Patent Description:
Massage is one kind of physiotherapy provided to apply physical stimulation to skin or a part of a body to treat diseases by revitalizing soft tissue of the body part or improve health. Particularly, massage of an abdomen of the body helps greatly to activate bowel functions.

In the case of the abdomen massage, since a massage function for relaxing muscles alone is not effective for activating bowel functions, a thermal function for applying heat is additionally required.

However, when the thermal function is applied to ceramics, since manufacturing processes such as coupling of the ceramics and the like are complicated, a great deal of time and expense are required. Particularly, when vibration is added for massage, since ceramics may be separated apart from a main body or noises may occur due to the vibration, a user may feel inconvenienced. <CIT> discloses a massage belt. <CIT> discloses a thermotherapy device.

The present disclosure is directed to a thermotherapy device configured to prevent separation of ceramics in use and reduce noises generated by vibration while also improving manufacturing efficiency due to an insertion structure.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a thermotherapy device according to claim <NUM>.

In a thermotherapy device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, since skin foam is used to insertion-fix ceramics, time and costs for manufacturing can be reduced by simplifying a coupling structure, and manufacturing efficiency can be improved by simplifying a manufacturing process.

Further, in the present disclosure, by disposing the ceramics to directly be in contact with the heater, heat can be efficiently transferred from the heater to the ceramics, and thus thermal efficiency of the ceramics for a thermal function can be improved.

In addition, in the present disclosure, since the ceramics are disposed on an acupuncture point of an abdomen and formed to a predetermined height, a massage effect can be improved by efficiently applying acupressure and heat to the acupuncture point, and thus activation of intestinal movement can be improved.

In addition, in the present disclosure, since the ceramics are insertion-fixed to skin foam, noises between the ceramics and skin foam due to driving of a motor include a groove portion provided so that the protruding portion is inserted into the through hole, and the ceramics may be insertion-fixed to the through hole through a forcible insertion method.

The through hole may be disposed at a location corresponding to an acupuncture point of an abdomen.

Each of the front cover and the rear cover may include holes in both sides thereof to be held by a user.

The thermotherapy device may further include a wearing belt to be worn on a waist of the user, wherein the front cover and the rear cover may include fixing grooves so that the wearing belt may be detachably inserted into both sides thereof.

In addition, in the present disclosure, since the ceramics are insertion-fixed to skin foam, noises between the ceramics and skin foam due to driving of a motor for massage can be prevented, and skin foam can absorb vibration to reduce overall noises from a massage apparatus.

In addition, in the present disclosure, since a part configured to come into contact with the abdomen of a human body is manufactured of skin foam, a user can feel softness at an area which comes into contact with the part manufactured of skin foam, and since the high quality appearance which looks like leather is provided, satisfaction of the user can be improved.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which allows one of ordinary skill in the art to easily perform the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and is not limited to the below-described embodiments. Components not related to the description are omitted in the drawings to clearly describe the present disclosure, and the same reference symbols are used for the same or similar components in the description.

Hereinafter, a thermotherapy device <NUM> according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to <FIG>, the thermotherapy device <NUM> according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a front cover <NUM>, a first supporting plate <NUM>, ceramics <NUM>, a heater142, a second supporting plate <NUM>, and a rear cover <NUM>.

The front cover <NUM> may include an exposed part <NUM> disposed at a center thereof so that the first supporting plate <NUM> is outwardly exposed. Here, the front cover <NUM> may be disposed at one side of the first supporting plate <NUM>. As an example, with respect to <FIG>, the front cover <NUM> may be disposed on the first supporting plate <NUM>.

Further, as shown in <FIG>, the front cover <NUM> may include hook protrusions <NUM> in a plurality of locations along an outer circumferential side of a rear surface. Accordingly, the front cover <NUM> may be insertion-coupled to the first supporting plate <NUM>.

However, a coupling structure between the front cover <NUM> and the first supporting plate <NUM> is not limited thereto and may have various types. As an example, the front cover <NUM> and the first supporting plate <NUM> may be coupled by bolt coupling, fusion, bonding, or press.

The first supporting plate <NUM> may be formed of skin foam. Here, skin foam may have elasticity. Accordingly, the first supporting plate <NUM> may be formed of a material having elasticity not limited to skin foam.

Accordingly, the thermotherapy device <NUM> may reduce noises caused by friction between the front cover <NUM>, the ceramics <NUM>, and the second supporting plate <NUM> even when vibration is generated by a vibrator <NUM> which will be described below.

Further, since the first supporting plate <NUM> is a part configured to directly come into contact with an abdomen of a user, the first supporting plate <NUM> feels soft because it is made of skin foam. In addition, since the outwardly exposed first supporting plate <NUM> is formed of skin foam, the first supporting plate <NUM> has a high quality appearance which looks like leather, and thus satisfaction of the user may be improved.

In addition, a plurality of through holes <NUM> may be formed in the first supporting plate <NUM>. Here, the plurality of through holes <NUM> may be disposed at locations corresponding to an acupuncture point of an abdomen. In this case, the through holes <NUM> may be uniformly or nonuniformly disposed to be distributed throughout the entire first supporting plate <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, each of the through holes <NUM> may include a groove portion <NUM> therein into which a protruding portion <NUM> of each of the ceramics <NUM> is inserted. Each of the through holes <NUM> may be provided to have a diameter the same as that of a lower end portion of each of the ceramics <NUM>. Accordingly, the ceramics <NUM> are coupled to the through holes <NUM> through a forcible insertion method.

Further, the first supporting plate <NUM> may include a step portion <NUM> along an outer circumferential side thereof. A part of the front cover <NUM> on which the hook protrusions <NUM> are provided may be seated into the step portion <NUM>. Here, the step portion <NUM> may be provided to have a smaller thickness than that of a center of the first supporting plate <NUM>.

In addition, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the first supporting plate <NUM> may include hook grooves <NUM>, which correspond to the hook protrusions <NUM> of the front cover <NUM>, along the outer circumferential side of the first supporting plate <NUM>. The step portion <NUM> may include the hook grooves <NUM>.

The ceramics <NUM> may be formed of a material capable of providing various functions such as far infrared radiation, immunity improvement, electromagnetic wave block, and the like. Further, the ceramics <NUM> may be formed of a material having high conductivity to efficiently transfer heat of the heater <NUM> to the human body.

Here, each of the ceramics <NUM> has no particular limitation in shape, but the end portion may form a globular shape so that the ceramics <NUM> which come into contact with the human body may uniformly apply vibration to the human body when the vibration generated by the vibrator <NUM> is applied.

In this case, each of the ceramics <NUM> may be formed at a predetermined height to protrude to the outside of the first supporting plate <NUM>. Here, the predetermined height may be a height suitable to apply acupressure to the abdomen of the user. That is, each of the ceramics <NUM> may have a cylindrical shape having the predetermined height and an upper end portion which may be convexly formed.

Accordingly, when ceramics <NUM> come into contact with the human body, the vibration generated by the vibrator <NUM> may be more efficiently transferred to the human body.

Further, the plurality of ceramics <NUM> may each be insertion-fixed to the plurality of through holes <NUM> of the first supporting plate <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, each of the ceramics <NUM> may include the protruding portion <NUM> formed to laterally extend along an outer circumferential side of each of the ceramics <NUM>. The protruding portion <NUM> may be seated into the groove portion <NUM> of the first supporting plate <NUM>. Here, a part above the protruding portion <NUM> of each of the ceramics <NUM> may have a diameter substantially the same as that of each of the through holes <NUM>. Accordingly, the ceramics <NUM> may each be insertion-fixed into the through holes <NUM> through a forcible insertion method.

Further, since the protruding portion <NUM> of each of the ceramics <NUM> is fixed by the groove portion <NUM> of the first supporting plate <NUM>, the ceramics <NUM> may not be separated out of the first supporting plate <NUM> even when the thermotherapy device <NUM> is vibrated.

In this case, as shown in <FIG>, a lower surface of each of the ceramics <NUM> may include a downwardly open hollow <NUM>. That is, each of the ceramics <NUM> may be formed in a dome shape having a predetermined thickness and a hollow center.

Accordingly, when heat is transferred from a heater, since each of the ceramics <NUM> transfers the heat along a surface thereof more quickly than a ceramic in which a hollow is filled, thermal efficiency of the ceramics <NUM> may be improved. Further, since the ceramics <NUM> may prevent a loss of a material corresponding to the hollow, manufacturing costs may be reduced.

As described above, since the front cover <NUM>, the first supporting plate <NUM>, and the ceramics <NUM> are each coupled through an insertion method, a manufacturing process is simplified and time for curing an adhesive is not necessary unlike a conventional thermotherapy device, and thus manufacturing time may be reduced. Accordingly, manufacturing efficiency of the thermotherapy device <NUM> according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may be improved.

With respect to <FIG>, the heater <NUM> may be disposed under the plurality of ceramics <NUM>. The heater <NUM> is configured to heat the plurality of ceramics <NUM>. Here, the heater <NUM> is disposed on a heater supporting member <NUM> or on the second supporting plate <NUM>. The heater supporting member <NUM> is configured to support the heater <NUM>, and is not particularly limited to a material thereof.

As described in <FIG> and <FIG>, the heater <NUM> is disposed to be in contact with a lower surface of each of the plurality of ceramics <NUM>. That is, the heater <NUM> is disposed to be in direct contact with a lower surface of the protruding portion <NUM> of each of the ceramics <NUM>.

Here, the heater <NUM> may be formed in an integrally formed linear shape. As an example, the heater <NUM> may be disposed in a zigzag shape to pass under the lower surface of each of the ceramics <NUM> as a hot wire. That is, as shown in <FIG>, the heater <NUM> may be disposed in a zigzag shape following along a side surface of the heater supporting member <NUM> while moving from one side of the heater supporting member <NUM> to another side of the heater supporting member <NUM>.

However, the heater <NUM> is not limited to the linear shape and may be formed in a plate shape. In this case, the heater <NUM> may include an aluminum heater, a non-woven carbon fabric, a cotton mesh heater, and a carbon fiber heater.

Accordingly, the heat generated from the heater <NUM> may be efficiently transferred to the ceramics <NUM>. Accordingly, the thermal efficiency of the ceramics for a thermal function in the thermotherapy device <NUM> may be improved.

Further, by providing both acupressure due to vibration of the ceramics <NUM> and heat generated by the heat of the heater <NUM>, the thermotherapy device <NUM> may efficiently improve activation of intestinal movement.

With respect to <FIG>, the second supporting plate <NUM> is disposed under the heater supporting member <NUM>. Here, the heater supporting member <NUM> is disposed on an upper surface of the second supporting plate <NUM>, and the vibrator <NUM> and a circuit <NUM> may be provided on a lower surface of the second supporting plate <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the vibrator <NUM> is disposed on a lower surface of the second supporting plate <NUM>. That is, the vibrator <NUM> may be disposed between the second supporting plate <NUM> and the rear cover <NUM>.

The vibrator <NUM> includes a motor <NUM> and a vibration part <NUM>. Here, the motor <NUM> and the vibration part <NUM> may be connected by a pulley <NUM> and a belt <NUM>. Accordingly, since the vibration part <NUM> is eccentrically rotated by rotation of the motor <NUM>, the thermotherapy device <NUM> may generate vibration.

The vibration part <NUM> may be an eccentric vibration part in a semicylindric shape having an eccentric rotary shaft. Here, the rotary shaft of the vibration part <NUM> may be supported by supports <NUM> provided at both sides of the vibration part <NUM>.

Further, two vibrators <NUM> may be disposed to be operated perpendicularly to each other. As an example, in <FIG>, the vibrator <NUM> disposed at a left side may be disposed to vibrate in a longitudinal direction of the second supporting plate <NUM>, and the vibrator <NUM> disposed at a right side may be disposed to vibrate in a width direction of the second supporting plate <NUM>.

In this case, by controlling an order of the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the second supporting plate <NUM>, various directions of vibration motion may be implemented.

The circuit <NUM> may include a power supply configured to supply power to the motor <NUM>, and a controller configured to control an operation of the thermotherapy device <NUM>. Although not shown in the drawings, an operation part which may be operated by the user to operate the thermotherapy device <NUM> may be provided in the circuit <NUM> or provided in the rear cover to be connected to the circuit <NUM>. Here, the operation part may include a selection part for power on or off, temperature setting, mode setting, and intensity setting.

Further, the circuit <NUM> may include a communication part configured to communicate with an external appliance such as a remote controller. In this case, the external appliance may include a selection function of the operation part.

With respect to <FIG>, the rear cover <NUM> may be disposed under the second supporting plate <NUM>. The rear cover <NUM> may have a shape in which a space, in which the vibrator <NUM> is provided, is formed between the second supporting plate <NUM> and the rear cover <NUM>. Here, the rear cover <NUM> may be coupled to the front cover <NUM> by an insertion method.

Meanwhile, since the thermotherapy device <NUM> is operated in a state of being disposed on the abdomen of the user for a certain time, the thermotherapy device <NUM> may be provided to be holdable by the user.

As shown in <FIG>, in a thermotherapy device <NUM>, both sides of each of a front cover <NUM> and a rear cover <NUM> may include holes <NUM> to be held by the user.

Accordingly, massage may be performed in a state in which the thermotherapy device <NUM> is held by both hands of the user through the holes <NUM> and then disposed on a desired portion of the abdomen. Accordingly, the user may easily hold the thermotherapy device <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, a thermotherapy device <NUM> may further include a wearing belt <NUM> to be worn on a waist of the user. Here, the wearing belt <NUM> may include an adjusting part <NUM> configured to adjust a length of a belt, and an insertion part <NUM> inserted into and fixed to the fixing groove <NUM>.

To this end, the thermotherapy device <NUM> may include fixing grooves <NUM>, into which the wearing belt <NUM> is detachably inserted, in both sides of each of a front cover <NUM> and a rear cover <NUM>.

Meanwhile, to further improve user convenience, the holes <NUM> for holding as shown in <FIG>, and the wearing belt <NUM> as shown in <FIG> may be provided together.

As described above, each of the thermotherapy devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can reduce time and costs for manufacturing by simplifying a coupling structure, and improve manufacturing efficiency by simplifying a manufacturing process.

Further, since the thermotherapy devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can efficiently transfer heat from a heater to ceramics, thermal efficiency of the ceramics for a thermal function can be improved.

In addition, since the thermotherapy devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can improve a massage effect by efficiently applying acupressure and heat to an acupuncture point, thus the activation of the intestinal movement can be improved.

In addition, in the thermotherapy devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, noises between the ceramics and skin foam due to driving of a motor for massage can be prevented, and skin foam can absorb vibration to reduce overall noises from a massage apparatus.

In addition, a user can feel softness at an area which comes into contact with the thermotherapy devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the thermotherapy devices <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> can improve satisfaction of the user by providing a high quality appearance which looks like leather.

Claim 1:
A thermotherapy device (<NUM>) comprising:
a first supporting plate (<NUM>) having a plurality of through holes (<NUM>) formed therein and formed of skin foam;
a front cover (<NUM>) coupled to the first supporting plate (<NUM>) with one side of the first supporting plate exposed;
a plurality of ceramics (<NUM>) each insertion-fixed to the plurality of through holes (<NUM>), and each configured to protrude to the outside of the first supporting plate to a predetermined height;
a heater (<NUM>) disposed on one sides of the plurality of ceramics (<NUM>) and configured to heat the plurality of ceramics (<NUM>);
a heater supporting member (<NUM>) configured to support the heater;
a second supporting plate (<NUM>) disposed on one side of the heater and including a vibrator (<NUM>); and
a rear cover (<NUM>) disposed on one side of the second supporting plate (<NUM>) and coupled to the front cover (<NUM>),
characterized in that the plurality of ceramics are press fit to the plurality of through holes;
wherein the heater is arranged to simultaneously support a lower surface of the ceramics and a lower surface of the first supporting plate,
wherein an upper surface of the second supporting plate is arranged to support a lower surface of the heater supporting member,
wherein the vibrator is provided on a lower surface of the second supporting plate.