HK1178420A - Massage device - Google Patents

Abstract

In the case of a prior art massage device, an adhesive pad is used to hold a vibrating motor on a human body. Therefore, there is a problem in that it is difficult, while transmitting vibrations, to knead or pinch a region being massaged. Disclosed is a massage device which massages a human body by transmitting vibrations to the same. This massage device is provided with vibrating motors (21 - 25) which generate vibrations, and a pair of gloves (10) which are worn on hands that apply massage and each of which is equipped with at least one of the vibrating motors (21 - 25).

Description

Massage device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a device for massaging a body by transmitting mechanical vibration to the body.

Background

Fig. 5 shows a conventional massage apparatus. This massage device is disclosed in patent document 1.

In fig. 5, 110 is a bonding pad of urethane gel, silicone gel, or the like, and 120 is a vibration motor as a vibration generating unit. A magnet piece, not shown, is provided on the surface of the adhesive pad 110 opposite to the adhesive surface, and a magnetic contact surface, not shown, is provided on the vibration motor 120.

When massaging the shoulder pain part, as shown in fig. 5, the adhesive surface of the adhesive pad 110 is adhered to the shoulder pain part, and the vibration motor 120 is overlapped on the adhesive pad 110. Thereby, the magnet pieces of the adhesive pad 110 are magnetically connected to the magnetic contact surface of the vibration motor 120, and the vibration motor 120 is fixed at the shoulder pain part.

When the power switch is turned on and the vibration motor 120 vibrates, the vibration of the vibration motor 120 is transmitted to the aching area of the shoulder through the adhesive pad 110, and the aching area of the shoulder is massaged. In fig. 5, the vibration motor 120 is fixed to a predetermined part of the body by using the adhesive pad 110 with the magnet pieces and vibrated to perform massage.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: JP 2007-44319A.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the massage device of fig. 5, since the vibration motor is fixed to a predetermined portion of the body using the adhesive pad, there is a problem as follows: it is difficult to apply a skill of rubbing or pinching with a hand to a vibrating part simultaneously with the vibration by transmitting only the vibration.

In addition, since the vibration motor is held on the body by using the adhesive pad, there is a problem as follows: the vibration is transmitted only to the extremely shallow surface layer portion of the massage target portion, and the vibration cannot be transmitted to a deep portion.

Further, since the vibration motor is held on the body by using the adhesive pad, there is a problem as follows: it is difficult to hold the vibration motor under clothes or at a portion having hair to which the adhesive pad is difficult to adhere, and to transmit vibration.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve a massage effect by simultaneously performing a kneading or pinching operation on a massage target region while transmitting vibrations.

Further, the present invention aims to improve the massage effect by easily transmitting vibration not only to the surface of a part to be massaged but also to the deep inside.

Further, the present invention is intended to fix a vibration generating means to a part which is covered with clothes or hair and is difficult to massage, to eliminate the restriction of the part to be massaged, and to massage any part of the body.

Means for solving the problems

The massage device of the present invention is a massage device for performing massage by transmitting mechanical vibration to a body, and includes a vibration generating unit for generating the vibration, and a glove unit which is attached to a hand of a person who tries the massage and has at least one or more vibration generating units.

The massage device of the invention is provided with a vibration generating unit at one side of the palm part of the glove unit.

The massage device of the present invention has a vibration generating unit on a fingertip side of the glove unit.

The massage device of the present invention has a vibration generating unit on the back side of the hand of the glove unit.

The massage device of the invention, the glove unit has a plurality of vibration generating units.

The massage device of the invention is provided with a vibration control unit which makes the plurality of vibration generating units generate vibration respectively in sequence.

The massage device of the invention is provided with a vibration control unit which periodically changes the energy level of the vibration generated by the vibration generation unit.

In the massage device of the present invention, the vibration generating unit is a coin-type vibration motor.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, since the massage device for massaging a body by transmitting mechanical vibration thereto includes the vibration generating means for generating the vibration and the glove unit which is attached to a hand for performing the massage and has at least one or more vibration generating means, the massage device can easily perform a kneading or pinching operation on a part to be massaged while transmitting the vibration of the vibration generating means by the glove unit attached to the hand, and can obtain an effect of improving a massage effect.

Further, by pressing the vibration generating means against the body by the glove means worn on the hand, the vibration is easily transmitted not only to the surface of the part to be massaged but also to the inner depth, and the effect of improving the massage effect can be obtained.

Further, the glove unit worn on the hand can easily hold the vibration generating unit from above the clothes or even in the area with hair to transmit the vibration, and can provide the effect of giving the massage effect to the area which is difficult to massage in the past.

According to the present invention, since the glove unit has the vibration generating means on the palm side, the palm of the glove unit can be used for massage while transmitting the vibration of the vibration generating means, and various massage effects can be obtained.

According to the present invention, since the glove unit has the vibration generating means on the fingertip side, the fingertips of the glove unit can be used for massage while transmitting the vibration of the vibration generating means, and thus various massage effects can be obtained.

According to the present invention, since the glove unit has the vibration generating means on the back side of the hand, the back of the hand of the glove unit can be used for massage while transmitting the vibration of the vibration generating means, and various massage effects can be obtained.

According to the present invention, since the glove unit includes the plurality of vibration generating units, vibration can be transmitted from the plurality of vibration generating units, and an effect of further improving the massage effect can be obtained.

According to the present invention, since the vibration control means is further provided for causing the plurality of vibration generating means to sequentially generate vibrations, the following effects can be obtained: the vibrating part can be moved without moving the hand or fingers, and massage can be performed along the line of the acupuncture points of the body.

According to the present invention, since the vibration control means for periodically changing the energy level of the vibration generated by the vibration generation means is further provided, the vibration mode can be increased, and the effect of providing a massage with a wide variety of changes can be obtained.

According to the present invention, since the vibration generating unit is a coin-type vibration motor, the glove unit can be made thin and light, and a highly practical massage device can be obtained.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a view showing an external appearance of a massage apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a massage apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of using the massage device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration change of the vibration motor.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a coin-type vibration motor, in which (a) shows a form in which vibration is generated by rotating an eccentric weight, and (b) shows a form in which vibration is also generated in a normal direction of a coin surface.

Fig. 6 is an explanatory view of the use of the conventional massage apparatus.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding structures are denoted by the same reference numerals.

First embodiment

Fig. 1 is a view showing an external appearance of a massage apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In fig. 1, 10 denotes two gloves (glove units) to be worn on the right and left hands of a user, 21 denotes a coin-type vibration motor (vibration generating unit) provided on each of the parts of the gloves 10 corresponding to the finger bellies of the thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger, and 30 denotes a controller of the massage device. The controller 30 is mounted as a small unit independently of each glove 10, which also improves the freedom of operation. The pad of the finger is a portion having a fingerprint, and the names of the respective portions of the hand are also used below to refer to the corresponding portions of the glove 10.

The massage device of fig. 1 is characterized in that a vibration motor 21 is provided on the glove 10. The vibration motor 21 is commonly used as a vibrator for a cellular phone or the like, and various vibration generation methods such as a method of generating vibration by rotating an eccentric weight around a motor shaft (see fig. 5 (a)) and a method of generating vibration also in a normal direction of a coin surface can be employed.

In fig. 5 (a), reference numeral 50 denotes a motor shaft, and the vibrator 51 rotates around the motor shaft. An eccentric weight 52 is attached to the vibrator 51, and when the vibrator 51 rotates, the entire housing 53 vibrates via the motor shaft 50. Reference numeral 53 denotes a rotating coil, which is attracted to and repelled from the magnet 54 to rotate the vibrator. The case 53 is a coin-shaped case having an outer diameter of about 10mm and a thickness of about 3 to 5mm, and has a weight of about 1.0 g. The glove is bonded to a predetermined portion of the glove 10 with an adhesive, and as shown in fig. 2, wiring is provided between the glove and the controller 30.

Fig. 5 (b) shows another example of the vibration motor, and shows a form in which vibration is also generated in the normal direction of the coin surface. Here, a circular plate 61 eccentric to the shaft 60 is attached to the shaft 60 formed of an elastic material. The disk 61 has a plurality of coils, and when electricity is applied thereto, a rotational force is generated between the disk and a magnet 63 provided at a position facing the disk 61, and the disk 61 rotates about the shaft 60. At this time, the magnet 62 attached to a part of the disk 61 causes a force transferred in the axial direction to act on the disk 61, and the disk 61 vibrates in the axial direction, that is, in the normal direction of the coin surface, in addition to the vibration in the radial direction due to the eccentricity of gravity. When a vibration motor generating such complex vibration is attached to the glove, a more excellent massage effect can be expected.

The vibration motor 21 is disposed on the pad of the glove 10 using an adhesive or the like. In fig. 1, the vibration motor 21 is provided on the outer side of the glove 10 for easy understanding, but the vibration motor 21 may be provided on the inner side of the glove 10, that is, on the side where the hand is inserted. By using the coin-type vibration motor 21, the glove 10 can be made thinner and lighter, and a highly practical massage apparatus can be constructed.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a massage device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

In the controller 30 of fig. 2, 31 is an operation panel for operating the massage device, 32 is a CPU (vibration control unit) for controlling the massage device, 33 is a memory for storing a program or various settings of the massage device, and 34 is a motor driver (vibration control unit) for driving each vibration motor 21.

The method of use of the device is described next.

When the user of the massage apparatus puts the glove 10 on both hands and operates the operation panel 31 to start the massage apparatus, the CPU32 drives each vibration motor 21 by the motor driver 34 to generate vibration based on the program of the normal mode stored in the memory 33. When the vibration motor 21 generates vibration, the user brings the glove 10 into close contact with the massage target portion to transmit the vibration, and performs a kneading or pinching operation on the portion with the glove 10.

In this way, since the glove 10 provided with the vibration motor 21 is worn on the hand, the user can perform a kneading or pinching operation on the region to be massaged with the glove 10 while transmitting vibration to the region, and thus the massage effect can be improved.

Further, since the vibration motor 21 is pressed against the massage target portion by the glove 10, vibration can be easily transmitted not only to the surface of the massage target portion but also to the inner depth, and the massage effect can be improved.

Further, since the vibration motor 21 can be easily held and the vibration can be transmitted to the part under the clothes or having the hair by the glove 10, the massage can be easily performed to the part which has been difficult to perform the massage in the past.

The glove 10 may be used by an assistant, rather than being worn by the user.

In addition, the following methods of use are also possible.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of using the massage device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and illustrates a case where a user uses the massage device on his or her face 40. Of course, the part using the massage device is not limited to the face, and may be another part of the body.

A user wearing the glove 10 on both hands as shown in fig. 3 (a) selects the sequential vibration mode via the operation panel 31 and brings the palm portion of the glove 10 into close contact with the face 40 as shown in fig. 3 (b). In the state of fig. 3 (b), each vibration motor 21 is located at a position substantially along the lymph node from the periphery of the eye to the front of the ear of the face 40. The CPU32 sequentially vibrates the vibration motors 21 by the motor driver 34 in the order of the little finger, ring finger, middle finger, index finger, thumb, … … as indicated by the circled numbers in fig. 3 (c) based on the program of the sequential vibration pattern stored in the memory 33, with the vibration time being the vibration duration Δ t.

In this way, since the palm portion of the glove 10 is opened to be in close contact with the face 40 and the vibration motors 21 are sequentially vibrated from the small thumb to the large thumb in accordance with the lymph direction from the periphery of the eye of the face 40 to the lymph node in front of the ear, the lymph can be circulated in the direction of the frame arrow P in fig. 3 (c) without moving the hand or the fingers, and a lymph massage with high efficiency in terms of beauty and health can be easily performed.

The order of vibration of each vibration motor 21, the timing of starting vibration, the duration of vibration, the intensity of vibration, and the like are not necessarily limited to those described with reference to fig. 3. For example, in fig. 3, a mode may be considered in which the group of the vibration motors 21 of the finger and the ring finger and the group of the vibration motors 21 of the middle finger, the index finger, and the thumb are sequentially vibrated. That is, the user may set and change the program of the memory 33 through the operation panel 31 according to the mutual positional relationship between the body lymph and the vibration motors 21 in close contact with the body and the consideration and preference of the user. In addition to the lymph, the vibration motors 21 may be sequentially vibrated along the course of blood and other body fluids.

Of course, the vibration motors 21 that are in close contact with the body may be sequentially vibrated regardless of the direction of the body fluid, thereby providing directional vibration to the body and enabling massage without moving the hands or fingers.

In the above description, the vibration motor 21 is provided on the pad of the glove 10, but the location where the vibration motor 21 is provided does not necessarily have to be the pad of the glove 10.

For example, various variations are contemplated as shown in the following fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration change of the vibration motor.

In fig. 4 (a) and (b), reference numeral 22 denotes a vibration motor (vibration generating means) provided at the palm of the finger of the glove 10, and the vibration motor 22 is provided not at the finger pad but between the lower side of the finger pad and the base of the finger. Further, reference numeral 23 denotes a vibration motor (vibration generating means) provided in the palm portion of the glove 10, 24 denotes a vibration motor (vibration generating means) provided in the fingertip portion of the glove 10, and 25 denotes a vibration motor (vibration generating means) provided in the back portion of the finger of the glove 10.

In this way, the vibration motors 21 to 23 may be provided on the palm portion of the glove 10, the vibration motor 24 may be provided on the fingertip portion of the glove 10, and the vibration motor 25 may be provided on the back portion of the glove 10. Thus, the palm, fingertips, and back of the hand of the glove 10 can be used for massage while transmitting the vibration of the vibration motors 21 to 25, thereby performing various massages. Of course, the arrangement shown in fig. 4 is an example, and the vibration motors 21 to 25 may be provided outside the portion shown in fig. 4.

Further, although the vibration motors 21 to 25 are used in the above description, a vibration generating unit may be constituted by a voice coil, a magnetostrictive material, or the like, instead of the vibration motors 21 to 25.

Further, the CPU32 and the motor driver 34 may generate vibrations from the vibration motors 21 to 25, which are amplitude-modulated by a periodic function such as a sine wave, a triangular wave, a sawtooth wave, or a square wave. By periodically changing the energy levels of the vibrations of the vibration motors 21 to 25, the vibration modes can be increased, and a massage with rich variations can be provided.

Further, the glove 10 does not have to be completely used with both hands, and any glove 10 may be used with either the right hand or the left hand. In addition, the shape of the glove does not have to be a 5-finger type shape.

Further, the number of the vibration motors 21 to 25 provided in the glove 10 may be 1 or more, and the sequential vibration mode shown in fig. 3 may be basically implemented. However, by providing a plurality of vibration motors 21 to 25, vibration is transmitted from the plurality of vibration motors 21 to 25, and the massage effect can be further improved.

Further, the glove 10 and the controller 30 do not necessarily have to be separate bodies, and as long as the controller 30 can be made compact, the glove 10 may be integrated with the glove, thereby improving the practicability of the massage device.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the massage device for massaging by transmitting vibration to the body, since the glove 10 is provided with the vibration motors 21 to 25 for generating vibration and the glove 10, and the glove 10 is attached to the hand for massaging, and the at least one vibration motor 21 to 25 is provided, the glove 10 attached to the hand can easily perform a kneading or pinching operation to the part to be massaged while transmitting the vibration of the vibration motors 21 to 25, and the massage effect can be improved. Further, by pressing the vibration motors 21 to 25 with the glove 10 worn on the hand, vibration can be easily transmitted not only to the surface of the part to be massaged but also to the deep inside, and the effect of improving the massage effect can be obtained. Further, the glove 10 worn on the hand can easily hold the vibration motors 21 to 25 even under clothes or in a portion having hair to transmit vibration, and the following effects can be obtained: can provide a massage effect to a part which is difficult to massage in the past.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the glove 10 has the vibration motors 21 to 23 in the palm portion, the palm portion of the glove 10 can be used for massage while transmitting the vibration of the vibration motors 21 to 23, and an effect that various massages can be performed can be obtained.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the glove 10 has the vibration motor 24 at the fingertips, the fingertips of the glove 10 can be used for massage while transmitting the vibration of the vibration motor 24, and thus various massage effects can be obtained.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the glove 10 has the vibration motor 25 on the back of the hand, the back of the hand of the glove 10 can be used for massage while transmitting the vibration of the vibration motor 25, and various massage effects can be obtained.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the glove 10 has the plurality of vibration motors 21 to 25, vibration can be transmitted from the plurality of vibration motors 21 to 25, and the effect of further improving the massage effect can be obtained.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the CPU32 and the motor driver 34 for sequentially generating vibrations by the plurality of vibration motors 21 to 25 are further provided, directional vibrations can be provided to the body, and an effect of massaging the body without moving the hand or fingers can be obtained.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the CPU32 and the motor driver 34 for periodically changing the energy level of the vibration generated by the vibration motors 21 to 25 are provided, the vibration mode can be increased, and a massage effect with a wide variety of patterns can be provided.

Further, according to the first embodiment, since the vibration motors 21 to 25 are coin-type vibration motors, the glove 10 can be made thin and light, and a highly practical massage apparatus can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the vibration motor is exemplified as the vibration generating means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an electric vibration generator in which an alternating current is applied to a coil to attract and repel an iron plate, or a vibration generator using a magnetostrictive material.

Description of reference numerals

10 gloves (glove unit), 21-25 vibration motors (vibration generating unit), 30 controller, 31 operation panel, 32CPU (vibration control unit), 33 memory, 34 motor driver (vibration control unit), 40 face.

Claims (8)

1. A massage device for massaging a body by transmitting vibration thereto, comprising:

a vibration generating unit that generates the vibration;

a glove unit which is worn on a hand of a person who performs the massage and has at least one or more vibration generating units.

2. The massage apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove unit has a vibration generating unit at a palm side.

3. The massaging apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove unit has a vibration generating unit at a fingertip side.

4. The massage apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove unit has a vibration generating unit at a back side of the hand.

5. The massage apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the glove unit has a plurality of vibration generating units.

6. The massaging apparatus defined in claim 5, further comprising a vibration control unit for causing the plurality of vibration generating units to sequentially generate vibrations.

7. The massage apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising a vibration control unit for periodically varying an energy level of the vibration generated by the vibration generating unit.

8. The massage apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the vibration generating unit is a coin type vibration motor.