This invention is related to massagers and more particularly to a user manipulated foot massaging device.
Massage is a well-known technique to increase blood flow and ease muscle tension in a person's body. Typically, in a massage, pressure is applied to a location on the body either by direct hand/finger manipulation or through a device that aids in the application of pressure.
Such devices include both user-manipulated tools and motorized devices which vibrate, knead, and/or rotate to manipulate a desired body part. These massage tools may either be used by the individual receiving the massage or by another person (e.g., a masseuse).
One area of the body that frequently needs the therapeutic effects of massage is the foot, particularly the sole or bottom of the foot. Typical foot massagers have one or more sets of rollers rotatably mounted within a fixed frame. A user rolls his feet across the fixed rollers to apply massaging pressure to the bottom of his foot. These massagers, however, do not allow the user to change the location of the roller(s) in the frame and therefore cannot be configured to optimize the rollers position to target a particular part of the foot.
The broad purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a foot massaging device that has a plurality of foot contacting rollers which can be adjusted to massage various parts of the foot. The massager is adjustable by seating the rearwardly disposed rollers between a raised and lowered position to configure the massager to contact different portions of a user's foot.
The preferred massager includes a frame having opposed vertical walls. Three rollers are adjustably mounted in-parallel between the opposed walls. The rollers are mounted in a spaced relationship such that they present a front, middle and rear roller to a user. The middle and rear rollers being adjustable vertically within channels formed in each wall. In this manner, the middle and rear rollers can be selectively placed in a raised position (relative to the front roller) or in a lowered position where the axis(es) of rotation of the adjustable roller(s) are co-planar with the rotational axis of the front roller.
It is an advantage of the present disclosure that the massaging device allows a user to configure the device to massage a particular part of the foot.
The massager has a first position which aligns all of the rollers in-parallel allowing a user to roll his foot or feet across a substantially horizontal row of spaced massaging rollers. The second position sets the middle roller in the elevated position, while the rear roller is lowered. The second position allows the user to roll his foot along a curved profile to better follow the curvature of the foot's arch. A third position is possible by setting the rear roller in the elevated position, while the middle roller is lowered. In this third position, the front two rollers contact a user's foot bottom, while the rear roller contacts the top of the foot. A fourth position has both the middle and rear rollers in the elevated position, in this fourth position, the massager presents a substantially flat row of rollers that are at an angle relative to the ground (from front to back roller), in this fourth position a user can roll his feet across the rollers while sitting down in substantially the same way as the first position.
It is another advantage of the present disclosure that the rollers can be supplemented with a textured outer surface to further increase and vary the pressure exhibited on the user's feet when rolled across the device.
It is still another advantage of the present disclosure that each of the rollers is comprised of two axially aligned rollers which are independently rotatable about a common axis of rotation. In this manner, a user can roll both feet simultaneously across the rollers at different speeds and/or in opposite directions.
Still further objects and advantages of this disclosure will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains upon reference to the following detailed description.
The description refers to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which:
Referring now to
Frame 12 includes a pair of opposed vertical walls 16 which are interconnected by support bars 18 adjacent to the bottom ends of the walls. Each wall 16 is generally triangular in shape, angling from a lower-most front end 16a to an upper-most rear end 16b. Frame 12 is preferably formed from a rigid and durable material, such as metal or plastic. Resilient feet members 20 are mounted to the underside of frame 12.
As best shown in
Both mounting slots 24, 26 have the same general “question-mark” shape, with a lower seat 24a, 26a at the bottom of the slot and an upper seat 24b, 26b in an upper portion of the slot. The upper seats 24b, 26b are vertically aligned with their respective lower seat 24a, 26a. To interconnect the two seats 24a, 24b and 26a, 26b, each slot has an elongated vertical portion 30 that is offset from the vertically aligned seats. Each portion 30 is preferably offset away from the seats in the direction of the front aperture 22. As shown, the vertical portion of the rear slot 26 is longer than the vertical portion of middle slot 24 to ensure that the upper seats 24b and 26b cooperate with front aperture 22 to form a substantially straight line.
The slot seats 24a, 24b and 26a, 26b all have a generally semi-circular bottom surface 34. The lower portion of each slot starts at the lower seat 24a, 26a, then rises vertically a distance that is two to fours times the slot width 28, then turns horizontally to the offset vertical slot portion 30. The upper portion of each slot 24, 26 curves up and away from vertical portion 30 returning back to a generally vertical orientation and then terminating at upper seat 26.
In the preferred embodiment, lower seats 24a and 26a are horizontally aligned with front aperture 22, while the upper seats 24b and 26b are also aligned with front aperture 22 at an acute angle to the horizontal. In the preferred embodiment, this angle is in the range of fifteen to sixty degrees. It should be appreciated that each of the respective apertures 22, 24, 26 is aligned with an identical aperture formed in the opposing wall. In this manner, the paired roller bearing surfaces (i.e., apertures 22, seats 24a and seats 24b in the opposing walls 16) are aligned and are substantially parallel to the ground.
Referring now to
As shown in
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5-8, the various roller configurations of the massager 10 are illustrated in schematic form depicting each roller's relative position when seated within a particular seat 24a, 24b, 26a, 26b.
Referring now to
Referring now to
It should be appreciated that the adjustable slots 24, 26 may include various means to retain their respective rollers within a selected seat. In still other embodiments, the seats may be eliminated or supplemented where the rollers 14 are vertically adjustable along slots in the walls 16 and fixed in a desired location/height by placing the axle 38 in tension through hand-tightening fasteners, e.g., nuts 44, against the walls 16.
From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is directed to a foot massager having a plurality of rollers. While the present disclosure has been described with particular reference to various preferred embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize from the foregoing discussion and accompanying drawing and claims that changes, modifications and variations can be made in the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.
For example and without limitation, while the present disclosure is shown having three roller receiving apertures in each wall, it should be appreciated that any number of apertures and rollers can be used accordingly. Further, while only two seats are disclosed in each adjustment slot, these slots can include any number of seats providing for greater adjustability in roller configuration/angle.
This application claims priority of United States Provisional Patent Application filed Sep. 5, 2008 having Ser. No. 61/094,478.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100063429 A1 | Mar 2010 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61094478 | Sep 2008 | US |