GB2201890A

GB2201890A - Spa bath nozzle arrangement and method of installation thereof

Info

Publication number: GB2201890A
Application number: GB8800590A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Cecil Kent
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1987-03-07
Filing date: 1988-01-12
Publication date: 1988-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2008-01-12
Also published as: GB2201890B; GB8800590D0; GB8705369D0

Abstract

A spa bath nozzle arrangement (10) comprises a rear nozzle body part (11) which is configured to pass through a hole in a bath wall (15) from inside to outside of the bath and then to be retained in contact with the outside of the bath wall (15) by being joined to a front nozzle body part (12) which will not pass through the hole. An abutment means (17) contacts the outside of the wall (15) and prevents the rear body part (11) from passing back through the hole inlets (13, 14) for air and water, or a combined inlet for an air/water mixture, communicate with the interior of the rear body part (11) and a nozzle (16) is provided in the front body part (12). The invention provides that a nozzle arrangement (10) can be installed in an existing bath in situ from within the bath, thereby eliminating either the need to remove the bath or the difficulty of fitting nozzles from the rear of the bath. <IMAGE>

Description

SPA BATH NOZZLE ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD OF INSTALLATION THEREOF This invention relates to spa bath nozzle arrangements.

Many types of spa bath arrangements are known.

Some such arrangements comprise the pumping of water through a plurality of jets located in the sides of the bath, with air being entrained by the water flow so that air bubbles are incorporated in the fluid jets which issue into the bath. Other arrangements simply pump air into the bath water so as to create air bubble streams in the bath water. Still further arrangements pump both air and water into the bath, the air and water being mixed with each other either in the nozzle, or upstream thereof, so that air bubbles are incorporated in the fluid jets which issue into the bath water.

All of the known arrangements involve the installation of a bath which is adapted for the inclusion of the jet creating equipment, i.e. pump or pumps, pipework and nozzles. This may not create any problems or be too great an expense when a new property is being fitted out, or when an old conventional bath has been removed from an existing property. Nevertheless; such installations are expensive and many people having a perfectly satisfactory and not too old conventional bath are reluctant to discard that conventional bath and subject themselves to the expense and inconvenience of having the conventional bath removed and the spa bath installed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a spa bath nozzle arrangement which is suitable for installation in an existing bath without such bath being removed from its existing location, and a method of installation of such nozzle arrangement.

The invention provides a spa bath nozzle arrangement comprising a rear nozzle body part adapted to be inserted through a hole of predetermined dimensions in a bath wall, a front nozzle body part having outer dimensions greater than said predetermined dimensions, securing means operable to secure said front nozzle body part to said rear nozzle body part, and abutment means associated with said rear nozzle body part and adapted to be inserted through said hole and then located in a position to abut said bath wall adjacent said hole and prevent re-passage of said rear nozzle body part therethrough.

The invention also provides a method of installation of a spa bath nozzle arrangement as aforesaid in a bath, said method comprising providing a hole of predetermined dimensions in a bath wall of said bath, inserting said rear nozzle body part and said abutment means associated therewith through said hole, moving said abutment means into a position to abut said bath wall adjacent said hole to prevent the re-passage of said rear nozzle body part through said hole, and securing said front nozzle body part to said rear nozzle body part.

The rear nozzle body part may comprise fluid inlet means, and said fluid inlet means may comprise an air -inlet and a water inlet. Said nozzle arrangement may comprise a mixture chamber with which said air inlet and said water inlet communicate and said mixture chamber may be provided in said rear nozzle body part. Said nozzle arrangement may also comprise jet nozzle means.

The said jet nozzle means may be provided in said front nozzle body part, and may comprise a plurality of sub-nozzles.

Said abutment means may be movably attached to said rear nozzle body part, and may be pivotally or slidably attached thereto. In that case said abutment means may be resiliently biassed radially outwardly of said rear nozzle body part. Alternatively said abutment means may comprise radially outwardly extending lugs integral with or attached to said rear nozzle body part.

In the latter case said securing means may secure said front nozzle body part to said abutment means.

The invention also provides a spa bath assembly comprising a bath, a plurality of spa bath nozzle arrangements as aforesaid disposed in spaced arrangement in a wall of said bath, pump means, a manifold in fluid flow connection with said pump means, and for each spa bath nozzle arrangement a respective fluid flow pipe arrangement connecting said spa bath nozzle to said manifold.

Said pump means may comprise a water pump and may comprise an air pump. Said manifold may comprise a water manifold and may comprise an air manifold. Each pipe arrangement may comprise a water flow pipe and an air flow pipe. Alternatively said manifold may comprise a mixing chamber, in which case each said pipe arrangement may comprise a single fluid flow pipe for an air and water mixture.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figs. 1 and 2 are a side view and a front view respectively of a first embodiment of spa bath nozzle arrangement, with the front nozzle body part removed from Fig. 2 for clarity, Fig. 3 is a front view of the rear nozzle body part of a second embodiment of spa bath nozzle arrangement, Fig. 4 is a sectional side view of a third embodiment of spa bath nozzle arrangement, Fig. 5 is a sectional side view of a fourth embodiment of spa bath nozzle arrangement, Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the abutment plate of the spa bath nozzle arrangement of Fig. 5, and, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a spa bath assembly.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 there is shown a spa bath nozzle assembly 10 comprising a rear body part 11 and a front body part 12. Inlets 13,14 for air and water respectively, or vice versa, communicate with the interior of the rear body part 11. The rear body part 11 is located in contact with a bath wall 15 outside the bath whereas the front body part 12 is located in contact with the bath wall 15 inside the bath. Secured to or integral with the front body part is a nozzle 16 through which a jet of an air/water mixture is discharged into the bath.

The rear body part 11 is provided with abutment means in the form of lugs 17, two diametrically opposed lugs 17 being shown although a different number may be provided if preferred. The rear body part 11 can be inserted from the inside to the outside of the bath through a hole 18 in the bath wall 15, the hole 18 being shown in outline in a chain-dotted line in Fig. 2, which hole 18 is of the same shape as the profile of the rear body part 11 with its lugs 17. After insertion the rear body part 11 is rotated so that the lugs 17 contact the bath wall 15 as shown in Fig. 2 and the front and rear body parts 12,11 are secured to each other by screws 19 received in tapped bores 20 in the rear body part 11.To facilitate the insertion of the rear body part 11 through the hole 18 and its retention in its correct location whilst screws 19 are inserted, a holder in the form of an elongate rod having a resilient or expandable end region can be inserted into the bore 21 of the inlet 14 and withdrawn therefrom when the screws 19 have been inserted. Gaskets (not shown) or a sealant may be disposed between the bath wall 15 and the front and rear body parts 12,11 if required.

Referring now to Fig. 3 there is shown a rear body part 22 of an alternative embodiment of spa bath nozzle arrangement. The rear body part 22 comprises a cylindrical housing 23 and inlets 13,14 as in the previous embodiment. However, the abutment lugs 17 of the previous embodiment are replaced in this case by abutment members 24, each of which is hinged or pivoted at 25 to the front face of the housing 23. As shown, the abutment members 24 are resiliently biassed by springs 26 radially outwardly of the housing 23. As an alternative, both abutment members 24 may be pivotally mounted at their lower ends so that they tend under their own weight to adopt the radially outward position of the left hand abutment member 24 as shown in Fig. 3. With such an embodiment the rear body member 22 may be inserted through a circular hole in the bath wall 15 by holding the abutment members 24 in their retracted or inwardly disposed positions. They may then be released after insertion to adopt the position shown in Fig. 3 and serve to contact the outside Qf the bath wall 15 to prevent passage of the rear body member 22 back through the hole in the bath wall 15.

Referring now to Fig. 4 there is shown a spa bath nozzle assembly 27 in which parts corresponding with those shown in Figs. 1 to 3 are identified by corresponding numerals. In this embodiment the abutment members 24 are pivotally or hingedly mounted art 25 in slots 28 provided in the outer cylindrical surface of the housing 23. With this embodiment also a circular hole 18 in the bath wall 15 is required. This embodiment also differs from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in that no screws 19 or screwed holes 20 are provided. Instead the front body part 12 is screwed into the bore 29 of the rear body part 11. The bore 29 also serves as a mixing chamber for the air and water entering it through the inlets 13,14 which communicate with the chamber 29. An 0-ring seal 30 is provided to seal between the front and rear body part 12,11.

Alternatively or additionally a sealant may be applied to the screw threads between the body parts 11,12 for this purpose. The nozzle 16, which in Fig. 4 is shown screwed into the front body part 12, in any of the embodiments herein described, may be a simple nozzle as shown in the nozzle assembly 34 of Fig. 5. However, as an alternative the nozzle 16 may be bifurcated or sub-divided into any number of sub-nozzles 31,32 so as to create more than one jet 33 issuing from each nozzle assembly 10,22,27,34.

In this way a few nozzle assemblies can create the enhanced effect in the bath of a greater number of nozzle assemblies, thereby creating this enhanced effect at a lesser capital cost.

Referring now to Fig. 5 there is shown a spa bath nozzle assembly 34. In this embodiment a separate abutment ring 35 is employed having a form as shown in Fig. 6. Such an abutment ring 35 can be inserted through a circular hole 18 in the bath wall 15 after the rear body member 11. The bore 36 of the abutment ring 35 is substantially of the same diameter as that of the mixing chamber 29 so that the front body member 12 can pass through the bore 36 to be screwed into the rear body member 11. The minor diameter d of the outside of the abutment ring 35 is substantially equal to that of the housing 23 and slightly less than that of the hole 18, whilst the major diameter D of the abutment ring 35 is greater than that of the hole 18.

Each of the embodiments of nozzle assembly described herein may be inserted through a hole 18 in a bath wall 15 from inside the bath. In consequence the bath may be an existing bath which is already installed in a house, hotel or the like and such bath need not be removed for the installation of the nozzle assemblies. In fact the complete spa bath apparatus can be installed in an existing bath in situ as shown in Fig. 7. In Fig. 7 there is shown a bath 37 which is assumed to be in situ in a house, hotel or the like, such that access to the outside of the bath 37 is readily available only from one side thereof by removal of a bath panel (not shown). A plurality of holes are drilled or otherwise formed in the bath wall 38 into each of which a nozzle assembly 39 of any one of the types above described is installed.Each nozzle 39 has an air inlet pipe 47 and a flexible water inlet pipe 48 connected to the appropriate inlets 13,14, so that the water inlet pipes 48 hang beneath the bath' 37. Beneath the bath 37 is mounted in an accessible position a water pump 41. The water pump 41 has an inlet 44 and an outlet 45. The water inlet 44 is connected to a suction nozzle (not shown) which may be constructed and installed in the wall 38 in a similar manner to the nozzle assemblies 39. The water outlet 45 is connected to a manifold 46 which is also located beneath the bath 37 in an accessible position. The plurality of water pipes 48 which are connected to the inlets 13 or 14 of the nozzle assemblies 39 are attached to the manifold 46.

Pumping of water by the pump 41 through each of the nozzle assemblies 39 will entrain air to enter the nozzle assemblies 39 through the pipes 47 so as to be mixed with the water in the nozzle assemblies 39. Alternatively the manifold 46 may comprise a mixing chamber for the air and water, in which case only a respective single pipe 48 is required, to connect the manifold 46 with inlet 14 of each nozzle assembly 39, and inlet 13 and pipe 47 are dispensed with.

The air inlet pipes 47 may be open to the surroundings. Alternatively, an air pump (not shown) may be provided to pump air into an air manifold 49 to which flexible pipes 47 are connected in parallel. In any of these cases the pipes 47,48 have, or the single pipe 48 has, to be large enough for the quantity of fluid for a single nozzle assembly 39 to pass therealong, and no large diameter "ring main" of sufficient diameter to allow all of the fluid for all of the nozzle assemblies is required. By this means attachment of the pipes 47,48 or single pipe 48 from the more inaccessible inlets 13,14 or inlet 14 of the nozzle assemblies 39 at the rear of the bath 37 to the manifold 46 is facilitated.

Other embodiments of spa bath nozzle arrangements in accordance with the invention will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. For example, in the embodiment of Fig. 5 the abutment ring 35 may be replaced by a helical spring washer which may be "screwed" through the circular hole 18, which is of smaller diameter than the outside diameter of the washer, in the bath wall 15 after the rear body member 11 is passed therethrough. Such a washer will not pass back through the hole 18 when located on the body member 11 and pressed flat against the bath wall 15.

The pipes 47 shown in Fig. 7 may be connected in parallel to the air manifold 49,, which is situated below the bath top but above the normal or maximum filled water level 50 of the bath 37. An air inlet 51 to the air manifold 49 has a control valve 52 whereby the amount of air entrained into the nozzles' 39 can be regulated. By this means the apparent power of the jets can be controlled. If however an air pump as referred to above is provided, such jet power can be controlled by control of the speed of operation of the air pump.

Claims

'CLAIMS

1. A spa bath nozzle arrangement comprising a rear nozzle body part adapted to be inserted through .a hole of predetermined dimensions in a bath wall, a front nozzle body part having outer dimensions greater than said predetermined dimensions, securing means operable to secure said front nozzle body part to said rear nozzle body part, and abutment means associated with said rear nozzle body part and adapted to be inserted through said hole and then located in a position to abut said bath wall adjacent said hole and prevent the re-passage of said rear nozzle body part through said hole.

2. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim- 1 wherein said rear nozzle body part comprises fluid inlet means.

3. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said fluid inlet means- comprises a water inlet.

4. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said fluid inlet means comprises an air inlet.

5. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said fluid inlet means comprises a water inlet and an air inlet, and said nozzle arrangement comprises a mixture chamber with which said water inlet and said air inlet communicate.

6. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 5 wherein said mixture chamber is provided in said rear nozzle body part.

7. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein said nozzle arrangement comprises jet nozzle means.

8. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 7 wherein said jet nozzle means is provided in said front nozzle body part.

9. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 7 wherein said jet nozzle means comprises a plurality of sub-nozzles.

10. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said abutment means is movably attached to said rear nozzle body part.

11. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 10 wherein said abutment means is pivotally attached to said rear nozzle bddy part.

12. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 10 wherein said abutment means is slidably attached to said rear nozzle body part.

13. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 11 or claim 12 wherein said abutment means is resiliently biassed radially outwardly of said rear nozzle body part.

14. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said abutment means comprises lugs attached to and extending radially outwardly of said rear nozzle body part.

15. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 14 wherein said securing means is operable to secure said front nozzle body part to said abutment means.

16. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 14 wherein said securing means comprises cooperating screw formations on said front nozzle body part and said rear nozzle body part.

17. A spa bath nozzle arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 16 and a holder comprising an elongate rod having a deformable end region adapted to releasably engage said rear nozzle body part.

18. A spa bath assembly comprising a bath, a plurality of spa bath nozzle arrangements according to claim 1 in spaced disposition in a wall of said bath, pump means, a manifold in fluid flow connection with said pump means, and for each spa bath nozzle arrangement a respective fluid flow pipe arrangement connecting said spa bath nozzle arrangement to said manifold

19. A spa bath assembly according to claim 18 wherein said manifold comprises a water manifold and said pipe arrangement comprises a water flow pipe.

20. A spa bath assembly according to claim 18 or claim 19 wherein said manifold comprises an air manifold and said pipe arrangement comprises an air flow pipe.

21. A spa bath assembly according to claim 18 wherein said manifold comprises a mixing chamber for air and water, and said pipe arrangement comprises a single fluid flow pipe for an air and water mixture.

22. A spa bath assembly according to claim 19, claim 20 when dependent thereon, or claim 21, wherein said manifold has a water inlet, and comprising a water pump having an outlet connected to said water inlet of said manifold.

23. A spa bath assembly according to claim 22 wherein said water pump has a water inlet which is connected to a suction nozzle provided in said bath wall.

24. A spa bath arrangement according to claim 19 wherein said pipe arrangement also comprises an air flow pipe which is open to the surroundings.

25. A spa bath arrangement according to claim 20 wherein said air manifold has an air inlet having air flow control means operable to control the airflow therethrough.

26. A spa bath arrangement according to claim 25 wherein said air flow control means comprises a valve.

27. A spa bath arrangement according to claim 25 wherein said air flow control means comprises an air pump.

28. A method of installation of a spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 1 in a bath, said method comprising providing a hole of predetermined dimensions in a bath wall of said bath, inserting said rear nozzle body part and said abutment means associated therewith through said hole, moving said abutment means into a position to abut said bath wall adjacent said hole to prevent the re-passage of said rear nozzle body part through said hole, and securing said front nozzle body part to said rear nozzle body part.

29. A method according to claim 28 comprising locating said rear nozzle body part on a deformable end region of an elongate rod holder before inserting said rear nozzle body part through said hole, and withdrawing said holder from said rear nozzle body part when said front nozzle body part has been secured thereto.

30. A spa bath nozzle arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, or Figs. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.

31. A spa bath assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings.

32. A method of installation of a spa bath nozzle arrangement according to claim 28, substantially as hereinbefore described.