Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CUSHIONED MASSAGER
The invention relates to massagers, and more
particularly to massagers which may be applied to many
areas of the body, including the feet.
Vibrating pillows, hand held vibrators, or the like
may be applied directly to many parts of the body to
locally massage, relax and re-vitalize them. Generally,
these pillows and similar devices do not surround the body
parts, so that their effectiveness is somewhat limited.
Recently, foot massaging devices which use circulating
water have become popular, perhaps because the feet often
become sore and swollen. The water generally covers the
feet completely, which maximizes the effect of the massage
upon the eet. However, these circulating water devices
are generally too small to be used in connection with
other parts of the body, and usually they should set on
the floor. ~lso~ such circulating water devices may not
be transported easily, and they should not be use~ in
moving vehicles, oEfices, waiting rooms, or the like.
Thus, there is a need for massaging devices which surround
at least some parts of the body, such as the hands and
feet without the messiness of circulating water, and which
may be easily transported and used outside of the home.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide
new and improved massaging devices, especially for use on
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~ ~ the human body. Another object is to provide such
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01 massaging devices in a form suitable for use with most parts of
02 the body, and especially for surrounding parts of the body, such
03 as the hands or feet.
04 Still another ob~ect is to provide new and improved
05 massaging devices which surround certain parts of the body, such
06 as the hands or feet, but which do not use water and which may be
07 easily transported and used in moving vehicles, offices, waiting
08 rooms and the like.
09 In keeping with one aspect of the invention, a foot
massager inclu~es a cushion with a covering having one or two
11 pouches for receiving the hands or feet. The cushion preferably
12 includes a vibrating energizer, such as an electro-magnetic
13 motor, a rotary motor with offset weight, or the like which may
14 be poweL^ed by any suitable means, such as line voltage or an
auto or replaceable dry cell battery, for example. A heating
16 element or pad may also be placed in the cushion, if desired.
17 In general, the invention is an apparatus for massaging
18 various parts of a human body comprising a cushion, at least one
19 pouch secured to the cushion for receiving substantially an entire
hand or foot inserted therein, and apparatus in the cushion for
21 vibrating the cushion and therefor the pouch.
22 The above-mentioned and other features of this invention
23 and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent, and
24 the inventon itself will be best understood by reference to the
following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in
26 conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
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Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cushioned
massager, in use;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same cushioned
massager, not in usel with the power cord stored in a
pouch and the cover partially broken away to show heating
pad;
Fig. 3 is a perspective, partially broken away,
showing a vibratory unit for incorporation in the
inventive cushion; and
Fig. 4 is a plan view showing a magnetic solenoid type
of motor which is used in the unit of Fig. 3.
A massager 12 (Fig. 1) includes a cushion 14 with two
pouches 16 thereon. The massager 12 may be pressed
against most parts of the body to relax muscles and
relieve pain. Also, the feet or hands may be put in the
pouches 16, if desired, so that the massaging effect of
the device will substantially surround the entire feet or
hands. The cushion 14 may be made of any soft, pliable
and resilient core material, such as nylon, and includes a
top 18, a bottom 20 and four sidewalls 22. A vibrating,
preferably electro-magnetic solenoid motor, and any
suitable cushion stuffing material are inside of the
cushion 14. Also, a suitable heating unit 23 such as a
heating pad, or the like may be placed inside the cushion
14, near the top 18, if desired. A zipper 24 may be used
to remove and clean or replace the cushion cover and to
gain access to the internal components of the device.
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Two pouches 26 are here shown as foot sized covers 26
are provided on top 18 of the cushion 14. The pouches or
covers ~6 are secured to top 18 by sewing them to the
cushion cover, or in other any suitable means.
Preferably, the pouches extend outwardly to side edges 28,
30 and 32, and a center seam 34 is stitched top 18 to form
the separate pouches 16. The pouches 16 may be sized to
accept the hands or the feet (or either) of the user.
A cord 36 provides power for the electric motor and
heating pad, if used. The cord extends into the cushion
14 and may be stored in one of the pouches 16, when not in
use. The end of the cord includes a suitable plug, as for
making connection with a 60-c~cle 110 volt outlet, or a
cigar lighter socket on an automobile. Replaceable dry
cell batteries may also be built into the cushion itself.
'rhe pre~erred vihrator motor unit 48 is seen in Figs.
3 and 4. Two plates S0, 52, which may be metal, are held
in a spaced parallel relationship ~y any suitable number
of posts, bolts, or the like 54. These two plates 50, 52
are approximately the size of the cushion with due
allowance for padding. The entire unit 48 may fit rather
snugly into a cavity in a preformed foam rubber or similar
cushion material.
Centrally located on one of the plates 50 is a
generally upstanding flange 56 which may be an L-shaped
bracket 58 (Fig. 4) having one flange secured to the
plate. Mounted on the upstanding flange 56 is a
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horizontally oriented U-shaped metal spring 58, with one
leg 59 of the "U" secured to the 1ange 56 by spot
welding, bolts or rivets 60.- Also, mounted on the bracket
56, and next to leg 59, is a laminate 62 forming a core
for the solenoid.
The core 62 has two outwardly projecting arms 64, 66,
separated by a flat section which is secured against
spring member 59. A spool of wire 68 slips over one of
the upstanding arms 66 of core 62. Wires 36 connect this
spool of wire 68 to a power service via a rectifier 67 and
an orf/on switch 70 (Figs. 1, 2). When the circuit,
including the spool of wire 68, is energized, a magnetic
field is created in the laminated core and in the ~ shaped
spring 58 with an air gap 72 between the spring 58 and the
core leg 66.
The preferred energizing current, derived via
rectifier 67;~ is the half waves of one polarity which are
formed by rectifying 60-cycle commercial house current.
Thus, the air gap is closed each time that a rectified
hal wave cycle appears and opened each time that the half
wave cycle disappears. As a result, there is a vibration
which is translated through upstanding flange 56 and the
spaced parallel plates 50, 52 to the feet or other body
part within the pouches 16, 16.
While the dimensions of the device are not critical,
they should be large enough to accommodate most hands and
feet, yet small enough to he easily transported. In a
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unit actually made, the cushion measured approximately
eleven inches on each side. The center seam 34 was
approximately in the middle of the top 18, and the
individual pouches 16, 16 were about eight inches long.
The many advantages of this massaging device are
self-apparentO The device may be used when in contact
with virtually any part of the body, and may encompass and
cover some entire parts of the body, such as the hands or
feet, for example. The device may be easily transported,
and used in any convenient location. of course, there
will be other advantages apparent to those skilled in the
art.
While the principles of the invention have been
described above in connection with specific apparatus and
applications, it is to be understood that this description
is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on
the scope of the invention. Therefore, the appended
claims should be construed to cover all equivalent
structures which fall within the true scope and spirit of
the invention.
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