US2088963A

US2088963A - Health machine

Info

Publication number: US2088963A
Application number: US88260A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kondo Itaro
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-11-30
Filing date: 1936-06-30
Publication date: 1937-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 1954-08-03

Description

Aug. 3, 1937. 4 l. KONDO 8,

HEALTH MACHINE Fil'ed June 30, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 .38 4o 6' INVENTOR, 5 54 I. Konfio Aug. 3, 1937. 1, KQN'DO 2,088,963

' HEALTH MACHINE Filed. June so, 1936 27Sheets-Sheet 2 lllr H 5 -lm INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 3, 1937 UNITED STATES.

HEALTH Itaro Kondo, Shizuoka-sbi, .lapan Application June 30,

193,6; satin No. 88,260

In Japan November 1 Claim.

. Myinvention relates to improvements in electrically driven health machines by use of which oscillatory movements are imparted to human bodies for health purposes.

5. 1 An object of my invention is to provide health machines of the kind specified, suitable for home use for training human bodies, recovering and maintaining their health, and also treating them for various diseases.

Another object of my invention is to provide health machines in which undesirable noises are minimized, and in which no undesirable shock iscimparted to. the human body under treatment. A further object of my invention is to provide thehealth machines in which the rate of the oscillatory movement can be adjusted or changed readily and without special care, with a constant speed of the driving motor.

In order that myinvention may be more fully 20 understood, there will now be described by Way of example, and with the aid of the accompanying drawings, one constructional form which my invention may assume.

In the drawings: 7

Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of a health ma,- chine embodying my invention, a portion of the housing beingbroken away, and some parts enclosed therein being detached.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the machine :30 shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the housing being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the machine shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the section. being taken on the line IIIIII in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan View of the machine shown in Figs. '1 and 2, the section being taken on the line IVIV in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional speed-adjusting means.

5. W Figs. 6 and '7 are perspective views showin how a human body is treated by my health machine.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the health machine illustrated, comprises a housing I hav- $4 ing a base portion 2 and an upstanding portion 3 serving as a supporting frame for several parts hereinafter described. The base portion 2 is closed at the bottom by a bed plate 4 secured to the bottom edge of the base portion, and provided v5. with an opening 5 for enabling the inspection of and the access to those parts enclosed within the base portion 2. The opening 5 is detachably closed by acover plate 6 with a plurality of screws 6.

5155 Within the base portion 2 of the 2 view of the housing l and on the bed plate 4, is. disposedan electric motor 'ljfor' driving a shaft 8 through reducing gears andsPeed-Changing means forming the essential features of. my invention. Theshaft 8 is arranged. in parallel relation with the rotor shaft of the-motor l, androtatably supported by suitable beaifings. 9. and H1.

The reducing gears comprise a pair of disc-like rotor members. [I and I2, frictionally engaging each other. The rotor member ll is of a smaller, diameter than the rotor member l2, and carried by the rotor shaft of the motor I, while therotor member l2is carried by a'counter-shaft l3 which rotatably supported bysuitable bearings It and i5, and disposed in perpendicular relatiqn, withthe driven shaft 8 and. the rotor shaft of themotor 1,. The counter-shaft 13 also carries ano er disc-like, rotor member I6, at that end ad acent to the driven shaft 8.

The rotor members or friction discs l2 and [6 are keyed to the counter-shaft l3 but are made to be longitudinally movable thereon within a limited extent. of well-known constructions maybefutilizedfor this purpose, and it is thought to, be unnecessary to illustrate such a construction'linl detail, as any one skilled in the art can readily design such a construction. A compressionhelicalspring I1 is disposed between the two discs [land it for the purpose hereinafter described.

adrivn shaft 8 carries a friction disc memher lawhich is keyed to an end portion of the shaft 8 but is made to be longitudinally movable thereon. This longitudinal movement is given by the, manual adjustment of a screw member l9, the threaded portion of which co-operates with a threaded hole 20 formed in the housing wall and extends into the housing. The screw member. [9. has. at its inner end an enlargement 2| which is connected with the hub portion 22 of the, disc [8 through a thrust ball bearing device as; shown in Fig. 5. The screw member I9 is held in any adjusted position by means of a lock nut IQ. The disc l8 has, in its hub portion at the opposite side to the hub portion 22, a long bore-[into which the end portion of shaft 8 extends. This bore is provided with a suificiently long key way 23 into which a key 24 attached to the shaft 8 slidably fits and is longitudinally movable. therein. The periphery of the. disc [8 frictionally eneaseslwith one iacef h isc l6 p d i plane. perpendicular to that of the former. Thus the disc i8 is rotated as the disc I6 rotates, the peed ratio; therebetween being determined by the distance of the point of their contact from the centre of the disc I6. One face of the disc I2 frictionally engages with the periphery of the disc II, and both of the discs I2 and I6 are urged to their respective co-operating discs II and I8 by the force of the spring I'I, their frictional engagements being thus secured.

The driven shaft 8 carries a pair of cams and 26 secured thereto in spaced relation and in opposite phase relation to each other. These cams respectively engage with and operate a pair of followers Hand 28, which are respectively mounted on the opposite ends of a horizontal swing arm 29 fixed to a vertical swing rod 30. The rod 36 is supported at its lower end by a thrust bearing 3| on the bed plate 4, and extends upward through a suitable opening in the wall of the base portion 2 of the housing, while at its upper end portion the rod 30 extends into the top portion of the upstanding frame 3 through a suitable journal bearing 32. The rod 30 carries at its upper end a second swing arm 33 fixed thereto. The arm 33 has ball ends 34 and 35, which respectively engage with and operate a pair of pull rods or

plungers

36 and 31. The

plungers

36 and 31 are slidably supported within

cylindrical casings

38 and 39, respectively, supported in the top portion of the frame 3. The

casings

38 and 39 have suitable openings through which the swing arm 33 extends into the casings. Helical springs 40 and M are respectively inserted between the

plungers

36 and 3! and the end walls of the casings 38 and 3.9, for absorbing any mechanical shock.

The major and intermediate portion of the swing rod 30 is disposed in front of the upstanding frame 3 and carries a third swing arm 42 which is slidable along the rod 30 and can be fixed thereto at any adjusted height by means of a set screw 43. The arm 42 has at its front end a lateral extension 44 having a pair of

waveshaped depressions

45 and 46.

In operation, electrical power is supplied to the motor I through a wire I. As the motor is operated, the shaft 8 is rotated at a reduced speed through the friction discs Ii, I2, I6 and I8 as will readily be understood. The rotational speed of the shaft 8 may be readily changed by the manual adjusting of the screw member I9 as hereinbefore described. The rotating motion of the shaft 8 is converted into a vibrational swinging motion of the swing rod 30 by means of the

cams

25 and 26 together with the

followers

21 and 28, as will be readily understood, and vibrationally operates the

arms

42 and 33. The swinging motion of the arm 33 is converted into a reciprocating motion of the

plungers

36 and 31, the two plungers being moved to and fro in opposite phases to each other. The

plungers

36 and 31 are provided at their front ends with

hooks

41 and 48, respectively, with which hooks the looped ends of a pair of belts or

bands

49 and 50 are engaged.

Two examples of the manner in which a. human body is treated are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. As shown in Fig. 6, a man lies on his back with his head towards the front of the machine and his neck resting on a suitable pillow. The belts or

bands

49 and 53 are provided with loops 5| and 52 at their free ends, and the man with his legs upwards has each of his feet engaging with each loop 5|, 52. The

bands

49 and 50 have also

branches

53 and 54, respectively, having loops with which the hands of the mans upwardly extended arms are engaged respectively. As the machine is operated, the operators arms and legs are swung vibrationally to and fro.

This treatment agitates the action of capillary vessels of the human body, with the result that the veins of the limbs are shaken, and the circulation of blood throughout the human body is normally effected. Moreover, the skin of the limbs are activated and every organ of the body is adequately stimulated. This treatment, when effected for several minutes at least every moming and evening, has been proved to be adapted for treating limb disorders, high blood pressure, neuralgia, rheumatism, heart trouble, kidney trouble, impoverishment of blood, etc.

In the second manner of treatment as shown in Fig. 7, a man lies on his back in front of the machine with his feet riding on the swing arm extension 44, each foot in each

depression

45, 46, and his neck resting on his own arms bent thereunder. As the machine is operated, the feet together with the legs to the waist are vibrationally swung left and right, just as in the manner of the tail motion of the gold fish. The toes must be kept upwards during the treatment. By this treatment, the spine is rearranged normally, any oppression of spinal nerves is released, and the circulation of the blood is made normal. Moreover, the faculty of producing red blood-corpuscles in the marrow is stimulated, the tenseness of the sympathetic nerves is facilitated, and the contents of the viscera are rearranged uniformly. This treatment, when effected for several minutes every morning and evening, has been proved to be adapted for curing constipation, intestinal and stomach disorder, neuralgia, rheumatism, etc.

During the treatment of a human body with the health machine of this kind, it may happen that the man under treatment intentionally or unintentionally ceases to follow the vibrational movement of the machine, and in such a case the reaction causes undesirable shocks to be imparted to the human body unless particularly devised for this. According to my invention such a shock is never imparted to the human body, but the reaction causes slipping between the discs I6 and I8 or the discs II and I2. Moreover, since there is no play gap between the discs II,- I2, I6, I8, such as in toothed gears, nor any flexing part, such as in a pulley and belt drive, undesirable noise is minimized. The spring I1 functions not only to minimize the play gap, but also to ensure the frictional engagement between the discs for positive transmission of the motion.

Although I have shown and described only one embodiment of my invention, I am fully aware that further modifications thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:-

In a health machine, the combination with an electric motor, a swing arm, a first drive shaft, and means for converting the rotating motion of said shaft into a vibrational swinging motion of said swing arm, of means interposed between said motor and said shaft for transmitting movement therebetween and including a friction disc on the shaft of said motor, a second friction disc engaging at its side face with the periphery of said first-mentioned disc,

a third friction disc on said second shaft, a fourth friction disc keyed to said first shaft but longitudinally movable thereon and engaging at its periphery with the face of said third friction disc which is remote from said first friction disc, said second and third friction discs being relatively movable along said second shaft, a compression spring interposed between said second and third discs for pressing them respectively against said first and fourth discs, and a screw member for shifting said fourth disc longitudinally on said first shaft.

ITARO KONDO.