GB2112670A

GB2112670A - Jet nozzle assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2112670A
Application number: GB8300046A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Edward Chalberg
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-01-04
Filing date: 1983-01-04
Publication date: 1983-07-27
Also published as: FR2519272B1; GB2112670B; GB8300046D0; FR2519272A1; CA1207362A

Abstract

An adjustable nozzle assembly (10) for providing a water/air jet for a whirlpool bath, has user-selected shut-off during operation. The assembly comprises a water pressure supply pipe (14), an air supply pipe (16) and a water/air mixing chamber (18). A check valve (50) is open during normal flow operation to allow air to be entrained in the water, but blocks off the air passage during shut-off operation to prevent water back flow. The shut-off is effected by manual rotation of a spring-loaded eyeball nozzle (36) secured between inner and outer flanged cylindrical fittings (30, 24) in a bath wall (22). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Jet nozzle assembly The present invention relates generally to a jet nozzle assembly for therapy baths and spas, and more specifically to an adjustable jet nozzle assembly for directing a high flow rate mixture of water and air from a source outlet to the interior of a therapy bath or spa.

The general concept of utilizing a nozzle adjustable in angle for the purpose of directing a high flow rate mixture of water and air in a hydrobath or theraphy bath is wellknown. However, such known adjustable nozzle assemblies have one or more disadvantages. More specifically, prior art devices that are used for adjusting the direction of hydrobath jets are relatively disadvantageous from the standpoint of either safety, appearance, cost, or a combination of these factors. However, of particular note is the failure of the prior art to provide an adjustable jet nozzle assembly which permits the user the option of selectively closing off or shutting one or more jet assemblies installed in a therapy bath without preventing water from entering the air channel and particularly while the jet system is in operation.As will be seen hereinafter, although the mechanics involved in providing a means for blocking the flow of a relatively high pressure mixture of water and air are relatively straight forward, there are potentially serious functional implications in providing such a user-controllable blocking feature.

More specifically, by blocking the output flow of relatively high pressure water and air mixtures from one or more jets in a hydro-bath system, particularly during full operation of the system, there is virtual assurance that the water/air mixture will be pressured into the air line and result in very serious problems.

For example, in those jet assemblies in which a separate air line is provided to each jet, if each such air line terminates outside the interior of the bath where no provision has been made for collection and drainage of water, a serious flooding problem could arise creating potentially serious health and safety hazards as well as detrimentally affecting the structural integrity of the support structure surrounding the bath. This problem would be particularly serious for interior bath installations where water escaping through the air inlet could cause serious structural damage to the area surrounding the bath.

Although it is believed that there are some known hydro-bath or therapy bath jet assemblies which provide means for isolating the air line from the water line in order to facilitate shut-off of the jet, it is believed that none of these known devices provides means for accomplishing this shut-off air/water isolation while the jet is in operation. As a result, such jets do not give the whirlpool bath user the option of selectively closing one or more jets of the assembly during operation while he may experiment with the particular array of jets in an "on" and "off" configuration without also incurring the problems previously referred to.

By way of example, reference may be made to the following prior specifications which disclose a substantial portion of the known prior art relative to adjustable nozzle assemblies for therapy pools and the like: U.S.

Patent Nos. 3 540 438; 3 605 131; 3 628 529; 3 662 406; 3 788 306; 3 859 990; 3 890 656; 3 905 358; 3 985 303 and 3 986217.

The present invention provides an adjustable jet nozzle assembly adapted for being secured to a bath wall for propelling a high speed water and air jet mixture into a bath, comprising a water inlet for receiving water under pressure, an air inlet for receiving air, a mixing chamber into which the water flows and produces a venturi effect to suck in air through a passageway from the air inlet and which mixes with the water to provide the mixture, and an adjustable nozzle having a passageway therethrough that may be selectively placed in communication with the mixing chamber and also in substantially perpendicular position relative to the mixing chamber for substantially blocking the flow of water and air jet mixture into the bath, and a check valve located in proximity to the said passageway from the air inlet to the mixing chamber and responsive to the selective placement of the said adjustable nozzle passageway for blocking the flow of water from the mixing chamber into the air inlet when the said adjustable nozzle passageway is in substantially perpendicular position relative to the mixing chamber.

The adjustable jet nozzle assembly of the present invention essentially comprises, in a preferred embodiment, six components, namely a pair of threaded flanged fittings, a spherical or "eyeball" shaped nozzle having a cylindrical channel therethrough, a retaining ring, a spring and an automatic check valve that is mounted in a suitable source outlet which provides a high velocity flow rate of water and air to form the whirlpool jet. The fittings are of cylindrical construction adapted to be concentric with one another. The outer fitting has threads along the internal and external cylindrical wall. The external thread is adapted to engage the outer fitting with the source outlet including the check valve. The inner thread of the outer fitting is designed to mate with a corresponding outer thread on the inner fitting which tightens down concentrically therewith.The inner and outer fittings have overlapping annular flanges at the respective ends thereof located on the side of the fittings visible to the user. The annular flange of the outer fitting is flat on the bath wall side for engaging the flat surface of the bath wall and curved on the opposite side.

The flange of the inner fitting is curved on the bath wall side and substantially congruent to the curved surface of the outer fitting to provide a conformal meeting of the two flanges when the inner fitting is threadably inserted into the outer fitting.

The eyeball nozzle is contained within the inner fitting by the retaining ring and the spring which are press fitted along the inner diameter of the inner fitting at the end thereof that protrudes through the bath wall toward the exterior. The exit aperture of the eyeball nozzle is designed to terminate in the plane of the inner fitting flange to avoid protrusions which would otherwise create a likelihood of injury to the user. The eyeball nozzle is seated within the inner fitting in compressive engagement with the spring and with the curved surfaces along the inside and annular flanged portion of the inner fitting.The spring and the curved surface act together with the inside surface of the inner fitting to form a socket in which the eyeball nozzle may be rotated 360 degrees in any direction to both control the direction of the flow of the jet as well as to accomplish shut-off of the jet as will be hereinafter more fully described. It will be observed that during normal operation when the eyeball nozzle is configured to permit free flow through the jet nozzle assembly, the check valve is open allowing the venturi effect of water flow through the mixture housing to pull air in from the air inlet pipe.However, when the eyeball nozzle is rotated to place the channel therethrough substantially perpendicular to the direction of water/air mixture flow, the flow thereof is substantially cut-off and the back pressure induced thereby automatically closes the check valve thereby preventing any inadvertent leakage of the high pressure water mixture into the air inlet.

Thus there is provided an adjustable jet nozzle assembly for a whiripool bath or spa which provides means for flow shut-off during whirlpool bath operation. The adjustable jet nozzle assembly is adapted to be secured to a suitable source outlet pipe through an aperture in the wall of a bath and provides means for controlling the direction of the nozzle thereof including means for orienting the nozzle in a shut-off position during actual operation of the whirlpool bath.

The adjustable jet nozzle assembly according to the invention is thus adapted for userselected shut-off of the water/air mixture flow while providing the means for automatically preventing the back pressure of the shut-off flow of water from leaking into the air inlet.

The means providing for user-selected shut-off without the risk of water leakage resulting from back pressure is inexpensive to manufacture, requires no hardware to assemble and utilizes a minimum number of structurally simple and inexpensive parts that may be manufactured from moulded plastics or brass.

The invention will be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view illustrating the various components of a jet nozzle assembly according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the jet nozzle assembly in which the eyeball nozzle thereof is shown in the closed position; Figure 3 is a front view of the venturi fitting of the jet nozzle assembly showing the position of the check valve thereof; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the jet nozzle assembly fully assembled relative to a bath wall surface; and Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the check valve of the jet nozzle assembly illustrating the manner in which it responds to closure of the eyeball nozzle.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 it will be seen that a therapy bath jet nozzle assembly 10 comprises a venturi fitting 1 2 adapted to be secured in compressive engagement with the outside surface of a bath wall and having a first integral pipe fitting 14 for connection to a suitable water supply and a second integral pipe fitting 1 6 adapted for connection to a suitable air supply source. The fitting 1 2 also comprises a cylindrical mixing chamber 1 8 transverse to the pipe fittings 14 and 1 6 and terminating in a flanged member 20 which is adapted to engage the outer surface of a bath wall 22 in coaxial alignment with a preferably circular aperture 23 in the bath wall.

The assembly 10 also comprises an outer fitting 24 consisting of a cylindrical portion 28 and an integral flange portion 26. It is to be noted that the cylindrical portion 28 is threaded on both its interior and exterior surfaces. The exterior threading is adapted to engage corresponding interior threading in the cylindrical mixing chamber 1 8 of the venturi fitting 1 2 through the aperture 23 of the bath wall, with the flanged member 26 of outer fitting 24 engaging the perimeter of the aperture 23 of the bath wall in compressive engagement with the interior surface thereof, thereby providing means for securing both the venturi fitting 1 2 and the outer fitting 24 to the bath wall 22.

The assembly as seen in Fig. 1 also comprises an inner fitting 30 that is similar in shape to the outer fitting 24 in that it includes a cylindrical portion 34 and an integral flanged portion 32. The outer surface of the cylindrical portion 34 of the inner fitting 30 is threaded and is thereby adapted to engage corresponding threading in the interior surface of the cylindrical portion 28 of the outer fitting 24. The flanged portion 32 of the inner fitting 30 is adapted to overlie in substantially contiguous relation with the flanged portion 26 of the outer fitting 24 when the inner fitting 30 is fully threaded into the outer fitting 24 is concentric engagement therewith.

The inner fitting 30 is also adapted to provide a suitable interior chamber for containing a retaining spring 40, a retaining ring 42 and an eyeball nozzle 36 which includes a continuous passageway 38. The retaining ring 42 includes a flanged member 43 which extends radially beyond the outer surface of the ring 42 and which also extends radially beyond the inner surface of the ring 42. That portion of the flanged member 43 of the retaining ring that extends inside the inner surface of the ring 42 is adapted to receive the spring 40 and thus provides means for supporting the end of the spring 40 opposite the eyeball nozzle 36 in relative fixed engagement with the inner and outer fittings irrespective of the compression of the spring.

Similarly, the flanged portion 43 of the retaining ring 42 including that portion thereof which extends radially beyond the outer surface of the ring 42 is welded to the inner fitting 30 by means of spot or sonic weld and is adjacent an integral inner split ring 27 within the cylindrical portion 28 of the outer fitting 24 against which the retaining ring 42 is seated. It is to be noted that the split ring 27 includes a gap portion 29. Two such gaps 29 are provided at opposed portions of the split ring 27 to enable convenient use of a spanner wrench or the like for securely tightening the outer fitting 24 in threaded engagement with the venturi fitting 1 2 in a known manner.

It will be understood, particularly as shown in Fig. 4, that the eyeball nozzle 36 is normally secured in compressive engagement with the spring 40 and the retaining ring 42 at one end thereof and with the annular surface 35 of the flanged portion 32 of the inner fitting 30 at the other end thereof.

Furthermore, it will be apparent that in such a compressive position, the eyeball nozzle 36 is adapted to rotate 360 degrees in any direction whereby it is therefore relatively easy to position the passageway 38 to be coaxially aligned with the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical mixing chamber 1 8 of the venturi fitting 1 2 for permitting maximum flow of the water/air mixture into the inner portion of the bath to which the jet nozzle assembly is connected, or to position the eyeball nozzle 36 so that the passageway 38 is aligned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical mixing chamber 1 8 to substantially block the flow of the water/air mixture from the venturi fitting 1 2.

This latter blocked or shut-off configuration is illustrated in Fig. 2 wherein it is shown that when the eyeball nozzle 36 is rotated so that the passageway 38 is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical mixing chamber 18, the nozzle assembly is substantially in the shut-off configuration. In such configuration, the body of the eyeball nozzle 36 blocks the outflow of the fluid air mixture.

Only two small optional weep holes 44 and 46 permit the exiting of a small amount of water/air mixture into the bath to which the nozzle assembly is connected. These weep holes 44 and 46 provide some slight reduction in the back pressure developed by the substantial blockage of the flow by the rotated position of the eyeball nozzle 36. However, the backflow pressure on the water/air mixture developed as a result of the blockage of flow when the jet nozzle assembly is in the shut-off configuration as seen in Fig. 2 is still substantial and sufficient to create a back-flow condition which, except for the check valve provided as described below, would create a problem.

More specifically, there is provided a check valve 50 which as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 is positioned within a channel 48 between the bottom surface of the air pipe fitting 1 6 and the adjoining top surface of the cylindrical mixing chamber 18. Ordinarily, when the eyeball nozzle 36 is positioned to provide substantial outflow of the jet nozzle assembly, the check valve 50 is in its lowermost configuration as seen in Figs. 3 and 4.In this configuration of the check valve a sufficient air flow is provided through the passageway 48 and in and around the check valve 50 to permit the venturi effect of high speed water emanating from the pipe fitting 14 into the cylindrical mixing chamber 1 8 to, in effect, suction air from the pipe fitting 1 6 into the chamber for mixing with the water in a normal manner as is well-known in the art. However, when the shut-off configuration of the nozzle assem biy is utilized and the eye-ball nozzle 36 has been rotated into the blocking configuration illustrated in Fig. 2, the back pressure developed thereby forces the check valve 50 into its uppermost position as seen best in Fig. 5.

In this position, the check valve 50 prevents the inadvertent flow of water from the water pipe fitting 14 or the mixing chamber 1 8 into the air pipe fitting 1 6 thereby preventing the substantial blockage of the water/air mixture into the interior of the bath without creating any otherwise disadvantageous and potentially detrimental leakage of water into the air supply as previously described.

As also seen best in Fig. 5, the check valve 50 comprises a pressure plate 52, legs 54 and hooks 56. The books place the valve in a suspended position during open jet operation, while the pressure plate places the valve in its blocking position during closed jet operation in response to increased pressure in the mixing chamber.

Thus it will be seen that in its fully assembled configuration as shown in Fig. 4, the outer fitting 24 is fully threaded concentrically within the venturi fitting 1 2 until the flange 20 of the fitting 1 2 is secured in compressive engagement with the outside surface of the bath wall 22, and the flange 26 of the outer fitting 24 is secured into compressive engagement with the inner surface of the bath wall 22 thereby securing the fittings 1 2 and 24 in compressive fixed engagement with the bath.

Furthermore, it is seen in Fig. 4 that the inner fitting 30 is also threaded fully into the interior of the outer fitting 24 with the eyeball nozzle 36, the spring 40 and the retaining ring 42 in compressive engagement between the annular surface of the flange portion 32 of the fitting 30 and the split ring 27 of the outer fitting 24. Furthermore, it is seen that with the eyeball nozzle 36 in a free flow configuration as seen in Fig. 4, namely with the passageway 38 in substantial alignment with the aperture 23, the water/air mixture passes freely through the jet nozzle assembly and into the bath interior.

However, it will also be seen that when the eyeball nozzle 36 is rotated, usually by manual means by simply pressing the nozzle inwardly towards the spring 40 and applying a rotating force such as by means of one finger, the passageway 38 may be readily re-positioned to be perpendicular to the direction of flow as shown in Fig. 2 thereby substantially blocking the flow of high water/air mixture into the bath interior. When this latter condition occurs, the back pressure created by the obstruction of the water flow by the body of the eyeball nozzle 36 raises the check valve 50 to its uppermost configuration as seen in Fig. 5 thereby preventing the inadvertent flow of water into the air pipe fitting 1 6 as previously described.Thus, it is possible for the user of a whirlpoor bath or spa to selectively shut-off the flow of the high speed water-air mixture in one or more nozzle assemblies to reconfigure the whirlpool bath effect in any one of a large number of possible combinations while automatically blocking off the passageway between the air pipe fitting and the mixing chamber to prevent the otherwise highly disadvantagous and potentially dangerous back flow of water into the air pipe fitting.

It will be understood that although the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated herein employs a venturi fitting in which the water and air pipe fittings are both horizontal and parallel, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The invention would operate just as effectively and advantageously in other venturi fitting configurations such as, for example, wherein the air inlet is vertical and one such inlet is provided for each such venturi fitting and terminates in proximity to each such fitting.

Also, although a particular check value configuration has been disclosed herein it will be apparent that there are many other possible check valve configurations that would operate satisfactorily in the present invention to permit selective shut-off of one or more of a plurality of operating whirlpool bath nozzle assemblies while preventing the aforementioned backflow problem.

Claims

1. An adjustable jet nozzle assembly adapted for being secured to a bath wall for propelling a high speed water and air jet mixture into a bath, comprising a water inlet for receiving water under pressure, an air inlet for receiving air, a mixing chamber into which the water flows and produces a venturi effect to suck in air through a passageway from the air inlet and which mixes with the water to provide the mixture, and an adjustable nozzle having a passageway therethrough that may be selectively placed in communication with the mixing chamber and also in substantially perpendicular position relative to the mixing chamber for substantially blocking the flow of water and air jet mixture into the bath, and a check valve located in proximity to the said passageway from the air inlet to the mixing chamber and responsive to the selective placement of the said adjustable nozzle passageway for blocking the flow of water from the mixing chamber into the air inlet when the said adjustable nozzle passageway is in substantially perpendicular position relative to the mixing chamber.

2. A jet nozzle assembly as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the check valve comprises at least one hook for suspending the valve in its opened position during opened jet operation of the assembly, a pressure plate for moving the check valve into its closed position during closed jet operation, and at least one leg interconnecting the said at least one hook and the said plate through the said air inlet passageway.

3. A jet nozzle assembly as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, further comprising a spring positioned in compressive relation between the said adjustable nozzle and the mixing chamber wherein the adjustable nozzle is adjustable in location relative to the mixing chamber for facilitating rotational adjustment of the said adjustable nozzle passageway reltive to the mixing chamber.

4. A jet nozzle assembly as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the said adjustable nozzle has means for providing at least one weep hole when the said adjustable nozzle passageway is in substantially perpendicular position relative to the mixing chamber for permitting a substantially reduced flow of the water and air mixture into the bath for reducing the pressure in the mixing chamber.

5. An adjustable jet nozzle assembly according to Claim 1, substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.