US 11938082

US Patent 11938082, titled "Massage device having variable stroke length," was issued on March 26, 2024. The original and a current assignee is Hyperice IP Subco LLC. The inventors are Philip C. Danby and John Charles Danby. The patent was filed on November 20, 2023.

Abstract:
The patent discloses exemplary embodiments of massaging devices. One such embodiment includes a piston with a longitudinal axis and a massaging head attached to it. A motor is positioned on one side of the longitudinal axis, and a handle is on the opposing side. The device also incorporates a drive mechanism responsible for moving the piston and massage head.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: This claim describes a percussive massager that includes a main body (housing), a piston with a front and back end (the front end having a hole), and a motor connected to the back end of the piston that makes it move back and forth at a specific speed. The massager also features a mechanism that controls how far the piston moves (a predetermined stroke length). A key feature is a quick-connect system at the front of the piston, which allows a massage head to be attached or removed from the piston's bore even while the piston is actively moving at its set speed.

• Claim 18: This claim outlines a method for assembling a percussive massager. The method involves connecting a motor to the back end of a piston (which has a bore at its front end) such that the motor can cause the piston to reciprocate at a first speed. It also includes providing a drive mechanism to control a specific stroke length for the piston. Finally, the method requires providing a quick-connect system, comprising the piston's distal end and a massage head, designed so that the massage head can be inserted into or removed from the piston's bore while the piston is reciprocating at its predetermined stroke length and speed.

Litigation Dockets:
As of April 26, 2026, a search for CAFC 2026 dockets specifically mentioning US patent 11938082 did not yield authoritative results. While there has been district court litigation involving this patent, such as FVOAI Inc. v. Hyperice IP Subco (June 2024) and Hyper Ice vs. Namirsa (September 2025), no specific filings for this patent in the CAFC for 2026 were found.