Device for massaging and stretching certain body parts

Abstract

A device comprising at least two ferrules, which may have a first ferrule (3) and a second ferrule (4), joined by elements by programmable elastic means (5) in the manner of elastic rods or straps with shape memory, wherein each ferrule (3) (4) has a housing (3.1) (4.1) for housing vibration-generating means (6) and (7) fed by means of cables (6.1) and (7.1), respectively, by a control unit which is in charge of controlling and adjusting vibration intensity, phase and speed, wherein the programmable elastic means is preferably a nickel-titanium alloy, and may be compressed air. A device is obtained that is simple to implement and apply in the treatment of arthritis and arthrosis disorders.

Claims

1. A device for massaging and stretching certain body parts, the device comprising: at least two ferrules joined by a thermostretch wire containing an Ni—Ti alloy, a current source configured to apply current to the thermostretch wires to modify a distance separating the at least two ferrules and thereby generating an axial force between the at least two ferrules; wherein the at least two ferrules includes a first ferrule and a second ferrule, the first ferrule having a housing for housing a first actuator fed by a control unit via a first feed cable, and the second ferrule having a housing for housing a second actuator fed by the control unit via a second feed cable; wherein the control unit supplies and provides phase control and varies magnitudes of vibrations generated by said first actuator and said second actuator; and wherein the at least two ferrules are fixed to the body part via an adhesive or exerting pressure or using a lung or bladder or a combination thereof.

2. The device for massaging and stretching certain body parts according to claim 1, wherein the first and second ferrules have a hollow cylindrical or finger cot configuration.

3. The device for massaging and stretching certain body parts according to claim 1, wherein, when the lung or the bladder is used for fixing the first and second ferrules, each ferrule has its own lung, whereto air is supplied through a duct.

4. The device for massaging and stretching certain body parts according to claim 1 wherein the control unit is in charge of controlling and regulating the intensity, phase and speed of the vibration generated in the first and second actuators.

5. The device for massaging and stretching certain body parts according to claim 1 wherein each of the first and second actuators is a motor associated with an eccentric actuator or an electromagnetic actuator, or a combination of both actuators, each actuator having an oscillating mass housed in its interior.

6. The device for massaging and stretching certain body parts according to claim 1 wherein the device is used in combination with a finger cot impregnated with an analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory product in its interior.

7. A glove for massaging and stretching certain body parts having the device according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the fingers of the glove has the device for treating arthrosis and arthritis.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) To supplement the description made and with the aim of helping to better understand the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of a practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is provided as an integral part of said description wherein, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a general view of the device applied to a finger;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the device as a whole;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a possible form of embodiment wherein one of the ferrules is a finger cot; and

(5) FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show different views of the device wherein the means for generating a stable axial force is by means of compressed air, also using the air as a means of fixing to the body part whereto it will be applied.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

(6) In view of the figures, a preferred embodiment of the proposed invention is described below.

(7) FIG. 1 shows a finger (1) whose tip is covered by a finger cot (2) containing an anti-inflammatory and/or analgesic gel or pomade disposing, on the part of said finger cot that may be covered, the device strictly speaking, which comprises a first ferrule (3) and a second ferrule (4), both, in the embodiment shown, having a cylindrical hollow configuration and joined by elements by means (5) capable of controllably modifying the distance that separates the ferrules in the manner of elastic rods or straps with shape memory.

(8) The means (5) capable of controllably modifying the distance that separates the ferrules and generator of a stable axial force may vary, such as thermostretch wires, used like muscles in robotics, or compressed air or any other axial force-generating means or elastic material susceptible of recovering its initial position.

(9) A material is said to have shape memory when it recovers its shape after it stops applying the external force that deformed it.

(10) A possible elastic material used to manufacture thermostretch wires may be a wire of a special nickel-titanium alloy which, when the current passes through it or heated, increases in length and is capable of moving or lifting objects. Said wires can be Nitinol® or Flexinol® or any material with elastic memory that allows it to recover its initial shape.

(11) Nitinol is a material with shape memory that can recover its shape after deforming it in an apparently irreversible way. It is a Ni—Ti alloy known as Nitinol.

(12) There are housings (3.1) and (4.1) on the first ferrule (3) and the second ferrule (4), respectively, in which to house vibration-generating means (6) and (7), respectively, that may be both a motor associated with an eccentric and an electromagnetic mechanism having an oscillating coil housed in its interior or the combination of both. The vibration-generating means do not have to be disposed on all the ferrules, but rather may be disposed on only one of the ferrules.

(13) The first vibration-generating means (6) has feed cables (6.1), while the second vibration-generating means (7) has feed cables (7.1), both of which extending from a control unit (8) in charge of adjusting the intensity, phase and speed thereof.

(14) FIGS. 4 to 6 show an embodiment wherein the programmable elastic means (5) that generate a stable axial force consist of cavities filled with compressed air that produce a force or separation between the ferrules (3) and (4).

(15) The compressed air can also be used as a means of fixing the ferrules to the fingers.

(16) It is possible to combine the different means capable of modifying the distance that separates the ferrules (compressed air, thermostretch wires, etc.) with the different means for fixing the ferrules to the fingers (adhesive or by exerting pressure or using a lung or bladder, etc.).

(17) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, which is non-limiting, it can be observed that the first ferrule (3) has a duct (3.2) connected to an inflatable lung (3.3) (FIGS. 5 and 6) to which pressurised air is supplied to ensure the fixation of the ferrule to the finger. The second ferrule (4) also has a duct (4.2) that supplies air to its corresponding lung (4.3) (FIG. 6) and that, once inflated, ensures the fixation of the ferrule to the finger.

(18) The means (5) capable of controllably modifying the distance that separates the ferrules have a duct that supplies air (5.1) to conduits inserted between the ferrules (3) and (4) such that the separation between the ferrules varies in accordance with the air pressure supplied, i.e. they generate a stable axial force.

(19) Having sufficiently described the nature of the present invention, in addition to the manner in which to put it into practice, it is hereby stated that, in its essence, it may be put into practice in other embodiments that differ in detail from that indicated by way of example, and to which the protection equally applies, provided that its main principle is not altered, changed or modified.