Whirlpool-type bathing apparatuses, as they are currently known in the art, generally comprise a plurality of water-jet outlets connected to the side walls of a bath-tub and fluidly communicating with the inner volume of the tub on one side and at least two distinct supply circuits on the other side. Usually, in fact, there is provided a water-carrying circuit connected to the delivery side of an electric pump to supply water under pressure to the water-jet outlets, and a pneumatic circuit that sucks air into the same water-jet outlets owing to the effect of the negative pressure created by the flow of water. Therefore, within each such water-jet outlet the air and the water flowing in from the two distinct circuits mix up and the thus obtained mixture is then delivered by the same water-jet outlet into the bath-tub. Each water-jet outlet is interconnected to both the pipes of the water-carrying circuit and the pipes of the pneumatic circuit via branch pipes, i. e. pipe fittings that are well-known to the art and firmly joined to the water-jet outlet itself.

This kind of construction, however, has a number of drawbacks, which are essentially due to the presence of the two above-mentioned circuits, i. e. the water-carrying circuit and the air-carrying one, requiring the use of a multiplicity of individual pipe lengths, including also curved pipe sections and special pipe fittings for connection with the water-jet outlets.

In addition, in order to ensure fluid-tight sealing of all connections with both the supply pipes and the water-jet outlets, the need arises for use to be made of chemical substances, such as adhesives, silicone sealants and the like, which may prove detrimental to both the health and the environment, further to compelling the manufacturer to make the various component parts to be assembled of materials that are compatible with the above-cited chemical compounds. Therefore, completing these circuits involves quite complex and expensive an operation. Moreover, the resulting piping network and the adequately sized and rated electric pump (approx. 1,000 W) needed turn out to be rather bulky and cumbersome, thereby creating problems in connection with a proper accommodation and installation thereof within the outer casing and on the base of the bath-tub.

It therefore is a main object of the present invention to provide a new kind of water-jet outlet for whirlpool-type bathing apparatuses, which is effective in eliminating the afore-mentioned drawbacks of prior-art solutions, in particularly by doing away with the use of the water-carrying and air-carrying circuits.

Within the above general object, it is a purpose of the present invention to sensibly reduce both the energy usage, and the related costs, in connection with the operation of the whirlpool-type bathing apparatus.

Another purpose of the present invention is to enable a whirlpool-type bathing apparatus to be used in a more rational manner by providing the possibility for the various water-jet outlets thereof to be operated

selectively in accordance with the actual needs or preferences of the user.

Still another purpose of the present invention is to enable both the part count and the time needed to set-up, assemble and install the whirlpool- type bathing apparatus to be significantly reduced, in particular by providing the possibility for the water-jet outlets to be assembled, i. e. installed, and disassembled, i. e. removed, from the interior of the bath- tub, without any need arising for the bath-tub itself to be first removed, for maintenance or servicing purposes, in order to be able to intervene on water-jet outlets that are fitted on those sides of the bath-tub which are installed against or close to brickwork walls.

A further purpose of the present invention yet is to significantly reduce the operating noise of the whirlpool-type bathing apparatus, which is specifically due to the vibrations generated by the pump and transmitted on to the floor via the piping system and the framework supporting the bath-tub.

Features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the description of a particular, although not sole embodiment that is given below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a schematic axial cross-sectional view of a water-jet outlet according to the present invention; - Figure 2 is a perspective exploded view of the water-jet outlet shown in Figure 1; and - Figure 3 is a perspective exploded view of the water-jet outlet shown in the preceding Figures, as it is being disassembled from the bath-tub.

With particular reference to Figure 1, a water-jet outlet according to the present invention comprises a body 1, which is adapted to be installed, in a fluid-tight manner, in an aperture provided in the wall 2 of a whirlpool- type bath-tub or similar apparatus. The body 1 is provided with a seat 3, in which there is accommodated a nozzle 4 that can be swivelled manually to let a jet of air and water under pressure into the bath-tub through the water-jet outlet. The nozzle 4 has preferably a spherical shape and is held in position within the seat 3 by a ring nut 5 under interposition of an annular sealing gasket 6.

Fitting the water-jet outlet on to the wall of the bath-tub is carried out with the aid of a threaded lockring 7 capable of being screwed in from the interior of the bath-tub into the threaded aperture of the body 1, thereby tightly fitting the latter against the wall 2 of the bath-tub via a sealing gasket 8, which is provided therebetween to prevent liquid from leaking therethrough, and a matching split-ring 9, which is located on the outside of the bath-tub.

According to the present invention, the water-jet outlet is directly associated to an electric pump 10 comprising an impeller 11 that is rotatably driven by an electric motor 12 provided coaxially with the shaft of the same impeller. The body 1 of the water-jet outlet and the chamber 13 of the pump are made integrally with each other, i. e. as a single-piece construction, preferably as a single plastic moulding. In this way, the possibility is given for both circuits, i. e. the air-carrying circuit and the water-carrying circuit, of prior-art whirlpool bathing apparatuses to be suppressed, along with the large-size pump usually needed to supply all of the water-jet outlets provided in such whirlpool bathing apparatuses.

Thus, the water-jet outlet according to the present invention is fully autonomous, while the mixed air and water flow is brought about with the help of a small electric pump, thereby enabling a significant overall energy

saving to be obtained in the operation of the whirlpool bathing apparatus.

Furthermore, owing to the very fact that each water-jet outlet of the whirlpool bathing apparatus is autonomous, the various water-jet outlets can be operated selectively, as most appropriately selected in accordance to the actual requirements of the user through corresponding control means arranged on a wall-mounted panel or on the rim of the bath-tub itself, or even via a remote control.

The chamber 13 housing the impeller 11 of the pump is coaxial with the nozzle 4 of the water-jet outlet, whereas the axis of the impeller is orthogonal to the axis of the nozzle.

The single-piece body of the water-jet outlet and the pump is provided with a conduit 14 for taking in the water from the interior of the bath-tub, whose axis is parallel to the axis of the nozzle 4, as well as a conduit 15 for taking in air from the surrounding ambient, whose axis is orthogonal to the axis of the nozzle.

This kind of construction enables a maximum extent of reduction to be obtained as far as the overall dimensions of the water-jet outlet assembly are concerned; it further enables the best possible efficiency to be ensured as far as the recirculation of the air and water mixture in the bath-tub is concerned, as this is indicated by the arrows in Figure 1.

A further major feature of the pump-equipped water-jet outlet according to the present invention lies in the fact that, as illustrated in Figure 2, the corresponding counter-ring 9 is provided with a substantially radial open slit 16 which, owing to its being flexible, enables the same ring to be taken out from the interior of the bath-tub by just rotating it. As a result, in the case that maintenance work has to be carried out on water- jet outlet assembly situated on a wall of the bath-tub adjacent to a wall of

the bathroom or the same water-jet outlet assembly has to be replaced, the pump-equipped water-jet outlet assembly itself can be both assembled and disassembled from the interior of the bath-tub, without any need arising for the latter to be first removed. In fact, upon the threaded locking ring 7 having been unscrewed, the sealing gasket 8 removed, and the counter-ring 9 taken out by flexibly bending and rotating it, the pump- equipped water-jet outlet can be caused to pass through the aperture in the wall of the bath-tub 2 by rotating it orthogonally (Figure 3), owing to its not being connected to any water and air supply pipe, but solely to power supply cables of an adequate length.

A further feature of the water-jet outlet according to the present invention is represented by the fact that the ring nut 5, which holds the nozzle 4 in due position in its seat in the water-jet outlet, is appropriately shaped on its side facing the pump, so as to form a seat to accommodate a filter 17. This filter 17 serves the purpose of preventing foreign matters or bodies from flowing through, which might dangerously enter the intake conduit 14; it is preferably constituted by a ring of a filamentous plastic material enabling water to flow therethrough. A very simple, effective safety provision is in this way implemented, which makes the water-jet outlet capable of complying with the applicable requirements and performing in accordance with the existing standard regulations.