BUBBLE PLANT, PREFERABLY FOR SWIMMING BATHS

Abstract: A bubble plant for swimming baths comprising a compressor connected to a storage and an air duct connected to the storage said air duct being provided with a nozzle for producing bubbles in water is constructed in such a manner that the compressor (1) and the storage (5) have a working pressure which is above the pressure used for producing the bubbles, and that a reduction valve (9) is inserted between the storage (5) and the air duct with the air nozzle. By using a bubble plant with a high-pressure storage and a reduction valve there is obtained a very compact and cheap plant just as it is possible to have several air drains in quick succession without having to await a renewed pressure build-up in the storage.

Description: BUBBLE PLANT, PREFERABLY FOR SWIMMING BATHS. The present invention relates to a bubble plant preferably for swimming baths comprising a compressor connected to a storage and an air duct connected to the storage said air duct being provided with a nozzle for producing bubbles in water. It is known to let out air under the water level of a swimming pool so as to produce rising air bubbles that will almost transform the water into a foam cushion reducing the risk of the diver being hurt if he misses a dive or when practising new types of dives. The known plants can let out air for a limited number of seconds, typically 5-7 sees., and must then have a "charging period" of some minutes before an amount of air can be released for a new dive. These plants are moreover rather costly to procure and to install and require a considerable amount of space since there is typically used a large storage tank between the compressor and the outlet nozzles. It has now turned out that according to the present invention it is possible very cheaply and using less space- eσuiring equipment to construct a bubble plant for use in swimming baths that does not require a "charging period" between each dive when being designed in such a manner that the compressor and the storage have a working pressure which is above the pressure used for producing the bubbles, and O PI that a reduction valve has been inserted between the storage and the air duct with the air nozzle. The known plants work with a storage pressure and a pressure by the nozzle of about 10-20 bar, typically 10-15 bar, and every time an amount of air is let out for forming a bubble cushion, the pressure is lowered which will therefore have to be reestablished by means of the compressor.The plant according to the invention works with the same pressure by the outlet nozzle as the known plants, but since the storage has a higher pressure that is reduced through a reduction valve, the pressure of the storage will remain higher than or equal to the working pressure until a substantial part of the storage has been emptied and it is therefore possible to inject air several times immediately after each other by means of a shut-off valve situated close to the nozzle. According to the invention a pressure of at least 30 bar is preferred which will provide a drastic reduction of the required size of the equipment. By using a storage pressure of at least 200 bar as disclosed in the invention the system will become more compact and it is possible to make use of stan¬ dard components for the construction of the plant. There may for example be used bottles for diver's air as a storage, and there are finished compressors just as the ducting by this high pressure may be of very small dimensions and consequently cheap without constricting the capacity of the plant. At the same time the plant becomes so compact and simple because of the applicability of existing OMPI ^NA P Tl standard components that it can straight away be built into existing swimming baths. This may be difficult with plants having storage tanks containing up to 2m3 which are also very costly in manufacture. On account of its small size the bubble plant may be constructed as a mobile unit that can mounted as occasion requires and where a fixed investment is not desired. When the storage according to the invention is formed by a row of high-pressure bottles having a cubic content of 56 litres each and for a pressure of 200 bar, there is obtained a cheap and not very space-reσuirinj storage that may contain air enough for many dives without a need for longer periods between the dives than required by the ordinary safety of the diver. According to the invention it is advantageous to design the nozzle as a piece of pipe with substantial¬ ly the same width in the clear as the air duct thereby obtaining a simple nozzle which will provide a suffi¬ cient amount of air for "filling the water with air". According to the invention it is particularly practic¬ al to use air duct and pipe with a width in the clear of 3/4" thus being able to use standard equip¬ ment and standard couplings. Because of the possibility of draining for a longer period of time it will also according to the invention be possible to use the bubble plant for playing in that in for example swimming pools for children it is possible to lay out an air duct provided with holes from where a constant stream of bubbles will rise to the water level. The invention will be further described in the follow¬ ing with reference to the drawing which schematically shows a bubble plant according to the invention. For providing high-pressure there is used a high-pres- sure compressor 1 provided with a steam trap 2 and a pressostat 3, preferably for 200 bar. A high-pres¬ sure duct 4 from the pressostat 3 leads to a storage 5 in the form of a row of pressure bottles, for example three bottles of 56 litres for a pressure of 200 bar, which bottles can be shut off from the pressure duct 4 by means of a valve 6. It is of course possible to use more or less pressure bottles for the storage according to local requirements just as it is possible to work at higher pressures, for example at a storage pressure of 300 bar thereby increasing capacity substantially. The high-pressure duct 4 also leads to a control panel 7 with a dis¬ charge duct 8 leading to a reduction valve 9 from where there is a "low-pressure duct" 10 leading to the pool. This duct may typically end in a valve from where an air duct with an air nozzle is intro¬ duced into the pool. The low pressure being conveyed to the swimming pool is typically in the order of 10-15 bar. It is possible, if desired, to provide outlets at for example 200 bar for the filling of for example diver's bottles just as it is possible to provide connections for other devices using compressed air.

Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1. Bubble plant preferably for swimming baths com¬ prising a compressor connected to a storage and an air duct connected to the storage said air duct being provided with a nozzle for producing bubbles in water, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the compressor (1) and the storage (5) have a working pressure which is above the pressure used for produc¬ ing the bubbles, and that a reduction valve (9) is inserted between the storage (5) and the air duct with the air nozzle. 2. Bubble plant according to claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the pressure in the storage is higher than or equal to 30 bar. 3. Bubble plant according to claim 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i s e d in that the pressure is at least 200 bar. 4. Bubble plant according to any one of claims 1-3, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the storage is formed by a row of high-pressure bottles having a cubic content of preferably 56 litres and for a pressure of preferably 200 bar. 5. Bubble plant according to any one of claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the nozzle is a piece of pipe with substantially the same width in the clear as the air duct. 6. Bubble plant according to any one of claims 1-5, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the width 'BUR OM r- WIP J?NA in the clear of the nozzle is preferably 3/4". 7. Bubble plant according to any one of claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that instead of a nozzle there is used an arbitrary number of air outlets that are arbitrarily placed on a submerged air duct of any shape. -BUR£ OMPI

Inventors: BJERRING ASBJERG JAN, PERSSON JANN CARSTEN, BJERRING ASBJERG, JAN, PERSSON, JANN, CARSTEN
Applicants: DANSK IVAB A S, DANSK IVAB A/S
Application year: 1984
Main classification: E04H3
IPC codes: A61H33, E04H4