U.S. patent number 3,735,757 [Application Number 05/047,662] was granted by the patent office on 1973-05-29 for hand held vibrator with flexible drive shaft.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Scott & Fetzer Company. Invention is credited to Charles H. MacFarland.
United States Patent |
3,735,757 |
MacFarland |
May 29, 1973 |
HAND HELD VIBRATOR WITH FLEXIBLE DRIVE SHAFT
Abstract
A vibrator is disclosed which includes a flexible drive shaft
and a connector at one end of the drive shaft for manually
connecting and disconnecting the one end to a vacuum cleaner power
source for rotating the drive shaft. An eccentric weight is
releasably attached to the other end of the drive shaft for
vibrating a handle. A first stop member is secured to the other end
of the drive shaft, and a second stop member is secured to the
handle for engaging the first stop member and preventing rotational
movement of the drive shaft to permit manual removal of the
eccentric weight. A cover is releasably secured to the handle to
cover the eccentric weight by an annular groove on the cover
extending through 360.degree. and an annular lip on the handle
extending through slightly more than 180.degree.. The handle
encapsulates the other end of the drive shaft to prevent abrupt
bending thereof.
Inventors: |
MacFarland; Charles H.
(Cleveland, OH) |
Assignee: |
The Scott & Fetzer Company
(Cleveland, OH)
|
Family
ID: |
21950243 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/047,662 |
Filed: |
June 19, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
601/72 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61H
23/0263 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61H
23/02 (20060101); A61h 001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/24.5,24.2,34,35,36,41,44 ;310/77,81 ;209/366.5,367 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gaudet; Richard A.
Assistant Examiner: McGowan; J. C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A vibrator comprising a flexible drive shaft, a flexible tubing
means substantially encapsulating said flexible drive shaft, means
at one end of said flexible drive shaft for manually selectively
connecting and disconnecting said one end to a vacuum cleaner power
means for rotating said flexible drive shaft, handle means at the
other end of said drive shaft, said handle means including an
axially extending hand receiving portion means for being grasped by
a human hand, said hand receiving portion means comprising solely
an axially extending tubular reinforcing sleeve snugly
encapsulating the end of said flexible tubing means adjacent said
other end of said flexible drive shaft, eccentric weight means,
first attachment means for manually releasably attaching said
eccentric weight means to the other end of said flexible drive
shaft for vibrating said handle means when said flexible drive
shaft is rotated by said power means, cover means for at least
partially encapsulating said eccentric weight means, second
attachment means manually releasably attaching said cover means to
said handle means and providing the sole means for preventing
movement of said cover means relative to said handle means, and
said second attachment means including continuous annular lip means
of predetermined and nonextensible diameter extending through an
arc of only slightly greater than 180.degree. and an annular groove
means for receiving said lip means, said annular lip means and
annular groove means being disposed on said cover means and said
handle means.
2. A vibrator as set forth in claim 1 wherein said continuous
annular lip means extends fully into said groove means along the
entire arcuate extent of said lip means.
3. A vibrator as set forth in claim 2 wherein said annular groove
means extends through an arc of substantially 360.degree..
4. A vibrator as set forth in claim 3 wherein said annular lip
means is on said handle means and said annular groove means is on
said cover means.
5. A vibrator as set forth in claim 2 wherein said reinforcing
sleeve provides the sole means for preventing abrupt bending of
said last mentioned end of said flexible tubing and of said other
end of said flexible drive shaft.
6. A vibrator as set forth in claim 5 including collar means
covering the end of said flexible tubing means adjacent said one
end of said flexible drive shaft for preventing abrupt bending of
said last mentioned end of said flexible tubing means.
7. A vibrator as set forth in claim 2 wherein said first attachment
means includes a first stop means secured to said other end of said
flexible drive shaft, and a second stop means secured to said
handle means and movable between a normally retracted position and
a projected position in which said second stop means engages said
first stop means to prevent rotational movement of said flexible
drive shaft in at least one direction.
8. A vibrator as set forth in claim 7 wherein said second stop
means is spring biased to said retracted position.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a vibrator attachment for a
vaccum cleaner, and more particularly to such a vibrator attachment
which is driven by a flexible power shaft so that the operator need
not support the weight of the power source when using it.
Vibrators for massaging portions of the human body generally
include a power source, such as an electric motor, and an eccentric
weight which is rotated by the power source to produce a vibration.
Such prior art vibrators may be of the integral type in which the
power source is contained in a single unit with the eccentric
weight, or of the type in which the eccentric weight is driven by a
flexible power shaft from a remotely located power source. The
available power of the former type is generally limited by weight
considerations, because the operator must support the weight of the
power source when using the device. Although this is not a problem
with the latter type vibrator, the additional cost of the more
powerful power source and of the flexible cable of the latter type
may render such a device economically impractical.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes these and other problems and
disadvantages of prior art vibrators by providing a flexible power
shaft driven vibrator which utilizes the electric motor of a
household vacuum cleaner for its power source. In this manner, a
rather powerful power source generally heretofor available only on
professional vibrators is made available to the occasional
household user without undue cost. Furthermore, the operator need
not support the weight of the motor when using the vibrator. The
present invention also provides such a vibrator which may be easily
converted by the operator to provide a flexible power shaft for use
with a wide variety of other tools and appliances.
In a preferred embodiment, the invention provides a vibrator which
includes a flexible drive shaft, a flexible tubing substantially
encapsulating the drive shaft, and a means for selectively
connecting and disconnecting one end of the drive shaft to a
household vacuum cleaner power means for rotating the flexible
drive shaft. A handle at the other end of the drive shaft is
provided for receiving a human hand, and a first attachment means
is provided for manually releasably attaching the eccentric weight
means to the other end of the flexible drive shaft for vibrating
the handle when the flexible drive shaft is rotated by the vacuum
cleaner motor. As used herein, the term "manually" means solely by
human hand, without the aid or use of any type of tool. A cover is
provided for encapsulating the eccentric weight, and a second
attachment means is provided for manually releasably attaching the
cover to the handle. In this manner, the invention provides a
vibrator with a rather powerful power source without requiring the
operator to support the weight of the motor and without undue cost.
Still further, by providing a vibrator in which the eccentric
weight is manually releasably secured to the flexible drive shaft,
and in which a cover for the eccentric weight is manually
releasably secured to the handle, the invention provides a vibrator
in which the eccentric weight and cover may be removed so that the
vibrator may be used as a power extension shaft for other tools and
appliances.
In the preferred embodiment, the first attachment means for
manually releasably attaching the eccentric weight includes a first
stop means secured to the flexible drive shaft and a second stop
means secured to the handle. The second stop means is movable
between a normally retracted position and a projected position in
which the second stop means engages the first stop means to prevent
rotational movement of the flexible drive shaft in at least one
direction. This permits easy removal of the eccentric weight so
that it can be replaced by a wire brush or other desired tool or
appliance.
In the preferred embodiment, the second attachment means for
manually releasably attaching the cover to the handle includes an
annular lip and an annular groove for receiving the lip. The
annular lip extends through an arc of slightly greater than
180.degree. so that the cover may be securely attached to the
handle and will not loosen when the vibrator is used, yet the cover
may be easily removed manually when desired because the lip of the
handle does not extend the entire 360.degree.. This permits the lip
to be dimensioned such that it projects further into the groove to
provide a reliable attachment means yet permits deflection of the
cover for easy removal of the cover.
Still further, the invention provides a vibrator in which a handle
includes a hand receiving portion which extends axially along the
drive shaft adjacent the eccentric weight to prevent abrupt bending
of the drive shaft and preclude the need for a separate reinforcing
sleeve at that location.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features and advantages of the invention will
become more readily apparent upon a full understanding of the
preferred embodiment as shown in the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in cross-section, of a
vibrator according to the principles of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an end elevational view taken generally along reference
view line 2--2 of FIG. 1, but with the cover means and all rotating
members removed for clarity; and
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the weight carrier member for the
vibrator shown in FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, the vibrator shown
in FIG. 1 includes a flexible drive shaft 11 which is substantially
encapsulated by an externally serrated flexible tubing means 12.
The flexible drive shaft 11 in the preferred embodiment is of
circular cross-section, but is provided with an end portion 13 of
square cross-section for connection to a square socket on a power
means such as the electric motor or accessory attachment of a
vacuum cleaner as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,954,652. The right end
of the flexible tubing 12 is provided with a coupling member 14 for
manually connecting the vibrator to and disconnecting the vibrator
from the power source. The coupling member 14 is an open ended cup
shaped member adapted to be received by a mating cylindrical
coupling member (not shown) on the power source, and is provided
with two opposed notched portions 15, only one of which may be seen
in FIG. 1, for receiving suitable pins to lock the coupling member
14 on the power means in a well-known manner. A flexible
reinforcing sleeve 16 is also provided on the right end of the
flexible tubing 12 immediately adjacent the coupling member 14. The
reinforcing sleeve 16 is provided to prevent abrupt bending of the
drive shaft 11 and tubing 12 adjacent the coupling member 14.
A handle member 22 is secured on the left end of the flexible
tubing 12 such as by molding the handle member 22 directly thereon.
The handle member 22 includes a hand receiving portion 23, which is
circumferentially ribbed to prevent slipping when held by a human
hand. The hand receiving portion 23 extends axially along the drive
shaft 11 and tubing 12 to serve as a reinforcing sleeve to prevent
abrupt bending of the drive shaft 11 and tubing 12 at the left end
thereof, in a manner similar to the reinforcing sleeve 16. A
suitable bronze bearing 24 is received within a passage 25 which
extends axially from end to end through the handle 22, and the
bearing 24 butts against a shoulder 26 of the handle 22. A
generally cylindrical carrier member 27 is received by the bronze
bearing 24. An end portion of the drive shaft 11 extends into a
bore 28 in the carrier member 27, and the portion of the carrier
member 27 surrounding the end portion of the drive shaft 11 is
crimped radially inwardly to drivingly secure the drive shaft 11 to
the carrier member 27. A flat washer member 34 butts against a
shoulder of the carrier member 27 and provides a bearing surface
for the left end face of the bearing 24. In a similar manner, a
second generally flat washer member 35 provides a bearing surface
for the right end face of the bearing 24. The carrier member 27 is
suitably staked at circumferentially spaced points 36 adjacent the
washer member 35 to prevent any substantial relative axial movement
between the carrier member 27 and the bearing 24.
As best seen in FIG. 2, the bearing 24 is secured against axial
movement and rotational movement relative to the handle 22 in the
bore 25 by providing the bearing 24 with radially opposed tabs 37
which are secured to the handle 22 by suitable self tapping screws
38 which are received in suitable holes (not shown) in a
cylindrical portion 39 of the handle 22. For reasons that are
described in detail below, a disc shaped stop member 45 is carried
by the carrier member 27. The stop member 45 butts against a
suitable shoulder of the carrier member 27, and the carrier member
27 is staked at circumferentially spaced points as at 46 to secure
the stop member 45 to the carrier member 27 in such a manner that
the stop member 45 rotates with the carrier member 27.
The carrier member 27 is provided with a threaded end portion 47
for threadably receiving an eccentric weight 48. The threaded end
portion 47 is threaded in such a manner that the eccentric weight
member 48 is tightened thereon by the inertia force of the
eccentric weight member 48 when the carrier member 27 is
accelerated.
In the use of the vibrator shown in FIG. 1, the operator first
attaches the coupling member 14 and the square end portion 13 to a
vacuum cleaner electric motor or accessory attachment. The hand
receiving portion 23 of handle 22 is then grasped and held between
the thumb and palm of the operator's hand. When the power source is
turned on, the eccentric weight member 48 is rotated by the drive
shaft 11, producing vibrations which are transmitted to the hand
receiving portion 23 by bearing 24. The operator then places the
fingers of the hand that is holding the vibrator in contact with
the surface to be massaged so that the vibrations from the
eccentric weight and the hand receiving portion 23 are transmitted
to the surface to be massaged only through the operator's fingers.
The operator need not support the weight of the motor when using
the vibrator, so that the hand receiving portion 23 may easily be
held by the thumb and palm of the hand to permit the fingers to
engage the surface to be massaged.
A cover member 53 is provided to substantially encapsulate the
eccentric weight member 48. To provide access to the eccentric
weight member 48 so that it may be removed to permit the device
shown in FIG. 1 to be used as a flexible power shaft for driving
any other desired tool or appliance, the invention provides a means
for permitting the cover member 53 to be manually connected to and
disconnected from the handle 22. However, because of the vibrations
encountered in the use of the device shown in FIG. 1, the means for
attaching the cover 53 to the handle 22 must prevent the cover 53
from being disconnected from the handle 22 due to the vibrations.
For this purpose, the invention provides the cover member 53 with
an annular groove 54 which, in the preferred embodiment extends for
360.degree. about the entire diameter of the cover 53. The
invention also provides a lip portion 55 on the handle 22 which is
adapted to be received by the groove 54. The lip portion 55 extends
through an arc of slightly greater than 180.degree. and
substantially less than 360.degree.. This permits radially opposed
portions 56 and 57 of the lip 55 to extend fully into the groove 54
to prevent the cover 53 from loosening from the handle 22 even
under conditions of severe vibration. However, because the lip 55
does not extend through 360.degree., the cover member 53 may be
easily removed.
The invention further provides an attachment means for manually
releasably attaching the eccentric weight 48 to the carrier member
27. This attachment means includes the threaded end portion 47 and
the stop member 45, which is secured to the carrier member 27 for
rotational movement therewith as described above. The stop member
45 includes two radially opposed apertures 58, which provide access
to the screws 38 for assembly purposes, and which otherwise do not
form a part of this attachment means. The stop means 45 further
includes four circumferentially spaced stop portions 59, which are
notches extending radially inwardly from the outer periphery of the
stop member 45 in the preferred embodiment. An aperture 60 extends
through the handle 22, and receives a suitable machine screw 61
which is threadably connected to a stop member 62. The screw 61 and
stop member 62 are spring biased to a retracted position as shown
in FIG. 1 by a coil spring 63. When it is desired to remove the
eccentric weight member 48, the cover member 53 is first removed.
The screw 61 and stop member 62 are manually displaced from the
retracted position shown in FIG. 1 to an advanced position in which
the stop member 62 projects into one of the notches 59 of stop
member 45. This secures the carrier member 27 against rotational
movement. The eccentric weight member 48 may then be easily removed
from its threaded connection to the carrier member 27, without the
use of other tools since the carrier member 27 is locked against
rotational movement. In this manner, the invention provides a means
for attaching the eccentric weight 48 which permits easy manual
removal of the eccentric weight so that it can be replaced by any
desired tool or appliance and the vibrator can be used as a power
extension shaft.
Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and
described in detail, various modifications and rearrangements of
parts may be made without departing from the scope of the invention
as defined by the following claims.
* * * * *