AU622351B2

AU622351B2 - Spa jet assembly

Info

Publication number: AU622351B2
Application number: AU62058/90A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Desmond John Berry
Original assignee: DEGA RESEARCH Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Wicor Industries Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1989-09-12
Filing date: 1990-09-03
Publication date: 1992-04-02
Anticipated expiration: 2010-09-03
Also published as: AU6205890A

Description

C-i- 4AUSTRALIA,- L PATENTS ACT 19 2 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE Short Title: Int. CI: Application Number: Lodged: P/0o/011 Form implete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: iority: lated Art: I r i me of Applicant: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT DEGA RESEARCH PTY.LTD.

dress of Applicant: Actual Inventor: 15 Century Drive, Braeside, Victoria, 3195 DESMOND JOHN BERRI Address for Service: JOHN L.DAVIES CO. Patent Attorney of P.O.Box 436 39 Cheviot Rd.) Mt.Waverley. Vic. 3149 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: SPA JET ASSEMBLY The following statemen; is a full description ais invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- SNote: The description is to be typed in double spacing, pica type face, in an area not exceeding 250 mm in depth and 160 mm in width, on tough white paper of good quality and it is to be inserted inside this form.

14599/78- L Printed by C. J. THOMPSON, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra This invention relates generally to Jets for spa baths and pools and relates in particular to a spa bath jet assembly with minimum injection moulded components ready-made for snap-fit assembly on site by installers.

The invention, according to a general concept resides in a spa bath, air/water mixing jet assembly for hydromassage, the assembly comprising a spa mixing jet hollow body with an opening with a surround having an internal thread for mounting therein an externally- S: 10 threaded receptor-retaining nut, a jet receptor .integrally formed with a water jet tube as an axial extension of the receptor, a part of the receptor being adapted to be installed within the nut and being formed within resilient catch means on an axially inwardly- 15 directed portion thereof to enable the receptor to be S. •-quickly snap-fitted onto the nut after the nut has been screwed into the jet body and for hand-rotatable angular movement of the receptor and with it the intt-Tal water jet tube within the nut and the jet body when the jet receptor and the nut are installed within the jet body, and a jet flow direction adjustment eye ball adapted to be snap-fitted into the jet receptor for swivelling Smovement of the eye ball within the jet receptor by finger adjustment setting of the eye ball in axial or non-axial directions when the eye ball is in use installed within the jet receptor.

Preferably, the jet body and nut are installed in a spa bath as a pre-assembly unit, after which the B/ jet receptor is adapted to be snap-fitted on site into czD c-2- I the Jet body and nut pr-e-assembly unit, Preferably, the resilient catch means of the jet I receptor is an integrally-formed resilient tongue on an axially inwardly directed portion thereof, the tongue having a terminal latch integrally formed thereon to enable the receptor with eye ball attached to be quickly Ii removed from the receptor-retaining nut by a screw driver by levering the receptor tongue radially inwardly with the tip of the screw driver to disengage the latch 10 from a rear surface of the nut without removing the nut from the Jet body, the receptor being retained within u:.:the Jet body by engagement of the tongue and the latch :against the nut during normal operation of the jet.

4 t 4Preferably the eye ball of the above-described assembly is also adapted to be fitted within the jet V receptor on site after snap-fitting the Jet receptor onto the retaining nut after screwing the nut onto the Jet body and more preferably the Jet receptor has an eye brl -receiving and retaining socket with a grooved inteznal surface curvature adapted to engage with a complememtary-shaped, annular external surface portion of the eye ball to enable the eye ball to be snap-fitted into the receptor socket and to be retained therein for _____finger-swivelling adjustment of directional jet setting of the eye ball.

A non-limiting example of a practical arrangement of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: _J manufactured by injection moulding simultaneously from a suitable synthetic polymeric material such as PVC all components being designed to be snap-fitted together on site during installation to form a complete spa bath jet assembly. The pre-assembly components generally comprise a spa mixing-jet body 10, a hand rotatable jet receptor 11, a jet receptor retaining nut 12 and a jet flow direction adjustment eyeball 13 all designed and manufactured together to be self-contained, and quick-fitting for on-site assembly without necessity for additional fastening members, In more detail, the jet body 10 is formed as an integral unit with twin and parallel supply lines comprising an air supply upper pipe 15 and water supply lower pipe 16 both pipes having air and water flow connections into the jet body via c tvia air duct 17 and water inlet opening 18 respectively 9 t 9, into a mixing chamber formed at the rear of a wider diameter, internally threaded receptor-connecting portion 19 oriented normal to the axial directions of both air and S tt water supply pipes. The receptor 11 is in the form of a I c c c generally tubular body with a tapered, wider diameter outer portion 20 stepped down via a flat radial intermediate wall or face 20a into a narrower diameter inner portion 21 which i has one or outer end thereof tapered to form a water jet nozzle 22 and an inner end with half the cylindrical wall thereof cut away to form two cut-away edges such as that labelled 21a so as to allow regulation of water flow upon rotation of the receptor 11 when it is installed within the jet body 10 with the cutaway portion of the receptor opposite the water flow opening 18 of the jet body. The flat intermediate wall or face 20a has air flow apertures -4formed therein such as that labelled 21b, The receptor portions 20 and 21 fit inside the wide diameter bore 23 of the threaded retaining nut 12 (which is the third component of the adjustable spa jet assembly) and a resilient tongue 24, on the wider diameter portion 20 of the receptor, has a latch 25 on the end thereof which is adapted to engage with and disengage from) a flanged inner face 26 of the retaining nut 12, The tongue of the receptor is formed by axial slots such as that labelled 27 which are widened to serve as air suply venturi suction slots into the water jet dicharge and mixing chamber in from of the jet nozzle.The retaining nut has a peripheral flanged portion 28 adapted to fit within a hollow recess 29 behind the knurled flanged, ('si jet flow rate hand adjustment disc 30 integrally formed on S.t the front face of the receptor. The receptor 11 has an eye I ball receiving and retaining socket with an inner curved annulargroove 31 formed on the inner surface thereof which is adapted to accomodate the eye ball 13 which has an external surface curvature complelmentary to the internal t annular groove 31 of the receptor to allow snap-fitting of I the eye ball 13 within the receptor socket and enabling hand adjustment swivelling movement of the eyeball within the S- receptor for non-axial directional flow control setting of Sair/water jet from the eye ball. For on-site installation the jet body 10 is first installed in the spa bath, then the retaining nut is screwed into the jet body and then the receptor ins pushed into the retaining nut in a snap fit movement and the eye ball is pushed into the receptor also in a snap fit movement to comiplete the assembly without necessity for any additional fastening means. When installed assembled, the receptor and eye ball are turnable by hand as a unit through 180 degrees within the body between a fully open and fully closed position with respect to water flow and stop means are provided to control movement between these limits the stop means comprise a longitudinal rib 32 on the internal surface of the jet body and the cutaway edges such as that labelled 21a of the narrower diameter inside tubular portion of the receptor.

Advantageous features of the invention are that once the receptor and eye ball assembly is snapped into place within the confines of the retaining nut the eye ball is prevented from popping out because of the close fit between the external surface of the receptor and the internal surface of the retaining nut. The rearward tubular extension form of the receptor operates as a valve to turn water jet flow on or off by means of the hand rotatable knurled disc which is an integral part on the front of the receptor. There is a positive stop mechanism to indicate to user when the valve and whole assembly is fully open or fully closed. The system of the invention uses a minimum number of components.

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Claims

1. A spa bath air/water mixing jet assembly for hydromassage, the assembly comprising a spa mixing jet hollow body with an opening with a surround having an internal thread for mounting therein an externally- threaded receptor-retaining nut, a jet receptor integrally formed with a water jet tube as an axial extension of the receptor, a part of the receptor being adapted to be installed within the nut and being formed cY, with resilient catch means on an axially inwardly- directed portion thereof to enable the receptor to be i 1 quickly snap-fitted onto the nut after the nut has been screwed into the jet body and for hand-rotatable angular movement of the receptor and with it the water jet tube within the nut and jet body when the jet receptor and the nut are installed within the Jet body, and a jet flow direction adjustment eye ball adapted to be snap-fitted into the jet receptor for swivelling ;iC" movement of the eye ball within the jet receptor by finger adjustment setting of the eye ball in axial or non-axial directions when the eye ball is in use installed within the jet receptor.

2. An assembly according to claim 1 wherein, after the jet body and nut have been installed in a spa bath as a pre-assembly unit, the jet receptor is adapted to be snap-fitted on site into the nut and Jet body pre-assembly unit.

3. An assembly according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the resilient catch means of the jet receptor is a -7- It" U resilient tongue integrally-formed on the receptor and on an axially inwardly-directed portion thereof, the tongue having a terminal latch integrally formed thereon to enable the receptor with eye ball attached to be quickly removed from the nut by a screw driver by levering the tongue radially inwardly with the tip of the screw driver to disengage the latch from a rear surface of the nut without removing the nut from the jet body, the receptor being retained within the jet body by engagement of the tongue and the latch against the nut during normal operation of the jet.

4. An assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the eye ball is also adapted to be fitted within the jet receptor on site after snap-fitting the jet receptor onto the retaining nut after screwing the retaining nut onto the jet body.

An assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the jet receptor has an eye ball-receiving and t: retaining socket with a grooved internal surface curvature adapted to engage with a complementary-shaped, annualr, external surface of the eye ball to enable the eye ball to be snap-fitted into the receptor socket and to be retained therein for finger swivelling adjustment of the jet directional setting of the eyeball.

6. A spa bath air/water mixing jet assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 30,th day of December, 1991 DEGA RESEARCH PTY.LTD. By Our Patent Attorney JOHN L.DAVIES CO. C t tI J si -9- I