JPH044752Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to an acupressure device that presses the human body with air pressure.

[Prior Art] Currently, acupressure is applied by the practitioner's hands. Acupressure uses strong pressure, so it can be quite tiring to apply acupressure. For this reason, there is a limit to the number of people who can perform shiatsu massage in a day. In addition, since it gradually becomes tiring, it is not possible to press the last person with the same force as the first person, and it is not possible to effectively shiatsu a large number of people.

In order to solve this drawback, the present inventor developed a device that applies acupressure to the human body using an air cylinder. This device uses an air cylinder to apply pressure instead of a human, so the practitioner does not get tired and can easily apply acupressure to many people. You can adjust the finger pressure by adjusting the air pressure in the air cylinder. However, compared to human acupressure, the amount of force applied, especially when the force is gradually increased after starting acupressure, is different from human acupressure, making it impossible to apply acupressure comfortably and effectively. It was hot.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] FIG. 9 shows the state of change in finger pressure applied to the human body. There are cases where the finger pressure is gradually increased as shown in curve A, cases where the pressing force is increased rapidly as shown in curve D, or cases where finger pressure is increased as shown in curves B or C. . curve D
If the finger pressure is suddenly increased as shown in the figure, even if the finger pressure is applied with the same force, it will feel painful and the finger pressure cannot be applied effectively with strong force. Devices that apply manual pressure using an air cylinder can control the rate of change in pressing force by adjusting the amount of air supplied to the air cylinder, or more precisely, the flow rate per unit time. For example, if the flow rate is reduced and the rod of the press cylinder is pushed out slowly, the increase in finger pressure can be made more gradual. However, with this method, the finger pressure cannot be gradually increased unless the rod of the pressing cylinder is pushed out at an extremely slow speed. As shown in FIG. 8, the increase in finger pressure begins when the acupressure element 6 at the tip of the acupressure cylinder comes into contact with the human body, and is completed when the pressing force of the acupressure cylinder 3 and the repulsive force of the human skin are balanced. In equilibrium,
The distance S into which the acupressure element 6 is pushed from the skin surface of the human body varies depending on the position, but is approximately several centimeters at most. For this reason, the number of rods on the shiatsu cylinder 3 is
The finger pressure increases only when the rod is extruded by cm, and does not increase at all times during the extrusion process of the rod of the finger pressure cylinder 3. For this reason, if the pressing speed of the rod is slowed down, for example, it takes several seconds for the acupressure cylinder to move a few centimeters, it will take time for the acupressure tip to move the distance to make contact with the human body, resulting in poor acupressure efficiency. Useless.

In order to overcome this drawback, an acupressure device using an elastic body as an acupressure element has been developed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1973-1999-1).
Publication No. 23988). Since the device described in this publication applies finger pressure to the surface of the human body through an elastic body, the pressing force of the finger pressure cylinder does not directly act on the human body. Therefore, the acupressure element acts as a cushioning material and has the advantage of being able to adjust the pressing force of the acupressure cylinder. However, since the acupressure element, which is an elastic body, elastically deforms itself to adjust the pressing force on the human body, there is a drawback that the pressing force is specified relative to the amount of deformation. This is because an elastic body deforms according to Hook's law, and the pressing force and the amount of deformation are proportional.

In order to perform shiatsu under ideal conditions, it is important to press the body in the same way as a human would.
In order to achieve this, it is important to gradually increase the finger pressure and apply pressure to the human body with a constant force over a certain period of time. It is a state in which the pressing force is rapidly increased in the initial non-painful state, and when it becomes painful, the degree of increase in the pressing force is temporarily slowed down, and then after a certain period of time has elapsed, the pressing force is increased again. be. This condition cannot be achieved with an acupressure device using an elastic body.

This invention was developed with the aim of further realizing this, and the important purpose of this invention is to provide an acupressure device that can comfortably and efficiently apply acupressure to the human body.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an acupressure device that can effectively apply acupressure to any surface of the human body, just like humans.

[Means for solving the problem] The acupressure device of this invention includes a movable table 2 mounted on a base so as to be movable in a horizontal plane, and this movable table 2.
A brake 14 is provided to stop the movement of the motor.
An acupressure element 6 is connected to the movable table 2 via an acupressure cylinder 3 which is an air cylinder connected in series, a universal joint 4, and a shock absorber 5. The shock absorber 5 includes a cylinder and a piston 28 that moves within the cylinder.
A narrow passage for working fluid is provided between the cylinder and the cylinder, and when the acupressure cylinder 3 presses the acupressure element 6 against the human body, the working fluid 29 passes through the piston 2.
8 and the cylinder passage to control the pressing force of the acupressure cylinder 3.

[Preferred Embodiment] Hereinafter, an embodiment of this invention will be described based on the drawings.

The acupressure device shown in FIG. 1 has a moving table 2 mounted on a base 1 so as to be movable in a horizontal plane. An acupressure element 6 is connected thereto.

The movable table 2 is attached to the base 1 via a horizontal arm 7 and a column 8, and the movable table 2 is movably attached to the horizontal arm 7.

The rear end of the horizontal arm 7 is attached to the vertical table 10 via a cylinder 9 so that the horizontal arm 7 can be rotated within a horizontal plane. The vertical stand 10 is attached to the support column 8 so as to be movable up and down. This upper and lower table 10 has a female threaded hole 11, and this female threaded hole 11
A threaded rod 12 provided parallel to the support column 8 is passed through, and the threaded rod 12 is rotated forward or backward by a reduction motor 13 at the upper end to move the vertical table 10 up and down.
Although not shown, the up-and-down table can also be moved up and down using a hydraulic or air cylinder instead of a threaded rod.

Brakes 14 and 15 for stopping the movement of the moving table 2 are provided between the upper and lower tables 10 and the cylinder 9 of the horizontal arm 7, and between the horizontal arm 7 and the moving table 2. When the acupressure element 6 accurately applies acupressure vertically downward, no rotational torque acts on the horizontal arm 7.
Further, in this state, no force is applied to the movable table 2 to move it along the horizontal arm. When the acupressure element diagonally applies acupressure to the body surface, the horizontal arm receives rotational torque due to the horizontal component of the finger pressure. This rotational torque is equal to the horizontal force perpendicular to the horizontal arm 7 multiplied by the distance from the support to the acupressure arm, and is a considerably large force. brake 14
stops the rotational torque from rotating the horizontal arm in the horizontal plane. The brake 15 stops the movable table 2 from being moved along the horizontal arm 7 due to the horizontal force parallel to the horizontal arm that the movable table receives during acupressure. The brakes 14 and 15 are in a locked state when pressurized air is forced into the acupressure cylinder 3.

The rotational torque acting on the horizontal arm 7 due to the horizontal component of finger pressure is stopped by the brake 14.
This brake 14, as shown in FIG.
It is clamped at 8. Therefore, an arcuate slit 19 is provided in the rotary plate 16 concentrically with the center of the cylinder 9 so that the rod 18 of the air cylinder 17 can be inserted through it and the cylinder 9 to which the horizontal arm 7 is fixed can be rotated. It is engraved. When the rod 18 of the air cylinder 17 is retracted, the tip of the rod 18 clamps the rotating plate 16 below, thereby stopping the rotation of the rotating plate 16, that is, the horizontal arm 7.

As shown in FIG. 3, the brake 15 of the moving table 2 includes a pair of clips 20 whose lower ends are connected to the moving table 2.
The horizontal arm 7 is clamped between them. One clip 20
An air cylinder 21 is fixed to the upper end, and the rod 22 of the air cylinder 21 passes through the other clip 20. When the rod 22 of the air cylinder 21 is pulled in, the horizontal arm 7 is clamped between the clips 20 and moved. stop.

An acupressure cylinder 3 is fixed to the movable table 2, a shock absorber 5 is connected to the rod tip of the acupressure cylinder 3 via a universal joint 4, and an acupressure element 6 is fixed to the lower end of the shock absorber 5.

The finger pressure cylinder 3 is an air cylinder, and the pressing force is adjusted by the air pressure injected, and the pressing speed of the rod is adjusted by the amount of air injected per hour. If the acupressure cylinder is an air cylinder with an air cushion mechanism, the air cushion can control the extrusion speed of the acupressure element at the end of the stroke. The air cushion of the cylinder is
In order to eliminate the shock at the end of the piston's stroke, this mechanism applies back pressure to the piston near the end of its stroke, slowing down its movement speed. The distance that the piston moves while being decelerated by the air cushion mechanism is usually adjusted to about 1.5 to 5 cm, but by adjusting this distance and the deceleration speed of the piston, the final extrusion speed of the acupressure element can be adjusted.
In addition, the air cylinder of the air cushion eliminates the unpleasant impact noise that occurs at the end of the stroke, making it comfortable to use.

The control circuit for the acupressure cylinder 3 and the two brake air cylinders 17 and 21 is shown in Figure 4. As shown in this figure, the upper port (lowering side port) of the acupressure cylinder 3 adjusts the finger pressure. It is connected to a control valve 25 via a pressure regulating valve 23 for adjusting the rod's descending speed, and a flow regulating valve 24 for regulating the descending speed of the rod.
The lower port (rising side port) is connected to a control valve 25 via a flow rate regulating valve 26 that adjusts the rising speed of the rod. Brake control valve 27 that controls two brake air cylinders 17, 21
is controlled by air supplied to the upper port of the acupressure cylinder 3. Control valve 25 and brake control valve 2
A silencer 37 is connected to the exhaust side of 7, and the silencer 37 eliminates unpleasant exhaust noise.

The operation of this circuit is such that when the control valve 25 is in the position shown in the figure, pressurized air is forced into the lower port of the acupressure cylinder 3, and the rod of the acupressure cylinder 3 is pulled up. At this time, the brake air cylinders 17, 21 are in the rod pushing position, releasing the brake. When the control valve 25 is switched from this position, pressurized air passes through the pressure regulating valve 23 and the flow regulating valve 24 to push down the piston of the acupressure cylinder 3, and the acupressure element 6 presses the body surface. At this time, the brake control valve 27 is also switched, and the rods of the brake air cylinders 17 and 21 are retracted to stop the rotation of the horizontal arm 7 in the horizontal plane and the movement of the movable table 2.

It goes without saying that a solenoid valve driven by an electromagnet can also be used for the acupressure cylinder 3 instead of a manual type.

The finger pressure of the finger pressure cylinder 3 can be adjusted by the air pressure that is press-fitted and the inner diameter of the cylinder. Air pressure is normally used in the range of 2 to 5 kg/cm ² and the maximum finger pressure is adjusted to about 40 kg or less. For this reason, air cylinders with an inner diameter of 30 to 50 mmφ are used.

Also, the stroke of the cylinder is at least
It is longer than the sum of the stroke of the shock absorber 5 and the amount of depression S on the body surface during acupressure, and is usually 5
A length of at least 7 cm, preferably at least 7 cm, is used.

Universal joint 4 can be anything that can be bent at approximately 45 degrees.

As the shock absorber 5, one that uses fluid flow resistance as shown in FIG. 5 can be used. In the shock absorber that utilizes flow resistance, as shown in FIG. 5, when the piston 28 moves within the cylinder, the working fluid 29 passes through a narrow passage and becomes a resistance.
9 to transmit the pressing force. As shown in FIG. 6, when a spring 30 is used in combination, a strong pressing force is transmitted as the spring 30 is contracted.

Depending on the type of shock absorber 5, as described above, the pressing state of the acupressure element can be adjusted as shown in FIG.

By the way, although this invention connects the acupressure cylinder 3, universal joint 4, and shock absorber 5 in series, it does not specify the order in which these are connected in series. It is also possible to connect a shock absorber to the lower end and connect the acupressure element to the shock absorber via a universal joint, or to connect an acupressure cylinder to the moving table via a universal joint and connect the acupressure cylinder to the lower end of this via a shock absorber. It is also possible to connect an acupressure element.

For the brakes 14 and 15, the structures shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 may be adopted instead of those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The brake 14 shown in FIG.
A lever 31 that presses the top surface of the vertical table 11 with an air cylinder 17.
is tilted. The lower end of the lever 31 is attached to the cylinder 9 via a pin 32 so that it can tilt itself, and a vertical stand 10 is attached to the lower end near the pin 32.
A stopper piece 33 is attached to press the air cylinder 17, and its upper end is connected to the tip of the rod of the air cylinder 17 via a pin. In this brake 14, when the rod of the air cylinder 17 is pushed out, a stopper piece is pressed against the upper and lower bases 10, and the rotation of the cylinder 9, that is, the horizontal arm 7 is stopped. The cylinder 9 is mounted on a vertical stand 10 so as to be rotatable but not move up and down.

The brake 15 in FIG.
One rod is connected to the folding tab 35 via a lever 34. The lever 34 is attached to the movable table 2 via a pin 36 in the middle so that the lever 34 itself can tilt freely, the upper end is connected to the rod of the air cylinder 21, and the lower end is connected to the bending clip 35. In this brake, when the rod of the air cylinder 21 is pushed out, the bent pincer 35 is pressed against the surface of the horizontal arm 7 and its movement is stopped. When the rod of the air cylinder 21 is retracted, the bent clip 35 releases the pressure on the surface of the horizontal arm 7, and releases the brake from the locked state.

The acupressure surface at the lower end of the acupressure element 6 has a convex chevron in the center and is made of a core material such as metal, hard synthetic resin, wood, etc., and an elastic, non-slip material such as rubber stretched thereon. The shape of the acupressure can be the most suitable shape for the acupressure point, for example, in order to apply acupressure to both sides of the spine, the tip can be shaped like two ridges to apply acupressure to two places at the same time, or the tip can be somewhat sharp.

Furthermore, although not shown, the acupressure element is equipped with a laser light source that emits a laser beam toward the human body, and the laser is irradiated at the same time as the acupressure, or a heater is built into the acupressure element to heat the acupressure surface. At the same time, it is also possible to heat with far infrared rays or the like.

[Effects of the invention] In the acupressure device of this invention, the acupressure cylinder presses the acupressure element via the shock absorber and the universal joint. For this reason, even when the rod of the acupressure cylinder is pushed out, it does not directly press the acupressure element against the body surface, but rather through the shock absorber. The shock absorber uses fluid flow resistance to adjust the pressing force of the acupressure cylinder. When the rod of the acupressure cylinder is pushed out, the shock absorber contracts itself and transmits the pressing force of the rod to the acupressure element. The force with which this shock absorber transmits the pressing force of the acupressure cylinder to the acupressure element is adjusted by the extrusion speed of the acupressure cylinder, the area of the narrow passage between the piston and cylinder of the shock absorber, and the viscosity of the working fluid.

The shock absorber presses the pressure piece with a strong force when the piston moves quickly. On the other hand, when the pinton moves at a slow speed, a weak force is applied, and as the compression spring built into the shock absorber is crushed, a strong pressing force is transmitted to the pressing piece.

A device having a shock absorber that utilizes fluid flow resistance can apply acupressure to the body surface in the state shown by curve A in FIG. 9 when the acupressure cylinder is pushed out at a low speed. That is, this device presses the body surface with a substantially constant pressing force while the shock absorber is contracting, and after the shock absorber has completely contracted, increases the pressing force to a predetermined predetermined pressure and applies finger pressure. For this reason, while the shock absorber is contracting, the pressing force of the pressing piece is temporarily limited to prevent sudden and strong finger pressure.

When the acupressure cylinder pushes out the acupressure element through the elastic body, the finger pressure gradually increases as shown by curve B in FIG. That is, as the rod of the acupressure cylinder is pushed out, the amount of deformation of the elastic body increases, and the pressing force of the acupressure element increases. Therefore, in this device, finger pressure increases linearly.

Curve C in FIG. 9 shows the change in the finger pressure when pressing the acupressure element due to the pressure force of the spring in addition to the flow resistance of the shock absorber. This device can increase finger pressure when approximating both a push spring and a flow resistance.

Curve D in FIG. 9 shows the change in finger pressure for an acupressure device without a shock absorber. This device is
As shown in FIG. 8, the rod of the acupressure cylinder 3 is pushed out and the acupressure element 6 begins to push out the body surface until the maximum force with which the acupressure cylinder 3 applies acupressure to the body surface and the reaction of the body surface are balanced. In other words, the acupressure element 6 applies acupressure with a predetermined force until the body surface is concave by a distance S and acupressure is applied. Therefore, this device can apply acupressure to the surface of the human body in a state similar to that applied by humans with their hands. In other words, it is not possible to comfortably and effectively press the body surface with a predetermined finger pressure in a short period of time. Acupressure is performed comfortably and effectively by gradually increasing the pressure force and pressing firmly.

Curves A, B, C, and D in FIG. 9 all show changes in finger pressure when the rod extrusion speed of the finger pressure cylinder is kept constant. As is clear from this figure, in the acupressure device of this invention, the finger pressure increases rapidly at first, but the increase is temporarily reduced and the acupressure is applied slowly, and then the finger pressure is increased again to become effective. I can do shiatsu. For this reason, when it doesn't hurt at first,
You can effectively apply acupressure by rapidly increasing the finger pressure, and when it starts to hurt, you can temporarily slow down the increase in finger pressure to relieve the pain, and when you can get used to the finger pressure, you can apply strong acupressure again. Therefore, not only can acupressure be performed under ideal conditions, but also the extrusion speed of the rod of the acupressure cylinder can be increased compared to a device without a shock absorber, allowing effective acupressure. The acupressure device has a fast extrusion speed of the rod of the acupressure cylinder,
To achieve the great effect of efficiently applying acupressure by moving an acupressure element to an acupressure site and shortening the time it takes for it to hit the body surface.

Furthermore, in the acupressure device of this invention, since the acupressure element is pressed through the universal joint, the pressing direction of the acupressure element can be freely adjusted. Therefore, each part of the body surface can be effectively pressed from the optimum direction. An acupressure element whose direction is adjusted using a universal joint does not shift from the body surface after it comes into contact with the body surface, and can be pressed in a specific direction with an acupressure cylinder.

In the inventor's experiments, when rubber was used on the surface of the acupressure element, the pressing direction of the acupressure element was adjusted relative to the body surface.
I was able to perform shiatsu from a 45 degree tilted angle to a vertical range.

Furthermore, since the acupressure device of this invention is equipped with a brake that stops the movement of the moving table, the acupressure element will not be moved due to the reaction of acupressure on the human body, allowing accurate acupressure on local parts of the human body. Features are also realized.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an acupressure device showing an embodiment of this invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views showing the brake, FIG. 4 is an air circuit diagram of the acupressure device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 and 6 are schematic cross-sectional views showing specific examples of the shock absorber, and FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing how the device of this invention applies acupressure to the body surface.
Figure 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which an air cylinder without a shock absorber applies acupressure to the body surface;
Figure 9 is a graph showing the increase in finger pressure;
This figure and FIG. 11 are partial sectional views showing other specific examples of the brake. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Base, 2... Moving table, 3... Acupressure cylinder, 4... Universal joint, 5... Shock absorber, 6... Acupressure element, 7... Horizontal arm, 8... Support, 9... ...Cylinder, 10...Upper and lower stand, 11...Female threaded hole, 12...Threaded rod, 13...
...Deceleration motor, 14, 15...Brake, 16
... Rotating plate, 17 ... Air cylinder, 18 ...
Rod, 19...Slit, 20...Piece, 21
...Air cylinder, 22... Rod, 23...
Pressure regulation valve, 24...Flow rate regulation valve, 25...Control valve, 26...Flow rate regulation valve, 27...Brake control valve, 28...Piston, 29...Working fluid, 30
... Spring, 31 ... Lever, 32 ... Pin, 33 ... Stopper piece, 34 ... Lever, 35
...bent clip, 36...pin, 37...silencer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A movable table 2 mounted on a base so as to be movable in a horizontal plane, a brake 14 for stopping the movement of this movable table 2, and an acupressure cylinder 3 which is an air cylinder connected to the movable table 2 in series. , an acupressure element 6 is connected via a universal joint 4 and a shock absorber 5, and the shock absorber 5 includes a cylinder and a piston 28 that moves within the cylinder. Working fluid 29 between
A narrow passage is provided for the hydraulic cylinder 3.
While pressing the acupressure element 6 against the human body, the working fluid 2
9 passes through a passage between the piston 28 and the cylinder to control the pressing force of the acupressure cylinder 3.