U.S. patent application number 09/907175 was filed with the patent office on 2002-02-07 for multifunctional foot spa.
Invention is credited to Kuen, Yu King.
Application Number | 20020013964 09/907175 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 4632040 |
Filed Date | 2002-02-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020013964 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kuen, Yu King |
February 7, 2002 |
Multifunctional foot spa
Abstract
The present invention provides a multifunctional foot spa
comprising a chassis; a container disposed on the chassis
comprising a left part and a right part; a foot rest arranged
between the left part and the right part; central massage means
including a massage axle and a massage accessory positioned on the
foot rest; driving means comprising a plurality of motors for
respectively driving the central massage means and producing
hydraulic vibrations and bubbles in water filled in the container;
heating means including a circuit for keeping the water at a
predetermined temperature, and control means for controlling the
driving means and heating means, wherein a plurality of holes and
bulges are well-distributed on the base surface of the container,
and a plurality of releasable and rotatable massage rollers are
provided to match a plurality of recesses at the center of the base
surface.
Inventors: |
Kuen, Yu King; (Kwai Chung,
HK) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Y. ROCKY TSAO
Fish & Richardson P.C.
225 Franklin Street
Boston
MA
02110-2804
US
|
Family ID: |
4632040 |
Appl. No.: |
09/907175 |
Filed: |
July 17, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/622 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61H 35/006 20130101;
A61H 15/00 20130101; A47K 3/022 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
4/622 |
International
Class: |
A47K 003/022 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 25, 2000 |
CN |
00243826.7 |
Claims
What is claimed are:
1. A multifunctional foot spa comprising a chassis; a container
disposed on the chassis comprising a left part and a right part; a
foot rest arranged between the left part and right part; central
massage means including a massage axle and a massage accessory
positioned in the foot rest; driving means comprising a plurality
of motors for respectively driving the central massage means and
producing vibrations and bubbles when water is filled in the
container; heating means including a circuit for keeping water in
the container at a predetermined temperature; control means for
controlling the driving means and heating means; and wherein a
plurality of holes and bulges are well-distributed on the baseboard
of said container, and a plurality of releasable and rotatable
massage rollers are provided to match a plurality of recesses
formed longitudinally on the surface of the left part and the right
part.
2. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 1, wherein the surface of the
left part and the right part is in the shape of a natural sole of
the left foot and the right foot of the human, respectively; and
said massage rollers bulging out of said base surface in the height
match the bottom surface of the human foot.
3. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 1, wherein said massage
accessory includes an acupuncture-point massager, a foot-rubbing
stone massager, a brush massager or a small-ball massager.
4. The foot spa as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
acupuncture-point massager comprises: a housing in the shape of the
head of a torch comprising a plurality of openings on the upper
surface thereof; a wave-shaped wheel in the housing comprising a
plurality of concentric waving rings corresponding to said
openings; a plurality of round steel rods arranged on said waving
rings and extended upwards through said openings; and a clutch
arranged in the bottom part of the housing and connected to said
wave-shaped wheel, wherein the number of the steel rods in each
waving ring increases from the inside to the outside, said steel
rod has a hemisphere upper surface, said wave ring has a wave-like
upper surface associated with the bottom part of the steel rods,
and said motor drives said wave-shaped wheel through the clutch so
that the steel rods move up and down.
5. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 4, wherein a bottom part of
said steel rod comprises a stopper.
6. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 1 wherein said foot-spa further
comprises an accessory cabinet arranged in the upper part of the
container, which includes a cover and one or more plugs for fixing
said massage accessory.
7. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 1, wherein said foot spa
further comprises control means including a switch for controlling
said motors and heating means respectively, or, any combination of
them.
8. The foot spa as claimed as claim 1 further comprising a
water-wiping plate adhered to the edge of the accessory
cabinet.
9. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said massage
rollers is in the shape of a long waist drum with a plurality of
bulges along the circumference of the roller surface.
10. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said
massage rollers is in the shape of a long waist drum and has axial
bulges well-distributed along the circumference of the roller
surface, wherein between two axial bulges are positioned two axial
hollow grooves on the left half and on the right half respectively,
and the middle part of said roller is hollow.
11. The foot-spa as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a handle
integrally formed at the linkage between the chassis and the
container at the front side of the foot spa.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a foot spa, in particular,
to a multifunctional foot spa capable of massaging the feet of the
human in different manners such as in-water massage, vibrating
massage, warm-keeping massage, mechanical massage and bubbling
massage.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Foot-treatment basins having the function of massage and
foot massagers are available in the market, but each kind of them
is only of a single function. For example, some foot-treatment
basins have the function of heating and water circulating and some
foot massagers can massage the feet with wheels or bulges
positioned therein. The massage operation with these devices may be
performed manually or automatically.
[0003] According to the theory of Chinese traditional medicine,
there are many acupuncture points in the foot and to press these
acupuncture points may improve the blood circulation in the foot
which is very healthy to the whole body. Foot massage has become
very popular in China over the past few years.
[0004] It is desirable for people to have the feet massaged while
bathing them in water at a constant temperature. It would be ideal
if some key-points of the foot can be given an extra pressing
massage with vibration or massaged in the bubbled water. However,
conventional foot-treatment basins and foot massagers cannot offer
these functions simultaneously.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In view of the shortcoming in the prior art, an object of
the present invention is to provide a multifunctional foot-spa to
keep water at a predetermined temperature while offering strong,
vibrating massage on the key acupuncture points of the foot. Some
pedicure tools are also attached to the spa.
[0006] The multifunctional foot-spa according to the invention
comprises a chassis: a container disposed on the chassis comprising
a left part and a right part; a foot rest arranged between the left
part and the right part; central massage means including a massage
axle and a massage accessory positioned on the foot rest; driving
means comprising a plurality of motors for respectively driving the
central massage means and producing hydraulic vibrations and
bubbles in water filled in the container; heating means including a
circuit for keeping the water at a predetermined temperature, and
control means for controlling the driving means and heating means,
wherein a plurality of small holes and bulges are well-distributed
on the base surface of the container, and a plurality of releasable
and rotatable massage rollers are arranged to match a plurality of
recesses disposed longitudinally on the base surface.
[0007] The surface of the left part and the right part are in the
shape of the natural sole of the left foot and the right foot of
the human; and the massage rollers raised from the surface in the
height matching the bottom surface of human feet.
[0008] In the invention, the massage accessory includes an
acupuncture-point massager, a foot-rubbing stone massager, a brush
or a small-ball massager, and the acupuncture-point massager is
preferable. All the massage accessories can be fixed to the massage
axle.
[0009] The acupuncture-point massager comprises a housing
comprising a plurality of openings on the upper surface thereof, a
wave-shaped wheel in the housing comprising a plurality of
concentric waving rings corresponding to the openings; a plurality
of round steel rods arranged on the waving rings and extended
upwards through the openings; and a clutch arranged in the bottom
part of the housing and engaged with the wave-shaped wheel. The
number of the steel rods in each waving ring increases from the
inside to the outside and the steel rod has a hemisphere upper
surface. The wave ring has a wave-like upper surface associated
with the bottom part of the steel rods, and the motor drives the
wave-shaped wheel through the clutch so that the steel rods move up
and down. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the steel
rod has a hemisphere bottom surface with a stopper close
thereto.
[0010] In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the foot spa
may further comprise an accessory cabinet arranged at the upper
part of the container, which includes a cover and one or more plugs
for fixing the massage accessory.
[0011] In another embodiment of the invention, the foot spa may
further comprise control means including a switch for controlling
the motors and heating means respectively, or, any combination of
them.
[0012] In another embodiment of the invention, the foot spa may
further comprise a water-wiping plate adhered to the edge of the
accessory cabinet.
[0013] In the invention, the massage roller may be varied in shape
and matched with the recesses on the base surface of the container.
In general, the massage roller may be in the shape of a long waist
drum with a plurality of bulges along the circumference of the
roller surface. One embodiment of the massage roller in the
invention has axial bulges well-distributed along the circumference
of the roller surface, between two axial bulges are positioned two
axial hollow grooves on the left half and on the right half
respectively, and the middle part of the roller is hollow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a top view of a multifunctional foot-spa according
to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a back view of the multifunctional foot-spa shown
in FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 3 is a left side view of the multifunctional foot-spa
shown in FIG. 1;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a back view of the multifunctional foot-spa
without a chassis shown in FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a perspective diagram of an acupuncture-point
massager adapted in the multifunction foot-spa shown in FIG. 1;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective diagram of a foot-rubbing stone
adapted in the multifunctional foot-spa shown in FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective diagram of a foot-brushing massager
adapted in the multifunctional foot-spa shown in FIG. 1;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a perspective diagram of a ball-massager adapted
in the multifunctional foot-spa shown in FIG. 1;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a perspective diagram of another acupuncture-point
massager according to the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 10 shows schematically a massage roller of the
invention;
[0024] FIG. 11 shows schematically another massage roller according
to the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 12 is a sectional view along with line A-A in FIG.
1;
[0026] FIG. 13 shows a circuit used in the present invention;
and
[0027] FIGS. 13-a and 13-b show different functions of a foot spa
according to the invention controlled by FIG. 13.
BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
[0028] The present invention will be further described in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
[0029] FIGS. 1-8 and FIG. 10 show one embodiment of the
invention.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 1-3, a multifunctional foot spa of the
invention comprises a chassis 1, a container 2 positioned on the
chassis 1. Driving means including motors 17, 18, and 19 is
disposed between the chassis 1 and the container 2. Four supports
15 may be fixed on the bottom of the chassis for supporting the
foot spa. As shown in FIG. 1, the container 2 comprises a left part
and a right part, each having a baseboard 3 on which a plurality of
small holes and bulges are well-distributed. Three recesses are
formed on the surface of the baseboard to match three massage
rollers 4 which are rotatable in the recesses and detachable from
the same. The three massage rollers in the three recesses are
arranged above the surface of the baseboard to match the foot sole.
A foot rest 40 is formed between the left part and the right part.
Center massage means includes a massage axle 52 disposed on the
foot rest close to the rear edge of the container and a massage
accessory 5 engaged with the axle 52. A cabinet 10 with a cover 11
for containing the massage accessory 5 and other accessories is
arranged on the front portion of the foot spa. The cover 11 may be
opened and linked with the container by hinges 12 in this
embodiment. A water-wiping plate 28 for wiping off water from the
feet is adhered to one edge of the cabinet 10. Control means
including a control button 13 and a display 14 for displaying
current working conditions is positioned on the top of the cabinet
10. A handle 6 is integrally formed at the linkage between the
container 2 and the chassis 1.
[0031] FIG. 4 shows that a power supply wire 16, a first motor 17,
a second motor 18, a third motor 19, and a circuit 20 between the
chassis and the container. The circuit 20 comprises a lot of
resistance wires that are embedded into the baseboard for heating
water in the container.
[0032] FIG. 5 shows a kind of the massage accessory 5, an
acupuncture-point massager, adapted in the invention, which can be
fixed on the massage axle 52. The acupuncture-point massager
comprises a housing 51 in the shape of the head of a torch, a
clutch 23 positioned in the bottom of the acupuncture-point
massager, a wave-shaped wheel 22 associated with the clutch 23
comprising three concentric waving rings, each of which has a
wave-like surface, and a plurality of steel rods 21 standing on the
concentric waving rings. The housing includes a plurality of
openings on the upper surface thereof. Each opening corresponds to
a steel rod and allows the steel rod to move up and down through
the opening. In this embodiment, both ends of the steel rod are in
the shape of a hemisphere and a stopper 211 is formed close to the
lower end of the steel rod. The number of the steel rods in each
waving ring increases from the inside to the outside. When the
acupuncture-point massager is fixed to the axle, the motor 19
drives the wave-shaped wheel to rotate through the clutch. The
steel rod moves upwards when the lower end of the rod is in the
wavecrest of the waving ring and moves downwards when the lower end
of the rod is in the wave trough of the waving ring. The clutch 23
represents a connection between the wheel 22 and the motor 19.
Those skilled in the art may appreciate other connection manners
can be used in the invention.
[0033] FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the
acupuncture-point massager of this invention. There are two waving
rings 22 in the massager. At the center of the housing is formed a
bigger hemispherical bulge 30, which contains a magnet 29. Around
the bulge, two circles of the steel rods 21 (6 in the inner circle
and 12 in the outer circle) are distributed. In this embodiment,
the lower end of the steel rod with the stopper 211 matches the
waving ring.
[0034] FIGS. 6-8 shows other massage accessories used in the
invention, a foot-rubbing stone 7, a brush 8, and a ball-massager
9. All these accessories have the same clutch as the massage
accessories indicated above so that they can be mounted on the
massage axle 52 alternatively for massage and pedicure of the feet.
When the accessories are not in use, they can be fixed to plugs
positioned in the accessory cabinet 10.
[0035] FIGS. 10 and 11 respectively exemplify the massage roller 4
adapted for the invention. The massage rollers 4 are generally in
the shape of a long waist drum. A plurality of small bulges are
formed on the roller surface. A bearing 41 is provided at each end
of the roller so that, when the roller is disposed in the recess of
the baseboard, it can be rotated axially.
[0036] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 13, the motor 17 is used to
generate bubbles and/or waves in water by driving an air pump 24
which is connected to the holes on the baseboard, the motor 18 is
used to generate vibrations, and the motor 19 drives the massage
axle on the foot rest. Reference numeral 27 represents a fan driven
by the motor 19 for keeping the device at an appropriate
temperature.
[0037] The control means comprises the button 13 for controlling
various functions of the foot spa respectively or in combined way,
which is obvious for those skilled in the art. As shown in FIGS.
13-a and 13-b, the foot spa according to the invention can work
with varied functions upon the user requirement. For instance, the
user may operate the motor 17 for generating the bubbles, while
turning on the circuit 20 for heating water. Namely, the users can
choose any of such effects as "heating plus warm-keeping",
"heating, warm-keeping plus vibration", "heating, warm-keeping plus
bubbling" "heating, warm-keeping, vibration plus bubbling". Varied
massage accessories can be fixed to the massage axle for massaging
the foot in view of the user's need.
[0038] According to the invention, people can use the massage
roller 4 on the baseboard 3 to massage those key acupuncture points
on the arch and the heel of the sole, can use the acupuncture-point
massager 5 to enjoy a strong massage, and can bathe the feet in
warm water. The air pump 24 injects compressed air into the water
inside the container 2 to generate bubbles. An eccentric balance
weight 26 is driven to vibrate the water in the container. People
may also use the foot-rubbing stone 7, the brush 8 and the ball
massager 9 to treat the feet.
[0039] A water-wiping plate 28 made of flexible materials is
provided to wipe off extra water drops on the feet easily.
[0040] While enjoying the comfortable foot massage, people may also
adjust the functions and intensity to meet practical needs and use
convenient accessories to massage the feet and pedicure. The
multifunctional foot-spa according to the invention is an ideal
product for the health care of the feet.
* * * * *