Claims
- 1. The apparatus comprising:
- a shell shaped to contain water and to provide a user seating area therein, said shell having a side surface and at least one discharge jet positioned in said side surface for discharging a fluid stream therefrom; and
- a pillow means having a back surface and further having three sides shaped to mate with said shell so as to form a watertight seal with said shell along said three sides, said pillow means further including a frame portion supporting a flexible membrane means, said frame portion exhibiting less flexibility than said flexible membrane means, said flexible membrane means having a back comprising a portion of the back surface of said pillow means, said pillow means positioning said membrane means with respect to a user's neck and spaced apart from said discharge jet by an air gap defined by said side surface of said shell and the back surface of the pillow means, the back surface of said membrane means receiving fluid discharged from said jet means across and through said air gap and transmitting a neck massaging action to said neck.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pillow means is a unitarily molded solid plastic part.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said pillow means comprises a molded thermoplastic urethane material.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said membrane means comprises a solid membrane having a thickness of 20 mils.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said shell further includes a horizontal top surface having a horizontal floor portion and wherein said pillow means includes an upper rim means on a first of said three sides for mounting over and against said floor portion for preventing splashing of water on said user.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said pillow means further includes a lower rim having a contour shaped to track the side surface of said shell over a selected distance and for cooperating with said shell to form an opening through which fluid discharged by said jet exits said pillow means.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6, further including respective first and second flange means, each comprising a respective one of the second and third of said three sides of said pillow means and located on opposite sides of said upper rim means, for providing attachment of said pillow means to said spa shell.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein each said respective flange means further functions to direct fluid through said opening.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said membrane means is bubble-shaped and projects outwardly away from said frame portion.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said membrane means includes a lower edge and said pillow means includes lower rim means having a floor portion for supporting the lower edge of said membrane means, said floor portion descending away from said membrane means.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said pillow means comprises a molded thermoplastic urethane material.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said pillow means is uninflated.
- 13. Massage apparatus comprising:
- a shell structure shaped to contain water and to provide a user seating area therein, said structure having a fluid discharge jet located in a wall thereof for providing a pressurized fluid discharge;
- a membrane having a front surface and a back surface, the back surface being spaced apart from said water discharge jet by an air gap defined by the wall of said shell structure and the back surface of said membrane for receiving fluid discharged from the jet across and through said air gap for transmitting a massaging action through said front surface to the neck of a user; and
- body means for supporting said membrane and for attaching said membrane means to said shell structure.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said membrane and said body means comprise a solid unitarily molded plastic part molded of a heat conductive plastic means for providing flexibility to said membrane means and for conducting heat such that said membrane means is warmed to the temperature of said fluid.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said plastic means is a polyester- or polyether-based urethane material.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said membrane comprises a flexible membrane having a uniform thickness of 20 mils.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said body means includes a support ring surrounding and integrally formed with said membrane.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said body means includes a collar portion for mating with a horizontal surface of said structure.
- 19. An apparatus comprising:
- a tub shaped to contain a body of fluid and having a side surface and at least one fluid discharge jet positioned in said side surface for discharging a fluid stream therefrom; and
- a pillow means having a back surface and further including a frame portion supporting a flexible membrane, said frame portion exhibiting less flexibility than said flexible membrane, said flexible membrane having a back comprising a portion of the back surface of said pillow means, said pillow means positioning said membrane with respect to a user's neck and spaced apart from said jet by an air gap, the air gap being located between said side surface of the tub and the back surface of the pillow means, the back surface of said membrane receiving fluid discharged from said jet means across said air gap and transmitting a neck massaging action to said neck, the back surface of said pillow means being oriented so as to direct water impacting said back surface downwardly and into said tub.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said air gap is defined by the side surface of said tub and the back surface of said pillow means.
- 21. A tub apparatus comprising:
- a tub structure including a side surface and at least one fluid discharge jet located in said side surface for discharging a fluid stream;
- a unitary molded plastic part positioned to cover said fluid discharge jet and providing a back surface having a lower edge and an upper edge, said back surface being disposed so as to receive said fluid stream at a location above said lower edge and separated by an air gap from said tub structure and such that said fluid stream strikes said back surface and is spent and dispersed so as to create a cascading fluid flow down said back surface, said lower edge being gapped away from said side surface over a selected length of said lower edge so as to permit said cascading flow to exit at said lower edge; and
- a thin membrane centrally located in said molded plastic part and surrounded by a thicker plastic support region, said membrane having a back surface comprising a portion of the back surface of said molded plastic part, and wherein said fluid stream strikes said membrane.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/659,072, filed on Jun. 4, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,333, which application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/321,747, filed on Oct. 12, 1994, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (25)
Foreign Referenced Citations (6)
Number |
Date |
Country |
213041 |
May 1908 |
DEX |
2601506 |
Jan 1978 |
DEX |
3943435 |
Jul 1991 |
DEX |
50-146381 |
May 1949 |
JPX |
57-164061 |
Oct 1982 |
JPX |
57-57697 |
Dec 1982 |
JPX |
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
659072 |
Jun 1996 |
|
Parent |
321747 |
Oct 1994 |
|