ES2233591T3 - VENTURI JET UNIT. - Google Patents

Abstract

A venturi jet unit (70) for whirlpool bath assemblies has a main body (72) with a water inlet bore (80), a water outlet bore (86) and a venturi throat (85) of restricted cross-sectional area between the water inlet bore (80) and the water outlet bore (86). An air duct (88) communicates with the water outlet bore (86) immediately downstream of the venturi throat (85). A ball-type outlet jet (73) is mounted in the water outlet bore (86) to receive water from the venturi throat (85) and co-operates with an outlet (91) of the air duct (88) to control air entering the jet (73) for mixing with water in the jet (73) prior to discharge into a bath on which the unit (70) is mounted. Thus, a number of units (70) are mounted around a bath side wall in use and the air entering each unit (70) can be independently controlled for each unit (70). The unit (70) is also self-draining. <IMAGE>

Description

Venturi jet unit.

The present invention relates to sets of hot tub and particularly venturi nozzles for mount them on them.

Such hot tub sets they comprise a recirculation pump, a piping system of suction that has an entrance that is connected to a bathtub and a outlet that feeds the recirculation pump, a venturi nozzle with a water rush, an air inlet and an outlet combined air and water, means for mounting the venturi for secure a venturi nozzle on the side wall of the bathtub, a pipe system between the recirculation pump and the nozzle venturi, a drain valve connected to the pump, a pipe discharge and a water pipe fed from the valve drain and a control unit. Said bathtub set of Whirlpool is described in the European Patent specification No. 0875230.

The present invention is intended to provide a Improved construction of a venturi bathtub nozzle for your use in a bathtub set of this type. In In particular, the invention aims to provide a venturi nozzle for a bath that can be mounted quickly and easily and that It will work effectively.

The installation of the venturi nozzle is the most difficult task in the subsequent installation of such hydromassage assemblies. An efficient venturi nozzle and also an efficient hot tub assembly should be easy to install and assemble, particularly when installed afterwards . The part of the hydromassage bathtub set that causes the greatest problems in the installation afterwards , or even in the installation in new bathtubs, is the venturi mouthpiece itself. Said venturi nozzle should be easy to install in a bathtub wall, and should be able to be installed in bathtub walls of varying thicknesses.

It is relatively easy to provide a jet efficient aeration in a whirlpool set, however, the problem is that often the force of such jets is too powerful and what you want is that most of the jet power come from jet aeration and not simply of the water pressure, since when this is achieved get a much smoother massage effect of the air jet inserted. Also, in whirlpool settings conventional, the air inlets are fed to a control single central air, which therefore does not allow the user control the power of the air introduced in each jet individual. Conventional central air control is used to regulate the air flow in the water stream in all jets connected to the air control. In addition, said Traditional air controls can restrict the volume of air flowing to each jet if there are too many jets connected to An air control system.

Ideally, the direction of the water jet airy should head down in its natural position inside of the bathtub to maximize the hydrotherapeutic effects of massage jet This is not possible with some types. conventional nozzles since it is fixed in an orientation generally horizontal, so that when mounted on the wall side of the bathtub, which is normally tilted, the nozzle directs the water really upwards towards the surface of the water and much of the therapeutic effect desired for the user is misses.

Preferably, the actual power of each of the venturi nozzles should easily adjust not only by the jet strength but also by the amount of air that is enter.

As provided in the bathtub set of Whirlpool described in European Patent Specification No. 0875230, ideally the venturi nozzle assembly for bathtub should be automatic drain and finally and more Important, it should be easy to clean. This is one of the complaints Main users of hot tub sets, that is, generally the venturi nozzle for bathtub is difficult to clean and there is an accumulation of dirt and other contaminants after some time of use.

In the prior art, US Pat. No. 5810262 describes a jet of hydromassage with interchangeable nozzles with means to control the air intake. In EP 0560097 you describes a water supply head for bathtubs whirlpool with means to control the flow of water through The supply head. Check valves are provided in water and air supply tubes to prevent backflow of water through the supply head. In US 4335854 an adjustable jet stream water aerator is described with means to independently control the flow of water and  the flow of air through the aerator.

Declarations of the invention

In accordance with the invention, a venturi nozzle for bathtub that includes:

a body main with an elongated hole that includes a hole water inlet, a water outlet, a venturi neck with a restricted cross-sectional area between the water inlet hole and the outlet hole of the Water;

a conduit of air with an air inlet and an air outlet that communicate with the elongated hole and

means of mounting to support the venturi nozzle against a wall of bathtub,

media set to nozzle arrangement to independently control the volume of air entering the elongated hole through the air duct,

characterized because the water outlet is formed by a nozzle ball-type outlet that cooperates with the air outlet to allow the control of the air entering the elongated hole through the air duct, the ball type nozzle having a ball end internal mounted in a complementary hole in the main body for the rotating movement of the ball end inside the hole.

In this way, advantageously each nozzle individual of a set of nozzles mounted on a bathtub that is being used can be operated individually to Check the air inlet on each nozzle separately.

In another embodiment, an outlet end of the nozzle can be moved between an elevated position and a position lower by rotating the ball end of the nozzle inside the hole.

In another embodiment in the lowest position, a nozzle hole is substantially coaxial with a hole of the venturi neck.

In a preferred embodiment, there is one or more air inlet slots on a side wall of the ball end of the nozzle, said ball end of the nozzle being rotary inside the recess to position said groove or grooves in and out of communication with the outlet of the duct air.

In a particularly preferred embodiment a Ball segment is cut to provide a groove of air inlet for the nozzle.

In another embodiment, there is a plurality of radial grooves separated by spaces around a portion of side wall of the ball end of the nozzle.

In another embodiment, the ball type nozzle It is snapped into the hole. Preferably, the hole Output includes a raised ring flange for receiving the ball type end of the nozzle. Ideally, due to the elasticity of the material, the ball-type end of the nozzle can snap into the hole.

In another embodiment, the outlet of the conduit of air is located adjacent to an outlet end of the neck venturi

In a preferred embodiment, there is a valve retained in the air duct between the air inlet and the air outlet to prevent backflow of fluids through the air duct from the air outlet to the inlet of air.

Detailed description of the invention

The invention will be more clearly understood with the following description of some embodiments thereof, given to as an example and described only in relation to the drawings that accompany in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view exploded from a venturi bathtub nozzle according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the mouthpiece, again awake;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the nozzle mounted on a side wall of the bathtub;

Figure 4 is a somewhat similar sectional view. to figure 3 showing only a portion of the nozzle in a slightly different position;

Figure 5 is a sectional view of a alternative construction of a venturi nozzle according to the invention;

Figure 6 is an elevational view in section of another venturi nozzle;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 showing a portion of the nozzle in another position of use;

Figure 8 is an elevational view in section of a portion of the nozzle of figure 6;

Figure 9 is a plan view of the portion of the nozzle;

Figure 10 is an elevation view of the end of the nozzle portion and

Figure 11 is an enlarged detail view of part of the nozzle portion.

In relation to the drawings and initially with Figures 1 to 4 and specifically with Figures 1 to 2, are provides a venturi nozzle generally indicated by the reference number 1 comprising five separate subsets, that is, a main body usually indicated by the number reference 2, an indicated ball type outlet nozzle usually by reference number 3, a washer 4, a mounting connector 5 and a front plate 6. The ball type nozzle 3 is frequently mentioned as an eyeball. Nozzle venturi for bathtub 1 is shown in figure 3 mounted on a bathtub wall identified with reference number 7.

The main body 2 comprises a hole of water inlet formed by a pair of inlet pipes 10 each having an annular recess or recess 11 for reception of an O-ring, which is not shown. It will be noted that each inlet pipe 10 is tilted up for reception of a water carrier pipe such as the one made of PVC or polyethylene and sold under the trademark QUALPLEX. The hole water inlet formed by inlet pipes 10 feeds a venturi neck 15 of restricted cross section, neck venturi which in turn feeds a water outlet orifice 20. An air inlet pipe 25 has a hole 26 that is connect at 27 with the water outlet 20 immediately adjacent to an outlet end of the venturi neck 15. The hole water outlet 20 carries a raised raised annular flange in 28.

Mounting means for main body 2 are provided by mounting connector 5 and a recess threaded 30 in the main body 2. The main body 2 also incorporates a flange 31 with an annular seal receiver hole 32. The flange 31 has a face 33 that defines a mounting surface.

The ball type outlet nozzle 3 comprises a ball type portion 40 and an outer elongated extension piece 41 which ends at a fluted annular edge 42. The outlet nozzle ball type 3 has an internal passage 43. Ball type portion 40 it contains a plurality of external slots 44 that can be seen more clearly in figure 4. That facilitates water drainage from the nozzle.

To mount the venturi 1 nozzle against a wall of the bath 7, the face 33 with the groove 32 containing the washer 4 is positioned up against the outer face of the bathtub wall 7 and mounting connector 5 is screwed to the gap 30 until the venturi nozzle 1 is secured in its position. Then, the front plate 6 is snapped into its position. The nozzle type ball 3 can be fitted to then press in position behind flange 28.

Mounting connector 5 has external threads 51 and a flange 52 that carries on its inner face a hollow receiver of O-ring 53 and on its outer face a series of holes of drain 54.

The front plate 6 is provided with a channel of drain 56 which is always located in the lowest part of the nozzle venturi 1.

In operation, the striated edge 42 can be used to turn the nozzle type ball 3 with with respect to the air intake at 27. Depending on the orientation of the ball-type portion 40, the amount of air that is controlled is controlled. enters venturi nozzle 1 immediately downstream of the neck venturi 15. Similarly, if the ball 3 outlet nozzle it is rotated to the horizontal position as shown in the fig 3, the air inlet is cut off and there is no air supply inside the venturi nozzle 1. Mixing water and air in what is indeed a narrow channel like the one behind the exit nozzle type ball 3, the water that comes out of the venturi neck 15 extends outward until it touches the walls of passage 43, creating a vacuum behind it that will attract even more air within passage 43. Since passage 43 is longer than the passage conventional provided by most nozzles ball type outlet, water aeration is optimized for any water pressure given.

It will be appreciated that by maximizing the power of the jet optimizing the aeration effect a softer stream, as it was, than had been achieved until now.

In relation to figure 5, it is illustrated an alternative construction of the venturi nozzle indicated usually with reference number 60 in which the parts similar to those described with reference to the previous drawings They are identified with the same reference numbers. In this embodiment there is only one water inlet pipe 61.

In relation now to figures 6 to 11, in they show another venturi nozzle for bathtub, indicated usually with reference number 70. To similar parts to the previously described the same numbers of reference. The nozzle 70 has a main body 72 inside the which is mounted a ball type outlet nozzle 73. A connector of Mounting 75 secures the main body 72 to the tub wall 7. A front plate 76 provides a decorative front for the mounting connector 75.

The main body 72 has a hole of water inlet formed by an inlet pipe 80. It you will notice that the inlet pipe 80 is tilted up so that it will drain into the bathtub. Inlet pipe of water 80 communicates with a venturi neck 85 section transverse restricted, whose neck venturi 85 in turn connects with a water outlet hole 86. The venturi neck 85 is tilted down between an entrance and an exit of the neck 85. An air duct 88 has a hole 89 with an air inlet 90 and an air outlet 91 located immediately adjacent to a outlet end 92 of the venturi neck 85.

A check valve is formed within the hole 89 and comprises a ball 94 supported on ribs 95 in the side wall when the valve is in an open position that allows the passage of air beyond the ball 94 between the entrance of air 90 and air outlet 91. Ball 94 cooperates with a seat of  complementary valve 96 to avoid any fluid reflux at through hole 89 of the air inlet duct 88. The valve seat 96 is formed within a valve sleeve 97 that engages in a complementary mounting spigot 98 in the main body 72.

Mounting connector 75 has a tubular body 77 extending through the wall of the bath 7 with a flanged outer end 78 that engages against the inner face of the wall of the bath 7 and the connector 75 and is secured to the bathtub wall 7 by means of a fixing nut 100 which gears an external face of the wall of the bathtub 7. The body main 72 slides into a hole in the connector assembly 75 and secured to it by means of an adhesive. The plate front 76 is engaged and secured to mounting connector 75 by middle of a bayonet type connection.

The nozzle 73 has an internal ball end 110 connected to an external tubular portion 112 ending in a fluted annular edge 114. An internal hole or passage 115 is extends through the nozzle 73 for receiving water from Venturi 85 neck for pouring into the bathtub. The extreme  of ball 110 is snapped into a complementary recess 111 formed at an inner end of the water outlet hole 86. In this way, the ball end 110 can be rotated inside of the recess 111 to direct the water from the nozzle 73 into The bathtub as desired. It will be noted that an oblique section, usually indicated with the number 116, is cut at one end ball end entry 110 to provide a groove of air entrance. This allows the ball end 110 to be used as a valve to control the air intake from the air inlet duct 88 inside hole 115 rotating the nozzle 73 between a fully open position as shown in figure 6 for a complete air flow and a closed position  as shown in figure 7, in which the ball end 110 closes the air outlet 91. This allows water to flow only at through the nozzle 73. If the water flow through the nozzle 73 is blocked covering the outlet end of the nozzle 73, the water will necessarily go up through the air duct 88, as long as it is not closed by the ball end of the nozzle 110. If this occurs, the ball 94 will will rise and engage against valve 96 to avoid any water leak. It will be seen in figure 10 that the striated edge 114 has a way to indicate the orientation of the nozzle 73 Inside the hole When a flattened portion 117 of edge 114 is in its lowest position, this corresponds to the position that shown in figure 6 for a maximum air flow.

A drain channel 118 is arranged centrally at the bottom of the recess 111 to allow the drain of the water beyond the ball end 110 of the nozzle 73 after its use to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water within the nozzle 70. A drain slot 119 is arranged in the flange 78 of mounting connector 75 and a corresponding opening 120 it is arranged at the bottom of the front plate 76 to allow the water drain from the nozzle 70 inside the tub after of its use

During use, a series of venturi 70 nozzles they are mounted around a side wall of a bathtub and connected by a series of pipes to a centrifugal pump. For install each venturi 70 nozzle to the bathtub, a hole in the wall of the tub 7 and the connector of mounting 75 through this hole and it is secured to the wall of the bath 7 tightening the fixing nut 100. Then the main body 72 and sticks to mounting connector 75. Then, the nozzle 73 snaps into the hole 111 of the body main 72. The freely floating ball 94 is dropped inside of the tap 98 on the ribs 95 and the valve sleeve 97 are secures on tap 98 to form the check valve. Every inlet pipe 80 is connected to the centrifugal pump for the Water reception from the pump. It will be appreciated that the installation and the assembly of a series of nozzles 70 in a bathtub is relatively fast and simple. During the operation, the water will recirculate by means of the centrifugal pump from the bathtub through the nozzles 70 entering the water inlet pipe 80 and passing through the venturi 85 neck through the hole center 115 of the nozzle 73 and inside the bathtub. As water flows through the nozzle 73, the air is aspirated within the water stream through the inlet duct of air 88, when the nozzle is in the open position shown in Figure 6, mixing the air with the water to create a jet highly aerated It will be noted that the nozzle 73 can be tilted to direct the stream of aerated water down towards the bathtub bottom to maximize therapeutic benefits for the user.

It will also be noted that when the nozzle 73 be in the lowest position as shown in figure 6, the central hole 115 of the nozzle 73 is substantially aligned with the venturi 95 neck hole for an action of optimal aeration in this position. In this way, advantageously the aerated nozzle in this optimized position is directed down above and below the user's body, thus maximizing the therapeutic benefits for the user.

It will be appreciated that the venturi nozzle for bathtub of the invention has a relatively simple construction that It can be installed quickly and easily in a bathtub. In addition, the independent control of the air supply to each nozzle is You can achieve by manipulating the nozzles. Breathing air into the nozzle from the atmosphere without using an air control traditional, can allow to supply a much larger volume of air to each nozzle. This provision also eliminates the need of channeling the air inlets towards a control unit central air. This is extremely beneficial because it reduces largely the installation time due to the absence of air control, manifolds and air pipes. In this way, the System cost is further reduced.

It will be appreciated that the water inlet pipes according to the present invention they can receive all the suitable pipes, such as a plastic pipe sold under the QUALPLEX trademark. The use of any suitable connection means to secure the pipe QUALPLEX in position.

It will also be appreciated that the placement of the Air inlet pipe generates a space economy. In actually, it will be appreciated that with the venturi nozzle designs according to the present invention a reduction can be achieved considerable space needed.

It will also be appreciated that the use of different washer thicknesses such as washer 4 can allow the Venturi nozzle coupling to many tub sizes.

The particular ball outlet nozzle of the The present invention has the great advantage that the thickness of the bathtub wall will not affect your performance in any way, since that the real nozzle is always placed in it position.

One of the great advantages according to the The present invention is to use aeration to optimize the power, which means that less water pressure will be needed to optimize performance, which will allow pumps to be used smaller, it will also be appreciated that the venturi nozzle of according to the present invention has its venturi neck placed in a downward direction so that although the walls side of the bathtub are tilted inwards, the nozzle it will work with an optimal effect with the ball type outlet nozzle also in horizontal position.

The venturi neck is expected to be tilted in an angle of approximately 20% towards the mounting surface, but obviously it is not restricted to this angle.

One of the great advantages of this construction in particular, it allows the user to direct the nozzle towards down inside the tub at the optimum angle for your comfort.

It will be appreciated that the ball type outlet nozzle can be snapped in and easily removed from its position to clean it

It will be appreciated that although with the present invention an annular flange and a pressure connection for the ball type outlet nozzle, any other could be used suitable method such as the use of an o-ring or other device Fixing.

It will also be appreciated that being the part Rear of the ball-type outlet nozzle effectively elliptical, the rotation of this will change the amount of air that can enter the venturi nozzle 1. In this way, the actual amount of air supplied by each venturi nozzle can be controlled independently before with a general control.

It will be appreciated that it is not always necessary to have both slots and end plate on the outlet nozzle type ball.

Therefore, a great advantage of the present invention is that no air control, pipes are necessary air, manifolds, etc. Keeping control of the air Fully independent for each venturi nozzle, the installation and maintenance are greatly reduced.

It will be appreciated that the venturi nozzle, okay With the present invention, it is fully automatic drain if it is placed on a wall of the bathtub where the degree of inclination It is lower at the lowest point of the main body.

It will be appreciated that the water or air in the nozzle venturi will come out through the venturi neck into the hole of water outlet and then in the bathtub. In this way, I don't know will produce an accumulation of stagnant water within the unity.

It will also be appreciated that the slots can be provide for several portions of the main body to facilitate drain.

It will be appreciated that the ball type portion can be manufacture without grooves on its surface.

The different components of the Venturi nozzle will be manufactured with molding tools multi-print injection without requiring a additional manufacturing

It has been verified that the installation time is It has greatly reduced with the present invention.

In the specification, the terms "comprise, understand, understand and understand "or any variation of the same and the terms "include, include, included and that includes "or any variation thereof are considered fully interchangeable and assigned the most interpretations  wide and vice versa.

The invention is not limited to embodiments. described here, but may vary both in construction and details as in the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A venturi tub nozzle (70) that It includes: a main body (72) that has a hole elongate that includes a water inlet hole (80), a water outlet (86), a venturi neck (85) with a restricted cross-sectional area between the hole of water inlet (80) and water outlet (86), an air duct (88) with an air inlet (90) and an air outlet (91) that communicate with the hole elongated and mounting means (75, 100) to support the venturi nozzle against a bathtub wall (7), means (110, 116) made available to the nozzle to independently control the volume of air that enters the elongated hole through the air duct (88), characterized in that the water outlet orifice (86) has a ball-type outlet nozzle (73) mounted therein that cooperates with the air outlet (91) to allow control of the air entering the elongated hole through the air duct (88), the ball nozzle (73) having an internal ball end (110) mounted in a complementary recess (111) in the main body (72) for the rotating movement of the ball end (110) inside of the hole (111) and thus allowing the control of the air entering the elongated hole. 2. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claim in claim 1, wherein an outlet end (114) of the nozzle (73) can be moved between an elevated position and a lower position by rotating the ball end (110) of the nozzle (73) inside the recess (111). 3. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claims in claim 2, wherein in the most position low, a hole (115) of the nozzle (73) is substantially Coaxial with a venturi neck hole (85). 4. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in the that there is one or more air inlet slots (116) in a wall side of the end of the ball (110) of the nozzle (73), being said ball end (110) of the rotating nozzle (73) within the  hole (111) to position said slot (116) or slots inside and out of communication with the air duct outlet (91). 5. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claim in claim 4, wherein a segment of the ball (110) is cut to provide an air inlet slot (116) for the nozzle (73). 6. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claim in claim 4, wherein there is a plurality of radial grooves separated by spaces around a portion of side wall of the ball end (110) of the nozzle (73). 7. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in the that the ball type nozzle (73) is snapped into the hollow (111). 8. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in the that the outlet of the air duct (91) is located adjacent to a venturi neck outlet end (85). 9. A venturi tub nozzle (70) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in the that there is a check valve (94-96) in the air duct (88) between the air inlet (90) and the outlet of air (91) to prevent the reflux of fluids through the air duct (88) from the air outlet (91) to the inlet air (90).