Surgery: kinesitherapy – Kinesitherapy – Vibrator
Reexamination Certificate
1998-04-28
2002-04-23
DeMille, Danton D. (Department: 3764)
Surgery: kinesitherapy
Kinesitherapy
Vibrator
C601S070000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06375630
ABSTRACT:
REFERENCE TO APPENDIX
Attached hereto and incorporated herein is Appendix A, which is the hard copy printout of an assembly listing (Samsung Assembly Language) of the source code for a microcontroller computer program as disclosed herein to implement the invention described herein. Appendix A consists of 87 pages. This assembly listing is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves copyright rights whatsoever.
BACKGROUND
The present invention relates to a massaging apparatus, and more particularly to an improved microcontroller based controller for such apparatus. Recent developments in massaging apparatus have produced a variety of products incorporating plural vibration transducers that operate in multiple modes. In general, more sophistication in the massaging and heating of the body is desired, not only as a sales tactic but also and, perhaps more importantly, as an adjunct to medical treatment.
The increased sophistication tends to drive up costs, particularly when product variations must be supported by diverse inventories, and new developments make existing products obsolete. Thus there is a need for a massage system having further improved operating modes with increased utilization of existing inventories and shorter lead times in commercial production of products having greater sophistication. There is a further need that the system be reliable, easy to operate and inexpensive to produce.
SUMMARY
The present invention provides a microcontroller based massage system utilizing small DC motors with eccentric mass elements as the vibratory source. The motors are embedded in a pad upon which the user lies or reclines. The pad may also contain embedded heaters to enhance the massage. The system is activated via a remote control device containing key switches or push buttons and visual status indicators. The wand connects to the massage pad via a serial interface cable. The wand and massage pad are powered from either a wall transformer or a battery, the latter affording portable operation. In its fullest implementation, the massage pad is body length and contains a plurality of motors and heaters. Typically, the heaters are located in the center of the shoulder and lower back areas and the motors are located in five zones distributed over the body length. Several advantages are derived from this arrangement. Computerizing the various modes and operations facilitates the use of the massaging and heating apparatus. Thus, the user can experience a wider variety of massage. A larger variety of options of vibrating sources and how they inter-operate is made available. Total operational variety is simpler to obtain through computer programming than manually.
In one aspect of the invention, a computer controlled massaging system includes a pad for contacting a user of the system; a plurality of vibratory transducers for deflecting respective regions of the pad, each transducer being responsive to a transducer power signal; a microprocessor controller having associated therewith an input and output interface, and memory including read-only program memory (ROM), non-volatile programmable parameter memory (PROM), and variable memory (RAM); an array of input elements connected to the input interface for signaling the microprocessor in response to operator input, the signaling including signals for setting a plurality of operating modes, at least one region signal relating transducers to be activated in the plurality of modes, and signals for setting an intensity control value; and a plurality of transducer drivers responsive to the output interface for producing, separately for each of the transducers, the power signal; the ROM having a set of instructions stored therein to be used by the microprocessor for implementing a master set of modes including a composite mode incorporating a plurality of other modes of the master set, and for interrogating the PROM; and the PROM having parameters stored therein for enabling a predetermined complement of the master modes, wherein the microprocessor generates the plurality of operating modes in response to the input elements, to the exclusion of all but the predetermined complement and, when the predetermined complement includes the composite mode, the microprocessor generates the composite mode in response to the input elements while skipping those portions of the composite mode that are not included in the predetermined complement of the master modes.
The PROM can be electrically programmable, the microprocessor controller being configured for programming the PROM with the parameters in response to external signals. Preferably the PROM is a serial EEPROM having two signal connections only with the microprocessor for effecting both the programming of the configuration data therein and reading the data therefrom. The microprocessor controller and the input elements can be located in a control module external of the pad, the transducer drivers being located within the pad, the control module having a plug connection for signaling the transducer drivers, the plug connection being configured for receiving the external signals when the plug connection is disconnected from the transducer drivers.
Preferably the massaging system further includes a shift register connected between the plug connection and the transducer drivers that is repetitively loaded by serial data transfers using not more than two serial output signals and a buffer strobe signal from the microprocessor through the plug connection for defining respective pulse width modulation duty cycles of the transducer drivers. The system can further include a timer for inhibiting outputs of the shift register when more than a predetermined interval passes between successive serial data transfers from the microprocessor to the shift register. The system can further include an audio input connection for receiving an audio signal, an envelope detector for repetitively signaling measured amplitudes of the audio signal to the microprocessor, the system selectively activating the transducers variably in response to the envelope detector, the envelope detector including an integrating analog to digital converter (ADC) having a comparator output to the microprocessor, the ADC being cycled by the not more than two serial output signals. The envelope detector can include a peak detector that is periodically reset by an output bit of the shift register.
The massaging system can further include a heater element in the pad, and a heater driver connected between the shift register and the heater element for selectively activating the heater element at low and high power levels in response to serial data transfers from the microprocessor. The heat control input can have off, low, and high states for selectively powering the heater at high power, low power, and no power, the microprocessor controller being operative for activating the heater driver to power the heater element at high power when the heat control input is high, at no power when the heat control input is off, and at low power when the heat control input is low, except that when the heat control input is changed from off to low, the microprocessor controller being operative for powering the heater at high power for a warm up interval of time prior to the low power, the warm up interval being dependent on a time interval of the off state of the control input.
In another aspect of the invention, the massaging system includes the pad, the plurality of transducers, a microprocessor controller having program and variable memory and an input and output interface; an array of input elements connected to the input interface for signaling the microprocessor in response to operator input, the signaling including an intensity control value and at least one region signal relating transducers to be activated; the plurality of transducer drivers; means for powering the microprocesso
Chau Taylor
Cutler Stanley
Gerth Gayle B.
Otis, Jr. Alton B.
DeMille Danton D.
Fulwider Patton Lee & Utecht LLP
InSeat Solutions LLC
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