U.S. patent number 3,645,257 [Application Number 05/066,308] was granted by the patent office on 1972-02-29 for massage tool.
Invention is credited to Takeo Nakayama.
United States Patent |
3,645,257 |
Nakayama |
February 29, 1972 |
MASSAGE TOOL
Abstract
A message tool is constructed entirely of molded plastic so as
to be more economical, lighter in weight and more easily used than
prior art devices. The construction provides a simple two-piece
plastic housing which holds pivotal message members of plastic
which protrude from the housing for bodily contact with a patient,
the housing being manipulatable to effect a massaging action of the
message members. The construction provides concentric molded
collars and skirts on the housing members which effect support
sockets for the message members and rigidifying means for the
housing.
Inventors: |
Nakayama; Takeo (Arakawa-ku,
Tokyo, JA) |
Family
ID: |
33054780 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/066,308 |
Filed: |
August 24, 1970 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Apr 28, 1970 [JA] |
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45-41641 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
601/135 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61H
7/003 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61H
7/00 (20060101); A61h 007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/60,61,62,67,57 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Trapp; L. W.
Claims
I claim:
1. A massage tool comprising a plastic base having a bottom wall
molded with a plurality of collars extending therefrom having open
ends effecting support sockets;
a massage member having an arcuate base pivotally supported by each
socket;
a plastic closure body secured to said base to form a housing and
having respective apertures for said massage members, said massage
members protruding through respective apertures and having outer
ends engageable with a patient;
said apertures and massage members being dimensioned to permit
relative pivotal movement therebetween and means on said massage
members disposed to prevent emergence of said massage members
through said apertures.
2. A massage tool as set forth in claim 1, said closure body having
molded skirts encompassing respective apertures and extending into
rigidifying engagement with said bottom wall.
3. A massage tool as set forth in claim 1, said base and said
closure body being congruous and having peripheral flanges engaging
each other to form a closed housing.
4. A massage tool as set forth in claim 1, said closure body having
open-ended molded skirts effecting said apertures and said skirts
extending into said housing and being in rigidifying engagement
with said bottom wall, said base and said closure body being
congruous and having peripheral flanges engaging each other to form
a closed housing.
5. A massage tool as set forth in claim 1, said closure body having
open-ended molded skirts each effecting one of said apertures and
extending into rigidifying engagement with said bottom wall, and
said skirts concentrically encompassing respective collars.
6. A massage tool as set forth in claim 1, said closure body having
open-ended molded skirts effecting respective apertures and
extending into rigidifying engagement with said bottom wall, said
base and said closure body being congruous and having peripheral
flanges engaging each other to form a closed housing; and said
skirts concentrically encompassing respective collars.
7. A massage tool comprising a plastic housing having a base and a
cover member, a plurality of sockets molded on said base member and
a plurality of collars molded in said cover member, each collar
having an end opening aligned with a respective socket and each
collar extending outwardly of said cover member and also inwardly
into said housing and abutting said base to rigidify said housing;
a massage member in each collar and supported for pivotal movement
by a respective socket and extending outwardly of the respective
collar through a respective collar opening and having pivotal play
in said opening; and retaining means for retaining said massage
members in respective collars.
8. A massage tool as set forth in claim 7, each said massage member
being comprised of a pair of plastic cups having molded peripheral
flanges in engagement with each other to form a hollow member, said
retaining means comprising said flanges wherein said flanges effect
a peripherally enlarged portion of said massage member within the
respective collar, and said retaining means also comprising a
radially molded lip at the opening of each collar engageable with
the enlarged portion of the respective massage member for retention
in respective collars.
Description
The present invention constitutes an improvement over the
construction of my previous U.S. Pat. No. 2,836,175 issued May 27,
1958. In the prior construction there is shown a massage tool
intended to be hand manipulated over portions of the body of a
patient and which tool has pivotal, i.e., rockable massage members
or fingers which rub, thrust, press and knead the area over which
the tool is moved by an operator, or used by a patient all as
described in the patent. Thus, any desired degree of pressure may
be brought to bear in order to vigorously or gently effect a
massaging action by rocking of the massage members.
It has been found that such a device has various beneficial effects
on the body such as easing muscular fatigue, increasing blood
circulation, or reducing blood congestion which causes inflammation
in local areas.
Such massage tools have heretofore been known of a general type
shown in my previous patent having a construction in which a base
member has a plurality of sockets secured thereto which support
massage members that are retained in various ways. However, the
overall construction of such prior art massage tools has been
relatively complex, requiring a large number of various elements,
generally manufactured of wood and expensive to assemble.
Accordingly, the cost of such tools has been relatively high.
The present invention not only overcomes the high cost of
manufacture of massage tools of the type shown in my patent by
reducing the number of parts and reducing assembly labor but also
furnishes a device which is longer lasting due to the use of
suitable plastic which requires no surface finishing such as
sanding, painting and the like. Thus, prior art devices will
ultimately become roughened with use and of course a paint finish
on members which are subject to friction soon wears away, peels,
cracks, or blisters.
The general construction of my new and improved massage tool
provides a molded plastic base having collars molded thereon
extending therefrom and being opened ended to form seats or sockets
for the support of arcuately shaped ends of respective massage
members. Thus, the massage members can rock or pivot as the tool is
used with pivotal support merely on the open ends of the collars
molded on the base. The massage members themselves are also of
molded plastic and are simple hollow bodies made of two cup-shaped
members provided with flanges which are cemented together and form
an exterior ring or enlarged periphery around the respective
massage member. Such massage members are retained in a housing each
protruding through an aperture and retained by the aforementioned
enlarged peripheral ring.
The housing consists of the aforementioned base and a cover member
likewise of molded plastic with molded sleeves each of which
extends outwardly of the housing, being open ended and formed with
an inturned radial lip thereby providing an aperture smaller than
the diameter of the enlarged peripheral ring portion of the
respective massage member so that each massage member is thus
retained in a respective sleeve. Further, such sleeves extend into
the housing concentric with respective support collars and abut the
base so that when the cover member and the base are secured
together to form the housing a very strong and rigid structure is
effected. Preferably the base and cover member are congruous and
provided with coacting flanges cemented together whereby an
integral unit is provided.
A detailed description of the invention now follows in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the invention, and
FIG. 2 is a section through A--A' of FIG. 1.
The massage tool generally comprises housing H having a molded
plastic base B of substantially the same contour in plan as shown
in FIG. 3 of my previous patent, being of generally rectangular
shape. Two parallel side edges of the base are recessed
substantially at the center thereof as shown with molded recesses 2
and 3.
Recesses 2 and 3 are adapted to be gripped by an operator's finger
tips or to accommodate the neck of a patient being given massage
treatment when the massage tool is manipulated for massage
operation. The recesses 2 and 3 have smooth sloping transition to
respective molded convexities of a plastic cover member C as
illustrated in FIG. 1 so that the housing may be comfortably
gripped or applied to the neck of a patient. Either recess can be
eliminated if desired without departing the scope of the present
invention.
Cover member C along with base B effect the housing H and are
congruous, being adhesively secured at coacting peripheral flanges
as later described.
The plastic base B is provided with four integrally molded
identical collars 4 rectangularly spaced and open at their free
ends as shown in FIG. 2. The base is further provided with a molded
peripheral flange 5 around its periphery normal to the plane of the
base. It will thus be noted that the base has been formed by
molding plastic material as a unit having collars 4 and peripheral
flange 5.
Closure member C has a contour which substantially corresponds to
that of the base to complete the housing and is provided with four
molded open-ended sleeves 7, open at both ends, and concentric with
respective collars 4.
It will be noted that the inwardly extending ends of sleeves 7 abut
the inner surface of base B whereby a very rigid construction for
the plastic housing H is effected. The housing is assembled by
providing a peripheral flange 8 to the cover member normal to the
general plane of the cover member and which engages flange 5 of the
base member. The flanges 5 and 8 are suitably rabbetted as shown in
FIG. 2 to form a secure interlocking adhesive juncture around the
periphery of the housing which juncture is smooth and has no
protruding edges or lips.
The sleeves 7 thus extend inwardly to engage the base for
rigidifying the housing and also extend outwardly of the housing,
each being provided at its outer open end with a radially inturned
lip or flange to form an aperture 10 having a sloped or flared edge
widening outwardly as shown in FIG. 2.
From the above, it will be apparent that the cover member C can be
readily molded as a single integral unit which comprises sleeves 7
and their outer flanged apertures together with the peripheral
juncture flange 8.
Each of the collars 4 at its open free end provides a seat or
socket for a massage member 11. Each massage member is comprised of
a hollow body effected by a pair of plastic cup shaped elements 12
and 13 cemented at the flanged juncture 13' wherein the component
13 is substantially spherically shaped to be pivotally supported on
the open end of a respective collar 4 and the mating component 12
extends outwardly of the housing through respective aperture 10 and
has a smoothly curved outer end for contact with a patient. The
slanting or flaring of apertures 10 permit rocking of massage
members as the device is applied and moved on the body of the
patient as will be apparent from the phantom outline of the massage
member shown in FIG. 2.
The juncture 13' affords a peripheral enlargement of the respective
massage member, being of a diameter larger than the inner diameter
of the respective flared aperture 10 so that each massage member is
retained in the housing. The diameter of the components 12 is, of
course, slightly less than the inner diameter of respective
apertures 10 to allow suitably free pivotal play, and the
peripheral enlargement at the juncture 13' is suitably spaced from
the radially inturned lip of aperture 10 in each instance so as not
to interfere with the rocking motion of the massage member.
The massage members are plastic molded components adhesively
secured at the flanges effecting peripheral juncture 13' and are
preferably hollow although they may be filled with any desired
material, e.g., rubber. It will be noted that component 12 has an
outwardly extending radial flange engaging a coacting radial flange
of component 13 which latter flange is effected by a rabbet so that
a portion of the open end of component 13 can extend into the open
end of component 12 for structural rigidity and secure
adhesion.
In operation, an operator inserts his finger tips into both the
side edge recesses 2 and 3, or either one of the recesses, and
grips the whole massage tool. The operator then applies the outer
ends of the massage members 11 against an affected area or areas on
the body of a patient to be subjected to massage treatment, using
finger pressure. With the massage tool pressed against the affected
area of the patient body under manual finger pressure, the operator
moves the tool with any variety of motions so that the members 11
are rolled or rocked by the engagement. The rocking action of the
massage members on the patient is similar in effect to that in
which finger-kneading massage is performed. However, the massage
tool makes it possible to impart a stronger stimulation than that
obtainable by means of finger tips for any type of massage
action.
Furthermore, when a patient desires to give massage treatment to an
affected area by himself, he places the massage tool on a bed with
the members 11 directly upwardly and places his body on them. The
patient can then move his body in contact with the massage members
in desired directions with the affected area maintained in
frictional contact causing the massage members to rock to effect
massage treatment.
Other modes of use are generally described in my aforementioned
patent.
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