Control to limit the reciprocation of the massaging apparatus in a therapeutic manipulating machine

Claim 1

A therapeutic manipulating machine for manipulating and massaging portions of a patient''s body, of the type which includes a table with an elongated opening in the top wherein a patient may lie, a carriage below the table riding upon a guide means to reciprocate longitudinally back and forth thereunder through a reach correlated with the length of the table opening, and a manipulating and massaging means carried by the carriage to extend into the aforesaid elongated opening to contact the body of a patient lying upon the table and to shift back and forth in this opening through a reach corresponding to the movement of the carriage, the improvement comprising: a. said table includes a cabinet having a wall at one side thereof and a slot is formed in said wall at the position of the table opening; b. reciprocating means to reciprocably shift the carriage means back and forth; c. manually settable limit means including a position indicating standard mounted on the carriage adjacent said slot, controlling the reciprocating means to limit the reciprocable movement of the carriage to any selected incremental portion of the aforesaid reach, d. reversing switch means mounted upon said standard at said slot to reverse the movement of the carriage reciprocating means whenever said reversing switch means is contacted, and e. manually shiftable limit stop means mounted upon the table at each side of said slot to contact said reversing switch means and to restrict the reciprocation movement of the carriage to the increment defined by the space between the opposing limit stop means.