Artificial spa generator

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6461498
  • Patent Number
    6,461,498
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, December 13, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, October 8, 2002
    22 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Drodge; Joseph W.
    • Cecil; Terry K.
    Agents
    • Troxell Law Office PLLC
Abstract
An artificial spa generator includes a clean water part 10, a spa generating part 20, and a first guide pipe 15 connecting the clean water part outlet and the spa generating part inlet. A dirt removing filter element 12, a softening filter element 13, and an active carbon filter element 14 are provided in the clean water part. The spa generating part has spa medical stones 21 for introducing minerals into the water. Flow meters 40, 41 are provided upstream and downstream of the clean water part for determining when the filter elements should be changed. A valve/piping arrangement is also included for introducing an odor essence into the spa water from an odor essence storage section 32. A thermometer 50 may also be provided therein.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention:




The present invention relates to an artificial spa generator, and particularly to an artificial spa generator with flow rate and temperature indications.




2. Description of Related Art:




Taking spa baths can promote blood circulation, get rid of tiredness, and keep one's face beautiful so that it is a good way to relax one's body and mind. However, a natural spa is usually near a specific area such as a mountain such that it is inconvenient for us to take a spa bath while we are desired to enjoy the fun of taking spa bath. Taiwanese patent publication No. 266472 discloses a spa device for face beauty, with which the spa can be made artificially. The spa device provides hot water passing through special treating stones and a sulfur essence in the process of making the spa. The special treating stones collect the contaminating substance in the hot water and release the mineral into the hot water and the concentrated sulfur can drip several drips of sulfur to mix with the hot water. But, the special stones are not able to absorb the hard water ingredients such as chlorine ion, calcium ion, and magnesium ion in the hot water. In addition, there are other defects such as the temperature of the spa may not be indicated and if the spa device is still in an effective period.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




An object of the present invention is to provide an artificial spa generator, which may offer pure spa and/or order essence water.




Another object of the present invention is to provide an artificial spa generator, which may indicate the temperature of spa and/or the temperature of the order essence water and the accumulated used spa.




Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent by way of following description of embodiments with accompanying drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a plan view of an artificial spa generator according to the present invention to illustrate the structure in the first embodiment thereof; and





FIG. 2

is a plan view of an artificial spa generator according to the present invention to illustrate the structure in the second embodiment thereof.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to

FIG. 1

, the artificial generator of the present invention in a first embodiment thereof is illustrated. The artificial spa generator comprises a clean water part


10


, a spa generating part


20


, an order essence mixing part


30


, a first flow meter


40


, a second flow meter


41


, a thermometer, a first control valve


60


, a second control valve


70


, and a third control valve


80


. A water inlet pipe


11


communicates the clean part


10


and the first flow meter


40


joins to the water inlet pipe


11


. The clean water part


10


provides a dirt removing filter element


12


, a softening filter element


13


and an active carbon filter element


14


. The dirt removing filter element


12


is made of cotton, and the softening filter element


13


is made of positive ion resin. The first control valve


60


located at the bottom of the clean water part


10


connects with the upper end of the spa generating part


20


via a first guide pipe


15


and connects with the order essence mixing part


30


. The first guide pipe


15


further joins the second flow meter


41


. The spa generating part


20


is provided with spa medical stones


21


therein and connects with a spa pipe


22


. The medical stones includes mineral elements such as Ca, Na, Mg, Si, Fe, Sr, Al, K, Ti, Mn, Zn, Y, Ba, and U. The second guide pipe


16


joins the second control valve


70


so as to connect with the spa pipe


22


. The odor essence part


30


at the upper end thereof is provided with an odor essence inlet


31


and has an odor essence storing section


32


with an odor essence switch


33


at the outlet thereof to connect with the third control valve


80


. The third control valve


80


communicates with the second guide pipe


16


and the third guide pipe


81


. A thermometer


50


is located on the second guide pipe


16


next to the third control valve


80


and has a sensor immersed under the water or spa in the second guide pipe


16


.




In practice, the water enters the clean water part


10


through the inlet pipe


11


and the first flow meter


40


records the quantity of incoming flow at this time. It can be realized from the accumulated quantity of the water if each filter element has to be replaced or not. The dirt removing filter element


12


can remove larger grains of dirt, the softening filter


13


can absorb calcium ions and magnesium ions to soften the water, and the active carbon filter


14


can remove chlorine to have the water be purified completely. The purified water can flow toward the spa generating part


20


through the first guide pipe


15


by way of the first control valve


60


. The purified water can dissolve mineral elements in the spa medical stone


21


such that the spa containing ingredients of the medical stone


21


may flow outward through the spa pipe


22


. The first control valve


60


is a valve of one to two and the second control valve


70


is a valve of two to one. The water, which passes through the clean water part


10


, may enter the spa generating part


20


through the first guide pipe


15


or enter the odor essence mixing part


30


through the second guide pipe


16


by way of controlling the first control valve


60


. The spa in the spa generating part


20


may flow to the second control valve


70


through the spa pipe


22


. The purified water or the spa can be selected to enter the third control valve


80


through the second guide pipe


22


by way of the third control valve


80


. The odor essence switch


33


can be operated to control the addition of the odor essence in the purified water or in the spa before the purified water or the spa is discharged through the third guide pipe


81


. The third control valve


80


may be the odor control valve arranged in a flushing device mixed with odor essence in an ordinary toilet or may be a water actuated control valve. The odor essence in the odor essence storing section


32


may be operated to flow outward and mix with the purified water or the spa passing through while the odor essence is desired to contain in the purified water or the spa. The thermometer


50


may indicate if the temperature of the purified water or the spa is appropriate. The first flow meter


40


and the second flow meter


41


may indicate the gross water flow into the clean water part


10


and the gross water flow into the spa generating part


20


respectively. The respective gross water is a reference for deciding if filter elements or medical stones


21


have to be replaced.




The present invention makes the water much purer for being more appropriately used by us because of the softening filter element and the active carbon filter element. The flow meter arranged in the present invention allows the user to know the timing for replacing filter elements or spa medical stones such that the good quality of the purified water or the spa can be maintained without any difficulty. The thermometer provided in the artificial spa device of the present invention may indicate if the temperature of water is in a proper range. The first flow meter may be joined to the third guide pipe for calculating the gross entered water as well. The clean water part provided by the present invention can be connected to the spa generating part and the odor essence section by a guide pipe respectively and the respective guide pipe may be attached a control valve. The spa generating part may connect with another odor essence mixing section through another guide pipe and the another pipe connects with further control valve.




If the water entering the artificial spa device of the present invention is very clean, the water can flow into the spa generating part directly. Referring to

FIG. 2

, another embodiment of the present invention comprises a spa generating part


20


, an odor essence mixing part


30


, a first flow meter


40


, a thermometer


50


, and a third control valve


80


. The inlet pipe


11


communicates with the spa generating part


20


and the first flow meter


40


is attached to the inlet pipe


11


. The spa generating part


20


is provided with the spa medical stones


21


and connects with the spa pipe


22


. The spa pipe


22


and the second guide pipe


16


communicate with the second control valve


70


respectively. The odor essence mixing part


30


at the upper end thereof has an odor essence inlet


31


and is provided with an odor essence storing section


32


. An odor essence switch


33


is located at the outlet of the odor essence storing section to connect with the third control valve


80


. The third control valve


80


connects with the second guide pipe


16


and the third guide pipe


81


respectively. A thermometer


50


is attached to the second guide pipe


16


next to the third control valve


80


and has a sensor under the water or the spa in the second guide pipe


16


. The embodiment illustrates the water entering the spa generating part


20


directly and the spa generated can be selected to add the odor essence before the spa flows outward form the third guide pipe


81


. The first flow meter


40


may be attached to the spa pipe


22


so as to count the quantity of water moving through the spa generating part


20


.




While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or variations may be easily made without departing from the spirit of this invention, which is defined by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. An artificial spa generator comprising:a) a clean water part having a water inlet and a plurality of filters, whereby water entering through the water inlet sequentially passes through the plurality of filters; b) a first flow meter located in the water inlet; c) a spa generating part including spa medical stones therein; d) a first guide pipe connecting an outlet of the clean water part and an inlet of the spa generating part; e) a second flow meter located in the first guide pipe whereby a comparison of water flow information provided by the first and second flow meters indicates a necessity of changing the plurality of filters; f) a second guide pipe connected to the outlet of the clean water part; g) a first control valve connected to the outlet of the clean water part, the first guide pipe and the second guide pipe; h) a second control valve connected to the second guide pipe; i) a spa pipe connected to an outlet of the spa generating part and to the second control valve; j) a third control valve connected to the second guide pipe; and, k) an odor essence mixing part connected to the third control valve and including an odor essence switch to control addition of odor essence to purified water in the second guide pipe.
  • 2. The artificial spa of claim 1 wherein the plurality of filters includes a dirt removing filter element.
  • 3. The artificial spa of claim 2 wherein the plurality of filters further includes a water softening filter element.
  • 4. The artificial spa of claim 3 wherein the plurality of filters further includes an active carbon filter element.
  • 5. The artificial spa of claim 3 wherein the water softening filter element comprises a positive ion resin.
  • 6. The artificial spa of claim 2 wherein the dirt removing filter element is made of cotton.
  • 7. The artificial spa of claim 1 wherein the spa medical stones comprise mineral elements selected from the group consisting of: Calcium (Ca); Sodium (Na); Magnesium (Mg); Silicon (Si); Iron (Fe); Strontium (Sr); Aluminum (Al); Potassium (K); Titanium (Ti); Manganese (Mn); Zinc (Zn); Yttrium (Y); Barium (Ba) and Uranium (U).
  • 8. The artificial spa of claim 1 further comprising a thermometer located on the second guide pipe.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
89207608 U May 2000 TW
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
4317732 Shoquist Mar 1982 A
4859345 Inagaki Aug 1989 A
5616239 Wendell et al. Apr 1997 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (7)
Number Date Country
3719675 Mar 1989 DE
1-242115 Sep 1989 JP
7-16407 Jan 1995 JP
9-84846 Mar 1997 JP
9-103617 Apr 1997 JP
10-225390 Aug 1998 JP
266472 Jun 1984 TW