Surgery – Diagnostic testing – Respiratory
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-09
2003-12-30
Hindenburg, Max F. (Department: 3736)
Surgery
Diagnostic testing
Respiratory
C600S534000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06669649
ABSTRACT:
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
Not Applicable
REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX
Not Applicable
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to manipulation devices and, more particularly, to (a) massage units and massage machines of the chair or bed types which comprise therapeutic fingers for massaging the affected part of the user to be treated, (b) water massaging machines such as hot tubs with massaging attachments; (c) automatic stretching machines; and (d) automatic bathing machines.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Each of us seeks comfort, well-being, and insight through stimulating or soothing our senses. When we visit a gallery, listen to a symphony, recognize a fragrance, or enjoy a gourmet meal, we stimulate our senses. The sensory experience best suited to soothe discomfort is perhaps tactility: the most powerful sense in its ability to relax and heal. Touch relieves stress, improves mood, and releases constriction in movement. It also provokes emotional release and strengthens interpersonal connections.
Massage Chairs
Massage is perhaps the most well-recognized body therapy to address the aches, pains, and exhaustion of day-to-day life. State-of-the art massage chairs attempt to mimic the pressure applied by the hands of a skilled massage therapist. The location, frequency, and intensity of pressure is varied in part by automated massage strokes, namely, kneading, vibratory, and tapping strokes.
The most sophisticated massage chairs on the market today allow for dynamic control of only the location and frequency of pressure applied. The user can, for instance, determine the placement of a stroke by selecting a key on the control panel or the controller can choose a kneading stroke that automatically shifts pressure from place to place. Controllers can also change the tempo of such a stroke.
While tapping strokes percussively apply time-varying force, there are currently no massage chairs in which the controller can vary manipulation pressure in an automated fashion. The only way a user can alter the manipulation intensity in a massage chair today is to manually apply or remove padding to the machine. There have been proposals to automate pressure control but none has yet been produced because each design would compromise ease-of-use, disturb the industrial design and/or increase manufacturing costs.
Physical Therapy Devices
Physical therapy devices help to heal injuries by moving joints through ranges of movement and thereby lengthening and stretching muscles. In contrast, massage chairs manipulate muscles with a greater variety of modalities but do not manipulate joints. The benefits of integrating automated muscle manipulation with range-of-motion exercises have not been pursued, in part because the body supports required for range-of-motion therapy interfere with muscle manipulation. The large, broadly supportive pads used to position users' limbs in physical therapy devices make it impossible to provide the localized muscle manipulation provided by a massage chair. However, were one to construct a massage chair with rollers that attempted to reposture users through ranges of motion, the rollers would apply excessive and painful levels of pressure through part of the movement. To make these therapies compatible, one must devise a method of controlling the force exerted by the rollers as they reposture the user.
Hydrotherapy
Hot water soaking has been shown to relieve the symptoms of arthritis, among other ailments. Hydrotherapy products claim to provide heat, buoyancy, and massage as therapy. Immersion in hot water raises the body temperature and causes blood vessels to dilate increasing the body's circulation. The buoyancy of the water reduces body weight by 85 to 90 percent and relieves pressure on joints and muscles. The jet stream of the hot tub, however, does not provide the benefits of conventional massage. The pressure of a hot tub jet varies to such an extent, temporally and spatially, that the sensation is closer to abrasion than massage, over stimulating the surface of the skin while ignoring deeper musculature. Massage chairs offer much better massage than hot tub jets.
Massage Theory and Practice
It has been known for a long time that massage techniques have beneficial effects on the human body for improving blood circulation, for eliminating fat or cellulite, for relieving pain or stiffness, for reabsorbing edemas, and for improving muscular performance. These techniques were originally manual, but machines have been developed to satisfy the increasing demand for this practice and for ensuring that treatment can be made available regularly, inexpensively, and over a long period of time as a replacement for the hand of the masseur, whose training is lengthy and specialized, who is usually available only by prior arrangement and/or in a suboptimal location, and who can be available for only one person at a time.
Various massage machines or devices are known for pressing or stimulating the shoulders, waist or other parts of the human body to remove stiffness. Such devices can be divided into the chair type, bed type and handy (handheld) type. With respect to the mode of action on the affected part, these devices resort to mechanical pressure (steady, sliding, rolling, or vibratory) or waterjets. Massage can be applied while the user is dry or immersed in water.
Limited Dorsal-Ventral Motion in Dry-Type Manipulators
Dry mechanical pressure massage and bathing devices typically operate by applying force using a roller or post-type manipulator which rolls or slides tangent to the skin (lateral-medial and rostral-caudal axes) and periodically pushes into the skin (dorsal-ventral axis). This dorsal-ventral movement has limited dynamic range because it is typically generated by a rotational actuator using an off-center cam as in the Family Corp. FMC-300 massage chair.
Force Dynamism
Very few automatic manipulation devices provide the capability for a controller to dynamically vary the intensity of manipulation during the session. For example, the Family Corp. FMC-300 massage chair is not capable of delivering a light massage which slowly increases in intensity. The prior art which has this capability, typically implements it in one of a number of means which this invention improves upon. These typical means include: (a) A piston or scissor-jack pushing a manipulator into the user wherein the piston or jack extension may be adjusted to deliver more or less manipulation pressure; (b) A water jet striking user through a membrane wherein the pump supplying water may be adjusted to provide more or less flow; and (c) A clamping frame pushing user onto a manipulator wherein the clamping force may be adjusted to press the user with more or less force.
Determinants of Force Applied
In dry chair and bed-type massager/cleaners where the manipulators are under the user, the force applied by a manipulator is the weight of the user minus the weight supported by the non-therapeutic area of the chair or bed divided by the number and area of the manipulators. A chair massager supports most of the user's weight with the immobile and non-therapeutic parts of the chair. Only a fraction of the user's weight is supported by the manipulators which protrude through a channel in the back region. One may increase this force by moving this manipulator higher or by disengaging other manipulators.
In dry chair and bed-type massager/cleaners where the manipulators are above the user, the mechanism itself determines the pressing force. This configuration has a greater potential to entrap or injure the user and is rarely used.
Handy type massagers typically apply pressure by the user manually pressing the device into the user. This configuration is fairly safe but requires constant user attention. This lack of automatic control of force applied constitutes a key drawback of conventional manipulator machines.
Bathing Machines
Also known in the art are bathing machines which wash and rub the user with brushes, cloths or sponges as they mas
Hindenburg Max F.
Natnithithadha Navin
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
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