MASSAGE MACHINE AND MASSAGE METHOD

• US 20110118636A1
• Filed: 02/03/2009
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Family Corporation, Tottori University
• Original Assignee: Tottori University
• Inventors: Fujikawa, Masashi, Kushida, Daisuke, Kondo, Hideshi, Kitamura, Akira
• Application Number:
  US12/863,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20110118636A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 601/84
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/372 Analysis of electroencephalograms
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0149 Seat or chair
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2205/081 Back
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2230/10 Electroencephalographic signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2021/005 images, e.g. video
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/005 Parameter used as control input for the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2230/10 Electroencephalographic signals
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

There are equipped: a massage unit (5) for applying a massage operation to the user; a brain wave acquisition section (18) for acquiring the brain wave of the user being massaged by the massage unit (5); an operation control section (17) for controlling the massage operation by the massage unit (5) based on the brain wave acquired by the brain wave acquisition section (18); and an electromagnetic noise elimination section (19) for eliminating an electromagnetic noise. In accordance with the massage operation during the acquisition of the brain wave, the electromagnetic noise elimination section (19) eliminates the electromagnetic noise caused by the massage unit (5) performing the massage operation from the brain wave acquired by the brain wave acquisition section (18).

Claims

1. A massage machine comprising:

a massage machine main body that massages the user;

a brain wave acquisition section that acquires a brain wave of the user being massaged by the massage machine main body; and

an operation control section that controls an operation of the massage machine main body based on the brain wave acquired by the brain wave acquisition section, the massage machine further comprising;

a massage noise elimination section that eliminates a noise caused by the operation of the massage machine main body from the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section, based on the operation of the massage machine main body during an acquisition of the brain wave.

2. The massage machine of claim 1,

wherein the massage noise elimination section has:

a storage section that stores related information regarding the relationship between the operation of the massage machine main body and a noise component caused by the massage machine main body performing the operation; and

a processing section that obtains the noise component corresponding to the operation of the massage machine main body during the acquisition of the brain wave from the related information and that eliminates the thus-obtained noise component from the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section.

3. The massage machine of claim 1, further comprising:

an action noise elimination section that eliminates an action noise caused by an user'"'"'s action from the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section.

4. The massage machine of claim 2, further comprising:

an action noise elimination section that eliminates an action noise caused by an user'"'"'s action from the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section.

5. The massage machine of claim 3,

wherein the action noise elimination section has:

a judgment section that judges a presence of the action noise; and

a selection section that excludes a portion including the action noise from the brain wave as the operation control subject for the massage machine main body by the operation control section, based on a judgment result of the judgment section.

6. The massage machine of claim 4,

wherein the action noise elimination section has:

a judgment section that judges a presence of the action noise; and

a selection section that excludes a portion including the action noise from the brain wave as the operation control subject for the massage machine main body by the operation control section, based on a judgment result of the judgment section.

7. The massage machine of claim 5,

wherein the judgment section judges the presence of the action noise by comparing an output value of the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section with a preset threshold value.

8. The massage machine of claim 6,

wherein the judgment section judges the presence of the action noise by comparing an output value of the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section with a preset threshold value.

9. The massage machine of claim 5,

wherein the judgment section judges the presence of the action noise by comparing a waveform of the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section with a model waveform of the action noise caused by the user'"'"'s action.

10. The massage machine of claim 3,

wherein the action noise elimination section further has:

a trend elimination section that performs a moving average process on the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section and that subtracts the brain wave subjected to the moving average process from the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section.

11. The massage machine of claim 9,

wherein the action noise elimination section further has:

a trend elimination section that performs a moving average process on the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section and that subtracts the brain wave subjected to the moving average process from the brain wave acquired through the brain wave acquisition section.

12. The massage machine of claim 1, further comprising:

a display section that displays, to the user, an user'"'"'s brain wave state obtained based on the brain wave having been subjected to the noise elimination processes.

13. A massage method comprising:

acquiring a brain wave of the user being massaged by a massage machine;

eliminating a noise caused by the massage machine from the acquired brain wave; and

controlling a massage operation performed by the massage machine based on the brain wave from which the noise is eliminated.