EP0011825A1 - Massage shower with a vertical guide rail - Google Patents

Abstract

The massage shower has an essentially vertical guide rail (2) along which a massage head (6) can be automatically moved up and down and locked in any position, this massage head (6) dispensing hot water. A device (10) driven and controlled by the process water drives the massage head (6) in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail (2). This device (10) is preferably designed as a reversing drive.

Description

The invention relates to a massage shower with a substantially vertical guide rail, along which a massage head can be moved up and down automatically and can be locked in any position, this massage head dispensing hot water.

This massage shower can be used in bathing establishments, hospitals and private households. In such applications, there is a need to perform a massage in addition to washing.

From DE-AS 2 615 872 a shower head is known which releases water either in a pulsating or steady flow and which can be used for massage. The known shower head contains a chopping device for receiving all the water entering the shower head and an adjusting device for setting a constant or a pulsating flow. It can be assumed that this shower head can be clamped in any position in the usual manner on a vertical guide rail (ie a guide rod mounted vertically on the wall of the room). Various mounts are generally known for this. You can also remove the shower head from the holder and perform a large-scale massage by hand. A back massage or a simultaneous washing and massaging are difficult to do. This arrangement is also unsuitable for the treatment of patients who are restricted in their freedom of movement.

From DE-OS 26 50 517 a massage shower of the type mentioned is known. With this massage shower, the movement of the massage head along the guide rail is brought about by an electric drive. The disadvantage of this known massage shower is that electrical lines are necessary. The installation of such a known massage shower requires the installation of electrical lines that are undesirable in a shower room.

From DE-GM 19 38 758 a massage and cleaning device is known in which the drive is carried out by the medium used for massage or cleaning. In this known massage device, the head of the massage device is set in rotation. The body or the surface to be cleaned is treated directly with this known massage device. The disadvantage of this known massage device is that it has to be moved by hand over the area to be worked and no large-scale automatic massage is possible.

Starting from the massage shower mentioned at the outset, the invention is based on the object of setting it up for a large-area automatic massage with little effort. The massage shower should be able to be installed directly at the usual water connections in the bathroom, so that, in addition to its use in new buildings, it is also possible to replace showers in old buildings.

The solution to this problem is that, according to the invention, a device which is driven and controlled by the process water is provided and which drives the massage head in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail.

The alternating downward and upward movements guide the massage head along the body of the showering person and enable the large-scale massage in an automatic manner. In addition, the construction according to the invention does not require any non-system aids, i.e. it does not require an additional energy source for the drive, e.g. an electric motor that would require the installation of electrical wiring; installation is made easier and operational safety is improved.

If the guide rail is designed as a self-contained guide, with two long vertical sections and two short connecting pieces, the shower head moves up and down alternately along the guide in the manner of a paternoster up; the changeover from the upward movement to the downward movement takes place automatically through the connecting pieces of the guide.

The massage shower is preferably designed with a straight guide rail, two adjustable stops limiting the movement of the massage head arranged on a slide and the drive device being designed as a reversing drive. With the exception of special applications in hospitals, this straight guide rail will be mounted vertically on a wall of the room, as usual reaching up to the normal height, so that with appropriate adjustment of the stops, an up and down movement is possible over any area of the body.

The reversing drive expediently comprises a turbine wheel running in a door housing, to which the process water can be optionally selected in two tangential directions via a control slide _. , directions (lines) corresponding to the two directions of rotation can be fed.

A reduction gear is advantageously connected on the output side of the turbine in order to achieve a torque sufficient for the movement of the slide carrying the massage head.

The rotational movement of the transmission can be converted into the longitudinal movement of the carriage on the one hand with the turbine in a fixed arrangement or on the other hand with the turbine in a movable arrangement.

* In the first-mentioned, more advantageous variant, the turbine and the control slide are in a common, fixed-location arrangement at the top or bottom of the guide rail, directly (or via a water hose) to the on-site water connection connectable unit; this unit has for the emerging Turbinenwassar cine connection piece, which is connected via a flexible, in its length the greatest distance of the carriage from the unit corresponding water hose to the massage head and this feeds the turbine water.

In this variant, a chain wheel with a chain is expediently arranged on the reduction gear on the output side and the chain is connected at one end to the top of the slide and at the other end, after deflection via a deflection wheel, to the underside of the slide.

In this case, the reversal of the drive is advantageously controlled by a changeover rod which is movable axially parallel to the guide rail and carries the two adjustable stops above and below the slide and is in engagement with the control slide.

This construction has the advantage that the control device consisting of the adjustable stops, the switching rod and the control slide requires no auxiliary energy, since it is driven directly by the process water.

For reasons of stability and operational safety, the guide rail is expediently designed as a hollow chamber profile and has two sliding guides on both sides of a front chamber and two side surfaces that run at an obtuse angle to its wall connection side, the slide i.? including the guiding surfaces, which cover the laterally open sliding guides and engage in them with guide bodies. With this form, which is largely closed to the outside, it is achieved that water and splashing soap foam cannot reach the guide elements directly.

To reduce the friction between the slide guides on the one hand and the guide bodies on the other hand, these advantageously only touch in at least three guide ribs which run parallel to the guide rail.

One of the guide bodies of the slide is advantageously hollow and comprises the changeover rod loosely, so that the slide can move along the changeover rod between the two stops.

With the movable arrangement of the turbine already mentioned above, the turbine and the control slide are located in the carriage. In this case, a gearwheel arranged on the output side of the reduction gear is expediently engaged with a toothed rack in the guide rail. The massage head is connected to the water connection via a flexible water hose that corresponds in length to the greatest distance of the slide from the customer's water connection.

This embodiment is particularly useful when movement on an endless guideway is desired. A guide rail in the form of a closed curve can be provided for this.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing.

• Fig. 1 eine perspektivische Gesamtansicht einer Massagedusche mit geradliniger vertikaler Führungsschiene
• Fi^g. 2 eine Seitenansicht der Massagedusche der Fig. 1,
• Fig. 3 eine Ansicht der Massagedusche der Fig. 1 von oben,
• Fig. 1 eine Vorderansicht auf die Massagedusche der Fig. ; im ausgebauten Zustand,
• Fig. 5 eine Ansicht einer Baueinheit für den Wasseranschluß, mit Turbine und Steuerschieber, wobei die vor der Turbine angeordneten Teile abgenommen sind,
• Fig.5a eine ähnliche Ansicht wie Fig. 5, jedoch mit freigelegtem und geschnitten dargestelltem Kanalsystem,
• Fig. 6 ein Schnittbild gsmäß der Schnittlinie VI-VI in Fig. 5,
• Fig.6a ein Schnittbild gemäß der Schnittlinie VIa-VIa in Fig. 5,
• Fig. 7 eine Ansicht wie Fig. 5, jedoch ist nur der Gehäusedeckel abgenommen,
• Fig. 8 den unteren Teil der Antriebsordnung im vertikalen Schnitt, und
• Fig. 9 einen horizontalen Querschnitt der Führungsschiene 2 mit aufgesetztem Schlitten 7 und Traverse 5.

Show it:

• Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view of a massage shower with a straight vertical guide rail
• Fi ^g . 2 shows a side view of the massage shower of FIG. 1,
• 3 is a view of the massage shower of FIG. 1 from above,
• 1 is a front view of the massage shower of FIG. when removed,
• 5 is a view of a structural unit for the water connection, with the turbine and control slide, the parts arranged in front of the turbine being removed,
• 5a is a view similar to FIG. 5, but with the duct system exposed and shown in section,
• 6 is a sectional view according to the section line VI-VI in FIG. 5,
• 6a is a sectional view along the section line VIa-VIa in Fig. 5,
• 7 is a view like FIG. 5, but only the housing cover is removed,
• Fig. 8 shows the lower part of the drive arrangement in vertical section, and
• 9 shows a horizontal cross section of the guide rail 2 with the slide 7 and crossbar 5 attached.

1 shows a massage shower with a straight, vertical guide rail 2 over a shower tray 4 located in a corner of the room. In the exemplary embodiment, a traverse 5 is shown which is dumbbell-shaped and has two massage heads 6. The cross member 5 is located on a slide 7 guided on the guide rail 2, can be removed from this slide 7 and can be rotated relative to the same (7), ie it can be adjusted, for example, from the horizontal position shown into a vertical position, so that the two massage heads 6 lie one above the other parallel to the guide rail 2. A massage head is attached to the traverse 5 Water hose 8 connected. The water hose 8 is connected to a structural unit 10 via a check valve 9. From this assembly 10, a connection water hose 11 leads to the on-site shower water connection 12, which has a multi-function actuator 13 for setting the water quantity and temperature.

Furthermore, a overhead shower 14 is provided, which is connected to the structural unit 10 via a flexible water hose 15. A shut-off valve 3 is provided directly below the structural unit 10 and in front of the water hose 8 in order to be able to use or switch off the overhead shower 14. The shut-off valve 9 serves the same purpose in relation to the two massage heads 6.

There are three water connections on component 10, namely a left connection 16, a right connection 17 (FIG. 4) and a rear connection 18 (FIG. 6a). Depending on the position of the on-site shower water connection 12, the structural unit 10 can be connected either from the right, from the left or from the rear, the two connections which are not required being closed in each case.

Fig. 2 shows the massage shower in operation. The guide rail 2 is sufficiently long so that the shower head 14, which may for example be simply hooked into the unit 10, is sufficiently high even with large showering persons 20 above the head and the movement of the carriage 7 on the mass sa ^g e of all Body parts can be adjusted.

Fig. 3 shows from above the alignment of the two water jets 19 on the person 20. It can be seen that because of the presence of two massage heads 6, a wide area of the body can be massaged, so that in conjunction with the up and down movement of the carriage 7 one large-scale massage effect results.

Fig. 4 illustrates that the massage shower is designed as a complete component ready for connection. The stops 21 and 22 limit the movement of the crosshead ₅ carrying the massage head ₆ and can be set to any distance a from one another. They are attached to the switch rod 51 (FIGS. 7 and 8).

5, the assembly 10 is shown schematically with its outer connections and the essential inner elements; all parts in front of the turbine are omitted, i.e. in particular the sprocket, the chain and the deflecting rod, so that the different water-carrying channels and bores are all the more recognizable. The left and right inlet connections 16 and 17 are indicated. For the water hose 8 leading to the massage head 6 (corresponding to the connection shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4), a connecting piece 23 attached to the assembly 10 at the bottom left is provided. The water hose 15 leading to the overhead shower 14 can be connected to a connecting piece 24 attached to the unit 10 at the bottom right. The shut-off valves 9 and 3 are arranged directly below the connecting pieces 23 and 24.

The three water connections 16, 17 and 18 are connected to one another and to the two connecting pieces 23 and 24 and a gate valve 26 by a system of channels and bores, as will be explained in more detail below with reference to FIG. 5a.

From the right inlet connection 17 leads to the left a short longitudinal channel 77 directly to the spool 26. From the left inlet connection 16 leads to the right a long longitudinal channel 25 to a connecting hole 39, which to the rear to the short Longitudinal channel 17 and leads forward to the connecting piece 24. The water connections 16, 17, the connecting piece 24 and the control slide 26 are thus connected to one another via the channels 25 and 77 and the bore 39.

The channels 25 and 77 and the bore 39 lie in the plane of the drawing in FIG. 5a. In a section VIa-VIa perpendicular to it, which is shown in FIG. 6a, one can see a transverse bore 41 leading to the rear inlet connection 18, which opens into the channel system 25/39/77 where the longer longitudinal channel 25 meets the connecting bore 39 . Any other point in the channel system 25/39/77 would be less suitable for the opening of the transverse bore 41 for fluidic and structural reasons.

The transverse bore 41 passes through the entire assembly 10 in order to be able to actuate the sealing plug of the rear water connection 18 via a thin screw 40 (which does not fill the transverse bore 41, but instead forms a cylindrical channel with the wall of the transverse bore 41).

According to FIG. 5a, the shorter longitudinal channel 77 leads from the inlet connection 17 to the control slide 26, which is designed as a rotary slide valve and (FIG. 5) has a funnel-shaped inlet opening 27 which branches into two outlet lines 28 and 29.

In the assembly 10, two feed lines 30 and 31 leading from the control slide 26 to the turbine 32 are provided. The turbine 32 has a turbine housing 33 and a turbine wheel 34 integrated in the structural unit 10.

In the illustrated position of the spool 26, the upper output line 28 is connected to the upper supply line 3 _0th The Tiirinererrad 34 rotates according to the arrow and drives the carriage 7 in the one direction of travel (for example upwards) via the drive device shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. After driving the turbine ₃₂ , the water flows via the upper outflow channel 35 to the connecting piece 23 and further to the massage heads 6.

If the control slide 26 is unplugged via the switchover speed 51 (cf. FIGS. 6, 7 and 8) such that its output line 29 opens into the lower feed line 31, the turbine valve 34 is rotated counter to the arrow shown and drives the arrow Slide 7 in the other direction of travel (eg downwards). After flowing through the turbine 32, the water flows via the lower outflow channel 36 to the connecting piece 23 and further to the massage heads 6.

Fig. 6 shows that the turbine wheel 34 is followed by a reduction gear 44, on the output shaft 45, a chain wheel 46 is attached; Instead of the sprocket drive shown, a toothed belt drive is advantageously used when quiet running is desired. The reduction gear 44 is located completely in the assembly 10, which is covered at the front by a hood 47 (indicated by dash-dotted lines in FIG. 6, also compare FIGS. 1 and 2). The sprocket 46 drives a chain 75, which in turn (Fig. 8) drives the carriage 7.

The control slide 26 sits (Fig. 6 and 7) on a control shaft 48 which is fixedly connected to a bracket 49. The bracket 49 comprises a wishbone 50, which in turn extends with the axially parallel to the guide rail 2 Switch rod 51 is firmly connected. The control arm 50 can rotate in the bracket 49.

FIG. 8 shows the lower part of the drive arrangement in vertical section, along the section line VIII-VIII indicated in FIG. 9, which runs through the two guide bodies 56 and 57, which form the parts of the carriage 7 shown in FIG. 8. The chain 75 engages with springing via a spring 52 on the left guide body 57 of the carriage 7. On its other side, it is guided via a deflection wheel 53 to the underside of the left guide body 57 of the carriage 7. Your right run 76 through the chamber 69 (see also FIG. 9) of the guide rail 2 is only indicated by dash-dotted lines. The deflection wheel 53 is located in a lower housing part 54, in which the switching rod 51 is also immersed. The switching rod 51 is guided through a through hole 55 of the right hollow guide body 56 of the carriage 7. A compression spring assembly 78 supports the switch rod 51 so that its weight is lifted.

As already described, the chain 75 engages the left guide body 57. This guide body 57 has threaded bores 58 and 59 at the top and bottom for the insertion of draw bolts 60 and 61 for the chain 75.

Fig. 9 shows the guide rail 2 in horizontal section; it is designed as a hollow chamber profile and has on both sides of a chamber 69 two sliding guides 64 which are circular in cross-section to the guide direction and then to their room wall connection side 66 at obtuse angles side surfaces 67 and 68. The slide 7 spans the guide rail 2 as far as over the side surfaces 67, 68 , to the cover the sliding guides 64 which are open at the side and to prevent the penetration of foreign bodies (eg soap foam). With its guide bodies 56 and 57, the slide 7 engages in the slide guides 64. The guide bodies 56 and 57 carry longitudinal ribs 79, 80 and 81 running in the guide direction (perpendicular to the plane of the drawing in FIG. 9). Only with these ribs do they touch the sliding guides 64. The sliding friction is reduced by the reduction of the rubbing surfaces. The ribs are distributed at equal angles over the circumference of the guide body.

The switching rod 51 carries near its upper end and its lower end an upper-t stop 21 (FIGS. 4 and 7) and a lower stop 22 (FIGS. 4 and 8). Each stop 21 or 22 can be fixed by means of a screw 21a or 22a on the switchover rod or, to adjust the distance a (FIG. 4), detachable.

With a downward movement, the carriage 7 pushes the lower stop 22 downward. The switching rod 51 is taken along and puts the control slide 26 over the control arm 50 and the clamp 49 in such a way that the direction of rotation of the turbine wheel 34 and thus of the entire drive is reversed. As a result, the carriage 7 moves upwards until it pushes the upper stop 21 upwards. The switch rod 51 is taken along and puts the control slide 26 over the control arm 50 and the clamp 49, so that the drive is reversed again. This change in drive direction is repeated endlessly.

The mode of operation of the massage shower can already be seen from the above explanations. The turbine wheel 34 already rotates at a network water pressure of 1.5 bar with an idling speed of 1100 revolutions per minute, with a usual network water pressure of 3 to 3.5 bar with approximately 3000 rpm rotations per minute. A sufficient force is generated by the reduction gear 44 and the chain drive in order to lift the slide 7 with the cross member 5 with a total weight of, for example, 5 kg. As soon as the carriage 7 arrives at the upper stop 21, the changeover rod 51 is raised and adjusts the control slide 26. When moving downward, the slide 7 then reaches the lower stop 22, moves the changeover rod 51 and thus the control slide 26 into the original position and in turn initiates the upward movement.

The transmission of the rotary movement of the reduction gear 44 into a longitudinal movement of the carriage 7 can also take place in a modified embodiment by means of a belt drive or by means of a threaded spindle. Furthermore, the turbine can be arranged in the carriage 7 itself, so that the carriage 7 can move on any guideway. In this case, in the case of straight-line movement, only a sufficient length of the mass head water hose 8, for movement on a closed guideway for a sufficient hose length and for a circulation coupling on the water hose 8 is to be ensured so that it does not twist.

Comment:

• DE-AS 2 615 872 deutsche Auslegeschrift 2 615 872
• DE-OS 26 50 517 = deutsche Offenlegungsschrift 26 50 517
• DE-GM 19 38 758 = deutsches Gebrauchsmuster 19 38 578

It mean;

• DE-AS 2 615 872 German layout specification 2 615 872
• DE-OS 26 50 517 = German Offenlegungsschrift 26 50 517
• DE-GM 19 38 758 = German utility model 19 38 578

Claims (5)

6. Massage shower according to claim 1 or the following, characterized in that the guide rail (2) is designed as a hollow chamber profile and has two slide guides (64) and two to their room wall connection side (66) at obtuse angles extending side surfaces (67, 68), and that the slide (7) spans the guide rail (2) up to and including the side surfaces (67, 68), which covers the laterally open sliding guides (64) and is guided with guide bodies (56, 57) engaging in these (64) (Fig . 9). 7. Massage shower according to Anspctrh 6, characterized in that the sliding guides (64) ei, .. rseits and the guide body (56,57) on the other hand touch in at least three guide ribs (79, 80, 81) which are parallel to the guide rail (2nd ) run. 8. Massage shower according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that one (56) of the guide body (56, 57) is hollow and the switching rod (51) comprises loosely. Massage shower according to at least one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the turbine and the control slide are located in the slide, that a gearwheel arranged on the output side of the reduction gear is in engagement with a toothed rack in the guide rail and that the massage head has a flexible, in its length of the greatest distance of the sled from the water connection provided by the customer is connected to the water connection. 10. Massage shower according to claim 1 or 9, characterized by a guide rail in the form of a closed curve.

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