FR2481925A2 - Microprocessor controlled controller for hot air massage bath - uses coding wheels to allow control sequence to be stored then executed by microprocessor circuit - Google Patents

Abstract

A microprocessor provides a programming facility for a massage unit comprising a bath with nozzles which direct warmed air onto the user. The air is driven by a fan, past an ozone lamp and a heating resistance. Over-temp. protection is provided by thermostats in the air outlet. Six control buttons placed near the bath, are pneumatically coupled to the electronic controller to provide switching while maintaining electrical isolation for operator safety. The user can program in the operating sequence, and display lamps show the operating status of the heater, ozone lamp, and fan while another numeric display shows the speed of the fan, giving an indication of the force of the air stream. The timing of the operations sequence is set using coding wheels. The entered program is stored in microprocessor memory then executed when required.

Description

 The invention relates to a massage installation.

 According to the main patent, the massage installation comprises a bathtub provided with air projection nozzles and is characterized in that the nozzles open out through the bottom of the bathtub and are supplied with air from a turbine arranged in a housing containing a heating resistor and an ozone lamp.

 According to another characteristic of the main patent, the nozzles are supplied individually by conduits connected in parallel to a pipe supplied by the turbine.

According to another characteristic of the main patent, the bathtub has air projection nozzles opening onto the side walls of the ends of the bathtub.

 According to a characteristic of the first addition certificate, the installation comprises a separate control channel for each of the control functions, each of these control channels successively comprising a device for remote control of an electronic logic system, a logic system electronics activating a power control circuit and a power control circuit, the remote control device of the electronic logic system being inherently non-conductive of electricity and the electronic logic system being connected to the power control circuit by a non-electrically conductive transmission member.

According to another characteristic of the first addition certificate, six control channels are provided, namely
- a general energizing channel,
- a turbine speed selection channel,
- a channel for energizing the heating resistor,
- a channel for energizing the ozone generator,
- a way to turn on the bathroom fan,
- a channel for switching on the call device

 According to another characteristic of the first addition certificate, there is further provided a device for displaying the state of the various control channels.

 According to another characteristic of the first addition certificate, the transmission member connecting the electronic logic system to the power control circuit is a photocoupler.

 The present request for a second certificate of addition aims at improvements and for this purpose relates to a massage installation comprising a bathtub provided with air projection nozzles opening through the bottom and supplied with air from a turbine arranged in a case containing a heating resistor and an ozone lamp, the control of the turbine, the heating resistor and the ozone lamp being ensured from a control assembly comprising a separate channel for each of the functions to be controlled and by means of a logic circuit activating a power control circuit, installation characterized in that one of the control channels includes a device for programming and displaying the operating time of the installation and in that the logic circuit includes a microprocessor controlled by a clock and associated with a programmed memory containing the operating sequences of the resistance turbine heater and the ozone lamp, the displayed time being compared with the time determined by the internal counter of the microprocessor to interrupt the control of the power circuit.

According to another characteristic of the present addition, the turbine power control circuits comprise a triac associated with a phase shift control circuit, this control circuit being activated from the microprocessor by means of a register. and a decoder, this logic being incremented / decremented on each actuation of the corresponding channel of the control assembly.

 According to another characteristic of the present addition, the decoder is connected to the control circuit by phase shift by as many circuits as the turbine has rotational speeds, each circuit comprising a light-emitting diode, an optoelectronic coupler and a potentiometer for adjusting the phase shift of the triac control, this potentiometer, electrically isolated from the diode by the optoelectronic coupler, being arranged mechanically near the diode.

The invention is shown, by way of non-limiting example, in the accompanying drawings, in which
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the entire installation,
- Figure 2 shows, in the form of a block diagram, the logic circuit connecting the control assembly to the power assembly.

 The object of the invention is therefore to provide an installation for supplying the water to a bathtub with heated, ozonated air at variable speed, this supply being produced by means of projection nozzles. provided at the bottom and on the two end walls of this bathtub.

 This installation is carried out using a logic circuit such that it is possible to choose particular operating sequences, as well as to determine a maximum operating time.

 This particular sequence could for example provide for the projection into the bath of ozonated air for a determined time (for example five minutes) at the start and at the end of each operation so that the ozone in the air sanitizes the bath, as well as the small amount of water that could remain after use.

 According to Figure 1 attached, the bathtub 10 is thus supplied with pressurized air by nozzles connected to the end of tubing 6, connected in parallel on a pipe 7, itself connected to a main pipe 4 connected to the end of a housing 17 containing the turbine I for producing pressurized air, the ozone lamp 3 and the heating resistor 2.

The turbine 1, the ozone lamp 3 and the resistor 2 are supplied from a logic circuit 18 and respectively via the conductors 19, 20 and 21, the conductor 21 supplying the heating resistor comprising thermostats 22 intended for cut off the power to this.

resistance when the temperature of the forced air reaches too high a temperature.

 These power circuits constituted by the turbine, the ozone lamp, the heating resistor and the fan 24 are controlled by the logic circuit 18 and from a control assembly constituted by a case 100 provided with control buttons 101 to 106 corresponding each with a separate channel for each of the functions to be controlled.

Thus, the button 101 is a call button and is intended to operate the bell 23, the button 102 is intended to operate the fan 241 in the bathroom, the button 103 is intended to operate the ozone lamp 3, the button 104 is intended to activate the heating resistor 2, the button 105 is intended to allow the choice of the speed of rotation of the turbine, this choice being made by successive actuations of this button 105 and finally the button 106 is intended to start and stop the entire installation.

 This control assembly is, by nature, non-conductive of electricity so that the bootmaker loo can be handled by a person taking a bath in the bathtub 10 without the risk of being electrocuted.

 To this end, the control buttons 101 to 106 are constituted by pneumatic contactors which actuate pressure switches 131 to 136, arranged outside the safety perimeter of the bathtub and which transform this pneumatic control into an electrical control activating the logic circuit 18 by the conductors from 31 to 36 respectively.

 This installation also includes light indicators 175, 176 and 177 respectively showing the operation of the heating resistor, the ozone lamp and the veptilator, these indicators being controlled from the logic circuit 18 via the conductors 37, 38 and 39.

Furthermore, the display of the different operating speeds of the turbine 1, and therefore of the force of the massage air jets, is ensured by the light display 172 from the logic circuit 18 and by means of the conductors 30 , 40 and 41 respectively.

The installation also includes, as a control channel, a programming device and display of the operating time constituted by coding wheels of the units 42 and tens 43 which activate the logic circuit 18 via the bundles of conductors 421 and 431
This logic circuit is represented in a block diagram in FIG. 2 and includes a microprocessor 44 associated with a programmed read only memory 45 and connected by a bus line 46 to buffers with three states 47, 48 and 49, as well as to registers 50 and 51.

 The validation of the addressing of the buffers, registers and memory circuits is ensured by decoding circuits 521, 522, 523 and 524 possibly associated with inverters 561 and 562.

 The control sails 32, 33, 34, 35, 421 and 431 are connected to the microprocessor by the buffers 47, 48 and 49 while the power control circuits 19, 20 and 21 are controlled by means of the registers 50 and 51.

Register 50 is intended to control the three heating, ventilation and ozone production functions via conductors 90, 91 and 92 while register 51 acts on the control of the power circuit to determine a by the decoder 55 and the four conductors 551 552 553 and 554 the speed of rotation of the turbine by the line 19.

Each of these lines 90, 91, 92, 552 553, 5S1 and 5.54 comprises a light-emitting diode 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66 intended to display each of the functions on the logic circuit.

 On lines 90, 92 are also provided phototriacs-26 and 67 couplers while lines 56 to 59 include optoelectronic couplers 68, 69, 70 and 71, these couplers being intended to electrically isolate the power control circuits of the circuit logic.

The coupler 26 of the line 90 ensures the control of the resistance by the line 21 via the triac 72, associated with its protection circuit 73. The line 91 ensures the starting of the fan 241 by the line 24 by the 'Intermediate of relay 74 contacts.

The ozone lamps are switched on directly by line 20 from the coupler 67.

The lines 55lut 552 553 and 554 determine the control of the speed of the turbine by the line 19 via the triac 75 and the circuit 76 ensuring the control of this triac 75 by phase shift.

For this purpose, the output of the optocouplers each comprises a potentiometer 97, 98, 99 and 100 intended to allow the adjustment of each of the rotation speeds of the turbine, these potentiometers, electrically isolated from the diodes 63 to 66 by the optocouplers 68 to 71 ,, being however mechanically arranged near their respective diodes 63 to 66, so that during the adjustment by potentiometers 97 to 100, it is possible to identify by the associated diode that of the channels which is being adjusted.

The microprocessor 44 is powered by the clock 77.

The operating time of the assembly is totaled by the counter 93, supplied by the amplifier transistor 78, associated with the register 51 also determining the operating speeds of the turbine while the stopping of the operation of the installation is ensured by the intermediary of the register 50, one of the output channels of which includes a retriggerable monostable 79, an amplifier transistor 80 and a relay 81, the contacts 81t and 812 of which are inserted in the supply circuit of the assembly.

 The power supply to the installation is ensured from the mains voltage by means of a stage 82 comprising a transformer and a full-wave rectifier, this stage 82 producing the supply voltage for the ringtone 23, the circuit of which is closed by actuation of the push button lOl and by the pressure switch 136 of linez36.

At the output of this supply stage 82, the supply voltage U1 of the relays 93 and 81 is obtained and after the voltage regulator 83, the supply voltage U2 of the logic circuit.

 The pressure switch 131, actuated by the button 106 for starting and stopping the installation, consists of an inverter, two of the terminals of which are connected by the conductors 84 and 85 to the supply stage in parallel on the contact 812 of relay 81.

 The third terminal of this inverter 131 is connected by line 86 comprising the Zener diode 87 to one of the inputs of buffer 48.

Thus, when the button 106 is actuated, the inverter 131 short-circuits the contact 812 in order to supply the installation with power and therefore supply the relay 81, the contact 812 of which closes, self-feeding.

The stop of the operation of the installation is obtained by a new actuation of the button 106 which produces the tensioning of the Zener diode 87, which determines the cut of the supply of the relay 81 by the microprocessor 44.

Claims (5)

R E V E N D I C A T I 0 N S 10) Massage installation comprising a bathtub provided with air projection nozzles opening through the bottom and supplied with air from a turbine arranged in a housing containing a heating resistor and an ozone lamp, controlling the turbine , the ~ heating resistance and the ozone lamp being provided from a control assembly comprising a separate channel for each of the functions to be controlled and by means of a logic circuit activating a power control circuit, installation characterized in that one of the control channels includes a programming device and display of the operating time of the installation and in that the logic circuit comprises a microprocessor controlled by a clock and associated with a programmed memory containing the sequences of -working of the heater resistance turbine and the lamp. zone, the displayed time being compared to the time determined by the internal counter of the microprocessor to interrupt the control of the power circuit. 20) Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the turbine power control circuits include a tria c associated with a phase shift control circuit, this control circuit being activated from the microprocessor by the 'through a register and a decoder, this logic being incremented / decremented on each actuation of the corresponding channel of the control assembly. 30) Installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the decoder is connected to the control circuit by phase shift by as many circuits as the turbine has rotational speeds, each circuit comprising a light emitting diode, an optoelectronic coupler and a potentiometer. adjustment of the phase shift of the triac control, this potentiometer, electrically isolated from the diode by the optoelectronic coupler, being arranged mechanically near the diode. 40) Installation according to claim 2, characterized in that the register of the triac phase shift control circuit is connected to a display of the speed of rotation of the turbine.  50) Installation according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the circuit for controlling the power, the heating resistor, the ozone lamp and the turbine is produced from the microprocessor and by a register. , by means of circuits each comprising a light-emitting diode and a phototriac.