BACKGROUND ART A massage device is known from Australian Design Registration No. 134,633 and US Patent No. 6,309, 365 (Lacey). Essentially that device consists of a central handle and plurality of like curved arms permanently fixed thereto and arranged around one end of the handle to form a head receiving cage. The product is sold under the trade name ORGASMATRON and is fabricated from copper. In particular, the arms are formed from copper wire. In order to be packaged into a flat box, half the copper arms are bent in one direction and the remaining arms are bent in the opposite direction. Thus all the arms lie substantially within a single plane thereby reducing the size of the packaging in one dimension (thickness). Naturally, the length of the packaging is approximately the combined length of the handle and arms. So the volume of the overall package is quite large thereby incurring substantial transport and storage costs.

Furthermore, after being removed from the packaging it is necessary for the arms to be manipulated into the cage-like configuration similar to that illustrated in Fig. 4 below. If the user wishes to pack the device away for temporary storage until the next time it is required, it is necessary to reverse the unpacking procedure. As a consequence, the arms are in practice, required to be manipulated with each use and tend to lose their original shape. Thus the user may not, after a period, be able to re-configure the arms into the best possible configuration for the cage.

In use, the free ends of the arms define an opening which permits the head of the patient and the cage to be inter-engaged so that the free ends of the arms come into contact with the scalp of the patient. The handle is moved to and fro, either by the patient or by another person who is giving the massage to the patient, and in this way the free ends of the arms rub against, and stimulate, the patient's scalp.

The abovementioned apparatus also suffers from the disadvantage that the massage inducing motions of the free ends of the arms are generated by the hand of the person grasping

the handle. In particular, rapid reciprocating movement of the free ends is difficult to generate manually since the rate (or frequency) at which a human hand can be moved in a reciprocating fashion is quite limited.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide an improved device of the above known type in which one or more of the abovementioned disadvantages are at least partially reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a head massage device assembled from a handle and a plurality of arms with the arms when assembled forming a head receiving cage at one end of said handle, characterised in that said arms can be disassembled from said handle wherein said massage device when disassembled can be compactly packaged.

Preferably the handle includes an electrically powered vibrating device and said arms and handle are vibrationally coupled by an interference fit whereby vibrations from said vibrating device are transmitted to said arms.

Preferably the arms are releasably engageable with a collar which is releasably mountable on said handle.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is also disclosed a method of packaging a head massage device, said method comprising the steps of : (i) if necessary, disassembling a plurality of arms from a handle, (ii) placing said arms in a package, and (iii) placing said handle alongside said arms in said package.

Alternatively, said handle can be placed in said package and said arms placed alongside said handle in said package.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of assembling a head massage device, said method comprising the steps of : (i) engaging a first one of a plurality of curved arms with one end of a handle, (ii) repeating step (i) for each of the remaining arms, whilst (iii) ensuring each curved arm is concave with respect to the longitudinal axis of said handle whereby said arms comprise a head receiving cage.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of disassembling a head massage device, said method comprising the steps of : (i) disengaging a first one of a plurality of like curved arms constituting a head receiving cage formed at one end of a handle, (ii) repeating step (i) for each of the remaining arms of said plurality of arms, and (iii) placing said disengaged arms in a side-by-side relationship with each successive arm being cupped in the curve of the preceding arm.

In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an electrically powered massage device for massaging a human head, said device comprising a handle and a plurality of like curved arms arranged around one end of the handle to form a head receiving cage, characterised in that the handle includes an electrically powered vibration generator, and said arms are vibrationally coupled to said generator.

In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention a method of massaging a patient's scalp is also disclosed, said method comprising the steps of : (i) energising an electrically powered vibration generator vibrationally coupled to, or comprising, a handle to which a plurality of arms are attached, said arms being arranged into a head receiving cage, and (ii) engaging the head of a patient with said cage so as to bring the free ends of at least some of said arms into engagement with the scalp of said patient, in either order.

In accordance with a seventh aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a multi- stage head massage device comprising a handle having a first plurality of arms located at one

end thereof, said first plurality of arms comprising a first head receiving cage, and at least one further plurality of arms arranged to define a further head receiving cage, the or each said further receiving head receiving cage being mounted so as to be substantially co-axial with, and at least partially overlie, said first cage, wherein said plurality of cages form a multi-stage cage into which a single human head is able to be received.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled massage device of a first embodiment in use; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the handle of the assembled device of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the device of Figs. 1 and 2 showing how its constituent members can be assembled and disassembled; Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a massage device of a second embodiment; Fig. 5 is a truncated and enlarged perspective view of the assembled device of the second embodiment, Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the clip 32 illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a multi-stage massage device of a third embodiment, Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the multi-stage massage device in use, Fig. 9 is a longitudinal partial cross-sectional view through the handle and a single collar of the device of Figs. 7 and 8 showing the arm engagement detail, and Fig. 10 is a plan view of a disassembled single stage device of the third embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As seen in Fig. 1, the device 1 of the first embodiment has a handle 2 and six arms 3 which extend from one end of the handle 2 so as to form a head receiving cage 4 in known fashion.

As seen in Fig. 2, the handle 2 is formed from a known vibrating device 20 and has a hollow interior 5 in which a battery 6, electric motor 7 and an eccentric mass 8 are mounted.

A variable resistor 9 is connected in series between the battery 6 and the motor 7and functions as a speed control device for the motor 7. The variable resistor 9 also incorporates an on/off switch (not illustrated).

It will be apparent that energising the motor 7 results in the mass 8 which is secured to the shaft of the motor 7 being rotated. Since the mass 8 is eccentrically mounted relative to the shaft this creates a vibration in known fashion. Controlling the speed of the motor 7 controls the frequency of the vibration.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the arms 3 are mounted on the handle 2 by means of a collar 12 the interior which has a plurality of regularly spaced apart recesses 13. Between each pair of recesses is a boss 14. The interior diameter of the collar 12 defined by the surfaces of the bosses 14 is arranged to frictionally engage with the exterior of the handle 2 in an interference fit. In addition, the base 15 of each of the arms 3 which all engage the collar 12, is shaped so as to form a frictional interference fit with the recesses 13. In this way, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the bases 15 are securely clamped between the handle 2 and collar 12. This ensures good vibrational coupling between the vibrational generator (formed by the motor 7 and its eccentric mass 8) and the arms 3.

The handle 2, collar 12 and the arms 3 are all fabricated by being moulded from plastics material. The arms 3 include a sphere 16 at each of the free ends 17 of the arms 3.

The sphere 16 ensures a scratch-free engagement between the free ends 17 of the arms 3 and the patient's scalp.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the handle 2 is moved to and fro along a substantially vertically axis (ie aligned with the neck of the patient) and thus the spheres 16 stimulate the patient's scale. This vertical motion is necessarily of a relatively low frequency compared to the frequency of the vibrations induced by the motor 7 and its eccentric mass 8.

It will be apparent from Fig. 3 that the handle 2, collar 12 and arms 3 can be disassembled and thus packaged into a box of small volume with each of the arms 3 lying adjacent the others. Thus the device 1 can be assembled and disassembled merely by applying, or overcoming, the frictional force caused by inter-engagement of the various components. Further, the device can be re-assembled with the arms 3 being returned each time without fail to their intended positions. Thus the cage 4 always retains its optimum configuration in which all of the free ends 17 contact the patient's scalp and apply a substantially equal force thereto determined by the natural resilience of the curved arms 3.

Thus an advantage of the present invention over the prior art is that the arms 3 always maintain their intended relationship one to another. Conversely, with the ORGASMATRON, this is problematical since the user determines how the arms are bent, folded away, re- arranged on a subsequent use, etc.

Since the motor 7 can be operated so that the vibrations are generated at a relatively high frequency compared to the rate of which the human hand can be moved, it will be apparent that high frequency vibrations can also be applied to the scalp of the patient. In addition, the hand holding the handle 2 need only be moved so as to position the spheres 16 in the desired location without the person holding the handle 2 having to be concerned about making rapid vibratory movements. This therefore eliminates one consideration for the person holding the device. This is of particular importance where the massage is self administered since the patient often wishes to have the massage applied at the end of a tiring day and is therefore not necessarily mentally alert. Use since the priority date indicates that the vibratory device is particularly effective in relieving discomfort caused to long haired women after a day in which their hair has been placed in a bun, for example, so that the weight of the hair exerts force during the course of the day on the hair roots and scalp. Of course if preferred, the device 1 can be operated without energising the vibrating device.

Turning now to Figs. 4 and 5, there is illustrated a second embodiment which utilises the prior art device 30 of the abovementioned US Patent and is able to be retro-fitted thereto by existing owners of the prior art device 30. The second embodiment also incorporates the

vibrator 20 as in the first embodiment. However, the vibrator 20 is vibrationally coupled to the handle 31 of the prior art device 30 by means of a clip 32.

The clip 32 has two back to back opposed split cylindrical portions 33 and 34 which respectively releasably mate with the handle 31 and vibrator 20 as illustrated in Fig. 5. Again the vibrational coupling is by way of a frictional fit. As best appreciated from Fig. 6, the vibrator 20 can be slid into the cylindrical portion 34 and then the cylindrical portion 33 snapped over the handle 31.

Experimental results to date with the embodiment of Figs. 4-6 indicate a good transfer of vibrational forces is achieved. Thus existing owners of the prior art device 30 are able to upgrade the performance thereof at minimal cost.

A further disadvantage of the prior art ORGASMATRON device 30 (as illustrated in Fig. 4) is that the massage inducing effect is limited by the number of copper arms and the path which each arm traverses in its massage inducing motion. In order to improve the massaging effect, a multi-stage cage (with preferably two stages) can be created as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8.

As seen in Figs. 7 and 8 the device 100 has a handle 200 and six first arms 300 which extend from one end of the handle 200 so as to form a first cage 400. Each of the arms 300 has a base 150 and a free end 170. The bases 150 of the arms 300 are releasably engagable with a first collar 700 which is able to be received on the handle 200.

In addition the device 100 has six second arms 301 with free ends 171. The arms 301 form a second cage 401. The arms 301 are releasably engagable with a second collar 701 which is received on the first collar 700 in a cascade frictional mounting as best seen in Fig. 8.

In this way the two cages 400,401 are substantially overlapped and the area of the head covered by the free ends 170,171 is increased.

As best seen in Fig. 9, the collars 700,701 each have an exterior which has a plurality of regularly spaced apart hollow tubes 90 and a nose cone 91. The interior diameter of the

collars 700,701 is dimensioned to frictionally engage with the exterior of the handle 200. In addition, the nose cones 91 are slightly tapered so as to form a frictional fit with the interior diameter of the collars 700,701. In this way, as illustrated in Fig. 8, the collars 700, 701 are able to be cascade mounted with a frictional fit which ensures good transmission of vibrations.

As seen in Fig. 9, the bases 150 preferably include a small lug 151. The base 150 when pushed into the tubes 90 deflects to permit the lug 151 to snap engage with the proximal end of the tube 90. This creates a secure but releasable engagement between the arms 300, 301 and the tubes 90 which transmits vibrations readily.

It will be apparent from Fig. 10 that the handle 200, collar 700 (or 701) and arms 300 (or 301) can be packaged in their disassembled state into a box 900 of small volume with each of the curved arms 300 or 301 being cupped in the adjacent arms. Thus the device can be assembled and disassembled merely by applying, or overcoming, the frictional force caused by inter-engagement of the various components. Further, the length of the box 900 is less than the total length of the handle 200 and arms 300. Similarly, the width of the box 900 is small.

Thus the reduced size of the box 900 results in lower transport and storage costs.

Experimental results to date indicate that the multi-stage device 100 illustrated in Figs.

7 and 8 massages a larger area of the scalp at each operation than would be the case if a single cage of arms were used. Although the extension to 3 or more cages is possible, little practical benefit is realized. In addition, the device 1,100 operated with the vibratory handle 2,200 energised is better accepted by patients than the same device where the handle 2,200 is not vibrated.

The devices of the preferred embodiments have a number of advantages over the ORGASMATRON device of the prior art (illustrated at 30 in Fig. 4). Firstly, low cost plastic moulded construction is used rather than expensive copper wire. Secondly, easy assembly and disassembly is possible leading to smaller size packaging and more convenient storage between uses. Thirdly, the cage and its arms are always re-created in the precisely preferred configuration. Fourthly, electric vibrations can be applied, or not, at the election of the patient to be massaged. Fifthly, a multi-stage cage can be assembled and used if desired.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, eight arms or even more if desired, can be used instead of the illustrated six or seven. Also the collar 12 or 700 can be glued to the handle 2 or 200 respectively, if desired. In addition, a battery can also be supplied in the box 900 if desired.

The term"comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of"having"or"including"and not in the exclusive sense of"consisting only of".