Massage chair with foot massaging device

• US 8,500,664 B2
• Filed: 02/19/2009
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daito Electric Machine Industry Co., Ltd
• Original Assignee: Daito Electric Machine Industry Co., Ltd
• Inventors: Numata, Koichi, Shimizu, Shinsaku, Noda, Shigeki
• Primary Examiner(s): Yu, Justine
• Assistant Examiner(s): MILLER, CHRISTOPHER E
• Application Number:
  US12/992,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20110066090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,629 Days
• Field of Search: 601/46, 601/49, 601/86, 601/90, 601/98, 601/104, 601/115, 601/23, 601/24, 601/27, 601 29- 35, 297/83, 297/84, 297/85.R, 297/85.M, 297/85.L, 297/85.C, 297 90- 91, 297/423.1, 297/423.19, 297/423.26, 297/423.28, 297/423.3, 297/423.36, 297/423.38, 297/423.22
• US Class Current: 601/104
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/50 Supports for the feet or the legs coupled to fixed parts of the chair coupled to other adjustable parts of the reclining or easy chair A47C1/034, A47C1/037; stand-alone rests or supports for the feet or the legs, e.g. footstools A47C16/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0149 Seat or chair
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2205/12 Feet

Abstract

A massage chair with a foot massaging device, which includes a seat unit, a backrest unit, and the foot massaging device located at a front portion of the seat unit, can make the structure simpler, the weight lighter, and the cost lower all at once. The massage chair is provided under the seat unit 2 with a back-and-forth motion mechanism 15 joined to the foot massaging device 5, and when the back-and-forth motion mechanism 15 protrudes forward, the foot massaging device 5 advances to a using position U which is located in front of the seat unit 2 and at which a lower leg of a user can be massaged, while when the back-and-forth motion mechanism 15 retracts backward, the foot massaging device 5 is housed in a housing position P formed under the seat unit 2.

Claims

1. A massage chair with a foot massaging device, comprising:

a seat, unit;

a backrest unit provided at a rear portion of the seat unit, and the foot massaging device located at a front portion of the seat unit;

a back-and-forth motion mechanism joined to the foot massaging device provided under the seat unit; and

wherein when the back-and-forth motion mechanism protrudes forward, the foot massaging device advances to a using position which is located in front of the seat unit and at which a lower leg of a user can be massaged,

while when the back-and-forth motion mechanism retracts backward, the foot massaging device is housed in a housing position formed under the seat unit;

wherein when the foot massaging device is located at the using position, a bottom face of the foot massaging device faces a floor surface and a front face of the foot massaging device to massage the lower leg is oriented forward;

wherein when the foot massaging device is located at the housing position, the bottom face is oriented forward and approximately flush with a front edge portion of the seat unit, and the front face to massage the lower leg is oriented upward;

wherein the back-and-forth motion mechanism comprises;

a link joined between a stationary pivotal support unit provided under the seat unit;

a movable pivotal support unit provided on an upper back face portion of the foot massaging device so as to hold the movable pivotal support unit swingably forth direction with the stationary pivotal support unit acting as a point of support;

a swing driving unit configured to impart a driving force to the link to swing in the back and forth direction; and

a rolling wheel provided on a lower back face edge of the foot massaging device and held movably on the floor surface;

wherein the foot massaging device is configured to move to the housing position when the link swings to a backward side of a swinging area of the link, while the foot massaging device is configured to move to the using position when the link swings to a forward side of the swinging area of the link;

wherein the swing driving unit of the back-and-forth motion mechanism comprises an electric motor-driven telescopic mechanism;

wherein a front edge portion of the telescopic mechanism is joined at a position laterally displaced from a center portion in a right-and-left direction of the seat unit on a pivot supported on a rear edge of the link rotatably in the center portion in the right-and-left direction of the seat unit;

wherein the foot massaging device has a pair of right and left holding depressions formed at the front face of the foot massaging device and capable of accommodating the lower leg of the user; and

when the foot massaging device is located in the housing position, a position of the telescopic mechanism is arranged so that the telescopic mechanism is set in one of the pair of right and left holding depressions.

2. The massage chair with the foot massaging device according to claim 1, wherein the back-and-forth motion mechanism is configured to carry out a protruding movement by which the upper back face portion of the foot massaging device located at the housing position is moved forward and then moved upward so as to make the foot massaging device reach the using position, and

a retracting movement by which the upper back face portion of the foot massaging device located at the using position is moved downward until an upper front face portion of the foot massaging device is lower than a lower face of the seat unit, and then retracted to under the seat unit so as to return the foot massaging device to the housing position.

3. The massage chair with the foot massaging device according to claim 1, wherein the link is formed of a single member configured to join the stationary pivotal support unit provided at a center portion in the right-and-left direction of the seat unit to the movable pivotal support unit provided at a center portion in a right-and-left direction of the foot massaging device.

4. The massage chair with the foot massaging device according to claim 1, wherein the link is formed in a shape of C in a side view so as to curve along an upper front face portion through a top portion of the foot massaging device when the foot massaging device is located at the housing position.