Patent Publication Number: US-6039705-A

Title: Structure of a pad type roller massager

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (a) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a roller massager, and more particularly to an improved structure of a pad type roller massager which may be mounted on a chair to provide different massaging effects. 
     (b) Description of the Prior Art 
     Conventional electric massagers utilize rolling pressure or vibration to stimulate or massage body muscles. As massaging is beneficial to health, massagers are very popular today. Most massagers are designed to massage the back of users, and the trend is to develop pad type massagers on which the user may lie down and chair type massagers (both generally known as pad type massagers). Such pad type massagers are used in combination with roller massaging devices that vibrate and travel along a linear direction during operation. The control of the direction of the massaging devices and the circuits poses a problem. 
     Conventional pad type massagers are not provided with stable support units so that, when they are made in the form of chairs, many complicated components have to be used and great care has to be exercised during assembly, which means high cost. Besides, the massager may loose its overall supporting force after prolonged use, so that the massager may collapse under the user&#39;s weight or malfunction or generate noise. 
     In addition, the action of rollers used in conventional massagers may be counteracted if the driving mechanism is not properly designed. Large noise or abnormal vibration will also result. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a pad type roller massager which is compact and simple in construction, and which is inexpensive to manufacture and assemble. According to this object, the present invention comprises a limiting frame body having a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section and securable to the backrest of a chair. The limiting frame body includes a driven gear and a transmission worm gear disposed at top and bottom sides thereof, both linked up by a chain. A section of the chain is disposed in a recess at an open front side of the limiting frame body with one section connected to a bottom side of the roller mounting seat so that the latter is brought to displace synchronously with the chain to provide a massaging effect. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a pad type roller massager which includes limiting bolts filled with elastic sleeves are fitted into both side walls fo the limiting frame body to be subjected to limitation of the vertical sliding displacement thereof, and a substantially T-shaped frame plate is pivotally connected to the top side of the roller mounting seat and has two movable rollers disposed on both ends of a horizontal portion thereof. The movable rollers may massage the user&#39;s body in contact therewith when the roller mounting seat displaces. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a pad type roller massager which utilizes a transmission worm gear at a bottom end of the massager and a chain to drive the rolling mounting seat to achieve enhanced ragging force so that the massager may bear a greater weight or withstand external forces during operation and the roller mounting seat may smoothly and will not deviate, thereby ensuring longer service life of the massager. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure of a pad type roller massager in which microswitches or proximity switches are provided on top and bottom sides of the roller mounting seat to cooperate with upper and lower limit positions so as to cause switching of voltages to thereby control change of direction of the chain and the roller mounting seat synchronously displacing therewith. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective assembled view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 1A is a transverse sectional view of the roller mounting seat of the present invention; 
     FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view of the roller mounting seat of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of the roller mounting seat of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3A is a schematic perspective assembled view of the roller mounting seat and proximity switches of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3B is a schematic perspective assembled view of the roller mounting seat and microswitches of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating installation of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4A is a schematic view illustrating operation of the proximity switches; 
     FIG. 4B is a schematic view illustrating operation of the microswitches; and 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating installation and operation of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 3A and 3B, the present invention essentially comprises a limiting frame body 2 and a roller mounting seat 6. 
     The limiting frame body 2 is an elongated high-strength plate having a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section and including two opposed limiting side walls 21 bending inwardly to define a longitudinal recess 2A therebetween. A driven gear 4 and a transmission gear 5 are linked up by a chain 3 and respectively disposed at top and bottom ends of the limiting frame body 2. A section of the chain 3 is hanging vertically within the recess 2A of the limiting frame body 2. The transmission gear 5 is provided with a co-axial driven gear 51 to be screwably connected to a worm gear 521 extended from a spindle of a drive motor 52 so that the motor 52 drives the driven gear 51 to thereby drive the chain 3 to cyclically move. 
     The roller mounting seat 6 includes a seat body fitted into the recess 2A of the limiting frame body 2 to a certain extent. Limiting bolts 61 fitted with elastic sleeves 62 are provided on both sides of the roller mounting seat 6 to extend into inner sides of the limiting side walls 21 at both sides of the recess 2A of the limiting frame body 2 to be subjected to limitation of the vertical sliding displacement thereof (see FIG. 1A as well). A transverse bolt 631 is utilized to pivotally lock the vertical portion of a substantially T-shaped frame plate 63 to a top side fo the roller mounting seat 6 such that the frame plate 63 may displace within a very small angle which is adjustable (see FIG. 1B). Both ends of the horizontal portion of the frame plate 63 have movable rollers 632 pivotally mounted thereon. The middle portion of the bottom side of the roller mounting seat 6 is positioned on a middle position of the chain 3 (as shown in FIG. 3). In this way, when the chain 3 is driven by the transmission gear 5, the roller mounting seat 6 will be brought to displace upwardly and downwardly therewith. The movable rollers 632 are configured to project to the front the press against or roll along the back of a user to achieve massaging effects. The elastic sleeves 62 are provided in the limiting frame body 2 to absorb the shock and maintain stability during displacement or movement of the roller mounting seat 6 and the movable rollers 632. The limiting frame body 2 can be secured by bolts or other means. It can be installed on a middle section of a backrest 71 of a chair 7, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The pad type roller massager fo the present invention may hence be adapted to form a massaging chair after the backrest 71 is provided with a jacket or covering 711. 
     Furthermore, a pair of proximity switches S1, S11 may be provided on both the top side and the bottom side of the roller mounting seat 6 to match the two-direction loop of the motor 52 so that, when the roller mounting seat 6 is brought to elevate to a top position or lower to a bottom position, the proximity switches S1, S11 will reach determined proximity positions and cause the switching of voltage in positive and negative directions. Therefore, the motor 5 can be controlled to change the direction of movement of the chain 3, hence the direction of movement of the roller mounting seat 6 (see FIGS. 3A, 4 and 4A). 
     Alternatively, a microswitch unit S2 may be disposed on both the top side and the bottom side of the roller mounting seat 6. When the roller mounting seat 6 is elevated to the top position or lower to the bottom position, the microswitch unit S2 will reach a determined actuating position (e.g. secured object S21) to cause the switching of positive and negative directions of voltages. In this manner, the direction of the movement of the chain 3 driven by the motor 52 may also be changed to cause the roller mounting seat 6 to displace in a reverse direction (see FIGS. 3B, 4 and 4B). 
     In addition, since the T-shaped frame plate 63 having rollers 632 is pivotally connected to the top side of the roller mounting seat 6 by a transverse bolt 631, it can be easily replaced by similar frame plates 63 equipped with other massaging elements to provide different massaging effects during displacement of the roller mounting seat 6. 
     Although the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it should be understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiment but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.