Joint pain treatment device and driving method of said treatment device

Abstract

With regard to a joint pain treatment device and a method for operating the treatment device, the joint pain treatment device is a joint pain treatment device worn on a user's body joint, and includes a pulsating electromagnetic generator that operates to activate cells in the body joint, generate a magnetic field in the body joint, and change the polarity of the magnetic field, a low-level laser generator that operates to reduce inflammation in the body joint, generate light of a specified wavelength in the body joint, and change the brightness of the light, an electrical muscle stimulation generator that operates to induce muscle contraction and relaxation in the body joint, and applies an electric current to the muscles of the body joint, a heat generator that generates heat in the muscles around the body joint to generate blood flow in the area of ​​the body joint, and a control unit that controls the pulsating electromagnetic generator, the low-level laser generator, the electrical muscle stimulation generator, and the heat generator according to a user's command.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a joint pain treatment device and a method for operating the same, and more particularly to a joint pain treatment device and a method for operating the same, which uses a coil-type pulsating electromagnetic generator to transmit magnetic force to a joint inflammation area deep inside a bone with a small size, controls a low-level laser by a pulse control method to increase the penetration power to a deep part, and uses an electrical muscle stimulation generator and a heat generator to improve muscle fatigue around the joint and increase muscle strength to treat joint pain, providing a composite function. [Background technology]

[0002] Joints are made up of cartilage, joint capsules, synovial membranes, ligaments, tendons, and muscles to allow smooth movement between bones and absorb shocks caused by movement. In particular, when the cartilage at the bones touch each other and becomes thin, the friction between the bones increases, causing inflammation and pain, which is called arthritis. Various devices have been released to treat this type of arthritis.

[0003] Previously, arthritis treatment methods and devices using ultrasound have been disclosed. 2 Generates ultrasonic waves of 100 to 400 mW / cm 2 This is an ultrasound device for treating or preventing degenerative arthritis, which is configured to apply low-intensity ultrasound energy of 1000 nm to cartilage cells deep in the skin. However, when the ultrasound vibration collides with a rigid material such as bone, the intensity is reduced and the stimulation is not transmitted to the cartilage cells between the bones.

[0004] In addition, arthritis treatment methods and composite electromagnetic treatment devices using pulsating electromagnetic fields have been disclosed in the past. Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field (PEMF) is a treatment method that applies a pulsating electromagnetic field to the affected area to help regenerate cells, and has been widely used since it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the healing of bone fractures related to nonunion in 1979. However, this requires the application of a frequency-type electric current by forming a roof wire type electric wire, which requires a relatively large roof wire, high voltage, and high current to generate sufficient magnetic force, which results in a problem of large size of treatment equipment.

[0005] Furthermore, arthritis treatment methods using low-level lasers and low-power laser joint treatment devices have also been unveiled in the past. Low-level laser (LLL) treatment methods aim to increase cell metabolism and reduce inflammation by irradiating the affected area with infrared rays of 600~950nm, but due to the nature of light, reflection and scattering occur, resulting in low penetration into deep areas. In particular, there is a problem with the inability to penetrate opaque materials such as bones.

[0006] Finally, treatment methods using electrical muscle stimulation and low-frequency joint treatment devices have been disclosed in the past. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) is widely used not as a treatment for arthritis, but for its muscle strengthening and massage functions by directly transmitting low-frequency current to muscles to contract and relax them, but low-frequency EMS treatment devices have the problem that they cannot relieve joint inflammation because their main function is to stimulate and massage muscles.

[0007] To summarize the conventional technologies, existing arthritis treatment devices have limitations in treating deep joint inflammation. As mentioned above, in the case of treatment devices that use ultrasound, ultrasonic vibrations are offset by bones, so there is a limit to reaching deep inflammation that occurs in cartilage. Existing PEMF uses pulsating electromagnetic fields, so it has the ability to penetrate deep into the joint regardless of rigid materials such as bones, but it uses roof wire-type electric wires to generate magnetic force, so it has the disadvantage that the treatment device is large and requires high voltage and high current. Low-level laser (LLL) treatment has the effect of relieving inflammation, but has the disadvantage that it cannot penetrate deep into the joint because it causes disappearance due to reflection and scattering due to the characteristics of light. Treatments that use electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) do not have a substantial effect on relieving inflammation, but only have the function of strengthening the muscles around the joint. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a joint pain treatment device and a method for operating the same, which uses a coil-type pulsating electromagnetic generator to transmit magnetic force (or magnetic field) to the joint inflammation deep inside the bone with a small size, controls a low-level laser by a pulse control method to increase the penetration power to the deep part, and uses an electrical muscle stimulation generator and a heat generator to improve muscle fatigue around the joint and increase muscle strength, thereby providing a composite function for treating joint pain. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A joint pain treatment device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a joint pain treatment device worn on a user's body joint, and includes a pulsating electromagnetic generator that generates a magnetic field at the body joint and changes the polarity of the magnetic field to activate cells in the body joint, a low-level laser generator that generates light of a specified wavelength at the body joint and changes the brightness of the light to reduce inflammation in the body joint, an electrical muscle stimulation generator that applies an electric current to the muscles of the body joint to induce muscle contraction and relaxation of the body joint, a heat generator that generates heat in the muscles around the body joint to generate (or smooth) blood flow in the area of ​​the body joint, and a control unit that controls the pulsating electromagnetic generator, the low-level laser generator, the electrical muscle stimulation generator, and the heat generator according to a user's command.

[0010] The pulsating electromagnetic generator includes an electromagnet unit having a pair of coil electromagnets, and the electromagnet unit can transmit a magnetic force to a designated distance that exceeds a reference value by exerting the repulsive and attractive forces of the coil electromagnets.

[0011] The coil electromagnet may include a coil winding wound around a cylindrical frame, a pair of ferromagnetic cores positioned at the center of the coil winding to transmit a magnetic field generated by a current applied to the coil winding in a specified direction, a ferromagnetic one-side plate provided on one side of the ferromagnetic cores to transmit the magnetic force transmitted from the ferromagnetic cores to the specified long distance, and a ferromagnetic other-side plate provided on the other side of the ferromagnetic cores to connect the pair of ferromagnetic cores to each other to increase the magnetic force of the one-side plate.

[0012] The one-side plate may include a first plate and a second plate respectively connected to one side of the pair of ferromagnetic cores, and the first plate and the second plate may be configured to be separated from each other with a specified interval.

[0013] The other plate may be configured as a single plate connecting the other sides of the pair of ferromagnetic cores and facing the one plate.

[0014] The pulsating electromagnetic generator may modulate the frequency of a pulse signal having a designated frequency and amplitude to transmit the magnetic force to the designated long distance.

[0015] The pulsating electromagnetic generator includes at least two electromagnet units, and each of the two electromagnet units generates a repulsive force to transmit the magnetic force to the designated long distance.

[0016] The low level laser generator may include a conductive guide that prevents the light from being exposed to a user's field of view.

[0017] The low-level laser generating unit includes a first light irradiating unit irradiating light having a first wavelength, a second light irradiating unit irradiating light having a second wavelength, and a third light irradiating unit irradiating light having a third wavelength, the first light irradiating unit, the second light irradiating unit, and the third light irradiating unit are operated with the same pulse signal to penetrate light deep into the body joint, and the frequency of the pulse signal can be modulated.

[0018] In addition, a method for operating a joint pain treatment device according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method for operating a joint pain treatment device worn on a user's body joint, and includes the steps of: a pulsating electromagnetic generator generating a magnetic field at the body joint to activate cells in the body joint and changing the polarity of the magnetic field; a low-level laser generator generating light of a designated wavelength at the body joint to reduce inflammation in the body joint and changing the brightness of the light; an electrical muscle stimulation generator applying an electric current to the muscle of the body joint to induce muscle contraction and relaxation of the body joint; a heat generator generating heat in the muscle surrounding the body joint to generate blood flow in the area of ​​the body joint; and a control unit controlling the pulsating electromagnetic generator, the low-level laser generator, the electrical muscle stimulation generator, and the heat generator according to a user's command. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the embodiment of the present invention, joint cells in the joints of the body are activated to reduce joint inflammation and increase the deep penetration power of magnetic force, while at the same time improving muscle fatigue around the joints and increasing muscle strength, thereby effectively treating joint pain. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed structure of a joint pain treating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram illustrating the detailed structure of each component of FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the application of a left knee joint according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a side view of the left knee joint application. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a posterior view (A-A view) of the left knee joint. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2. [Figure 8] 3 is a diagram illustrating the flow of magnetic force in the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2. [Figure 9] 3 is a front view (BB direction view) and a cross-sectional view of the medical LED unit of FIG. 2. [Figure 10] 3 is a diagram showing an AC signal applied to the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a logic diagram of an H-bridge circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] This is a CAE image of magnetic force transmission due to the repulsive force generated by the electromagnet unit in Figure 2. [Figure 13] This is a CAE image of magnetic force transmission due to the attractive force generated by the electromagnet unit in Figure 2. [Figure 14] 3 is a diagram showing pulse signals applied to the medical LED unit of FIG. 2; [Figure 15] 2 is a flow chart showing a driving process of the joint pain treating device of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Specific structural or functional descriptions of embodiments in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed herein are provided solely for purposes of illustrating embodiments in accordance with the inventive concepts, which may be embodied in a variety of forms and are not limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0022] Since the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention can be modified in various ways and can have various forms, the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the present specification, but this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to the specific disclosed forms, and includes all modifications, equivalents, or alternatives falling within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

[0023] Terms such as first or second may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only to distinguish one component from another, for example, a first component may be named a second component, and similarly, a second component may be named a first component, without departing from the scope of the inventive concept.

[0024] When an element is said to be "coupled" or "connected" to another element, it is understood that it may be directly coupled or connected to the other element, but there may also be other elements in between. On the other hand, when an element is said to be "directly coupled" or "directly connected" to another element, it must be understood that there are no other elements in between. Other expressions describing the relationship between elements, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "adjacent to" and "directly adjacent to," should be interpreted in the same manner.

[0025] The terms used in this specification are merely used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. A singular expression includes a plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprise" or "have" specify the presence of an embodied feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof, and do not preclude the presence or additional possibility of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0026] Unless otherwise specified, all terms used herein, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined herein.

[0027] In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions have been exaggerated for clarity. When a layer is referred to as being "on" another layer or substrate or as being bonded or adhered to another layer or substrate, it can be formed directly on the other layer or substrate, or there can be a third layer interposed therebetween. Parts labeled with the same reference numbers throughout the specification refer to the same components.

[0028] Terms such as upper end, lower end, upper surface, lower surface, front surface, rear surface, upper portion, lower portion, etc., are used to distinguish the relative positions of components. For example, if the upper portion in a drawing is named the upper portion and the lower portion in a drawing is named the lower portion for convenience, the upper portion can actually be named the lower portion and the lower portion can actually be named the upper portion without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and for example, the size of some components in the drawings may be exaggerated compared to other components to facilitate understanding of the present invention.

[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0030] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed structure of a joint pain treating device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed structure of each component of FIG.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, a joint pain treatment device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes some or all of a control unit 100, a pulsating electromagnetic generator 200, a low-level laser generator 300, an electrical muscle stimulation generator 400, and a heat generator 500.

[0032] Here, "including some or all" means that the joint pain treatment device (hereinafter, treatment device) 10 may be configured with some components such as the heat generating unit 500 omitted, or some components such as the pulsating electromagnetic generating unit 200 may be integrated with other components such as the control unit 100, and will be described as including all in order to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention.

[0033] The control unit 100 is responsible for the overall control of the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200, the low-level laser generator 300, the electrical muscle stimulation generator 400, and the heat generator 500. The pulsating electromagnetic generator 200, the low-level laser generator 300, the electrical muscle stimulation generator 400, and the heat generator 500 correspond to each treatment module, and the control unit 100 controls each component based on, for example, a user's command. As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 100 includes some or all of the MCU 101, the sound generating unit 102, the user button unit 103, the display unit 104, the input / output (In / Out) port (or the first input / output port) 105, the power management integrated circuit unit (or the power management unit) 106, the converter unit 107, the battery unit 108, the wireless communication unit 109, and the antenna unit 110, and "including some or all" has the same meaning as described above. A unit may be named a device or a part, and the input / output port 105 may be named an in / out port. Also, the word "part" may be used to mean a plurality of circuits.

[0034] More specifically, the control unit 100 includes an MCU (or CPU) 101 that manages and controls the overall HW system of the treatment device 10 and the operation scenarios of each unit; a sound generating unit 102 such as a speaker or buzzer that notifies the user of the operation status of the treatment device 10 in the form of sound; a user button unit 103 that allows the user to select operation options using buttons; a display unit 104 that displays the operation status of the treatment device and the user's selection options on a screen; an input / output port 105 connected to the outside for charging and control; a PMIC (Power Management Integrated Circuit) power management (integrated circuit) unit 106 that receives power input to the input / output port 105 and supplies power to a battery charging IC (Integrated Circuit) or distributes it to all ICs on the HW system at an appropriate power supply; and a power supply control unit 107 that controls the power supply applied from the PMIC to be constantly down or step up. The device is made up of a converter unit 107 that supplies a constant voltage to various HW system components by switching on the power supply, a battery unit 108 that stores electric energy to supply power to the internal HW circuit without a separate external power supply, a wireless communication unit 109 that allows remote control of the treatment device 10 through an external wireless device such as a remote control or a smartphone, and an antenna unit 110 that transmits a signal from the wireless communication unit 109. When a user operates the MCU 101 by applying power to the entire system using the user button 103, the MCU 101 controls and operates the peripheral HWIC. The user can operate the device by setting a desired treatment mode and intensity using the user button, and the operating status of the device and the user's selection are displayed to the user through the display unit 104. During operation, an abnormal situation is expressed as a voice or sound effect through the sound unit 102. The wireless communication unit 109 can communicate by infrared rays, but can also communicate by short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and ZigBee.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 2, the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 includes some or all of the electromagnet unit 201, the electrode control unit 202, the power control unit 203, and the pulse signal generating unit 204, and "including some or all" has the same meaning as described above. The electromagnet unit 201 generates a magnetic field when a current is applied, and the electrode control unit 202 changes the direction of the current applied to the electromagnet unit 201 to change the magnetic polarity of the electromagnet unit 201 to induce an alternating current waveform. In addition, the power control unit 203 controls the amount of voltage and current applied to the electromagnet unit 201 to control the magnitude of the electromagnetic force, and the pulse signal generating unit 204, i.e., a pulse signal generator, generates a pulse signal so that the magnetic force change form of the electromagnet unit 201 shows a constant pulse and frequency (Hertz) characteristic. The electromagnet unit 201 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a plurality of electromagnet units, and may include first to fourth electromagnet units 201-1 to 201-4. The pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 can be provided to be positioned above, below, left and right of the user's knee. The pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 operates to activate cells in the joint area.

[0036] The low level laser generating unit 300 includes a medical LED unit (or light irradiation unit) 301 and a part or all of an LED control unit 302. The medical LED unit 301 generates a light (or light) wavelength for treatment, and the LED control unit 302 changes the amount of current applied to the medical LED unit 301 to change the brightness (or intensity) or keeps the amount of current constant to maintain the brightness of the LED constant. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the low level laser generating unit 300 can apply IR LEDs having three wavelengths of 650 nm, 808 nm, and 980 nm, and can apply IR LEDs of various wavelengths depending on the treatment area. The LED wavelength of the low level laser generating unit 300 operates to reduce inflammation in the joint area.

[0037] The electrical muscle stimulation generator 400 includes some or all of a current polarity pad 401, an AC signal generating unit 402, and an input / output port 403. The current polarity pad 401 is attached to the skin to induce a current to be transmitted to the muscle. The AC signal generating unit 402 generates an AC signal so that the current applied to the current polarity pad 401 for muscle contraction and relaxation exhibits a constant waveform (Pulse) and frequency (Hertz) characteristics. The input / output port (or second input / output port) 403 is a port to which the current polarity pad 401 can be connected at an external position of the product as necessary. The electrical muscle stimulation generator 400 operates to strengthen the strength of muscles around joints.

[0038] The heat generating unit 500 includes some or all of a heat generating unit 501, a heat generating control unit 502, and a sensing unit 503. The heat generating unit 501 generates heat on the contact surface of the skin during the treatment process to induce a heat effect. In addition, the heat generating control unit 502 serves to control the application of a constant current to the heat generating unit 501. The sensing unit 503 senses the temperature at the heat generating unit 501. The sensing unit 503 may include a temperature sensor, etc. The heat generating control unit 502 may operate under the control of the MCU 101. The heat generating unit 500 operates to generate micro-heat in muscles around joints to aid blood circulation.

[0039] To summarize again, the joint pain treatment device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 that activates joint cells, a low-level laser generator that reduces joint inflammation, an electrical muscle stimulation generator 400 that strengthens the strength of muscles around the joint, and a heat generator 500 that generates micro-heat in muscles around the joint to help blood circulation. Here, the electromagnet unit 201 of the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 is configured in the form of a pair of coil electromagnets 210 as shown in Figures 6 and 7, and magnetic force can be transmitted over a longer distance by using the repulsive and attractive forces of the coil electromagnets 210. Here, a long distance can be defined as a distance that exceeds a reference value. At this time, the electromagnet unit 201 includes a cylindrical frame 211 on which the coil winding 212 can be wound in a certain shape, the coil winding 212 made of a conductive material such as copper for generating a magnetic field when a current is applied, a coil electromagnet 210 composed of a ferromagnetic core 213 located in the center of the coil for transmitting the magnetic field generated from the coil winding in a certain direction, a coated and insulated cable 214 connected to both ends of the coil winding 212 and to which a current of positive (+) and negative (-) polarity is applied, an inner plate 220 made of a ferromagnetic material for transmitting the magnetic force transmitted from the ferromagnetic core 213 toward the human joint over a long distance, an outer plate (or other plate) 221 made of a ferromagnetic material applied to the opposite side of the inner plate 220 and connecting the electromagnet cores 213 applied in pair to each other to increase the magnetic force of the inner plate (or one side plate) 220, and a fixing body 222 such as a screw for fixing the inner plate 220 and the outer plate 221 to the core 213 of the electromagnet unit. Here, inside refers to the area of ​​the user's body joints that comes into contact with (or is close to) the skin.

[0040] The inner plate 220 connecting the core 213 of the coil electromagnet 210 in the electromagnet unit 201 is configured with a close distance of 1 to 2 mm, for example, two plates are configured to be separated at a certain interval, and the outer plate 221 connecting the core 213 of the coil electromagnet 210 in the electromagnet unit 201 is connected to one body at the shortest distance without any separation distance, and the form of the magnetic force shows the characteristics of a pulse signal in order to transmit the magnetic force over a long distance, and for this purpose, it can include a unit 204 that generates a pulse signal and an electrode control unit 202 that changes the magnetic polarity in the form of an H-bridge. This is clearly shown in Figures 10 and 11. As shown in Figure 11, the H-bridge is configured with first to fourth switching elements in the shape of an H-shape based on the electromagnet unit. Each switching element is composed of an NPN (or N-channel) element and a PNP (or P-channel) element of a transistor or FET. 2 may operate the switching elements alternately by applying a LOW signal and a HIGH signal to the first switching element and the fourth switching element, or by applying a LOW signal and a HIGH signal to the third switching element and the second switching element, so that opposite polarities are generated in the electromagnet unit. In other words, it can be considered that the magnetic polarity is changed by operating the diagonal switching elements in a complementary manner.

[0041] In addition, in order to transmit the magnetic force over a long distance, the pulse applied to the electromagnet unit 201 may be configured in the form of a carrier wave, and two or more electromagnet units 201 may be used in the treatment device, so that a repulsive force is generated on the inner plate 220 of one electromagnet unit, and a repulsive force of the opposite polarity is also generated on the opposite electromagnet unit, so that the magnetic force can be transmitted over a longer distance. This is clearly shown in FIG. 8. Here, "the pulse is configured in the form of a carrier wave" means that, as seen in FIG. 10 and FIG. 14, a pulse signal (e.g., operating frequency) generated at a specified frequency and amplitude is divided, or more precisely, a pulse in a pulse generation section is divided to generate a new pulse and use it. In order to transmit the magnetic force over a long distance and to penetrate light deep into the body, a preset pulse signal is modulated and used. For example, in the embodiment of the present invention, a pre-generated pulse signal of 20 to 50 Hz may be converted into a signal of about 2 MHz and used.

[0042] Furthermore, in the joint pain treatment device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 14, the conductive guides 303 are applied at intervals up and down or left and right to prevent the light of the low-level laser generator 300 from being directly irradiated to the naked eye of the user, the medical LED outputs light in a pulse form using wavelengths of 650 nm, 808 nm, and 980 nm to increase the penetration depth, and the output pulse of the medical LED is configured in a carrier wave form to increase the penetration depth of the IR light. Also, in order to penetrate the output IR light deeply, the three types of medical LEDs output light in the same pulse form at the same time. Meanwhile, in order to reduce the size of the treatment device and to efficiently strengthen muscles, the current polarity pad 401 is connected to the control unit 100 externally through the cable 404 and the input / output port 403, and the case is separated into a central case part 11-1 and side cases 11-1 and 11-2 to be applied to various joint parts, and a hinge 12 that can rotate and change can be applied to the connecting part. This is well illustrated in Figure 3.

[0043] 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention applied to a left knee joint, FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention applied to a left knee joint, and FIG. 5 is a back view (A-A view) of an embodiment of the present invention applied to a left knee joint, FIG. 6 is an oblique view of the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram of the magnetic force flow of the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 9 is a front (B-B view) and cross-sectional view of the medical LED unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 10 is a diagram of an AC signal applied to the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 11 is a logic diagram of an H-bridge circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 is a CAE image of magnetic force transmission due to repulsive force generation of the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2, FIG. 13 is a CAE image of magnetic force transmission due to attractive force generation of the electromagnet unit of FIG. 2, and FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a pulse signal applied to the medical LED unit of FIG. 2.

[0044] In Fig. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a person's knee, 11-1 denotes a central case, 11-2 denotes a left side case, 11-3 denotes a right side case, 12 denotes a rotation hinge unit, and 13 denotes a cushion pad (PAD) unit. In Fig. 4, reference numeral 404 denotes a cable for connecting the external current polarity pad 401, and 14 denotes a fixing belt unit. 6 and 7, reference numeral 210 denotes a coil electromagnet that generates a magnetic force with a coil winding, 211 denotes a cylindrical frame around which the coil winding can be wound in a certain shape, 212 denotes a copper coil winding for generating a magnetic field when a current is applied, 213 denotes a ferromagnetic core located in the center of the coil for transmitting the magnetic field generated from the copper coil winding in a certain direction, 214 denotes a coated and insulated cable connected to both ends of the coil winding and to which a positive and negative current of a DC power source are applied, 220 denotes a ferromagnetic inner plate for transmitting the magnetic force transmitted from the ferromagnetic core 213 toward the human joint over a long distance, 221 denotes a ferromagnetic outer plate applied to the opposite side of the ferromagnetic inner plate 220 and interconnecting the cores 213 of the coil electromagnets 210 that are configured as a pair within the electromagnet unit 201 to increase the magnetic force of the inner plate, and 222 denotes a fixing body such as a screw for fixing the inner plate and the outer plate to the core 213 of the electromagnet unit. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 303 denotes a conductive guide that prevents the light emitted from the medical LED 301 from leaking during the treatment process and from being inadvertently exposed to the naked eye of the user, 301-1-a denotes a medical LED having a wavelength a value, 301-1-b denotes a medical LED having a wavelength b value, 301-1-c denotes a medical LED having a wavelength c value, and 304 denotes a protective cover that protects the IR LED from external impact and transmits light.

[0045] For convenience of explanation, referring to Fig. 3 to Fig. 14 together with Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 of Fig. 1 includes an electromagnet unit 201 which generates a magnetic field, an electrode control unit 202 which changes the magnetic polarity of the electromagnet unit to induce an AC waveform as shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, a power control unit 203 which controls the amount of voltage and current applied to the electromagnet unit 201, and a unit 204 which generates a pulse signal including the amplitude, period, duty cycle and carrier frequency of the magnetic field for effective treatment as shown in Fig. 10. That is, it includes a signal generating unit 204 which generates a preset pulse signal for treatment.

[0046] When the user operates the treatment device 10 by selecting the strength and type of treatment through the user button 103, the MCU 101 changes the voltage value of the power control unit 203 and controls the current value to change the strength of the magnetic force accordingly, and controls the signal generating unit 204 to generate a pulse signal suitable for the purpose of treatment. Of course, such an operation can be performed in a form in which the corresponding value is preset. In this process, a look-up table (LUT) can also be used. Also, the electrode control unit 202 is controlled to convert the pulse signal into an AC signal. The electrode control unit 202 is preferably configured with an H-bridge circuit logic as shown in FIG. 11, and the direction of the current applied to the electromagnet unit 201 is changed under the control of the MCU 101, and the polarity of the inner plate 220 of the electromagnet unit 201 is also changed accordingly. The H-bridge circuit can be operated in various forms according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is not limited to any one operation form (e.g., complementary operation).

[0047] The electromagnet unit 201 is provided with a coil electromagnet 210 in the form of a pair inside. For example, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the electromagnet unit 201 is applied with two coil electromagnets, i.e., coil electromagnets 210-1 and 210-2 in the form of a pair. The coil electromagnet 210 is wound several times around a non-magnetic cylindrical frame 211 in the form of a winding 212, and the end of the coil is connected to the electrode control unit 202 by applying a cable 214 covered with an insulating material such as poly-based PVC. It is preferable that the material of the cylindrical frame 211 is a non-magnetic material such as plastic.

[0048] Also, a ferromagnetic core 213 is applied to the center of the winding coil to transmit the magnetic field generated by the coil winding (or winding coil) 212 in a certain direction. That is, the magnetic polarity at both ends of the ferromagnetic core 213 is changed to N-S pole or S-N pole depending on the direction of the current applied to the insulated cable 214 connected to both ends of the coil winding 212. An inner plate (or one side plate) 220 is connected to both ends of the ferromagnetic core 213 of the pair of adjacent coil electromagnets 210 toward the human body with a slight distance therebetween using fixed bodies 222-1 and 222-2, and an outer plate (or other side plate) 221 is connected and fixed to the opposite side of the inner plate using fixed bodies 222-3 and 222-4.

[0049] Since the purpose is to transmit the magnetic force of the core 213 to the inner and outer plates 221 and 222 over long distances, each plate and fixed body is made of a ferromagnetic material with high relative permeability. Here, the non-permeability means the ratio of magnetization, and is the ratio compared to the magnetic force transmission permeability in a vacuum, that is, if this value is several hundred to several thousand, it is called a ferromagnetic material.

[0050] In fact, as shown in Figure 6, if a positive and negative polarity current is passed through the insulated cable 214-1 of the coil electromagnet 210-1 located on the left side of the electromagnet unit 201, and a negative and positive polarity current is passed through the insulated cable 214-2 of the right-side coil electromagnet 201-2, an N pole is induced in the inner plate 220-1 of the left-side coil electromagnet 210-1, and an N pole is induced in the inner plate 220-2 of the right-side coil electromagnet 210-2 according to Ampere's law.

[0051] In such a case, as shown in the CAE simulation interpretation result in Figure 12, the directions of the magnetic forces applied to the two inner plates are the same, so a repulsive force is generated between them, which enables magnetic force to be transmitted over long distances.

[0052] If a current with positive and negative polarities is passed through the insulated cable 214-2 of the right coil electromagnet 210-2, a south pole is induced in the inner plate 220-2 of the right coil electromagnet, and an attractive force is generated between the inner plates, generating a pulling force. Even when such an attractive force is generated, as shown in the CAE simulation interpretation result of Figure 13, it can be seen that the cores 213-1 and 213-2 are connected through the outer plate 221, and the magnetic force generated between the inner plates also reaches a long distance.

[0053] The number and position of the electromagnet units 201 may be varied according to the anatomical characteristics of the joint to be treated. When the embodiment of the present invention is applied to the treatment of knee joint pain, it is preferable to position the electromagnet units 201 on the front surface 201-1, the flat surface 201-2, the left side surface 201-3, and the right side surface 201-4 as shown in Figs. 2 to 5 and 8 so as to face the cartilage of the joint at the lower end of the femur and the crescent cartilage of the bone, where cartilage wear and inflammation are likely to occur.

[0054] As described above, by arranging the electromagnet units 201 and changing the magnetic force and polarity of each electromagnet unit 201, magnetic forces pass through the joint inflammation site in various directions and strengths as shown in FIG.

[0055] In particular, if a current is applied between the facing electromagnet units 201 so as to generate a repulsive force, and an attractive force is generated between the facing electromagnet units 201, the magnetic force can reach a greater distance.

[0056] Meanwhile, the low-level laser generating unit 300 is composed of a medical LED unit 301 that emits light of a specific wavelength and an LED control unit 301 that controls brightness by changing the amount of current of the LED unit, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 9.

[0057] It is preferable that the medical LED unit 301 uses IR LEDs having two or more waveforms. In the present invention, IR LEDs having three wavelengths of 650 nm, 808 nm, and 980 nm are used, but IR LEDs of various wavelengths can be used depending on the treatment area. The number and positions of the IR LED units 301 can be variously changed depending on the anatomical characteristics of the treatment joint.

[0058] When the embodiment of the present invention is applied to the treatment of knee joint pain, it is preferable to arrange the IR LEDs on the left and right sides of the patella since light is lost due to the characteristics of the translucent material of the patella. Taking into consideration the size and height of the femoral joint, it is preferable to distribute the IR LEDs at the top and bottom as shown in FIG. 9 and arrange the IR LEDs 301 of three wavelengths respectively.

[0059] Also, it is preferable to use an LED that emits light in the form of a low-level laser. The LED control unit 302 performs the function of generating a pulse signal that reflects the voltage amplitude, period, duty cycle, and carrier frequency for effective treatment, as shown in FIG. 14. In order to protect the medical LED unit 301, a light-transmitting protective cover 304 is applied to the front, and a conductive guide 303 is provided around the protective cover to prevent light exposure. The conductive guide 303 is preferably in the form of conductive silicone rubber that contacts the medical LED unit 301. The conductive guide is composed of two parts, top and bottom or left and right, and when the conductive guide touches the skin, the interruption capacity value of the medical LED unit 301 changes, and through this, the control unit can determine whether there is a problem with the user's wearing of the device. If the two parts of the conductive guide 303 do not touch the skin at the same time, it means that the user is not wearing the device correctly, and in this case, the control unit 100 does not start the corresponding function to prevent the low-level laser from being irradiated into the user's field of vision, and notifies the error through the display unit 104 and sound unit 102.

[0060] As shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the electrical muscle stimulation generating unit 400 is composed of a current polarity pad 401 that is attached to the skin and applies a current to the muscle to induce muscle contraction and relaxation, a pulse signal generating unit 402 that supplies an AC current having a pulse-shaped waveform to the pad, and an input / output port 403 for connecting to the control unit 100 outside the treatment device by wire. In order to improve arthritis pain, it is necessary to strengthen the surrounding muscles as well as to reduce inflammation and activate cells in the cartilage, and for this purpose, it is preferable to attach the current polarity pad 401 to the area just above the knee where the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis are located. For this purpose, the input / output port 403 is located in the direction of the corresponding muscle area (above the knee), and the current polarity pad 401 may be connected through a cable 404.

[0061] The heat generating unit 500, as in the embodiment of the present invention, has the purpose of providing heat to the muscles around the knee during the treatment process to smooth blood flow, and is composed of a heating unit 501 that generates heat, a current control unit 502 that adjusts the amount of current applied to the heating unit 501, and a temperature sensing unit 503 that can measure the temperature of the heating unit 501 and maintain the temperature desired by the user.

[0062] As shown in Fig. 5, it is preferable that the heating unit 501 is applied to a wide area inside the treatment device that comes into contact with the muscles around the joints. Also, in order to prevent low-temperature burns caused by the heating unit 501, it is preferable that it is fixed inside the cushion pad 13 to maintain a certain distance from the skin, and that the heating temperature is 40 to 50 degrees and that it is operated for a relatively short time of 10 to 20 minutes.

[0063] As shown in Fig. 3, the treatment device 10 is configured with an exterior case 11 to firmly secure each unit, and is divided into a central case 11-1 for fixing units such as the electromagnet unit 201 on the front and flat surface, the control unit 100, and side cases 11-2 and 11-3 for fixing the left electromagnet unit 201-3 and the medical LED unit 201. The side cases 11-2 and 11-3 and the central case 11-1 have a hinge structure 12 so that it can be applied to various sizes of joints. When the treatment device 10 is attached to joints such as the knee, shoulder, or elbow, it is preferable to apply a fixing belt unit 14 so that the device does not come off during treatment.

[0064] The above treatments can be performed simultaneously, and one or two or three treatments can be performed simultaneously depending on the user's treatment purpose. Each treatment should last 10 to 20 minutes, and it is recommended to use the treatment once or twice a day.

[0065] FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing the operation process of the joint pain treating device of FIG.

[0066] For convenience of explanation, referring to FIG. 15 together with FIG. 1, the joint pain treatment device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention generates a magnetic field in a body joint to activate cells in the body joint, and changes the polarity of the magnetic field (S1500). Of course, this is performed by the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 of FIG. 1. The pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 is preferably configured to include electromagnetic units arranged, for example, above and below and to the left and right of the knee, and each electromagnetic unit generates a repulsive or attractive force with the surrounding electromagnetic unit. Also, each electromagnetic unit itself includes two coil electromagnets, and an attractive or repulsive force is generated between the coil electromagnets. The details have been fully explained above, so the details are substituted for those described above. Of course, such control is performed by the control unit 100 according to a preset method.

[0067] In addition, the joint pain treatment device 10 generates light of a designated wavelength in the body joint to reduce inflammation of the body joint, and changes the brightness (or intensity) of the light (S1510). This can be performed by the low-level laser generator 300 of Fig. 1. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the low-level laser generator 300 can include, for example, three light emitting units, i.e., LED units, and each light emitting unit is operated to generate light of a different wavelength, and the multiple light emitting units can be operated using the same pulse signal so that the output light penetrates deep into the body.

[0068] Furthermore, the joint pain treatment device 10 applies an electric current to the muscles of the body joints in order to induce muscle contraction and relaxation of the body joints (S1520). This is performed by the electrical muscle stimulation generator 400, which applies a microcurrent to the corresponding electrodes or electrode pads after attaching the electrodes to the knee area.

[0069] Furthermore, the joint pain treating device 10 generates heat in the muscles surrounding the body joints in order to generate (or smooth) blood flow in the body joints (S1530).

[0070] In addition, the joint pain treating device 10 controls the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200, the low level laser generator 300, the electrical muscle stimulation generator 400 and the heat generator 500 according to the user's command, which can be provided through a user button configured on the joint pain treating device 10 (S1530). Each component can operate individually, sequentially or simultaneously under the control of the control unit 100, which can be commonly referred to as "selectively operating" in the embodiment of the present invention. Of course, it can operate in a first manner according to a first command and in a second manner according to a second command, and the sequential execution of a series of operations according to one command can be called a mode manner.

[0071] As described above, the method of operating each component through the control unit 100 can be implemented in various ways, and the present embodiment is not limited to any one type.

[0072] Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 100 and various components for treating each arthritis are described as including the control unit 100, but this can be changed as many times as necessary. In other words, it is possible to configure in a form including the control unit 100 and the arthritis treatment unit as another embodiment of the present invention. Of course, the arthritis treatment unit here is considered to be a form including at least one component among the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200, the low level laser generator 300, the electrical muscle stimulation generator 400, and the heat generator 500 of FIG. 1. Of course, when all are included, it is possible to configure in an integrated form as many times as necessary. Therefore, since various configurations are possible in the embodiment of the present invention, it is not particularly limited to the configuration of FIG. 1.

[0073] Although preferred embodiments have been shown and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims, and such modifications are not to be individually understood from the technical ideas and prospects of the present invention.

[0074] Meanwhile, even if all the components constituting the embodiments of the present invention are described as being combined as one or operating in combination, the present invention is not necessarily limited to such an embodiment. That is, all the components can be selectively combined and operated in one or more combinations within the scope of the present invention. Also, all the components can be embodied as a single independent piece of hardware, or a part or all of the components can be selectively combined and embodied as a computer program having a program module that performs a part or all of the functions combined in one or more pieces of hardware. Codes and code segments constituting the computer program can be easily deduced by those skilled in the art of the present invention. Such a computer program can be stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and read and executed by a computer to embody the embodiments of the present invention.

[0075] Here, the non-transient readable recording medium refers to a medium that stores data semi-permanently and can be read by a device, rather than a medium that stores data for a short moment, such as a register, cache, memory, etc. In particular, the above-mentioned program can be provided by being stored in a non-transient readable recording medium, such as a CD, DVD, hard disk, Blu-ray disk, USB, memory card, ROM, etc.

[0076] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and various modifications may be made by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims, and such modifications are not to be individually understood from the technical ideas and prospects of the present invention.

Claims

1. A joint pain treatment device that is worn on a user's body joints, a pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 for generating a magnetic field in the body joint and changing the polarity of the magnetic field to activate cells in the body joint; a low level laser generating unit 300 for generating light of a designated wavelength at said body joint and varying the brightness of said light to reduce inflammation of said body joint; an electrical muscle stimulation generator 400 for applying electrical current to the muscles of said body joint to induce muscle contraction and relaxation of said body joint; A heat generating unit 500 that generates heat in the muscles surrounding the body joint to generate blood flow in the area of ​​the body joint; and a control unit 100 for controlling the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200, the low level laser generator 300, the electrical muscle stimulation generator 400 and the heat generator 500 according to a user's command; A joint pain treatment device characterized by:

2. The pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 includes an electromagnet unit 201 in which coil electromagnets 210 are arranged in a pair. The electromagnet unit 201 transmits magnetic force to a designated distance that exceeds a reference value by applying repulsive and attractive forces of the coil electromagnet 210. The joint pain treatment device according to claim 1.

3. The coil electromagnet 210 is A coil winding 212 wound around a cylindrical frame; a pair of ferromagnetic cores 213 located at the center of the coil winding 212 and transmitting a magnetic field generated by a current applied to the coil winding 212 in a specified direction; a ferromagnetic one-side plate 220 provided on one side of the ferromagnetic core 213 and transmitting the magnetic force transmitted from the ferromagnetic core 213 to the designated long distance; and a ferromagnetic other plate 221 provided on the other side of the ferromagnetic core 213 and connecting the pair of ferromagnetic cores 213 to each other to increase the magnetic force of the one plate 220; The joint pain treatment device according to claim 2.

4. The one-side plate 220 includes a first plate and a second plate respectively connected to one side of the pair of ferromagnetic cores 213, and the first plate and the second plate are separated from each other by a predetermined distance. The joint pain treatment device according to claim 3.

5. The other plate 221 connects the other sides of the pair of ferromagnetic cores 213 and faces the one plate 220. The joint pain treatment device according to claim 4.

6. The pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 modulates the frequency of a pulse signal having a designated frequency and amplitude to transmit the magnetic force to the designated long distance. The joint pain treatment device according to claim 2.

7. The pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 includes at least two electromagnet units 201, each of which generates a repulsive force to transmit the magnetic force to the designated long distance. The joint pain treatment device according to claim 2.

8. The low level laser generating unit 300 includes a conductive guide 303 that prevents the light from being exposed to the user's field of vision. The joint pain treatment device according to claim 1.

9. The low-level laser generating unit 300 includes a first light irradiating unit for irradiating light having a first wavelength, a second light irradiating unit for irradiating light having a second wavelength, and a third light irradiating unit for irradiating light having a third wavelength, and the first light irradiating unit, the second light irradiating unit, and the third light irradiating unit are operated with the same pulse signal to modulate the frequency of the pulse signal when the light penetrates deep into the body joint. The joint pain treatment device according to claim 8.

10. A method for driving a joint pain treatment device worn on a user's body joint, comprising: A pulsating electromagnetic generator 200 generates a magnetic field in the body joint to activate cells in the body joint, and changes the polarity of the magnetic field; A low-level laser generating unit 300 generates light of a designated wavelength at the body joint to reduce inflammation of the body joint, and changes the brightness of the light; applying an electrical current to the muscles of the body joint to induce muscle contraction and relaxation of the body joint; A heat generating unit (500) generates heat in the muscles surrounding the body joint to generate blood flow to the body joint; and The control unit 100 controls the pulsating electromagnetic generator 200, the low level laser generator 300, the electrical muscle stimulation generator 400 and the heat generator 500 according to a user's command. A method for driving a joint pain treatment device comprising:

Images