JPH06339503A - Massaging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the obtaining of comfortableness in use and sufficient treating effect stably by preventing the implementation of erroneous operation control attributed to changes in the output characteristic of a load sensor for detecting a load of pressing treating elements. CONSTITUTION:Retreating spaces C and C are provided at a part of a back rest part 2 supporting a treating unit 3 free to move in such a manner as not to allow the pressing of treating elements 4 and 4 mounted on the treating unit 3 onto a part to be treated. The treating elements 4 and 4 are positioned on the retreating spaces C and C before a treating operation based on the output of a load sensor for detecting a load of pressing the treating elements 4 and 4. The output of the load sensor as given when the treating elements 4 and 4 are kept without load or under a fixed load at the position is compared with a specified reference value thereby calibrating the output of the load sensor.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a massage in which a treatment element projecting from a treatment unit is operated to perform treatments such as rubbing, tapping, and acupressure on a treatment portion pressed against the treatment element. Regarding the machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Due to the recent trend toward health,
Massage machines used for home use have been receiving attention. In particular, the treatment unit that moves along the back contact portion of the chair is provided with a pair of treatment elements projecting to the front side (front side of the back contact portion), and the treatment unit and movement of the treatment element allow the treatment unit to move to the back contact portion. A chair-type massage machine that performs various types of treatment (rubbing, tapping, acupressure, etc.) on the treatment area that is pressed against it. It is widely used as a massage machine that can provide the desired effects.

The treatment elements are attached to the tips of a pair of support arms supported midway by a common support shaft, and are moved toward and away from each other by the slide of the support arms along the support shaft. A configuration for performing a kneading operation for loosening, a finger pressure operation for pressing a treatment area by swinging of the support arm generated in the same phase around the support shaft, and a tapping operation for similarly hitting the treatment area by swinging the phase. Has become
The applicant of the present application has already provided a plurality of drive motors respectively corresponding to the above-described operations, and drives these motors and a vertical movement motor of the treatment unit in combination to drive the treatments that appropriately combine the various treatments described above. We have proposed a massage machine that makes it possible to further improve the treatment effect.

Further, in this massage machine, operation control is performed so that each operation of rubbing, tapping and acupressure by the treatment element is performed according to the treatment condition such as the strength designation by the user, the position of the treatment site and the like. It is being appreciated. In this operation control, a load sensor attached to each of the massaging elements detects a reaction force load acting on the massaging elements as a result of being pressed against the treatment site. For example, this detected load exceeds a predetermined upper limit value. This is carried out by the procedure of controlling the drive of the drive motor for each operation so as not to exist. Thereby, each operation of rubbing, tapping, and acupressure is performed while automatically adjusting the acting force on the treatment site, and a comfortable feeling of use and a sufficient treatment effect can be obtained without requiring a complicated operation by the user. You will get it.

[0005]

However, while the above-mentioned operation control is premised on that the pressing load of the treatment element against the treatment site is accurately detected, the load sensor for detecting the load is It is necessary to detect the loads that act on the treatment element from various directions during each operation of kneading, rubbing, tapping, and acupressure, and the mounting space inside the treatment unit is limited. With the strain gauge attached to, it is configured to detect the strain caused by the pressing, the characteristic change of the strain gauge according to the environmental conditions such as ambient temperature and humidity, and further strain over time. The output of the load sensor may not correspond to the actual pressing load due to the characteristic change of the gauge, and the above-mentioned control is performed based on the incorrect output after the characteristic change, resulting in deterioration of usability. Well Desired treatment effect was a drawback not be obtained.

The above-mentioned difficulties caused by the change in the output characteristics of the load sensor similarly occur when a load sensor having another structure is used, and are not peculiar to a chair-type massage machine and are fixed. The same applies to a massage machine having a type of treatment unit and a treatment element projecting from the treatment unit, and configured to perform treatment on a treatment site by the operation of the treatment element.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and prevents erroneous operation control from occurring due to a change in the output characteristic of a load sensor that detects the pressing load of a treatment element, and improves comfort. An object of the present invention is to provide a massage machine that can stably obtain a good feeling of use and a sufficient treatment effect.

[0008]

A massaging machine according to the present invention is a load sensor for detecting a reaction force load acting on a treatment element that is pressed against a treatment site and performs a predetermined treatment operation. Attached, controlling the operation of the treatment element based on the output of the load sensor, in a massage machine for automatically adjusting the treatment intensity to the treatment site, before the treatment operation accompanied by the automatic adjustment, The output of the load sensor is characterized by comprising a calibrating means for calibrating the output of the load sensor, and in addition, the calibration by the calibrating means, when the treatment element is under no load or under a predetermined load. Is read and this output is compared with a predetermined reference value, and in order to obtain the output of the load sensor used for the calibration, the evacuation space that retracts the treatment element so that the treatment area cannot be pressed. And respectively characterized in that it comprises a scan.

[0009]

According to the present invention, the output of the load sensor for detecting the pressing load of the treatment element against the treatment site is calibrated by the operation of the calibration means before the operation accompanied by the adjustment of the treatment intensity using this output. Then, the operation control of the massager during massage is performed based on the output that correctly corresponds to the actual pressing load by the calibration.

In the calibration, the output of the load sensor is read in a no-load state in which the pressing load of the treatment element is zero or in a constant load state in which a predetermined pressing load is added, and this is read. Perform the procedure by comparing with a predetermined reference value.In the unloaded state or the constant load state, move the treatment element to the evacuation space provided at a position where the treatment area cannot be pressed and retract the treatment element in this evacuation space. A loadless state is achieved by pressing the treatment element against an appropriate fixed portion to achieve a constant load state.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a massage machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing its frame structure.

The massage machine shown in FIG. 1 has a seat portion 1 having armrest portions 1a, 1a on both sides in the width direction, and a back contact portion 2 standing up from the rear edge of the seat portion 1 to form the appearance of an armchair. It is a chair-type massage machine. As shown in FIG. 2, the seat portion 1 includes a seat plate 11 mounted on a leg frame 10 and a seating pad 12 placed on the seat plate 11, and the back contact portion 2 has its lower end swingable to the leg frame 10. A plurality of brackets 21, 21 provided with pivotally supported vertical frames 20 on both left and right sides (only one side is shown) and projecting forward at appropriate positions on both vertical frames 20 ...
Fix the support plate 22 on top, and attach the back support pad to this support plate 22.
It is configured to cover 23.

Between the left and right vertical frames 20, 20, there is supported a treatment unit 3 which moves up and down using these as guide members, and a pair of treatment elements 4, 4 projecting in the width direction is provided on the front side of the treatment unit 3. There is. These massaging elements 4 and 4 are formed in the widthwise center of the back support pad 23 over substantially the entire length, and as shown in FIG. 1, a notch portion of an appropriate width covered with a highly stretchable covering cloth 24. Through the back contact portion 2, and as described later, by the operation of each separate drive mechanism incorporated in the treatment unit 3, the approaching and separating operations in the width direction for kneading,
A vertical movement for tapping and a front-back movement for finger pressure are performed respectively.

The vertical frame 20 of the back contact portion 2 has a bent shape as shown in FIG. 2 so as to follow the curve of the nape from the back which is the treatment site, and on the rear side of the vertical frame 20, A drive chain 15 stretched between a lower drive sprocket 13 and an upper driven sprocket 14 is provided. The drive force of the vertical drive motor M ₄ installed on the lower rear side of the seat portion 1 is transmitted to the drive sprocket 13 via the speed reducer 16, and the rotation of the drive sprocket 13 according to this transmission causes the drive sprocket 13 to rotate. The drive chain 15 is adapted to move up and down.

The treatment unit 3 comprises a pair of upper and lower main rollers 3a, 3a rollingly contacting the front surface of the vertical frame 20, and an auxiliary roller 3b similarly rollingly contacting the rear surface thereof, thereby supporting three points on both sides in the width direction. Further, the drive chain 15 is connected via a connecting member 3c fixed to the lower rear side of the auxiliary roller 3b.
It is connected to the middle part. Treatment unit 3 Thus, in response to actuation of the drive chain 15 by transmission from the vertical driving motor M _4, the main roller 3a at the front and rear surfaces of the vertical frame 20, 3a
Also, it moves up and down with the rolling of the sub roller 3b.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the treatment unit 3. Inside the treatment unit 3, a support shaft 30 is horizontally extended over the entire width of the treatment unit 3. The support shaft 30 is parallel to the support shaft 30, and the kneading drive shaft 31, the tapping drive shaft 32, and the acupressure drive shaft.
33 are laid horizontally. The kneading drive shaft 31 is used for the treatment unit 3
Is a feed screw shaft in which a right-hand screw is formed on one side and a left-hand screw is formed on the other side of the center in the width direction of the center of the treatment unit 3 by transmission from a kneading drive motor M ₁ fixedly installed on one side inside the treatment unit 3. It is designed to be driven to rotate about the axis.

Further, the acupressure driving shaft 33 has substantially the same length on both sides of the center of the treatment unit 3 in the width direction, and the acupressure drive motor M ₃ fixed to the other side inside the treatment unit ₃ is provided. It is connected to the output end via a transmission mechanism including a belt and a speed reducer, and is rotationally driven about the axis within a predetermined rotation angle range by transmission from the finger pressure drive motor M ₃ .

At the center of the acupressure drive shaft 33, a swing arm 34 is provided.
The base end portion of is fixed, and the hitting drive shaft 32 is rotatably supported by the tip end portion of the swing arm 34. The swing arm 34 is fixed to both sides of the acupressure drive shaft 33, and the beating drive shaft 32 is pivotally supported by the swing arm 34 at three positions in the axial direction and is held in parallel with the acupressure drive shaft 33. ing. The striking drive shaft 32 is provided with a pair of cranks 32a, 3 which are out of phase with each other on both sides of the pivotal position with respect to the central swing arm 34 as shown in the figure.
2b is a crankshaft provided with a kneading drive motor M ₁
It is adapted to be rotationally driven around the shaft center by transmission from a striking drive motor M ₂ fixed to the same side.

The output of the beating drive motor M ₂ is the acupressure drive shaft.
A transmission box 35 supporting one side of 33 is taken out to an output end coaxial with the acupressure driving shaft 33 and transmitted to the hitting driving shaft 32 via a transmission belt 36. Then, the hitting drive shaft 32 is
According to the rotation of the acupressure drive shaft 33 due to the transmission from the acupressure drive motor M ₃ , the position is changed around the axial center of the acupressure drive shaft 33 together with the swing arm 34, and the axial center is transmitted by the transmission from the hitting drive motor M _2. It is driven to rotate around, and this rotation is driven by the structure of the transmission system as described above.
It can be performed simultaneously with the rocking of 34.

As shown in FIG. 3, moving blocks 40, 40 are provided between the support shaft 30 and the kneading drive shaft 31. In this installation, one side of the moving blocks 40, 40 is fitted to the support shaft 30 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and the other side of the moving blocks 40, 40 is kneaded with the left screw portion of the kneading drive shaft 31. And the right-hand thread portion are respectively screwed together, and the moving blocks 40, 40 slide along the support shaft 30 in accordance with the forward / reverse rotation of the kneading drive shaft 31 due to the transmission from the kneading drive motor M ₁ . Performs an operation of approaching or moving away from each other.

Arm holders 41, 41 are attached to the fitting parts of the moving blocks 40, 40 on the support shaft 30 so as to be rotatable coaxially with the support shaft 30, on the surfaces facing each other. The treatment elements 4 and 4 are attached to the tips of support arms 42 and 42 projecting from one side of the arm holders 41 and 41, respectively. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view showing the support structure for the massaging elements 4, 4, and as shown in the figure, the support arms 42, 42 are also projectingly provided on the other side of the arm holders 41, 41. It is connected to the cranks 32a, 32b on both sides of the striking drive shaft 32 via separate connecting links 43, 44, respectively.

When the acupressure driving shaft 33 is driven by the transmission of the acupressure driving motor M ₃ , the base ends of the supporting arms 42 and 42 are moved as described above along with the oscillation of the oscillating arms 34 and 34. By the movement of the kneading drive shaft 32 that occurs as described above, the kneading drive shaft 32 is collectively pushed up or pulled down via the connecting links 43 and 44, and when the hitting drive shaft 32 is rotationally driven by the transmission from the hitting drive motor M ₂ , this is accompanied. By the eccentric rotation of the cranks 32a, 32b, the cranks 32a, 32b are individually pushed up or pulled down via the respective connecting links 43, 44.

By pushing up or pulling down as described above,
The support arms 42, 42 swing around the axis of the support shaft 30 as the arm holders 41, 41 rotate with respect to the separate moving blocks 40, 40. The operation of the acupressure drive shaft 33 is rotation at a low speed that occurs within a predetermined angle range, and the swinging of the support arms 42, 42 corresponding to this rotation gently occurs in the same phase, and the support arms 42, 42 42 The treatment elements 4 and 4 at the tip collectively perform a forward projecting operation or a backward retracting operation. On the other hand, the beating drive shaft 32 operates in a unidirectional rotation at a relatively high speed, and the swinging of the support arms 42, 42 in response to this rotation causes the crank 3 to rotate.
The treatment elements 4 and 4 alternately move with a phase shift between the 2a and 32b, and the treatment elements 4 and 4 perform a short-cycle vertical movement at the front-rear position according to the rotational position of the acupressure drive shaft 33.

Further, when the kneading drive shaft 31 is rotationally driven by the transmission from the kneading drive motor M ₁ , the treatment elements 4, 4 are
Perform an operation of approaching or moving away from each other in accordance with the sliding of the moving blocks 40, 40 occurring as described above. The cranks 32a, 32b of the striking drive shaft 32 have appropriate lengths on both sides of the central swing arm 34, and the connection of the connecting links 43, 44 to these is not limited to the swing around the shaft center and the shaft length. It is possible to slide in the direction.
Allowed by the sliding of the connecting links 43, 44 along 32a, 32b.

In the massage machine constructed as described above, the user sitting on the seat portion 1 presses the back, which is a treatment site, against the back contact portion 2 and operates the operation portion 5 (see FIG. 1) to perform a desired treatment. A pattern is selected and used. A kneading drive motor M ₁ and a hitting drive motor M built in the treatment unit 3.
₂ and the acupressure drive motor M ₃ , and the vertical drive motor M ₄ installed on the lower side of the seat portion 1 are driven in accordance with the selection pattern of the operation portion 5 and are not applied to the treatment portion pressed against the back contact portion 2. The massage treatments 4 and 4 are driven by the kneading drive motor M _{1 so} as to be massaged by the above-described operation, and the massage treatments 4 and 4 are vertically moved by the drive of the striking drive motor M _2. Acupressure treatments are performed by the forward and backward movements of the treatment elements 4 and 4 driven by ₃ , respectively, and each treatment is pressed against the back contact portion 2 by the vertical movement of the treatment unit 3 driven by the vertical drive motor M _4. It is performed in the entire treatment area.

Each treatment performed in this way is performed by the treatment element 4,
The load sensors 6 and 6 (see FIG. 3) attached to the support arms 42 and 42 that support 4 detect the reaction force load acting on the treatment elements 4 and 4 as they are pressed against the treatment site. Based on the detection result, the outputs of the kneading drive motor M ₁ , the hitting drive motor M ₂ and the acupressure drive motor M ₃ are controlled to automatically adjust the pressing force of the treatment elements 4, 4 to the treatment site. There is.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the massage machine according to the present invention. Reference numeral 7 in the figure is a control unit using a microprocessor, the operation unit 5 and the load sensor 6 are connected to the input side of the control unit 7, and the kneading drive motor is connected to the output side of the control unit 7. M ₁ , tapping drive motor M ₂ , acupressure drive motor M ₃ and vertical drive motor M
₄ are connected via separate drive circuits.

The load sensor 6 is a strain gauge attached to the support arms 42, 42, and the pressing load of the treatment elements 4, 4 on the treatment area depends on the pressing.
It is detected through the change in resistance value due to the strain generated in the.
As shown in the figure, the load sensor 6 is incorporated in a bridge circuit composed of fixed resistors R _{1 to} R ₃ , and the change in the resistance value of the load sensor 6 depends on the voltage V between the load resistor 6 and the resistor R _3.
1 and the reference voltage V ₂ between the _two resistors R ₁ and R ₂ connected in parallel with these, and the differential amplifier G
After being amplified to a voltage V ₃ by 1, it is applied to the differential amplifier G2.

The differential amplifier G2 also includes an initial regulator VR.
The adjustment voltage V ₄ set to the above is applied, and the output voltage V ₅ of the differential amplifier G2 obtained by adding a predetermined amplification to the voltage difference between this and the voltage V ₃ is input to the control unit 7. It has been done. The output voltage V ₅ is limited to the power supply voltage V _cc of the initial regulator VR or less by the voltage limiting diode D1.

The output voltage V ₃ of the differential amplifier G1 corresponds to the change in the resistance value of the load sensor 6, but the absolute value of this changes depending on the mounting state of the strain gauge as the load sensor 6, and the treatment is performed. It does not absolutely correspond to the pressing load of the children 4 and 4. The initial regulator VR is a variable resistor that changes the resistance value by an external operation and outputs a regulated voltage V ₄ that is a stepped-down power supply voltage V _cc , and the influence on the output voltage V ₃ due to the difference in mounting state. Is eliminated by initially adjusting the adjustment voltage V ₄ by the operation of the initial adjuster VR, and becomes a differential amplifier G2 that is an input to the control unit 7.
The output voltage V ₅ of the absolute value corresponds to the pressing load of the treatment elements 4 and 4.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the initial adjustment procedure. As shown in the figure, the output voltage V ₃ of the differential amplifier G1 shows a mode in which the output voltage V ₃ increases proportionally with an increase in the pressing load, but its absolute value differs depending on the mounting state of the load sensor 6. On the other hand, the adjustment voltage V ₄ is constant regardless of the pressing load, and this absolute value can be changed by operating the initial adjuster VR. In the initial adjustment, after the load sensor 6 is attached, the initial adjuster VR is operated while observing the change in the output voltage V ₅ of the differential amplifier G2 in the no-load state of the pressing load, and the solid line in the figure shows. the adjustment voltage V ₄ shown by the solid line is for the output voltage V ₃ shown Te, shown by a chain line with respect to the output voltage V ₃ shown by a chain line adjustment voltage V _{4
Respectively,} and the output voltage V ₅ obtained by amplifying the difference between the two is output between the initial reference voltages V _adj1 and V _adj2 . The output voltage V _{5 in the} unloaded state after the adjustment is stored in the control unit 7 as the reference voltage V _ref1 used for the subsequent control operation.

According to the treatment pattern set in the operation section 5, the control section 7 issues drive commands to the kneading drive motor M ₁ , the tapping drive motor M ₂ , the finger pressure drive motor M ₃ and the vertical drive motor M ₄ on the output side. The massagers 4, 4 perform massage treatments such as rubbing, tapping, and acupressure as well as a treatment operation in which these treatments are appropriately combined.
The treatment unit 3 is moved up and down, and the treatment portion pressed against the back contact portion 2 is treated in a desired treatment pattern over substantially the entire region.

During this time, the control unit 7 sequentially reads the output voltage V ₅ obtained by the load detection of the load sensor 6, and determines the difference between this output voltage V ₅ and the reference voltage V _ref1 by a predetermined constant (the output voltage V 5 in FIG. 6). ₍ Corresponding to the tilt angle of ₅ ) to obtain the pressing load of the treatment elements 4 and 4, and the control operation of adjusting the output of each motor is performed based on this result. By this control operation, the pressing load of the treatment elements 4, 4 to the treatment region is adjusted, and the massage is performed under the load control. Note that this load control is performed by setting a treatment pattern on the operation unit 5, setting a desired treatment strength, and the like.
The massage is performed according to various settings according to the user's intention, and the treatment site pressed against the back contact portion 2 is massaged in a desired pattern with a desired strength.

The load control as described above is based on the premise that the load is accurately detected by the load sensor 6, but as described above, the load sensor 6 is attached to the support arms 42, 42 of the treatment elements 4, 4. It is a strain gauge that is subject to changes in characteristics due to external factors such as ambient temperature and humidity, or due to time-dependent factors, and if the aforementioned massage is performed without noticing this, the original strength There is a problem that comfort is impaired because no treatment is performed.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the above problem. When the load sensor 6 having the load-voltage characteristic shown as A in the drawing by the above-described initial adjustment has the load-voltage characteristic shown as B due to the characteristic change, for example, in the operation unit 5. When the massage under the pressing load F ₁ is set, the upper limit value of the output voltage V ₅ is not V _A on the A characteristic but V _B on the B characteristic.
In the control unit 7, the control operation is performed with the load F ₂ obtained by multiplying the difference b between the reference voltages V _ref1 and V _B by the above constant as the upper limit value, and this load F ₂ greatly exceeds the set load F _1. Therefore, the massage will be performed with a strength that exceeds the strength of your choice.

In order to deal with such a problem, the control unit 7
If a massage under load control is set, the following calibration is performed in order to correctly correspond the output of the load sensor 6 to the pressing load of the treatment elements 4 and 4 before the control operation described above is performed. Take action. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the calibration operation.

As shown in FIG. 8, first, the treatment elements 4 and 4 are retracted (step 1) and then moved to the retreat space (step 2). The evacuation space is, for example, a position where the treatment elements 4 and 4 cannot be pressed against the treatment site, for example, the left and right sides of the uppermost portion of the back contact portion 2, that is, the seat portion, as indicated by C in FIG. It is on the left and right sides of the head of the user seated at 1, and the movement to this retreat space is to move the treatment unit 3 to the uppermost position by continuous drive commands to the vertical drive motor M ₄ , and further to the kneading drive motor. This is realized by separating the treatment elements 4 and 4 from each other by continuous drive commands to M ₁ . The withdrawal of the treatment elements 4, 4 in step 1 is realized by retracting the treatment elements 4, 4 by a drive command to the acupressure drive motor M ₃ .

By the execution up to step 2, the treatment elements 4 and 4 are in a state of not receiving any external force, after which the control section 7 reads the input voltage V ₅ from the load sensor 6 (step 3), comparing this with the reference voltage V _ref1 (step 4), and if they do not match, the reference voltage V _ref1
The _ref1 is updated to the input voltage V ₅ of the current (step 5), if they match also ends the calibration operation without updating the reference voltage V _ref1.

The above operation forcibly realizes a state where the pressing load of the treatment elements 4 and 4 is 0, that is, the load sensor 6 has no load, and the input voltage V ₅ in this state is renewed. Corresponding to the reference voltage V _ref1 , the subsequent control operation is
Instead of the reference voltage V _ref1 set at the time of initial adjustment, the load-voltage characteristic of the load sensor 6 before the treatment operation is 0.
It is executed with a point, that is, V _ref1 ′ in FIG. 6 as a reference voltage. Thus, as described above, when the massage under the pressing load F ₁ is set, the upper limit value of the output voltage V ₅ is
The upper limit is the pressing load obtained from the difference b ′ between V _B and V _ref1 ′ on the B characteristic, and this b ′ is V on the A characteristic.
_Since the difference a between _A and the reference voltage V _ref1 at the time of initial adjustment is approximately equal, treatment is performed stably under substantially the same load control as immediately after initial adjustment, and a satisfactory feeling of use can be obtained. Become.

The calibration operation of the control unit 7 may be performed by the procedure according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this case, similarly to the procedure shown in FIG. 8, the treatment elements 4, 4 are first retracted (step 1) and moved to the retreat space (step 2). Then, the treatment elements 4 and 4 are projected to add a preset constant load f ₁ (step 3). The addition of such a constant load f ₁ is applied to the treatment elements 4, 4 in the evacuation space.
4 is provided, the finger pressure drive motor M ₃ is driven with a predetermined output, and the treatment elements 4 and 4 are pressed against the pressing portions.

After that, the input voltage V ₅ is read (step 4), and the reference voltage V _ref2 used in the subsequent control operation is calculated by the following equation including this V ₅ (step 5),
The calibration operation ends. V _ref2 = V _ref1 + (V ₅ −V _ref3 ) (1)

V _ref3 in the equation (1) is as shown in FIG.
It is the input voltage V ₅ obtained for the constant load f ₁ on the A characteristic after the initial adjustment, and is stored in the control unit 7 in advance. The second term of the equation (1) for subtracting the V _ref3 from the input voltage V ₅ on the B characteristic during the calibration operation is the output difference between the A characteristic and the B characteristic under the same load, and the equation (1) is used. The reference voltage V _ref2 obtained by the above equation is the reference voltage V _ref1 ′ in FIG.
Similar to the above, the output is obtained under no load condition on the B characteristic, and the subsequent control operation using this reference voltage V _ref2 allows stable treatment under substantially the same load control as immediately after initial adjustment, which is satisfactory. You should be able to get the feel you need.

In the present embodiment, an example of application to a chair-type massage machine has been described, but the range of application of the present invention is that the massaging elements 4, 4 are applied based on the detection result of the pressing load against the treatment site. It goes without saying that it can be applied to all massage machines that are configured to control the operation of the above.

[0044]

As described above in detail, in the massage machine according to the present invention, the load is applied by the operation of the calibration means before the treatment operation based on the output of the load sensor that detects the pressing load of the treatment element against the treatment site. Since the output of the sensor is automatically calibrated, it is possible to prevent the operation control based on the incorrect output due to the change in the characteristics of the load sensor, and to obtain a comfortable feeling and a sufficient treatment effect in a stable manner. The present invention has excellent effects such as

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a massage machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a frame structure of the massage machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the treatment unit.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a support structure for the treatment element.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the massage machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure for initially adjusting the output of the load sensor.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a problem caused by a characteristic change of the load sensor.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for calibrating the output of the load sensor.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the procedure for calibrating the output of the load sensor.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a calibration method according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Treatment unit 4 Treatment element 6 Load sensor 7 Control section C Evacuation space M ₁ Kneading drive motor M ₂ Strike drive motor M ₃ Shiatsu pressure drive motor M ₄ Vertical drive motor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A load sensor for detecting a reaction force load acting on the treatment element is attached to a treatment element that is pressed against a treatment site and performs a predetermined treatment operation, and based on the output of the load sensor. In a massage machine that controls the operation of the treatment element to automatically adjust the treatment intensity to the treatment site,
A massager comprising a calibration means for calibrating the output of the load sensor before the treatment operation accompanied by the automatic adjustment. 2. The calibration by the calibrating means is performed by reading an output of the load sensor when the treatment element is under no load or under a predetermined load and comparing the output with a predetermined reference value. Item 1. A massager according to item 1. 3. The retreat space for retreating the treatment element so that the treatment area cannot be pressed to obtain the output of the load sensor used for the calibration.
Massage machine described.