Toto Ltd.

Mituaki Hashida

Hisato Haraga

Takashi Obata

Koichi Uchiyama

Kenji Moriyama

Yasutoshi Inatomi

A whirlpool bath with an inverter-controlled circulating pump comprises a bathtub body, a circulating pump driven by a power-operated motor, a hot water circulation path disposed between the bathtub body and the circulating pump, the hot water circulation path comprising a hot water suction path and a hot water forced-feed path, the hot water forced-feed path having at least one terminal end which communicates with the interior of the bathtub body, at least one blow-off nozzle which is mounted on the terminal end of the hot water forced-feed path, an air intake portion connected to the hot water forced-feed path to permit blowing of bubbling hot water into the bathtub body from the blow-off nozzles, an inverter interposed between a drive circuit of the power-operated motor of the circulating pump and a power source and an electrical insulation means protecting the transfer of high frequency components of inverter-produced current to the hot water in the bathtub body. Due to such construction, the circulating pump can be controlled such that the revolution of the motor is readily and smoothly varied by way of a frequency modulation influenced by the inverter to provide the blow-off of hot water in various modes which are different in the blow-off amount and pressure of the blow-off hot water, while assuring a maximum degree of safety of a bather.

Whirlpool bath with an inverter-controlled circulating pump

A blow-off nozzle structure capable of automatically varying the blow-off volume of water comprises a tubular nozzle casing defining a blow-off flow forming passage therein, the passage forming a blow-off opening at a front end thereof and a hot water inlet opening at a rear end thereof, a valve seat formed in the midst of the blow-off flow forming passage, a valve element capable of being extended to or retracted from said valve seat so as to adjust the degree of opening of said valve seat, an air mixing portion defined in the blow-off flow forming passage and disposed at a position in front of the valve seat, the air mixing portion communicated with an air intake portion which has one end opened to atmosphere, and an automatic valve-element reciprocating means capable of moving said valve element toward or away from said valve seat. Due to such construction, air-mixed water containing a sufficient amount of air can be blown off from the blow-off opening of the tubular nozzle casing and the volume of the blow-off air-mixed water can be finely and continuously regulated by the control unit corresponding to the degree of opening of said valve seat. The blow-off nozzle structure is especially applicable to a whirlpool bath which gives a remarkable massaging effect to a bather.

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Chigasaki, Japan

Mituaki Hashida