Hydrotherapy bath assembly

Claim 1

In a portable hydrotherapy bath assembly wherein the bath assembly includes: an overhead support housing; a motor housing which has a motor positioned therein and which is connected with one end of the overhead support housing; a pump housing which has a pump drive shaft supported therein for rotation about its longitudinal axis and which is connected, at its one, upper end, with the other end of the overhead support housing so that the overhead support housing, the motor housing and the pump housing have a generally inverted U-shape and so that the overhead support housing may rest on the upper edge of a bath tub, with the motor housing being disposed without the bath tub and with the other, lower end of the pump housing being immersed in water in the bath tub; wherein the overhead housing including means for connecting the upper end of the pump drive shaft with the motor so that the motor may cause rotation of the pump drive shaft; and wherein a pump impeller is connected with the lower end of the pump drive shaft; the improvement comprising: a unitary pump housing body including: a first, outer cylindrical wall having an upper end and a lower end; a second, inner cylindrical wall, which has an upper end and a lower end, which is concentric with and is spaced radially inwardly from the first outer cylindrical wall so as to define an annular chamber therebetween and which defines a central, cylindrical chamber that has the pump drive shaft disposed and supported therein for rotation; a pump chamber which is adjacent to the lower ends of the first and second cylindrical walls, which has the pump impeller disposed therein and which has a water inlet for permitting the ingress of water into the pump chamber and a water outlet for permitting the egress of water, under pressure, from the pump chamber; wall means extending between the lower ends of the first and second cylindrical walls for closing the lower end of the annular chamber and for isolating the annular chamber from the pump chamber; and an upright aerator tube positioned adjacent to the outer periphery of the first cylindrical wall and communicating with the water outlet; a base forming a part of the other end of the overhead support housing and including: a downwardly projecting, cylindrical support portion that receives and supports the upper end of the second cylindrical wall while permitting relative rotational movement therebetween; and a downwardly facing, circular groove that is concentric with the cylindrical support portion and receives the upper end of the first cylindrical wall while permitting relative rotational movement therebetween; means cooperating with the upper end of the second cylindrical wall and the cylindrical support portion for preventing relative, axial movement between the unitary pump housing body, and the cylindrical support portion; and detent means cooperating with the first cylindrical wall and the annular groove for maintaining the unitary pump housing body in a desired rotated position relative to the overhead support housing.