Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Chair-type massage machine

Chair-type massage machine description/claims

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-187887, filed Jul. 19, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

The present invention relates to massage machines of the chair type having a backrest and a seat which can be reclined. More particularly, the invention relates to chair-type massage machines comprising a backrest and a seat which can be reclined by a single drive source while permitting the person to be treated to hold a relaxed posture.

Chair-type massage machines are known in which a backrest and a seat have massage means and can be reclined. For example, JP2003-289975A discloses such a massage machine comprising a reclining mechanism having independent drive sources provided for the respective backrest and seat so as to render each of the backrest and the seat reclinable independently of the other.

The provision of the independent drive sources for the respective backrest and seat makes the reclining mechanism large-sized and complex to consequently make the chair-type massage machine greater in size and complex in the mode of control.

Furthermore, the reclining mechanism comprising a plurality of drive sources encounters difficulty in positioning the backrest and the seat at a target angle in synchronism due, for example, to anomalies in the individual drive sources and variations in the load to be applied to the respective drive sources. The massage machine will then involve such an unnatural movement that one of the backrest and seat reaches the target angle with a delay after the other component has reached the target angle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a chair-type massage machine comprising a backrest and a seat which can be reclined by a single drive source while permitting the user to hold a relaxed posture.

To fulfill the foregoing object, the present invention provides a chair-type massage machine comprising a backrest for the back of the user to bear on, a seat for the user to sit in, and a reclining mechanism for pivotally moving the backrest and the seat.

The reclining mechanism comprises a single drive source, and the drive source is coupled to the backrest and the seat by a link assembly.

The link assembly is operable to pivotally move the backrest from a raised position to a reclined position via an intermediate position by operating the drive source, the seat being tiltable to raise a front end thereof when the backrest is pivotally moved from the raised position to the intermediate position, the seat being tiltable to lower the raised lower end thereof when the backrest is pivotally moved from the intermediate position to the reclined position.

By virtue of this construction, the backrest and the seat can be reclined while permitting the user to hold a relaxed posture.

The present invention also provides a chair-type massage machine comprising a backrest for the back of the user to bear on, a seat for the user to sit in, and a reclining mechanism for pivotally moving the backrest and the seat.

The reclining mechanism comprises a single drive source, the drive source being coupled to one of the backrest and the seat, the backrest or the seat having the drive source coupled thereto being pivotally movably supported.

The backrest is connected to the seat by a link assembly having a joint portion, which is movable along a guide rail.

The drive source is operable to move the joint portion of the link assembly along the guide rail, as coupled to the pivotal movement of the backrest or the seat, and to pivotally move the backrest from a raised position to a reclined position via an intermediate position, the guide rail having a curved guide face for tilting the seat to raise a front end thereof when the backrest is pivotally moved from the raised position to the intermediate position and for tilting the seat to lower the raised front end thereof when the backrest is pivotally moved from the intermediate position to the reclined position.

By virtue of this construction, the backrest and the seat can be reclined while permitting the user to hold a relaxed posture.

The present invention further provides a chair-type massage machine wherein a base is provided with a backrest for the back of the user to bear on, a seat for the user to sit in, and a reclining mechanism for pivotally moving the backrest and the seat.

The reclining mechanism comprises a single drive source, which is coupled to one of the backrest and the seat. The backrest or the seat having the drive source coupled thereto is pivotally movably supported.

A link is pivoted at one end thereof to the backrest or the seat having the drive source coupled thereto, the link having the other end pivoted to a cam member supported by the base, the cam member being provided at a portion thereof with a cam face in bearing contact with the backrest or the seat not coupled to the drive source,

The drive source is operable to cause the link to rotate the cam member and to pivotally move the backrest from a raised position to a reclined position via an intermediate position, the cam face being so shaped as to tilt the seat to raise a front end thereof when the backrest is pivotally moved from the raised position to the intermediate position and as to tilt the seat to lower the raised front end thereof when the backrest is pivotally moved from the intermediate position to the reclined position.

By virtue of this construction, the backrest and the seat can be reclined while permitting the user to hold a relaxed posture.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws