Massaging system having isolated vibrators
First Claim
1. A massaging apparatus comprising:
- (a) a vibrator unit including a housing, a motor supported within the housing, means for connecting the motor to a source of electrical power, the motor being coupled to a mass element for producing vibratory motion of the housing;
(b) a main cushion member having a main supporting surface and being formed of a resilient material having a first volumetric stiffness, a cavity being formed therein and interrupting the supporting surface for receiving the vibrator unit, the cavity being sufficiently large to provide clearance space on all sides of the vibrator unit;
(c) a isolation member having a second volumetric stiffness being less than the first volumetric stiffness, the isolation member covering at least a portion of the vibrator unit and being interposed between the vibrator unit and the main cushion member; and
(d) an outer cushion member having a third volumetric stiffness being greater than the second volumetric stiffness, the outer cushion member being bonded to the main supporting surface and covering the cavity, the outer cushion member forming an outer supporting surface being spaced from the main supporting surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A massaging system for equipment such as a vehicle includes a pad; a heater element, and motorized vibrators in respective regions of the pad; a plurality of vibratory transducers for location relative to plural zones of the seat; a controller for selectively activating the transducers. Each of the vibrators is in a cavity of a main cushion member, the cavity being closed by an outer cushion member that supports an occupant, a soft isolation member being interposed between the transducer and the main cushion member. The isolation member can completely enclose the transducer; alternatively, the transducer can be bonded to the outer cushion member or a reinforcing sheet that is laminated thereto, the isolation member only partially enclosing the transducer. The isolation of the vibrators from the main cushion member provides improved selectivity of particular regions of a user'"'"'s body to be massaged. Also, in multiple seating installations, unwanted vibration of one seat is suppressed during activation of vibrators in an adjacent seat. Also disclosed is a method for converting a padded support to produce isolated massaging.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A massaging apparatus comprising:
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(a) a vibrator unit including a housing, a motor supported within the housing, means for connecting the motor to a source of electrical power, the motor being coupled to a mass element for producing vibratory motion of the housing; (b) a main cushion member having a main supporting surface and being formed of a resilient material having a first volumetric stiffness, a cavity being formed therein and interrupting the supporting surface for receiving the vibrator unit, the cavity being sufficiently large to provide clearance space on all sides of the vibrator unit; (c) a isolation member having a second volumetric stiffness being less than the first volumetric stiffness, the isolation member covering at least a portion of the vibrator unit and being interposed between the vibrator unit and the main cushion member; and (d) an outer cushion member having a third volumetric stiffness being greater than the second volumetric stiffness, the outer cushion member being bonded to the main supporting surface and covering the cavity, the outer cushion member forming an outer supporting surface being spaced from the main supporting surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A vehicle seat comprising a structural member, a seat pad and a back pad supported relative to the structural member, the seat pad and the back pad each comprising:
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(a) a plurality of vibrator units, each vibrator unit including a housing, a motor supported within the housing, means for connecting the motor to a source of electrical power, the motor being coupled to a mass element for producing vibratory motion of the housing; (b) a main cushion member having a main supporting surface and being formed of a resilient material having a first volumetric stiffness, a plurality of spaced apart cavities being formed therein and interrupting the supporting surface for receiving respective ones of the vibrator units, each cavity being sufficiently large to provide clearance space on all sides of the corresponding vibrator unit; (c) a plurality of isolation members, each isolation member having a second volumetric stiffness being less than the first volumetric stiffness, the isolation member covering at least a portion of a vibrator unit and being interposed between the vibrator unit and the main cushion member; and (d) an outer cushion member having a third volumetric stiffness being greater than the second volumetric stiffness, the outer cushion member being bonded to the main supporting surface and covering the cavities, the outer cushion member forming an outer supporting surface being spaced from the main supporting surface. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method for converting a padded support device to produce isolated massaging of a user'"'"'s body, the device including a main cushion having a first bulk stiffness, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a vibratory transducer having a housing and a control cable extending from the housing for driving the transducer; (b) enclosing at least a portion of the transducer housing in a resilient isolation material having a second bulk stiffness being less than the first bulk stiffness; (c) forming a cavity in a supporting surface of the main cushion, the cavity being sufficiently large for receiving the combination of the transducer housing and the isolation material; (d) placing the transducer housing together with the isolation material in the cavity; (e) positioning the control cable to extend from the cavity and on the supporting surface to an edge margin thereof; (f) providing a resilient pad member for covering the supporting surface; (g) bonding a reinforcing sheet member to a bottom surface of the pad member; and (h) bonding the sheet member to the supporting surface, the sheet member being laminated between the main cushion and the pad member and covering the cavity. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification