Apparel – Body garments
Patent
1996-09-05
1998-06-16
Hale, Gloria M.
Apparel
Body garments
2115, A41B 100
Patent
active
057652260
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a garment for massaging at least one part of a person's body.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Document FR-A-2 144 971 describes an inflatable garment of this type. Said garment comprises contiguous pockets of impervious fabric which can each be inflated and deflated by way of a connection tube linked to a suitable source of compressed air, and using a programmed apparatus with which it is possible to selectively control the inflation and deflation of said pockets in accordance with a predetermined sequence.
With said garment it is possible to exert on the body of the user, or on a part of said body, a massaging action analogous to that which is performed manually by a physiotherapist.
However, said garment has the disadvantage of requiring a source of compressed air and a control apparatus for effecting the inflation and deflation of the pockets and, consequently, the required massage. It is thus intended to be used at a site provided with such equipment and does not allow the person using it to move about freely.
It is also known, from documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,100,686 and 4,567,677, to massage the feet, while walking, by means of soles which are partially filled with an incompressible fluid such as water or a gel. These soles consist of two flexible and impermeable sheets, for example made of a plastic material, which are sealed and form a pocket partially filled by the fluid. During walking, the displacement of the fluid in the pocket along the length of the sole massages the plantar surface of the feet. According to said document U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,677, weld seams provided between the two sheets in the area of the plantar arch define loss-of-head zones for limiting the movement of the fluid between the front and rear parts of the sole.
Such soles permit an effective massage of the plantar surface of the feet. However, on account of their configuration, they are not suitable for massaging other parts of the human body.
The object of the invention is to provide a garment of simple design which, without recourse to any external equipment, and while leaving its user completely free to move about and maneuver, allows the part of the body covered by the garment to be massaged automatically when said part of the body moves.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this end, the subject of the invention is a garment for massaging at least one part of a person's body, comprising a flexible cover designed to hug at least said part of the body and equipped with means for confinement of a fluid which is capable of being made to move about in order to massage said part of the body, wherein said confinement means consist of separate sealed channels which are each partially filled with an incompressible fluid and each oriented substantially in the direction of the fibers or muscle masses with which they are in contact when said cover is in place on said part of the body.
Said cover and the walls of said channels are preferably made of stretchable material, and said cover consists of several portions joined together and each designed to correspond substantially to the contour of a muscle mass of said part of the body.
Thus, as a result of the displacement of the fluid inside the channels, wearing the garment according to the invention automatically ensures a suitable massage in the desired direction, namely in the longitudinal direction of the muscle fibers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following description of an embodiment which is given solely by way of example and which is illustrated by the attached drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a partial elevation view, from behind, of a person wearing a garment according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross section, on an enlarged scale, along the length of a channel of the garment in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a cross section on the plane III--III in FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, a garment according to the inve
REFERENCES:
patent: 1111222 (1914-09-01), Forrester
patent: 3995320 (1976-12-01), Zafuto
patent: 4214588 (1980-07-01), Byler
patent: 5007111 (1991-04-01), Adams
patent: 5157789 (1992-10-01), Klass
patent: 5274846 (1994-01-01), Kolsky
patent: 5329640 (1994-07-01), Hourigan
patent: 5347656 (1994-09-01), Fabritz et al.
patent: 5383843 (1995-01-01), Watson et al.
patent: 5435009 (1995-07-01), Schild et al.
patent: 5596770 (1997-01-01), Kunesh
Douady Dominique
Jaunet Marie-France Jacqueline Henriette
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