Device for treating cellulitis

Abstract

A massage device comprising at least one arcuate support provided with a plurality of adjacent rollers, wherein each roller is constrained to the arcuate support in a certain position and is further adapted to rotate about an axis belonging to a plane substantially parallel to the tangential plane to the profile of the arcuate support at said certain position, and each roller of said plurality of rollers is convergent or divergent with respect to the immediately adjacent roller.

Claims

1. A massage device comprising: at least one arcuate support; and a first plurality of rollers, each roller of said first plurality of rollers being constrained along a concave surface of a first one of said at least one arcuate support and in a predetermined position that is aligned about a radial or transversal plane of the first arcuate support, each roller of the first plurality of rollers being rotatable about a rotational axis belonging to a plane substantially parallel to a tangential plane to a profile of the first arcuate support at said predetermined position, wherein the rotational axis of each roller of said first plurality of rollers is inclined with respect to the radial or transversal plane of said first arcuate support with an opposite inclination of the rotational axis of an adjacent roller.

2. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein said first arcuate support comprises a handle.

3. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein each roller of said first plurality of rollers comprises a plurality of pins made of a flexible material positioned on an outer surface thereof.

4. The massage device according to claim 3, wherein each roller of said first plurality of rollers and said plurality of pins are made of materials selected from the group comprising plastic materials, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, and metal materials.

5. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein each roller of said first plurality of rollers comprises a plurality of grooves formed on an outer surface thereof.

6. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of each roller of said first plurality of rollers is between 10 mm and 80 mm.

7. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein said first arcuate supports is made of materials selected from the group comprising plastic materials and metal materials.

8. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein a pair of adjacent rollers on the first arcuate support have rotational axes which are positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to each other, such that skin and/or tissue being massaged is pinched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in a first direction.

9. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein a pair of adjacent rollers on the first arcuate support have rotational axes which are positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to each other, such that skin and/or tissue being massaged is stretched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in a first direction.

10. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein a pair of adjacent rollers on the first arcuate support have rotational axes which are positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to each other, such that skin and/or tissue being massaged is pinched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in a first direction, and such that the skin and/or tissue being massaged is stretched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in an opposing second direction.

11. The massage device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one arcuate support includes a second arcuate support having a second concave surface and is hinged to the first arcuate support, the first arcuate support and the second arcuate support being arranged such that the respective concavities of each of the first and second arcuate supports face each other.

12. The massage device according to claim 11, wherein the second arcuate support comprises a second plurality of rollers, each roller of said second plurality of rollers being constrained along the second concave surface of the second arcuate support in a predetermined position that is aligned about a radial or transversal plane of the second arcuate support, each roller of the second plurality of rollers being rotatable about a rotational axis belonging to a plane substantially parallel to a tangential plane to a profile of the second arcuate support at said predetermined position, wherein the rotational axis of each roller of said second plurality of rollers is inclined with respect to the radial or transversal plane of said second arcuate support with an opposite inclination of the rotational axis of an adjacent roller.

13. The massage device according to claim 12, wherein each roller of said second plurality of rollers comprises a plurality of pins made of a flexible material positioned on an outer surface thereof.

14. The massage device according to claim 12, wherein each roller of said second plurality of rollers comprises a plurality of grooves formed on an outer surface thereof.

15. The massage device according to claim 11, wherein said second arcuate support comprises a handle.

16. The massage device according to claim 11, wherein a pair of adjacent rollers on the second arcuate support have rotational axes which are positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to each other, such that skin and/or tissue being massaged is pinched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in a first direction.

17. The massage device according to claim 11, wherein a pair of adjacent rollers on the second arcuate support have rotational axes which are positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to each other, such that skin and/or tissue being massaged is stretched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in a first direction.

18. The massage device according to claim 11, wherein a pair of adjacent rollers on the second arcuate support have rotational axes which are positioned at a predetermined angle with respect to each other, such that skin and/or tissue being massaged is pinched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in a first direction, and such that the skin and/or tissue being massaged is stretched therebetween the pair of adjacent rollers during movement of the massage device in an opposing second direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the reading of the following specification given as a non-limiting example, with the aid of the figures shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a device for treating cellulitis, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a device for treating cellulitis, according to another embodiment of the present invention;

(4) FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 depict a side view, a rear view and a front view of the device in FIG. 2, respectively;

(5) FIGS. 6 and 7 depict two different views of the device in FIG. 2;

(6) FIGS. 8 and 9 depict two further variants of the device according to the invention; and

(7) FIGS. 10-12 depict further different variants of the rollers which are applicable to the device according to the invention.

(8) The following description of exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(9) The massage devices used for treating cellulitis generally comprise a plurality of rollers fixed to a support and which are free to rotate about their own axis when the support is moved and pressed on the part to be treated.

(10) In these devices, the rollers can be arranged in groups of juxtaposed rollers with the rotation axes of the rollers oriented so that said rollers can cooperate in exerting the required pressure on the part to be treated. The rollers are often anchored on curved or bendable supports to exert a pressure which is substantially normal to the surface of the part on which they slide. These curved supports can be of different sizes or flexible and configurable to be adapted to the various body parts requiring treatment. This sort of devices can exert only one type of pressure and are effective only in exerting one type of action and pressure on the part to be treated. The device according to the present specification allows obtaining the exertion of different types of pressure making the provided treatment more complete, effective, and beneficial.

(11) The appended FIGS. 1 and 2 show plan views of a device for treating cellulitis, according to embodiments of the present invention, device globally indicated with the reference numeral 10.

(12) The device 10 for treating cellulitis of the invention according to FIG. 2 has a frame on which rollers 30 are mounted adapted to slide on the skin to be treated. In this preferred embodiment the frame comprises two arcuate supports 12, 14 hinged at one end so that the concave profiles of said two supports face each other, in other embodiments of the present specification only one arcuate and moderately flexible support can be present in order to adapt to different anatomical parts to be treated.

(13) Each of said supports 12, 14 comprises a plurality of adjacent rollers 30, each roller 30 of said plurality of rollers is in turn bound to one of said supports in a given position by, for example, two supports 33 fixed to said support and adapted to accommodate the ends of the rotation axis of the corresponding roller.

(14) Each roller 30 is adapted to rotate about an axis belonging to a plane substantially parallel to the tangential plane to the support profile 12, 14 at the position wherein said roller is located, moreover, each roller 30 of said plurality of rollers is arranged so as to be convergent or divergent with respect to the immediately adjacent roller.

(15) In the device 10 shown in FIG. 2, the frame is divided in two arcuate supports hinged to an end so that the concave profiles of said two supports face each other. The hinge 20 connecting the two supports 12, 14 allows the mutual approaching or detaching thereof and provides the possibility of adapting the device to the various anatomical parts to be treated, arms, legs, hips, glutes.

(16) Advantageously, each of the supports 12, 14 has a handle 16, 18 allowing an easy and comfortable grip thereof.

(17) FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 depict a side view, a rear view and a front view of the device in FIG. 2, respectively, while FIGS. 5 and 6 depict two different axonometric views of the device in FIG. 2.

(18) In the preferred embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-7, each of the aforesaid rollers 30 has a plurality of pins 32 on their outer surface. The pins can be made of materials of different hardness, according to the applications. Materials of common use for rollers 30 and pins 32 thereof can be made of plastic materials or natural or synthetic rubber or light metal materials. The supports 12, 14 can be made of plastic or light metal materials.

(19) In the examples in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the illustrated supports 12, 14 comprises 7 rollers and, during use, makes 6 combined actions on the part to be treated, of which three of compression and three of stretching.

(20) Adding to these actions those actions caused by the rollers placed on the opposite half-frame, a total of 12 actions exerted by the device 10 is obtained.

(21) The examples of the device according to the present specification shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 show that two convergent adjacent rollers, rotating with a certain pressure given by the user, start to engage with the skin of the part to be treated, by means of the rubber pins 32, when said rollers during their convergent rotation have the ends of their contact surfaces spaced from each other by about 2.5 cm. When the rollers 30 and the pins 32 thereof release the skin, the ends of their contact surfaces are spaced from each other by about 1 cm.

(22) This process causes the displacement of the treated skin toward the conjunction of the rollers, creating a pinching or squeezing or kneading type massage.

(23) Other couples of divergent adjacent rollers cause, instead, an effect contrary to the one described above i.e., they tend to extend and stretch the skin of the part to be treated because, when the rubber pins 32 placed on the surface of the rollers start to engage with the skin, the ends of their contact surfaces are spaced from each other by about 1 cm and, turning in a divergent direction, they drag the underlying skin therewith thus causing a traction or a stretching thereof until the release occurring at a distance between the ends of the contact surfaces of the rollers is of about 2.5 cm.

(24) The greater the convergence or divergence between the adjacent rollers 30, the greater the pinching effect will be (or kneading or stretching effect); vice versa lower convergences or divergences will be less effective on the skin.

(25) Further, the greater is the diameter of the rollers, the greater will be the effect of the kneading or stretching massage despite the constant angle between the bases of the two rollers.

(26) Preferably, the diameter of the rollers 30 is within the range between 10 mm and 80 mm.

(27) Obviously, the greater is the diameter of the rollers and less rollers will be possible to insert on a device resulting in a decrease in the number of simultaneous actions.

(28) In a preferred embodiment, in the device 10, each of the supports 12, 14 has an arcuate shape.

(29) The oval shape of the closed device 10 has been designed to easily massage both the part of the leg just above the knee, and the part reaching below the gluteus.

(30) Due to the presence of the hinge 20, the device 10 can be used, open, also on the two glutes simultaneously.

(31) FIGS. 8 and 9 depict two further variants of the device according to the invention, differing from the variant of the FIGS. 1-5 also for the presence of the rollers 30 which are cylindrical and pin-free on their surface.

(32) FIGS. 10-12 depict further different variants of the rollers which are applicable to the device according to the invention which present superficial grooves 302, 312, 322 instead the aforesaid pins 32, exerting a similar action than that of said pins 32.

(33) These variants can be made by means of removable covers to be applied to smooth cylindrical rollers.

(34) These variants can have almost cylindrical 312, almost ellipsoidal 302 or almost spherical 322 shapes.

(35) Obviously, the invention as described may be subjected to modifications or improvements dictated by contingent or particular needs, without departing from the scope of the invention.