Patent Description:
Further, the present invention relates to an auricular acupuncture patch having an energy and blood stimulating part attached thereto that enables the replacement of a decorative part so as to provide various aesthetic effectiveness and conveniences in replacement.

Auricular acupuncture is used to find a specific point of the ear corresponding to a region of a body where a disease occurs and to then insert a needle into the specific point, thereby treating the disease. The auricular acupuncture is in line with the basic principle of oriental medicine through which good balance for the body is provided, but a method for performing the auricular acupuncture is easier than that in the oriental medicine.

Auricular acupuncture points are the acupuncture points of the ear corresponding to body regions where diseases occur, into which acupuncture is performed to heal the diseases. The auricular acupuncture points are called reflex points or healing points.

Up to now, <NUM> auricular acupuncture points have been known, and the number of auricular acupuncture points may increase according to studies in the future.

Generally, earrings are worn with magical meaning in ancient age, and they are worn with the meaning of jewel or shape thereof in present age. Otherwise, unique or functional earrings are selected to pursue both of uniqueness and beauty of a wearer.

In addition to the uniqueness and beauty, however, modern people also want to pursue their health, and accordingly, there is a need for development of a device having multiple functions capable of achieving all of them.

One of conventional technologies related to such a device is disclosed in <CIT>. According to the conventional technology, an earring having medical wet strontium magnets built therein is worn according to the acupuncture points of the ear, thereby treating bad blood flow, muscle pain, obesity, headaches, shoulder pain, and so on. Further from <CIT> a kit for providing magnetic therapy and acupressure is known comprising a decorative part, an energy and blood stimulating part, an attaching part and a stimulating part.

<FIG> shows the conventional technology as mentioned above.

As shown in <FIG>, an earring includes magnets <NUM> and <NUM> built in collets thereof in such a manner as to firmly engage with each other like teeth and to be thus seated onto the acupuncture points of the ear, and further, the front and back magnets <NUM> and <NUM> of the earring are different in size and are formed concavely <NUM>' and convexly <NUM>', so that they are inserted into the collets and come into close contact with the worn points (acupuncture points). Also, one (inner and back) collect is smaller than the other collect, which is because the skin surface of the ear is formed of a curve and a cartilage bone, unlike general skin surface, so that the earring looks more sophisticated and has enhanced contact force.

However, the conventional technology only provides indirect stimulation to the acupuncture points of the ear through the magnets, thereby making it difficult to expect a perfect treatment.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the related art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an auricular acupuncture patch that is provided with a stimulating part for applying direct stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an auricular acupuncture patch that is configured to have an energy and blood stimulating part cooperatively operating with a stimulating part to provide ear reflex reaction to the reflex point of the ear.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an auricular acupuncture patch that is capable of being detachably attached to the reflex point of the ear, with ease.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an auricular acupuncture patch that is provided with a decorative part for uniqueness and beauty of women in such a manner as to be replaced easily with another decorative part with a desired design.

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, the present invention is defined by the features of claim <NUM>.

An auricular acupuncture patch, not claimed in the claims, may include: a decorative part exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; a replaceable adhesive part whose one surface is attached to the decorative part and other surface is attached to an attaching part; the attaching part attached to the replaceable adhesive part in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part coupled to the attaching part to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

In this case, the auricular acupuncture patch further includes an energy and blood stimulating part located at a position where the decorative part is removed in such a manner as to be attached to top of the replaceable adhesive part to apply stimulation to the reflex point of the ear by means of a magnetic force generated therefrom.

According to the present invention, the auricular acupuncture patch can directly apply physical stimulation to the ear and simultaneously apply magnetic flux line stimulation to the interior of the ear, thereby doubling the physical stimulation effectiveness.

In addition, the auricular acupuncture patch according to the present invention can easily replace the decorative part with another decorative part having a desired design, thereby providing various aesthetic effects.

An auricular acupuncture patch includes: a decorative part <NUM> exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; an energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the decorative part <NUM> to apply energy stimulation to the reflex point of the ear by means of energy generated therefrom; an attaching part <NUM> coupled to the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM> to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

Hereinafter, an explanation of the auricular acupuncture patch having the energy and blood stimulating part attached thereto according to the present invention will be given in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

<FIG> is a diagram showing <NUM> systems on the reflex points of the ear.

A plurality of reflex zones appearing on the ear of the human body are sortedly applied to the <NUM> systems as shown in <FIG> which are mentioned in human anatomy.

Systems defined generally in human anatomy indicate organs which cooperatively operate with one another to totally stabilize the human body and to achieve their common objects.

The <NUM> systems can be classified, based on anatomical names of the ear, into a face system, a hormone system, a total body control system, a nervous system, a respiratory system, a circulatory system, a digestive system, a urinary system, a reproductive system, and a musculoskeletal system.

The <NUM> systems are used to identify the reflex zones according to symptoms so that appropriate stimulation is applied to the identified reflex zones.

<FIG> is a diagram showing <NUM> reflex zones of the ear.

As shown in <FIG>, the reflex zones (points), which indicate the same functions as one another or similar effectiveness to one another, are distributed on the ear, while forming given areas on the ear, and accordingly, they are sorted again according to their function.

The reflex zones (points) are specific areas (zones and points) in given rules on the surface of the ear, which correspond to the respective organs and tissues of the human body so as to reflect the physiology of the human body.

A method for selecting the reflex point or zone with respect to a given disease is divided into basic reflex zones, corresponding reflex zones, and reflex points.

If a given region of a body becomes abnormal, acupuncture points on the ear may be varied.

If the liver is not good, for example, a protrusion is formed from the region corresponding to the liver of the ear.

If the joint pain in knees is caused, further, a red blood vessel moves on the corresponding acupuncture point of the ear. Like this, if some changes (hyperemia, earwax, furuncle, color variation, protrusion, blood vessel, etc.) on the ear occur, they mean the body regions corresponding to the corresponding acupuncture points of the ear are not good.

The basic reflex zones are the reflex zones that correspond to the entire body to facilitate the metabolism of the body or the discharge of waste from the body and to keep the body healthy through an improvement in the circulation of blood and lymph.

Further, the basic reflex zones include the reflex zones commonly applied to sort diseases.

For example, in the case of a respiratory disease, the lung reflex zone, the trachea reflex zone, and the bronchia reflex zone are included in the basic reflex zones.

Accordingly, the basic reflex zones include a renal hilus reflex zone, a sympathetic reflex zone, an endocrine reflex zone, a subcortical reflex zone, and reflex zones commonly applied to respective diseases.

The corresponding reflex zones and the reflex points serve to reinforce the functions of the basic reflex zones, and most of them are connected to the organs with diseases.

If disease occurs on the body, variations may be formed on the reflex zone or reflex point of the ear corresponding to the region of the body where the disease occurs, and in specific, a change in color, a change in shape, a papule, a change in blood vessel, dead skin (skin keratin and dandruff), protrusion, and the like may occur as representative variations.

Most of the variations occur uniquely according to the reflex zones.

For example, the dead skin or protrusion appears on the subcortical reflex zone well, the change in color or dead skin appears on the reproductive organ reflex zone well, and the change in shape or hardening appears on the spinal reflex zone well.

If the variations which are not made on the normal ear occur on the ear, it is doubted that diseases or function abnormality occur on the organs corresponding to the reflex zones where the variations occur.

A method for keeping the ear healthy is classified into auricular acupuncture therapy and ear reflex therapy.

According to the present invention, the stimulating part serves as an auricular acupuncture needle, and the energy and blood stimulating part is used for the ear reflex therapy.

According to the present invention, the energy and blood stimulating part means a ball-shaped member made of germanium of <NUM> to <NUM> which is subjected to antibacterial and negative ion far infrared emission treatments, and otherwise, the energy and blood stimulating part means a magnet. The magnet is formed of a magnetic magnet or neodymium magnet (rare earth magnet). The energy and blood stimulating part functions as a tool for applying energy to a specific region of the human body through the application of far infrared rays or magnetic flux lines to thus allow the specific region to be treated through the reflex point of the human body.

Table <NUM> shows the comparison between the auricular acupuncture and the energy and blood stimulating part.

As appreciated from Table <NUM>, the operations and effects of the auricular acupuncture are different from those of the energy and blood stimulating part.

If the far infrared rays or magnetic flux lines are applied to the region stimulated physically by the auricular acupuncture through the energy and blood stimulating part, the capillary vessels around the corresponding region are enlarged and the blood circulation is partially improved, so that the physical stimulation effectiveness through the auricular acupuncture can be doubly improved.

In addition to the physical stimulation on a specific acupuncture point only through the auricular acupuncture, that is, the heat effect around the corresponding region through the energy and blood stimulating part enables the physical stimulation effectiveness of the auricular acupuncture to be raised.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing the auricular acupuncture patch having an energy and blood stimulating part attached thereto.

Referring to <FIG>, the auricular acupuncture patch has a decorative part 10C located on top thereof and made of jewel like crystal, pearl, and so on. Otherwise, the decorative part <NUM> may be made of cubic zirconia, metal, ceramic, and so on. The decorative part <NUM> is a member that provides beauty and uniqueness for a woman, so that she has no reluctance in wearing the auricular acupuncture patch.

An energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is located on the underside of the decorative part <NUM> and is made of a magnet or germanium. If the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is made of the magnet, desirably, it is located to have the N pole with respect to a skin direction to allow flows of energy and blood to be better. The strength of the magnet is desirably in the range of <NUM> to <NUM> Gauss, which has the greatest influence on the flow of blood and provides the smallest adverse effects.

The energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> has an influence on the flow of blood and provides energy through the reflex point. The energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is desirably made of the ball-shaped germanium stone of <NUM> to <NUM> which is subjected to anti-bacterial and negative ion far infrared emission treatments.

An attaching part <NUM> is located on the underside of the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> and serves as an adhesive for attaching the auricular acupuncture patch onto the ear. The energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> and the attaching part <NUM> may be attached to each other by means of a double face tape <NUM>.

The attaching part <NUM> looks good on the decorative part <NUM> so that it can be seen like an earring to the outside.

The attaching part <NUM> is called 'patch', which is different from the double face tape <NUM>. The patch is made of a tape whose one surface is attachable, and in some cases, it may be replaced with a functional patch attached to the ear. In the case of a person who has motion sickness, for example, the attaching part <NUM> may be replaced with a motion sickness prevention patch.

Further, various medicines may be mixed with the adhesive to optimize the effectiveness of the auricular acupuncture patch.

The medicines include chemicals and biochemicals such as scopolamine, belladonna extract, scopolia japonica, and so on.

A stimulating part <NUM> is located on the underside of the patch (attaching part) <NUM> and has a top having a smaller area than the attaching part <NUM>. Accordingly, the attaching part <NUM> accommodates the stimulating part <NUM> therein to allow the stimulating part <NUM> to be seated onto the ear.

The stimulating part <NUM> is called a pressure bar, a pressure needle, or a tip. The stimulating part <NUM> is made of metal, resin, wood, ceramic, or the like, and if the stimulating part <NUM> is made of metal, the metal is subjected to a gold or silver plating treatment so as to prevent an allergic reaction to the metal.

If the stimulating part <NUM> is made of a magnetic material and the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is made of a magnet, particularly, the stimulating part <NUM> is connected to the magnet to make the magnetic force stronger.

Accordingly, the stimulation applied to the reflex point can be stronger than before.

The stimulating part <NUM> is excellent in releasing the acupuncture point.

According to the present invention, the auricular acupuncture patch is used together with the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM>, as suggested in Table <NUM>, so that in this case, the effectiveness is more raised than that expected when the auricular acupuncture patch is used separately from the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM>.

In specific, the acupuncture point can be released by means of the stimulating part <NUM>, and the flow of blood can be improved by means of the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM>. Accordingly, the acupuncture point blocked is released (through the stimulating part <NUM>), and before the effectiveness disappears, simultaneously, the flow of blood is improved (through the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM>), thereby doubling the effectiveness.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing a variation of the auricular acupuncture patch of <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, an auricular acupuncture patch according to a variation of the present invention includes: a decorative part <NUM> exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; an attaching part <NUM> coupled to the decorative part <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM> to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

In specific, the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is not located in the first variation of the present invention, thereby having no best effectiveness, but advantageously, the effectiveness of the auricular acupuncture can be easily obtained, while the beauty of the earring is being improved.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing another variation of the auricular acupuncture patch of <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, an auricular acupuncture patch according to another variation of the present invention includes: an energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> for applying stimulation to the reflex point of the ear by means of energy generated therefrom; an attaching part <NUM> coupled to the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM> to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

In specific, the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM>, the attaching part <NUM>, and the stimulating part <NUM> are provided in another variation of the present invention, without any decorative part <NUM>, so that the auricular acupuncture patch can be used for men. In this case, the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> and the attaching part <NUM> have skin colors so that the auricular acupuncture patch worn on the ear cannot be recognized to the outside.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing yet another variation of the auricular acupuncture patch of <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, an assembly which is made by attaching the decorative part and the energy and blood stimulating part to each other is separately made and sold as one product, so that it can be purchased and coupled to the attaching part according to a user's preference.

Hereinafter, an explanation of the auricular acupuncture patch having the energy and blood stimulating part attached thereto according to the present invention will be given in detail with reference to <FIG>.

An auricular acupuncture patch according to the present invention includes: a decorative part <NUM> exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; a replaceable adhesive part <NUM> whose one surface is attached to the decorative part <NUM> and other surface is attached to an attaching part <NUM>; the attaching part <NUM> attached to the replaceable adhesive part <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM> to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

In this case, the decorative part <NUM> may be replaced with an energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> for applying stimulation to the reflex point of the ear by means of a magnetic force generated therefrom, and the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is attached to the replaceable adhesive part <NUM>.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing the auricular acupuncture patch according to the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the auricular acupuncture patch according to the present invention has the decorative part <NUM> located on top thereof and made of jewel like crystal, pearl, and so on. Otherwise, the decorative part <NUM> may be made of cubic zirconia, metal, ceramic, and so on. The decorative part <NUM> is a member that provides beauty and uniqueness for a woman, so that she has no reluctance in wearing the auricular acupuncture patch.

However, the decorative part <NUM> has only one jewel attached thereto, and even if the wearer wants to replace the current jewel with another jewel, the decorative part <NUM> cannot be exchanged with new one, thereby undesirably purchasing a new auricular acupuncture patch. So as to solve such a problem, the decorative part <NUM> can be replaced with another decorative part periodically or if necessary.

In specific, one surface of the replaceable adhesive part <NUM> is attached to the decorative part <NUM>, and the other surface is attached to the attaching part <NUM>.

According to an additional aspect of the present invention, the decorative part <NUM> and the replaceable adhesive part <NUM> as a group are fixedly attached to the attaching part <NUM>. That is, the decorative part <NUM> can be replaced with another decorative part the user wants to have.

The decorative part <NUM> as mentioned in the present invention is jewel or an energy and blood stimulating part, and the decorative part <NUM> means any one of the jewel and the energy and blood stimulating part as mentioned in the present invention.

According to another additional aspect of the present invention, on the other hand, the auricular acupuncture patch according to the present invention further includes an energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the decorative part <NUM> to apply stimulation to the reflex point of the ear by means of a magnetic force generated therefrom.

In this case, the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is located on the underside of the replaceable adhesive part <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, an auricular acupuncture patch includes: a decorative part <NUM> exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; an attaching part <NUM> coupled to the decorative part <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM> to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

In specific, the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is not located therein, thereby having no best effectiveness, but advantageously, the effectiveness of the auricular acupuncture can be easily obtained, while the beauty of the earring is being improved.

Further, adhesive layers are formed on both surfaces of the attaching part so that the decorative part <NUM> is located on top adhesive layer and the stimulating part <NUM> on underside adhesive layer.

In this case, only the decorative part attached to top adhesive layer is replaced with desired jewel.

As shown in <FIG>, an auricular acupuncture patch includes: a decorative part 10C exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; a protrusion <NUM> protruding downward by a given distance from the decorative part <NUM>; an attaching part <NUM> having a hole <NUM> formed at a position corresponding to the protrusion <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM>, having a concave portion <NUM> formed thereon with a given distance to detachably insert the protrusion <NUM>, and applying direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

Under the above configuration, the protrusion <NUM> is extended from the underside of the decorative part <NUM>, and the concave portion <NUM> is formed on the stimulating part <NUM>.

In this case, the hole <NUM> is formed on the attaching part <NUM> to allow the protrusion <NUM> to be coupled to the concave portion <NUM>.

If the decorative part <NUM> is separated from the stimulating part <NUM>, accordingly, the protrusion <NUM> escapes from the concave portion <NUM>, so that the decorative part <NUM> can be easily replaced with another decorative part.

For example, a snap structure is provided so that the decorative part <NUM> can be detachably attached to the stimulating part <NUM> easily by means of the wearer.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> may be located between the decorative part <NUM> and the attaching part <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, an auricular acupuncture patch includes: a decorative part <NUM> exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; a first Velcro part <NUM> located on the underside of the decorative part <NUM>; an attaching part <NUM> having a hole <NUM> formed at a position corresponding to the protrusion <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM>, having a second Velcro part <NUM> located thereon, to which the first Velcro part <NUM> is detachably attached, and applying direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

Under the above configuration, the first Velcro part <NUM> is located on the underside of the decorative part <NUM>, and the second Velcro part <NUM> is located on the stimulating part <NUM> to correspond to the first Velcro part <NUM>, so that the first Velcro part <NUM> and the second Velcro part <NUM> are attached to each other.

If the first Velcro part <NUM> is separated from the second Velcro part <NUM>, accordingly, the decorative part <NUM> is separated from the stimulating part <NUM>.

The various variations of the auricular acupuncture patch according to the present invention have been described above.

For example, as shown in <FIG>, circular cubic zirconia is used for the auricular acupuncture patch, and it may be replaced with heart-shaped jewel if needed.

Further, an assembly which is made by attaching the decorative part and the energy and blood stimulating part to each other is separately made and sold as one product, so that it can be purchased and coupled to the attaching part according to a user's preference.

<FIG> is a view showing still another variation of the auricular acupuncture patch of <FIG>.

An auricular acupuncture patch according to the variation of the present invention includes: a decorative part <NUM> exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; a replaceable adhesive part <NUM> whose one surface is attached to the decorative part <NUM> and other surface is attached to an attaching part <NUM>; the attaching part <NUM> attached to the replaceable adhesive part <NUM> in such a manner as to allow a stimulating part <NUM> to be fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear; and the stimulating part <NUM> coupled to the attaching part <NUM> to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear.

For example, a first sheet having a plurality of jewel-like decorative parts or energy and blood stimulating parts with various shapes (star, circle, square, triangle, and so on), colors (red, blue, yellow, green, and so on), and functions (in the case of the energy and blood stimulating part, functions as neodymium magnet, germanium magnet, and so on) is provided as one product, and further, a second sheet having a plurality of sets each having one replaceable adhesive part, one attaching part, and one stimulating part is provided as one product. Accordingly, the wearer's desired jewel is selected from the first sheet and is coupledly attached to one set on the second sheet.

According to an additional aspect of the present invention, further, the decorative part <NUM> may be replaced with the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> for applying stimulation to the reflex point of the ear by means of a magnetic force generated therefrom, and next, the energy and blood stimulating part <NUM> is attached to top of the replaceable adhesive part <NUM>.

Instead of the decorative parts, that is, the plurality of energy and blood stimulating parts may be provided on the first sheet.

Claim 1:
An auricular acupuncture patch comprising:
a decorative part (<NUM>) exposed to the outside when the auricular acupuncture patch is worn on the ear; an energy and blood stimulating part (<NUM>) to apply stimulation to the reflex point of the ear by means of a magnetic force generated therefrom;
an attaching part (<NUM>) and
a stimulating part (<NUM>)
wherein the attaching part (<NUM>) is having the energy and blood stimulating part (<NUM>) attached to one side thereof, and the stimulating part (<NUM>) is coupled to the other side of the attaching part (<NUM>) to apply direct physical stimulation to the reflex point of the ear and wherein the attaching part (<NUM>) is fixedly attached to the reflex point of the ear;
characterized by replaceable adhesive part (<NUM>) having the decorative part (<NUM>) attached to one side, wherein the energy and blood stimulating part (<NUM>) is attached to the other side thereof, and
wherein the decorative part (<NUM>) is replaceable with a second energy and blood stimulating part.