust passage. That is, the exhaust passage has a C-shaped exhaust groove 70 formed on the surface of the rotary valve body 57 on the valve seat 55 side, and both ends opened at the bottom surface of the groove 70 and the bottom surface of the inner cylindrical portion 69. A plurality of, for example, three exhaust holes 71 provided at intervals of 90 degrees.
And formed. The distribution supply / exhaust ports a to h are included in the rotation locus of the exhaust groove 70. The exhaust groove 70 is provided at a position facing (communicating with) the distribution supply / exhaust ports a to h except, for example, two of them. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 11, both ends of the C-shaped exhaust groove 70 are separated from each other by a distance including two adjacent distribution supply / exhaust ports. An air supply hole 72 described later communicates with one of the two distribution supply / exhaust ports located between both ends of the exhaust groove 70 on the surface of the rotary valve body 57 on the valve seat 55 side. A shutter 73 (see FIG. 9) is provided to close the other distribution supply / exhaust port in the closed state. The shutter portion 73 includes a flat portion that slides on the valve seat body 55.
Each exhaust hole 71 faces (communicates with) the exhaust receiving groove 64.
It is provided in the position where it does. The exhaust cylinder 63 and the plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports a to
and f.

The rotary valve 57 has an air supply hole 7 forming an air supply passage.
2 are provided. That is, the hole 72 is provided with one end thereof opened eccentrically from the center of the surface of the rotary valve body 57 on the valve seat 55 side, and the other end opened at the center of the bottom surface of the inner cylinder 69. The one end of the air supply hole 72 is opposed to (communicates with) any one of the distribution supply / exhaust ports a to h, and is open between both ends 70 a and 70 b of the exhaust groove 70. Any one of the distribution supply / exhaust ports a to f is communicated with the air supply cylinder 62 through the air supply hole 72.

As shown in FIG. 7, the rotary valve body 57 has a central shaft 74 projecting from the center of the surface on the valve seat body 55 side.
It is fitted in the bearing hole 61 and is supported rotatably around the central shaft 74 while being in contact with the valve seat 55. The supply / exhaust body 56 is fitted inside the inner cylindrical portion 69 of the rotary valve body 57. And, between the supply / exhaust body 56 and the wall surface of the motor bracket 51 where the holes 65 and 66 are opened, the air supply cylinder portion 62 is wound and a coil spring 75 is sandwiched.
The air supply / exhaust body 56 is pressed and held against the bottom surface of the inner cylinder 69 by the spring force of the spring 75. In such an assembled state, the rotary valve body 57 can rotate by slidingly contacting the valve seat body 55 and the air supply / exhaust body 56, and the air supply hole 72 is provided in the air supply cylinder 6
2, and each exhaust hole 71 faces (communicates with) the exhaust receiving groove 64.

As the motor 58, a stepping motor capable of rotating forward and backward is used. The motor 58 is mounted on the outer surface of the motor bracket 54, and the drive gear 76 mounted on the rotating shaft is inserted inside the motor bracket 54 as shown in FIG. The drive gear 76 is meshed with a gear 77 formed integrally on the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 68 of the rotary valve body 57. Therefore, the rotation valve body 57 is engaged with the drive gear 76 and the gear portion 77 in accordance with the number of drive pulses applied to the motor 58.
Are rotated with the encoder plate 67, and the air supply cylinder portion 62 and the exhaust cylinder portion 63 are communicated with any of the distribution supply / exhaust ports a to f by selecting the rotation position of the rotary valve body 57 according to the rotation. You can do it.

In FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, reference numeral 78 denotes a synthetic resin sensor base. Light emitting diodes (not shown) and phototransistors (not shown) are individually provided on both sides of a groove 78a of the sensor base. . The light emitting diode and the phototransistor detect light passing through a sensor hole provided in a peripheral portion of the encoder plate 67 loosely inserted into the groove 78a to detect rotation information of the rotary valve body 57. Has become. In the drawings, 79 and 80 are printed wiring boards connected to the sensor base 78.

In order to perform air massage using the chair-type air massage machine having the above configuration, first, the power cord 4
In a state where 0 is connected to a power outlet (not shown), the user sits on the chair body 1 and then operates the input means 4 to designate a desired massage mode and turn on a start switch of the input means 4. Then, since the designated massage mode is executed by the control means 41, at least one of the treatment bags 8 to 11, 24, and 25 repeats inflation and deflation a predetermined number of times, and the backrest 6
An air massage is performed, which repeatedly presses and relaxes the back and the like of the user leaning on the back.

At this time, if the shoulder massaging massage mode is designated by the input means 4, the shoulder pressing massager 26 is given a movement to massage the shoulder A as follows to give the shoulder mass A. Can be air massaged. That is,
The control unit 41 first communicates the sixth distribution air supply / exhaust port f of the rotary valve 43 with the shoulder treatment bag 24 via the air supply unit 42 to inflate the bag 24, and then continues the inflation. The fifth distribution air supply / exhaust port e and a pair of neck treatment bags 25 are communicated with each other to be inflated.
The operation of exhausting from steps 4 and 25 is repeated a predetermined number of times.

Then, as the shoulder treatment bag 24 to which the compressed air is supplied expands as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the first rotating plate 22 moves back around the first hinge shaft 30. Since the user pivots so as to cover the shoulder A of the user leaning on the backrest 6 from above and obliquely from above, the shoulder pressing protrudingly provided on the second rotating plate 23 that moves together with the first rotating plate 22. The massager 26 is pressed against the shoulder A, and presses the shoulder A with acupressure. Next, the control means 41 does not discharge the compressed air in the shoulder treatment bag 24 from the rotary valve 43,
While holding the bag 24 in the inflated state, compressed air is supplied to the pair of neck treatment bags 25 to inflate the neck treatment bags 25 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Therefore, the second pivoting plate 23 pivots around the second hinge shaft 36 so as to approach from the side with respect to the neck B of the user leaning on the backrest 6, so that the second pivoting plate 23 is already pushed on the shoulder A. The pressed shoulder massager 26 is shifted in the direction of the base of the neck while being pressed. Accordingly, the shoulder A can be massaged acupressurely by giving a feeling of rubbing to the shoulder A. In this case, the neck pressure massager 2
It does not matter if 7 touches neck B.

The operation of the air valve 43 in the above-described shoulder massage mode is as follows. That is,
As described above, at the stage of supplying the compressed air to the shoulder treatment bag 24, as shown in FIG.
The third rotary valve body 57 is arranged at a rotational position that allows the air supply hole 72 to communicate with the sixth distribution supply / exhaust port f for the shoulder of the valve seat body 55. In this state, the air supply cylinder portion 62, the air supply hole 72, and the sixth distribution supply / exhaust port f of the rotary valve 43 communicate with each other. Therefore, these air supply paths in the valve
The compressed air supplied from the air supply means 42 flows as indicated by the solid arrow in FIG. 7, and the compressed air is supplied to the shoulder treatment via the air hose 50 communicating with the sixth distribution supply / exhaust port f. Supplied to the bag 24, the bag 24 is inflated. At this time, both ends 70 of the C-shaped exhaust groove 70
a and 70b, the sixth distribution supply / exhaust port f and the closed seventh distribution supply / exhaust port g are located.
The shutter 73 overlaps the distribution exhaust port g.
The other distribution supply / exhaust ports a to e, h face the exhaust groove 70, and the exhaust cylinder 63 of the valve 43,
Exhaust receiving groove 64, exhaust hole 71, exhaust groove 70,
The fifth distribution supply / exhaust ports a to e are communicated with each other, and the air is exhausted in a path indicated by a dotted arrow in FIG. All the bags are in a contracted state.

Next, the motor 58 is operated to rotate the rotary valve body 5.
7 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 11 by a fixed angle θ, and the rotary valve body 57 is turned into an air supply hole 72 as shown in FIG.
Is disposed at a rotational position communicating with the fifth distribution supply / exhaust port e for the neck of the valve seat body 55. Thereby, the rotary valve 4
Since the third air supply cylinder portion 62, the air supply hole 72, and the fifth distribution supply / exhaust port e communicate with each other, the compressed air supplied from the air supply means 42 passes through these valve air supply paths. The air is supplied to the neck treatment bag 25 via an air hose 49 communicating with the five distribution supply / exhaust port e, and the bag 25 is inflated.

At this time, the shutter portion 73 located on the rear side in the rotational direction from the air supply hole 72 overlaps the sixth distribution supply / exhaust port f for the shoulder of the rotary valve body 57 as shown in FIG. 11B. This air supply / exhaust port f is closed. Therefore, the shutter 73 prevents the compressed air from being discharged from the shoulder treatment bag 24 in the inflated state, and the inflation maintenance time of this treatment bag 24 can be secured longer than the inflation maintenance time of the other treatment bags.
Therefore, by inflating the neck treatment bag 25 while the shoulder treatment bag 24 is inflated, the shoulder massage massage as described above can be performed. Also, at this time, all the other treatment bags 27 to 30 are in a contracted state because they are exhausted through the exhaust path in the valve.

As described above, in the rotary valve 43 having the above structure, the rotary valve body 57 is provided with the shutter portion 73 for closing one of the two supply / discharge ports located between the two ends 70a and 70b of the exhaust groove 70. ing. With the use of this valve 43, the distribution supply / exhaust port which has been supplied with air before being rotated by the rotary valve element 57 and has been closed by the shutter portion 73 with the rotation of the rotary valve element 57. Cannot be supplied or exhausted by the shutter portion 73,
Regardless of the change of the supply / exhaust due to the rotation of 7, the state in which the air is supplied can be maintained.

That is, the distribution air supply / exhaust port which has already been supplied through the air supply hole 72 and precedes in the rotation direction of the rotary valve body 57 is closed by the shutter portion 73 with the rotation of the rotary valve body 57, and the air supply is performed. To maintain the state
The air can be supplied through another distribution supply / exhaust port without the exhaust through the already supplied distribution / exhaust port.
Therefore, it is not necessary to provide an electromagnetic valve in the air hose connecting the distribution supply / exhaust port and the treatment bag to which air is supplied, in order to make the inflation maintenance time of a given treatment bag longer than the inflation maintenance time of other treatment bags. Therefore, it can be implemented inexpensively with a simple configuration. Then, as described above, the air supply hole 72 is
By performing the air supply and exhaust while rotating the rotary valve body 57 in a direction preceding the third, the compression of a desired part of the body, for example, the shoulder in the first embodiment, is continued longer than the normal compression time. Air massage is available. Moreover, in the first embodiment, an air massage can be performed such that the shoulders are rubbed by taking into account the inflation of the neck treatment bag 25.

The treatment bag 2 which has been inflated together as described above.
In order to contract 4 and 25, the rotary valve body 57 is further moved as shown in FIG.
It is sufficient that both of the distribution supply / exhaust ports e and f are opposed to the exhaust groove 70 by being rotated by a predetermined angle θ sequentially in a clockwise direction. Alternatively, it is only necessary to rotate the rotary valve body 57 not in the clockwise direction in FIG. 11 but in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 11 so that both the distribution supply / exhaust ports e and f face the exhaust groove 70.

If it is not necessary to inflate and massage the two treatment bags a and b together,
What is necessary is just to rotate the rotary valve body 57 counterclockwise in FIG. 11 by a predetermined angle θ. Then, one end portion 70a of the exhaust groove 70 located on the rear side in the rotation direction from the air supply hole 72 faces the distribution supply / exhaust port to which the compressed air has been supplied immediately before the rotation of the rotary valve body 57 with the rotation of the rotary valve body 57. Therefore, the compressed air in the treatment bag that has been expanded according to the communication is immediately discharged,
This treatment bag can be contracted.

The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment. For example, in the configuration of the first embodiment, when the treatment bag 24 for the shoulder is communicated with the fifth distribution supply / exhaust port e, and the treatment bag 25 for the neck is communicated with the sixth distribution supply / exhaust port f, the embodiment is performed. While the neck treatment bag 25 is inflated to compress the neck, the shoulder treatment bag 24
Can be inflated to perform an air massage such as rubbing the neck toward the base.

The present invention can also be applied to a case where two treatment bags are arranged so as to overlap with each other and the treatment section is strongly pressed by inflation of both treatment bags. The treatment bag for the back muscle part is communicated with the air supply / exhaust port f, and the inflation time is longer than the inflation time of the other treatment bags by closing the sixth distribution air supply / exhaust port f at the shutter 73. it can.

When the present invention is implemented as an air massage machine, the pressure massager may be omitted.

In implementing the present invention as an air massage machine, a plurality of the rotary valves may be used. In this case, after simultaneously supplying air to a plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports, it is possible to simultaneously intake air to the next plurality of distribution supply / exhaust ports in a state where these are blocked by a shutter portion. By shifting the timing of the rotation of the rotary valve body, the timing of supply and exhaust to the treatment bag or the like can be shifted.

[0059]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects.

According to the rotary valve according to the first aspect of the present invention, the rotary valve body is provided with a shutter for closing one of the two supply / discharge ports located between both ends of the exhaust groove. Closing the distribution supply / exhaust port supplied by the supply port preceding the rotation direction of the rotary valve body at the shutter portion,
Since the air supply state is maintained, air can be supplied through another distribution air supply / exhaust port without being exhausted through the already supplied air supply / exhaust port. Since it is not necessary to provide an electromagnetic valve in the air hose connecting the mouth and the air supply target, the air hose can be implemented with a simple configuration and at low cost.

According to the air massage machine according to the second aspect of the present invention, compressed air is supplied to and exhausted from each treatment bag using the rotary valve according to the first aspect of the present invention. By performing air supply and exhaust while rotating the rotary valve body in the direction, air massage can be continuously performed for a desired portion of the body for a longer time than normal compression time without using an electromagnetic valve.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a chair-type air massage machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a configuration of a neck-and-shoulder massage mechanism with a part of a backrest included in the chair-type air massage machine shown in FIG. 1 cut away.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of a neck-and-shoulder massage mechanism shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration of the neck and shoulder massage mechanism shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a neck-and-shoulder massage mechanism shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system of the chair type air massage machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a rotary valve provided in the chair type air massage machine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the rotary valve as viewed from an arrow Z direction in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a relationship between a valve seat body and a rotary valve body of the rotary valve shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a relation between a valve seat body, a supply / exhaust body, and a motor bracket of the rotary valve shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11A is a diagram showing a positional relationship between each distribution supply / exhaust port, an exhaust groove, and an air supply hole of the rotary valve shown in FIG. 7 along a line YY in FIG. 7; (B) shows the positional relationship between the distribution supply / exhaust port, the exhaust groove, and the air supply hole when the rotary valve body is rotated by a fixed angle from the state of FIG. 11 (A) along the line YY in FIG. FIG.

FIG. 12A is a view showing the positional relationship between each of the distribution supply / exhaust ports, the exhaust grooves, and the supply holes of the conventional rotary valve.
(A) Corresponding figure. FIG. 11B is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 11B showing a positional relationship between the distribution supply / exhaust port, the exhaust groove, and the air supply hole of the conventional rotary valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... chair main body (massage machine main body), 3 ... air supply / exhaust device, 8 ... hip treatment bag, 9 ... thigh treatment bag, 10 ... waist treatment bag, 11 ... spine treatment bag, 24 ... Shoulder treatment bag, 25: Neck treatment bag, 43: Air valve, 55: Valve seat, 56: Supply / exhaust body, 57: Rotary valve body, 58: Motor, 62: Air supply cylinder, 63: Exhaust cylinder 70, exhaust groove, 70a, 70b, end of exhaust groove, 71, exhaust hole, 72, air supply hole, 73, shutter, ah, distribution supply and exhaust port.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI F16K 11/074 F16K 11/074 Z

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A valve seat having a plurality of distribution air supply / discharge ports disposed equidistantly from a center, and an air supply / exhaust having an air supply cylinder at a center and an exhaust cylinder at an eccentric position therefrom. A C-shaped exhaust groove disposed between the valve seat body and the air supply / exhaust body so as to be rotatably slidably in contact with the valve seat body and the air supply / exhaust body and communicating the exhaust cylinder portion and the plurality of distribution air supply / exhaust ports; An opening is provided between both ends of the groove and has an air supply hole for communicating any one of the distribution supply / exhaust ports with the air supply cylinder portion, and rotates the air supply cylinder portion and the exhaust cylinder portion by the rotation of the distribution supply / exhaust port. A rotary valve body that selectively communicates with any one of the rotary valve bodies, and a motor that rotates the rotary valve body. The rotary valve body further comprises: Separated by a distance that includes two adjacent air supply and exhaust ports And a shutter portion for closing the other supply / exhaust port between the supply port and one end of the exhaust groove while the other supply / exhaust port communicates with one of the two supply / exhaust ports. A rotary valve, comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein compressed air is supplied to and exhausted from a plurality of treatment bags incorporated in the body of the massage machine by an air supply / exhaust device to inflate and contract each of the treatment bags to perform massage. The air supply / exhaust device is provided with a rotary valve, and in the air massage machine for selectively supplying / exhausting compressed air to / from each of the treatment bags via the valve, the rotary valve according to claim 1 is used. Air massage machine characterized by the following.