JP2004350781A

JP2004350781A - Massage machine

Info

Publication number: JP2004350781A
Application number: JP2003149765A
Authority: JP
Inventors: Masato Takasugi; 正人高杉; Hiroyuki Inoue; 宏之井上; Yoshihiro Sakamoto; 芳裕坂本; Kazuo Sasaki; 和郎佐々木
Original assignee: Matsushita Electric Works Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd
Priority date: 2003-05-27
Filing date: 2003-05-27
Publication date: 2004-12-16
Anticipated expiration: 2023-05-27
Also published as: JP4285083B2

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a massage machine quickly and accurately judging a stiffness degree and performing a treatment operation. <P>SOLUTION: The massage machine is provided with a treating element pushing a human body to perform the treatment operation, a stiffness detecting means detecting the stiffness state of the human body, and a drive means changing a position where a contact element 1 makes contact with the human body while keeping the contact with the contact element and the human body. The stiffness detecting means includes a drive means 3 pushing the contact element 1 toward the human body, a pushing distance detecting means detecting the pushing distance of the contact element 1, a pushing pressure detecting means 2 measuring the pushing pressure applied to the contact element 1, and an arithmetic means calculating the stiffness state from a change in quantity of the pushing pressure to a change in quantity of the pushing distance. The arithmetic means temporarily determines the stiffness position from the continuous measurement of the change in the pushing pressure measured by a pushing pressure detecting means while the contact element 1 changes the position contacting with the human body by the drive by the drive means. The stiffness state of the part which is determined to have the stiffness by the temporary determination, is found from a change in the pushing distance and a change in the pushing pressure. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

【０００１】
【発明の属する技術分野】
本発明はマッサージ機、殊に人体の凝りを検出する凝り検出手段を備えているマッサージ機に関するものである。
【０００２】
【従来の技術】
人体に対して施療動作を行うにあたり、施療対象部位が凝っているかどうかを判定して、この判定結果に基づいて施療動作を行うマッサージ機が特開平７−８８１４５号公報に示されている。
【０００３】
このマッサージ機では、凝っているところに対しては多くの施療動作を行い、凝っていないところには軽い施療動作のみを行うといった凝り具合に応じた施療量の制御を行うことができる。
【０００４】
【特許文献１】
特開平７−８８１４５号公報
【０００５】
【発明が解決しようとする課題】
上記のマッサージ機での凝り検出手段は、施療子を人体に対してある距離だけ押し込んだ時の反発力（押圧力）に基づいて凝りの判定を行っているが、この値は凝りの程度だけで定まるものではなく、皮膚表面から比較的浅い部分あるいは深い部分に位置している骨のために誤った判定をしてしまうことが多々ある。
【０００６】
このために、本出願人は、特願２００２−２４６７４７号において、人体を押圧して施療動作を行う施療子と、人体に接触子を押圧接触させて人体の凝り状態を検出する凝り検出手段とを備えているマッサージ機であって、上記凝り検出手段は、接触子を人体に向けて押し込む駆動手段と、接触子の押し込み距離を検出する押し込み距離検出手段と、接触子にかかる押圧力を測定する押圧力検出手段と、押し込み距離の変化と押圧力の変化とから凝り状態を求める演算手段を備えたマッサージ機を提案した。さらに詳しくは、押し込み距離の変化量に対する押圧力の変化量や、接触子を往復させる際の押し込み距離の変化に対する押圧力の変化のヒステリシスカーブの面積から凝り状態を求めるのである。
【０００７】
この場合、ある押し込み距離のところでの押圧力の値から凝りの判定を行うものに比して、皮下の骨の影響を受けることなく的確な凝り判定を行うことができるものであり、また、凝りの深さや程度も判定することができるものとなる。
【０００８】
しかし、人体の背面全体について凝りのある場所を探っていくとなると、各部位毎に接触子を人体に向けて押し込んでその間の押し込み距離と押圧力変化とを測定する動作を繰り返すことになるために、かなりの時間を要することになる。
【０００９】
本発明はこのような点に鑑みなされたものであり、その目的とするところは人体の凝り位置を迅速に且つ的確に判定して施療動作を行うことができるマッサージ機を提供するにある。
【００１０】
【課題を解決するための手段】
しかして本発明は、人体を押圧して施療動作を行う施療子と、人体に接触子を押圧接触させて人体の凝り状態を検出する凝り検出手段とを備えているマッサージ機であって、上記凝り検出手段は、接触子を人体に向けて押し込む駆動手段と、接触子の押し込み距離を検出する押し込み距離検出手段と、接触子にかかる押圧力を測定する押圧力検出手段と、押し込み距離の変化と押圧力の変化とから凝り状態を求める演算手段と、上記接触子と人体との接触を保ちつつ接触子が人体に接触している位置を変化させる駆動手段とを備えるとともに、上記演算手段は、駆動手段による駆動で接触子が人体に接触している位置を変化させる間の押圧力変化の押圧力検出手段による連続的測定から凝り位置の仮判定を行うものであるために、人体の各部を迅速に走査することができる仮判定動作で凝りがあると判断された箇所について、押し込み距離の変化と押圧力の変化とから凝り状態を求めることで、的確な凝り判定を行うことができる。
【００１１】
この時、接触子が駆動手段による人体との接触位置の変更方向に転動自在なものであると、連続的測定による凝り位置の仮判定をスムーズに行うことができる。
【００１２】
また、接触子が人体に接触している位置を変化させる間の押圧力変化の連続的測定は、接触子に一定の予圧をかけた状態で行うものであると、連続的測定による凝り位置の仮判定をスムーズに行うことができる
そして、接触子を人体に沿った上下方向に駆動する駆動手段と、接触子を人体の幅方向に駆動する駆動手段とを備え、押圧力検出手段は上下方向に接触子の位置を変化させる間の押圧力変化を連続的に測定する動作を接触子の人体との幅方向における位置を変えて行うものであると、人体背面の広範囲な部分の凝りの仮判定を行うことができる。
【００１３】
さらに、人体の幅方向において異なる位置に配されている複数の接触子と、これら接触子を人体に沿った上下方向に駆動する駆動手段とを備え、押圧力検出手段は上下方向に上記複数の接触子の位置を変化させる間の押圧力変化を連続的に測定するものであると、人体背面の広範囲な部分の凝りの仮判定をより短時間で行うことができる。
【００１４】
【発明の実施の形態】
以下本発明を実施の形態の一例に基づいて詳述すると、図２及び図３に示すマッサージ機は、椅子の背もたれ部内に２種類の施療子１，４を夫々左右一対で配したもので、内側に位置する両施療子１，１は直進型アクチュエータ３によって前後動自在となっており、外側に位置する両施療子４，４はソレノイド５と復帰ばね６とによって同じく前後動自在となっている。また、施療子１のアクチュエータ３を支持しているフレーム６２と施療子４のソレノイド５を支持しているフレーム６１は一体に結合されて、軸３９の軸回りに共に回転自在に且つ軸方向にスライド自在に配されているとともに、一対のフレーム６２，６２はねじ軸３６の右ねじ部と左ねじ部とに夫々螺合している一対のナット４１，４１に夫々連結されている。
【００１５】
そして、フレーム６１，６２は減速用輪列３０，３１，３２，３４を介してモータ７の回転出力を受けて軸３９の回りに回転することで施療子１，４の突出方向を上下に変更する。また、駆動手段であるモータ９の回転が減速手段３５を介してねじ軸３６に伝えられることで、夫々左右一対で設けられている施療子１，４は左右にスライドして施療子１，１間の間隔及び施療子４，４間の間隔が変化する。さらに上記背もたれ部内に上下に配したラック４２と噛み合うピニオン４０に、駆動手段であるモータ１１の回転が減速部３７，３８を介して伝達される時、施療子１，４は背もたれ部に沿った上下移動を行う。従って、施療子１，４は上下左右にその位置を変えて人体の背面の任意の部位の施療を行うことができるものであり、また、フレーム６１，６２の回動により、施療表面に対して施療子１，４を常に垂直に当接させることができる。しかも、各モータ７，９，１１に付設したエンコーダ８，１０，１２により、施療子１，４の上下左右位置及び上下方向の向きを検出することができるようになっている。
【００１６】
ここにおいて、指圧マッサージ用となっている施療子１は、前述のように直進型アクチュエータ３によって前後に駆動されるのであるが、このアクチュエータ３にはたとえばステッピングモータの回転で施療子１を直進移動させるものを用いて、施療子１の移動距離の制御及び計測ができるようにして、アクチュエータ３が押し込み距離検出手段を兼ねるようにしているとともに、図４に示すように施療子１の背後にはロードセルで構成した力センサ２を配して、施療子１が人体を押す力を計測することができるようにしている。押圧力検出手段である力センサ２にロードセルを用いているのは、小型且つ軽量で直接荷重を測定できるからである。なお、上記検出手段が施療子１とは別個に設けられたものであってもよいのはもちろんである。
【００１７】
図５はこのマッサージ機における凝り検出系のブロック回路図を示しており、図中の硬さ演算処理器Ｃ１が上記押し込み距離検出手段と押圧力検出手段（力センサ２）との出力から人体の硬さ（凝り）を求めている。すなわち、凝り検出に際しては、接触子である施療子１の突出動作を行わせるとともにこの時の力センサ２の出力を監視し、施療子１が皮膚面に接触してからある押し込み距離に達した時点からの押し込み距離の増加量Ｌと、力センサ２で検出される力の上記距離の増加の間の変化量Ｆｘとの比（傾き）を求め、この比が所定の値Ｋ以上であるかどうかで人体のその部位に凝りがあるかどうかを判定する。凝りがあって硬くなっている場合は、Ｆｘ／Ｌの値が大きくなり、凝りがなくて軟らかい場合はＦｘ／Ｌの値が小さくなることを利用して凝りの判定を行っているものである。なお、上記Ｋの値としては、人体の肩の場合、筋硬結部の凝りの状態では、Ｋ＝１００（ｘ１０^６）ｄｙｎｅ／ｃｍ^３と言う値を用いられることが実験で求められている。
【００１８】
Ｆｘ／Ｌの値に基づく上記の判定は、施療子１を突出させていく過程で行っているが、大きく突出させた施療子１を引き戻す過程で行ってもよい。凝りがあって人体が硬くなっている時、弾力性がなくなっているために人体の戻りが遅く、Ｆｂ／Ｌの値が大きくなり、凝りがなければ施療子１の戻りに伴って人体の押し込まれた部分がすぐに復帰することから、Ｆａ／Ｌの値は小さくなるからである。
【００１９】
また、ある押し込み距離で検出される押圧力の変化は、人体の皮膚や筋肉の粘性や弾性から、押し込み時よりも引き戻し時の方が小さくなるヒステリシスカーブを描くことから、閉じたヒステリシスカーブで囲まれる面積を求め、この面積が所定値より大きいかどうかで凝りの判定を行うようにしてもよい。
【００２０】
上記の凝り判定は本出願人による前記出願のものと同じであるが、このような凝り判定は、ある位置で施療子１を突出させて押し込むことで判定を行うために、人体の背面全体のどこに凝りがあるかを検出するには、施療子１の位置を変更しては押し込む動作を繰り返すことになり、全体としてかなりの時間を要することになる。
【００２１】
このために、ここでは上記動作による凝りの判定に先立って、次に述べる凝り位置の仮判定動作を行うようにしている。すなわち、施療子１を人体の背面に接触させるとともにある一定の予圧をかけた状態で上下に移動させ、この間の反力の変化を力センサー２で連続的に測定するのである。そして、硬さ演算処理器Ｃ１はこのデータから図６に示すように、反力の大小で凝りの仮判定を行って、凝りがあると仮判定した位置を記憶する。そして、上記動作で凝りがあると仮判定された位置で、前述の施療子１の押し込み動作によるところの凝りの本判定を行うのである。
【００２２】
上記の仮判定に際しては、施療子１に予圧を与えた状態で施療子１を上下に移動させることから、凝りの仮判定に要する時間は短くてすむものであり、また本判定は凝りがあると仮判定された箇所に対してのみ行うために、仮判定動作を余分に行うとはいえ、全体的には凝り部位の検出に要する時間を短縮することができる。さらに、仮判定では凝りの判定精度が低いものの、その後の本判定によって、実際に凝っているかどうかを的確に知ることができる。
【００２３】
仮判定に際し、反力がきわめて大きいところは凝りではなく骨のあるところであると判定し、凝りの本判定のための動作を行う場所から除外するようにしてもよい。
【００２４】
ここで、施療子１をローラ状とし、施療子１を上下に移動させる際に施療子１が転動するようにしているのは、上記仮判定動作をスムーズに行うことができるようにしているためである。
【００２５】
また、仮判定動作に際しての上下移動は、図７に示すように、施療子１の左右位置を変更して繰り返すことで、身体背面の広範囲な箇所の凝り検出を迅速に行うことができる。さらには、施療子１とは左右の幅方向において異なるところに位置している施療子４にも、施療子１と同様の力センサー２を設けておけば、図８に示すように、一度に多数箇所で凝り判定のためのデータを得ることができるために、さらに短時間に凝りの仮判定動作を行うことができる。
【００２６】
なお、図１のフローチャートに示すものでは、上記の凝りの仮判定及び凝りの判定動作を行って液晶ディスプレーなどからなる表示器Ｄに凝り状態の判定結果を表示した後、凝りが検出された場所に対する施療を行い、次いで凝っていた部位についての凝り検出と凝り状態の判定結果の表示を再度行うことで、施療前後で凝りの状態がどのように変化したかを使用者に認識させることができるようにしたものを示している。図中の「ティーチング」は、上記仮判定のためのデータを集めることを意味している。
【００２７】
また、ここでは本マッサージ機における人体各部の押し込み距離と押圧力とのデータを個人データとして蓄積して医療データベースとして活用することができるようにしている。凝り状態の長期的推移を使用者が知ることができるものである。この時、使用者ごとにデータを蓄積するとともに、蓄積したデータに基づいて施療位置を変更していく施療動作を行うことで、各使用者の凝りが生じる部位及び凝り具合の傾向を鑑みた施療動作を行うことができ、これは各使用者特有のマッサージプログラムを作成したことになる。また、マッサージ以外の施療行為の効果確認の診断機としても使うことができる。
【００２８】
【発明の効果】
以上のように本発明においては、人体の各部を迅速に走査することができる仮判定動作で凝りがあると判断された箇所について、押し込み距離の変化と押圧力の変化とから凝り状態を求めて正確な凝り判定を行うことで、人体の各部に関する凝りの状態を迅速に且つ的確に知ることができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の実施の形態の一例の動作を示すフローチャートである。
【図２】同上のマッサージ機構の概略平面図である。
【図３】同上のマッサージ機構部の概略側面図である。
【図４】同上の施療子の概略断面図である。
【図５】同上のブロック回路図である。
【図６】同上の仮判定に関する説明図である。
【図７】同上の仮判定に際しての施療子の移動軌跡の説明図である。
【図８】同上の他例における施療子の移動軌跡の説明図である。
【符号の説明】
１施療子（接触子）
２力センサ
３アクチュエータ[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a massage machine, and more particularly to a massage machine provided with stiffness detecting means for detecting stiffness of a human body.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-88145 discloses a massage machine that determines whether or not a treatment target site is stiff when performing a treatment operation on a human body and performs a treatment operation based on the result of the determination.
[0003]
In this massage machine, it is possible to control the amount of treatment in accordance with the degree of stiffness, such as performing many treatment operations on stiff areas and performing only light treatment operations on unstiff areas.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-7-88145
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The stiffness detection means in the above massager determines stiffness based on the repulsive force (pressing force) when the treatment element is pushed into the human body by a certain distance, but this value is only the degree of stiffness. Erroneous determination is often made for a bone located relatively shallow or deep from the skin surface.
[0006]
For this purpose, the present applicant has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-246747 a treatment element for performing a treatment operation by pressing a human body, and a stiffness detecting means for detecting a stiff state of the human body by pressing a contact with the human body. Wherein the stiffness detecting means includes a driving means for pushing the contact toward the human body, a pushing distance detecting means for detecting a pushing distance of the contact, and a pressing force applied to the contact. The present invention has proposed a massage machine including a pressing force detecting means for performing the calculation and a calculating means for obtaining a stiff state from a change in the pressing distance and a change in the pressing force. More specifically, the state of stiffness is determined from the amount of change in the pressing force with respect to the change in the pressing distance and the area of the hysteresis curve of the change in the pressing force with respect to the change in the pressing distance when the contactor is reciprocated.
[0007]
In this case, it is possible to perform accurate stiffness determination without being affected by the subcutaneous bone, as compared with the case where the stiffness is determined from the value of the pressing force at a certain pushing distance. Can be determined.
[0008]
However, when it comes to searching for places with stiffness on the entire back of the human body, the operation of pushing the contact toward the human body for each part and measuring the pushing distance and the change in pressing force during that time will be repeated Requires a considerable amount of time.
[0009]
The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a massage machine that can quickly and accurately determine a stiff position of a human body and perform a treatment operation.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Thus, the present invention is a massager comprising a treatment element for performing a treatment operation by pressing a human body, and a stiffness detecting means for detecting a stiff state of the human body by pressing a contact with the human body, The stiffness detecting means includes a driving means for pushing the contact toward the human body, a pushing distance detecting means for detecting the pushing distance of the contact, a pushing force detecting means for measuring the pushing force applied to the contact, and a change in the pushing distance. Computing means for obtaining a stiff state from the change in the pressing force, and driving means for changing the position where the contact is in contact with the human body while maintaining the contact between the contact and the human body, and the computing means comprises The provisional determination of the stiffness position based on continuous measurement by the pressing force detecting means of the pressing force change while changing the position where the contact is in contact with the human body by driving by the driving means. For the portion which is determined as being stiff in the tentative determination operation can be rapidly scanned, by obtaining the stiffness state and a change of the change and the pressing force of the pushing distance, it is possible to perform an accurate stiffness determination.
[0011]
At this time, if the contact is rotatable in the direction in which the contact position with the human body is changed by the driving means, the temporary determination of the stiff position by continuous measurement can be smoothly performed.
[0012]
In addition, continuous measurement of the change in the pressing force while changing the position where the contact is in contact with the human body is performed with a constant preload applied to the contact. The provisional determination can be performed smoothly.The driving device includes a driving unit that drives the contact element in the vertical direction along the human body, and a driving unit that drives the contact element in the width direction of the human body. If the operation of continuously measuring the change in the pressing force while changing the position of the contact is performed by changing the position of the contact in the width direction with respect to the human body, temporary stiffness of a wide area on the back of the human body is assumed. A determination can be made.
[0013]
Furthermore, a plurality of contacts arranged at different positions in the width direction of the human body, and driving means for driving these contacts in the vertical direction along the human body are provided, and the pressing force detecting means includes a plurality of the pressing forces in the vertical direction. If the change in the pressing force during the change of the position of the contact is continuously measured, the tentative determination of the stiffness of a wide area on the back of the human body can be performed in a shorter time.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example of the embodiment. The massage machine shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 includes two types of treatment elements 1, 4 arranged in a pair on the left and right sides in a back portion of a chair. The treatment elements 1 and 1 located on the inner side are movable forward and backward by a linear actuator 3, and the treatment elements 4 and 4 located on the outer side are also movable forward and backward by a solenoid 5 and a return spring 6. I have. Further, a frame 62 supporting the actuator 3 of the treatment element 1 and a frame 61 supporting the solenoid 5 of the treatment element 4 are integrally connected to each other so as to be rotatable about the axis of the shaft 39 and in the axial direction. While being slidably disposed, the pair of frames 62, 62 are connected to a pair of nuts 41, 41 respectively screwed into the right-hand thread portion and the left-hand thread portion of the screw shaft 36.
[0015]
The frames 61 and 62 receive the rotation output of the motor 7 via the speed reduction trains 30, 31, 32 and 34 and rotate about the shaft 39, thereby changing the projecting directions of the treatment elements 1 and 4 up and down. I do. Further, the rotation of the motor 9 as the driving means is transmitted to the screw shaft 36 via the speed reduction means 35, so that the treatment elements 1, 4 provided in a pair on the left and right sides slide right and left, respectively. The spacing between the treatment elements 4 and 4 changes. Further, when the rotation of the motor 11, which is the driving means, is transmitted to the pinions 40 meshing with the racks 42 arranged vertically in the backrest portion via the reduction portions 37, 38, the treatment elements 1, 4 move along the backrest portion. Move up and down. Therefore, the treatment elements 1 and 4 can change their positions vertically and horizontally to perform treatment of an arbitrary portion on the back of the human body. In addition, the rotation of the frames 61 and 62 causes the treatment elements 1 and 4 to move relative to the treatment surface. The treatment elements 1 and 4 can always be vertically contacted. Moreover, the encoders 8, 10, and 12 attached to the motors 7, 9, and 11 can detect the vertical and horizontal positions and the vertical direction of the treatment elements 1 and 4.
[0016]
Here, the treatment element 1 used for the acupressure massage is driven back and forth by the rectilinear actuator 3 as described above, and the treatment element 1 is moved straight by rotation of a stepping motor, for example. The actuator 3 can also be used as a push-in distance detecting means by controlling and measuring the moving distance of the treatment element 1 by using an object to be moved, and as shown in FIG. A force sensor 2 composed of a load cell is arranged so that the treatment element 1 can measure the force of pressing the human body. The load cell is used for the force sensor 2 as the pressing force detecting means because the load can be directly measured with a small size and light weight. Needless to say, the detection means may be provided separately from the treatment element 1.
[0017]
FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram of a stiffness detection system in this massage machine. The hardness arithmetic processing unit C1 shown in FIG. Seeking hardness (stiffness). That is, upon detection of stiffness, the treatment element 1 as a contact is caused to perform a protruding operation, and at this time the output of the force sensor 2 is monitored, and the treatment element 1 reaches a certain pressing distance after coming into contact with the skin surface. The ratio (slope) of the increase amount L of the pushing distance from the time point to the change amount Fx of the force detected by the force sensor 2 during the increase of the distance is determined, and is this ratio greater than or equal to a predetermined value K? It is determined whether there is stiffness in that part of the human body. The value of Fx / L increases when the material is stiff and hard, and the value of Fx / L decreases when the material is soft without stiffness. . It has been experimentally determined that a value of K = 100 (× 10 ⁶ ) dyne / cm ³ is used as the value of K in the case of a stiff muscle consolidation part in the case of the shoulder of a human body.
[0018]
The above determination based on the value of Fx / L is performed in the process of extending the treatment element 1, but may be performed in the step of pulling back the treatment element 1 that has been largely extended. When the human body is hard due to stiffness, the return of the human body is slow due to lack of elasticity, the value of Fb / L increases, and if there is no stiffness, the human body is pushed in with the return of the treatment element 1. This is because the value of Fa / L becomes small because the portion that has been restored immediately.
[0019]
In addition, the change in the pressing force detected at a certain indentation distance is surrounded by a closed hysteresis curve because it draws a hysteresis curve that is smaller when retracted than when pushed due to the viscosity and elasticity of the skin and muscles of the human body. The area to be determined may be obtained, and the stiffness may be determined based on whether the area is larger than a predetermined value.
[0020]
The above-mentioned stiffness determination is the same as that of the above-mentioned application by the present applicant, but such stiffness determination is performed by projecting and pushing the treatment element 1 at a certain position, so that the entire back of the human body is determined. In order to detect where the stiffness is, it is necessary to change the position of the treatment element 1 and repeat the pushing operation, which requires a considerable amount of time as a whole.
[0021]
For this reason, prior to the stiffness determination by the above-described operation, a stiffness position temporary determination operation described below is performed. That is, the treatment element 1 is brought into contact with the back of the human body and is moved up and down under a certain preload, and the change of the reaction force during this time is continuously measured by the force sensor 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the hardness arithmetic processing unit C1 makes a tentative determination of stiffness based on the magnitude of the reaction force and stores the position where the stiffness is temporarily determined as shown in FIG. Then, at the position where it is provisionally determined that there is stiffness in the above operation, the main determination of stiffness due to the pushing operation of the treatment element 1 is performed.
[0022]
In the above-mentioned temporary judgment, since the treatment element 1 is moved up and down in a state where the treatment element 1 is pre-loaded, the time required for the temporary judgment of stiffness is short, and this judgment is stiff. Since the temporary determination operation is performed extraly only for the portion where the temporary determination is made, the time required for detecting the stiff part can be shortened as a whole. Furthermore, although the stiffness determination accuracy is low in the tentative determination, it is possible to accurately know whether or not the stiffness has actually been achieved by the subsequent main determination.
[0023]
At the time of the temporary determination, it may be determined that the place where the reaction force is extremely large is not a stiffness but a bone, and may be excluded from the places where the operation for the main determination of the stiffness is performed.
[0024]
Here, the treatment element 1 is formed in a roller shape, and the treatment element 1 rolls when the treatment element 1 is moved up and down so that the above-described provisional determination operation can be performed smoothly. That's why.
[0025]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the vertical movement at the time of the provisional determination operation is repeated by changing the left and right positions of the treatment element 1, thereby quickly detecting stiffness in a wide area on the back of the body. Further, if a force sensor 2 similar to the treatment element 1 is provided also in the treatment element 4 located at a different position in the left and right width directions from the treatment element 1, as shown in FIG. Since data for stiffness determination can be obtained at a large number of locations, the stiffness temporary determination operation can be performed in a shorter time.
[0026]
In the flowchart shown in FIG. 1, after performing the above-described stiffness temporary determination and stiffness determination operation and displaying the determination result of the stiffness state on a display D such as a liquid crystal display, the location where the stiffness is detected. , And then display again the stiffness detection result and the stiffness determination result for the stiff part, so that the user can recognize how the stiffness state has changed before and after the treatment. This is shown. “Teaching” in the figure means that data for the above-described provisional determination is collected.
[0027]
Here, the data of the pressing distance and the pressing force of each part of the human body in this massage machine is stored as personal data and can be used as a medical database. The user can know the long-term transition of the stiffness state. At this time, by performing a treatment operation in which the data is accumulated for each user and the treatment position is changed based on the accumulated data, the treatment is performed in consideration of the part where each user is stiff and the tendency of the stiffness. An action can be taken, which means that a massage program specific to each user has been created. It can also be used as a diagnostic device for confirming the effects of treatments other than massage.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, in the present invention, the stiffness state is determined from the change in the pushing distance and the change in the pressing force for a portion determined to be stiff by the tentative determination operation capable of quickly scanning each part of the human body. By performing accurate stiffness determination, the state of stiffness of each part of the human body can be quickly and accurately known.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an example of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the massage mechanism according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the same massage mechanism.
FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of the treatment element according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram of the same.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram relating to the temporary determination according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a movement locus of a treatment element at the time of the tentative determination according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a movement locus of a treatment element in another example of the above.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 treatment element (contact element)
2 Force sensor 3 Actuator

Claims

A massager comprising a treatment element for performing a treatment operation by pressing a human body, and a stiffness detection means for detecting a stiff state of the human body by pressing a contact to the human body, wherein the stiffness detection means includes Driving means for pushing the child toward the human body, pushing distance detecting means for detecting the pushing distance of the contact, pressing force detecting means for measuring the pushing force applied to the contact, changes in the pushing distance and changes in the pushing force Computing means for determining the state of stiffness from, and driving means for changing the position where the contact is in contact with the human body while maintaining contact between the contact and the human body, and the computing means is driven by the driving means A massage machine for performing a temporary determination of a stiff position based on continuous measurement by a pressing force detecting means of a pressing force change while changing a position where a contact is in contact with a human body.

2. The massage machine according to claim 1, wherein the contact element is rotatable in a direction in which the driving means changes the contact position with the human body.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the continuous measurement of the change in the pressing force while changing the position where the contact is in contact with the human body is performed with a constant preload applied to the contact. Massage machine.

Driving means for driving the contact in the vertical direction along the human body, and driving means for driving the contact in the width direction of the human body, wherein the pressing force detecting means presses while changing the position of the contact in the vertical direction. The massage machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an operation of continuously measuring a pressure change is performed by changing a position of the contact in a width direction with respect to a human body.

A plurality of contacts arranged at different positions in the width direction of the human body, and driving means for driving these contacts in the vertical direction along the human body; The massage machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a change in pressing force during a change in the position is continuously measured.