U.S. patent number 3,800,785 [Application Number 05/289,568] was granted by the patent office on 1974-04-02 for electromassager.
Invention is credited to Nichimu Inada.
United States Patent |
3,800,785 |
Inada |
April 2, 1974 |
ELECTROMASSAGER
Abstract
An electromassager for massaging action which includes means for
obtaining a horizontal massaging movement and a vertical tapping
movement.
Inventors: |
Inada; Nichimu (Daito-shi,
Osaka, JA) |
Family
ID: |
23112096 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/289,568 |
Filed: |
September 15, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
601/103 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61H
23/02 (20130101); A61H 15/0078 (20130101); A61H
2201/0138 (20130101); A61H 2201/1669 (20130101); A61H
2015/0028 (20130101); A61H 2201/0149 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61H
23/02 (20060101); A61H 15/00 (20060101); A61H
1/00 (20060101); A61H 37/00 (20060101); A61h
007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/51,52,57,24.3,24.4,54,55,33 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Trapp; Lawrence W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Munz; Otto John
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electromassager characterized by that an inner frame is
supported at the right and left hands sides of an outer frame by
means of pins so that said inner frame can be displaced to said
outer frame, said outer frame being held so as to move upwards and
downwards along a threaded shaft and two slide braces, wherein the
inner frame supports the bases of two arms having two or a plural
pair of massaging balls on their tips, with a crank shaft connected
to said bases by means of housings containing self-aligning ball
bearings, said crank shaft being fitted with eccentric cams therein
and held upon front and back plates of the outer frames and related
to a motor in the backside thereof through a transmitting means and
rotated eccentrically as a result of the motor being driven, said
two arms being vibrated, thereby causing the massaging balls on the
tips of the two arms to repeat horizontal movement in the alternate
directions.
2. An electromassager as set forth in claim 1, wherein a cam shaft
is connected to one end of the inner frame in the front end thereof
through a link and to the second motor in the back end thereof
through a rotational transmitting means, said cam shaft being
rotated as a result of the motor being driven to vibrate said link
upwards and downwards, the inner frame connected to the link is
vibrated into an oblique relation to the outer frame at a fixed
angle, with the pins serving as a fulcrum at the right and left
hands sides of the frame, and the two arms connected to said inner
frame are vertically vibrated, thereby allowing the massaging balls
on the tips of the arms to obtain a vertical tapping movement.
3. An electromassager as set forth in claim 1, wherein either the
crank shaft or the cam shaft can be alternatively driven by
switching according to desired therapy.
4. An electromassager as set forth in claim 1, wherein in order to
adjust the height of the massaging balls protruding at the back of
the chair so that said balls may just fit the affected part of the
body, the third motor mounted at the bottom of the chair is driven
to move the balls along the two braces together with the inner and
outer frames which support and connect said balls.
5. An electromassager as set forth in claims 1 to 4, wherein the
massaging balls attached to the tips of the two at the back of the
chair are adapted to continue either the horizontal movement or the
vertical tapping movement alternatively as desired.
6. An electromassager as set forth in claim 1, wherein even a
single motor is used to obtain both can also achieve both of the
massaging movement and the tapping movement of the arms by
directing a lever upwards and downwards by use of a wirerope so
that two clutches connected to said lever are alternatively engaged
with separate pulleys respectively, said pulleys being pressed by
the use of plate springs.
Description
The present invention relates to the mechanism of an
electromassager characterized by that massaging action and
continued tapping action can be both made by means of two or a
plural pair of massaging balls which are protruded at the back of a
chair, and is intended to promote the therapy of the affected part
of the body by causing the same massaging balls to repeat not only
horizontal movement as in a conventional manner but also tapping
movement, that is to say, vertical movement in order to massage the
shoulders, the back, the waist, and other parts of the body, and
facilitate the circulation of the blood, and relieve away the
stiffness.
An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in
detail with respect to the drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front elevation showing the mechanism of the
electromassager of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the above FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the principal mechanism;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the moving directions of the massaging
balls;
FIG. 5 is a side view of a chair, showing the principal mechanism
mounted therein;
FIG. 6 is a second side view of the principal mechanism wherein a
single motor achieves both massaging movement and tapping movement
by making use of clutches.
Referring now to the drawings, an inner frame 4 is supported to the
sides of an outer frame 3 by means of pins 5 inside the outer frame
3 so that the inner frame 4 can be displaced to said outer frame 3,
said outer frame 3 being hold so as to move upwards and downwards
along a threaded shaft 1 and two slide braces 2 which are
vertically mounted within the back of a chair. The bases 8 of two
arms 7 having massaging balls 6 in their tips are supported upon
said inner frame by means of pins 9, and said bases have housings
11 connected to a crank shaft 13 provided with eccentric cams 12,
said housings incorporating self-aligning ball bearings 10
respectively. Said crank shaft 13 is held by the use of front and
back plates 14, 15, and is connected to a motor 17 through a
rotational transmitting means 16 comprised of a bolt and a pulley
linked to said crank shaft. Driving the motor rotates eccentrically
the crank shaft 13, and vibrates the two arms 7 connected thereto,
thereby permitting the massaging balls on the tips of the arms to
conduct the massaging action (repetitious movement in the alternate
directions illustrated in FIG. 4).
On the other hand, a cam shaft 18 resting upon the front and back
plates 14, 15 of the outer frame 3 has a self-aligning ball bearing
19 and a bearing 20 connected in the front end thereof by means of
a link 21, and is related to the second motor 23 in the back end
thereof through a rotational transmitting means 22 resting upon the
back plates 15. Thus, the cam shaft 18 rotates as a result of the
motor being driven by switching thereon, and the link 21 related
thereto is vibrated upwards and downwards. Consequently, the inner
frame 4, which is connected to one end of said link, is vibrated
into an oblique relation to the outer frame at a fixed angle, with
the abovementioned pins 5 acting as a fulcrum, within the limits of
the eccentric width of the self-aligning ball bearings inside the
housings 11 connected to the crank shaft 13, and the arms 7
connected to the inner frame 4 makes upward and downward movement,
thereby arranging the massaging balls 6 on the tips of the arms for
the repetition of the continued vertical tapping movement.
As is apparent from the foregoing, the present invention provides
an electromassager wherein the massaging balls connected to the
crank shaft are adapted to make both the massaging movement and the
continued vertical tapping movement in the same structure, said
massaging movement being obtained by rotating one of the two motors
to turn the crank shaft connected thereto, said tapping movement
being feasible as a result of the other motor rotating the crank
shaft to vibrate the inner frame into an oblique relation to the
outer frame at the fixed angle by the use of the abovementioned
linking means, said inner frame being related to said linking
means. In this case, the two motors can be alternatively turned on
and off by means of a switch mounted on the arm of the chair so
that a patient who uses this massager can choose, by himself, the
massaging movement or the vertical tapping movement.
The operation of the massager of the present invention will now be
described.
In the first place, when the massaging movement is desired for the
therapy, the rotation of the motor 17 is transmitted to the crank
shaft 13 through the rotational transmitting means 16 if a patient
switches on said motor 17 while sitting in the chair, and the
vibrating movement of the housings 11 which is caused by the
eccentric rotation of said crank shaft is transmitted to the bases
8 of the arms connected to said housings 11, thereby allowing the
massaging balls fitted to the tips of said arm to repeat the
massaging action in the horizontal direction as illustrated in FIG.
4 for the cure of the affected part of the body. On this occasion,
the massaging balls can be adjusted in their height to the position
of the massaged part of the body by driving the third motor 24
mounted at the bottom of the massager so that the rotation of the
threaded shaft 1 moves freely the outer frame 3 upwards and
downwards along the slide braces 2.
In the second place, when the continued tapping movement is
requested, the second motor 23 is driven by switching thereon to
eccentrically rotate the cam shaft 18. The eccentric rotation of
said cam shaft vibrates upwards and downwards the link 21
connecting the self-aligning bearing 19 and the bearing 20 which
are kept in connection with said cam shaft, and the inner frame
related to the link 21 is vibrated obliquely to the outer frame 3,
with the pins 5 acting as a fulcrum, thereby causing the arms
connected with the inner frame to vibrate upwards and downwards for
the continued vertical tapping movement, that is, repititious
movement in B direction shown in FIG. 4 of the massaging balls 6 on
the tips of the arms.
In this addition, even a single motor can achieve both of the
abovementioned massaging movement and tapping movement of the arms
by bringing a lever 27 upwards and downwards by means of a wirerope
28 so that two clutches 26 connected to said lever are
alternatively engaged with separate pulleys 29 and 30 respectively,
said pulleys 29 and 30 being pressed by the use of plate springs
25.
As described above, the electro-massager of the present invention
is characterized by the capability of continuing either the
massaging movement or the tapping movement at a user's option by
means of the same massaging balls. In order to relieve away the
stiffness of the body, the massaging therapy alone or the tapping
stimulation alone can not be sufficient according to the degree of
the stiffness, and both of them need to be repeated in turn for the
purpose of having a speedy therapeutical value upon the stiffness
of the respective parts of the body. In the electromassager of the
present invention, the abovementioned two kinds of therapy can be
easily accomplished in a single unit thereof at a user's option and
by a user himself without using another machine or replacing the
arms as in conventional machines of this kind.
* * * * *