Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing a user with a relaxing
effect.
Background of the Invention
[0002] A conventional relaxation apparatus, which provides a user seating on a chair-shaped
body-supporting member with relaxing effect by rocking the user's body, is described
in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.
2003-250851 (hereinafter, referred to as the cited reference).
[0003] The relaxation apparatus in the cited reference has a rocking unit (i.e., the relaxation
mechanism in the cited reference) which rocks a body-supporting member (i.e., the
main body of the seating unit in the cited reference) back and forth and hence provides
a user with a relaxing effect by the rocking motion. This relaxation apparatus also
has air bags in the left and right portions of the body-supporting member. The air
bags, driven by an air pump, inflate and contract alternatively so that it is possible
to roll a user to his/her left and right like a hammock or cradle, which can also
provide its user with a relaxation effect.
[0004] In the above-mentioned relaxation apparatus, however, the inflation and contraction
by the air pump take place independently of the rocking motion of the body-supporting
member. Sometimes they give a feeling of insufficient movement due to the mutual cancellation
effect of relaxation motions associated with them, resulting in ineffective relaxation
effects.
Summary of the Invention
[0005] In view of the above, the present invention provides a relaxation apparatus capable
of giving an effective relaxation effect to a user by using the rocking motion of
the user's body and the inflation and contraction of air bags.
[0006] In accordance with an aspect of the presnt invention, there is provided a relaxation
apparatus including a body-supporting unit for supporting a user's body, a rocking
unit for rocking back and forth the body-supporting unit and a controller for controlling
the rocking unit to rock the body-supporting unit,
characterized in that: the body-supporting unit includes an air bag which is inflated to press the user's
body or contracted in accordance with supply or exhaust of air by an air pump, and
the controller controls output of the air pump to increase and decrease in accordance
with forward and backward rocking motions of the body-supporting unit.
[0007] With such configuration, the body-supporting unit includes the air bag that is inflated
to press the user or contracted in accordance with supply or exhaust of the air by
the air pump, and the controller controls the output of the air pump to increase or
decrease in accordance with the direction of the rocking motion of the body-supporting
unit. For example, the air pump can be controlled to increase and decrease its output
during the forward and backward motions, respectively, of the body-supporting unit.
Accordingly, the rate of inflation of the air bag can be made higher during the forward
motion than during the backward motion, and it becomes possible to give the user during
the forward motion a feeling of floating, yielding an effective relaxation effect.
[0008] The controller may control the rocking unit and the air pump to perform, on a user
in a relaxed state, a refresh rocking in which frequency and/or amplitude of the rocking
motion is increased to refresh the user in the relaxed state, and the output of the
pump is increased and decreased during the backward and forward motions of the body-supporting
unit, respectively.
[0009] In accordance with the present invention, the relaxation apparatus is capable of
giving an effective relaxation effect to a user by using the rocking motion of the
user's body and the inflation and contraction of the air bag.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0010]
Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a relaxation apparatus in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a body-supporting member of the relaxation
apparatus in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 depicts a graph for explaining frequency and amplitude of a rocking motion
of the body-supporting member.
Fig. 4 shows a graph for explaining the relationship between the frequency of the
rocking motion and the output of an air pump during a relaxation rocking.
Fig. 5 sets forth a graph for explaining the relationship between the frequency of
the rocking motion and the output of the air pump during a refresh rocking.
Detailed Description of the Embodiments
[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0012] Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a relaxation apparatus in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention. The relaxation apparatus 10 includes a base
11 having a bottom portion 11a placed on a floor (not shown), a rocking mechanism
12 as a rocking unit provided to the base 11 and a body-supporting member 13 as a
body-supporting unit driven by the rocking mechanism 12.
[0013] The rocking mechanism 12 has a motor 20, a reduction gear 21, a crank mechanism 22
and a plurality of, e.g., two, link members 23. The motor 20 is provided on the bottom
portion 11a of the base 11. The operation of the motor 20 is controlled by a controller
24 provided on the bottom portion 11a of the base 11. The reduction gear 21 is provided
on the bottom portion 11a of the base 11. The reduction gear 21 is operationally coupled
with the motor 20 and serves to reduce the power of the motor 20.
[0014] The crank mechanism 22 has two connecting rods 22a and 22b, and converts the rotating
motion of the reduction gear 21 into a large circular motion. The base end of the
connecting rod 22a is connected to and rotates with an output shaft of the reduction
gear 21, while its leading end is ratatably connected to the base end of the connecting
rod 22b. The leading end of the connecting rod 22b is connected to the lower portion
of a rectangular frame 25 to which the body-supporting member 13 is fixed.
[0015] The base 11 also has a support frame 11b protruded upward from the bottom portion
11a. The base ends of the linkages 23 are rotatably connected to the upper portion
of the support frame 11b at an interval, while their leading ends 22b are rotatably
connected to the lower portion of the rectangular frame 25. The linkages 23 rotate
around their base ends and, therefore, the body-supporting member 13, fixed to the
rectangular frame 25, can be rocked back and forth by the power delivered from the
crank mechanism 22, like a rocking chair. In the present embodiment of the invention,
the movement path of the body-supporting member 13 from the rear to the front is referred
to as a forward path and that from the front to the rear is referred to as a backward
path.
[0016] The body-supporting member 13 of a chair shape includes a seat portion 30 which is
fixed to an upper portion of the rectangular frame 25 so that they can move together,
a back portion attached to the rear side of the seat portion 30 so that it can recline
about the rear of the seat portion 30, an ottoman fixed at the front side of the seat
portion 30 and two arm rests 33 fixed at both sides of the seat portion 30.
[0017] The back portion 31 can be reclined suitably by a reclining mechanism 34, which is
controlled by the controller 24 as shown in Fig. 2.
[0018] In the upper part of the back portion 31, a pair of air bags 40 and 41 is provided
corresponding respectively to the left and right shoulders of a user. In the middle
of the back portion 31, three air bags 42, 43 and 44 are arranged vertically corresponding
to the back of a user. In the lower part of the back portion 31, two air bags 45 and
46 corresponding respectively to the left and right sides of the waist of a user.
Two air bags 47 and 48 are provided at the left and right sides in the seat portion
30 corresponding to the hip and thigh of a user. The air bags 40 to 48 provided corresponding
to respective body parts of a user, are installed to be activated by an air pump 49
provided under the seat portion 30 via connecting hoses (not shown). The operation
of the air pump 49 is controlled by the controller 24 so that the air bags 40 to 48
can be inflated and contracted.
[0019] Hereinafter, the operation of the relaxation apparatus 10 configured as described
above will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 5.
[0020] In the controller 24, several modes are provided including a single mode in which
a relaxation rocking of the body-supporting member 13 is carried out by driving the
rocking mechanism 12 and a combination mode in which the relaxation rocking is carried
out in combination with operation of the respective air bags 40 to 48 and reclining
of the back portion 31. Among them, in a relaxation-rocking mode having a refresh
effect, a "relaxation rocking" is initiated to give a relaxation effect to a user
for a predetermined period of time, after which the operation mode is switched from
the "relaxation rocking" to "refresh rocking" until the operation mode ends. Fig.
3 shows the variations of amplitude and frequency with time of the motion of the body-supporting
member 13 driven by the rocking mechanism 12 in the relaxation-rocking mode.
(Relaxation rocking)
[0021] At first, the controller 24 controls the reclining mechanism 34 to recline the back
portion 31 by a specified degree (for example, Δθ = 30°) from a normal state (for
example, at θ = 120°) to a reclined state (for example, at θ = 150°), where θ denotes
the angle the back portion 31 makes with the seat portion 30. During the reclining,
the speed at which the back 31 is reclined is controlled to have a gradual decrease.
[0022] In order to lead a user to be from an awakened state to a relaxed state, the controller
24 controls the motor 20 to decrease the frequency of rocking of the body-supporting
member 13 gradually, for example, from its initial value 0.35 Hz to the final 0.2
Hz in a piecewise manner by a decrement of 0.05 Hz until a predetermined time denoted
by A in Fig. 3. At the same time, the motor is controlled to introduce fluctuations
to the amplitude of the rocking motion.
[0023] As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, for example, at the time when the body-supporting member
13 moves forward along the forward path during the relaxation rocking, the controller
24 drives the air pump 49 to operate at its duty ratio of 100% to inflate the air
bags 45 and 46 at the waist position which move in the same direction as the user's
body, among the air bags 40 to 48 provided in the back portion 31 and the seat portion
30 of the body-supporting member 13. On the other hand, at the time when the body-supporting
member 13 moves backward along the backward path, for example, the controller 24 drives
the air pump 49 to operate at its duty ratio of 70% so that the rate of inflation
of the air bags 45 and 46 gets decreased. After the inflation of the air bags 45 and
46 is completed, the controller 24 stops the operation of the air pump 49 at the same
time when the body-supporting member 13 moves forward along the forward path so that
the air bags 45 and 56 get contracted while the body-supporting member 13 makes one
round-trip.
[0024] In other words, in the above-mentioned operations of air bags, supply and exhaust
of air alternate for each round-trip the body-supporting member 13 makes, and, while
the air bags 45 and 46 are inflated, the duty ratio of the air pump 49 is set to be
higher during the forward motion than during the backward motion of the body-supporting
member 13.
[0025] Accordingly, since the air pump 49 is operated at the high duty ratio in accordance
with the forward motion of the body-supporting member 13, a user may have an improved
feeling of the relaxation movement like an increase of floating of his/her body, yielding
a more effective relaxation effect.
[0026] Until a predetermined time B after the time A has lapsed, the controller 24 controls
the motor 20 to generate fluctuations in the amplitude of the body-supporting member
13 at the minimum value of the frequency, 0.2 Hz in the present embodiment, and to
continue the rocking motion in order to let the user rest in sleep in the relaxation
state. During the time interval between A and B, the controller 24 suspends the operation
of the air pump 49 and the air bags 40 to 48 as well.
(Refresh rocking)
[0027] After the lapse of time B, the controller 24 controls the motor 24 to increase the
frequency of the rocking motion in a piecewise manner, for example, from 0.2 Hz to
0.3 Hz, 0.4 Hz and 0.6 Hz, in order to induce a user in the sleep (or relaxation)
state to an awakened state. At this time, the controller 24 controls the frequency
change timings, for example, such that the frequency changes every ten round trips
the rocking motion of the body-supporting member 13 makes. Further, the controller
24 controls the motor 20 such that the amplitude increases stepwise in synchronization
with the frequency change timings.
[0028] In the refresh rocking, for example, at the time when the body-supporting member
13 moves backward along the backward path during the refresh rocking, the controller
24 drives the air pump 49 to operate at its duty ratio of 100% to inflate the air
bags 45 and 46 at the waist position which move in the same direction as the user's
body, among the air bags 40 to 48 provided in the back portion 31 and the seat portion
30 of the body-supporting member 13. On the other hand, at the time when the body-supporting
member 13 moves forward along the forward path, the controller 24 drives the air pump
49 to operate at its duty ratio of 70% so that the rate of inflation of the air bags
45 and 46 gets decreased. At the time when the body-supporting member 13 moves backward
along the backward path after the inflation of the air bags 45 and 46 is completed,
the controller 24 stops the operation of the air pump 49 so that the air bags 45 and
46 get contracted while the body-supporting member 13 makes one round-trip.
[0029] In other words, in the above-mentioned operations of the air bags, supply and exhaust
of air alternate for each round-trip the body-supporting member 13 makes, and, while
the bags are inflated, the duty ratio of the air pump 49 is set to be higher during
the backward motion than during the forward motion of the body-supporting member 13.
[0030] Accordingly, since the air pump 49 is operated at the high duty ratio in accordance
with the backward motion of the body-supporting member 13, a user may have an improved
feeling of the refresh movement like an increase of raising of his/her body, yielding
a more effective refresh effect.
[0031] After the afore-mentioned operations of the air bags are completed, the controller
24 controls the air pump 49 to supply air to the air bags 42 to 44 to lift the back
of a user, leading to stretching his/her back. Further, the controller 24 controls
the reclining mechanism 34 to raise the back portion 31 by a specified angle (for
example, Δθ = 30°) from a reclined state (for example, at θ = 150°) to a normal state
(for example, at θ = 120°), where θ denotes the angle the back portion 31 makes with
the seat portion 30.
[0032] Next, the characteristic effects of the present embodiments are described.
- (1) The controller 24 controls the air pump 49 to increase and decrease its output
during the forward and backward motions, respectively, of the body-supporting member
13 in relaxation rocking. In other words, with the output (duty ratio) of the air
pump 49 higher during the forward motion (100%) than during the backward motion (70%)
of the body-supporting member 13 as shown in Fig. 4, a user may have an improved feeling
of the relaxation movement like an increase of floating of his/her body, yielding
a more effective relaxation effect.
- (2) The controller 24 controls the rocking mechanism 12 to carry out the refresh rocking
that increases both the frequency and amplitude of the rocking motion after the relaxation
rocking, thereby refreshing a user in a relaxation state. In addition, the controller
24 controls the air pump 49 to decrease and increase its output during the forward
and backward motions, respectively, of the body-supporting member 13 in refresh rocking.
In other words, with the output (duty ratio) of the air pump 49 higher during the
backward motion (100%) than during the forward motion (70%) of the body-supporting
member 13 as shown in Fig. 5, the inflation rate of the air bags 45 and 46 becomes
greater during the backward motion, so that a user may have an improved feeling of
the refreshing movement like an increase of raising of his/her body, yielding a more
effective refresh effect.
[0033] The embodiments of the present invention may be modified as described below.
[0034] Although the relaxation rocking is followed by a refresh rocking in the aforementioned
embodiment, the relaxation rocking may be carried out alone without the refresh rocking.
[0035] In the embodiment described above, during the relaxation and refresh rocking motions,
it is configured that the duty ratio (output) of the air pump 49 for the air bags
45 and 46 changes in accordance with the direction of the rocking motion of the body-supporting
member 13. However, the present invention is not limited to the above and it may be
possible to change the duty ratio of the air pump 49 for other air bags 40 to 44 that
have the same direction of application on the user's body. In addition, if the air
bags 47 and 48 provided in the seat portion 30 have the same direction of application
on the user's body, then it may be possible to change the duty ratio of the air pump
49 for them similarly to the air bags 45 and 46.
[0036] When plural air bags are employed, it may be configured that the air bags can take
turns to inflate each time the body-supporting member 13 makes a round-trip, for example.
For a specific example, it can be controlled that during the relaxation rocking, the
three air bags 42, 43 and 44 can take turns to inflate; that is, the air bags 42,
43 and 44 inflate at the first, second and third round-trips, respectively, of the
body-supporting member 13 and the remaining air bags get contracted at the respective
round-trips. In this case, the output of the air pump 49 during the respective inflation
is configured as in the embodiment described above.
[0037] Besides, it may be configured that, during the forward motion of the body-supporting
member 13, the air pump 49 operates at a duty ratio of 100% to inflate the air bag
42 and contract the air bags 43 and 44, while, during the backward motion of the body-supporting
member 13, the air pump 49 operates at a duty ratio of 70% to inflate the air bag
43 and contract the air bags 42 and 44. In other words, it may be configured that
the air bags take turns to inflate and contract every time the body-supporting member
13 makes a one-way trip.
[0038] In the embodiment described above, when the air bags 45 and 46 inflate during the
relaxation rocking, it is configured that the air pump 49 operates at a duty ratio
of 100% and 70% during the forward and backward motions, respectively, of the body-supporting
member 13. However, the present invention is not limited to the above and other values
of the duty ratio may be employed. The important point is to drive the air pump 49
at a duty ratio higher during the forward motion than during the backward motion of
the body-supporting member 13.
[0039] In the embodiment described above, when the air bags 45 and 46 inflate during the
refresh rocking, it is configured that the air pump 49 operates at a duty ratio of
100% and 70% during the backward and forward motions, respectively, of the body-supporting
member 13. However, the present invention is not limited to the above and other values
of the duty ratio may be employed. The important point is to drive the air pump 49
at a duty ratio higher during the backward motion than during the forward motion of
the body-supporting member 13.
[0040] In the embodiment described above, the controller 24 controls such that the inception
of the forward and backward motions of the body-supporting member 13 is synchronized
with that of inflation and contraction of the air bags 45 and 46. However, the present
invention is not limited to the above. The inception of the forward and backward motions
of the body-supporting member 13 may be carried out in synchronization with inflation
of at least one of the air bags 40 to 44, 47 and 48 other than the air bags 45 and
46.
[0041] In the embodiment described above, fluctuations are imposed only on the amplitude
of the relaxation rocking motion. In a modified embodiment, fluctuations may be imposed
on the frequency instead or on both the amplitude and frequency.
[0042] In the embodiment described above, during the relaxation rocking, the controller
24 controls the motor 20 to change the frequency of the rocking motion of the body-supporting
member 13 (the rectangular frame 25) in a range from 0.35 Hz to 0.2 Hz. However, controller
24 controls the motor 20 to change the frequency of the rocking motion of the body-supporting
member 13 in other frequency bands for the relaxation rocking motion.
[0043] In the embodiment described above, during the refresh rocking, the controller 24
controls the motor 20 to change the frequency of the rocking motion of the body-supporting
member 13 (the rectangular frame 25) from 0.2 Hz to 0.6 Hz stepwise. However, other
frequency bands for the refresh rocking motion may be used.
[0044] In the embodiment described above, after the elapse of time B, the controller 24
controls the motor 20 to increase the amplitude and frequency of the rocking motion
in synchronization with each other. In a modified configuration, however, such synchronization
is not necessary. In addition, either of the amplitude and frequency may be made to
increase.
[0045] In the embodiment described above, the controller 24 makes changes in control over
the respective parts at times A and B. In a modified configuration, for example, there
may be provided a switch capable of changing the control of the respective parts by
the controller 24 so that a user can selectively control the respective parts by using
the switch as needed.
[0046] Although the body-supporting member 13 has the shape of a chair in the embodiment
described above, it may have other shapes, for example, a bed.
[0047] In the embodiment described in the above, even though it is not mentioned explicitly,
there may be provided a mechanism for generating music or vibration corresponding
to the relaxation rocking or refresh rocking.
[0048] While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the embodiments,
it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications
may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following
claims.