Patent Application
20070129599
The present document relates to a massage apparatus, and more particularly to a massage apparatus having a connection system.
In an embodiment, the massage apparatus comprises a prosthetic member defining an outer chamber, a hollow outer sleeve adapted to be engaged inside the outer chamber of the prosthetic member, and an inner casing adapted to be engaged inside the hollow outer sleeve, wherein the hollow outer sleeve and the inner casing include a connection system for engaging the hollow outer sleeve to the inner casing the hollow outer sleeve being adapted to engage the inner casing such that the prosthetic member may be engaged or disengaged with the inner casing.
In another embodiment, the massage apparatus comprises a prosthetic member defining an outer chamber, a hollow outer sleeve adapted to be engaged inside the outer chamber of the prosthetic member, and an inner casing engaged inside the hollow outer sleeve, wherein the outer sleeve defines a plurality of slots and the inner casing defines a plurality of segments adapted to engage the plurality of slots when engaging the outer sleeve to the inner casing.
In one embodiment, the massage apparatus comprises a sleeve assembly including a prosthetic member adapted to be engaged inside a hollow outer sleeve, and an inner casing adapted to be engaged inside the sleeve assembly, wherein the sleeve assembly being adapted to be engaged to the inner casing, wherein the hollow outer sleeve defines a plurality of slots and the inner casing defines a plurality of segments adapted to engage the plurality of slots when engaging the sleeve assembly to the inner casing.
In one embodiment, a method of exchanging external features of a massage apparatus comprising:
a) providing a massage apparatus comprising a sleeve assembly including a hollow outer sleeve adapted to be engaged inside a prosthetic member, and an inner casing adapted to be engaged inside the sleeve assembly, wherein the hollow outer sleeve defines a plurality of slots and the inner casing defines a plurality of segments adapted to engage the plurality of slots when engaging the sleeve assembly to the inner casing;
b) disengaging the plurality of slots from the plurality of segments such that the sleeve assembly is disengaged from the inner casing; and
c) engaging a plurality of slots of another hollow outer sleeve to the plurality of segments of the inner casing such that another sleeve assembly is engaged to the inner casing.
Implementations of the above embodiments may include one or more of the following features:
The massage apparatus further comprises a vibratory component disposed inside the inner casing and in operative association with a power source, the vibratory component providing a vibration function when in operative association with the power source.
The connection system includes a plurality of slots defined by the hollow outer sleeve and a plurality of segments defined by the inner casing, the plurality of segments being adapted to engage the plurality of slots when engaging the hollow outer sleeve to the inner casing.
The inner casing defines one or more ribs adapted to be in biased contact with the hollow outer sleeve when the inner casing is engaged to the hollow outer sleeve.
The plurality of segments are spaced equidistant from one another.
The hollow outer sleeve defines a shoulder, the shoulder defining a plurality of slots.
The inner casing includes a flange, the flange defining a plurality of segments.
The flange is adapted to engage the shoulder of the hollow outer sleeve.
The plurality of slots are adapted to engage the plurality of segments when engaging the shoulder to the flange.
The step of disengaging the plurality of slots from the plurality of segments comprises rotating the inner casing relative to the hollow outer sleeve and then sliding the hollow outer sleeve away from the inner casing.
The step of engaging a plurality of slots of another hollow outer sleeve to the plurality of segments of the inner casing comprises sliding the hollow outer sleeve towards the inner casing and then rotating the inner casing relative to the hollow outer sleeve.
The method further comprising the step of disengaging the prosthetic member from the outer sleeve and engaging another prosthetic member to the outer sleeve.
Additional features will be set forth in the description which follows, and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following more detailed description and drawings in which like elements of the invention are similarly numbered throughout.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding elements among the view of the drawings.
Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of a massage apparatus is illustrated and generally indicated as 10 in
In one aspect, a prosthetic member 12 defining an outer chamber 18 may be adapted to engage the hollow outer sleeve 14 inside outer chamber 18. In one embodiment the prosthetic member 12 may be adapted to be interchangeable by disengaging the outer sleeve 14 engaged to one prosthetic member 12 from inner casing 16 and engaging another outer sleeve 14 engaged to another prosthetic member 12. Prosthetic member 12 to inner casing 16 as shall be discussed below.
In an embodiment, the prosthetic member 12 may have a generally phallic shape, although other shapes are contemplated, such as segmented, smooth, rounded, bumpy, tubular and/or angular configurations. The prosthetic member 12 may be an exchangeable external feature made of a resilient material, such as plastic, rubber, or polymer material, that forms the outermost feature of the massage apparatus 10. In one embodiment, the prosthetic member 12 may define a flange 44, although other embodiments may lack the flange 44.
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The method of exchanging the sleeve assembly will now be discussed. The sleeve assembly may be engaged to the inner casing 16 by sliding the inner casing 16 inside the hollow outer sleeve 14 of the sleeve assembly such that the slots 56 of the hollow outer sleeve 14 are properly aligned with respective segments 54 of inner casing 16. Once the inner casing 16 is engaged inside the outer sleeve 14, the outer sleeve 14 is then rotated relative to the inner casing 16 which engages the sleeve assembly to inner casing 16 as the slots 56 of the outer sleeve 14 engage segments 54 of the inner casing 16. This engagement between the segments 54 and slots 56 will cause the longitudinal ribs 30 to bias and closely contact the outer surface of inner casing 16 along portion 64 such that the vibrating function generated by the vibratory component 22 inside the inner casing 16 can be transferred to the sleeve assembly.
Conversely, rotating the outer sleeve 14 in an opposite direction relative to the inner casing 16 causes the slots 56 of outer sleeve 14 to disengage the segments 54 of inner casing 16 such that the outer sleeve 14 may be slid away from the inner casing 16, thereby permitting the sleeve assembly to be removed from inner casing 16. The user may then engage another prosthetic member 12 to the inner casing 16 by disengaging the previous prosthetic member 12 from the hollow outer sleeve 14 and engaging another prosthetic member 12 thereto and then engaging the newly formed sleeve assembly to the inner casing 16. Alternatively, another sleeve assembly having a different prosthetic member 12 may be engaged to the inner casing 16 rather than engaging another prosthetic member 12 to the existing outer sleeve 14. Various prosthetic members 12 may be interchanged with the inner casing 16 using the methods discussed above.
It should be understood from the foregoing that, while particular embodiments have been illustrated and described, various modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are within the scope and teaching of this invention as defined by the claims appended hereto is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
