# US 5,704,079 A · Baths having displacements of fluid jets in a straight line

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- Number: US 5,704,079 A
- Document ID: US5704079A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/573,424
- Filed: 1995-12-15
- Granted: 1998-01-06
- Earliest claimed: 1994-12-19
- Inventors: Rene Desnoyers
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5704079A

## CPC

- A61H 33/0087: {Therapeutic baths with agitated or circulated water}
- A61H 33/027: {Gas-water mixing nozzles therefor}
- A61H 33/6063: {Specifically adapted for fitting in bathtub walls}
- A61H 2201/1207: with electric or magnetic drive
- A61H 2201/1418: Cam
- A61H 2201/1669: moving along the body in a reciprocating manner
- A61H 2203/0431: in 90°/90°-position, like on a chair
- A61H: PHYSICAL THERAPY APPARATUS, e.g. DEVICES FOR LOCATING OR STIMULATING REFLEX POINTS IN THE BODY; ARTIFICIAL RESPIRATION; MASSAGE; BATHING DEVICES FOR SPECIAL THERAPEUTIC OR HYGIENIC PURPOSES OR SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE BODY (electrotherapy, magnetotherapy, radiation therapy or ultrasound therapy A61N)

## Abstract

A bath which has walls making a bottom and sides upwardly extending therefrom. At least one pair of injectors are either continuously mechanically reciprocating or sequentially actuated in a straight line so that fluid jets be moving in order to obtain jets repeatedly continuously displaced as straight lines, along one of these walls being perforated. This bath aims at body treatments, for instance overcoming body pains, particularly the self-relief of aching back. A method is also described for a bath having fluid injectors equally and symmetrically disposed about a median, in two rows, each row being parallel to the median, adjacent to, but short thereof, and parallel to the wall with the longitudinal opening, with the fluid injectors producing uniform fluid jets on each of the two rows, each jet having a uniform trajectory, displacing the trajectory from fluid jets, along two straight lines running across the trajectory, while maintaining spacing between the lines within 4.5.+-.1 inches, and repeating that displacement.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A bath comprising:
walls defining a bottom and sides upwardly extending therefrom, each of said walls having an inner surface and an outer surface, and said walls cooperating to define a receptacle for water and at least one person,
a longitudinal opening in one of said walls, in order to communicate between the inner surface and the outer surface of one of said walls, said opening being defined by longitudinal sides, said longitudinal sides extending from one end to an opposite end,
at least one pair of fluid injectors,
each injector producing a fluid jet defining a trajectory in a straight line to impinge at a point, upon a portion of a human body,
said injectors being mounted on a carriage, and defining at least one row, said row being across said longitudinal opening,
said carriage being provided with a motorized means to mechanically reciprocate said carriage, for displacement of said carriage and thereby said injectors,
and thus said trajectory from each fluid jet in a straight line, running across said trajectory, and along said longitudinal opening, from said one end to said opposite end of said longitudinal opening, for allowing impinging fluid from each of said injectors, via said longitudinal opening and towards said bath, in order to obtain a path of impinging points in a substantially straight line on said body portion, and to continuously repeat said displacement in a straight line,
and a housing to confine said injectors, said carriage and partly said motorized means to mechanically reciprocate said carriage, said housing being behind said longitudinal opening and water-tight sealed to said outer surface of said walls,
said carriage having opposite ends, said opposite ends of said carriage being substantially parallel to said longitudinal sides of said longitudinal opening,
said opposite ends of said carriage being slidably mounted into said housing, for reciprocating said fluid injectors along said longitudinal opening,
whereby each of said injectors delivers one fluid jet which is repeatedly continuously displaced as a straight line along said longitudinal opening to impinge upon said portion of a human body in said bath near said longitudinal opening.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined in claim 1, which is a whirlpool bath, and said fluid injectors are delivering a water jet containing air.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined in claim 1, wherein said fluid injectors are rotating about a fixed point, and delivering a jet of water-air mixture.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined as defined in claim 1, wherein said carriage has mounted thereon a ring,
said ring having mounted therein a projecting finger,
a twin-helix crisscross screw rotatably mounted into said housing for rotating inside said ring and engaging said finger for mechanically reciprocating said carriage,
said twin-helix crisscross screw having one end, said one end being, rotatably and water-tightly, mounted to a motor in order to obtain a motorized twin-helix, said motor being outside said housing,
whereby said carriage is motor driven by said twin-helix crisscross screw, along said longitudinal opening in one direction with one of said helices and contrary thereto by the other helix, and thus said motorized twin-helix, with said ring and projecting finger, are said motorized means to mechanically reciprocate said carriage.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal opening has a longitudinal median, and said carriage is driven along said longitudinal median.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined as defined in claim 1, wherein said motorized means to mechanically reciprocate said carriage having at least one pair of injectors, is
a motorized endless chain turning about two pulleys,
one of said pulleys being rotatably mounted onto said housing, near one end of said longitudinal opening,
and the other pulley being rotatably mounted onto said housing, near the opposite end of said longitudinal opening,
one of said pulleys having a shaft,
said shaft extending outwardly of said housing, via a water-tight sealing arrangement, and being rotatably mounted to a motor, in order to have a motorized endless chain,
said endless chain having a tongue,
and said carriage having opposite ends adjacent to said housing, being provided with a slot running across said endless chain for continuous engagement with said tongue, whereby said endless chain drive said carriage in one direction and contrary thereto upon turning about one of said two pulleys and thus said pulleys, said endless chain, said tongue, said motor, and said shaft being said motorized means to mechanically reciprocate said carriage and thereby said fluid injectors.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined in claim 1, wherein said at least one pair of fluid injectors is a pair of fluid injectors, one of said injectors is disposed near one of said opposite ends of said carriage, and the other injector near the other of said opposite ends of said carriage.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined in claim 1, wherein said longitudinal opening has a longitudinal median, and said carriage is driven along said longitudinal median, and said injectors on said carriage are symmetrically disposed with respect to said longitudinal median, adjacent thereto, but spaced therefrom.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined in claim 1, having only two fluid injectors, said injectors delivering a water jet containing air, said water being pumped into said injectors, via a flexible hose, and air to be fed into said injectors via another flexible hose, said hoses having one end and another end,
said hoses running along one longitudinal side of the longitudinal opening, from one end to the opposite end of the longitudinal opening,
one of the ends of these hoses linking the injectors, being rotanably mounted adjacent to the other longitudinal side of the longitudinal opening,
in order to obtain a 360.degree. rotation hose-injector coupling,
and for these hoses to define a curve between said hose-injector coupling, and said one longitudinal side of the longitudinal opening, and
the other ends of these hoses being fixedly mounted adjacent to said opposite end of said longitudinal opening, and superimposed and fixedly held together near said other ends of these hoses, for a distance of about half the length of the longitudinal opening.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The bath as defined in claim 9, which includes a pressure regulator between the two fluid injectors.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined as defined in claim 1, wherein said wall of the bath having a longitudinal opening, is an inclined wall, and said inclined wall of the bath, defines a lounge-chair having a seating place with an inclined back, and a longitudinal median,
and symmetrically disposed about said longitudinal median, said longitudinal opening extending on each side of said median, along said inclined wall of the bath,
each injector of said one pair of fluid injectors, being symmetrically disposed about said longitudinal median, one on each side of said median, and said carriage displacing said fluid jet on each side of said median, substantially parallel to said median and to said inclined wall,
for said fluid jets to preferentially hit on each side of said median, adjacent thereto, but short thereof, said inclined wall cooperating in shortening the height of said bath.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The bath as defined as defined in claim 1, wherein said path has impinging points which are substantially uniform.