Water entrainment hydrotherapy jet assembly

A hydrotherapy jet assembly comprising:

• a housing defining a substantially cylindrical interior cavity having an inlet end and an outlet end;
• nozzle means mounted in said cavity proximate to said inlet end for discharging a water jet substantially along the axis of said cavity toward said outlet end;
• a tubular member defining an interior flow path having an inlet orifice and a discharge orifice;
• and
• means mounting said tubular member in said cavity proximate to said outlet end with said inlet orifice substantially aligned with said cavity axis, said mounting means including means defining a passageway, exteriorly of said tubular member, for passing water into said cavity.

In a hydrotherapy jet assembly comprised of:

• a housing having an internally threaded cylindrical cavity;
• a nozzle mounted at one end of said housing cavity for discharging a water jet toward a second end of said housing cavity;
• a tubular fitting threaded into said housing cavity, said fitting having an internally threaded cylindrical cavity and a radially inwardly extending flange in said fitting cavity;
• a tubular flow director having an inlet end and a discharge end;
• and
• an annulus threaded into said fitting cavity engaging the exterior wall surface of said flow director for urging it toward said flange in said fitting cavity;
• the improvement comprising:
• passageway means formed in said annulus for permitting water to flow exteriorly of said flow director exterior wall surface past said annulus into said housing cavity.

In combination:

• a tub for containing a water pool, said tub having a peripheral wall including a jet opening and a water return opening formed therein;
• a housing mounted in alignment with said jet opening, said housing defining a mixing chamber and including nozzle means for discharging a water jet along a defined axis into said chamber for creating a suction therein;
• electrically driven pump means having an inlet side coupled to said water return opening and an outlet side coupled to said nozzle means for drawing tub pool water and supplying pressurized water to said nozzle means;
• a suction inlet formed in said housing communicating with said chamber;
• and
• passageway means open to said water pool and communicating with said suction inlet for passing water from said pool into said chamber, drawn by said suction, for entrainment by said water jet.

A method of discharging a high intensity hydrotherapy stream through an opening in the peripheral wall of a water tub, comprising the steps of:

• mounting a housing, having an internal chamber, a suction inlet to said chamber, and a discharge orifice from said chamber, behind said wall with said discharge orifice aligned with said opening;
• mounting a nozzle in said housing oriented to discharge a water jet through said chamber to said discharge orifice;
• supplying water under pressure to said nozzle for discharging a water jet through said chamber for creating suction therein;
• and
• providing a passageway for the flow of pool water from said water tub to said chamber via said suction inlet for entraining said pool water in said water jet for discharge through said discharge orifice.