JP4692270B2 - Massage machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a massage machine, and more particularly, to a massage machine that includes a treatment element paired up and down and that can change the distance between the pair of treatment elements.

  Conventionally, massage machines capable of performing massage massage, shiatsu massage, and the like have existed, but in recent years, massage machines capable of performing grip massage in addition to these massages have been provided. In this type of massage machine shown in Patent Document 1 and the like, a treatment element is disposed at each tip of a pair of upper and lower arms supported so as to be pivotable up and down, and in the direction in which both treatment elements are approached and separated. Gripping massage is realized by providing an actuator to drive, but when the user is pressed with the two treatment elements paired up and down spaced apart, both treatment elements are brought closer When the user is pressed in a state, the latter receives a higher surface pressure than the user.

That is, it is possible to perform massages with different sensations by changing the interval between the two treatment elements paired up and down. However, in the conventional massage machine, the mechanism is provided for gripping massage, and the massage cannot be performed in a state where the above two states are selectively maintained.
JP 2004-357938 A

  This invention is invented in view of said point, Comprising: It aims at providing the massage machine which can perform various massage according to a user's request | requirement.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the massage machine according to the present invention has a treatment element disposed at each end of a pair of upper and lower arms supported to be rotatable up and down, and moves both treatment elements closer to and away from each other. A state in which only the treatment element arranged at the tip of one arm can be brought into contact with the user by urging the actuator that is driven in the direction and the pair of arms that are rotatable up and down within a predetermined range. on the other actuators to hold a massage machine and a first state in contact is separated the upper and lower pair of treatment elements to Rutotomoni pair of upper and lower treatment elements together treated person, a pair of upper and lower treatment and a second state in contact with Rutotomoni pair of upper and lower treatment elements to approximate the child together treated person, together to separate the upper and lower pair of treatment elements of the other one of the treatment element by retaining by the other actuators Than療子 in three states of the third being in contact only with the treated person massaging elements of one said to protrude the treated side, provided with a driving means for causing the massaging operation kneading the respective treatment elements, Further, a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure applied to the treatment element, and the actuators are operated based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor to change the state of the treatment element during the massage massage between the three states. A control unit that changes the pair of treatment elements from the first state to the second state when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is equal to or higher than a first set value. When the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is equal to or higher than a second set value higher than the first set value, the pair of treatment elements is changed from the second state to the third state. Have the characteristics There. According to the pressure applied to the treatment element, the way in which the treatment element paired up and down is applied to the user is changed.

  At this time, even if the control unit operates the actuator by comparing the average value within a predetermined time obtained from the pressure detected by the pressure sensor with the set value, the predetermined value obtained from the pressure detected by the pressure sensor. The actuator may be operated by comparing the rate of change of the average value over time with a set value.

In addition to the automatic switching mode in which both the actuators are operated based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor, the control unit operates at least the latter of the actuators based on an operation input from the operating device. It is also preferable to provide a manual switching mode. The user can also select an action.

  The present invention is designed to change the manner in which the treatment element paired up and down is applied to the user in accordance with the pressure applied to the treatment element. It can be received.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. First, the mechanical elements of the massage machine provided with the upper and lower treatment elements 2b and 2a so that the treatment elements 2b and 2a can be applied to the user will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 17, reference numeral 1 in FIG. 17 denotes a massage mechanism that enables gripping massage, and the massage mechanism 1 that is disposed in a self-propelled manner within the backrest of the chair includes side plates 11 at both ends in the width direction constituting the frame, 11, a vertical drive shaft 12 and a strong and weak drive shaft (not shown) are installed, and a movable unit 14 is disposed. In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a treatment element lower cover.

  The vertical drive shaft 12 is rotationally driven by a vertical drive motor 15 fixed to one side plate 11, and rollers 16 and pinions 17 are attached to both ends thereof. Since the roller 16 rolls on a rail disposed in the backrest and the pinion 17 meshes with a rack attached to the rail, the massage mechanism moves along the rail in the backrest by driving the vertical drive motor 15. And run up and down. The strength drive shaft is rotationally driven by a strength motor fixed to the other side plate 11, and a gear for rotating the movable unit 14 is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the movable unit 14 has a width drive shaft 20 and two slide guide shafts 21 and 21 installed between a pair of left and right gear plates 19 and 19, and a pair of left and right treatment element units 7 (FIGS. 14 and 15 shows only one treatment element unit 7), and both ends of the width drive shaft 20, which can rotate around the shaft with respect to both the gear plates 19, 19, are connected to the massage mechanism. It is arrange | positioned between the side plates 11 and 11 by being rotatably supported by a pair of side plates 11 and 11. The tooth portion 19a on the outer peripheral surface of the gear plate 19 meshes with the gear of the strong and weak drive shaft, and when the strong and weak drive shaft rotates, the movable unit 14 rotates around the axis of the width drive shaft 20, and the treatment element The amount of protrusion of the treatment elements 2b, 2a provided in the unit 7 to the front side of the backrest is changed. The width driving shaft 20 is rotationally driven by a width driving motor fixed to one side plate 11.

Treatment element unit 7, as shown in FIG. 16, consisting of treatment elements arm base plate 22 as a support member, the arm 4b on which is mounted a massaging head 2b to the distal end portion, the lower arm 4a or the like fitted with a massaging head 2a at the tip The arm base plate 22 that rotatably supports the base end portions of the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a by a support shaft 23 includes a feed nut 24 that is screwed into a threaded portion of the width drive shaft 20, and The sliders 25 and 25 are slidably fitted to the slide guide shafts 21 and 21, and the axial positions of the width drive shaft 20 and the slide guide shaft 21 are changed by the rotation of the width drive shaft 20. The threaded portion formed on the width drive shaft 20 has one of the left and right sides where the feed nuts 24, 24 of the pair of treatment element units 7, 7 mesh with each other, formed by a reverse screw. From Rukoto, each arm base plate 22 in the left-right pair of treatment elements units 7,7 and away from approaching each other by the rotation of the width drive shaft 20.

When the vertical drive shaft 12 is driven by the vertical drive motor 15, the massage mechanism 1 moves up and down in the backrest as described above and changes the positions of the treatment elements 2b and 2a up and down. Further, when the strong and weak driving shaft is driven by the strong and weak driving motor, the movable unit 14 rotates around the width driving shaft 20 as described above, so that the treatment element 2b as viewed from the width driving shaft 20 moves forward. The amount of protrusion, that is, the strength with which the treatment element 2b presses the human body changes. Further, by driving the width drive shaft 20 with the width drive motor, the pair of left and right treatment element units 7 and 7 approach and separate in the left and right direction, which is the axial direction of the width drive shaft 20, and the left and right treatment elements 2b, Change the interval 2a.

  In this massage machine, by combining the above-described operations by the three motors, the treatment elements 2b and 2a are allowed to perform a three-dimensional compound operation to realize a so-called massage massage. In order to enable drive control, feedback control is performed by providing sensors that detect the vertical position, protrusion amount (strength), width position, and the like.

  Airbags 26 and 27, which are actuators for gripping and massaging, are provided between the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a. When the airbag 26 is inflated by the supply of air, as shown in FIG. 17, the arms 4a and 4b are rotated around the support shaft 23 in a direction in which the treatment elements 2b and 2a at the distal ends of the arms 4b and 4a approach each other, On the contrary, the airbag 27 rotates the arms 4a and 4b in the direction in which the treatment elements 2b and 2a move away. By the approaching / separating operation of the pair of treatment elements 2b and 2a arranged at intervals in the vertical direction by the airbags 26 and 27, the treatment elements 2b and 2a can grasp and massage the human body. .

  Furthermore, a pair of left and right treatment elements 2b, 2a are provided, and the treatment elements 2b, 2a are in a state where the movable range of the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a is limited with respect to the arm base plate 22. Since the upper and lower treatment elements 2b and 2a are both in contact with the back of the human body by rotating within the movable range, When the float lock airbag 28, which is an actuator provided between the upper arm 4 b and the arm base plate 22, is inflated, the upper arm 4 b (and the lower arm 4 a) rotates about the support shaft 23 with respect to the arm base plate 22. In order to push out the treatment element 2b to the front side of the backrest, it is possible to obtain a state in which only the treatment element 2b on the upper side is in contact with the human body. The increase of the urging force of the upper arm 4b due to the expansion of the airbag 28 that functions as a spring narrows the rotatable area of the upper arm 4b and the lower arm 4a with respect to the arm base plate 22, and the airbag. When the 28 is expanded to the maximum, the rotation range becomes substantially zero. However, when a large load is applied to the treatment element 2b, the airbag 28 contracts, so that the load on the human body does not become excessive.

  Each of the above operations is performed under the control of the control unit CU shown in FIG. The vertical sensor, the dynamic position sensor, the width position sensor, the vertical rotation sensor, the dynamic rotation sensor, and the width rotation sensor in the figure are for drive control of the vertical motor, the dynamic motor, and the width motor. It is an air drive unit comprising an air pump and an electromagnetic valve for supplying and discharging air to and from the bags 26 to 28.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), when a massage massage operation is performed with the treatment elements 2b, 2a paired up and down as shown in FIG. 1 (a), they are paired up and down as shown in FIG. 1 (b). When massaging the massager 2b, 2a by inflating the airbag 26 and applying the force F1 to the treatment element 2b, 2a, and by inflating the airbag 28 as shown in FIG. When F2 is added and the massage massage operation is performed with only the treatment element 2b in contact with the user, the state shown in FIG. 1 (a) is A, the state shown in FIG. 1 (b) is B, and FIG. When the state shown in c) is C, the pressing pressure (surface pressure) received by the user is highest when C, and is lowest when A.

  The present invention makes use of this point to make the massage sensation that the user receives during massaging massage more diverse, and the state of ABC is automatically switched according to the pressure applied to the treatment elements 2b and 2a. For this purpose, a pressure sensor S for measuring the pressure applied to the treatment elements 2b, 2a is connected to the control unit CU. The pressure sensor S includes a sensor disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-357944, a sensor that is attached to a shaft on which the treatment elements 2b and 2a are attached to the arms 4b and 4a, and measures the distortion of the shaft. Can be used.

The control unit CU determines an average value within a predetermined time of the pressure P measured by the pressure sensor S when performing massage massage in a state in which the “hand change auto switch” SWa shown in FIG. 19 is on. By comparing with the values, the three states of ABC are switched by operating the airbags 26 and 27 and the airbag 28.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the pressure P (average value) is equal to or higher than a predetermined value Pb when in the A state, the pressure is switched to the B state, and when in the B state, the pressure P (average value) is the predetermined value Pc. If it becomes above, it will switch to C state, if it becomes below predetermined value Pa, it will switch to A state, and if it is in C state, it will switch to B state if pressure P (average value) becomes below predetermined value Pd. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of this operation. Note that any value can be used for each of the predetermined values Pa to Pd, and it is not necessary that Pb <Pd, and the relationship between Pb and Pa and Pc <Pd does not matter. Moreover, although what uses an average value was shown here, you may use the maximum value and minimum value of the pressure P which change with a stagnation operation | movement.

  In any case, when the user desires a pinpoint massage, when the body is pressed against the treatment element 2b, 2a, the detected pressure P increases, so that the surface pressure becomes higher. When switching from the A state to the B state, or from the B state to the C state, on the contrary, when a gentler massage is desired, if the body is separated from the treatment elements 2b and 2a, the detected pressure P decreases. To obtain a massage with different surface pressure even though the surface pressure is lower, that is, from the C state to the B state, or from the B state to the A state, and the massage operation itself is the same. Can do.

  Switching may be performed according to the value of the pressure change rate, or may be performed using both the average value and the change rate. 5 to 7 show examples in which the change rates + ΔP and −ΔP obtained from the average value of the pressure P in the time T1 and the average value in the time T2 are used, and the change rate when in the A state. When + ΔP is equal to or greater than a predetermined value + ΔS, the state is switched to the B state. When the rate of change + ΔP is equal to or greater than the predetermined value + ΔS when in the B state, the state is switched to the C state. In this case, the state is switched to the B state, and when the rate of change -ΔP is equal to or less than the predetermined value -ΔS in the B state, the state is switched to the A state.

  Further, among the three states, switching between the A state and the C state may be performed. In this case, since the switching can be performed only by the airbag 28, the responsiveness is improved. 8 to 10 show a case where the A state and the C state are switched based on the average value of the pressure P, and FIGS. 11 to 13 show a case where the A state and the C state are switched based on the rate of change of the pressure P. Is shown.

In addition to automatic switching, as shown in FIG. 19, a manual operation switch SWw of a “hand change switch” is provided in the operating device so that the three states of ABC can be switched according to the operation of the switch SWw. May be.

(a) (b) (c) is a schematic explanatory view showing each state of a treatment element in an example of an embodiment of the present invention. (a), (b), and (c) are operation | movement explanatory drawings respectively same as the above. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state transition same as the above. It is a flowchart same as the above. (a) (b) (c) is an operation explanatory diagram of another example. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state transition same as the above. It is a flowchart same as the above. (a) and (b) are operation | movement explanatory drawings of another example, respectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state transition same as the above. It is a flowchart same as the above. (a) and (b) are operation | movement explanatory drawings of another example, respectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows a state transition same as the above. It is a flowchart same as the above. It is a perspective view of an example of a massage mechanism concerning the present invention. It is a perspective view of a movable unit same as the above. It is a disassembled perspective view of a treatment element unit same as the above. It is a side view which shows the same grip massage operation | movement. It is a block circuit diagram same as the above. It is a front view of an operating device same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

2b, 2a Treatment element 4b, 4a Arm 26, 27, 28 Air bag (actuator)

Claims (4)

A treatment element is disposed at each end of a pair of upper and lower arms supported so as to be pivotable up and down, and an actuator that drives both treatment elements toward and away from each other and pivots up and down within a predetermined range. A massage machine comprising: another actuator for holding only the treatment element arranged at the tip of one arm so that the user can be contacted by urging the pair of arms that are freely movable; ,
First state and, Rutotomoni to approximate upper and lower pair of treatment elements the pair of upper and lower treatment elements together treated person in contact upper and lower pair of treatment elements to be allowed Rutotomoni pair of upper and lower treatment elements spaced together in treated person and a second state in contact, with separating the upper and lower pair of treatment elements the other one of the treatment element by retaining by the actuator only treatment element was one of the protruded treated person side than the other treatment element In the three states of the third state where the user is brought into contact with the user, each of the treatment elements is provided with driving means for massaging and massaging.
Further, a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure applied to the treatment element, and the actuators are operated based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor to change the state of the treatment element during the massage massage between the three states. and a control unit which,
The control unit changes the pair of treatment elements from the first state to the second state when the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is equal to or higher than a first set value, and is detected by the pressure sensor. A massage machine that changes the pair of treatment elements from the second state to the third state when the pressure is equal to or higher than a second set value that is higher than the first set value. .   2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the controller operates the actuator by comparing an average value within a predetermined time obtained from the pressure detected by the pressure sensor with a set value.   2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the controller operates the actuator by comparing a change rate of an average value within a predetermined time obtained from a pressure detected by the pressure sensor with a set value.   In addition to the automatic switching mode in which both the actuators are operated based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor, the control unit operates at least the latter of the actuators based on an operation input from the operating device. The massage machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a manual switching mode.

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