U.S. patent number 3,802,423 [Application Number 05/336,890] was granted by the patent office on 1974-04-09 for massaging apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Spemot AG. Invention is credited to Jorg Pfaendler.
United States Patent |
3,802,423 |
Pfaendler |
April 9, 1974 |
MASSAGING APPARATUS
Abstract
A massaging device having a casing with a motor mounted therein,
and reduction gears driving a shaft having massaging elements
extending through an opening in the casing.
Inventors: |
Pfaendler; Jorg (Olten,
CH) |
Assignee: |
Spemot AG (Dulliken, Canton of
Solothurn, CH)
|
Family
ID: |
4245332 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/336,890 |
Filed: |
February 28, 1973 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
601/108;
601/118 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61H
15/0085 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61H
15/00 (20060101); A61h 023/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/54-57,24.2,24.3 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Trapp; Lawrence W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Striker; Michael S.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A massaging apparatus comprising a casing having therein an
electromotor and a reduction gear and in an outer recess of said
casing a rotatable massaging member driven by said reduction gear,
said massaging member having at least one working surface which
during its rotation projects intermittently beyond said casing
recess for exercising the massaging action, said reduction gear
having two gear stages including an intermediate shaft which is
parallel to the two shafts of said motor and said member and which
is disposed outside the plane containing the axes of said two
shafts, the second gear stage being constituted by a toothed
endless belt and two gear wheels of unequal diameter, the smaller
gear wheel being mounted on said intermediate shaft and the bigger
gear wheel being mounted on the shaft of said member within said
casing and adjacent to the casing wall which defines the outer edge
of said recess, the radius of said bigger gear wheel being
therefore smaller that the minimum radius of the portion of said
member which projects beyond said casing recess.
2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said casing is provided
at opposite ends with a handle projecting therefrom in a plane
which contains the axes of said motor shaft and member shaft or is
parallel thereto.
3. Apparatus as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein said handle has
the shape of a lug or a tap.
4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said casing is
constituted by two shells joined together along a separation line
lying in a plane which is parallel to the plane containing the axes
of said motor shaft and member shaft.
5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein a fan driven by said
motor is provided in said casing between air inlet apertures and
air outlet apertures located in the casing wall for producing a
cooling air current along said motor, said outlet apertures being
located in a wall portion which defines said casing recess.
6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reduction gear
ratio of the first stage of said reduction gear is substantially
10:1 and that of said second gear stage is substantially 1.5:1.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a massaging apparatus comprising a
casing and pivoted therein an electromotor and a rotatable
massaging member driven by the electromotor through the
intermediary of a reduction gear, the massaging member having at
least one working surface which during rotation of the member
projects intermittently beyond a recess of the casing for
excercising the massaging action.
Preferably, the massaging member is a plate-like wing of generally
rectangular shape which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis of
symmetry and the edges of which between the two flat wing sides are
well rounded off so as to form the working surfaces of the member.
The massaging effect arises with the rotating wing by the
consecutive strokes of these working surfaces upon the place of the
human body to be treated and the intensity of the strokes depends
on the circumferential speed of the working edges or surfaces, that
means it depends on the rotational speed of the wing and on the
radial space of its working surfaces from the axis of rotation.
This radial space is substancially decisive for the rate of the
wing portion which is adapted to project beyond the recess of the
apparatus casing, since the remaining space portion is necessary to
allow the accommodation of the pivot bearings for the wing in the
casing. On the other hand, the rate of projection is limited to
that the force of the wing stroke must be supportable by the user
of the massaging apparatus.
Due to these circumstances, the problem has arisen to which extent
a reduction gear must reduce the rate of rotation between the
electromotor and the wing and how such reduction gear can be
established between the shafts of the electromotor and of the wing
within the given limits of the casing.
SUMMARY
According to the invention in the massaging apparatus as set forth
above, the reduction gear between the electromotor and the
massaging member comprises two stages, including an intermediate
shaft which is parallel to the shafts of the motor and of the
member, and is disposed outside the plane comprising the axes of
the two other shafts. The second stage of the gear is constituted
by a toothed endless belt and two unequal gear wheels, the smaller
of which being mounted on the intermediate shaft and the bigger
wheel mounted on the shaft of the massaging member within the
casing and adjacent to the wall thereof which defines the outer
edge of an outer casing recess accomodating the member, the radius
of the bigger gear wheel being therefore smaller than the minimum
radius of the portion of the member which projects intermittently
beyond the recess of the casing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
A preferred embodiment of a massaging apparatus according to the
invention will now be described in detail, by way of example, with
reference to the accompanying drawing in which
FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through the apparatus along the
separation line of two shells constituting the apparatus
casing,
FIG. 2 shows a vertical cross section to FIG. 1, and
FIG. 3 shows a horizontal section to FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION Of THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The elongated casing of the massaging apparatus consists of two
shells 1 and 2, preferably made of synthetic resin which are joined
together along a plane line of separation and form a lug-like
handle 3 at each longitudinal end of the casing. An electric
collector motor 4 having its shaft 5 in the longitudinal direction
of the casing is mounted therein, while in an outer recess 6 of the
casing there is disposed a massaging wing 8 on a shaft 7 which at
both ends is pivoted in the casing parallelly to the motor shaft 5.
The plate-like wing 8 has a generally rectangular shape, the
longitudinal edges thereof being parallel to the shaft 7 and
constitute each a working surface 9 for executing the massaging
stroke, in which position such edge projects sufficiently beyond
the outer edge 18 of the recess 6. The longitudinal edge portions
of the wing 8 may be made somewhat radially flexible by the
provision of a perforation 19 in each half of the wing, extending
axially. A reduction gear connects the shaft 5 with shaft 7 in two
gear stages.
The first stage comprises a pinion 10 on the one end of the motor
shaft 5, which mates with a gear wheel 11 mounted on an
intermediate shaft 12 and produces a gear ratio of approximately 10
: 1. The shaft 12 is located outside the plane containing the axes
of the two shafts 5 and 7 and extends parallelly to the latters.
The second gear stage comprises two gear wheels 13 and 14 of
unequal diameter, the smaller gear wheel 13 being mounted on the
intermediate shaft 12 and the bigger gear wheel 14 being mounted on
the working shaft 7 in the casing. These gear wheels are rotatable
connected to each other by a toothed endless belt 15 and produce a
reduction ratio of approximately 1.5 : 1. Due to the described
formation of the reduction gear, the radius of the bigger gear
wheel 14 can be made smaller than the minimum radius of the wing
portion which projects beyond the outer recess edge formed by the
wall portion 18 of the casing which encloses the gear on its lower
side in FIG. 1. Thereby the radius of the working surfaces 9 of the
wing 8 can be thus dimensioned that in connection with the
rotational speed, reduced by the gear, the massaging strokes of the
working surfaces will be well supportable.
The provision of the toothed belt 15 in the gear is also
advantageous in so far that it attenuates the rotational shocks
caused by the massaging strokes of the wing when being in use, so
that the toothing of the first gear stage is spared.
For cooling the motor 4 a fan wheel 16 is mounted on the motor
shaft 5 for producing an air current from the inlet openings 20 to
the outlet openings 17 of the casing, wherby the outlet openings
are preferably located in the casing wall forming the inner limit
of the recess 6, thus the leaving warm air warming up the wing
8.
Instead of lug-like handles there could be provided on each end of
the casing a tap-like handle projecting therefrom parallelly to the
shafts 5 and 7.
* * * * *