 |
Claims  |
|
|
What is claimed is:
1. A warm bath for simultaneously soaking and warming the hands and feet in
a bathing agent consisting mainly of wax, the combination comprising an
upper container overlying a lower container with each containing said
bathing agent, connecting means connecting said upper container to said
lower container, said upper and lower container each having a bottom wall
and a peripheral side wall which is generally upright, said bottom wall
and peripheral side wall of each container each comprising a base
structure and an inner layer on said base structure, said inner layer
being made of a corrosion-resistant material, abutting means on at least
one of said containers for facilitating removal of wax from a person's
body part, said at least one container having a top opening, said abutting
means comprising a bar member mounted on said base structure and extending
over said top opening of said container, said bar member having an
L-shaped configuration including a first horizontal leg and a downward
depending vertical leg, said vertical leg having a terminating end
operable to remove said wax from a person's body parts, said base
structure having a bottom outer surface juxtaposed to said bottom wall and
a side outer surface juxtaposed to said side wall, first electric heater
means on said bottom outer surface, second electric heater means on said
side outer surface, a temperature sensor means for detecting the
temperature of said bathing agent in each of said containers, and
temperature control means operably connected between said temperature
sensor means and said first and second electric heater means for
controlling the temperature of said bathing agent in each of said
containers, whereby the entire volume of the bathing agent in each of said
upper and lower containers is uniformly heated by said first and second
electric heater means and the temperature of the bathing agent in said
upper and lower containers is maintained substantially even at all
locations in the respective container by said first and second electric
heater means.
2. A warm bath according to claim 9 wherein said heater wire of said first
electric heater means is distributed concentrically at a position
underlying said bottom wall, said heater wire of said second electric
heater means extending entirely around said upright peripheral side wall,
whereby substantially the entire bottom wall and side wall of each
container is headed by said first and second electric heater means.
3. A war bath according to claim 9 wherein said heater wire comprises
nickrome wire and said sheets comprise silicone rubber.
4. A warm bath according to claim 1 wherein said corrosiveresistant
material of said inner layer comprises a flexible material which is
expandable upon thermal expansion of said base structure.
5. A warm bath according to claim 4 wherein said corrosiveresistant
material of said inner layer is selected from the group consisting of
silicone rubber and expoxy resin.
6. A warm bath according to claim 8 wherein said annular plate is made of a
heat-resisting resin material.
7. A warm bath according to claim 8 wherein said opening means comprises a
central opening and a plurality of outer openings disposed about said
central opening.
8. A warm bath for simultaneously soaking and warming the hands and feet in
a bathing agent consisting mainly of wax, the combination comprising an
upper container overlying a lower container with each containing said
bathing agent, connecting means connecting said upper container to said
lower container, said upper and lower container each having a bottom wall
and a peripheral side wall which is generally upright, said bottom wall
and peripheral side wall of each container each comprising a base
structure and an inner layer on said base structure, said inner layer
being made of a corrosion-resistant material, said base structure having a
bottom outer surface juxtaposed to said bottom wall and a side outer
surface juxtaposed to said side wall, abutting means on at least one of
said containers for facilitating removal of wax from a person's body part,
said abutting means comprising an annular plate having an upper and a
lower generally flat surface, a plurality of generally upright projections
extending from said upper surface, a plurality of downwardly depending
projections extending from said lower surface, said downwardly depending
projections having bottom terminating ends abutting said bottom wall of
said container to thereby provide a space between said bottom wall of said
container and said lower surface of said abutting member, firs electric
heater means on said bottom outer surface, second electric heater means on
said side outer surface, a temperature sensor means for detecting the
temperature of said bathing agent in each of said containers, and
temperature control means operably connected between said temperature
sensor means and said first and second electric heater means for
controlling the temperature of said bathing agent in each of said
containers, whereby the entire volume of the bathing agent in each of said
upper and lower containers is uniformly heated by said first and second
electric heater means and the temperature of the bathing agent in said
upper and lower containers is maintained substantially even at all
locations in the respective container by said first and second electric
heater means, and opening means in said annular plate such that said
bathing agent passes through said opening means to facilitate movement and
circulation of said bathing agent through said annular plate during
heating of said bathing agent by said first and second heater means.
9. A warm bath for simultaneously soaking and warming the hands and feet in
a bathing agent consisting mainly of wax, the combination comprising an
upper container and a lower container with each containing said bathing
agent, connecting means connecting said upper container to said lower
container, said upper and lower container each having a bottom wall and a
peripheral side wall which is generally upright, said bottom wall and
peripheral side wall of each container each comprising a base structure
and an inner layer on said base structure, said inner layer being made of
a corrosion-resistant material, said base structure having a bottom outer
surface juxtaposed to said bottom wall and a side outer surface juxtaposed
to said side wall, first electric heater means on said bottom outer
surface, second electric heater means on said side outer surface, each of
said electric heater means comprising a heater wire sandwiched between
fireproof insulating sheets, one of said sheets of said first electric
heater means being fixed to said bottom outer surface of said base
structure, one of said sheets of said second heater means being fixed to
said side outer surface of said base structure, each of said containers
having a corner part joining the respective bottom wall and peripheral
side wall, said heater wire of said first electric heater means having a
first section of one distribution density at a concentric center portion
of said bottom wall and a second section of another distribution density
at an outer annular portion surrounding said central portion, said second
section extending substantially to said corner part, said other
distribution density being greater than said one distribution density to
thereby provide for heating of the bathing agent disposed at said corner
part, a temperature sensor means for detecting the temperature of said
bathing agent in each of said containers, and temperature control means
operably connected between said temperature sensor means and said first
and second electric heater means for controlling the temperature of said
bathing agent in each of said containers, whereby the entire volume of the
bathing agent in each of said upper and lower containers is uniformly
heated by said first and second electric heater means and the temperature
of the bathing agent in said upper and lower containers is maintained
substantially even at all locations in the respective container by said
first and second electric heater means. |
|
 |
|
 |
Claims |
|
|
|
Description |
|
|
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a warm bath for hands and feet used for
warming the hands and feet by soaking them in a warm molten bathing agent
consisting mainly of a wax.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that a hot spring, in particular a mineral spring, therapy
is very effective for recovering from fatigue, soothing muscular fatigue
and pain, accelerating circulation of the blood, slimming fatness and
activating internal organs and so on. This therapy is designed to warm the
body by the warm water and to accelerate warming operation of the body by
absorbing mineral ions contained in warm water, thereby stimulating cells
in the body and accelerating perspiration to improve metabolism.
However, hot spring therapy involves difficulty such as as requiring a
patient to visit a hot spring or such disadvantage as causing a heavy
burden to the heart or other parts of the body, because of soaking the
entire body in a bath. When conducting the therapy, therefore, there is
not only a possibility to fatigue the body, but it is also not suitable to
those who have heart disease or high blood pressure.
In order to avoid such problems, the inventor has some time ago developed a
novel apparatus for applying a warm bath therapy to those who have heart
disease or the like with ease at home, together with a bathing agent used
therein and consisting mainly of a wax containing minerals. The warm bath
and the bathing agent are for partly warming the hands and feet soaked in
the bath filled with the warm molten bathing agent to realize the body
warming effect, which is as good as the body bathing of hot spring
therapy.
According to the experiment carried out by the inventor, however, when
soaking the hands and feet in the bath, sweat and secretions are excreted
from the body to erode the inner surface of the bath since such sweat and
secretions are acid. As a result, the bath becomes unusable due to
deterioration.
In addition, according to the experiment carried out by the inventor, since
the bathing agent consists mainly of the wax, when it is warmed and
molten, convection is not performed sufficiently inside the bath due to
its viscosity. Therefore, the bathing agent temperature in the bath is not
even and its precise control is difficult, resulting in such problems as
scalding the hands and feet when they are soaked in a hot temperature
portion, or solidifying the bathing agent at a colder portion to make the
soaking difficult.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a warm bath for hands
and feet, which solves the above problems at once by devising a structure
of the bath in which the bathing agent is filled, and by providing an
arrangement of the heating portion for heating the bath.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A warm bath for hands and feet of the present invention designed to warm
the hands and feet soaked in a warm molten bathing agent consisting mainly
of a wax, includes a bath having a pair of containers arranged in upper
and lower stages for filling with the bathing agent, a heating portion for
heating each container disposed in the bath, a sensor for detecting the
temperature of the warm molten bathing agent, and a temperature control
for controlling the operation of the heating portion corresponding to the
result detected.
In the warm bath for hands and feet of the present invention, each
container of the bath is formed with a corrosion-resisting layer on the
inner surface.
In addition, in the warm bath for hands and feet of the present invention,
the heating portion is divided into a first heating portion and a second
heating portion, the former being disposed similarly on the bottom of each
container and the latter being disposed similarly on the periphery
thereof.
According to the present invention, when the bathing agent is heated and
molten in the bath and the hands and feet are soaked thereinto, a warming
effect as good as body bathing of hot spring therapy can be obtained, and
at the same time, recovering of fatigue, soothing of the muscular fatigue
and pain, acceleration of the blood circulation, slimming of the fatness
and activation of organic functions and the like can be accomplished
without stressing various parts of the body including the heart as
occurred in body bathing. Besides, a strong thermal stimulus is given
simultaneously to the hands and feet studded with a plurality of meridian
points, which is as efficacious as a moxibustion, and at the same time, by
partially destroying a film of wax formed on the soaked hands and feet to
resoak, a strong thermal stimulus can be applied locally repeatedly,
resulting in an effective therapy of the affected parts. Moreover, waste
materials in the body are excreted from the gaps between nails of the
hands and feet to accelerate the metabolism, so that it is contributive
for promoting the health of all people.
Since a corrosion-resisting layer is formed on the inner surface of each
container forming the bath, even if acid sweat and secretions are excreted
into these containers from the body, the inner surface of the container is
resistant to corrosion, thereby durability of the bath and safety of the
apparatus can be considerably improved.
Moreover, the heating portion is divided into a first and second heating
portions, the former being disposed equivalently on the bottom of each
container and the latter being disposed equivalently on the periphery
thereof, so that even if circulation inside the bath is hindered by the
viscosity of the bathing agent, the warm molten bathing agent temperature
in the bath is uniform and not only the temperature can be controlled
precisely, but also such problems as scalding of the hands and feet by the
hot temperature portion or hindering the soaking of hands and feet by the
solidified bathing agent in the colder portion can be totally avoided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a general structure of a warm bath for
hands and feet in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of an apparatus taken along the line
A--A of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a container looking from below,
FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a container taken along the line
B--B of FIG. 3,
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an abutting member used in a warm bath for
hands and feet of the present invention,
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a bath showing another embodiment of an
abutting member, and
FIG. 7 is an electrical circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration of
a temperature control used in a warm bath for hands and feet of the
present invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a warm bath for hands and feet 1 in accordance with one
embodiment of the present invention, wherein the external and sectional
views of the apparatus are respectively shown.
The apparatus 1 in the drawing comprises a body 2 including an upper bath 4
for soaking the hands and a lower bath 5 for soaking the feet, and a chair
3 coupled to the front position of the body 2.
The upper bath 4 and the lower bath 5 are supported in parallel vertically
in two stages between two side frames 6, 7, and are both provided with
containers 10, 11 having an upper openings on the upper surface of box
type bodies 8, 9. In front of the body 8 of the upper bath 4, a control
panel 12 having a power switch and a temperature adjusting knob and the
like (not shown) is disposed, and on the body 9 of the lower bath 5, a
foot rest 13 is arranged horizontally.
In the bodies 8, 9 of each bath 4, 5, heaters 14, 15 for heating the
containers 10, 11 are disposed respectively, thereby a bathing agent
filled within each container 10, 11 is heated and molten.
The heating agent is consisting mainly of a wax, into which less than 1% by
weight of minerals is added and if necessary, vitamins such as vitamin E
and P, an antiphlogistic such as methyl salicylate and an anodyne such as
1-menthol are added. In the embodiment, though a paraffin wax is used as
the wax, it is not limited thereto, an animal wax such as beeswax and
whale wax and a vegetable was such as a Japan wax may be used, or various
mixtures of waxes may be used.
When the hands and feet are soaked in the warm molten bathing agent, a film
of wax is formed on the soaked portion, thereby the hands and feet are
heated and kept warm. A large number of meridian points distributed on the
hands and feet are led to various parts of the body through meridians,
thus when the hands and feet are heated and warmed by the warm molten
bathing agent consisting mainly of the wax, the whole body is warmed by
the thermal reaction of the meridians.
In the bathing agent, more than 1% by weight of minerals such as germanium,
iron, magnesium, calcium and the like are contained, which are ionized in
the warm molten liquid. The ions are absorbed into the body from the gaps
between the nails and serves to warm the body further by the same function
as the minerals.
Each container 10, 11 in the upper and lower baths 4, 5 are, as shown in
FIG. 4, is formed with a corrosion and acidresisting layer 17 on the inner
surface of a stainless base material 16. The layer 17 is designed to
protect the inner surface of the container against acid sweat and
secretions secreted from the body, for example, if the layer 17 is formed
of a silicone rubber, epoxy resin and the like, it is not only resistant
to corrosion, but since it is flexible to thermal expansion of the base
material 16, thermal deformation and failure of the container can be
avoided.
Though is has been described already that the heating portions 14, 15 are
disposed respectively in the upper and lower baths 4, 5, in case of the
present invention, each heating portion 14, 15 comprises a first heating
portion 18 and a second heating portion 19, the former being disposed
equivalently on the bottom of each container 10, 11 and the latter being
disposed on the periphery thereof. Each heating portion 18, 19 is, as
shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, formed with a face heater comprising a heating
wire 21 such as a nickrome wire disposed between fireproof insulating
sheets 20, 20 consisting of a silicone rubber and the like. The first
heating portion 18 is arranged generally throughout the bottom of the
containers 10, 11, and the second heating portion 19 is arranged entirely
around the straight periphery of the containers 10, 11. The heating wire
21 of the first heating portion 18 is distributed concentrically and is
formed to heat a corner portion 22 located between the heating portions
18, 19 effectively by increasing the distributed density of the outer
periphery as compared to the other portions.
In each container 10, 11 of the upper and lower baths 4, 5, an abutting
member 23 for destroying a film of wax formed on the surface of the hands
and feet is arranged when necessary.
That is, when the hands and feet soaked in the warm molten bathing agent
are pulled out, the bathing solvent adhered thereto is gelatinized to form
a film of wax due to the lower temperature. When the hands and feet
covered with the wax film are soaked again in the warm molten bathing
agent, since the skin is protected by the wax film, the thermal stimulus
applied to the skin is reduced as compared with the first soaking. If the
wax film is destroyed at this state, the warm molten bathing agent flows
into the destroyed portion, resulting in a strong thermal stimulus to the
skin and an effect as good as moxibustion can be obtained.
The abutting member 23 is used to destroy the wax film and, for example, as
shown in FIG. 5, formed with an annular plate 24 made of a heat-resisting
resin having a circular hole 28 in the center. On the annular plate 24, a
short leg piece 25 and a plurality of projections 26 are projected
respectively on the lower surface and the upper surface thereof, and holes
27 for accelerating convection of the bathing agent together with the
center circular hole 28, are open suitably in the plate.
The abutting member 23 is constructed not only in such a manner as shown in
the embodiment of FIG. 5, which is a submerged type in that it is placed
in the bottom of the bath, but is may be also formed as shown, for
example, in FIG. 6 to project a bar body in the upper opening of the
containers 10, 11. In the case of this embodiment, the wax film can be
readily destroyed partly by pressing it against the tip 29 facing
downwardly.
In the upper and lower baths 4, 5, heat sensors 30, 31 for detecting the
temperature of the warm molten bathing agent in the containers 10, 11 are
provided. Responding to the result detected by the heat sensors 30, 31, a
temperature control 32 (FIG. 7) to be described later is adapted to
control the operation of the heaters 14, 15.
The heat sensors 30, 31 shown in the drawing, are constructed in such a
manner that an electric cord (not shown) is inserted through a flexible
pipe 33 and provided at its tip with a thermister 34, 35, a heat sensing
element, which is immersed in the warm molten bathing agent in each
container 10, 11 by bending the pipe downwardly.
FIG. 7 shows a circuit configuration of the temperature control 32. The
temperature control 32 shown in the drawing comprises a temperature
adjusting circuit of a phase control type, and provided with a first
control 32A for controlling the heater 14 of the upper bath 4, and a
second control 32B for controlling the heater 15 of the lower bath 5.
The first and second controls 32A, 32B are of an exactly identical
construction, therefore, only the first control 32A will be described and
that for the second control 32B will be omitted by giving the same
reference characters to corresponding parts.
The first control 32A comprises a power switch 36, a neon lamp 37, a noise
filter 38, a full-wave rectification circuit 39, a zener diode 40, a
trigger circuit 41 and a triac 42, wherein the trigger circuit 41 includes
the thermister 34, a resistor R, volume resistors VR.sub.1, VR.sub.2, a
capacitor C, a unijunction transistor 42 (hereinafter referred to as
"UJT") and a transformer 44. Circuit configuration members forming the
temperature control 32 are incorporated on a printed circuit board and
contained in the body 8 of the upper bath 4.
In the first control 32A of the above circuit configuration, to the UJT43
of the trigger circuit 41, trapezoidal wave voltage produced by clamping
the full-wave rectification voltage by the zener diode 40 is applied as
the driving voltage. The capacitor C in the trigger circuit 41 is charged
to a pedestal voltage determined rapidly in the beginning of each half
cycle of the trapezoidal wave voltage by a partial pressure of the
resistance value of the temperature adjusting volume resistor VR.sub.1 and
thermister 34, and simultaneously, a charging wave form of (R +RV.sub.1).C
determined by the resistor R, volume resistor VR.sub.1 and capacitor C is
superposed to the pedestal voltage. When the superposed voltage reaches
the trigger level of the UJT43, the capacitor C is discharged and the
pulse is given to a gate of the triac 42, which is then triggered at a
certain conduction angle to supply power to the heater 14.
If the temperature of the warm molten bathing agent in the container 10
drops, which is detected by the thermister 34 and the pedestal voltage is
raised to reduce the voltage difference between the trigger level. Thus,
the capacitor voltage reaches the trigger level quicker within the cycle
and the trigger pulse moves in a direction to widen the conduction angle
of the triac 42 and larger power is supplied to the heater 14.
When the temperature of the warm molten bathing agent is increased by
heating operation of the heater 14, the above operation is conducted
reversely, thus the warm molten bathing agent is automatically adjusted to
the prescribed temperature.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
When using a warm bath 1 in accordance with the present invention, after
filling each container 10, 11 of upper and lower baths 4, 5 with a bathing
agent, heaters 14, 15 are operated to warm and molten the bathing agent.
In this case, a volume resistor VR.sub.1 of a temperature control 32 is
suitably adjusted beforehand by a temperature adjusting knob on a control
panel 12 so as to bring the warm molten bathing agent temperature at
47.degree.-55.degree. C., preferably around 52.degree. C.
Since each heater 14, 15 comprises first and second heaters 18, 19 and the
bottom of containers 10, 11 is heated by the first heater 18 and the
periphery thereof is heated by the second heater 19, the whole containers
10, 11 are heated uniformly.
Thus, even if convection of the bathing agent does not take place
sufficiently due to its viscosity, the temperature of the bathing agent is
maintained evenly at all positions in the container, and the temperature
is controlled precisely by the temperature control 32.
A subject is seated on a chair 3 and his hands and feet are soaked
respectively in the upper and lower baths 4, 5 to conduct partial bathing.
When the hands and feet are warmed, a body warming operation as good as
body bathing by hot spring therapy can be obtained due to the thermal
reaction of the meridians, and moxibustion operation is applied
simultaneously to the body studded with the meridian points.
Moreover, in this case, though acid sweat and secretions are secreted from
the body into the containers 10, 11 into which the hands and feet are
soaked, since the inner surface of each container 10, 11 is coated with a
corrosion-resisting layer 17, they are free from any corrosion.
EXPERIMENT
A clinical experiment was conducted with 48 persons consisting of 23 males
and 25 females, using a warm bath in accordance with the present
invention. The clinical experiment was carried out first with each subject
in such a manner that subjective symptoms of fatigue, improper blood
circulation languid feeling, stiffness, neuralgia or muscular pain,
appetite, gastroenteric condition and evacuation were interrogated, and
thereafter, the prescribed content of the experiment was performed, then
after the experiment, the same interrogation was made again to check the
degree of restoration of the subjective symptoms.
The content of the experiment is to perform partial bathing of the hands
and feet continuously for two weeks, except Sunday, using the warm bath of
the present invention. The bathing agent temperature was kept at
54.degree. C. and 12 bathings of 30 minutes each daily were counted as one
treatment period.
In the interrogation made after the experiment, as criteria for determining
the treatment result, "very effective" indicates a complete or practical
recovery, "effective" shows a tolerable recovery, "little effective" means
a little improvement, "not certain" designates an uncertain improvement
and "not effective" indicates an ineffective result.
Based upon the interrogation, the clinical results were summarized in the
following table.
According to the table, if criteria of "very effective", "effective" and
"little effective" are counted as effective, all subjective symptoms show
the effective clinical results.
______________________________________
Criteria
Effectiveness factor % obtained by
counting "Very effective", "Effective"
Subjective Symptoms
and "Little effective" as effective.
______________________________________
Fatigue 88.89
Improper blood cir-
95.00
culation and sensi-
tive to cold of
legs and waist
Languid Feeling
86.49
Stiffness 83.33
Neuralgia 84.38
or
Muscular Pain
Appetite 87.10
Gastroenteric 80.65
Condition
Evacuation 80.00
______________________________________
* * * * *
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Description |
|
