Bubbling bathtub system - Patent Review 4907305

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a bubbling bathtub system employing the action of bubbles to create a pleasant sensation for the bather.

In a conventional bubbling bathtub system, bath water mixed with air is blown into a bathtub by a pump so that bubbles are forced into the bathtub water. In another conventional bubbling bathtub system, air alone is blown into the bathtub by a pump. In either case, the comfort of the bather is enhanced by the action of the bubbles.

In order to regulate the action of the bubbles, the discharge rate of the pump is controlled so that the intensity of the action of the bubbles is changed. As a result, only the massaging strength of the bubbles on the bather can be adjusted. For that reason, it has been desired to make the sensations produced during bathing more comfortable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention was made in order to meet the above-mentioned requirement.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bubbling bathtub system which enhances the good feeling produced during bathing.

In the inventive bubbling bathtub system, both a large bubble generator, which blows relatively large bubbles into a bathtub, and a minute bubble generator, which functions so that bath water with air dissolved therein by pressurization is sent to the bathtub to produce minute bubbles in the bath water, are connected to the bathtub. The relatively large bubbles produced by the large bubble generator and the minute bubbles produced by the minute bubble generator cooperate to enhance the good feeling produced during bathing. Both or either of the relatively large bubbles and the minute bubbles can be optionally produced as the user desires for optimum effect.

The minute bubble generator may be provided with an accumulator which discharges excess air not dissolved in the bath water and promotes the dissolution of air in the bath water to more effectively produce the minute bubbles.

It is preferable that the bubble generator and the minute bubble generator jointly use a single pump as a drive to shorten the length of piping and to simplify the bubbling bathtub system. In the case of the joint use of the pump, a minute bubble nozzle unit for blowing the minute bubbles into the bathtub and a water inlet port for taking in bath water from the bathtub are connected to each other through a pipe outside the bathtub. The pump, an air intake device, and the accumulator are provided in the pipe. A ramified passage is connected to the pipe through a changeover valve coupled between the accumulator and the minute bubble nozzle unit and connected to the jet nozzle unit of the bubble generator. An shut-off valve for opening or closing the air inlet port of the air intake device is provided with which the air inlet port is closed in conjunction with the switching of the changeover valve toward the jet nozzle unit, the air inlet port of the air intake device is closed by the shut-off valve so that bath water not mixed with bubbles is sent to the pump to prevent the power of the pump from falling due to the mixing of bubbles. The bath water can thus be well pressurized by the pump.

The accumulator may be composed of a large-diameter portion provided as a part of the pipe of the minute bubble generator and downwardly inclined downstream, a riser connected to the large-diameter portion near the downstream end thereof, and an air release portion provided at the top of the riser. When the excess air is separated from the bath water by the accumulator, a component of the buoyancy of the excess air acts in the direction reverse to that of the flow of the bath water so that the flow speed of the excess air is made lower than that of the bath water to expedite the separation of the excess air from the bath water. The excess air is thus separated from the bath water smoothly through a simple construction to enhance the air and water separation performance of the accumulator. As a result, not only is the discharge of the excess air stabilized, but also the production costs of the accumulator are reduced and maintenance of the accumulator is eliminated. Moreover, the bath water cannot stagnate in the accumulator, the valve of the air release portion and the minute bubble nozzle unit cannot be jammed or clogged with contaminants, and the accumulator is unlikely to be damaged due to freezing.

For example, the air release portion can be constituted so that a vertical pipe is attached to the air accumulating portion of the accumulator, a needle is fitted in the vertical pipe movable up and down, a prescribed clearance for discharging gas from the accumulator is defined between the needle and the vertical pipe, an upper plate is provided on the top of the needle and movable into and out of contact with the edge of the vertical pipe at the upper open end thereof, and the needle is urged downward by the force of a spring. Because of the prescribed clearance between the needle and the vertical pipe, the gas is smoothly discharged from the accumulator. The interior of the vertical pipe is cleaned by the vertical movement of the needle to make it unlikely that the vertical pipe will be clogged with extraneous substances or the needle will seize on the pipe due to such substances. During the running of the bubbling bathtub system, the needle is slightly vibrated due to the force of the spring to clean the interior of the vertical pipe. At the beginning and end of the running of the system, the needle is moved up and down to prevent clogging and seizure, thereby eliminating the need for maintenance of the air release portion.

For example, the minute bubble nozzle unit of the minute bubble generator can be constituted so that a pressure reduction plate having a plurality of through-holes is provided downstream to the portion of the nozzle unit into which the bath water with air dissolved therein is introduced. The pressure reduction plate acts so that the pressure of the bath water with the air dissolved therein is reduced as the water is sent into the bathtub.

It is preferable that a plurality of meshes be juxtaposed together downstream of the pressure reduction plate. It is also preferable that the meshes be provided as an assembly. Due to the presence of the pressure reduction plate, the bath water is dispersed through the holes in the plate, thus preventing the dispersed streams of bath water from interfering with each other. For that reason, the pressure of the bath water is slowly reduced, and bubbles are less likely to congregate to form larger bubbles. As a result, minute bubbles are efficiently produced. If a plurality of meshes are juxtaposed together downstream of the pressure reduction plate, the bath water collides against the meshes immediately after being dispersed through the holes of the plate, so that the pressure of the bath water is moderately reduced and bubble nuclei are formed to promote the production of the minute bubbles. If the plurality of meshes are provided as an assembly, the production of the minute bubbles is more efficiently promoted.

The minute bubble nozzle unit may be composed of a bath water intake portion, which extends through the side wall of the bathtub and is secured with seals to the side wall to keep the bath water from leaking and which is provided with an opening through which the pressurized bath water is introduced into the nozzle unit, and a minute bubble generating portion, which is removable attached to the bath water intake portion from the interior of the bathtub. The pressure reduction plate and the meshes are removably attached to the minute bubble generating portion so that the plate is disposed in mesh holder and the meshes are pushed and retained by the holder to maintain a prescribed distance between the plate and meshes. After the minute bubble generating portion and the mesh holder are sequentially detached, the meshes can be easily removed and washed or replaced. The holes of the pressure reduction plate can be also easily cleaned.

The jet nozzle unit of the bubble generator may be provided with a plurality of water feed ports or/and a plurality of air feed ports. If the jet nozzle unit is provided with a plurality of air feed ports, jet nozzle units neighboring each other can be connected to each other by a shorter pipe to feed the bath water from one of the jet nozzle units to the other through the water feed ports. For that reason, ramified pipes need not be provided for the jet nozzle units. As a result, the resistance to the passage of the bath water is reduced, and the number of piping members is decreased to reduce the cost of the piping. If the jet nozzle unit is provided with a plurality of air feed ports, the total air passage length is shortened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a partially sectional view of a bubbling bathtub system constructed according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a partially sectional view of a bubbling bathtub system of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a partially sectional view of a bubbling bathtub system of a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the accumulator of the bubbling bathtub system shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a partially sectional view of a bubbling bathtub system of a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows a partially sectional view of a bubbling bathtub system of a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 shows a partially sectional view of a bubbling bathtub system of a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of the accumulator of the bubbling bath system shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 shows a sectional view of an accumulator which is a modification of the accumulator shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view for describing the operation of the accumulators shown in FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of an air release portion constructed according to the present invention and provided in an accumulator;

FIG. 12 is a partially sectional view for describing an example of use of the air release portion shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 shows a sectional view of a minute bubble nozzle unit constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 shows an exploded cutaway view of the minute bubble nozzle unit shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 shows an exploded view of a mesh assembly of the minute bubble nozzle unit shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 shows a partial rear view of the minute bubble generating portion of the minute bubble nozzle unit shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a graph indicating the relationship between the average diameter of bubbles and the distance between a pressure reduction plate and meshes;

FIG. 18 shows a graph indicating the relationship between the average diameter of bubbles and the number of the meshes;

FIG. 19 shows a graph indicating the distributions of the diameters of bubbles at different average flow speeds of bath water passed through each hole of the pressure reduction plate;

FIG. 20A shows a sectional view of a comparison minute bubble nozzle unit;

FIG. 20B shows a perspective view of the mesh of the comparison minute bubble nozzle unit;

FIG. 21 shows a sectional view of a jet nozzle unit constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 22 shows a schematic view of an example of piping for the plurality of jet nozzle units shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 shows a sectional view of a jet nozzle unit of another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 shows a sectional view of a jet nozzle unit of yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 shows a schematic view of an air passage in another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 26 shows a schematic view of an air passage in still another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are hereafter described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a bubbling bathtub system of a first embodiment having a bathtub 1 connected to a large bubble generator 2 at the left-hand side of the bathtub and a minute bubble generator 3 at the right-hand side of the bathtub in the drawing.

The large bubble generator 2 includes a water inlet port 8a and a jet nozzle unit 14 which are attached to the side wall of the bathtub 1, a pipe 38 for connecting the water inlet port and the jet nozzle unit to each other, and a jet pump 6a provided with a motor 37a for driving the pump. The jet pump 6a is disposed midway of the pipe 38 of the large bubble generator 2. The jet nozzle unit 14 is provided with an air pipe 31 having an air inlet port. Bath water is sent from the water inlet port 8a to the bathtub 1 through the pipe 38 by the pump 6a so that the bath water is spouted into the bathtub through the jet nozzle unit 14. Simultaneously, air is sucked into the jet nozzle unit 14 from the air pipe 31 so that the air is mixed as bubbles in the bath water 4 being spouted into the bathtub 1. Bubbles are thus produced in the bathtub 1. The diameter of the bubbles range from about 1 to 30 mm.

After the bubbles are released in the bathtub 1, the bubbles ascend to the surface of the bath water 4 and disappear. The bubbles produced in the bathtub 1 by the large bubble generator 2 on the bather together with the spouted bath water 4 produce a massaging effect. Due to this streaming in the bath water 4, the bather senses an effective temperature of about 1.degree. to 3.degree. C. higher than when the bath water is still. Thus, the body temperature of the bather is less likely to drop quickly to cause a chill after the bath.

The minute bubble generator 3 includes a water inlet port 8b and a minute bubble nozzle unit 7, which are attached to another side wall of the bathtub 1, and further a pipe 10 for connecting the water inlet port and the minute bubble unit to each other, and a pressure pump 6b for producing minute bubbles in the bathtub 1. The pressure pump 6b is provided with a motor 37b for driving the pump disposed in the middle portion of the pipe 10. An air suction device 11 having an air inlet port is connected to the pipe 10 between the water inlet port 8b and the pump 6b. When bath water 4 is sucked into the pipe 10 through the water inlet port 8b by the pump 6b and flows through the pipe, air is also sucked into the pipe from the air suction device 11 so that the bath water is mixed with the air and pressurized by a pressure of about 5 kg/cm.sup.2 in the pump 6b. Because of this pressurization, the air is dissolved in the bath water 4. The bath water 4 with the air dissolved therein is sent to the minute bubble nozzle unit 7 through the pipe 10 while the bath water remains pressurized, so that the water is introduced into the bathtub 1 through the minute bubble nozzle unit.

The minute bubble nozzle unit 7 has a plurality of nozzles each having a diameter of about 1 mm, for example. When the bath water 4 with the air dissolved therein is introduced into the bathtub 1 through the minute bubble nozzle unit 7, the bath water is immediately depressurized so that the air dissolved therein is educed and forms minute bubbles in the bath water in the bathtub. Since the diameter of each of the minute bubbles is as small as about 5 to 30 .mu.m, the speed of ascent thereof in the bath water 4 is so low that the minute bubbles do not immediately rise to the surface of the bath water in the bathtub 1 but stay in the water for about two minutes to whiten the otherwise colorless and transparent bath water. If the minute bubble generator 3 is kept out of action for several minutes, the minute bubbles disappear so that the whitened bath water 4 becomes colorless and transparent again. The minute bubbles in the bath water 4 in the bathtub 1 wrap the bathing person so that he or she perceives a temperature about 1.degree. to 3.degree. C. higher than when the minute bubbles are not produced in the bathtub. For this reason, the blood pressure of the bathing person is prevented from sharply rising upon entering the bath water 4, and the body temperature is less likely to fall quickly after getting out of the bathtub. Also, a pleasant visual effect is produced by the whitening of the bath water 4.

The bubble generator 2 and/or the minute bubble generator 3 can be optionally used to produce bubbles as desired to create a particular bathing sensation in the bathtub 1. For example, when the bather begins bathing in the bathtub 1, the bubble generator 2 can be turned off but the minute bubble generator 3 activated to produce minute bubbles to acclimate the body of the bather to the temperature of the bath water to prevent his or her blood pressure from sharply rising. Afterward, the minute bubble generator 3 can be turned off and the bubble generator 2 activated to massage the bather's body with rapid streams of bath water 4 and relatively large bubbles. The bather is thus made more comfortable. Both the bubble generator 2 and the minute bubble generator 3 can be simultaneously operated to subject the body of the bather to relatively large bubbles and minute bubbles.

FIG. 2 shows a bubbling bathtub system of a second embodiment. Although the minute bubble generator 3 of the bubbling bathtub system is the same as that of the bubbling bathtub system shown in FIG. 1, the bubble generator 2 of the system shown in FIG. 2 includes a porous plate 39 and an air pump 6c. The porous plate 39 is provided on the bottom of the bathtub 1 of the system. The pump 6c is connected to the porous plate 39 through a pipe 41 provided with a check valve 40. Air is sent from the pump 6c to the porous plate 39 through the pipe 41 so that the air is divided into small segments by the porous plate, forming bubbles when the air is blown into the bath water 4. The blowoff of the air from the bottom of the bathtub 1 and the buoyancy of the bubbles produce the same effects as the bubble generator 2 of the system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a bubbling bathtub system of a third embodiment. Although the bubble generator 2 of the bubbling bathtub system is the same as that of the system shown in FIG. 1, the minute bubble generator 3 of the system shown in FIG. 3 includes an accumulator 5 formed by a hermetically sealed container. The accumulator 5 is provided between a pump 6b and a minute