EP0600892B1 - Hydrodynamic massage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/FR92/00322 Sec. 371 Date Dec. 21, 1993 Sec. 102(e) Date Dec. 21, 1993 PCT Filed Apr. 10, 1992 PCT Pub. No. WO92/18087 PCT Pub. Date Oct. 29, 1992.The device comprises a bathtub (2), injection orifices (5) associated with supply devices (12, 20) for producing hydrodynamic jets directed interiorly of the bathtub (2), and control units (22, 25, 27) for orienting in a synchronized manner the hydrodynamic jets issuing from the injection orifices (5) disposed on side surfaces (3, 4) of the bathtub (2). The control units are arranged such that, when they downwardly orient a hydrodynamic jet issuing from an injection orifice disposed on one side surface of the bathtub, they simultaneously upwardly orient a hydrodynamic jet issuing from an injection orifice disposed on the opposite side surface of the bathtub, and vice versa.

Description

The present invention relates to a hydrodynamic massage device. More particularly, the device according to the invention comprises a bathtub and injection ports associated with supply means for producing hydrodynamic jets directed towards the interior of the bathtub.

The patient, to whom the massage is administered, settles in the bathtub filled with water and the hydrodynamic jets coming from the injection mouths massage the patient's body. "Hydrodynamic jets" means jets of water under pressure, the water having been recovered by bungs located at the bottom of the bathtub, these jets of water being able to be emitted at the same time as jets of blown air .

In this type of device, the known embodiments are distinguished from each other by the more or less large number of injectors distributed at the bottom and around the periphery of the bathtub and by the possibilities of variations in the pressure or the flow rate of the hydrodynamic jets. . However, the possibilities for varying the characteristics of the hydrodynamic massage as a function of the treatment to be applied are relatively reduced with known devices.

In particular, from documents FR-A-2 382 888 and FR-A-2 630 911, the first of which describes the characteristics of the preamble of claim 1, hydrodynamic massage devices comprising a bathtub and injection nozzles distributed on two opposite faces of the bath and producing hydrodynamic jets which are oriented by suitable control means. But according to these documents, the controlled movements of the injection nozzles take place only in practically horizontal planes, and therefore do not make it possible to reproduce the enveloping movements practiced by masseurs and physiotherapists.

The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a new hydrodynamic massage device having wide possibilities for adapting the massages applied and making it possible to substantially reproduce the massage movements practiced by professionals.

The invention thus provides a hydrodynamic massage device, comprising a bathtub, injection mouths associated with supply means for producing hydrodynamic jets directed towards the interior of the bathtub, and control means for orienting so synchronized hydrodynamic jets from injection outlets arranged on opposite side faces of the bathtub.

According to the invention, this device is characterized in that the control means are arranged so that, when they orient upwards a hydrodynamic jet coming from an injection mouth disposed on a lateral face of the bathtub, they orient simultaneously down a hydrodynamic jet from an injection mouth disposed on the opposite side face of the bath, and vice versa. Various variant embodiments of the hydrodynamic massage device according to the invention are the subject of claims 2 to 14.

By providing a synchronized adjustment of the orientation of the hydrodynamic jets, the present invention makes it possible to adapt the hydrodynamic massage to the particular case of the patient. Synchronized orientation control allows hydrodynamic jets to describe sweeping movements. These sweeping movements gently reproduce the effect of a manual massage, unlike known devices in which the hydrodynamic jets remain localized on the same parts of the body. The oriented hydrodynamic jets then produce the desired massaging wraps around the patient's body.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, each hydrodynamic jet oriented by the control means remains substantially parallel to a respective vertical plane inclined relative to the longitudinal direction of the bath, so that the hydrodynamic jets are oriented towards the inside of the bath and towards the side where the head of the patient lying in the bathtub is located.

The hydrodynamic jets thus rise from the feet towards the patient's head, with a sweeping movement parallel to the inclined vertical plane. Coming into contact with the patient's body, they then produce a massage which compensates for the muscular efforts opposing gravity.

In a first type of embodiment according to the invention, the supply means comprise orientable injectors placed in injection ports arranged on the lateral faces of the bathtub. The control means can then include an articulated transmission mechanism for synchronously orienting these orientable injectors.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, the supply means comprise, for each injection mouth located on a lateral face of the bathtub, at least two fixed injectors with different orientations, and the control means comprise selection means for selectively controlling the flow of a hydrodynamic jet in one of the fixed injectors of each injection mouth.

• la figure 1 est une vue latérale d'une baignoire faisant partie d'un dispositif de massage hydrodynamique suivant l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe d'un injecteur utilisable dans la présente invention ;
• la figure 3 est une vue schématique en coupe transversale d'une forme de réalisation de l'invention ;
• la figure 4 est une vue en perspective du mécanisme de transmission utilisé dans la forme de réalisation de la figure 3 ;
• les figures 5 à 7 sont des vues schématiques en coupe transversale illustrant le fonctionnement du dispositif représenté aux figures 3 et 4 ;
• les figures 8 et 9 sont des vues de dessus illustrant le fonctionnement du dispositif représenté aux figures 3 et 4 ;
• la figure 10 est une vue en coupe transversale d'une seconde forme de réalisation de l'invention ;
• la figure 11 est une vue en coupe transversale d'une autre forme de réalisation de l'invention ;
• la figure 12 est une vue partielle en élévation de la forme de réalisation représentée à la figure 11 ;
• la figure 13 est une vue en coupe transversale d'une quatrième forme de réalisation de la présente invention.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear in the description below of examples of embodiments, read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a side view of a bathtub forming part of a massage device hydrodynamics according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a sectional view of an injector usable in the present invention;
• Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the invention;
• Figure 4 is a perspective view of the transmission mechanism used in the embodiment of Figure 3;
• Figures 5 to 7 are schematic cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of the device shown in Figures 3 and 4;
• Figures 8 and 9 are top views illustrating the operation of the device shown in Figures 3 and 4;
• Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention;
• Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention;
• Figure 12 is a partial elevational view of the embodiment shown in Figure 11;
• Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In Figure 1, we see a patient installed in a bathtub 2 forming part of a device according to the invention. Injection nozzles 5 are arranged on the lateral faces 4 of the bathtub 2 to produce hydrodynamic jets directed towards the interior of the bathtub 2. For the installation of the patient in the bathtub 2, the latter comprises supports 6 , 7 respectively receiving the feet and the head of the patient, as well as a tubular seat 8 disposed at the buttocks of the patient. The tubular seat 8 is high enough to allow hydrodynamic jets to flow under the patient's body. At the bottom of the bath 2, anti-vortex bungs 9 are provided for recovering the water from the bath, this water being sucked up by a pump, not shown, by means of a pipe 10 into which the bungs 9 open. the pump thus draws water from the bath 2 to reinject it at the side injection ports 5.

Figure 2 shows a sectional view of a steerable injector 12 placed in an injection mouth 5 disposed on a side face 4 of the bath 2. The steerable injector 12 comprises two coaxial tubes 13, 14 for injecting towards the inside the bath 2 of the water sent under pressure by the pump and any air that has been heated. The central tube 14, intended for the circulation of air, is provided with a non-return valve 15, intended to prevent the backflow of water from the bathtub by the air injection tube 14.

The orientable injector 12 is placed in the injection mouth 5 by a sealed ball joint assembly. The injector 12 passes through a spherical body 16 housed in a corresponding seat 17 secured to the side face 4 of the bathtub 2. Two O-rings 18 are interposed between the spherical body 16 and its seat 17 to seal the mouth of the injection 5. A flexible pipe 20 connects the injector 12 to the pump.

We see in Figure 2 that the rear part of the injector 12 comprises a rod 22 supporting a hinge pin 23 to allow the orientation control of the injector 12 as will be explained below.

In FIG. 3 which illustrates a first embodiment of the invention, we can see control means provided for synchronously orienting the hydrodynamic jets from injection nozzles 5 arranged on opposite lateral faces 3, 4 of the bath 2. These control means comprise a transmission mechanism with connecting rods to guide the orientable injectors 12 disposed on opposite lateral faces 3, 4 of the bathtub 2. Each orientable injector 12 is connected to a connecting rod 25 articulated on the axis 23 provided at the rear of the orientable injector 12. The connecting rods 25 extend substantially vertically behind the lateral faces 3, 4 of the bathtub 2, and their lower ends are articulated, at 26, on a balance 27 extending under the bath 2, perpendicular to its longitudinal direction. In FIG. 3, the oval 24 schematically represents a cross section at the level of the waist of the patient lying in the bath 2.

In the perspective view of FIG. 4, the bathtub 2 has not been shown to show the transmission mechanism. The orientable injectors 12 are associated in pairs corresponding to injection nozzles 5 arranged on opposite lateral faces 3, 4 of the bathtub in a substantially symmetrical manner with respect to the longitudinal direction of the bathtub. To preserve the clarity of FIG. 4, only five pairs of orientable injectors have been represented. Each balance pair of injectors 12 corresponds to a balance 27 connected to the two respective connecting rods 25 and mounted pivoting in its middle on a central shaft. fixed 28, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bath 2. Below the central shaft 28, each pendulum 27 has a projection 29 on which is mounted a common actuation bar 30 parallel to the central shaft 28. A drive rod 31 mounted in an eccentric position on a rotary disc 32 driven in rotation by a motor 33 is articulated on the bar actuation 30. Thus, the rotation of the disc 32 causes an oscillating movement of the pendulums 27 which results in alternating up and down orientations of the orientable injectors 12.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, when a steerable injector 12 disposed on a lateral face 4 of the bathtub 2 is oriented upwards, the connecting rod transmission mechanism ensures that the paired injector 12 located on the opposite lateral face 3 of the bath 2 is oriented towards the bottom of the bath, and vice versa. During the operation of the device, the rotation of the disc 32 communicates back and forth movements to the connecting rods 25, which results in sweeping movements followed by the hydrodynamic jets coming from the injection nozzles 5.

This sweeping movement is illustrated in three positions in FIGS. 5 to 7. In the position represented in FIG. 5, the lower balance 27 is horizontal and the hydrodynamic jets are directed horizontally towards the sides of the patient. In the two extreme positions of the sweeping movement, illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the combined orientations of the injectors 12 located on either side of the bath 2 are such that massaging hydrodynamic windings are formed around the patient's body .

The two extreme positions illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 are also illustrated in plan view in FIGS. 8 and 9. During the sweeping movement, each oriented hydrodynamic jet remains substantially parallel to a respective vertical plane P thanks to a corresponding arrangement of the injectors orientable 12 in their respective injection ports 5. As can be seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, each of these vertical planes P is inclined relative to the longitudinal direction L of the bath 2, so that the hydrodynamic jets oriented from the injection ports 5 are directed towards the interior of the bath 2 and towards the side where the head of the patient lying in the bath is located 2. This inclination of the plane P of the oriented jets provides a hydrodynamic massage which tends to ascend from the feet towards the patient's head.

In the extreme positions shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the oriented hydrodynamic jets produce massaging windings of generally helical shape in counter-rotating direction around the patient's body. These windings reproduce fairly faithfully and with great softness the enveloping movements practiced by professional masseurs. The sweeping movement between these two extreme positions of the injectors provides a very good hydrodynamic massage.

Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a second embodiment of the present invention. Identical reference numerals between Figures 3 and 10 denote identical elements in the two embodiments. These elements will not be described again for the second embodiment. In this second embodiment, the actuation of the transmission mechanism with connecting rods 25 and pendulums 27 is not carried out by an actuating member common to all the pendulums 27, but is carried out independently for each balance 27. can thus orient synchronously the injectors 12 of each pair of orientable injectors, independently of the other pairs, which makes it possible to further vary the hydrodynamic massage sequences. For each pair of orientable injectors 12, the rod 22 located at the rear of one of the injectors 12 extends beyond the articulation 23 of the connecting rod 25, up to a second articulation 40, with ball joint . A control rod 41 has its upper end mounted on the ball 40 and its lower end articulated by a ball 42 on a finger 43 disposed in an eccentric position on a toothed ring 44. The toothed ring 44 meshes on a helical pinion 45. The rotation of the pinion motor 45 rotates the eccentric finger 43, which transmits by means of the control rod 41, a back-and-forth movement to the transmission mechanism with rods 25 and pendulum 27 to simultaneously orient the orientable injectors 12 of each pair.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the transmission mechanism with connecting rods comprises, for each pair of orientable injectors 12 located on either side of the bath 2, a rotary shaft 50 pivotally mounted on fixed bearings 51. The two connecting rods 49 are articulated on the rotary shaft 50 by ball joints 48 located in eccentric positions relative to the rotary shaft 50. At one end of the rotary shaft 50, the ball joint 48 is carried by an eccentric finger 52 located at the end of a crank arm 53. At the other end of the rotary shaft 50, the ball joint 48 is carried by an eccentric finger 54 located on a ring gear 55 coaxial with l 'rotary shaft 50. The toothed crown 55 meshes with a helical pinion 56.

The rotation of the driving pinion 56 therefore causes the reciprocating movement of the connecting rods 49 to synchronously orient the hydrodynamic jets produced by the injectors 12. To be compatible with the kinematics of this system, the articulation 23 between the upper end of the connecting rod 49 and the rear rod 22 of the injector 12 must be a ball joint.

The connecting rod 49 extends beyond the ball joint 23 and its upper end comprises two other ball joints 58 on which are articulated connecting bars 59. The connecting bars 59 connect two by two the adjacent connecting rods located on the same side of the bath 2. The connecting rods 49 are thus connected in chain by the connecting bars 59. At one of the longitudinal ends of the bath 2 (see Figure 12), and on each side of the bath 2, a control rod 60 is articulated on one of the ball joints 58 of the first rod 49. The other ends of the control rods 60 are articulated by ball joints on a transverse bar 61 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the bath 2 and extending over substantially the entire width of the bath. Near the side of the bath 2 where the driving pinions 56 are located, the transverse bar 61 is articulated on a bent lever 62, itself articulated on a fixed axis 63 parallel to the transverse bar 61. The articulation axis 63 of the bent lever 62 is located substantially at the bend of the lever 62. The other branch of the bent lever 62 has a slide 64 in which a horizontal axis 65 can slide parallel to the articulation axis 63 of the bent lever 62. The position of the axis 65 along the slide 64 can be adjusted by a crank 66 accessible from the outside of the bath 2. A second control rod 67 is articulated at its upper end on the axis 65 disposed in the slide 64 and at its lower end on a finger 68 mounted in an eccentric position on a toothed ring 69. A helical driving pinion 70 meshes on the toothed crown 69. The rotation of the helical driving pinion 70 thus causes a Back and forth movement of the second control rod 67 which is transmitted to the first control rod 60 via the bent lever 62. The back and forth movement of the first control rod 60 is transmitted to all of the connecting rods 49 of the transmission mechanism by through the connecting bars 59 which move back and forth substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bath 2. The orientable injectors 12 thus have a sweeping movement having a component in a horizontal plane. The amplitude of this horizontal scanning component can be adjusted by operating the crank 66 to move the axis 65 in the slide 64 of the bent lever 62.

As can be seen in FIG. 12, the driving pinion 70 ensuring the horizontal component of the sweeping movements and all the driving pinions 56 ensuring the vertical components of the sweeping movements are mounted on the same motor shaft 72, so that the different components can be applied simultaneously. The motor shaft 72 can be driven by a hydraulic geared motor 73 operating by the water pressure of the pump used for the injectors.

It can also be seen in FIG. 12 that there is an angular phase shift between the instantaneous positions of the eccentric ball joints 48 relating to the different pairs of orientable injectors 12. In this case, the orientable injectors 12 arranged in a row on the same lateral face 3, 4 of the bath 2 have different vertical components at all times. This arrangement makes it possible to obtain a variation both in time (thanks to the sweeping movement) and in space of the orientation of the hydrodynamic jets directed towards the interior of the bathtub 2. The variety of hydrodynamic massages that can be carried out is therefore very wide. .

A simplified embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 13. In this simplified embodiment, two fixed injectors, 80, 81, are mounted with different fixed orientations in each injection mouth 5 located on a lateral face 3, 4 of the bath 2. One of the injectors 80 is directed upwards so that the corresponding hydrodynamic jet is directed towards the surface of the water located in the bathtub 2, above the body 24 of the patient. The other injector 81 is directed downwards so that the corresponding hydrodynamic jet is directed towards the bottom of the bath 2, below the body 24 of the patient. As in the examples described above, the injection ports 5 located on either side of the bath 2 symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal direction of the bath 2 are associated in pairs. Each pair of injection nozzles 5 corresponds to a three-way valve 82, the inlet of which is connected to a supply pipe 83 connected to the pump 84. One of the outputs of the three-way valve 82 is connected to two flexible pipes 85, the ends of which are respectively connected to an injector 80 directed upwards situated on a side face 4 of the bathtub 2 and to an injector 81 directed downwards situated on the opposite side face 3 of the bathtub 2. The second outlet of the three-way valve 82 is connected to two flexible pipes 85 connected respectively to the injector 81 facing downwards located on the first lateral face 4 of the bath 2 and to the injector 80 directed upwards located on the opposite side face 3 of the bathtub 2. By controlling the position of the three-way valve 82, the supply pipe 83 is selectively placed in communication with two injectors 80, 81 situated on the opposite side faces es 3, 4 of the bath 2, one of its injectors 80, being oriented upwards and the other of its injectors 81 being oriented downwards. By alternating the positions of the three-way valve 82, one produces successively hydrodynamic windings in both directions in the water of the bath 2.

The three-way valve 82 is preferably controlled hydraulically or pneumatically for reasons of electrical insulation.

In the description above, several exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented to allow those skilled in the art to reproduce them and to show that the invention can take various forms.

Of course, it will be understood that other variants can be made to the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (14)

1. A device for hydrodynamic massages comprising a bath (2), spraying nozzles (5), linked with supply means (12, 20 ; 80, 81, 83, 85) for producing hydrodynamic jets turned inwardly in the bath (2), and control means for synchronously directing the hydrodynamic jets coming out of the spraying nozzles (5) positioned on opposite side faces (3, 4) of the bath (2), characterised in that the control means are arranged so that, when they direct upwards a hydrodynamic jet coming out of a spraying nozzle (5) positioned on a side face (3, 4) of the bath (2), they simultaneously direct downwards a hydrodynamic jet coming out of a spraying nozzle (5) positioned on the opposite side face (3, 4) of the bath (2) and vice-versa.
2. A device according to claim 1, characterised in that each hydrodynamic jet directed by the control means remains substantially parallel to a respective vertical plane (P).
3. A device according to claim 2, characterised in that said vertical planes (P) are slanting with respect to the longitudinal direction (L) of the bath (2) so that the hydrodynamic jets directed by the control means are turned inwardly in the bath (2) and towards the place where the head of the patient lying in the bath (2) is located when the device is operated.
4. A device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the supply means comprise steerable injectors (12) set in spraying nozzles (5) positioned on the side faces of the bath.
5. A device according to claim 4, characterised in that the steerable injectors (12) are set in the spraying nozzles (5) by means of a tight pivot mounting.
6. A device according to one of claims 4 or 5, characterised in that the control means comprise an articulated transmission mechanism (25, 27 ; 49, 50) for synchronously directing steerable injectors (12) set in spraying nozzles (5) positioned on opposite side faces (3, 4) of the bath (2).
7. A device according to claim 6, characterised in that the steerable injectors (12) are linked in pairs corresponding to spraying nozzles (5) positioned on opposite side faces (3, 4) of the bath (2) in a substantially symmetric way with respect to the longitudinal direction of the bath (2), and in that the transmission mechanism (25, 27 ; 49, 50) couples the directions of the injectors (12) of each pair so that, when one injector (12) of one pair is turned upwards, the linked injector (12) is turned downwards and vice-versa.
8. A device according to one of claims 6 or 7, characterised in that the transmission mechanism comprises connection rods (25 ; 49) positioned behind the side faces (3, 4) of the bath (2), each connection rod (25 ; 49) having an end articulated in the rear of a steerable injector (12) and another end articulated on a transmission element (27 ; 50) extending at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the bath (2) so as to synchronise the directions of the injectors (12) on which said connection rods (25 ; 49) are articulated, and in that the control means further comprise activation means (30, 31, 32, 33 ; 41, 44, 45 ; 55, 56) for applying reciprocating motions to the connection rods (25 ; 49).
9. A device according to claim 8, characterised in that the transmission element is a walking beam (27) mounted on a central shaft (28) parallel with the longitudinal direction of the bath (2).
10. A device according to claim 8, characterised in that the transmission element is a rotating shaft (50), in that two connection rods (49) are eccentrically articulated at the ends of said rotating shaft (50), and in that the activation means (55, 56) apply a rotating motion to said rotating shaft (50).
11. A device according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterised in that the transmission means further comprise at least one connecting element (59) articulated on connection rods (49) located on the same side of the bath (2) and in that the control means comprise means (60, 62, 67, 69, 70) for reciprocatingly moving the connecting element (59) substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bath (2).
12. A device according to claim 11, characterised in that it comprises means (66) for adjusting the amplitude of the reciprocating motion of the connecting element (59).
13. A device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the supply means comprise, for each spraying nozzle (5) located on a side face (3, 4) of the bath (2) at least two fixed injectors (80, 81) having different directions, and in that the control means comprise selection means (82) for selectively controlling the flowing of a hydrodynamic jet into one of the fixed injectors (80, 81) of each spraying nozzle (5).
14. A device according to claim 13, characterised in that the selection means comprise a fluid drive three-way valve (82), having one inlet and two outlets, each outlet of the three-way valve (82) being connected both to a fixed injector (80) directed upwards and positioned on a side face (3, 4) of the bath (2) and a fixed injector (81) directed downwards and positioned on the opposite side face (3, 4) of the bath (2).

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