Portable massage bed

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6615431
  • Patent Number
    6,615,431
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, November 15, 2001
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, September 9, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
An improved massage bed structure, which is foldable into a compact case to facilitate transport and storage, including a bed frame, a mattress, an inclination adjusting structure and a height adjusting structure. The inclination and height adjusting structures permit easy adjustment of the angles of inclination of a back pad and the massage bed, and the height of a waist and hip pad to comply with ergonomics. A pillow is provided to provide good support for the user's head and is capable of height and angle adjustment. A rest plate is mounted at the lower end of the pillow to provide support for the user's elbows to help the user to relax the shoulder muscles to thereby enhance massaging effects.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to an improved massage bed structure and, more particularly, to a portable massage bed that permits adjustment of inclination of a mattress, and that is foldable into a compact case to facilitate transport and storage.




Massaging is growing popular because it helps relax body muscles and promote blood circulate. Conventional massage beds are generally provided with some folding mechanism. However, even though some massage beds are foldable, they are still large in size, which is inconvenient to carry around. It would be desirable to have a massage bed that is foldable into a compact size to enable a masseur to carry the massage bed around with relative ease.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved massage bed structure, more particularly a massage bed that permits easy adjustment of a back pad and the angle of inclination of a waist and hip pad to provide an ergonomic design so that the user can lie comfortably on the bed during a massage and to help the user to relax his/her muscles during the massage to thereby enhance massaging effects. Another object is to provide a massage bed which is foldable into a compact case to facilitate transport and storage.




Accordingly, the massage bed of the invention includes a bed frame, a mattress, an inclination adjusting structure and a height adjusting structure. The bed frame has a mattress disposed thereon. One end of the mattress is provided with a pillow. The bed frame and the mattress are locked relative to each other by means of the inclination adjusting structure and the height adjusting structure.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which like elements in different figures thereof are identified by the same reference numeral and wherein:





FIG. 1

is an exploded perspective view of the massage bed structure of the invention;





FIG. 1A

shows a bag into which the folded bed can be placed for storage and transport;





FIG. 2

is a bottom view of the pillow structure of the invention;





FIG. 3

is an exploded perspective view of the back pad inclination adjusting structure of the invention;





FIG. 4

is a perspective view of the waist and hip height adjusting structure of the invention;





FIG. 5

is an assembled perspective view of the massage bed structure of the invention;





FIG. 6

is a schematic view illustrating operation of the pillow structure of the invention;





FIG. 7

is a schematic view illustrating operation of the back pad inclination adjusting structure of the invention;





FIG. 8

is a schematic view illustrating operation of the waist and hip height adjusting structure of the invention;





FIG. 9

illustrates displacement of the mattress of the massage bed of the invention;





FIG. 10

is a schematic view illustrating the massage bed of the invention in a folded state;





FIG. 11

is a schematic view illustrating the massage bed of the invention in the folded state; and





FIG. 12

illustrates another example of use of the massage bed of the invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




With reference to

FIGS. 1 and 1A

, the preferred embodiment of a massage bed A according to the invention includes a bed frame


1


and a mattress


2


. A bag


3


is provided to accommodate the folded massage bed A to facilitate carrying and storage. An inclination adjusting structure


4


and a height adjusting structure


5


(

FIGS. 4

,


8


) are provided to lock the bed frame


1


and the mattress


2


relative to each other.




The bed frame


1


includes a first frame


11


, a second frame


12


, a left leg frame


13


, a right leg frame


14


, a rest plate


15


and four support rods


16


.




The first frame


11


is D-shaped with a hollow portion in which a plate


111


is disposed. The plate


111


has a bottom side with an inverted U-shaped fastener b, and an intermediate section provided with a securing plate


112


. The plate


111


and securing plate


112


are mounted relative to each other by connecting links


113


. The inner side of a pivotal edge


114


is also provided with an inverted U-shaped fastener b.




The second frame


12


is also D-shaped with a hollow portion in which a plate


121


is disposed. The plate


121


is provided with two parallel grooves


1211


and has a bottom side provided with an inverted U-shaped fastener b. The inner side of a pivotal edge


122


is provided with an inverted U-shaped fastener b.




The left leg frame


13


is substantially T-shaped with left and right sides each provided with a securing pin


131


and an insert tube


132


. The bottom portion of the left leg frame


13


is disposed for mounting anti-slip leg sleeves d.




The right leg frame


14


is also substantially T-shaped with left and right sides respectively provided with securing pins


141


. The bottom portion of the right leg frame


14


is disposed for mounting anti-slip leg sleeves d.




The rest plate


15


has one side provided with two insert rods


151


, each of which has a sleeve


152


fitted thereon.




Each of the support rods


16


has one end disposed on the respective inverted U-shaped fastener b on the pivotal edges


114


,


122


of the first and second frames


11


,


12


, and another end disposed on the respective securing pin


131


,


141


of the left and right leg frames


13


,


14


.




The mattress


2


mainly includes a back pad


21


, a waist and hip pad


22


, a securing pad


23


, a foot pad


24


and a pillow


25


. The back pad


21


has one edge provided with two insert holes


211


for insertion of sleeves


212


. The foot pad


24


has a bottom portion provided with positioning handles


241


.




Referring to

FIG. 2

, which is a bottom view of the pillow structure


25


of the invention, a pad


251


within the pillow structure


25


has a central portion formed as a hollow, and a bottom portion provided with hook and loop fasteners c. An adjusting frame


252


is substantially U-shaped and has insert rods


253


at two ends thereof which have intermediate sections each provided with an adjusting assembly


254


. The adjusting assemblies


254


are each formed by two indexing blocks


2541


and a handle


2542


. The adjusting frame


252


has a bottom portion provided with hook and loop fasteners c.




Referring to

FIG. 3

, the inclination adjusting structure


4


is provided with an upper arm


41


and a lower arm


42


. The upper arm


41


has one side provided with toothed grooves


411


. The lower arm


42


has a spring


421


disposed therein and is lockably provided with a retaining member


422


.




Referring to

FIG. 4

, the waist and hip height adjusting structure


5


includes a seat


51


. The seat


51


has an interior provided with a spring


511


, and one side provided with a lock pin


52


. A support bar


53


is provided with high and low positioning holes


531


on the side corresponding to the lock pin


52


.




During assembly, the pivotal edges


114


,


122


of the first and second frames


11


,


12


are pivotally connected by hinges, and the inverted U-shaped fasteners b provided on the inner sides of the pivotal edges


114


,


122


are pivotally disposed on one end of the support rod


16


. The inverted U-shaped fasteners b disposed at the lower ends of the plates


111


,


121


of the first and second frames


11


,


12


are pivotally connected to the left and right leg frames


13


,


14


. The other end of the support rod


16


is disposed in the securing pins


131


,


141


provided on two sides of the left and right leg frames


13


,


14


. The bottom portions of the left and right leg frames


13


,


14


are provided with anti-slip leg sleeves d to effectively provide an anti-slip function for the massage bed. The sleeves


152


are fitted on the two insert rods


151


of the rest plate


15


, and the rest plate


15


is insertably disposed in the insert tubes


132


of the left leg frame


13


to thereby complete assembly of the bed frame


1


.




After assembling the bed frame


1


, the mattress


2


can be assembled correspondingly onto the bed frame


1


. The lower arm


42


of the inclination adjusting structure


4


is correspondingly locked to the plate


111


of the first frame


11


, while the upper arm


41


is correspondingly locked to the bottom portion of the back pad


21


. The bottom portion of the back pad


21


is provided with hinge a corresponding to the securing plate


112


of the first frame


11


to lock the back pad


21


on the securing plate


112


at a fixed point. One side of the securing plate


111


is provided with the seat


51


of the waist and hip height adjusting structure


5


. The interior of the seat


51


has a spring


511


mounted thereon, with a lock pin


52


disposed on one side. The bottom portion of the waist and hip pad


22


is locked together with the support bar


53


of the waist and hip height adjusting structure


5


. The support bar


53


extends into the spring


531


in the seat


51


. The limiting holes


531


in the support bar


53


are on the same side as the lock pin


52


. The lock pin


52


is correspondingly extended into the limiting hole


531


in the support bar


53


to secure the waist and hip pad on the first frame


11


. The bottom portion of the waist and hip pad


22


is provided with hinge a corresponding to the pivotal edge


114


of the first frame


11


to lock the waist and hip pad


22


on the pivotal edge


114


at a fixed point. The securing pad


23


and foot pad


24


are correspondingly secured on the second frame


12


. The foot pad


24


is locked in the groove


1211


in the plate


121


of the second frame


12


via a positioning handle


241


. The insert rods


253


at the two ends of the adjusting frame


252


are insertable into the sleeves


212


in the insert holes


211


of the back pad


21


. The rest pad


251


of the pillow


25


and the adjusting frame


252


are provided with matching hook and loop fasteners c to facilitate assembly and detachment (the massage bed thus assembled being shown in FIG.


5


).




Referring to

FIG. 6

, which illustrates operation of the present invention, the pillow


25


allows the user to rest his/her head thereon, the adjusting assembly


254


thereof also allows the user to make suitable adjustment so that the user can relax the head muscles to thereby enhance the massaging effect. When the handle


2542


of the adjusting assembly


254


is pulled outwardly (in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.


2


), the indexing blocks


2541


of the adjusting assembly


254


can be released. The user can adjust the inclination of the pillow structure


25


with ease and, after adjustment, turn the handle


2542


of the adjusting assembly


254


in a reverse direction to thereby lock the indexing blocks


2541


of the adjusting assembly


254


tight. Since the mating surfaces of the indexing blocks


2541


are rugged, a good retaining effect can be achieved




Referring to

FIG. 7

, the back pad inclination adjusting structure


4


is disposed between the first frame


11


of the bed frame


1


and the back pad


21


of the mattress


2


. When the user wants to adjust the inclination of the back pad


21


, it is only necessary to move the back pad


21


upwardly (in the direction of the arrows) to cause the retaining member


422


to slightly disengage from the toothed groove


411


and to adjust the inclination of the back pad


21


at the same time. After adjustment, the retaining member


422


once again engages the toothed groove


411


(after change of inclination of the back pad) for securing purposes. By virtue of the spring


421


that abuts against the retaining member


422


, the stability of the structure can be enhanced. As one end of the bed pad


21


is locked to the securing plate


112


of the first frame


11


by hinge a, during inclination adjustment of the back pad


21


, the back pad


21


can displace up and down with the hinge a between the back pad


21


and the securing plate


112


of the first frame


11


as center.




Referring to

FIG. 8

, which illustrates the operation of the waist and hip height adjusting structure


5


, when the user wants to adjust the waist and hip pad


22


, the lock pin


52


can be pulled outwardly, so that the distal end of the lock pin


52


moves away from the limiting hole


531


in the supporting bar


53


. The user can select one of the high and low limiting holes


531


and thereafter release the lock pin


531


so that the lock pin


531


engages the selected limiting hole


531


. As one end of the waist and hip pad


22


is locked to the pivotal edge


114


of the first frame


11


by hinge a, during inclination adjustment of the waist and hip pad


22


, the waist and hip pad


22


will displace up and down with the hinge a between the waist and hip pad


22


and the pivotal edge


114


of the first frame


11


as center.




Referring to

FIG. 9

, which illustrates displacement of the mattress structure of the invention, the angle of inclination of both the back pad


21


and the waist and hip pad


22


can be adjusted upwardly. The positioning handle


241


at the bottom portion of the foot pad


24


can be released to allow the foot pad


24


to be pulled outwardly to provide flexible adjustment to adapt to users of different heights.




Reference is further made to

FIGS. 10 and 11

, which illustrates the massage bed in a folded state. The present invention is directed to providing a foldable massage bed A that can be folded into a case to enable a masseur to carry the massage bed A out to attend to senile people or people who are paralyzed after suffering stroke, etc. To fold the massage bed structure A, the massage bed is turned sidewise, with the projection p provided at one side of the second frame


12


of the massage bed A to support the bed body. The securing pins


131


,


141


of the left and right leg frames


13


,


14


are pulled out to disengage the support rods


16


from the left and right leg frames


13


,


14


. The support rods


16


are respectively disposed at the bottom portion of the first and second frames


11


,


12


. The left and right leg frames


13


,


14


are bent inwardly. The rest pad


251


of the pillow


25


and the adjusting frame


252


are separated and disposed in the gap between the first and second frames


11


,


12


. The first and second frames


11


,


12


are folded toward each other, with fastening ring k locked. The massage bed A can then be converted into a compact and light case. A handle t is provided on the second frame


12


corresponding to projection p to facilitate carrying.




When travelling, the massage bed A can be taken along in the case form in a very convenient manner. At the destination, the massage bed A can be unfolded for sitting or resting purposes.





FIG. 12

shows a further example of use of the massage bed of the invention. If a protective fence B and an intravenous injection holder mounting frame D are provided on both sides of the massage bed A, the present invention can serve as a bed for medical use.




In sum, the present invention has the following advantages:




1. The massage bed of the invention can be folded into a case to facilitate transport.




2. The massage bed, when folded, is compact and light to facilitate storage.




3. The massage bed of the invention is provided with an inclination adjusting structure to allow adjustment of the angle of inclination of the back pad to allow the masseur to adjust the sitting or lying posture of the user when massaging the shoulders and neck. The invention is therefore an ergonomic design.




4. The provision of the waist and hip height adjusting structure permits adjustment of the inclination of the waist and hip pad to enable users with injured waists to lie comfortably on the massage bed so that the user's waist pain will not become aggravated due to improper posture.




5. The pillow provides a good support for the user's head, and the height and angle of the pillow can be adjusted to adapt to different users so that the head muscles of the user can relax to thereby enhancing the massaging effect.




6. The rest plate at the lower end of the pillow provides a support for the elbows of the user to help the user relax the shoulder muscles.




7. The foot pad can be pulled outwardly to provide flexible adjustment for users of different heights.




Although the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it should be understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiment but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. Massage bed structure comprising a bed frame, a mattress, an inclination adjusting structure and a height adjusting structure to lock said bed frame and said mattress relative to each other, wherein:said bed frame includes first and second frames, left and right leg frames, a rest plate, and four support rods; said first frame has a hollow portion in which a first plate is disposed, said first plate having a bottom side with an inverted U-shaped fastener, and an intermediate section provided with a securing plate, said first plate and said securing plate being mounted relative to each other by a connecting link, and a first pivotal edge provided with an inverted U-shaped fastener on an inner side thereof; said second frame has a hollow portion in which a second plate is disposed, said second plate being provided with two grooves and having a bottom side provided with an inverted U-shaped fastener, and a pivotal edge provided with an inverted U-shaped fastener on an inner side thereof; said left leg frame has left and right sides each provided with a securing pin and an insert tube, and at least one anti-slip leg sleeve mounted to a bottom portion of said left leg frame; said right leg frame has left and right sides respectively provided with securing pins, and at least one anti-slip leg sleeve mounted to a bottom portion of the said right leg frame; said rest plate has one side provided with two insert rods, each of which has a sleeve fitted thereon; each of said support rods has one end disposed on the respective inverted U-shaped fastener on said pivotal edges of said first and second frames and another end disposed on the respective securing pin of said left and right leg frames; said mattress includes a back pad, a waist and hip pad, a securing pad, a foot pad and a pillow, said back pad having one side provided with two insert holes for insertion of sleeves, said foot pad having a bottom portion provided with a positioning handle, wherein said pillow has a central portion formed as a hollow, and a bottom portion provided with hook and loop fasteners, an adjusting frame which is substantially U-shaped having insert rods at two ends thereof which have intermediate sections each provided with an adjusting assembly, said adjusting assemblies being formed by two indexing blocks and a handle, said adjusting frame having a bottom portion provided with hook and loop fasteners; said inclination adjusting structure is provided with an upper arm and a lower arm, said upper arm having one side provided with toothed grooves, said lower arm having a spring disposed therein and being lockably provided with a retaining member, said upper arm being secured to said back pad and said lower arm being secured to said first plate of said first frame; and said waist and hip height adjusting structure includes a seat and a support bar, said seat having an interior provided with a spring and one side provided with a lock pin, said support bar being within said seat interior and having high and low positioning holes on the side corresponding to said lock pin, said seat being secured to said securing plate of said first frame and said support bar being secured to said waist and hip pad; whereby said massage bed is foldable into a compact configuration to facilitate transport and storage.
  • 2. The massage bed structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said massage bed structure has two sides respectively provided with a protective fence and an intravenous injection holder mounting frame so as to serve as a bed for medical purposes.
US Referenced Citations (20)
Number Name Date Kind
2517681 Koerper Aug 1950 A
2579783 Branto Dec 1951 A
3754749 Lyon et al. Aug 1973 A
4041786 Offterdinger Aug 1977 A
4059255 Perold Nov 1977 A
4103170 Spradlin Jul 1978 A
4230100 Moon Oct 1980 A
4245626 Paolino Jan 1981 A
4271830 Moon Jun 1981 A
4314552 Moon Feb 1982 A
4582311 Steffensmeier Apr 1986 A
4732141 Steffensmeier Mar 1988 A
4856497 Westphal Aug 1989 A
5427436 Lloyd Jun 1995 A
5642542 Kometani Jul 1997 A
D403772 Fanuzzi Jan 1999 S
5954750 Steffensmeier Sep 1999 A
6436126 McAfee Aug 2002 B1
20020103504 McAfee Aug 2002 A1
20020120293 Peetros et al. Aug 2002 A1