Massage Device With A Releasable Connection For A Massaging Head
Patent No. US12133826 (titled "Massage Device With A Releasable Connection For A Massaging Head") was filed by Hyper Ice Inc on Jul 1, 2024.
What is this patent about?
’826 is related to the field of percussive massage devices , specifically those designed for deep muscle stimulation and pain relief. Traditional vibrating massagers often suffer from issues like bulkiness, overheating, excessive noise, and difficulty in prolonged use. This patent addresses these shortcomings by focusing on a more efficient and user-friendly design.
The underlying idea behind ’826 is to create a handheld percussive massager with a quick-connect system for swapping massage heads while the device is running. This allows for continuous use and adaptation to different muscle groups or areas of discomfort without interruption. The design also incorporates a motor-driven piston mechanism to deliver the percussive action.
The claims of ’826 focus on a percussive massager featuring a housing, a reciprocating piston with a bore at its distal end, a motor driving the piston, a drive mechanism determining the piston's stroke length, and a quick-connect system at the piston's distal end. Crucially, the quick-connect system enables the user to attach or detach massage heads while the piston is actively reciprocating at its operational speed.
In practice, the motor's rotary motion is converted into linear, reciprocating motion of the piston via a flywheel and crank mechanism . The offset crank pin on the flywheel drives the piston back and forth. The quick-connect system uses magnets to hold the massage head in place, allowing for easy swapping without tools or device shutdown. This addresses the problem of users needing to stop and restart the device to change massage heads, improving the overall user experience.
This design differentiates itself from prior art by enabling on-the-fly massage head changes. Older designs typically required the device to be powered down for head replacement, interrupting the massage session. The use of a magnetic quick-connect also simplifies the process compared to threaded or snap-fit connections, making it faster and more convenient for the user to adapt the massage to their specific needs.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the early 2010s when ’826 was filed, vibrating massage devices were at a time when they were typically implemented using a motor to create vibrations. At this time, systems commonly relied on mechanical linkages to translate rotary motion into linear motion for massage heads, rather than more complex electronic control systems. Hardware or software constraints made precise control of massage parameters, such as stroke length and frequency, non-trivial.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the application because the prior art, whether considered individually or in combination, did not fully disclose all the structural and functional aspects described in the claims. Specifically, the prior art did not disclose a "distal end of the piston having a bore" in combination with "a quick release connector at the distal end of the piston, wherein the quick release connector allows the first massaging head to be connected while the piston reciprocates."
Claims
This patent includes 15 claims, with claim 1 being the only independent claim. Independent claim 1 focuses on a percussive massager that includes a housing, piston, motor, drive mechanism with a flywheel, and a quick-connect system for massaging heads. The dependent claims generally elaborate on and add detail to the features described in the independent claim, such as motor speed, control panel features, handle positioning, drive mechanism components, and bore structure.
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Date
Description
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US12133826
- Application Number
- US18761049
- Filing Date
- Jul 1, 2024
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Jun 27, 2034
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents