U.S. patent number 3,625,204 [Application Number 04/866,895] was granted by the patent office on 1971-12-07 for tool for simulating finger-pressure treatment.
Invention is credited to Ushinosuke Sekiguchi.
United States Patent |
3,625,204 |
Sekiguchi |
December 7, 1971 |
TOOL FOR SIMULATING FINGER-PRESSURE TREATMENT
Abstract
A tool for simulating finger-pressure treatment comprising a
platform and a plurality of operating spherical bodies supported on
said platform by a supporting cup and provided with operative head
of part spherical shape projecting from the cup, between the
platform and spherical bodies within the supporting cups, and
spherical bodies being axially movable and supported so as to
permit rocking movement in any operative position.
Inventors: |
Sekiguchi; Ushinosuke
(Kashiwa-shi, Chiba-ken, JA) |
Family
ID: |
13977281 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/866,895 |
Filed: |
October 16, 1969 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Oct 14, 1968 [JA] |
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43/89674 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
601/134;
D24/211 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61H
7/003 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61H
7/00 (20060101); A61h 007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/60,252,67,57,59 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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209,588 |
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Jan 1924 |
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GB |
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14,515 |
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1910 |
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GB |
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Primary Examiner: Trapp; L. W.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A tool for simulating finger-pressure treatment, comprising a
base portion having a surface; at least one rigid hollow boss
projecting from said surface and having an interior bottom wall and
an upwardly directed opening surrounded by an inwardly directed
annular first flange; at least one massage element including a
semispherical portion located outside and a cylindrical portion
extending from said semispherical portion through said opening into
the interior of said boss, said massage element having a cavity
facing said interior; a radially outwardly extending annular second
flange on said massage element within said boss and having a
diameter greater than that of said opening; and at least one
elongated expansion spring having spaced end portions respectively
received in said massage element and said boss and bearing against
the former and said bottom wall of the latter, for suspending said
massage element in said opening with said flanges abutting one
another and with said massage element having freedom of movement
against the bias of said spring in direction longitudinally of and
skew to its axis without contacting said surface.
2. A tool as defined in claim 6, wherein said spring is a helical
expansion spring.
3. A tool as defined in claim 6, wherein said massage element is
composed of elastomeric material.
4. A tool as defined in claim 6, said semispherical portion having
an exposed contact face provided with a plurality of
depressions.
5. A tool as defined in claim 6, wherein at least said
semispherical portion of said massage element is composed of
rubber.
6. A tool for simulating finger-pressure treatment comprising a
platform, a supporting member made of rigid material positioned on
said platform and being shaped as a cylindroidal body, said
supporting member being hollow and having a supporting edge
laterally rounded at its upper end, said supporting edge being
inwardly extended and surrounding a circular hollow with respect to
the uppermost plane of said cylindroidal body, an operative massage
element body mechanically contained by its lower part inside said
supporting member and being semispheroidal exteriorly and deeply
concave interiorly of said supporting member, said massage element
body having laterally extending rounded flange inside said
supporting adapted to abut said supporting edge thereof, and a
resilient member positioned inside said supporting member and said
concavity of said massage element body and urging said flange
against said supporting edge in outward direction so as to prevent
contact of said flange with the surface of said platform for
eliminating shock impulses resulting from such contact, said
resilient member enabling said massage element body to swing with
various angular movability in lateral direction, various
longitudinal movability in perpendicular direction and various
movability in angular-perpendicular direction without escapement
from said supporting member.
Description
The present invention relates to a tool for simulating
finger-pressure treatment, and more particularly, to a tool for
giving such simulating actions to the body as rubbing, thrusting or
pressing so as to produce desirable effects in curing disorder in
the spinal column, reviving weakened cells and promoting
circulation of the blood.
In curing diseases and maintaining health, it is considered
desirable to perform finger-pressure treatment, particularly curing
disorder in the spinal column by finger-pressing thereon. Recently,
in the field of this art, tools for simulating finger-pressure
treatment having projecting elements on a platform or board are
practically used for rubbing, thrusting, pressing or kneading the
body without manipulating fingers. In the method of simulating
finger-pressure treatment, the presently known devices comprise a
baseboard and plurality of operative spherical bodies supported on
said baseboard, each operative spherical body generally forming a
cylindrical shape with its head being rounded and having a
supporting shoulder cooperating with the edge at the opening of the
supporting cup, one end of the spherical body being held within the
supporting cup, while other end thereof is projecting from the cup,
the inner rounded end of the spherical body being disposed to
engage a rocking surface within the cup so as to permit movement of
the rocking spherical body within limits imposed by the edge of the
opening.
But, in these conventional tools, the rounded end of each spherical
body is placed on a firm intermediate block having a surface for
receiving rocking movement. Said operative spherical body,
therefore, is permitted to perform rocking movement only within the
limits imposed by the edge of said supporting cup with small
momentum but without axial movement. Consequently, these
conventional tools may be used without troubles in giving treatment
on abdomen, hands and legs or other muscular parts, but for
application, more important in the finger-pressure treatment, on
the cervical vertebrae or thoracic vertebrae from the back of the
body, some operative spherical bodies cannot escape crushing on the
bones and every spherical body not always being appropriately
applied to the desired affected part of the human body mainly due
to the complexity of bones in the cervical or thoracic vertebrae.
If the operative spherical bodies are afforded larger momentums,
such crushing actions may be averted by the inclination of these
spherical bodies. But even this is not the case for conventional
tools. Thus, the operative spherical bodies crushing upon the bones
cause pain to the user by pressing his nerves, other spherical
bodies imparting inappropriate actions on his body with some
spherical bodies being idle in operation. Other than
above-mentioned, similar undesirable actions may probably be
experienced when these spherical bodies applied upon the irregular
surfaces of the body of a user. In any way, such operative
spherical bodies supported upon firm rocking surfaces and applied
upon the human body in coordination with other spherical bodies are
not adapted for maintaining appropriate contacts each different
according to the surface topology of the human body, thus being
unable to perform individually suited operation as in the case of
real finger-pressure treatment.
The present invention, therefore, aims to provide an improved tool
which will overcome such shortcomings experienced in conventional
tools for simulating finger-pressure treatment.
This invention more particularly aims to provide a tool for
simulating finger-pressure treatment in which operating spherical
bodies are independently and resiliently movable in their axial
directions and capable for performing rocking movement in any
operative position in said axial directions, thereby enabling every
active surface of spherical bodies to act simultaneously upon the
body of a user overcoming possible inconveniences or troubles in
operation.
The present invention provides a tool for simulating
finger-pressure treatment comprising a baseboard, a plurality of
operative spherical bodies supported upon said baseboard by
respective supporting cups, each of said operative spherical bodies
generally having a rounded operative head of cylindrical shape and
a supporting shoulder which cooperates with the edge of the opening
of the supporting cup, said operative head of the operative
spherical body projecting from the cup and other end thereof being
held therein; said cup forms a cavity enough for permitting said
operative spherical body to move in an axial direction with
resilient member arranged inside said cavity, by said resilient
member a platform and said operative spherical bodies are engaged
to force the spherical bodies in their axial directions until the
supporting shoulders contact the edges of the cups, said operative
spherical body is permitted to move axially within the cavity of
the cup and perform rocking movement in any operative position
within the limits imposed by the edge of the opening of the
cup.
In a tool according to the present invention, the operative
spherical bodies are arranged to move resiliently in their axial
directions and perform inclined movements freely forward and
backward or right and left so as to apply every operative spherical
body to any affected part of the body, thereby to positively
promote finger-pressure or massage effect. As it will be seen in
the accompanying drawings, in preferred embodiments, each of the
operative spherical bodies forms a cavity and the supporting
shoulder, in this case, extends laterally from the inner edge. As
for the resilient member, a spring, conveniently a spiral type, may
be arranged to fit into the cavity of the operative spherical body.
Also, said spiral spring, the other end of which is fitted into the
indentation provided upon the platform, may, in the state of being
contracted to its minimum height, be arranged so that the inner end
of the operative spherical body is contacted to the reference level
of the platform. If desired, in replacement of the spring, it will
be practicable to arrange a rubber rod of a carefully selected
hardness. Also, in this case, the hollow operative spherical body
and the indentation on the platform will be useful to permit
greater axial movement of the operative spherical body. On the
other hand, numerous small depressions may be provided on the
operative surface of the spherical body. These depressions will
work effectively in performing kneading actions upon the human body
upon which the operative spherical body is placed so as not to be
further displaced. Such an action, which will be operated by giving
turning movement to the platform without displacing said spherical
body once applied to the affected part of the body, is only
practicable with the operative spherical body provided to move
forward and backward or to the right and left as well as in the
axial direction. Further, it is also preferable that the
substantially operative part of the spherical body, namely, the
part-spherical head be prepared using resilient rubber, because
resilience of the spherical body itself has multiplied effect
together with completely action-free support thereof.
The foregoing objects and features of the invention will be best
illustrated from the following description of embodiments shown in
the drawings selected and accompanied for this purpose in
which:
FIG. 1 is a sketch drawing of a tool according to the invention and
incorporating two operating spherical bodies;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sketch drawing of an improved operating spherical
body;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view along the line 3--3 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a sketch drawing of a further improved operating body;
and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 two pieces of
the operating spherical body are incorporated. Such a tool is
particularly suitable for simulating finger-pressure treatment upon
nape and also preferable for treatment concentrated upon a limited
affected part of the body. For other applications than
above-mentioned, two rows of plural spherical bodies may be
arranged in the same manner as described hereinafter.
Two operating spherical bodies 1 are fitted within supporting cups
3 individually formed upon a supporting frame 2. Said supporting
frame 2 is generally shaped in a rectangular form having sidewalls
5 slanting downwardly from edges of the horizontal panel 4 of said
supporting frame 2. Said supporting cups are integrally formed upon
the horizontal panel 4 in a shape of circular truncated cone. The
reverse side of said supporting frame 2 is covered by bottom plate
6 fixed rigidly at the bottom of the sidewalls 5 by an adhesive
agent. From said bottom plate 6 to the top of the spherical bodies
1, this tool stands in an enough and adequate height for a patient
to apply said spherical bodies 1 on the both sides of his neck
simultaneously using this apparatus as a pillow. Details of the
manner in which the operating spherical bodies 1 are retained are
illustrated in FIG. 2. A platform 7 is arranged upon the upper side
of the bottom plate 6 within the supporting frame 2 and positioned
to support the horizontal panel 4 of the supporting frame 2 from
underside by sidewalls 8 of said platform, and recess 9 is formed
in a position to support each operating spherical body 1 above the
platform. The spherical body 1, which is generally cylindrical in
shape has part-spherical head 13, the other end of the spherical
body is extending laterally beyond the main cylindrical part of the
spherical body to form a retaining shoulder 10. Supporting cup 3
has an edge 11 projecting inwardly at its opening, thereby the
operative head 13 of the spherical body 1 projects upwardly through
the edge 11 of the supporting cup 3 and said spherical body is
urged by a spiral spring 12 so as to engage the supporting shoulder
10 with the edge 11. One end of said spring 12 is arranged from the
inside of the head of the operating spherical body 1 through the
cavity thereof with other end of the spring rested in the recess 9
of the platform 7. At least, recess 9 is formed smaller in diameter
than the inner end of the operating spherical body 1, that is, the
outer diameter of the supporting shoulder 10 so as to restrict the
axial movement of the operating spherical body 1 by the aid of the
surface of the platform 7. Thus, the supporting shoulder 10
prevents the operating spherical body 1 from being displaced from
this equipment in cooperation with the edge 11 of the cup 3 and
stops the axial movement of the spherical body at the surface of
the platform 7. While the wall of the supporting cup is slanted so
as to permit the rocking movement of the operating spherical body 1
in any axial position.
FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show an operating spherical body 1 with many
shallow round depressions 14 on the rounded surface of the
operating head 13.
While FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show an operating spherical body 1
comprising an elastic rubber head 13 with many shallow round
depressions 14. Said rubber head 13 is supported with its
projection under the head being fitted into the hole made on the
top of the main element of the spherical body.
The tool according to the present invention is designed to apply
under pressure the heads of the operating spherical bodies upon the
affected part of the body requiring treatment. In this case, when
the device is manipulated to move right and left or is given
turning movement, the operating spherical bodies will be inclined
in the opposite direction of such a movement and will cause the
individual axial movement of the operating spherical body
corresponding to the shape of the affected part, thereby every
operating spherical body gives adequate rolling pressure each
operating position. Otherwise, when it is desired to give
thrusting, pressing or pressing, or kneading operation upon the
human body without manipulating the tool, it may be placed upon a
bed with its operative side turned upward and the part of the body
requiring treatment may be rested thereon. In either way, by means
of the tool according to the present invention, each operating
spherical body is permitted to move independently and resiliently
in the axial direction and to perform smooth rocking movement in
any operative position, thus making it practical to apply every
operating spherical body appropriately onto any part of the human
body without giving any undesirable pain thereupon.
* * * * *