Patent Grant
8894593
The present invention generally relates to a massaging device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a massaging device that massages parts of the body to be treated with vibrators pressed against the part of the body.
There exist massaging devices for relieving stiffness in the shoulders, the back, and the legs. Also, acupressure or massage of pressure points on a face has been practiced as a method of facial treatment. Generally, a massager or a patient him/herself presses or vibrates pressure points or stiff parts of the body (hereafter referred to as “target parts”) with fingers to massage the target parts. Massage improves the flow of the blood and the metabolism at the target parts, and thereby improves symptoms at the target parts.
However, it is not possible to press a large number of pressure points at the same time using the fingers of the massager or the patient. Also, acupressure with human fingers involves a heavy workload by the massager or the patient. To solve these problems, massaging devices with plural vibrators have been proposed (see patent documents 1 and 2). The proposed massaging devices can massage multiple target parts at the same time. Therefore, compared with the method of applying acupressure with fingers, the proposed massaging devices make it possible to reduce the workload of a massager or a patient.
[Patent document 1] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-000503
[Patent document 2] Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-346845
However, although the related-art massaging devices can adjust the intensity of the vibration of vibrators, they cannot change the pressing forces applied by the vibrators to target parts. For example, the massaging device disclosed in patent document 1 includes protrusions that protrude toward target parts. Since the protrusions have the same length, pressing forces applied by the protrusions to target parts are substantially the same regardless of the physical characteristics of skin of the user at the target parts. Accordingly, the disclosed massaging device massages target parts with the same pressing force.
The massaging device disclosed in patent document 2 includes plural vibrating protrusions attached to helical compression springs and arranged in a housing, and the helical compression springs have the same spring constant. When the massaging device is pressed against target parts, the helical compression springs deform according to the shapes of the target parts. This configuration makes it possible to reliably press all the vibrating protrusions to the target parts. Still, however, since the helical compression springs have the same spring constant, pressing forces applied by the vibrating protrusions to target parts are substantially the same regardless of the physical characteristics of skin at the target parts.
Meanwhile, the physical characteristics of skin vary from one part of the body of a person to another part. Therefore, when target parts with different physical characteristics of skin are massaged with the same pressing force, the massage may be effective in some target parts but may be less effective in other target parts. Thus, with the related-art configuration, desired massage effects may not be obtained. Also with the related-art configuration, the user may feel that the intensity of massage is high in some target parts and low in other target parts, and may feel that the massaging device is unsatisfactory.
One object of the present invention is to solve or reduce one or more of the above problems and to provide a massaging device that has good usability and reliably provides desired massage effects.
In an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a massaging device that includes a base part, vibrators configured to be brought into contact with target parts of a user and to massage the target parts with vibration, and springs each including a first end fixed to the base part and a second end attached to the corresponding one of the vibrators. The spring constants of the springs are set based on skin stress of the target parts.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a massaging device that can improve massage effects by massaging target parts according to skin stresses of the target parts.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to
The massaging device 10A includes a base part 11A and vibrators 12A through 12D (may be collectively referred to as the vibrator(s) 12). As illustrated in
Two sets of the vibrators 12A through 12D are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center (corresponding to the position of the nose of the user A wearing the massaging device 10A) of the base part 11A. For brevity and clarity, one set of the vibrators 12A through 12D on one side (right side in the figures) are described below.
The base part 11A is composed of a resin such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), or polypropylene (PP). The massaging device 10A is shaped such that an inner surface 10a of the base part 11A has a shape corresponding the shape of the face of the user A. Breathing holes may be formed in the base part 11A at positions corresponding to the nose and mouth of the user A so that the user A does not have difficulty in breathing when wearing the massaging device 10A.
As illustrated in
Each of the vibrators 12 includes a fixed part 13, a coil spring 14 (one of coil springs 14A-14D), a vibrating motor 15, and a contact part 17. The fixed part 13 is composed of a resin and fixed to the base part 11A. Mounting parts 11a, which are recesses shaped like a cylinder with a bottom, are formed in the base part 11A at positions where the vibrators 12 are mounted. The fixed part 13 is fixed to the bottom of the mounting part 11a (see
The coil spring 14 is formed by winding wire made of a spring material like a coil. In the present embodiment, the coil spring 14 is used as an example of a spring provided between the fixed part 13 and the contact part 17. Any other type of spring whose spring constant is variable and that is capable of pressing the contact part 17 against the skin AA may be used in place of the coil spring 14.
One end of the coil spring 14 facing the base part 11A is fixed to the fixed part 13, and the contact part 17 is attached to the other end of the coil spring 14. According to the present embodiment, the spring constants of the coil springs 14A through 14D of the vibrators 12A through 12D are determined according to the skin stress of parts of the skin AA with which the vibrators 12A through 12D (i.e., the contact parts 17) are brought into contact. Details of the spring constants are described later.
The contact part 17 includes a spherical body and plural protrusions 18 formed on the body. When the user A wears the massaging device 10A, the contact part (i.e., the protrusions 18) is brought into contact with the skin of the user A. A mounting groove 19 is formed in a side of the contact part 17. The vibrating motor 15 is mounted in the mounting groove 19. The vibrating motor 15 is shaped like a small disc and includes an eccentric rotor. The vibrating motor 15 generates vibration by rotating the rotor. Accordingly, when the vibrating motor 15 is driven, the contact part 17 vibrates, and the vibration is magnified by the coil spring 14.
The vibrators 12 are disposed such that the contact parts 17 contact target parts that the user A desires. It is generally said that there are 30 or more pressure points on the face, and the massage effects vary depending on the positions of the pressure points. For this reason, the vibrators 12 are disposed at positions on the skin (i.e., target parts) where therapeutic effects desired by the user A are obtained.
Here, a relationship between pressure stimulation conditions and the amount of nitric oxide (NO) production, which is a vasodilator, is briefly described based on the findings of the inventors of the present invention (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-204452).
The inventors conducted experiments to find out the relationship between pressure stimulation conditions and the amount of nitric oxide (NO) production. More specifically, experiments (a) through (d) below were performed by varying pressure stimulation conditions applied to the skin:
The experiments (a) through (d) were conducted under experimental conditions as described below. A hairless mouse at the age of 10 to 13 weeks old was anesthetized by injecting 4 ml/kg of a 25% solution of carbonic acid ethyl ester into its abdominal cavity, a skin of the back of the hairless mouse was sampled, and the hairless mouse was euthanized. Then, muscle layers and blood vessels were removed from the sampled skin to obtain a skin tissue with a size of 1.5 cm×15 cm.
The skin tissue was placed on a Teflon (registered trademark) mesh, floated in a culture dish containing 2 mL of MCDB153 culture medium (Sigma), and cultured for two hours using a CO2 incubator (37° C., 5% CO2, humidity 95%). Next, the culture medium was replaced with a balanced salt solution (BSS) with an additive of 10 μM of DAF-2 (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.), and the skin tissue was cultured further for one hour.
Here, the BSS includes NaCl (150 mM), KCl (5 mM), CaCl2 (1.8 mM), MgCl2 (1.2 mM), HEPES (25 mM), NaH2PO4 (1.2 mM), and D-glucose (10 mM), and has a pH of 7.4. Then, 400 μL of the resulting culture solution was collected and centrifuged, and the supernatant was collected as a sample before stimulation.
A polyurethane rubber sheet was placed on the horny layer of the cultured skin tissue, and the cultured skin tissue was stimulated by pressing from above the polyurethane rubber sheet using a cylindrical weight (diameter: 2 cm, height: 2 cm, weight: 53 g) under predetermined conditions described later. Also, for comparison, the skin tissue was kept in CO2 incubator (37° C., 5% CO2, humidity 95%) for 10 minutes without stimulation (no stimulation). Then, 400 μL of the resulting culture solution was collected and centrifuged, and the supernatant was collected as a sample after stimulation. The obtained samples before and after stimulation were incubated for one hour at an ambient temperature (23° C.), moved to a 96-hole plate for fluorescence measurement, and the fluorescence was measured using a microplate reader.
Results of the experiment (a) performed under the above experimental conditions are described below. In the experiment (a), weights with different numbers of protrusions, i.e., pressing points, were used. The numbers of pressing points of the used weights were 4.5, 12.5, 30, and 81 cm−2. According to the results, the amount of NO production increases as the number of pressing points increases. Thus, the results indicate that it is possible to increase vasodilation and thereby improve the massage effects by increasing the number of pressing points.
Next, results of the experiment (b) performed under the above experimental conditions are described. In the experiment (b), the environmental temperature during application of stimulation was set at 37° C., 33° C., and 23° C. (room temperature). According to the results, the amount of NO production at the environmental temperatures of 33 ° C. and 37° C. is greater than the amount of NO production at the environmental temperature of 23° C. (room temperature). Thus, the results indicate that it is possible to increase vasodilation and thereby improve the massage effects by increasing the environmental temperature at which stimulation is applied (i.e., massage is performed).
Next, results of the experiment (c) performed under the above experimental conditions are described. In the experiment (c), the speed of rolling the weight used to apply stimuli was set at 8.5 round-trips per minute, 23.5 round-trips per minute, and 38.5 round-trips per minute. According to the results, the amount of NO production at the speed of 23.5 round-trips per minute is greater than the amount of NO production at the speed of 8.5 round-trips per minute. Also, the amount of NO production at the speed of 38.5 round-trips per minute is greater than the amount of NO production at the speed of 8.5 round-trips per minute. Thus, the results indicate that it is possible to increase vasodilation and thereby improve the massage effects by increasing the speed of applying stimuli.
Next, results of the experiment (d) performed under the above experimental conditions are described. In the experiment (d), a weight of 53 g and a weight of 17 g were used to apply stimuli. According to the results, the amount of NO production with the weight of 17 g is greater than the amount of NO production in a case where no stimulus is applied; and the amount of NO production with the weight of 53 g is greater than the amount of NO production with the weight of 17 g. Thus, the results indicate that it is possible to increase vasodilation and thereby improve the massage effects by increasing the weight (i.e., the strength of massaging force) applied to the skin.
After the experiments, the inventors considered how the experimental results can be applied to a massaging device.
The results of the experiment (a) can be applied to the contact part 17 of the vibrator 12 of the massaging device 10A. A simple spherical shape as illustrated by a contact part 17a of
Meanwhile, with contact parts 17c through 17e of
The results of the experiment (b) can also be applied to a massaging device. For example, a heater may be provided in the contact part 17. The results of the experiment (c) can also be applied to a massaging device. For example, the intensity of vibration generated by the vibration motor 15 may be adjusted by controlling the voltage applied to the vibration motor 15.
The results of the experiment (d) can be applied to the coil spring 14 of the vibrator 12 of the massaging device 10A. For example, it may be possible to press the vibrating contact part 17 (that stimulates the skin AA) strongly against the skin AA by increasing the spring constant of the coil spring 14, and to thereby increase vasodilation (i.e., improve the massage effects).
However, according to experiments conducted by the inventors, it is difficult to effectively increase vasodilation (i.e., improve the massage effects) by uniformly increasing the spring constants of the coil springs 14 of plural vibrators 12 provided on the base part 11A.
The reasons why it is difficult to increase vasodilation are described below with reference to
Also in the model diagram of
When the spring constant K1 of the coil spring 14 is greater than the spring constant K2 of the skin AA (K1>K2), the vibrating motor 15 is pressed strongly against the skin AA. In this case, the vibration generated by the vibrating motor 15 is transmitted to the skin AA without being attenuated by the coil spring 14, and therefore applied even to the deep layer of the skin AA. Thus, with K1>K2, the vibration of the vibrating motor 15 acts even on the deep layer of the skin AA. This in turn makes it possible to increase vasodilation and improve the massage effects.
However, in recent studies (Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2009, Ikeyama et al.), it has been found out that a vasodilator (NO) is produced by epidermis of skin when pressure stimulation is applied to the epidermis, and blood vessels and lymphatics in dermis are dilated by the produced vasodilator. According to this finding, it may be possible to increase esthetic effects (e.g., improve the flow of blood) by setting the spring constant K1 of the coil spring 14 at a value less than the spring constant K2 of the skin AA.
In the above descriptions, it is assumed that the spring constant K2 of the skin AA is fixed. However, different parts of the skin AA of the user A may be in different conditions and may have different physical characteristics (including spring constants). For this reason, the inventors measured the physical characteristics of the skin AA of the user A using the massaging device 10A, and tried to determine the spring constant K1 of the coil spring 14 based on the measurement results.
According to the model diagrams of
Generally, the skin stress of a soft part of the skin AA is small and therefore its spring constant K2 is small. Meanwhile, the skin stress of a hard part of the skin AA is large and therefore its spring constant K2 is large. Thus, since there is a correlation between the skin stress of the skin AA and the spring constant K2 of the skin AA, it is possible to determine the spring constant K1 of the coil spring 14 based on the skin stress of the skin AA.
The massaging device 10A of the present embodiment is worn on the face of the user A to massage the face. Therefore, the inventors conducted an experiment to measure the skin stress of the faces of experimental subjects illustrated in
The results are illustrated in
On the faces of the experimental subjects illustrated in
The measurement results of the skin stress indicate that although there is some individual variation, the skin stress is roughly similar among the experimental subjects. In
The inventors conducted an experiment to obtain the relationship between the skin stress and the wire diameter of a coil spring, as described below. The skin stress was measured as described above by pressing the force gauge against the face at the measurement positions. Coil springs having the same outside diameter and free length and having different wire diameters were prepared, and the stress generated when the coil springs were pressed was measured using a force gauge in a manner similar to the measurement of the skin stress. More specifically, each of the coil springs was pressed, 10 mm per second, with the force gauge, and the resulting stress was measured by the force gauge. In the experiment, the outside diameter of the coil springs was set at 10 mm, and the free length of the coil springs was set at 20 mm.
As described above, the measurements of skin stress are classified into four ranges: less than 0.1 g (soft), greater than or equal to 0.1 g and less than 0.2 g (relatively soft), greater than or equal to 0.2 g and less than 0.3 g (relatively hard), and greater than or equal to 0.3 g (hard). The measurements of the stress of the coil springs were also classified in association with the four ranges of the skin stress, and the relationship between the wire diameters of the coil springs and the stress was determined as illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the above experiment to determine the relationship between the skin stress and the wire diameter, coil springs with the same outside diameter and free length were used. However, without generalization, the results of the experiment are difficult to use in selecting coil springs. For this reason, the inventors decided to also obtain the relationship between wire diameters and spring constants of coil springs. Since there is a known relationship between spring constants and wire diameters, it is possible to obtain spring constants from wire diameters based on the known relationship. In
As illustrated in
With the spring constants associated with the skin stress, it is possible to flexibly select coil springs with various wire diameters, outside diameters, and free lengths. For example, a coil spring of Example 1 in
A coil spring of Example 3 in
A method of setting the wire diameters (or spring constants K2) of the vibrators 12A through 12D of the massaging device 10A is described below with reference to
The vibrator 12B is provided for a target part on and near the lower jawbone. The skin stress of the part of the skin AA on and near the lower jawbone is greater than or equal to 0.1 g and less than 0.2 g (relatively soft). Therefore, according to
The vibrator 12C is provided for a target part on and near the upper jawbone. The skin stress of the part of the skin AA on and near the upper jawbone is greater than or equal to 0.2 g and less than 0.3 g (relatively hard). Therefore, according to
The vibrator 12D is provided for a target part on and near the cheek bone. The skin stress of the part of the skin AA on and near the cheek bone is greater than or equal to 0.3 g (hard). Therefore, according to
With the massaging device 10A where the wire diameters and the spring constants of the coil springs 14A through 140 are set as described above, the vibration of the vibrating motors 15 acts even on the deep layer of the skin AA at the target points corresponding to the vibrators 12A through 12D. Thus, the present embodiment makes it possible to increase vasodilation and improve the massage effects.
The massaging device 10A of the first embodiment is configured to mainly massage an area(s) on and near the cheek(s) of the user A. Meanwhile, the massaging device 10B of the second embodiment is configured to massage an area(s) (hereafter called an under-eye area EK) under an eye E of the user A illustrated in
The massaging device 10B includes a base part 11B having a shape corresponding to the shape of a part of the face near the eyes of the user A, and vibrators 12E and 12F.
Two sets of the vibrators 12E and 12F are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center (corresponding to the center position between the eyes of the user A wearing the massaging device 10B) of the base part 11B. For brevity and clarity, one set of the vibrators 12E and 12F on one side (right side in the figures) are described below.
Before producing the massaging device 10B of the second embodiment, skin stress in the under-eye area EK was measured. More specifically, as illustrated in
The results of the experiment are illustrated in
In this example, the massaging device 10B is configured based on the measurements of the experimental subject of
Therefore, for a coil spring 14E of the vibrator 12E corresponding to the position P1, the wire diameter is set at a value greater than or equal to 0.65 mm and less than 0.75 mm (in this embodiment, 0.7 mm) and the spring constant is set a value greater than or equal to 0.4 N/mm and less than 1.0 N/mm, which correspond to the relatively hard area with skin stress greater than or equal to 0.2 g and less than 0.3 g. Meanwhile, for a coil spring 14F of the vibrator 12F corresponding to the position P2, the wire diameter is set at a value greater than or equal to 0.75 mm (in this embodiment, 0.8 mm) and the spring constant is set a value greater than 1.0 N/mm, which correspond to the hard area with skin stress greater than or equal to 0.3 g.
With these settings, it is possible to improve the flow of blood in the epidermis in the under-eye area EK and thereby remove bags under eyes.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, parts of two or more of the above embodiments may be combined to form another embodiment.
The present international application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-290418 filed on Dec. 22, 2009, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Explanation of References
10A, 103 Massaging device
11A, 11B Base part
12, 12A-12F Vibrator
13 Fixed part
14, 14A-14F Coil spring
15 Vibrating motor
17 Contact part
A User
AA Skin
E Eye
EK Under-eye area
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| PCT/JP2010/072574 | 12/15/2010 | WO | 00 | 6/19/2012 |
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| WO2011/078034 | 6/30/2011 | WO | A |
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