WO1981000202A1

WO1981000202A1 - An akupressure implement

Info

Publication number: WO1981000202A1
Application number: PCT/DK1980/000042
Authority: WO
Inventors: K Noergaard
Original assignee: K Noergaard
Priority date: 1979-07-16
Filing date: 1980-07-14
Publication date: 1981-02-05
Also published as: JPS56500834A; FR2461493A1; ES260304Y; EP0032149A1; ES260304U

Abstract

An akupressure implement designed in a tong like manner as a lightweight portable unit which is mountable in a self carrying manner on a relevant limb portion to force an akupressure knob (28) against any selected limb point with a moderate pressure. The akupressure knob (28) is covered by a metallic foil (30) whereby the akupressure treatment is supplemented by an important "foil treatment" effect, this effect in itself being improved by way of the foil (30) being forced against the sensitive limb point.

Description

An akupressure implement.

This invention relates to a zone-therapy or aku¬ pressure implement comprising pressure knob means ad¬ apted to engage selected areas of human limb portions to exert a pressure thereagainst. Basically, zone-thera- py is effected by way of a finger pressure against any of a number of relevant small size areas of the human body, located primarily on the limbs, first of all on the feet and the lower leg portions. Various auxiliaries have already been developed for enabling the weight of the body or a limb portion thereof to provide for the necessary pressure against suitable relatively sta¬ tionary knob means as provided e.g. in the step surface of a shoe or as rollers or knobs on a floor supported apparatus serving to take up the weight of the leg of a person in a sitting or lying position, whereby the aku- therapeutical pressure is maintainable for any desired duration without any fatiguing finger pressure work.

Another known type of zone-therapy does not rely on any pronounced pressure against the respective sensitive body or limb areas, but on these respective areas being engaged by a metallic foil, this type of treatment being known as "foil therapy". According to this type of thera¬ py it is sufficient to cover the respective selected body

O PI or limb areas by a contacting piece of foil held in place e.g. by means of an adhesive tape placed across the re¬ spective area.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide an improved zone-therapeutical implement, and the invention is based on the cognition that the efficiency of the said foil therapy is increased when the foil is urged by a moderate force against the respective sensitive area, and that generally even the applied akupressure should pre- ferably be of a moderate magnitude, as it is liable to be too high when given by the weight of the body.

According to the invention there is provided an im¬ plement designed in a tong like manner, comprising a pair of jaw members, of which one is provided with preferably but a single akupressure knob having a metallic outer surface, while the other jaw member has a counter pressure member, said jaw members being pivotally or displaceably interconnected such that the implement as a portable unit is mountable by clamp action on a limb portion. Such an implement will be usable without requiring the user's body to assume any specific position, and the applied combined akupressure and "foil pressure" will be determined by the setting of the implement itself, whether by way of a resilient bias or some jaw arresting system. The implement is adapted for use on outer limb portions only, i.e. it may be correspondingly small and of light¬ weight design, whereby it is easily portable.

In the following the invention is described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an imple¬ ment according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a detail thereof, Fig. 3 is a side view illustrating the assembly po- sition of the implement,

Fig. 4 is a corresponding view of the implement in its normal position, Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views illustrating the implement in use, and

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of a modified imple¬ ment. The implement shown in Figs. 1-4 comprises two jaw members 2 and 4 having complementarily shaped hub por¬ tions 6 and 8 which are pivotally joinable into a hinge portion 10 by means of central pin members 12. In the hub portion 6 is a central recess 14 in which is mounted a coil spring 16 having straight spring ends 18 and 20 pro¬ jecting in opposite directions into engagement with in¬ terior spring end receiving cavities 22 (Fig. 3) in the hub portions 6 and 8, the coil spring 16 being centered by means of the central pin members 12, which are pressed into central holes of the hub portion 8 so as to be re¬ ceived in a self holding manner therein.

At its outer end the jaw member 2 is provided with an integral ball head 24, onto which is mounted a socket portion of a counter pressure disc 26 made of semihard.. rubber. The outer end of the jaw member 2 is shaped with an akupressure knob or disc portion 28 having a convex surface facing the counter pressure disc 26. The surface is covered by a metallic foil piece 30 (Figs. 1 and 2) which is secured by means of an exterior locking ring 32. The jaw members 2 and 4 are made as plastic castings, and their stem portionsare slightly bendable such that even when the hub portions 6 and 8 engage each other they may be caused to cross each other as shown in Fig. 3. The jaw members are joined in the mutual positions shown in Fig. 3, and thereafter they are pulled away from each other and allowed to line up parallel with each other into the normal position shown in Fig. 4, in which the spring 16 has been biased sufficiently to urge the aku¬ pressure knob 28 centrally against the counter pressure disc 26.

The implement is then ready to be mounted on a limb portion, e.g. as shown on a leg in Fig. 5 and on a hand

OMPI in Fig. 6, with the akupressure knob 28 engaging a se¬ lected relevant limb point or small area with a pressure determined by the degree of opening of the tong implement, the necessary counter pressure being exerted by the disc 26 on an opposed limb portion. Due to the spring 16, therefore, the implement will be self-holding on the limb portions in question, and the spring may be adapted so as to cause a practically optimal pressure to be exerted against the relevant aku-areas. The pressure need not be very heavy, e.g. some 0,5-2 kp.

In fig. 7 is shown a modified embodiment, in which th hub portion is provided with a releasable pawl member 40, which cooperates with an arched tooth rack 42 so as to arrest the jaw members in any forced together position, thus enabling the user to determine the applied akupressur without the use of any clamp spring apart from the possibl resiliency of the jaw members themselves. The pawl is re¬ leasable by pressure against a spring 44.

It will be understood that the implement may easily be made so as to include an adjustable spring member to allow the user to adjust the pressure as desired in each and every mutual position of the jaw members, such spring being arrangeable either in the hinge hub for rotary adjus ment or in a linear manner direct between the basic portio of the jaw members. The implement may even be made in one piece, without any specific hinge portion, when the material bow portion interconnecting the knobs 26 and 28 is suitable resilient; alternatively such one-piece connection between the knobs may show an integral and easily bendable "hinge", e.g.. a leaf portion of reduced thickness, when additional means are provided between the jaws for providing the desired clamping force. A further alternative will be to design the implement in a slide caliper like manner, with the jaws guided by relative parallel displacement. Finally it should be mentioned that the hub portion of the tong-like implement may be a frictio hinge showing a permanent or adjustable friction, with or without the use of a spring.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A zone-therapy or akupressure implement comprising a pressure knob adapted to engage a selected point or small area of a human limb portion to exert a pressure thereagainst, characterized in that it is designed in a tong like manner, comprising a pair of jaw members (2,4), of which one is provided with the said knob (28)-which has.a metallic active surface while the other jaw has a counter pressure member (26) , said jaw members being pivotally or displaceably interconnected such that the implement is ountable by clamp action as a portable unit on a limb portion.

2. An implement according to claim 1, characterized in that the said counter pressure member is a disc member (26) which is pivotally and self-adjustably connected with the respective jaw member (2) by means of a ball head con¬ nection (24) .

3. An implement according to claim 1, characterized in that the jaw members (2,4) are pivotally interconnected through a low friction hinge including spring means (20) for generally biasing the jaw members towards each other.

4. An implement according to claim 1, characterized in that the jaw members (2,4) are made generally of plastics and that the pressure knob (28) is an integral jaw portion covered by a metallic foil (30) .

OMPI . P