The invention relates to a hydropneumatic massage bath including a bath tub having high side walls and a bottom and at least one pressurized-water line that terminates in a water jet nozzle, with an air supply line which opens into a chamber surrounding the water jet nozzle, the chamber having an outlet orifice for the jet of water and air entering the bath tub interior, as well as means for pulsating the jet of water/air mixture that discharges into the bath tub interior.
Such a massage bath has been known, as exemplified in West German Pat. No. 27 35 578, in the form of a massage cabin, wherein a pressurized-air line opens into the chamber surrounding the water jet nozzle and the free end of which is connected to a radial forced-draft fan provided with a speed regulator. The chamber has an auxiliary nozzle with a reduced outlet orifice so that the chamber is constructed as a compression chamber in order to precompress the escaping pressurized water together with incoming pressurized air. As a result, the water/air mixture is pressurized rhythmically and intermittently into the collecting basin of the massage cabinet interior and is not injected continuously. However, this system leads to an unsatisfactory massaging effect.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,541 discloses a method and apparatus for producing a pulsating air/water jet, wherein the pulsating effect of the massaging jet is achieved by repeatedly moving a distrubance body into and from the water jet issuing from the water jet nozzle. This is designed to temporarily reduce the Venturi effect of the water jet nozzle in the chamber. However, this solution has the disadvantages that it has components susceptible to breakdown that move in the water flow, the pulsation of the massaging jet cannot be controlled with an adequate degree of accuracy, and the disturbance of the water jet discharging from the water jet nozzle reduces the effectiveness of the massaging jet.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds