US3837334A

US3837334A - Footspa cabinet

Info

Publication number: US3837334A
Application number: US00326883A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Johnson
Original assignee: Lee Raymond Organization Inc
Current assignee: Lee Raymond Organization Inc
Priority date: 1973-01-26
Filing date: 1973-01-26
Publication date: 1974-09-24
Anticipated expiration: 1991-09-24

Abstract

A footspa cabinet for bathing and exercising the legs and feet of the user under a spray of hot water. Rollers are mounted in the cabinet under the location of the feet, to permit the foot muscles to be exercised. The apparatus includes a pump which forces a spray of water against each enclosed leg and foot, and a heater which maintains the recirculated water at a temperature regulated by a thermostat. The enclosure of the cabinet is formed of two shells which buckle together to form a waterproof sealed housing and to enclose both legs and feet of a user.

Description

Elited States Patet I1 1 Johnson Sept. 24, 1974 [54] FOOTSPA CABINET FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS i 1 Inventor! Hattie Johnson Bfonxville, 8,604 0/1892 Great Britain 4/182 [73] Assignee: The Raymond Lee Organization, I

Inc" New York, a part Pnmary Exammer-Lawrence W. Trapp interest Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Howard I. Podell PP 326,833 A footspa cabinet for bathing and exercising the legs and feet of the user under a spray of hot water. Rollers US. ClI l l l I I I l l u B are mounted in the cabinet under the location Of th 51 Int. Cl ..A61ih 29/00 feet permit the muscles be exercised- The [58] Field 68 Search 128/66, 24.1, 24.3, 25 B; apparatus, Includes 8 Pump forces a Spray of 4/182 water against each enclosed leg and foot, and a heater which maintains the recirculated water at a tempera- [56] References Cited ture regulated by a thermostat. The enclosure of the cabmet 1s formed of two shells whlch buckle together UNITED STATES PATENTS to form a waterproof sealed housing and to enclose 2,488,327 11 1949 Resek 4 182 both legs and f t f a Set 3,283,756 11 1966 Turley 128/66 3,741,201 6/1973 Oudkerk 4 182 2 Claims, 2 Drawlng Flgures 3 s I 19 L 11 2 5 F OOTSPA CABINET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of Invention This invention relates to a cabinet for bathing and exercising the legs and feet of a user under a spray of temperature controlled water.

2. Prior Art Enclosed cabinets have been utilized for foot baths, but the advantage of this invention lies in the provisions for spraying hot water on both the feet and the legs, together with the location of rollers, under the feet position, for providing foot exercises under muscle-tension relieving conditions provided by the hot water spray.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention consists of a portable cabinet for enclosing the feet and lower legs with apparatus for heating and spraying recirculated water against the enclosed feet and legs, together with a series of freely mounted rollers located as footrests, which provide exercise to the feet, when manipulated by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The objects and features of the invention may be understood with reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention, taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus being utilized by a seated user; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view in elevation of the appara- IUS.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates the apparatus l0, enclosing the lower legs 11 of the user who is seated on an adjoining chair 12.

As shown in FIG. l-2, the apparatus is formed of a lower cabinet section 40, which is matingly attached to an upper shell 41 by hingeable bracket clips 13. Clips 13 fasten together theflanges 15 along the open edges of the upper shell 41 to flanges 15 located along the sides of the lower cabinet 40, with the upper cabinet walls 42 snugly riding inside the sides 17 of the upper shell 41 to provide a watertight seal.

Flexible rubber or plastic sleeving 38 encircles the two openings 19 in the top face 18 of the upper shell 41 to provide watertight seals about the legs 11 of the user which are inserted through each of openings 19 to the top cover 18.

A flexible power supply cord 14 furnishes a supply of electricity to the equipment, which may be alternately powered by internal batteries.

The inside of the lower cabinet 40 is fitted with freerotating rollers 20 upon which the feet 17 may be placed so as to exercise the foot muscles under the tension-relieving conditions of the hot water spray which is injected at the legs by sprayer nozzles mounted in the interior wall 35 of the lower cabinet 40, and at the feet 17, by sprayer nozzles 22 which are located below and in between the rollers 20.

A supply of water or other solution, including medication, is added to the interior of the lower cabinet 40 prior to use, and flows through vertical tubular opening 24 to a water chamber 44 located in the lowest section of the interior of the lower cabinet 40, in which an enclosed electric-motorized pump 30 is located. Pump 30 draws the water from chamber 44 and forces it under pressure into tubular section 23 above the chamber 44 and through tubes 26 in the

walls

16 and 42 of the lower chamber, where the water is released through

sprayer nozzles

22 and 25 respectively, at the feet and legs of the user.

The water 37 returns to chamber 44 by rolling down inclined interior walls 35 surrounding the leg area, and through openings 36 in the collection tube 24 surrounding the feet area.

An electrical heater 3]. is located in the water chamber 44 for heating the water in the chamber to a temperature regulated by thermostat 32 which is controlled by rotatable shaft 34 and external attached knob 33.

The apparatus permits the user to obtain relaxation of his foot muscles under the tension relieving effects of the hot water spray, and to exercise his muscles in the relaxed condition by rolling the soles of his feet and his toes against rollers 20.

Since obvious changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention described herein, such modifications being within the spirit and scope of the invention claimed, it is indicated that all matter contained herein is intended as illustrative and not as limiting in scope.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for exercising the feet under a spray of controlled-temperature hot water comprising a cabinet which houses free rotatable rollers against which the soles of the feet of the user may be rested, together with a recirculating water system including an electrically motorized pump which draws water from a gravityfed chamber and forces it through spray nozzles directed at the feet and the lower legs of the user, and means to direct said sprayed water so as to be collected and heated by an electrically operated heater prior to being redrawn by the pump from the gravity-fed chamber, together with a thermostat switch for controlling the operation of the electrically operated heater, said thermostat switch being regulated by means external to the apparatus, together with a housing which encloses the apparatus in a watertight manner, said housing being formed of two sections which are partable, together with means to tighten said sections together in watertight sealed condition, with one section of the housing formed with two openings, each of a size to admit a leg of the user, with the periphery of each of said openings wrapped with a flexible seal so as to seal each of the openings against the inserted legs of the user.

nesting against each other in the fastened mode.

Claims

1. Apparatus for exercising the feet under a spray of controlled-temperature hot water comprising a cabinet which houses free rotatable rollers against which the soles of the feet of the user may be rested, together with a recirculating water system including an electrically motorized pump which draws water from a gravity-fed chamber and forces it through spray nozzles directed at the feet and the lower legs of the user, and means to direct said sprayed water so as to be collected and heated by an electrically operated heater prior to being redrawn by the pump from the gravity-fed chamber, together with a thermostat switch for controlling the operation of the electrically operated heater, said thermostat switch being regulated by means external to the apparatus, together with a housing which encloses the apparatus in a watertight manner, said housing being formed of two sections which are partable, together with means to tighten said sections together in watertight sealed condition, with one section of the housing formed with two openings, each of a size to admit a leg of the user, with the periphery of each of said openings wrapped with a flexible seal so as to seal each of the openings against the inserted legs of the user.

2. The combination as recited in claim 1 in which an external flange is mounted along the parting edge of each separable section of the housing, with said flanges nesting against each other in the fastened mode.