Bed-type massage devices are generally provided with massaging rollers which can be displaced by a drive device in a bed base and are so constructed that the massaging rollers travel on guide rails provided on both sides inside the bed base, the arrangement being such that when a user lies face upwards on the bed-type massage unit the massaging rollers roll along his or her dorsal region and effect finger-pressure type massage thereof.
In recent years there has been research on and development of units in which such bed-type massage devices are made contractible to as compact a size as possible in order to reduce the space needed at times of transport and delivery or during storage.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 59-189848 and Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Application No. 61-54834, there are known bed-type massage devices which are designed to reduce space requirements at times of transport and delivery or during storage by being constructed in such a way that foldable guide rails are provided on both sides inside a bed base and the bed frame itself is formed as an elastic body which is foldable and the massaging rollers can run along the guide rail, whereby the base unit can be folded into halves or thirds when it is not in use.
However, the structure in these conventional bed-type massage devices is such that extension and contraction of the bed base is employed solely for the purposes of transport and delivery or storage and, although the size of the bed base can be reduced in the longitudinal direction, it is impossible to reduce the volume and so the devices still fail to resolve problems in packing, etc.
Further, since conventional bed-type massage devices are units designed for the purpose of reduction of size at times of transport and delivery or during storage and are not constructed in a manner permitting adjustment of the extension or contraction in accordance with the height of the user, if a user who is shorter than the length of the bed base uses the base to effect massaging, the massaging rollers move to portions beyond the body of the user, i.e., they move over an unnecessarily large range, which is wasteful both in terms of electric power and of time.
By way of a means for resolving this problem, the present Applicant discovered a means whereby a bed base of a bed-type massage device can be extended or contracted in opposed lengthwise directions without being folded and which permits fine adjustment of the extension in accordance with the height of the user. In this case, however, although extension and contraction in opposed lengthwise directions and fine adjustment of the extension are possible, there are problems associated with aspects such as the means for disposing the massaging rollers inside the bed base to match the bed base in different states and the drive means for causing the massaging rollers inside the bed base to move forward and back in a manner such as to match the bed base in different states.
It is the object of the present invention to resolve the various problems noted above and provide a bed-type massage device in which a massage unit is not driven when the bed base is contracted but the massage unit can longitudinally travel repeatedly and smoothly over the whole area of the bed base when the bed base has been extended or contracted and fine adjustment of the extension has been made.
It is a characteristic of the bed-type massage device of the invention that it comprises a variable bed base which is made freely extendible and contractible in opposed lengthwise directions and in which a first side of a flat second base fits into an opening on one side of a flat first base, at least one retention hole is formed on the left and on the right in the lower surface of the second base, and lock pins which are engageable in these retention holes are so provided that lock mechanisms provided at the tips thereof face the second base from the left and right of the other side of the first base; a pair of guide rails which are laid lying along the longitudinal direction on the left and right of the upper surface of at least the first base of the said bed base; a drive mechanism in which a drive motor is provided at and orthogonal to one end of the second base in the longitudinal direction, worms are respectively coupled with the ends of two drive shafts of this drive motor and the respective ends of a pair of rod-like screwshafts which are respectively provided along both lengthwise sides of the second base are in screw engagement which the respective worms; a massaging unit which is constituted by effecting screw engagement of both sides of the base end of a frame unit with the pair of rod-like screwshafts of the said drive mechanism providing facing running rollers which are capable of moving and running over the said guide rail on both sides of the lower part of the far end of the said frame unit and providing rolling members at a set interval above the base end and the far end of the said frame unit; and a covering cloth that is wound around to cover the entire upper surface of the bed base, and the device is so constructed that the massage unit can repeatedly travel over the bed base and the variable bed base is freely extendible and contractible to permit adjustment to any required length.
Having the above construction, the bed-type massage device of the invention brings about the following effects.
All that is needed if it is wished to adjust the length of the bed-type massage device of the invention to match the height of a user is to push the first base of the variable bed base in the direction of the second base and lock it in the said position by means of the lock mechanisms, and if it is required to shorten the bed at times such as when the bed is packed for transport or is delivered it can easily be reduced to about half its length by releasing the lock mechanisms and pushing in the first base into which the second base is inserted.
Further, when it is wished to extend the bed base after it has been shortened, this can easily be done by simply releasing the lock mechanisms, pulling the first base so that the second base is moved out from it and then, after the bed has been set to the required length, locking it with the lock mechanisms.
When the adjustment of the length of the bed-type massage device has been completed, the user lies face upwards on its variable bed base and then simply actuating the drive motor brings about an agreeable massaging action in which, through the action of the drive mechanism, the massage unit is caused to move and travel on the guide rails, limit switches at the variable bed base's terminal and start ends in the longitudinal direction are actuated and cause repeated displacement and travel of the said massage unit, so causing rotatable rollers of the rolling members to slide while coming into uniform contact with the whole surface of the user's back.
The bed-type massage device of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to one embodiment thereof which is shown in the drawings.