Patent Publication Number: US-8112825-B2

Title: Seat with massage function

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) from Patent Application No. 200810066459.6 filed in The People&#39;s Republic of China on Apr. 7, 2008. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to massage seats, and in particular to toilet seats with a massage function. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Massaging toilet seats have been known for many years. This idea has been to help the user to relax when sitting on the toilet seat by having a device which causes the entire seat to vibrate or move rapidly from side to side. While this has been found to be relaxing for some users, the massage mechanism requires a large vibrator to move the entire seat. Also, it has been found that smaller, direct vibrations can have a more beneficial massage or stimulating effect, especially when the vibrations are applied in certain discrete locations such as acupuncture or acupressure locations. To be able to combine this discrete stimulation in a toilet seat gives added advantages. In the modern society trend of pursuing efficiency, people are very busy and do not have enough spare time to use single function massage devices merely for pleasure. 
     As such, it is desirable to provide novelty daily necessities, such as a toilet seat, with a massage function which allow people to be massaged when using these necessaries, or which at least provide the general public with a useful choice. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a toilet seat, comprising a body adapted to support users thereon, a plurality of massage mechanisms installed in the body, and means for sealing the massage mechanisms, wherein the massage mechanism comprises a housing, a motor held in the housing, an eccentric weight fixed to the output shaft of the motor, and a suspension device configured to suspend the combined motor, eccentric weight and housing inside the body and to resiliently urge the housing into contact with the sealing means, the suspension device comprising a housing fixing end fixed to the housing, a body fixing end fixed to the body, and a connecting part connected between the fixing ends, whereby when the motor is turned on, the motor rotates the eccentric weight thereby producing vibrations which are transmitted to the user sitting on the seat via the housing and sealing means. 
     Preferably, the housing comprises an upper part and a lower part, and the motor is sandwiched between the upper part and the lower part. 
     Preferably, the housing fixing end of the suspension device is provided with through holes, one of the upper part and the lower part is provided with through holes, and the other of the upper part and the lower part is provided with screw holes, screws pass though the respective through holes and engage the screw holes, so as to fix the housing fixing end of the suspension device between the upper part and the lower part. 
     Preferably, the body has a through hole corresponding to each massage mechanism, and the sealing means comprises a plurality of waterproof covers fixed to the through holes of the body for sealing the through holes, the waterproof covers contacting with the housings of the massage mechanisms for transmitting vibrations from the housings to the user. 
     Preferably, the body has an annular groove round each through hole, the waterproof covers are made of an elastomeric material, the periphery of each waterproof cover forms a flange and the flanges are sealingly engaged in the corresponding annular grooves of the body. 
     Preferably, the waterproof cover has a plurality of hooks adjacent to the flange, arranged to catch the periphery of the corresponding through hole of the body, so as to prevent the flange of the waterproof cover from escaping from the annular groove of the body. 
     Alternatively, the body has a part with a reduced thickness corresponding to each massage mechanism, and the parts acting as the sealing means and contact with the housings of the massage mechanisms for transmitting vibrations from the housings to the user. 
     Alternatively, the body corresponding to each massage mechanism is provided with a through hole, and a thin waterproof layer is secured to the outer surface of the body to seal the through hole, the waterproof thin layer acting as the sealing means and contacts with the housings of the massage mechanisms for transmitting vibrations from the housings to the user. 
     Preferably, the suspension device is an elastic strip, and the connecting part of the elastic strip comprises a plurality of bending structures. 
     Preferably, the inner surface of the body is provided with a plurality of fixing parts, each of the fixing parts having a screw hole, the body fixing end of each elastic strip has at least one through hole, and screws pass through the respective through holes of the elastic strips to be locked in the screw holes of the body, thereby fixing the housing to the body. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to figures of the accompanying drawings. In the figures, identical structures, elements or parts that appear in more than one figure are generally labeled with a same reference numeral in all the figures in which they appear. Dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are generally chosen for convenience and clarity of presentation and are not necessarily shown to scale. The figures are listed below. 
         FIG. 1A  is an isometric view of a toilet seat in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1B  is a cross sectional view of a part of the seat of  FIG. 1A , showing a massage mechanism installed in a body of the seat; 
         FIG. 1C  is an isometric view of a suspension device for the massage mechanism of  FIG. 1B ; 
         FIG. 1D  is an isometric view of a waterproof cover, being a part of the seat of  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of a massage mechanism installed in the body of the seat in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of a massage mechanism installed in the body of the seat in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The technical problem to be solved, the technical solution and the beneficial effects of the present invention are best understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, with reference to the accompanying figures. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described here are merely examples to explain the invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. 
       FIGS. 1A to 1D  show a toilet seat  10  in accordance with a preferred first embodiment of the present invention. The seat  10  comprises a body  20  which is provided with a plurality of through holes  22 . A massage mechanism  30  is fixed in each of the through holes  22 . 
     The massage mechanism  30  comprises: a housing which has an upper part  32   a  and a lower part  32   b , a motor  34  sandwiched between the upper part  32   a  and the lower part  32   b , an eccentric weight  36  fixed to the output shaft of the motor  34 , a resilient suspension device  38 , and a cover  40 , preferably waterproof, fixed to the periphery of the corresponding through hole  22  to seal the through hole  22 . The cover  40  is supported by or otherwise in contact with the upper part  32   a  of the housing. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1B and 1C , the suspension device  38  has a housing fixing end  38   a  attached to the housing, a body fixing end  38   b  attached to the body  20 , a connecting part  38   c  connecting together the two fixing ends  38   a ,  38   b . The housing fixing end  38   a  has several through holes; one of the upper part  32   a  and the lower part  38   b  is also provided with through holes, and the other is provided with screw holes. Screws (not shown) pass though the respective through holes to be screwed into the screw holes, so as to fix the housing fixing end  38   a  of the suspension device  38  between the upper part  32   a  and lower part  32   b  of the housing. The bottom surface of the body  20  is provided with several fixing parts  24  and each fixing part  24  has a screw hole. The body fixing end  38   b  of the suspension device  38  is provided with through holes, and screws (not shown) pass through the respective through holes of the body fixing end  38   b  to be fastened into the screw holes of fixing parts  24  of the body  20 . Thus, the combined motor  34 , eccentric weight  36  and housing are suspended inside the body  20  via the suspension device  38 . In the embodiment of the present embodiment, the suspension device  38  comprises two elastic strips, and the connecting part  38   c  of each elastic strips is provided with a plurality of bending structures. Alternatively, the suspension device  38  may be in other forms, such as leaf springs. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 1D , an annular groove  26  is formed in the upper surface of the body  20  adjacent to the periphery of the through hole  22 . The periphery of the cover  40  is provided with a flange  42 . The flange  42  is sealingly engaged in the groove  26  of the body  20 . A plurality of hooks  44  are formed on the cover  40  adjacent to the flange  42 . The hooks  42  are configured to catch the periphery of the through holes  22  of the body  20 , so as to prevent the flange  42  escaping from the groove  26  of the body  20 . In the embodiment of the present invention, the cover  40  is made of elastomeric material such as rubber, and the flange  42  is sealingly contained in the groove  26  of the body  20 , so as to prevent liquids such as water from entering inside of the body  20 . 
     In use, when the motor  34  is turned on, the motor  34  rotates the eccentric weight  36  thereby causing the housing to vibrate. Since the upper part  32   a  of the housing is held in contact with the cover  40 , the vibrations are transmitted to the cover  40  which in turn will stimulate a user sitting on the seat  10  in contact with the cover  40 . The locations of the massage mechanisms can be chosen to correspond to specific locations of a typical user, such as acupressure points, to provide direct stimulation to these areas. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a seat according to a second embodiment of the present invention, which is similar to the seat of the first embodiment. The difference is that the body  20  integrally forms a part  22 ′ having a reduced thickness corresponding to each massage mechanism  30 . Part  22 ′ abuts against the upper part  32   a  of the massage mechanism  30  such that part  22 ′ is capable of transmitting vibrations generated by the motor  34  and the eccentric weight  36  of the massage mechanism  30  to a user sitting on the seat  10 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a seat according to another alternative embodiment of the present invention, which is similar to the seat of the first embodiment. The difference is that a thin waterproof layer  40 ′ is provided on the outer surface of the body  20  to seal the through holes  22  of the body  20 . The thin waterproof layer contacts with the upper part  32   a  of the massage mechanism  30  for transmitting vibrations from motor  34  to a user sitting on the seat  10 . The thin waterproof layer may be a thin plastic or rubber layer. 
     In the above mentioned embodiments of the present invention, when the users are using the seat, the massage mechanisms of the seat can massage at particular sites or specific acupuncture points of a user&#39;s body. Thus, the users can have a massage when using necessaries of life. 
     In the description and claims of the present application, each of the verbs “comprise”, “include”, “contain” and “have”, and variations thereof, are used in an inclusive sense, to specify the presence of the stated item but not to exclude the presence of additional items. 
     Although the invention is described with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be determined by reference to the claims that follow.