Massage Device With A Releasable Connection For A Massaging Head
Patent No. US12213933 (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?
’933 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 being bulky, overheating, noisy, and difficult to use for extended periods. The patent addresses these deficiencies by focusing on a more efficient and user-friendly design.
The underlying idea behind ’933 is to create a handheld percussive massager with a quick-connect system for interchanging massage heads while the device is running. This allows users to seamlessly switch between different massage heads for targeting various muscle groups or areas of discomfort without interrupting the massage session. The design also incorporates a motor-driven piston mechanism to deliver the percussive action.
The claims of ’933 focus on a percussive massager featuring a housing, a piston with a bore at its distal end, a motor driving the piston's reciprocation at a specific speed, a drive mechanism defining the piston's stroke length, and a quick-connect system at the piston's distal end. This system enables the insertion or removal of massage heads while the piston is actively reciprocating. The drive mechanism includes a flywheel connected to the motor's output shaft and a crank pin linking the flywheel to the piston.
In practice, the motor's rotational motion is converted into linear, reciprocating motion of the piston via the flywheel and crank pin. The quick-connect system, likely employing magnets, allows for rapid attachment and detachment of different massage heads. This design allows the user to change the type of massage being delivered without needing to stop the device, improving the overall user experience.
The patent differentiates itself from prior art by enabling on-the-fly massage head changes . This is a significant improvement over traditional massagers that require the device to be powered down before swapping heads. The specific arrangement of the motor, drive mechanism, and quick-connect system contributes to a more efficient and versatile percussive massage device.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the early 2010s when ’933 was filed, massaging devices were typically implemented using motors and drive mechanisms to create vibration or percussive movements. At a time when embedded systems commonly relied on microcontrollers for basic control functions, features such as variable stroke length, heat dissipation, and quick-connection mechanisms for massage heads were non-trivial to implement efficiently and reliably within the constraints of size, power consumption, and cost.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The claims were amended during prosecution. The claims were rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite. The Office action indicates that claims 1-15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), 2nd paragraph. The Office action was made final.
Claims
This patent contains 15 claims, with claim 1 being the only independent claim. Independent claim 1 is directed to a percussive massager having a specific drive mechanism and quick-connect system. The dependent claims generally add further details and features to the percussive massager described in independent claim 1, such as speed variations, control panel features, handle positioning, and bore structures.
Key Claim Terms New
Definitions of key terms used in the patent claims.
Patent Family
File Wrapper
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Date
Description
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US12213933
- Application Number
- US18760576
- Filing Date
- Jul 1, 2024
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Jun 27, 2034
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents