JPH10155870A - Moxibustion device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate use by a person not so acquainted with meridian points by successively selecting a part of the plural heating elements of small heat capacity and supplying a pulse current to the heating element. SOLUTION: A moxibustion sheet 1 is constituted by arranging plural heat generation pieces composed of the heating elements 6 on a sheet-like cloth. The heating elements 6 are the ones of the small heat capacity, and the ones of the heat capacity for generating heat by the pulse current of a prescribed frequency and returning it to a normal temperature by natural cooling are used. The heating elements 6 are connected to a driving circuit 10. Further, the driving circuit 10 is connected to a selection means 37. When a selection switch 36 is OFF, a transistor 38 is selected in the order of being connected, the heating elements 6 are successively switched, the pulse current is energized and the heat is generated. When the selection switch is ON, binary coded decimal digits are replaced and energizing is performed in the order. In such a manner, the use is easily performed without knowing the meridian points.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot moxibustion device for obtaining a moxibustion effect on an affected area.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for stimulating an affected part, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-173502, a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are arranged and embedded in an attachment, and the attachment is attached to a wrist or the like. Wrap. Then, there has been proposed a device in which a plurality of thermoelectric conversion elements are heated and absorbed one by one by utilizing the heat generation phenomenon and the heat absorption phenomenon of the thermoelectric conversion element to stimulate a living organism.

[0003]

However, such a conventional apparatus is suitable for an affected area having a large area, such as irritating a wrist by wrapping an attachment around the wrist, but stimulating a locally affected area such as a pot. It's too big to do proper surgery. In addition, a pot is suitable as a stimulus site, but if the user is not familiar with the pot, there is a problem that the user may not be able to properly hit the pot and obtain an appropriate stimulus. Was.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a warm moxibustion device which can appropriately stimulate acupuncture points and is easy to use even for a user who is not familiar with the pots.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following means to solve the problem. That is, a plurality of heating elements having a small heat capacity, a pulse generating means for supplying a pulse current for causing the heating elements to generate heat, and a part of the plurality of heating elements are sequentially selected, and the selected part of the heating element is heated. This is a warm moxibustion device comprising a selecting means for supplying a pulse current to the body.

Further, a plurality of the heating elements may be arranged on a sheet-like cloth. Alternatively, the selecting means may randomly select the plurality of heating elements, or the selecting means may select the plurality of heating elements in a preset order. Further, the selection means may be capable of switching between a random selection of the plurality of heating elements and a selection of a predetermined order of the plurality of heating elements.

The plurality of heating elements may be connected in a matrix, and the heating elements may be linear nichrome fine wires.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a hot moxibustion sheet, and the hot moxibustion sheet 1 includes a plurality of heating pieces 2 arranged on a sheet-like cloth 1a. Fever piece 2
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a heating element 6 is provided on the surface of mica paper 4 which serves both insulation and heat insulation.

The heating element 6 has a small heat capacity, and when a pulse current of a predetermined frequency (about 0.1 to several hertz) is applied, the heating element 6 generates heat in accordance with the cycle thereof, and is naturally cooled. A small heat capacity that returns to room temperature is used. In this embodiment, a thin nichrome wire (having a wire diameter of about 0.2 mm) is used for the heating element 6.
The thin nichrome wires are provided on the surface of the mica paper 4 in a straight line and two parallel lines.

The heating piece 2 is not limited to the one described above,
The pattern of the heating element may be formed on the surface of the ceramic plate. The pattern may be formed by applying or spraying a material having a predetermined resistance value. This heating element, as described above,
When a pulse current of a predetermined frequency is applied, the heat generating element may be formed to have a small heat capacity such that heat generation and natural cooling can be repeated according to the cycle.

When the moxibustion sheet 1 is laid and the user lies on his / her back, the heating pieces 2 may be densely arranged around the vicinity where the user's acupuncture point is supposed to be. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of heating pieces 2 are placed on the cloth 1a.
May be arranged regularly at regular intervals.

The heating elements 6 of the plurality of heating pieces 2 are connected to a drive circuit 10 as shown in FIG. One end of each of the plurality of heating elements 6 is connected to a collector of a transistor 12 provided in the drive circuit 10. A power supply unit 14 is connected to the emitter of the transistor 12, and the power supply unit 14 is configured to be turned on / off by a power switch 16.

A resistor 17 is provided at the base of the transistor 12.
The drive waveform synthesizing circuit 18 is connected via
The drive waveform synthesizing circuit 18 synthesizes pulse signals input from the temperature adjusting pulse oscillator 20 and the speed switching pulse oscillator 22, and outputs a driving pulse.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the temperature adjusting pulse oscillator 20 outputs a temperature adjusting pulse having a wide pulse width when the set temperature is low and a high temperature when the set temperature is low. Sometimes, a pulse for temperature adjustment with a narrow pulse width is output. The speed switching pulse oscillator 22 outputs a speed switching pulse. According to the setting of the speed switch 26, as shown in FIG. The pulse width at the time can be changed.

The drive waveform synthesizing circuit 18 performs a negative logical AND operation between the temperature adjusting pulse and the speed switching pulse.
Depending on the conditions, as shown in FIG. 6C, a drive pulse which is at a high level during the drive time and is at a low level during the rest time is output. The power supply unit 1
4. The pulse generating means 28 includes the drive waveform synthesizing circuit 18, the temperature adjusting pulse oscillator 20, and the speed switching pulse oscillator 22.

The speed switching pulse from the speed switching pulse oscillator 22 is also input to a binary counter 30. The binary counter 30 counts the speed switching pulse and outputs the counted value to the BCD order changing circuit 32 in four digits. Is what you do. The BCD order changing circuit 32 counts the count value from the binary counter 30 by two.
It is output to the decimal decoder 34 in an evolved decimal number.

When the selection switch 36 is off, the BCD order change circuit 32 counts the count value from the binary counter by two.
The data is converted to an evolved decimal number and output as it is. When the selection switch 36 is on, the digit of the decimal number is exchanged and output to the decimal decoder 34. The binary counter 30, BC
The D-order changing circuit 32, the decimal decoder 34, and the selection switch 36 constitute a selection means 37.

The other ends of the plurality of heating elements 6 are connected to the collectors of transistors 38 provided for the respective heating elements 6 of the drive circuit 10, and the emitters of the transistors 38 are grounded. The base of the transistor 38 is connected to the decimal decoder 34 via the resistor 35, and one of the transistors 38 selected by the decimal decoder 34 is turned on.

Next, the operation of the above-described warm moxibustion apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. First, when the switch 16 is turned on, the power supply unit 14 supplies a DC current to the transistor 12. Further, the temperature adjusting pulse oscillator 20 outputs a temperature adjusting pulse corresponding to the setting of the temperature controller 24, and the speed switching pulse oscillator 22 outputs a speed switching pulse corresponding to the setting of the speed switch 26. 18 is output. The drive waveform synthesizing circuit 18 synthesizes these pulses and outputs them to the transistor 12, so that the transistor 12 is switched.

The binary counter 30 counts the pulses of the speed switching pulse and outputs it to the BCD order changing circuit 32. The BCD order permutation circuit 32 converts this into a binary coded decimal number and outputs it to a decimal decoder 34. When the selection switch 36 is off, the BCD order change circuit 32 outputs the binary-coded decimal number to the decimal decoder 34 as it is, and when the selection switch 36 is on, the digit of the binary-coded decimal number is replaced and the decimal decoder 34 is switched. Output to

The decimal decoder 34 selects one of the transistors 38 according to the binary-coded decimal number, outputs a signal, and switches the transistor 38. Thereby, the transistor 12, the heating element 6, the transistor 38
Is supplied with a pulse current via.

When the selection switch 36 is off, the transistors 38 are selected in the order in which they are connected, the heating elements 6 are sequentially switched, and a pulse current is supplied. When the selection switch 36 is turned on, the digits of the binary coded decimal numbers are exchanged, so that the heating elements 6 are energized in that order.

Since the heat generating element 6 has a small heat capacity, the temperature of the heat generating element 6 immediately rises when energized, and when it is not energized, it is naturally cooled and immediately drops to room temperature. Therefore, the plurality of heating elements 6 are sequentially heated, and as shown in FIG. 1, any one of the plurality of heating elements 6 arranged near the pot matches the position of the pot, so that the heating element 6 generates heat. Sometimes stimulate the pot properly. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, even when the heating elements 6 are arranged at regular intervals, the heating elements 6 are sequentially heated and any one of the heating elements 6 is generated.
Since the pot is stimulated, the pot can be appropriately stimulated without knowing the position of the pot.

Since the heating element 6 is a heat source close to a point, the heat is concentrated on one point and the moxibustion effect is increased. In addition, the user can easily apply even a pot such as a back or a waist by lying on his or her back on the moxibustion sheet 1, which is convenient. Moreover, the plurality of pots can be stimulated by the heating element 6 without the user moving.

Next, another moxibustion device different from the above-described moxibustion device will be described. Note that the same members as those of the above-mentioned warm moxibustion apparatus are given the same numbers, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of heating elements 6 and a plurality of diodes 40 are connected in a matrix, and one end thereof is connected to the collector of each transistor 44 of the drive circuit 42. The other end is connected to the collector of each transistor 46 of the drive circuit 42.

The power supply section 14 is connected to the emitter of each transistor 44, and the microcomputer control section 50 is connected to the base via a resistor 48. The emitter of each transistor 46 is grounded, and the microcomputer control unit 50 is connected to the base via a resistor 52.

The microcomputer control unit 50 has a pair of up and down switches 54 and 56 for temperature adjustment, a pair of up and down switches 58 and 60 for speed switching, and a selection switch for selecting standard or random. 62 are connected. Next, the operation of the above-described warm moxibustion apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, a driving time set by a pair of temperature-adjusting up and down switches 54 and 56 and a pair of speed switching up and down switches 58 and 60,
Set the rest time (see FIG. 6C) (Step 1)
00). Next, the heating element 6 to be driven first is set (step 110).

Then, it is determined whether or not the driving time has elapsed (step 120). If the driving time has not elapsed, the heating element 6 set by the processing of step 110 is determined.
Is driven (step 130). When the processing after step 120 is repeated and it is determined that the driving time has elapsed, it is determined whether or not the rest time has elapsed (step 14).
0).

Since the rest time has not elapsed, the driving of the heating element 6 driven by the processing of step 130 is canceled (step 150). Subsequently, the processing of step 120 and subsequent steps is repeated, and when it is determined that the rest time has elapsed by the processing of step 140, it is determined which of the selection switches 62 has been selected (step 16).
0).

When the standard is selected by the selection switch 62, the next heating element 6 is set (step 1).
70). The next heating element 6 is the heating element 6 based on a preset order. The order may be set such that all the heating elements 6 are arranged from top to bottom and from left to right, or may be set every other heating element 6. Have been.

In this embodiment, two modes, that is, a random mode and a standard mode can be selected. However, three or more modes may be further selected. As another mode, select whether to set the heating element 6 in the upper half of the moxibustion sheet 1, to set the heating element 6 in the right half, or to set the heating element 6 in a partial portion of the moxibustion sheet 1. You may be able to.

When the setting is completed, the processing from step 120 onward is repeated, and the set heating element 6 is driven until the drive time elapses (step 130), and after the rest time elapses (step 140), the heating element 6 is sequentially turned on. The heating element 6 to be driven is set (step 170).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 160 that random is selected, the next heating element 6 to be driven is set at random (step 180). Then, it is determined whether or not the heating element 6 has already been driven five times before in the past (step 190). If the heating element 6 has been driven, the process of step 180 is repeated, and the heating element 6 to be driven next is determined. Redo the set.

When the heating element 6 to be driven next is set, the processing from step 120 onward is repeated, and the heating element 6 is driven according to the driving time and the rest time. Set the heating element. The execution of the processing of steps 100 and 120 to 150 functions as a pulse generating means, and the processing of steps 160 to 190
Execution of the processing of (1) serves as a selection means.

Also in this case, as described above, the plurality of heating elements 6 are sequentially heated, and any one of the plurality of heating elements 6 matches the position of the pot. Can stimulate a pot. In addition, the user can easily apply even a pot such as a back or a waist by lying on his or her back on the moxibustion sheet 1, which is convenient.
Moreover, the plurality of vases can be heated 6 without moving the user.
Can be stimulated by

The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment at all, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0038]

As described in detail above, in the thermal moxibustion apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of heating elements are sequentially heated, and any one of the plurality of heating elements coincides with the position of the pot. This also has an effect that the pot can be appropriately stimulated.
In addition, the user lies on his / her moxibustion sheet lying on his / her back, so that even a pot such as a back or a waist can be easily applied to the pot, it is easy to use, and moreover, the user does not move and can move a plurality of pots. Can be stimulated by heating elements. Further, by causing the heating element to generate heat at random, it is possible to change the stimulus. When the heating elements are connected in a matrix, the configuration is simplified. By using a thin nichrome wire as the heating element, a heating element having a small heat capacity can be easily configured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement of heat-generating pieces on a moxibustion sheet as one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the heating piece of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the heating piece of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another arrangement of the heating pieces of the moxibustion sheet of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic electric circuit diagram of the hot moxibustion apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing pulses generated in the hot moxibustion apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic electric circuit diagram of a hot moxibustion apparatus as another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a heat generation control process performed in an electric circuit of a hot moxibustion apparatus as another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hot moxibustion sheet 2 ... Heating piece 6 ... Heating element 10, 42 ... Drive circuit 14 ... Power supply part 18 ... Drive waveform synthesizing circuit 20 ... Temperature adjusting pulse oscillator 22 ... Speed switching pulse oscillator 28 ... Pulse generating means 37 ... Selection Means 50: microcomputer control unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] A plurality of heating elements having a small heat capacity; a pulse generating means for supplying a pulse current for causing the heating elements to generate heat; and a part of the plurality of heating elements are sequentially selected. And a selecting means for supplying a pulse current to the heating element of the part. 2. The hot moxibustion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the heating elements are arranged on a sheet-like cloth. 3. The hot moxibustion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit randomly selects the plurality of heating elements. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selecting means selects said plurality of heating elements in a preset order.
Or the warm moxibustion device according to claim 2. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit is capable of switching between a random selection of the plurality of heating elements and a selection of a predetermined order of the plurality of heating elements. 2. The warm moxibustion device according to 2. 6. The hot moxibustion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of heating elements are connected in a matrix. 7. The hot moxibustion device according to claim 1, wherein the heating element is a linear thin nichrome wire.