Pad

Abstract

To provide a pad capable of efficiently heating or cooling an upper part of the trapezius muscle by fitting a neck contact part to the neck of a user regardless of the user's physique.SOLUTION: A pad 1 includes a back contact part 16 for storing a heat-retaining medium 2 therein, left / right shoulder contact parts 17 respectively extending forward from left / right ends of the back contact part 16 and respectively storing the heat retaining medium 2 therein, a neck contact part 18 extending forward of the back contact part 16 between the left / right shoulder contact parts 17 and storing the heat retaining medium 2 therein, and a hollow part 19 extending laterally, with a prescribed front-rear width provided between the back contact part 16 and the neck contact part 18, so as to partition the back contact part 16 and the neck contact part 18 and not storing the heat retaining medium 2 therein.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a pad that can heat or cool the upper part of the trapezius muscle from the upper back to the shoulders and neck. [Background technology]

[0002] Poor blood circulation due to muscle contraction, such as the trapezius, can cause stiff shoulders and other stiffness, which can be a major problem in daily life. This stiffness can generally be relieved by warming the muscles and promoting blood circulation. On the other hand, dilated blood vessels can sometimes cause migraines. Such migraines can generally be alleviated by cooling the neck and reducing blood circulation.

[0003] To address these symptoms, pads for heating or cooling the upper part of the trapezius muscle have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a neck pad in which a housing for housing a heating or cooling element fits around the back of the neck using a flexible, roughly U-shaped collar.

[0004] Furthermore, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a pad that includes a substantially U-shaped pad body that includes a pair of shoulder contact portions for heating or cooling both shoulders, an upper back contact portion that is provided between the pair of shoulder contact portions and continuous with the pair of shoulder contact portions, for heating or cooling the upper back, and a neck contact portion that spans the pair of shoulder contact portions of the pad body and heats or cools the back of the neck. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4979275 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6305852 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the neck pad in Patent Document 1 is designed to contact only the neck, and therefore is insufficient to heat or cool a wide area of ​​the upper trapezius muscles.

[0007] Furthermore, the pad in Patent Document 2 has an opening between the upper back contact portion and the neck contact portion. Therefore, the pad in Patent Document 2 has difficulty in adequately heating or cooling the base of the neck, which is an important area for the trapezius muscle. Furthermore, the opening increases the surface area exposed to the outside air, making it difficult to maintain the temperature of the contents at an appropriate level, potentially shortening the heating or cooling time. Furthermore, the pad in Patent Document 2 has a structure in which the neck contact portion spans a pair of shoulder contact portions. Therefore, whether the neck contact portion fits the user's neck depends on the length of the neck contact portion, and it may be difficult to fit a neck contact portion of the same length to the necks of users with different builds.

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a pad that can fit the neck contact portion to the user's neck regardless of the user's physique and can efficiently heat or cool the upper part of the trapezius muscle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A pad according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a back contact portion that contains a medium for heating or cooling the human body, left and right shoulder contact portions that extend forward from the left and right ends of the back contact portion and contain the medium inside, respectively, a neck contact portion that extends forward of the back contact portion between the left and right shoulder contact portions and contains the medium inside, and a hollow portion that does not contain the medium inside and that extends left and right with a predetermined front-to-back width between the back contact portion and the neck contact portion to separate the back contact portion from the neck contact portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the pad of the present invention, the neck contact portion can be fitted to the neck of the user regardless of the user's physique, and the upper part of the trapezius muscle can be efficiently heated or cooled. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] Top view showing the pads [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the pad and the thermal medium contained within the pad. [Figure 3] Enlarged cross-sectional view along line III-III in Figure 1 [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the pad with the neck support part standing upright. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pad attached to a user; [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view of the pad attached to the user [Figure 7] Cross-sectional view of the pad attached to the user [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a pad according to a first modified example. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a pad and a heat-retaining medium contained inside the pad according to a second modified example. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a pad according to a third modified example. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a pad according to a fourth modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 7 show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is a plan view showing a pad, and Figure 2 is a plan view showing the pad and a heat-retaining medium contained inside the pad.

[0013] 1 and 2 is a heating pad for heating, for example, the upper part of the trapezius muscle of a user. The pad 1 is configured to include a heat-retaining medium 2 as a medium and a pad main body 3.

[0014] In the following description, the front-rear and left-right directions of the pad 1 are defined in the unfolded state of the pad 1. That is, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, when the pad 1 is unfolded, the up-down direction of the paper in Figures 1 and 2 is defined as the front-rear direction of the pad 1, and the left-right direction of the paper in Figures 1 and 2 is defined as the left-right direction of the pad 1.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, the heat-retaining medium 2 is formed by mixing a plurality of first granular materials 5 and a plurality of second granular materials 6, for example.

[0016] The first granular material 5 is, for example, adzuki beans. The second granular material 6 is, for example, silica. These first and second granular materials 5, 6 can be heated, for example, using a microwave oven. The first and second granular materials 5, 6 retain heat imparted by heating. Furthermore, the first and second granular materials 5, 6 can transfer the retained heat to the human body. This makes it possible for the first and second granular materials 5, 6 to warm the human body.

[0017] The pad body 3 has a back contact portion 16, left and right shoulder contact portions 17, a neck contact portion 18, and a hollow portion 19.

[0018] In this embodiment, the pad main body 3 is formed by sewing together two pieces of material, a first fabric 10 and a second fabric 11, as shown in FIG. 3 . The first fabric 10 is, for example, a fabric that forms the surface that contacts the user. The second fabric 11 is, for example, a fabric that forms the surface that does not contact the user. The first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11 have substantially the same shape. By sewing them together, the back contact portion 16, the left and right shoulder contact portions 17, the neck contact portion 18, and the hollow portion 19 are integrally formed from the same two pieces of material.

[0019] The first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11 are preferably made of flexible fabrics such as polyester, cotton, or polycotton (TC), but are not limited to these. They may be woven, knitted, or nonwoven fabrics, or resin films such as flexible plastic films. Examples of materials include synthetic fibers such as nylon, vinylon, polyester, rayon, acetate, acrylic, polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyvinyl chloride, and natural fibers such as cotton, linen, and silk. The joining method for the first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11 is not limited to sewing; thermoplastic fabrics may be joined by heat welding or ultrasonic welding. The first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11 may be made of the same or different types of fabrics.

[0020] The back contact portion 16 has a shape in plan view that can contact the trapezius muscle in the upper back of the human body. Specifically, the shape of the back contact portion 16 in plan view is, for example, a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the rear left-right width is narrower than the front left-right width.

[0021] The back contact part 16 is formed in a bag shape by sewing together the first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11. The back contact part 16 accommodates the heat retention medium 2 inside.

[0022] The left and right shoulder contact portions 17 extend forward from the left and right ends of the back contact portion 16. These shoulder contact portions 17 each have a shape in plan view that allows them to contact the trapezius muscles in the left and right shoulders of the human body. Specifically, the shape of each shoulder contact portion 17 in plan view is approximately rectangular.

[0023] These shoulder contact portions 17 are formed in a bag shape by sewing together the first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11. Each shoulder contact portion 17 accommodates the heat retention medium 2 inside.

[0024] In this embodiment, the internal spaces of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 are each connected to the internal space of the back contact portion 16. That is, in this embodiment, the internal space of the back contact portion 16 and the internal spaces of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 form a single closed space as a whole. This allows the heat retention medium 2 contained in the internal space of the back contact portion 16 to move into the internal spaces of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17. In addition, the heat retention medium 2 contained in the internal spaces of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 can move into the internal space of the back contact portion 16.

[0025] The left and right shoulder contact portions 17 each have a partition portion 20 in order to limit the amount of movement of the heat retention medium 2 in each internal space and to prevent uneven distribution of the heat retention medium 2. Each partition portion 20 is formed, for example, by sewing together a portion of the first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11 that form each shoulder contact portion 17.

[0026] Each partition 20 extends from the inside to the outside of each shoulder contact portion 17, for example, starting from the left or right front end of the back contact portion 16. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the starting point of each partition 20 is set to a position that coincides with the left or right end of the cavity portion 19. In this case, the angle θ formed by each partition 20 with respect to the extension direction of each shoulder contact portion 17 is preferably set within a range of 90° to 180°, more preferably 90° to 150°. Furthermore, the length of each partition 20 preferably occupies 15 to 70% of the straight line that crosses each shoulder contact portion 17 in the extension direction of each partition 20. The angle θ formed by each partition 20 and the length of each partition 20 can be appropriately changed depending on the type and shape of the heat retention medium 2, etc.

[0027] The neck contact portion 18 extends in front of the back contact portion 16 between the left and right shoulder contact portions 17. The neck contact portion 18 is continuous with the back contact portion 16 via a hollow portion 19.

[0028] The neck contact portion 18 has a shape in plan view that can contact the trapezius muscle in the neck of the human body. Specifically, the shape of the neck contact portion 18 in plan view is, for example, a substantially trapezoidal shape in which the rear left-right width is wider than the front left-right width.

[0029] The neck contact part 18 has a closed space formed inside by sewing the first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11. The neck contact part 18 accommodates the heat retention medium 2 inside.

[0030] The hollow portion 19 extends laterally between the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18 so as to separate the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18. The hollow portion 19 has a predetermined front-to-rear width.

[0031] The hollow portion 19 has a closed space formed inside by sewing the first fabric 10 and the second fabric 11. The hollow portion 19 is a hollow region in which the heat-retaining medium 2 is not accommodated inside.

[0032] The hollow portion 19 has, for example, a first boundary 19a which is a boundary on the back contact portion 16 side, and a second boundary 19b which is a boundary on the neck contact portion 18 side. The first boundary 19a is, for example, arc-shaped. Furthermore, the second boundary 19b is, for example, arc-shaped with a smaller diameter than the first boundary 19a. Due to these first and second boundaries 19a and 19b, the hollow portion 19 has a curved shape in plan view that is concave toward the back contact portion 16 side. Furthermore, the hollow portion 19 forms a region with an arc-shaped shape in plan view (approximately a crescent shape in plan view) whose front-to-back width gradually narrows from the center toward the left and right ends.

[0033] The hollow portion 19 forms an area for preventing interference between the heat retention medium 2 contained inside the neck contact portion 18 and the heat retention medium 2 contained inside the back contact portion 16. By locating the rear end of the neck contact portion 18 in this hollow portion 19, it is possible to make the neck contact portion 18 stand on its own, as shown in Fig. 4, for example. Furthermore, by locating the rear end of the neck contact portion 18 in the hollow portion 19, it is possible to heat the human body in the hollow portion 19 as well.

[0034] Furthermore, the hollow portion 19 can be folded back according to the thickness of the user's neck. By folding the hollow portion 19 back according to the thickness of the user's neck, the hollow portion 19 can function as an adjuster for fitting the neck contact portion 18 to the user's neck.

[0035] The pad 1 configured in this manner is worn by the user so as to cover the upper part of the trapezius muscle, as shown in Figures 5 and 6. Figures 5 and 6 show an example in which the pad 1 is worn by a female user with a thin neck.

[0036] Here, before wearing the pad 1, the user moves the heat retention medium 2 between the inside of the back contact portion 16 and the inside of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 as needed (see FIG. 2). This allows the distribution amount of the heat retention medium 2 contained inside the back contact portion 16 and the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 to be adjusted according to the area that the user wants to focus on heating.

[0037] The pad 1 is attached to the user by draping the pad 1 from the back side of the user around the neck.

[0038] When the pad 1 is placed around the neck, the back contact portion 16 hangs down due to its own weight, so that the back contact portion 16 fits snugly against the back of the user.

[0039] Furthermore, the front portions of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 hang downward due to their own weight in front of the user's shoulders. As a result, the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 curve along the user's shoulders (collarbones) and fit the user's shoulders, respectively. Furthermore, the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 curve along the user's shoulders, preventing the heat retention medium 2 from moving between them and the back contact portion 16. In addition, the front portions of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17, together with the rear portions of the shoulder contact portions 17, sandwich the human body from the front and rear, preventing the pad 1 from falling off the human body.

[0040] The rear part of the neck contact part 18 hangs down due to its own weight and is positioned so as to overlap with the hollow part 19. This prevents interference between the neck contact part 18 and the back contact part 16, and the neck contact part 18 is positioned at the rear of the neck in a state where it can stand on its own. In addition, the left and right rear ends of the neck contact part 18 are pulled toward the user's neck by the left and right shoulder contact parts 17. This causes the neck contact part 18 to be positioned in a curved state along the user's neck. With this arrangement, the neck contact part 18 stands on its own in a curved state along the user's neck, and fits the user's neck.

[0041] In this case, for example, as shown in Fig. 6, if the user has a thin neck, the rear part of neck contact portion 18 contacts the base of the neck along arc-shaped second boundary 19b, thereby allowing neck contact portion 18 to fit the user's neck more suitably.

[0042] On the other hand, for example, when pad 1 is worn by a male user with a thick neck, as shown in Fig. 7, hollow portion 19 is pushed out by the user's neck and folded back. This allows hollow portion 19 to function as an adjuster for curving neck contact portion 18 to fit the user's neck. Due to the action of hollow portion 19, neck contact portion 18 stands upright while curved along the user's neck, fitting snugly to the user's neck.

[0043] 6 and 7, the heat retention medium 2 contained in the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18 is omitted.

[0044] According to this embodiment, the pad 1 comprises a back contact portion 16 that houses the heat retention medium 2, left and right shoulder contact portions 17 that extend forward from the left and right ends of the back contact portion 16 and house the heat retention medium 2, a neck contact portion 18 that extends forward of the back contact portion 16 between the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 and houses the heat retention medium 2, and a hollow portion 19 that does not house the heat retention medium 2 and that extends left and right with a predetermined front-to-back width between the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18 to separate the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18. This allows the neck contact portion 18 of the pad 1 to fit around the user's neck regardless of the user's physique, and can efficiently heat the upper trapezius muscles.

[0045] That is, by connecting the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18 via the hollow portion 19, the pad 1 can be brought into contact with the base of the neck, which is an important part of the trapezius muscle, without any gaps. Therefore, the upper part of the trapezius muscle can be heated efficiently.

[0046] Furthermore, by providing a hollow portion 19 between the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18 that does not contain the heat retention medium 2, interference between the heat retention medium 2 contained inside the neck contact portion 18 and the heat retention medium 2 contained inside the back contact portion 16 can be avoided. Therefore, the neck contact portion 18 can be easily made to stand on its own and fit precisely around the user's neck. In addition, when the rear end of the neck contact portion 18 is positioned in the hollow portion 19, the base of the neck of the human body can also be heated in the hollow portion 19. Therefore, the upper trapezius muscle can be heated more efficiently.

[0047] Furthermore, hollow portion 19 functions as an adjuster by being folded back according to the thickness of the user's neck. This allows neck contact portion 18 to fit the neck of the user regardless of the user's physique. Although the examples of users with thin necks and users with thick necks have been described, by adjusting the amount of folding back of the hollow portion, it is possible to fit the neck of users with different neck thicknesses, neck lengths, and shoulder shapes (sloping shoulders, hunched shoulders).

[0048] In this case, the hollow portion 19 has a curved shape in plan view that is concave toward the back contact portion 16. This allows the rear end of the neck contact portion 18 to be easily positioned along the outer circumference of the neck, allowing the neck contact portion 18 to fit more precisely around the user's neck.

[0049] Furthermore, the front-to-rear width of the left and right ends of hollow portion 19 is set narrower than the front-to-rear width of the center of hollow portion 19. This allows hollow portion 19 to function as an adjuster without giving excessive flexibility to neck contact portion 18. Furthermore, since hollow portion 19 is a closed space that is approximately crescent-shaped in plan view, with the left and right ends of first boundary 19a and second boundary 19b in contact, the movement of neck contact portion 18 can be suppressed so that it does not collapse more than necessary toward back contact portion 16 when neck contact portion 18 is free-standing. In this way, hollow portion 19 is preferably crescent-shaped with the left and right ends of first and second boundaries 19a and 19b in contact, but other shapes are also acceptable.

[0050] Furthermore, by connecting the inside of the back contact portion 16 to the inside of the left and right shoulder contact portions 17, the distribution of the heat retention medium 2 contained in the back contact portion 16 and the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 can be adjusted depending on the area that the user wants to focus on heating. This allows the upper trapezius muscles to be heated more efficiently.

[0051] Furthermore, by providing partitions 20 for restricting the amount of communication between the left and right shoulder contact portions 17 and the back contact portion 16, it is possible to prevent the heat retention medium 2 from moving unevenly due to excessive movement.

[0052] In this case, by extending each partition portion 20 at an angle θ of 90° to 180° relative to the extension direction of the left and right shoulder abutment portions 17, the movement of the heat-insulating medium 2 can be effectively suppressed and unintended movement of the heat-insulating medium 2 can be prevented.

[0053] Furthermore, by integrally forming the left and right shoulder contact portions 17, the neck contact portion 18 and the hollow portion 19 from the same material as the back contact portion 16, the pad 1 can be manufactured inexpensively.

[0054] Furthermore, by setting the starting points of each partition 20 at positions that coincide with the left and right ends of the hollow portion 19, each partition 20 can be formed by forming the hollow portion 19 and performing a series of sewing operations.

[0055] (First Modification) In the above-described embodiment, the planar shape of cavity 19 is not limited to an arc shape. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, the planar shape of cavity 19 may be a rectangle having a predetermined front-to-rear width.

[0056] (Second Modification) In the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to form a communication hole 25 in the hollow portion 19 that separates the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18. With this configuration, the heat retention medium 2 can also move between the back contact portion 16 and the neck contact portion 18.

[0057] (Third Modification) Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the partitions 20 are not limited to being provided inside the shoulder contact portions 17 in the left-right width direction. For example, as shown in Fig. 10, the partitions 20 may be provided in the center of the shoulder contact portions 17 in the left-right width direction.

[0058] (Fourth Modification) Alternatively, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, it is also possible to provide each partition portion 20 on the outer side of each shoulder contact portion 17 in the left-right width direction.

[0059] The inventions described in the above embodiments and modifications are not limited to these, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of the disclosed constituent elements.

[0060] For example, the pad 1 may be a cooling pad for cooling the upper part of the trapezius muscle of the user. In this case, a cooling medium is stored in the back contact portion 16, the left and right shoulder contact portions 17, and the neck contact portion 18 instead of the heat retention medium 2.

[0061] The heat-retaining medium or cooling medium does not have to be in the form of the granules described above, and there is no particular limitation as long as it has a heating or cooling effect.

[0062] Examples of the heat-retaining medium include a heat storage material capable of storing heat, a heat generating agent that generates heat through an oxidation reaction, or a heat generating agent that generates heat through a hydration reaction.

[0063] Examples of the cooling medium include a heat storage material that can store heat, and a coolant that provides a cooling effect by an endothermic reaction when dissolved in water.

[0064] As the heat storage material, a gel-like material or powder material having a porous structure can be used so that the shape of the pad 1 can be easily changed to conform to the part of the human body, and examples of gel-like materials include polyvinyl alcohol, carboxyvinyl polymer, carboxymethyl cellulose, polyacrylamide, and sodium polyacrylate.

[0065] When a gel-like substance, which is a heat storage substance, is used as the cooling medium, either a frozen gel that freezes in a freezer or an unfreezable gel that does not freeze may be used.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the back contact portion 16 is connected to the left and right shoulder contact portions 17. However, it is also possible to separate the back contact portion 16 from the left and right shoulder contact portions 17.

[0067] Furthermore, if the stated problem can be solved and the stated effect can be obtained even if some of the constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the above form, the configuration from which these constituent elements are deleted can be extracted as an invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1 … Pad 2 … Heat retention medium (medium) 3...Pad body 5 ... First granular body 6 ... Second granular material 10... First dough 11... Second dough 16... Back support 17 … Shoulder contact part 18 … Neck contact part 19 … Cavity part 19a … First boundary 19b … Second boundary 20... Partition 25 … Communication hole θ... angle

Claims

1. a back support portion that accommodates a medium for heating or cooling the human body; left and right shoulder contact portions extending forward from left and right ends of the back contact portion, respectively, and accommodating the medium therein; a neck contact portion extending forward of the back contact portion between the left and right shoulder contact portions and configured to accommodate the medium therein; a hollow portion that has a predetermined front-to-rear width between the back contact portion and the neck contact portion so as to separate the back contact portion and the neck contact portion, and extends laterally, and does not contain the medium therein; A pad characterized by comprising:

2. The pad according to claim 1 , wherein the hollow portion has a curved shape in a plan view so as to be concave toward the back contact portion.

3. The pad according to claim 2, wherein the front-to-rear width of the left and right ends of the hollow portion is narrower than the front-to-rear width of the central portion of the hollow portion.

4. 2. The pad according to claim 1, wherein the left and right shoulder contact portions, the neck contact portion, and the hollow portion are integrally formed from the same material as that forming the back contact portion.

5. 2. The pad according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the back contact portion and the inside of the left and right shoulder contact portions are respectively connected to each other.

6. 6. The pad according to claim 5, wherein the left and right shoulder contact portions have partitions that limit the amount of communication between the inside of the back contact portion and the left and right shoulder contact portions.

7. The pad according to claim 6, characterized in that the partitions extend from the inside to the outside of the left and right shoulder contact portions at angles of 90° to 180° relative to the extension direction of the left and right shoulder contact portions.

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