US 5,307,791 AGranted

Air massaging device with a precise pressure control

AssigneeMatsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

InventorsMasaharu Senoue, Haruhiko Naruse

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Abstract

An air massaging device having at least one inflatable air bag adapted to be laid against a portion of the human body. The device includes an air pump generating a pressurized air and a distributor valve which has an open position of feeding the pressurized air to the air bag and a closed position of allowing the pressurized air to be discharged from the air bag to the atmosphere in order to repeat inflating and deflating the air bag. A single pressure sensor is disposed upstream of the distributor valve to monitor a pressure level developed on the side of the air pump. A control circuit is included to activate the air pump on a time-period basis in order to give a desired pressure level to which the air bag is inflated. The control circuit operates to provide one or more initial inflation cycle and subsequent inflation cycles alternated by deflating cycles. During the initial inflating cycle, the air pump is activated for a pre-determined standard inflation time period to inflate the air bag and then stops while keeping the air bag inflated for a short time interval in which the pressure level of the air bag is monitored. In the subsequent inflating cycles, the air pump is activated for a varying inflation time period which is a function of the previous inflation time period, a desired target pressure level selected by a user, and the pressure level monitored in the previous inflation cycle.

Claims27

Dependent claims

An air massing device, comprising:

at least one inflatable air bag adapted to be laid against a portion of the human body;
air pump means for generating a pressurized air;
three-way distributor valve means connected between said air pump means and said air bag for providing an open position of feeding the pressurized air from said air pump means to a first of said at least one air bag and a closed position of allowing the pressurized air to be discharged from said first air bag to the atmosphere, in order to repeat inflating and deflating said first air bag;
a single pressure sensor disposed upstream of said three-way distributor valve means to monitor a pressure level developed on a downstream side of said air pump means;
selector means for entering a desired target pressure level to which said first air bag is intended to be inflated;
and a control means which includes
(a) for at least one initial inflation cycle,
(1) means for activating said air pump means for a predetermined standard time period with said valve means in said open position for feeding the pressurized air to said first air bag,
(2) means for maintaining said distributor valve means in said open position for a predetermined first open time interval after the elapse of said standard time period so as to keep said first air bag inflated, and
(3) means for reading a first pressure level monitored by said pressure sensor within said first open time interval, and
(b) for at least one subsequent inflation cycle,
(1) means for activating said air pump means for a varying inflation time period which is defined as a function of (a) the time period of activating said air pump means in the immediately previous inflation cycle, (b) said target pressure level, and (c) the pressure level read during the immediately previous inflation cycle;
(2) means for maintaining said distributor valve means in said open position for a predetermined second open time interval after the elapse of said varying inflation time period so as to keep said first air bag inflated;
and
(3) means for reading a second pressure level monitored by said pressure sensor within said second open time interval.

12 more elements

An Air massaging device, comprising:

a plurality of inflatable air bags adapted to be laid against a portion of the human body;
air pump means for generating a pressurized air;
a plurality of three-way distributor valves each connected between said air pump means and a respective one of said individual air bags, each of said distributor valves being constructed to switch between an open position of feeding the pressurized air from said air pump means to the respective air bag and a closed position of allowing the pressurized air to be discharged from the respective air bag to the atmosphere, in order to repeat inflation and deflation of the respective air bag;
a single pressure sensor disposed upstream of said distributor valves to monitor a pressure level developed on a downstream side of said air pump means;
selector means for entering a desired target pressure level to which said air bags are intended to be inflated;
and
control means which includes:
(a) for at least one initial inflating cycle,
(1) means for activating said air pump means for a predetermined standard time period with a first of said distributor valves in the open position and the other of said distributor valves kept in the closed position for feeding the pressurized air to the air bag respective to said first of said distributor valves,
(2) means for maintaining the first of said distributor valves in said open position for a predetermined first open time interval after the elapse of said standard time period so as to keep the respective air bag inflated;
and
(3) means for reading a first pressure level monitored by said pressure sensor within said first open time interval;
and
(b) for at least one subsequent inflating cycle,
(1) means for activating said air pump means for a varying inflation time period which is defined as a function of (a) the time period for activating said air pump means in the immediately previous inflating cycle, (b) said target pressure level, and (c) the pressure level read during the immediately previous inflating cycle;
(2) means for maintaining said first distributor valve in said open position for a second predetermined open time interval after the elapse of said varying inflation time period so as to keep the respective air bag inflated;
and
(3) means for reading a second pressure level monitored by said pressure sensor within said second open time interval.

15 more elements

A method of massaging a human body, comprising the steps of:

(1) providing a plurality of inflatable air bags adapted to be laid against a portion of the human body;
(2) providing air pump means for generating a pressurized air;
(3) providing a plurality of three-way distributor valves each connected between said air pump means and a respective one of said individual air bags, each of said distributor valves being constructed to switch between an open position of feeding the pressurized air from said air pump means to the respective air bag and a closed position for allowing the pressurized air to be discharged from the respective air bag to the atmosphere, in order to repeat inflation and deflation of the respective air bag;
(4) providing a single pressure sensor disposed upstream of said distributor valves to monitor a pressure level developed on a downstream side of said air pump means;
(5) providing selector means for entering a desired target pressure level to which said air bag is intended to be inflated;
(6) inflating a first of the air bags in an initial inflating cycle by:
(a) activating said air pump means for a predetermined standard time period with the respective distributor valve in the open position and the other of the distributor valves kept in the closed position for feeding the pressurized air to the first of the air bags,
(b) maintaining the respective distributor valve in the open position for a predetermined first open time interval after the elapse of the standard time period so as to keep the first of the air bags inflated;
and
(c) reading the pressure level monitored by the pressure sensor within the first open time interval;
(7) inflating the first of the air bags in a subsequent inflating cycle by:
(a) activating the air pump means for a varying inflation time period which is defined as a function of (a) the time period of activating the air pump means in the immediately previous inflating cycle, (b) the target pressure level, and
(c) the pressure level read during the immediately previous inflating cycle;
(b) maintaining the respective distributor valve in the open position for a second predetermined open time interval after the elapse of the varying inflation time period so as to keep the first of the air bags inflated;
and
(c) reading a second pressure level monitored by the pressure sensor within the second open time interval.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.