Drainage device, in particular for water jet massage pools

Abstract: A drainage device, particularly for a water jet massage pool, comprises a control valve (6) in communication with the drain (14) of the pool (1) and with the suction side of a pump, to produce the turbulent circulation of the water and perform the water jet massage and a gate member (23) in the valve, being remotely controlled, to be moved from a first position of open communication with the drain and the pump, a second position of open communication with the pump and shut off communication with the drain, and a third position of shut off communication with the pump and with the drain, intermediate positions between said second and said third position enabling a partial regulatable opening of the communication with the pump, while keeping the communication with the drain closed (Fig.1).

Description: The present invention refers to a drainage device to be used in particular for water jet massage pools. As is well known, water jet massage pools comprise an equipment which, by means of a pump, is capable of creating a turbulent circulation of the water contained in the pool and introduced through inlet orifices provided in the internal peripheral walls below the water level in the pool. In prior art water jet massage pools the equipment for the turbulent circulation of the water is distinct and separate from that of the water drain. More particularly the pump in the former equipment draws in water at the level of the inlet orifices in the peripheral walls of the pool whereas the latter equipment is situated, as usual, on the bottom of the pool. The above raises problems both of a practical and functional nature in that, at the end of each water jet massage operation, emptying of the tubes and the pump casing becomes awkward and complicated. Furthermore considerable problems are found in the necessary thorough disinfection of the equipment. For this, it is necessary to fill the pool again, having emptied it after the water jet massage, until the water level is higher than the level of the afore mentioned inlet orifices in the peripheral walls of the pool itself, with a consequent waste of water and disinfectant, not to say time. DE-U-8717581 describes a drainage device for a jet massage pool in which a multi-way valve is provided underneath the bottom of the pool and a switching conduit is connected to a system of electrically controlled multidirectional valves to operate the various functions of the pool. Object of the present invention is a drainage device for water jet massage pools in which a drainage orifice is provided in the bottom of the pool and inlet orifices are provided above the level of said drainage orifice, to be in fluid communication with the outlet side of a jet massage pump and a control valve is provided underneath said drainage orifice and in free communication with said pool, said control valve being controlled by a remote control system, wherein said control valve comprises: a cylinder wall provided with a first port in fluid communication with the drainage system and a second port in fluid communication with the suction side of said pump and angularly offset on said cylinder wall with respect to said first port, a gate member of cylinder sector configuration mounted in a sliding rotatable manner inside said cylinder wall around a common rotation axis therewith, a closure member fixed to the lower end of said cylinder wall and provided with a bore coaxial to said cylinder wall, a boss integral with said closure member extending inside said cylinder wall and provided with a coaxial bore, a spindle sealingly and pivotally engaged with said bores in said boss and closure member and rigidly engaged with said gate member, and a driven sheave, integrally connected with said spindle, on the outer side of said closure member with respect to said cylinder wall, and said remote control system comprises a handwheel, a spindle integrally connected with said handwheel, a driving sheave integrally connected with the other end of said spindle, and a transmission thread engaged at one extremity with said driving sheave and at its other extremity with said driven sheave, so that said first and second ports are selectively open and shut off by said gate member by rotating the handwheel into one of three positions in which both ports are open to enable the pool and the pump to be emptied, the first port is shut off and the second port is open to enable the pool to be filled and the massage pump operating, and both ports are shut off respectively to enable the pool to be filled and the pump inactivated, partial opening of both ports enabling a controlled flow rate of the pump for a cleaning operation. The present invention will be better described herebelow by description of a non-limiting example of a preferred embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: figure 1 is a cross-section general view of the drainage device of the invention; and figures 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views of components of the drainage device according to figure 1. With reference to the above figures, a pool 1, in particular for water jet massage, is partially shown. In the bottom of the pool a orifice 2 of inverted frusto-conical form is formed for the outlet of the water to enable draining of said pool by means of the drainage device according to the invention. Referring to figures 2 and 3 in which the components described herebelow are more clearly visible,on the orifice 2 an annular element 3 is concentrically mounted, from the internal perimeter of which three first radial arms 4 integrally extend, supporting a first internally screw-threaded coaxial hub 5. Below the annular element 3 a control valve 6 is placed, formed as a cylindrical tubular body. The internal peripheral wall of the control valve forms a sleeve 6 with which three second radial arms 7 are integral on its upper part, said second arms supporting a second internally screw-threaded coaxial hub 8. The wall of the sleeve 6 has two communication ports provided with two tubular cylindrical fittings 9 and 10, each one provided with two external parallel and spaced grooves 11 to hold respective pairs of circular seal rings 12. The fitting 9 is connected to a siphon 13 in communication with a drain conduit 14. The second fitting 10 is connected, by means of suitable tubes (not shown), to the suction side of a pump (not shown) for activating, in operation, the turbulent circulation of the water in the pool 1, through orifices (not shown) provided at a certain level in the peripheral wall of the latter, to perform the water jet massage. A screw 15, axially perforated, serves to fix the above described group on the orifice 2 in the bottom of the pool 1, by engagement of the screw with the internal threads on the first hub 5 of the annular element 3 and on the second hub 8 of the sleeve 6, with the interposition of an annular seal ring 16. A rod 17 on a disc shaped intercepting member 18 is fixedly inserted in an axial bore of the screw 15. Said intercepting member, placed in a narrowly spaced apart relationship to the mouth of the orifice 2 in the bottom of the pool 1, ensures that foreign bodies of a certain size do not get into the sleeve 6 possibly blocking its exit passages. On the lower opening of the sleeve 6 a cylindrical closure member 19 is placed, in which a circumferential groove 20 is formed to hold a seal ring. Closure member 19 is integral in its lower part with an annular flange 21 for fixing said closure member by means of screws 22 engaged with respective threaded holes formed in the thickness of the lower extremity of the cylindrical tubular body of the sleeve 6. Coaxial to the closure member 19 a gate 23 is mounted on the inside of the sleeve 6, said gate being formed by a semicylindrical tubular body, suitable to rotate around its own axis, as will be hereinbelow described. The gate 23 may be made of rigid or, preferably, of flexible material. A trunco-conical boss 25 is integral with the closure member 19 on a central position of its upper face, the boss being provided with a coaxial bore and a similar bore being provided centrally in the closure element 19. The bore in the boss 25 rotatably supports a spindle 26. In the upper end portion of the spindle 26 which projects above the boss 25, a transversal bore 27 is provided. In the bore 27 a pin 28 is engaged. Through a bore 29 formed in the peripheral wall of the gate 23, the pin 28 integrally connects the gate to the spindle 26 to drive it in rotation. To the lower end portion of the spindle 26, extending below the closure element 19, a driven sheave 30 is secured and housed inside the flange 21. The sealing of the spindle 26 through the bore in the boss 25 and the bore in the closure element 19 is ensured by a pair of circular O-rings 31 engaged with respective spaced grooves 32 circumferentially formed on the spindle 26. Around the pin 28 is fixed a coil spring 24, constantly tending to push the gate 23 against the internal wall of the sleeve 6. As shown in figure 1, on an end wall of the pool 1, close to the upper edge, there is a hand wheel 33, provided with index, which can be rotatably turned to three positions. Each position is marked with a reference notch on an underlying ring nut 40, for remote control. This excludes the use of any form of electrovalve or electrical power assisted command in the drainage device according to the invention, as will be described in greater detail below. The hand wheel 33 is secured on one extremity of a spindle 34, on the other extremity of which a driving sheave 35 is keyed connected by means of a Bowden thread ring 36 to the driven sheave 30. In figure 1 is also indicated in 37 an inlet opening for the water filling pool 1 and in 38 an overflow opening which, by means of a flexible tube 39 leads excess water to the drainage tube 14. In operation, the manual rotation of the hand wheel 33 causes, through the spindle 34, the rotation of the driving sheave 35. Driving sheave, by means of the Bowden thread 36, causes rotation of the the driven sheave 30, the spindle secured to it, and consequently the gate 23 integral with the latter by means of the pin 28. Thus, by bringing the index of the hand wheel 33 into alignment with the one of said reference notches on the ring nut 40 which corresponds to the required function of the drainage device of the invention, the following will be had, for example: index on the first notch: gate 23 is rotated until fittings 9 and 10 on the sleeve 6 are completely open and both the orifice 2 on the bottom of the pool 1 and the water jet massage apparatus are placed in direct full fluid communication with the drainage tube 14 for emptying the pool and said water jet massage apparatus simultaneously; index on the second notch: gate 23 is rotated until it closes the fitting 9 leaving the fitting 10 on the sleeve 6 open. This shuts off the communication of the orifice 2 in the bottom of the pool 1 with the drainage pipe 14 by effect of the peripheral wall of the gate 23 which closes the fitting 9. This allows the filling of the pool through the inlet 37 and the activation of the water jet massage apparatus by action of the pump, the suction of which is connected to the open fitting 10; index on the third notch: gate 23 is rotated in such a way as to completely close fittings 9 and 10 and therefore to interrupt communication with the drainage pipe 14 and with the suction side of the pump. Moving said index into intermediate positions between the second and the third notch, a progressive opening of the fitting 10 will be obtained for the communication with the suction side of the pump, in a manner regulated according to necessity. The flow rate of the pump is thus restricted as desired for the operation of washing and disinfection of the water jet massage apparatus, when a small amount of water is needed. In fact, said water is taken directly from the bottom of the pool, unlike similar known apparatuses, in which the water is taken, as stated hereinbefore, from the openings provided in the walls. With the arrangement described above, the operation of washing and disinfection of the water jet message apparatus, comprises the following steps: disactivating the water jet massage equipment; positioning the index of the hand wheel 33 in correspondence with the first notch until the pool and the water jet massage apparatus are completely empty; positioning the index of the hand wheel 33 in correspondence with the third notch to reduce the flow rate of the pump to zero; running water into the pool to a 4-5 cm level (approximately 20 liters), adding the necessary detergent and disinfectant; activating for a few minutes the water jet massage apparatus, turning the hand wheel 33 slowly from the third notch towards the second notch until obtaining the optimal water flow for the washing operation; disactivating the water jet massage apparatus and repeating the cycle using clean water. From the above it is evident that, among the other favourable aspects, it is possible, using the drainage device according to the present invention, to wash and disinfect the water jet massage apparatus associated to the pool using a minimum quantity of water, with a reduced consumption of disinfectant and in a very short time, with considerable economical and ecological advantage and a saving of energy.

Claims: Drainage device for water jet massage pools in which a drainage orifice (2) is provided in the bottom of the pool (1) and inlet orifices are provided above the level of said drainage orifice (2), to be in fluid communication with the outlet side of a jet massage pump and a control valve (6,23) is provided underneath said drainage orifice (2) and in free communication with said pool (1), said control valve (6,23) being controlled by a remote control system, wherein said control valve comprises: a cylinder wall (6) provided with a first port (9) in fluid communication with the drainage system (14) and a second port (10) in fluid communication with the suction side of said pump and angularly offset on said cylinder wall (6) with respect to said first port (9), a gate member (23) of cylinder sector configuration mounted in a sliding rotatable manner inside said cylinder wall (6) around a common rotation axis therewith, characterized in that said control valve comprises: a closure member (19) fixed to the lower end of said cylinder wall (6) and provided with a bore coaxial to said cylinder wall (6), a boss (25) integral with said closure member (19) extending inside said cylinder wall (6) and provided with a coaxial bore, a spindle (26) sealingly and pivotally engaged with said bores in said boss and closure member and rigidly engaged with said gate member (23), and a driven sheave (30), integrally connected with said spindle (26), on the outer side of said closure member with respect to said cylinder wall, and said remote control system comprises a handwheel (33), a spindle (34) integrally connected with said handwheel, a driving sheave (35) integrally connected with the other end of said spindle (34), and a transmission thread (36) engaged at one extremity with said driving sheave (35) and at its other extremity with said driven sheave (30), so that said first (9) and second (10) ports are selectively open and shut off by said gate member (23) by rotating the handwheel (33) into one of three positions in which both ports are open to enable the pool and the pump to be emptied, the first port is shut off and the second port is open to enable the pool to be filled and the massage pump operating, and both ports are shut off respectively to enable the pool to be filled and the pump inactivated, partial opening of both ports enabling a controlled flow rate of the pump for a cleaning operation. Drainage device according to claim 1, in which a coil spring (24) is mounted around said pin 28 to constantly push said gate member (23) against the internal wall of said sleeve (6). Drainage device according to claim 1, in which an opening (37) to feed water into said tool (1) is provided in a sealed space containing said spindle (34) activated by said handwheel (33). Drainage device according to claim 3, in which a flexible pipe (39) in fluid communication with said pool through an opening (38) adjacent to said feeding opening (37), is connected directly to said drainage conduit (14) to form an overflow passage. Drainage device according to any of the preceding claims further comprising a disc shaped intercepting element (18) supported in a narrow spaced relation above said drainage orifice (2) in the bottom of the pool, to impede the entry of foreign bodies of predetermined size into said control valve.

Inventors: LUPI GIULIO CESARE C O SMALTER, LUPI, GIULIO CESARE C/O SMALTERIA VITERBESE S.P.A
Applicants: SMALTERIA VITERBESE S P A, SMALTERIA VITERBESE S.P.A.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: A61H33
IPC codes: A61H33