HK1000875B - Roller massaging apparatus with suction function - Google Patents

Abstract

Massaging apparatus intending to perform massage treatments through an action of suction and mobilization of the skin tissue. It is comprised of parallel rollers (3, 4) mounted inside a casing (1) and between which is created a depression when the apparatus is applied against the patient body. According to the invention, the rollers (3, 4) are not mounted with a fixed distance between the axes between the two sidewalls but may have a displacement with respect to each other by sliding inside ports (15a, 15b, 16a, 16b) provided in said walls, while remaining tangent with respect to the bottom of the casing, the two rollers being held normally spaced by a predetermined distance (E) by the use of thrust means (17, 18) acting on the axes (13, 14); the two rollers (3, 4) can be brought closer to each other by the suction effect, but the distance between the two rollers is limited to a predetermined value (e).

Description

Rolling type massager with negative pressure function

The invention relates to an improved massager with simple and effective structure. It massages the patient by the action of negative pressure and the movement of skin tissue.

In the following description the invention will be described in connection with a device for massaging the human body, but it is obvious that a device of this type may also be used for massaging animals, such as horses, cattle, etc.

The invention relates in particular to improvements to massage devices of the type described in european patents EP- ｃA-224422 and EP- ｃA-284527, which, in addition to retaining the design advantages of the prior art massage devices, also overcome the disadvantages associated with them.

Generally, the apparatus described in the above document comprises: two parallel rollers having smooth surfaces and being freely rotatable (or rotatably driven) within a housing, said housing being connected to a device comprising a conduit, the end of which opens into the space contained between the two rollers, when the rollers are applied to the body, a negative pressure being able to be generated between the two rollers located in the housing in the space contained between the two rollers.

In the solution described in french patent FR- A-2579100, one of the rollers is driven in forced rotation, while the second roller is connected to means for moving it away from the driving roller. Since this solution involves special means, it is complicated and its effect is not satisfactory. Wherein the special device comprises a mechanical control system for actuating the lever by the user, which is arranged to keep the free roller away from the drive roller when the massager is started to be used. In addition, the rollers are separated from each other by the skin folding action formed between the rollers during the massage process.

From a functional point of view, the pressure acting on the skin in this device is difficult to control, above all, it is high and therefore subject to trauma for the user. In practice, this pressure is supplied not only by the negative pressure, but also by the action of the roller return means which tend to move towards each other.

This solution, in which the rollers are mounted with a fixed interaxial distance, is satisfactory for small massagers, for example for roller massagers having a length of 0.5 to 6 cm, but it has been noted at the same time that: for massagers with long rollers, the massage effect is inferior to that of massagers in which the rollers automatically move apart and close to each other during massage.

However, a solution to this problem has been found and forms the subject of the present invention. I.e. during massage, without the need to install additional sealing means such as valves or inclined baffles, while the rollers are moving relative to each other. In contrast to the way in which the rollers are mounted in the housing at a fixed axial distance, the method limits the movement of the rollers towards each other to a certain value during the massage.

Furthermore, the new device of the invention is particularly suitable for being installed at the outlet of a circulating negative pressure source comprising a solenoid valve which, as indicated in the patent application WO-95/09596, not only can be operated fully open or fully closed, but also can be operated by adjusting said valve to control the speed of the air flow between two predetermined values, thus obtaining a "continuous pulse rhythm" during the massage process, the rate of the negative pressure source being periodically varied to bring the rollers closer to and away from each other, thus producing the effects of "vibration", negative pressure fluctuation and skin tightening on the skin, thus improving the therapeutic effect, and the device being easier to apply to the patient.

Generally, the massager of the present invention exerts a massaging effect by means of the action of negative pressure and the promotion action on the skin tissue. The massager includes: two parallel rollers mounted in a housing, the rollers being freely rotatable within the housing, and the housing being connected to a device comprising a conduit, the end of the conduit opening into the space between the two rollers, whereby when the rollers act on a person, a negative pressure can be generated between the two rollers in the housing.

According to the invention, two rollers are mounted between two side walls perpendicular to the axis of said rollers and to the end walls of the housing, which side walls, together with said end walls and said rollers, define a chamber which is open opposite said end walls and which has a height substantially equal to the diameter of the rollers mounted on the side walls, so that the rollers are supported on the side walls and are tangential to said end walls, the rollers having a slight clearance from the side walls in order to enable the rollers to rotate while maintaining the seal, and the diameter of the rollers extending slightly down to the lower ends of the side walls.

This type of design is substantially the same as that of european patent EP-284527.

In contrast to EP-284527, the device according to the invention is characterized in that the rollers are not mounted with a fixed axial spacing between the two side walls, but are displaced relative to each other by sliding in sliding grooves of said side walls while the rollers are tangential to the end walls of the housing. The two rollers are kept normally apart by using thrust means acting on the roller shafts. Under the effect of the underpressure, the movement of the two rollers relative to one another is limited to a predetermined range.

Although, according to one embodiment, the end wall of the housing may be planar, it may also be designed as a small convex or concave surface. The rollers slide along the side walls in the chutes and the radius of curvature of the axis should be equal to the radius of curvature of the end walls so that the rollers are always tangential to the side walls.

In order to ensure that the device according to the invention does not leak, the cross-section of the evacuation opening of the underpressure conduit is such that, when the two rollers are close to each other, their circumference is located in the space defined between the two contact lines of the rollers and the end wall of the housing, the evacuation opening being located in the same plane as defined by the contact lines of the rollers and the side wall and also behind the contact lines.

In addition, in order to normally separate the two rollers from each other, various types of thrust devices may be used. In one embodiment of the invention, the device comprises two springs supported on a fixed part in the central region of the housing and housed in two lateral chambers in contact with the chute.

The thrust device should be designed such that: on the one hand, the pressure of the rollers on the skin is controlled when the rollers approach each other under the effect of the negative pressure, and on the other hand, the rollers do not spring out of the chute when the chute end is opened.

In one embodiment, to facilitate the mounting and dismounting of the roller, a chute may be opened on the outside of the massager, into which the shaft of the roller is also forcibly inserted (in the manner of a snap).

In this embodiment, the maximum separation between the two rollers must not exceed the ends of the end walls of the housing, in order not to create leakage, by for example: the locking post in the plane of the runner is adjusted in that an end stop is provided at the extreme position of the roller axle, although the axle of the roller is forcibly inserted. Other ways of limiting the extreme positions of the rollers may of course be used.

In addition, the modified example of the present invention is based on a design in which: at least one additional roller is arranged between the two active rollers, so that two (or more) successive folds of the skin are made simultaneously during the massage.

Although the active roller is preferably a cylindrical, smooth surface, it may be designed as a different surface while ensuring that its walls do not leak from the side walls of the housing.

The invention and its advantages will be more clearly understood by the following examples, which are given by way of illustration of the accompanying drawings, without however limiting the scope of the invention, in which:

figures 1 and 2 are a front view and a side view, respectively, of the massager of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view, in section along the line X-X of FIG. 1;

figures 4 and 5 are a side view and a bottom view, respectively, of a variant of the massager according to the invention, the section being taken along the line X-X in figure 4. The massager has an additional roller between two active rollers;

referring to the drawings, the massager of the present invention performs massage by combining the negative pressure effect and the skin undulation promotion. It comprises a housing, indicated by the reference number (1), which can be moved manually by means of a handle (2), which supports two parallel rollers (3, 4) housed therein and in which the rollers are free to rotate, and which is connected to a source of negative pressure by means of a duct (5), the end of which opens into the space left between the two rollers, so that, when the rollers (3, 4) act on the body, a negative pressure can be generated between said rollers (3, 4) inside the housing, thereby massaging by means of the negative pressure applied and causing the skin to perform a folding movement.

As shown in figures 1 to 3, which show an embodiment of the device of the invention, two active rollers (3, 4) are mounted vertically between two side walls (9, 10) of the housing and tangentially to the end wall (8), the sides of the rollers meeting the side walls (9, 10), with a slight clearance between the rollers and the side walls in order to enable the rollers to rotate while maintaining a seal.

Opposite said end wall (8) there is a cavity whose height is substantially the same as the diameter of the rollers (3, 4), preferably extending slightly down to the lower end of the side walls (9, 10).

In this embodiment, the active rollers (3, 4) are mounted by their shafts (13, 14) in two runners (15a, 15b-16a, 16b) of the housing, the shape of the runners being such that the rollers are always tangential to the end walls of the housing when the rollers are in motion. These chutes may also open out of the housing as shown. In this case, the transverse seal can be obtained either by pressing alone against the side of the roller of the inner wall of the casing or by a transverse valve inserted in the thrust device which seals the chute if the length of the chute allows a movement longer than the radius of the roller.

It is also possible to design the chute as a transverse sealing chute, in which case automatic sealing is ensured by an axis tangential to the chute surface and the end wall if the chute is moved by an amount greater than the radius of the rollers.

In the embodiment shown, the two rollers (3, 4) are normally kept apart at a predetermined distance (E), i.e. by using thrust means such as: two springs (17, 18) bearing against the ends of the shafts (13, 14) place the two rollers apart and the rollers are placed in two parallel cage rings (19.20) offset side by side with the runners guiding the roller axes. The spring is laterally supported by two covers (not shown) cooperating with the outer side of the housing.

In the embodiment shown, the roller is supported in its extreme position in the direction of the exit from the housing (e.g. distance E) by a simple support (21) which is of relatively small height in order to allow the shaft of the roller to be mounted in the runner by pressing.

Under negative pressure, the movement of the two rollers towards each other will be limited to a predetermined value (E). The limitation of the roller displacement is obtained by the abutment of the end walls of the transverse runners with the roller axles, as is clearly visible on the right side of fig. 1, where the thrust means acting on the rollers (3) are not shown in order to make the figure clearer.

It should also be noted that: the end wall (8) of the housing may be either flat as shown in the above figures, or concave or convex. Because the rollers are displaced by the longitudinal axis of the chute, the shape of the chute longitudinal axis is the same as the convex or concave shape described above. Thus, the rollers move while being supported by the end walls of the housing.

In addition, the cross-section of the end (6) of the negative pressure conduit is such that, when the two rollers are close to each other, said conduit is in the plane defined by the two lines tangent to the end walls of the housing, thus preventing leakage.

By this design, firstly, when a device of this type is connected to a source of negative pressure by means of a solenoid valve, as described in WO-95/09596, the effect of the combination of negative pressure and the speed of advance of the device on the human body is provided, which, when the rate of negative pressure is periodically changed, causes "continuous pulse pulses" between the two rollers which are facing or spaced apart from each other, thereby providing an oscillating effect in the massage of the skin.

In addition, the device of this simple design is particularly easy to disassemble and easy to clean, and the housing/operating handle can be cast in one piece.

Thus, as can be seen from fig. 4 and 5, the device of the invention comprises: between the two driving rollers (3) and (4), an additional roller (22) is mounted so that it can rotate freely on the wall. The position of the mediate rollers (22) within the housing and its diameter should not affect the negative pressure in the space contained between the active rollers nor the movement of the rollers towards each other.

Claims (8)

1. A massaging apparatus for massaging treatment by causing movement of skin tissue under the influence of negative pressure, comprising two parallel rollers (3, 4) housed in a housing (1) connected to means comprising a conduit (5) the end (6) of which opens into the space left between the rollers (3, 4) so that when the rollers (3, 4) are applied to a person a negative pressure is created in the space between said rollers (3, 4) within the housing, said rollers (3, 4) being mounted between two side walls (9, 10) perpendicular to the axis of said rollers (3, 4) and to an end wall (8) of the housing (1), which side walls together with said end wall (8) and said rollers (3, 4) define a chamber open opposite said end wall (8) and having a height substantially corresponding to the roller (3, 4) mounted thereon, 4) So that the rollers are supported on the side walls and tangential to said end walls, with a slight clearance between them in order to enable the rollers to rotate while maintaining the seal, the diameter of the rollers being such that they project slightly downwards below the side walls (9, 10), characterized in that:

the rollers (3, 4) are mounted in the housing so as to be freely rotatable; the rollers are simultaneously displaceable towards each other by sliding in grooves (15, 16) in the walls parallel to the end walls of the housing; keeping the two rollers normally apart within a predetermined distance (E) by thrust means (17, 18) acting on the roller axes (13, 14); the aforesaid movement of the two rollers towards each other under the action of the negative pressure is limited to a predetermined range (e).

2. The massager of claim 1, wherein: the end wall (8) of the housing (1) is a continuous surface which may be flat, concave or convex.

3. The massager of claim 1 or 2, wherein: the cross-section of the end (6) of the negative pressure conduit (5) is such that when the two rollers (3, 4) are brought close to each other, their circumference is within the space defined by the contact lines of the two rollers (3, 4) with the end wall of the housing.

4. The massager of claim 1, wherein: the thrust means (17, 18) which normally separate the rollers (3, 4) from each other comprise two springs supported on a fixed part of the central area of the housing and housed in two transverse chambers associated with the chute.

5. A massaging apparatus as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: the thrust means (17, 18) which normally separate the rollers (3, 4) from each other comprise two springs supported on a fixed part of the central area of the housing and housed in two transverse chambers associated with the chute.

6. The massager of claim 1, wherein: the runners (15, 16) open out and the shafts (13, 14) of the rollers are forcibly inserted into said runners.

7. The massager of claim 1, wherein: it also comprises at least one intermediate roller (22) arranged between the active rollers (3, 4) so that during the massage at least two successive skin massages are carried out simultaneously.

8. The massager of claim 6, wherein: the diameter of the intermediate roller (22) is smaller than the diameter of the driving rollers (3, 4), the circumference of the intermediate roller is tangent to the plane of the side wall and does not protrude downwards from the side wall.