Patent Application
20240041694
The present invention relates to a thermo-therapeutic apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a thermo-therapeutic apparatus in which a heating unit for heating a ceramic unit can be supplied with a current from a power supply unit even in a state where the heating unit rotates together with the ceramic unit.
Conventionally, in order to ease acute or chronic pain occurring in muscles and nervous tissues of a spine region due to continuous work in an improper posture for a long time or habituation of such a posture for a long time, to improve blood circulation in the body, or to relieve momentary muscle stiffness, a thermo-therapeutic apparatus which moves along body parts and improves blood circulation by stimulating a pain-producing part with heat has been widely used.
A conventional thermo-therapeutic apparatus used for such thermotherapy performs massage while a thermal ceramic moves along a user's body in a longitudinal direction, wherein the thermal ceramic is configured to massage the user's body while rotating in the process of moving back and forth repeatedly throughout the entire moving section. This is to allow the thermal ceramic to rotate naturally due to friction with a cover, because when the thermal ceramic does not rotate, friction between the thermal ceramic and the cover is maximized, and the cover may be quickly worn out.
Conventionally, in order to heat the rotating thermal ceramic, a non-rotating heating element connected to a power source is inserted into the thermal ceramic, but the thermal ceramic is configured to be spaced apart from the heating element so that the rotating thermal ceramic can rotate relative to the non-rotating heating element.
However, as the thermal ceramic and the heating element were spaced apart from each other, there was a problem in that the heat generated from the heating element was not smoothly transferred, thereby reducing the thermal therapy effect.
Accordingly, there is a need for improvement on this problem.
The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and the technical problem to be solved is to provide a thermo-therapeutic apparatus in which a heating unit for heating a ceramic unit can be supplied with a current from a power supply unit even in a state where the heating unit rotates together with the ceramic unit.
However, the technical problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited thereto, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.
In order to solve the above technical problem, a thermo-therapeutic apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a ceramic unit having an inner space formed therein; a heating unit having a heating element which is inserted in the inner space to directly heat the ceramic unit; a power supply unit supplying a current to the heating unit; and a support supporting the ceramic unit, wherein the heating unit can rotate relative to the power supply unit so as to allow the heating unit to rotate together with the ceramic unit.
In this case, a heating surface in thermal contact with an inner circumferential surface of the ceramic unit may be provided around the heating element.
The power supply unit may include an electrode member for supplying an electric current, and both sides of the heating element in an axial direction may be provided with a conductive surface in electrical contact with the electrode member.
The electrode member may include a first electrode member disposed on one side in an axial direction of the heating element and a second electrode member disposed on the other side in the axial direction of the heating element.
The power supply unit may include a transmission member for transmitting a current supplied through the electrode member to the heating element.
The transmission member may rotate relative to the electrode member so that the transmission member rotates together with the heating element.
A contact surface in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the ceramic unit may be formed around the transmission member.
An insulating member for preventing the supplied current from moving to the ceramic unit may be provided on a radially outer side of the contact surface.
An insertion groove into which the electrode member is inserted and disposed may be formed in the transmission member.
The electrode member may include an electrode terminal through which the supplied current moves, and an electrode holder for fixing a position of the electrode terminal.
The electrode terminal may include an electrode head in electrical contact with an inner circumferential surface of the insertion groove, and an electrode body elastically deformed so that the electrode head presses the inner circumferential surface of the insertion groove.
A support groove into which the electrode head is inserted and supported may be formed on the inner circumferential surface of the insertion groove.
The heating unit may be provided with an elastic deformation member for pressing the inner circumferential surface of the ceramic unit.
The thermo-therapeutic apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration is configured so that the heating unit for heating the ceramic unit rotates together with the ceramic unit. Accordingly, as the ceramic unit and the heating unit are placed in direct contact with each other, the heat generated from the heating unit is smoothly transferred to the ceramic unit, thereby enhancing the thermal therapy effect.
In addition, as the heat is directly transferred from the heating unit to the ceramic unit, heat loss is minimized, thereby improving the power consumption efficiency of the thermo-therapeutic apparatus.
Further, since the current is stably supplied even in a state in which the heating unit rotating together with the ceramic unit rotates relative to the power supply part, it is possible to secure the operation stability of the thermo-therapeutic apparatus.
It should be understood that the effects of the present invention are not limited to the above effects, and include all effects that can be inferred from the configuration of the invention described in the detailed description or claims of the present invention.
Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so as to be easily implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. The present invention may be embodied in a variety of forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In order to clearly describe the present invention in the drawing, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted from the drawings; and throughout the specification, same or similar components are referred to as like reference numerals.
In the specification, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in the specification is present, but should not be construed to preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof. In addition, when a part such as a layer, film, region, plate, etc. is said to be “on” another part, this includes not only the case where the part is “directly on” the another part, but also the case where there is still another part between them. Conversely, when a part such as a layer, film, region, plate, etc. is said to be “under” another part, this includes not only the case where the part is “directly under” the another part, but also the case where there is still another part between them.
As shown in
In this case, the thermo-therapeutic apparatus may include a main mat 11 used for the user's upper body and its spine, and an auxiliary mat 12 used for the user's lower body. In addition, it may include a mounting unit 13 for placing and supporting the main mat 11 and the auxiliary mat 12, if necessary.
The ceramic module 10 can massage the spine while moving in a longitudinal direction (x) along the user's spine. This ceramic module 10 can provide the user with a thermal compress and massage effect by using high-temperature heat generated by a current supplied from the power supply unit 300 to be described later.
The ceramic module 10 may also be configured to provide the user with the thermal compress and massage effect by using not only high-temperature heat but also far-infrared rays.
The ceramic unit 100 provided in the ceramic module 10 may be formed in a roller type, but is not limited thereto, and may have various shapes and structures as long as the ceramic unit 100 is configured to rotate while the ceramic module 10 is moved. In addition, when the ceramic unit 100 is formed of a material such as ceramic, far-infrared rays are generated during the use of the thermo-therapeutic apparatus, which can improve the thermal therapy effect. However, it is not necessarily limited to this material, and may be formed of any other materials as long as they can transfer heat to the user's body and provide a thermal therapy effect.
As shown in
Here, a PTC heater may be used as the heating element 210, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and a lamp or any various heating means capable of being heated by supplying current may be used.
In addition, the driving unit 20 may include a first driving member for moving the ceramic module 10 in the user's longitudinal direction (x). The first driving member may include a driving motor 21 for reciprocating the ceramic module 10, and a conveying member 22.
The driving motor 21 rotates by receiving current, and the conveying member 22 is connected to the driving motor 21 and receives the rotational force according to the rotation of the driving motor 21 to move the ceramic module 10.
The conveying member 22 is connected to the ceramic module 10, and is used to convey the ceramic module 10 in one or the other direction along the user's longitudinal direction (x) according to forward or reverse rotation of the driving motor 21.
The conveying member 22 may be selected from a conveying belt, a conveying chain, and a conveying rope, but is not limited thereto, and any various means for conveying the object using the driving force of the driving motor 21 may be used, such as a lead screw, or a rack and pinion.
The driving motor 21 may also be configured to provide a driving force while being spaced apart from the ceramic module 10 or to provide a driving force while being inserted into the ceramic module 10.
In addition, the driving unit 20 may include a second driving member for increasing the vertical height of the ceramic module 10 so that a pressing force is applied to the user or lowering the vertical height of the ceramic module 10 so that the pressing force is removed.
As shown in
Such a heating unit 200 may be configured to evenly and directly contact the entire inner circumferential surface of the inner space 110 formed in the ceramic unit 100, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and can also be configured to directly contact only a certain portion as long as the heat generated from the heating unit 200 can be smoothly transferred to the ceramic unit 100.
As such, since the heat is directly transferred from the heating unit 200 to the ceramic unit 100, heat loss is minimized, thereby improving the power consumption efficiency of the thermo-therapeutic apparatus. Although the power supply unit 300 is fixed in a non-rotating state, the heating unit 200 is stably supplied with current through the power supply unit 300 while rotating relative to the power supply unit 300, thereby enabling stable operation of the thermo-therapeutic apparatus.
The power supply unit 300 may be provided with an electrode member 310 to be described later, wherein the electrode member 310 may be configured to smoothly supply current even when the heating unit 200 rotates together with the ceramic unit 100.
As shown in
That is, the heating unit 200 is inserted into the inner space 110 of the ceramic unit 100 in a state where the first bushing 120 is coupled to one side of the ceramic unit 100. In this case, the heating unit 200 may be inserted in a state in which the heating element 210 and the transmission member 320 to be described later are assembled with each other, or may also be sequentially inserted in a state in which the heating element 210 and the transmission member 320 are separated. That is, the transmission member 320 disposed on one side of the ceramic unit 100 is first inserted, the heating element 210 is inserted, and then the transmission member 320 disposed on the other side of the ceramic unit 100 is inserted.
As shown in
As shown in
The electrode member 310 may include a first electrode member 310a disposed on one side in an axial direction (a) of the heating element 210, and a second electrode member 310b disposed on the other side in the axial direction (a) of the heating element 210. As an example, the current supplied through the first electrode member 310a moves to the heating element 210 through the conductive surface 212 provided on one side of the heating element 210, and the current moved to the other side of the heating element 21 moves to the second electrode member 310b through the conductive surface 212 provided on the other side of the heating element 210.
As shown in
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In addition, as shown in
As shown in
In this case, there may be a problem that the heating element 210 is not normally heated. Therefore, as described above, the insulating member 330 is provided outside the contact surface 321 so that the supplied current does not move to the ceramic unit 100 but can move only through the heating element 210, whereby the heating element 210 can be heated normally.
As shown in
In addition, the electrode member 310 may include an electrode terminal 311 through which the supplied current moves, and an electrode holder 312 for fixing the position of the electrode terminal 311. That is, when the electrode member 310 is prepared in a state in which the electrode terminal 311 is fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the electrode holder 312, an operator can simply install it by holding the electrode holder 312 and inserting the same into the insertion groove 322 of the transmission member 320 described above.
Here, as shown in
In addition, a support groove 322a into which the electrode head 311a is inserted and supported may be formed on the inner circumferential surface of the insertion groove 322. When the support groove 322a is formed as described above, the electrode body 311b is elastically deformed in the process of installing the electrode terminal 311 and then elastically restored to insert and support the electrode head 311a into the support groove 322a, whereby the electrode head 311a continuously presses the support groove 322a, thereby preventing the electrode terminal 311 from being arbitrarily separated during use.
As shown in
In this case, not only the heating unit 200 but also the ceramic unit 100 undergoes thermal expansion due to the heat generated through the heating unit 200 in the process of using the thermo-therapeutic apparatus. If the materials of the heating unit 200 and the ceramic unit 100 are different from each other, the degrees of thermal expansion will be different. For example, when the ceramic unit 100 is formed of a ceramic material and the heating unit 200 is formed of an aluminum material, the degree of thermal expansion of the heating unit 200 is greater than that of the ceramic unit 100. Therefore, a phenomenon in which the heating unit 200 presses the inner circumferential surface of the ceramic unit 100 occurs during use of the thermo-therapeutic apparatus, which may cause damage to the ceramic unit 100. As described above, when the elastic deformation member 220 is provided in the heating unit 200, the elastic deformation member 220 is elastically deformed during the thermal expansion of the heating unit 200. Thus, the force for pressing the inner circumferential surface of the ceramic unit 100 can be reduced, thereby effectively preventing the ceramic unit 100 from being damaged.
At least one elastic deformation member 220 may be provided along the circumference of the heating unit 200. As shown in (a) of
Although an embodiment of the present invention have been described above, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment presented in the subject specification; and those skilled in the art who understands the spirit of the present invention will be able to easily suggest other embodiments through addition, changes, elimination, and the like of elements without departing from the scope of the same spirit, and such other embodiments will also fall within the scope of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2021-0016753 | Feb 2021 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2022/001767 | 2/4/2022 | WO |
