Massage unit

• US 4,878,489 A
• Filed: 07/11/1988
• Issued: 11/07/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tensho Electric Industries Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Tensho Electric Industries Company Limited
• Inventors: Kamayachi, Yuzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiecking, David A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Huong Q.
• Application Number:
  US07/217,580
• Time in Patent Office: 484 Days
• Field of Search: 128/32, 128/34-37
• US Class Current: 601/72
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2205/12 Feet
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 23/0263 using rotating unbalanced masses

Abstract

The present invention relates to a massage unit, which contains a vibrator within a flexible long cylindrical piece, so that the user can hold both ends of the unit and apply it freely to any desired site of the body, which could not be reached by the conventional massage unit without the help of another person. The unit can be held on the affected site, and the user can continue office work, cooking or learning, while enjoying the effects of massage. Since the user finds no difficulty in applying and holding the unit to the affected site, the unit can offer more effective massage effects in relaxing the muscle stiffness, enhancing blood circulation, etc. In one embodiment the long massage unit can be bent to any desired shape, which shape is retained by a plastically deformable metal, such that the user can apply the bent long massage unit around any part of the body without having to continue holding the massage unit.

Claims

1. A massage unit comprising:

an elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder;

vibrator means disposed in said elongated elastically deformable cylinder for producing vibrations for vibrating said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder;

switch means attached to said vibrator means for turning said vibrator means on and off; and

elastically deformable cylinder shape retaining means attached to and extending along substantially the entire length of said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder for retaining the cylindrical shape of said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder when said elastically deformable shape retaining means and said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder are bent to a desired shape, said elastically deformable cylinder shape retaining means being an elongated hollow cylindrical bellows disposed within said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder, and said elongated hollow cylindrical bellows being a synthetic resin material.

2. A device as in claim 1, wherein said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder is a material selected from the group consisting of synthetic resin foam material and rubber.

3. A device as in claim 1, further comprising a plastically deformable massage unit configuration shape retaining means for retaining said massage unit in a particular configuration when said massage unit is bent to a desired shape, said plastically deformable massage unit configuration shape retaining means being an elongated piece of metal extending substantially the entire length of said elastically deformable hollow cylinder, and said elongated piece of metal being disposed within said elastically deformable hollow cylinder.

4. A device as in claim 3, wherein said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder is a material selected from the group consisting of synthetic resin foam material and rubber.

5. A device as in claim 4, wherein said elastically deformable hollow cylinder has a first and a second end, said vibrator means includes an electric motor and means for retaining batteries for powering said electric motor, and at least one removable cap is attached to an at least one of said first and second ends of said elongated elastically deformable hollow cylinder for providing access to batteries retained by said battery retaining means.