This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 108109623, filed on Mar. 20, 2019.
The disclosure relates to an air pump, and more particularly to a manual air pump.
A manual miniature air pump is inconvenient for a user to operate due to its compact nature, as the user has to exert force with one hand to operate the air pumping mechanism of the air pump, while the other hand is used to keep the air pump stationary. A conventional manual air pump, such as the one disclosed in Chinese Patent No. 101737294, includes an inner tube that has a front end fixedly mounted to a mouthpiece, and an outer tube that is axially movable relative to the inner tube for pumping air.
A pumping cycle is performed when the outer tube is driven to move forwardly relative to the inner tube such that it thoroughly sleeves the inner tube while it pumps the air through the mouthpiece, and then outer tube is moved away from the inner tube so that it merely sleeves a rear end of the inner tube while it sucks air therein. However, in practice, as the user has to hold the inner tube in place with one hand, the hand would easily obstruct the path the outer tube travels during the pumping cycle. To avoid self-injury, the user tends to move the outer tube forwardly to only partially sleeve the inner tube, so as to avoid being hit by the outer tube. As a result, each iteration of the pumping cycle tends to be incomplete, thereby less effective.
In addition, the abovementioned conventional manual air pump only permits one high-pressure pumping mode, which is undesirable for pumping un-pumped subject that is more preferable to be pumped with air of low pressure and in high volume.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide an air pump that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
According to the disclosure, the air pump includes a mouthpiece, an adjustment mechanism fixedly mounted to the mouthpiece, and an air cylinder mechanism. The adjustment mechanism is operable to switch between a singular pumping state and a dual pumping state. The air cylinder mechanism includes a connecting tube, a small-diameter cylinder, a large-diameter cylinder, an end plug, a unidirectional intake plug, a piston, a unidirectional communication plug, and a rear check valve set.
The connecting tube extends axially in a front-rear direction and has a front end that is fixedly connected to the adjustment mechanism and that is in fluid communication with the mouthpiece. The small-diameter cylinder extends axially and sleeves around the connecting tube. The large-diameter cylinder extends axially, sleeves around the small-diameter cylinder and has a front end that is fixedly connected to the adjustment mechanism. The end plug seals a rear end of the small-diameter cylinder. The intake plug is fixedly mounted to a rear end of the large-diameter cylinder and sleevedly abuts against an outer surrounding surface of the small-diameter cylinder. The piston is fixedly mounted to a front end of the small-diameter cylinder and airtightly abuts against an inner surrounding surface of the large-diameter cylinder and an outer surrounding surface of the connecting tube. The communication plug is fixedly mounted to a rear end of the connecting tube, is fluidly communicated to the connecting tube, and abuts against an inner surrounding surface of the small-diameter cylinder. The rear check valve set is mounted between the connecting tube and the communication plug.
The piston and the adjustment mechanism cooperatively define a first space therebetween, the piston and the intake plug cooperatively define a second space therebetween, the communication plug and the piston cooperatively define a third space therebetween that is in fluid communication with the second space, and the communication plug and the end plug cooperatively define a fourth space therebetween.
When the small-diameter cylinder is moved away from the adjustment mechanism, air from external environment is sucked into the first space via the adjustment mechanism, and air in the second space and the third space is pushed to flow into the fourth space via the communication plug. When the small-diameter cylinder is moved toward the adjustment mechanism, the intake plug and the rear check valve set are open, such that the air from the external environment is sucked into the second space via the intake plug, and air in the fourth space is injected into the mouthpiece sequentially via the rear check valve set and the connecting tube.
When the adjustment mechanism is in the singular pumping state, air in the first space is released to the external environment during the movement of the small-diameter cylinder toward the adjustment mechanism. When the adjustment mechanism is in the dual pumping state, air in the first space is injected into the mouthpiece during the movement of the small-diameter cylinder toward the adjustment mechanism.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
Referring to
Referring to
The piston 56 and the adjustment mechanism 4 cooperatively define a first space 501 therebetween, the piston 56 and the intake plug 57 cooperatively define a second space 502, the communication plug 58 and the piston 56 cooperatively define a third space 503 therebetween, and the communication plug 58 and the end plug 54 cooperatively define a fourth space 504 therebetween. The small-diameter cylinder 52 is formed with a through hole 520 that extends radially therethrough and that fluidly communicates the second space 502 to the third space 503.
Referring to
Referring specifically to
The communication plug 58 includes a plug body 581 that is fixedly mounted to the rear end of the connecting tube 53 and that has an axial hole 582 axially and fluidly communicating the connecting tube 53 and the fourth space 504 of the air cylinder mechanism 5, and a piston gasket 585 that is axially movable, that sleeves around the plug body 581 and that airtightly abuts against the inner surrounding surface of the small-diameter cylinder 52. The plug body 581 has an outer annular groove 583 (see
Referring specifically to
The rear check valve set 59 has an annular valve seat 591 that fluidly communicates the connecting tube 53 to the axial hole 582, and a check valve member 592 that is mounted to the valve seat 591 and that is permitted to be driven by air pressure of the fourth space 504 to openably seal free flow between the connecting tube 53 and the fourth space 504 via the axial hole 582.
Referring to
The first and second pumping holes 41, 42 are permitted for guiding air from the air cylinder mechanism 5 into the mouthpiece 3. The second pumping hole 42 has a small-diameter pumping section 421 that extends axially and that is fluidly communicated to the first space 501, and a large-diameter pumping section 422 that fluidly communicates the small-diameter pumping section 421 to the mouthpiece 3 and that has a diameter larger than that of the small-diameter pumping section 421. The exhaust hole 43 has a connecting section 431 that extends axially and that is fluidly communicated to the first space 501, a small-diameter exhaust section 432 that extends radially and that is fluidly communicated to the connecting section 431, and a large-diameter exhaust section 433 that is coaxial with the small-diameter exhaust section 432 and that fluidly communicates the small-diameter exhaust section 432 to the external environment and that has a diameter larger than that of the small-diameter exhaust section 432. The intake hole 44 has an outer connecting section 442 that is fluidly communicated to the external environment, and an inner connecting section 441 that extends axially and fluidly communicates the outer connecting section 442 to the first space 501 and that has a diameter larger than that of the outer connecting section 442.
The front check valve set 45 of the adjustment mechanism 4 is permitted to be driven by air pressure of the first space 501 to openably and unidirectionally seal the second pumping hole 42, and includes a check valve body 451 that is mounted in the large-diameter pumping section 422 of the second pumping hole 42 and that is inserted into the small-diameter pumping section 421 of the second pumping hole 42, a valve gasket 452 that sleeves around the check valve body 451, and a resilient member 453 that is mounted to the large-diameter pumping section 422 and that resiliently biases the check valve body 451 toward the small-diameter pumping section 421 to cooperate with the valve gasket 452 for sealing the small-diameter pumping section 421.
The air exhaust switch 46 of the adjustment mechanism 4 is operable to openably seal the exhaust hole 43, and has a sealing member 461 that is mounted in the large-diameter exhaust section 433 of the exhaust hole 43 and that is permitted to seal opening of the small-diameter exhaust section 432 of the exhaust hole 43 to the external environment, and an adjustment member 462 that is mounted to the adjustment seat 40. The adjustment member 462 has an annular portion 463 that is operable to rotatably sleeve around the adjustment seat 40 and to cover the exhaust hole 43, and an abutting portion 464 that protrudes radially from an inner surface of the annular portion 463 and that is driven by the annular portion 463 to removably and radially push the sealing member 461. The adjustment member 462 is operable to rotate relative to the adjustment seat 40 between a sealed position (as shown in
To switch the adjustment mechanism 4 to the dual pumping state, the adjustment member 462 is rotated into the sealed position (see
To switch the adjustment mechanism. 4 to the singular pumping state, the adjustment member 462 is rotated into the open position (see
The intake valve set 47 includes a valve member 471 that is movably mounted in the inner connecting section 441 of the intake hole 44, and a blocking member 472 that communicates the inner connecting section 441 to the first space 501, that is mounted to the adjustment seat 40, and that retains position of the valve member 471 relative to the inner connecting section 441. The valve member 471 is permitted to be driven by the air pressure of the first space 501 to seal the outer connecting section 442 of the intake hole 44, and is permitted to be driven by negative pressure of the first space 501 to unseal the intake hole 44 to fluidly communicate the external environment with the first space 501.
During the use of the air pump 200, after the mouthpiece 3 is mounted to an inflatable object (not shown), a user is permitted to operate the adjustment member 462 of the air exhaust switch 46 to switch the adjustment mechanism 4 between the singular pumping state and the dual pumping state. Then, after the user holds onto a front end portion of the large-diameter cylinder 51 of the air cylinder mechanism 5 with one hand and the handle tube 55 of the air cylinder mechanism 5 with the other hand, the user is able to perform pumping process of the air pump 200 by cyclically pulling and pushing the handle tube 55 relative to the large-diameter cylinder 51 in the front-rear direction.
Referring back to
During this time (i.e., during the pulling process), if the air pressure in the fourth space 504 is smaller than that of the connecting tube 53, the rear check valve set 59 would be sealed, permitting the air pressure in the fourth space 504 to build up. Conversely, if the air pressure in the fourth space 504 is higher than that of the connecting tube 53, the rear check valve set 59 would be driven by the air pressure of the fourth space 504 to open, such that the air in the fourth space 504 is guided by the connecting tube 53 to be fluidly communicated to the mouthpiece 3 for pumping the inflatable object.
When the piston 56 is restrained from moving rearwardly alongside the small-diameter cylinder 52 any further by the intake plug 57, the air pump 200 is at its maximum extended state. Then, the small-diameter cylinder 52 is pushed alongside the handle tube 55 forwardly relative to the large-diameter 51 to return to its original position, where the piston 56 is in contact with the adjustment mechanism 4 (see
Referring back to
Referring to
Overall, by utilizing the singular and dual pumping states of the adjustment mechanism 4, the air pump 200 is operable to pump the air into the inflatable object with different intensity. Specifically, in the dual pumping state, the adjustment mechanism 4 permits the air in both the first space 501 and the fourth space 504 to be simultaneously injected into the inflatable object, which is desirable when the inflatable object is in a low pressure state, such that a large amount of air may be swiftly injected thereto before air pressure in the inflatable object begins to build up to resist the supplied air from the air pump 200. Once the air pressure in the inflatable object reaches above a predetermined pressure state such that it becomes difficult for the small-diameter cylinder 52 to perform the air pumping process, the adjustment mechanism. 4 may be switched to the singular pumping state so that only the air in the fourth space 504 is to be injected into the inflatable object, while the air in the first space 501 is fluidly communicated with the external environment instead and not injected into the inflatable object just to be resisted by the air pressure therefrom. Although less air is being pumped into the inflatable object in the singular pumping state, the air pump 200 is less labor-intensive during this state.
In addition, the design of the adjustment mechanism 4 and the air cylinder mechanism 5 ensures that the user would not injure oneself, as the handle tube 55 is retained in movement in such a way that the hand holding onto either the adjustment mechanism 4 or the large-diameter cylinder 51 would not be in contact therewith during the cyclic air pumping process, and that the small-diameter cylinder 52 would be able to be pushed thoroughly relative to the large-diameter cylinder 51 for maximum pumping efficiency.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered the exemplary embodiment, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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108109623 | Mar 2019 | TW | national |
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Entry |
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Search Report appended to an Office Action, which was issued to Taiwanese counterpart application No. 108109623 by the TIPO dated Jul. 2, 2020, with an English translation thereof. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20200300233 A1 | Sep 2020 | US |