Patent Application
20090124941
1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to massage apparatuses with removable covers, and removable covers therefore.
2. Background Art
A portable body massager with a removable cover is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,721 B2, which issued to Ferber et al. on Oct. 31, 2006.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
With reference to
Massage effects provided by the body massager 10 include a longitudinal percussive massage effect from a massage assembly 22. The massage assembly 22 provides a percussive or tapping motion through the central panel 20 for massaging the back of the user, as illustrated by the arrows directed towards and away from the backrest region 12. Additionally, the massage assembly 22 translates along the backrest region 12 for massaging various longitudinal regions of the user's back. Alternatively, a massage assembly 24 may be provided for imparting a kneading massage effect to the user. For example, the massage assembly 24 imparts a rotary kneading massage effect to the user, which may also translate along the backrest region 12. One such rotary kneading massager is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,721 B2, which issued on Oct. 31, 2006 to Ferber et al., which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. Another suitable rotary kneading massager is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0211962 A1, which published on Sep. 21, 2006 to Ferber et al. and is also incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. The backrest region 12 may include one massage assembly 22 or 24, or both massage assemblies 22, 24, or any other suitable massage assembly, such as a vibratory massage assembly, a rolling massage assembly, or the like. Additionally, the seat support region 14 may also provide a massage effect, such as a vibratory massage effect for the user seated thereupon.
The backrest region 12 is sized to be received upon a backrest of a conventional chair. Likewise, the seat support region 14 is sized to be received upon a seat support of a conventional chair. Additionally, the body massager 10 is portable due to its compact size and lightweight so that the user may place the body massager 10 upon a conventional chair for receiving a massage when seated upon the chair. The adjustability of the included angle between the backrest region 12 and the seat support region 14 accommodates a wide range of angles that may be incorporated in conventional chairs. Alternatively, the body massager 10 may rest flat upon a floor or may be supported by a floor and an adjoining wall.
The backrest region 12 includes a height and width corresponding to the conventional chair and has a thickness that is adequate for housing the massage assembly 22, 24 therein while avoiding disruption of comfort and support provided by the underlying chair. Likewise, the seat support region 14 has a width and a depth corresponding to that of the conventional seat support and has a thickness that is adequate for housing the associated massage assembly while avoiding disruption of comfort and support provided by the underlying chair.
The seat support region 14 includes a seating surface 26 provided thereon for receiving the user when seated. The backrest region 12 includes a backrest surface 28 for receiving and supporting the back of the user thereupon. The massage assemblies 22, 24 of the backrest region 12 and the seat support region 14 impart the respective massage effects through the backrest surface 28 and the seating surface 26, respectively.
Referring now to
The invention contemplates any massage formation provided on the removable flap 30. Additionally, the invention contemplates any pattern of massage formations, such as massage nodes 34 on the removable flap 30. Further, the invention contemplates various interchangeable massage flaps 30 for providing varying massage effects. Such various massage effects may be provided by varying the pattern of the massage nodes 34 within the arrays 32. Additionally, variations may include the size or shape of the massage nodes 34 within the arrays 32. Other variations may include altering the materials of the massage nodes 34. For example, massage nodes 34 of varying durometers may be employed for imparting massage effects of varying impacts.
Referring now to
Alternatively, adjacent massage nodes 42 may be provided with cross members 48 interconnecting adjacent massage nodes 42 as depicted in
The various removable flaps 30, 38 disclosed herein, can be utilized with a wide variety of massage assemblies for varying the resultant massage effect. The invention contemplates that the removable flaps 30, 38 can be employed for massagers having percussive massage assemblies, rolling massage assemblies, kneading massage assemblies, rotary kneading massage assemblies, vibratory massage assemblies, or the like. Additionally, the cover flaps 30, 38 may be employed for seat cushion type massagers such as the body massager 10 illustrated herein, mat massagers, pillow massagers, or the like. Additionally, the flaps 30, 36 may be employed with a massage assembly when a motorized massage operation is discontinued, for imparting a massage effect by the user resting a body part upon the massage node arrays 32 or 40. Additionally, the removable flaps 30, 38 may be employed without a massage assembly and may be fastened directly to a conventional chair for providing the massage effect when the user rests a body part against the removable flaps 30, 38.
While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/982,609 filed Oct. 25, 2007, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60982609 | Oct 2007 | US |
