Method for operating a sleep mode in a massage chair using progressive muscular relaxation and the massage chair capable of using the same

Abstract

A method is provided for operating a sleep mode of a massage chair, which is capable of implementing a sleep mode according to progressive muscle relaxation, and a massage chair for the method is also provided.

Claims

1. A method for operating a sleep mode of a massage chair comprising: a seat portion; a backrest portion being pivotally fixed to one side of the seat portion and including shoulder fixing portions on both left and right sides; leg fixing portions being pivotally fixed to one side of the seat portion; a support frame holding the seat portion and including arm fixing portions positioned therein; an operating user interface, a user applies a predetermined instruction via the operating user interface, the operating user interface transmitting a signal corresponding to the predetermined instruction to a controller; and a massage ball assembly comprising a plurality of balls and movable within the backrest portion along a predetermined orbit; wherein the method comprises sequential steps of: (a) applying a sleep massage signal together with a sleep massage time to the massage chair through the operating user interface; (b) in response to the sleep massage signal and the sleep massage time being inputted to the operating user interface, moving the massage ball assembly to a height of a neck position and operating the massage ball assembly; (c) actuating shoulder airbags within the shoulder fixing portions; (d) actuating arm airbags in the arm fixing portions; (e) pivoting the massage chair to a predetermined sleep angle, in which the backrest portion is reclined and the leg fixing portions are raised; (f) operating the massage ball assembly from a back position towards a pelvis of the user; (g) actuating pelvic airbags in the seat portion; (h) actuating the leg airbags in the leg fixing portions; (i) releasing the leg airbags; (j) releasing the pelvic airbags; (k) releasing the arm airbags; (l) releasing the shoulder airbags; (m) actuating and releasing a back airbag which is provided inside the backrest portion; (n) stopping the operation of the back airbag, the shoulder airbags, the pelvic airbags, the leg airbags, and the arm airbags, before initiating the sleep massage time; (o) pivoting the massage chair to a predetermined maximum angle greater than the predetermined sleep angle after the sleep massage time elapses when the sleep massage time is inputted at the step (a), in which the backrest portion is reclined and the leg fixing portions are raised; and (p) actuating the back airbag, the shoulder airbags, the pelvic airbags, the leg airbags, and the arm airbags.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, after the step (a), and before the step (b), further comprising a step of applying an operating signal to a thermal eye patch through the operating user interface and operating the thermal eye patch.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, after the step (a), further comprising a step of applying an operating signal to a thermal abdominal pad through the operating user interface and operating the thermal abdominal pad.

4. A massage chair capable of driving the method for operating a sleep mode of a massage chair according to claim 3, wherein a headrest is provided on an upper side of the backrest portion, and a thermal eye patch pocket is positioned within the headrest to receive the thermal eye patch to be inserted therein.

5. The massage chair according to claim 4, comprising a thermal abdominal pad pocket is positioned on the support frame or the seat portion to receive the thermal abdominal pad to be inserted therein.

6. The massage chair according to claim 4, wherein hand fixing portions inclined downward from the arm fixing portions are positioned at an end of the arm fixing portions.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the arm airbags comprise a right arm airbag and a left arm airbag, and the step (d) comprises actuating the right arm airbag and then the left arm airbag.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pelvic airbags comprise a right pelvic airbag and a left pelvic airbag, and the leg airbags comprise a right leg airbag and a left leg airbag, wherein the step (g) comprises a step of actuating the right pelvic airbag, then the right leg airbag, then the left pelvic airbag, then the left leg airbag; wherein the step (h) comprises a step of releasing all of the left and right leg airbags; and wherein the step (i) comprises a step of releasing all of the left and right pelvic airbags.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein at the step (p), the back airbag, the shoulder airbags, the pelvic airbags, the leg airbags, and the arm airbags are operated simultaneously to provide a pressure to wake up a user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps (a) through (p) cooperate to provide a single complete sleep cycle via massage, sleep, and wake-up.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a massage chair according to the related art.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a massage chair according to the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an airbag of a massage chair according to the present disclosure.

(4) FIG. 4 is a flowchart provided to explain a sleep mode of a massage chair according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(6) In the following drawings, based on an assumption that the user is seated in the massage chair, “upper” and “lower” sides refer to upward and downward directions of the user, and “front” side refers to a “forward” direction where the user sees, and “back” side refers to a “backward” direction of the user.

(7) The backrest portion 100, the leg fixing portion 300, and the foot fixing portion 310, which will be described later, are capable of rotating motion or upward and downward motions, respectively, and for this purpose, a separate actuator (not illustrated) is provided, which will not be described in detail about the operation principle since it is already well known.

(8) In addition, the operation principle involved with the mode selection, change, and operation of the massage chair by the operating portion 500, which will be described later, in accordance with a signal applied to the operating portion 500 is transmitted to a controller portion (not illustrated), also will not be described in detail, since it is already well known in the art.

(9) Description of Massage Chair

(10) The massage chair implementing a method according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The like or same components as those of the massage chair according to the related art shown in FIG. 1 will not be redundantly described.

(11) The massage chair includes a backrest portion 100, a seat portion 200, leg fixing portions 300, a support frame 400, and an operating portion 500.

(12) The backrest portion 100 is provided with a headrest 110 having a cushioning material so that the user can rest his head on the headrest 110. Unlike the related art, a thermal eye patch pocket 130 is positioned in the headrest 110.

(13) A thermal eye patch 131 may be kept inside the thermal eye patch pocket 130. The user may remove the thermal eye patch 131 from the thermal eye patch pocket 130 and wear it around his/her eyes during an operation of the massage chair.

(14) The thermal eye patch 131 may be connected to the massage chair by wires or wirelessly, and the user may control the operation by applying an operation signal through the operating portion 500. For example, when the user operates the thermal eye patch 131 through the operating portion 500, the thermal eye patch 131 is heated by a built-in power source or by power supply received from the massage chair to provide the user with a thermal sensation.

(15) A movable massage ball assembly 600 is mounted at the center of the backrest portion 100.

(16) The massage ball assembly 600 has a structure that includes a plurality of balls, and is vertically or horizontally movable within the backrest portion 100 along a predetermined orbit. During the massaging operation, the massage ball assembly 600 is moved within the backrest portion 100 along a predetermined orbit, with a plurality of balls moving and pressing along the user's back or shoulders, thus providing massages. In another embodiment, the massage ball assembly 600 itself may be heated to provide additional thermal sensation to the user.

(17) A back airbag 109 is positioned within the backrest portion 100. One back airbag 109 may be provided at the center, or two or more airbags 109 may be provided in a left-right direction.

(18) Shoulder fixing portions 120 are positioned on both sides, i.e., on left and right sides of the backrest portion 100 and shoulder airbags 129 are positioned on the shoulder fixing portions 120, respectively.

(19) The seat portion 200 is fixed to the support frame 400. Pelvic airbags 209 are positioned on both sides of the seat portion 200, and between the seat portion 200 and the support frame 400 in an inner direction toward the user. The pelvic airbags 209 may also press the back of the user in which case the pelvic airbag 209 may also be referred to as a waist airbag.

(20) A thermal abdominal pad pocket 230 is positioned on the seat portion 200 or the support frame 400, or between the seat portion 200 and the support frame 400. A thermal abdominal pad 231 may be stored inside the thermal abdominal pad pocket 230. The user may remove the thermal abdominal pad 231 from the thermal abdominal pad pocket 230 and then cover his/her abdomen with the same during operation of the massage chair.

(21) The thermal abdominal pad 231 may be connected to the massage chair by wires or wirelessly, and the user may control the operation by applying an operation signal through the operating portion 500. For example, when the user operates the thermal abdominal pad 231 through the operating portion 500, the thermal abdominal pad 231 is heated by a built-in power source or by power supply received from the massage chair to provide the user with a thermal sensation.

(22) The leg fixing portions 300 are configured to hold the user's legs and provided with a pair of grooves in which the user's calves are inserted. The leg airbags 309 are positioned inside the grooves.

(23) One leg airbag 309 may include a pair of right and left airbags or each of the pair of right and left airbags may include a pair of upper and lower airbags, in which case one leg airbag 309 includes a total of four airbags.

(24) Foot fixing portions 310 are positioned at the lower ends of the leg fixing portions 300.

(25) The foot fixing portions 310 may be integrally formed with the leg fixing portions 300, or the foot fixing portion 310 may be relatively movable up and down with respect to the leg fixing portions 300 to suitably fit the body size (i.e., length of legs or calves) of the user.

(26) Foot airbags 319 are positioned in the grooves of the foot fixing portion 310. One foot airbag 319 may include a pair of right and left airbags or each of the pair of right and left airbags may include a pair of upper and lower airbags, as shown in FIG. 3, in which case one foot airbag 310 includes a total of four airbags.

(27) The seat frame 400 is positioned to the left and right sides of the seat portion 200 to securely hold the massage chair as a whole even during operation of the backrest portion 100 and the leg fixing portions 300, and during operation of the foot fixing portions 310. To this end, a lower frame 450 for fixing the massage chair to the floor is positioned at the lower end of the seat frame 400.

(28) Arm fixing portions 410 are positioned at an upper end of the seat frame 400. The arm fixing portions 410 are portions on which the user can rest his/her arms and they 410 fix the arms in place during massaging operation.

(29) Arm airbags 419 are positioned within the arm fixing portions 410. One arm airbag 419 may include a pair of upper and lower airbags, respectively, or each of the pair of upper and lower airbags may include a pair of left and right airbags, in which case one arm airbag 410 includes a total of four airbags.

(30) The arm fixing portions 410 according to the related art are protruded from a front of the massage chair as they are formed in consideration of a situation where the user stretches out his/her arms to full length, as shown in FIG. 1. In this case, the seat frame 400 provided with the arm fixing portions 410 is protruded together, resulting in increased size of the massage chair and limited installation position.

(31) As shown in FIG. 2, the hand fixing portions 411 which are inclined downward, are positioned at one end of each of the arm fixing portions 410 according to the present disclosure. In this way, the substantial length of the arm fixing portions 410 can be reduced (D), which means a reduction in the overall size of the seat frame 400, thereby reducing the overall size of the massage chair and at the same time, reducing restriction of the installation positions.

(32) The operating portion 500 is operable by the user, and may be configured with a button or a touch panel. The operating portion 500 may be generally provided on the right side of the massage chair to facilitate operating on the operating portion 500 with a right hand, although it 500 may be provided on the left side depending on needs.

(33) It is preferable that the operating portion 500 and the massage chair are connected to each other by a material that is rigid but is deformable to certain extent. A cable may be mounted inside the operating portion 500, connecting the operating portion 500 with a controller (not illustrated) within the massage chair.

(34) The user may select various modes through the operating portion 500 to apply corresponding signals to a controller portion (not illustrated), and accordingly, the operating portion 500 may transmit the signals corresponding to the selected mode to the controller portion (not illustrated) to operate an actuator (not illustrated) or the like to operate the backrest portion 100, the leg fixing portions 300 and the foot fixing portions 310 to change angles thereof or to control the operation of the massage ball assembly 600 and various airbags 109, 129, 209, 309, 319 and 419, or to control the thermal eye patch 131 and the thermal abdominal pad 231 described above.

(35) Description of Sleep Mode of Massage Chair

(36) Before operating the sleep mode, the user may preferably remove the thermal eye patch 131 from the thermal eye patch pocket 130 and wear the same, and remove the thermal abdominal pad 231 from the thermal abdominal pad pocket 230 to cover his/her abdomen with the same.

(37) At S100, a sleep massage signal and a sleep massage time are applied to the massage chair through the operating portion 500. In some examples, the sleep massage time may not be applied, in which case a predetermined sleep massage automatic set time is set as the sleep massage time.

(38) The massage chair now emulates the progressive muscular relaxation, thus providing massaging motions of the massage chair, at S201 to S216.

(39) First, the thermal eye patch 131 is operated to convey the thermal sensation around the eyes of the user, at S201. In another embodiment, the thermal abdominal pad 231 may operate to further convey the thermal sensation to the abdomen.

(40) Next, the massage chair senses the neck position, and the massage ball assembly 600 moves to the height of the neck position to start the neck massage, at S202.

(41) Next, the shoulder airbags 129 within the shoulder fixing portions 120 are actuated, at S203.

(42) Next, the arm airbags 419 within the arm fixing portions 410 are actuated, and preferably actuated one by one for progressive muscle relaxation. That is, it is preferable that the right arm airbag is actuated first at S204, followed by the actuation of the left arm airbag at S205.

(43) Next, the backrest portion 100 and the leg fixing portions 300 are pivoted to a predetermined sleep angle, at S206. In an example, the sleep angle may be an angle close to 180 degrees. That is, the leg fixing portions 300 may be raised and the backrest portion 100 may be reclined so that the user can have entire body relaxed as if he/she is lying on a real bed.

(44) In this state, the massage ball assembly 600 is lowered and actuated from the back position to a direction of the pelvis, at S207.

(45) Next, the pelvic airbags 209 and the leg airbags 309 in the leg fixing portions 300 are actuated and released. In this example, while the airbags in the left and right sides are separately actuated, it is also preferable for progressive muscle relaxation that the airbags are actuated in the order of the pelvis and the leg on one side, and the pelvis and the leg on the other side. That is, the right pelvic airbag is actuated at S208, then the right leg airbag is actuated at S209, then the left pelvic airbag is actuated at S210, then the left leg airbag is actuated at S211, and then all the left and right leg airbags 309 are released at S212, and then all the left and right pelvic airbag 209 are released at S213.

(46) Next, the arm airbags 419, which have been in operation from S204 and S205, are released at S214, and the shoulder airbags 129, which have been in operation from S203, are released at S215.

(47) The user's muscular relaxation according to the progressive muscular relaxation is then completed, upon actuation and release of the back airbag 109 at S216.

(48) The user now has relaxed muscles throughout the body according to the progressive muscular relaxation, and with the backrest portion 100 and the leg fixing portions 300 that have been pivoted to the sleep angle and maintained at that angle since S206, the user is now lying comfortably, and there is no airbag in operation. Accordingly, the user may have a good sleep for a desired time (i.e., sleep massage time as applied).

(49) When the sleep massage time elapses, the user is smoothly woken up.

(50) To this end, the backrest portion 100 and the leg fixing portions 300 are pivoted to a predetermined maximum angle upon elapse of the sleep massage time. In an example, the maximum angle is preferably greater than the sleep angle at S206. This allows the user to naturally feel like he/she is stretching after a sound sleep. Simultaneously, all the airbags 109, 129, 209, 309, 319 and 419 are operated at low pressure at S300. This allows the user to sense the suitable pressure to wake up from the sleep.

(51) Although embodiments have been described in accordance with the present invention above for better understanding of those skilled in the art, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(52) 100: backrest portion 109: back airbag 110: Headrest 120: shoulder fixing portion 129: shoulder airbag 130: thermal eye patch pocket 131: thermal eye patch 200: seat portion 209: pelvic airbag 230: thermal abdominal pad pocket 231: thermal abdominal pad 300: leg fixing portion 309: leg airbag 310: foot fixing portion 319: foot airbag 400: support frame 410: arm fixing portion 411: hand fixing portion 419: arm airbag 450: lower frame 500: operating portion 600: massage ball assembly