Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Tubs – Means for agitating or circulating water in a tub
Patent
1996-07-22
1998-10-20
Phillips, Charles E.
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Tubs
Means for agitating or circulating water in a tub
4559, A47K 300
Patent
active
058228080
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION:
The invention relates to a hydromassage device for use in a bathtub, having a pump casing which is connected to at least one intake aperture and to at least one nozzle-shaped discharge aperture and in which a pump impeller is seated, and having a motor casing in which an electric drive motor is arranged that is connected to the pump impeller, and further having a battery casing in which batteries, preferably chargeable batteries, are arranged which are connected to the drive motor, with pump casing, motor casing and battery casing being connected with one another and at least one of the casings being provided with holding means for securing the device to the wall of the tub.
A hydromassage device of the type described above is known from the German Patent 40 04 801. In the prior art hydromassage device, the motor casing and the battery casing are embodied so as to be fixedly connected to one another in one piece and they are in open connection with one another. The batteries are charged via terminal contacts guided toward the outside which can be connected to the charger via a plug. This process includes the risk that the user will leave the charger in the tub, possibly also in a filled tub, and will connect the hydromassage device to the charger in the event of a diminishing battery charge and will thereby attempt to maintain the operation directly by means of a power supply through the charger. Even if a charger is separated galvanically from the 220 Volt voltage supply, there still exists the danger of an electric shock in the presence of possible defects of the charger. A further drawback of the prior art arrangement is that, for replacing the batteries, the combined motor-battery casing must be opened and that, after a battery replacement, water may enter the motor casing as well as the battery casing if the seal is defective so that the device as a whole may be destroyed.
It is the object of the invention to embody a hydromassage device of the above-mentioned type such that the device as a whole meets stricter safety requirements.
According to the invention, this object is solved in that the battery casing and the motor casing are each formed by separate, waterproof casings, which are detachably connected with one another, that, on their outside wall, the battery casing and the motor casing are respectively provided with electrical contact members which are in contact with one another when, in the operating state, both casings are connected with one another and which respectively form a contact pair with which the batteries or the drive motor are connected, and that, in the operating state, the region of the contact pairs is sealed by at least one sealing arrangement so as to be waterproof. This arrangement has the advantage that the battery casing as well as the motor casing, each by itself, are embodied to be waterproof so that the user cannot open the casings themselves neither for charging nor for replacing the batteries and that thus the original factory seal of the individual elements cannot be cancelled by the user. For charging the batteries, the battery casing must be detached and must be connected directly to the charger outside of the tub. Charging takes place via the same contact members that respectively form the contact pairs in the operating state with the contact members of the motor casing. A further advantage of the arrangement according to the invention is that the user does not have to replace the batteries himself but that a factory-manufactured complete battery casing including batteries can always be made available to him. This battery casing can then respectively be supplied with all of the elements which can wear out if they are frequently detached for charging such as, for example, the sealing arrangement or the means for detachably connecting the two casings with one another. In contrast, the motor casing and the pump casing can be embodied as one piece so that a hermetic seal of the motor casing is provided here as well, which seal only has an opening for the
REFERENCES:
patent: 4282866 (1981-08-01), Miffitt
patent: 5067481 (1991-11-01), Bucher
patent: 5195511 (1993-03-01), Kodato et al.
patent: 5197153 (1993-03-01), Hara
Hoesch Metall + Kunststoffwerk GmbH
Phillips Charles E.
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