Hydrotherapy tank

Claim 1

In combination, a water container with a substantially horizontal bottom, sides extending substantially upwardly from the bottom and an open top, said container is of sufficient depth and plane area to accommodate and substantially buoyantly support a plurality of people when filled with water; and a hydrotherapeutic massage structure comprising an elongate vertical tank outward of and adjacent to a side of the container and having a substantially horizontal bottom, verical sides and an open top on a plane close to the plane of the open top of the container, an elongate vertical and laterally opening gate substantially coextensive with the vertical extent of the tank establishing communication between the container and the tank and through which one person in the container can move substantially freely into said tank in a substantially upright position, a volume of water in and filling the container, gate and tank to a filled water level near the open tops thereof, the depth of water in the tank is substantially equal to the mean shoulder height of persons for whom the tank is established for use, the sides of the tank extend at least 180° about the central vertical axis of the tank, the gate and the sides of the tank are spaced radially outward from the central vertical axis of the tank a distance greater than the mean radial extent and less than three times the mean radial extent of persons for whom the tank is established for use when such a person is standing substantially upright centrally in the tank, a plurality of nozzles mounted at the sides of the tank in circumferential, radial and vertical spaced relationship about and disposed substantially radially inwardly toward the central vertical axis of the tank, at least one nozzle is positioned in close proximity to and is angularly disposed away from said gate and water recirculating means moving water from the container and the tank and delivering water to the nozzles at high pressure.