Patent Application
20070079433
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hydrotherapy, particularly to a hydrotherapy device for a swimming pool.
2. Background Art
Hydrotherapy has become increasingly popular, and it is desirable to provide people having an above ground or in ground swimming pool means to enjoy hydrotherapy at a reduced cost.
Various arrangements destined to provide a swimming pool with hydrotherapy jets have been previously proposed, including attaching a therapy pool to a swimming pool through a transition section, inserting a removable therapy pool partition within a swimming pool, integrating seats within swimming pool wall, etc. However, such devices are usually costly, and in most cases cannot be retrofitted on existing swimming pool without numerous modifications to the swimming pool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,322 to Weir discloses a modular seat unit lowered into a swimming pool and including hydrotherapy water/air jets. However, the modular seat unit is relatively bulky and the flexible conduit used for providing water to the unit, located within the swimming pool, can be an entanglement hazard.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved hydrotherapy assembly for a swimming pool.
It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide an improved hydrotherapy assembly for a swimming pool.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a hydrotherapy assembly for a swimming pool, the assembly comprising a connector having first and second portions, the first portion being directly connected to a return line port defined in a wall of the swimming pool, the second portion protruding from the wall within the swimming pool, the connector having a conduit defined through the first and second portions and letting a water flow from the return line pass therethrough, and a jet device having a water entry port detachably connected to the second portion in fluid communication with the conduit such that the water flow enters the water entry port, an air entry port receiving air, and at least one jet valve, each of the at least one jet valve having a water inlet in fluid communication with the water entry port, an air inlet in fluid communication with the air entry port, and an outlet in fluid communication with the water and air inlets and letting through a mixed flow of air and water, the jet device being removable when not in use by detaching the water entry port from the second portion.
Also in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a hydrotherapy device for a swimming pool, the device comprising a casing having substantially rectangular front and rear walls interconnected by opposed side walls, a bottom wall and a top wall, the casing being adapted to be retained with the rear wall facing a swimming pool wall and with top and bottom portions of the casing respectively located above and below a water line of the swimming pool, a water inlet extending from the casing and connectable to a water supply of the swimming pool, an air inlet defined in the top portion of the casing, at least two jet valves located within the casing, each of the jet valves being in fluid communication with the water and air inlets through conduits located within the casing and producing a mixed flow of air and water, and an outlet in fluid communication with each one of the jet valves to expel the mixed flow of air and water, the outlet being defined in the front wall in the bottom portion of the casing.
Further in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a method of installing a hydrotherapy device within a swimming pool, the method comprising detaching a first portion of a return line port of a swimming pool from a second portion of the return line, the second portion having a first conduit defined therein for a water supply of the swimming pool, attaching a connector having a second conduit defined therein to the second portion of the return line port with the second conduit in fluid communication with the first conduit, and attaching the water entry port of the hydrotherapy device to the connector to be in fluid communication with the second conduit.
Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the present invention and in which:
Referring now to
The hydrotherapy device 10 includes a casing 12, formed by preferably substantially rectangular front and rear walls 14,16 interconnected by two elongated side walls 18, a top wall 20, and a bottom wall 22. The casing 12 includes a top portion 19 and a bottom portion 21, which, when the hydrotherapy device 10 is placed vertically within a swimming pool, will preferably be located respectively above and below the water line 11.
The front wall 14 includes three (3) vertically spaced apart recesses 17 defined in the bottom portion 21. Within each recess 17 is located the outlet or discharge portion 58a,b,c of one of three (3) jet valves or nozzles 24a,b,c, with each jet valve 24a,b,c preferably not extending beyond the unrecessed portion of the front wall 14. This configuration is preferable such as to protect the jet valves 24a,b,c from being hit by people or objects within the swimming pool. Alternatively, the recesses 17 can be omitted, and the jet valves 24a,b,c can protrude from the front wall 14.
The jet valves 24a,b,c are devices that produce a turbulent mixed flow of air and water from separate water and air sources, and can be any appropriate type of jet valves or nozzles known in the art, such as the jet nozzles disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,954 to Collins et al. for example, or any other type of equivalent mixed air and water flow producing structure. The casing 12 is preferably sized such that the topmost jet valve 24a is located near the water line 11, and the bottommost jet valve 24c is located near the bottom of the swimming pool. Preferably, all but one of the outlets 58a,b,c of the jet valves 24a,b,c can be closed, if desired, to stop the mixed flow of air and water coming therethrough, with one always remaining open to prevent straining and damage to the pumping system that could be caused by the increased pressure of a blocked outgoing water flow.
An air entry port 23 is defined in the top portion 19, preferably through a hole in the top wall 20. Alternatively, the air entry port 23 can be defined in the bottom portion 21, although in this case a conduit (not shown) is required to connect the port, which will be located under water, to an air source. It is considered to provide the air entry port 23 with closing means (not shown), such that the air entry port 23 can be shut off at will, transforming the mixed flow of air and water coming from the jet valves outlets 58a,b,c into a flow of water only. Also, the closing means can be adapted to partially shut the air entry port 23, such as to vary the portion of air contained in the mixed flow of air and water.
Referring to
Referring to
The projecting portion 29 is sized to be snuggly received within the sleeve 28 of the water entry port 25, such that the conduit 33 is in fluid communication with the water entry port 25. The projecting portion 29 includes two diametrically opposed transverse holes 32, which can be aligned with the sleeve holes 30 when the projecting portion 29 is inserted into the sleeve 28.
A pin 34 is inserted through the aligned holes 30,32,35 to detachably retain the projecting portion 29 in the sleeve 28. The pin 34 is preferably made of a floating material, such as polyethylene, to facilitate retrieval of the pin 34 within the swimming pool if the pin 34 is dropped. The pin 34 can also be permanently attached to the casing 12 through a cord or chain long enough to allow easy removal and insertion of the pin 34 in place.
A recess 37 is preferably provided within the rear wall 16 to receive the detached connector 26 such as to reduce a necessary size of a packaging container for the hydrotherapy device 10 when not in use. Alternatively, the recess 37 can be omitted.
Referring to
A main air conduit 50 extends vertically next to the main water conduit 46. “T” shaped air inlets 52a,b,c are defined in the main air conduit 50, one for each of the jet valves 24a,b,c. The bottommost air inlet 52c seals the bottom end 51 of the main air conduit 50, while the open top end 53 of the main air conduit 50, located above the topmost air inlet 52a, is in fluid communication with the air entry port 23 (see
In use, the nozzle portion of the return line port of the swimming pool attached to the threaded ring 36 is removed. The threaded portion 27 of the connector 26 is threadingly engaged to the ring 36. The sleeve 28 of the hydrotherapy device 10 is engaged with the projecting portion 29 of the connector 26 with the holes 30,32,35 in alignment, and the pin 34 is inserted through the aligned holes 30,32,35. This effectively retains the casing 12 with the rear wall 16 adjacent to the swimming pool wall 13, preferably in contact therewith to reduce a risk of entanglement injury.
The water coming through the return line port enters the water entry port 25, circulates through the first elbow 38, water conduit 40, second elbow 42, “T” junction 44, and reaches the main conduit 46 to penetrate each of the water inlets 48a,b,c. The movement of water through the jet valves 24a,b,c produces a “suction effect” which draws air through the air entry port 23, the air entering the main air conduit 50 through the open top end 53 and being distributed to the jet valves 24a,b,c through the air inlets 52a,b,c. A mixed flow of air and water exits from the outlet 58a,b,c of each jet valve 24a,b,c, through the front wall 14 of the casing 12 of the hydrotherapy device 10.
A user located within the swimming pool can benefit from the mixed water and air flow coming from the jet valves 24a,b,c simply by standing in front of the hydrotherapy device 10 and orienting his or her body according to a desired body portion to be massaged. In particular, the bottommost jet valve 24c can provide for massaging of a users feet by simply alternatively orienting the sole of each foot toward the jet valve 24c. Advantageously, the hydrotherapy device 10 also oxygenates the pool water, which can reduce a quantity of chemical products required to maintain the water quality to a level acceptable for bathing.
The connector 26 retaining the device 10 through the simple insertion of the pin 34 advantageously allows the device 10 to be easily and quickly removed and reinstalled in the swimming pool without the use of tools. When the device 10 is removed, the connector 26 stays in place and acts as the return line port for the swimming pool. Since the connector 26 is simply threadingly engaged with the existing ring 36 of the return line port, the first installation of the device 10, requiring the installation of the connector 26, is also simple, and can be performed without tools in most cases, and in a minimal time.
Although the hydrotherapy device 10 has been described as extending vertically, one skilled in the art would understand that the device 10 could also extend in any other desired direction, including horizontally. Similarly, the size of the casing 12 can vary, and more or less jet valves 24 could be provided, with a minimum number being one (1) and a maximum number being determined by the power available from the pumping system of the swimming pool and the size of the latter.
Other shapes for the casing 12 are also considered, one example being illustrated in
The back portion 170 includes, in the bottom portion 121, two recesses 117, each recess 117 including an outlet 158a,b for a jet valve 124a,b. A third recess 117 is defined in the seat portion 172 and includes an outlet 158c for a third jet valve 124c.
A support portion 176 extends downward from the seat portion 172 and abuts the floor such as to support the weight of the user. A second support portion 178 can also extend from the back portion 170 to abut a border of the swimming pool wall, and the second support portion 178 can either replace or be used in coordination with the first support portion 176. The support portions 176 and 178 are preferably adjustable such that the hydrotherapy device 110 can be used with pools and users of various sizes.
The elements contained within the chair-shaped casing 112 preferably have the same configuration than in the casing 12, as shown in
Although the hydrotherapy devices 10,110 have been illustrated with vertically aligned jet valves 24,124, it is also considered to provide horizontally spaced apart jet valves. The distribution of the jet valves 24,124 within the casing 12,112 need not be symmetrical, although a symmetrical configuration is preferred.
Other shapes for the casing 12,112 are considered, including, but not limited to, foot-shaped recesses for receiving a foot of a user, an arcuate shape conforming to a back profile of a user, whether sitting or standing, bench-like protrusions for one or more users, armrests for a user in a standing position, orifices for inserting accessories such as beverages, umbrellas, trays, etc. In its most simple form, the casing 12,112 is omitted and the hydrotherapy device 10,110 simply includes a single jet valve 24 having a water inlet including a sleeve similar to 28 to engage the connector 26.
Alternatively, the water entry port 25 of the hydrotherapy devices 10,110 can be connected to the return line port through a conduit, flexible or rigid, which is preferably concealed between the casing 12,112 and the pool wall 13 to reduce a risk of entanglement injury. The water entry port 25 can also be connected through a conduit extending outside of the swimming pool to a water supply, either of the swimming pool or independent, for example through a “T” junction inserted in the line exiting the pumping system.
Accordingly, the embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary. Those skilled in the art will therefore appreciate that the foregoing description is illustrative only, and that various alternatives and modifications can be devised without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.
