This application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 103129141, filed on Aug. 25, 2014, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a gas communication device and more particularly to a device applicable to gas supply and gas discharge of an air mattress.
Devices to be inflated such as medical grade air mattresses are useful for bedridden patients to relieve local stress concentration caused by lying and prevent bedsores. Air mattresses can be inflated when in use, and gas therein can be released in emergency conditions or when the mattresses are not in use to facilitate patient rescue or mattress storage.
Conventional inflation/deflation apparatuses for a device to be inflated such as air mattress generally comprise a gas supplier and a gas communication device. The gas supplier comprises an air pump allowing inflation/deflation mode setting, and the gas communication device is connected between the air mattress and the gas supplier to establish gas communication between the gas supplier and the mattress main body, so as to perform inflation or deflation of the device to be inflated.
In order to rapidly deflate the air mattress in emergency conditions, some conventional gas communication devices are configured with a gas discharge hole communicated with the gas discharge pipeline. The gas discharge hole is usually blocked and sealed by a plug or a sealing switch member. After a user remove the plug or switch on the sealing switch member, the gas discharge pipeline is opened to allow removal of gas in the air mattress from the gas discharge hole. However, because most gas communication devices are arranged adjacent to the air mattress for convenient operation, once the patient unintentionally actuates the plug on the gas discharge hole or the sealing switch member, the plug might be removed or the sealing switch member might be switched on, which undesirably results in the deflation of the air mattress and affects the lying comfort of the patient or even threatens his/her personal safety. Therefore, improvements are needed for the sealing configuration of gas discharge holes of conventional gas communication devices.
An objective of this invention is to provide a gas communication device useful for inflation and deflation of an air mattress, which can effectively maintain the seal of the gas outlet and allow convenient sealing and unsealing of the gas outlet to switch between inflation and deflation states.
To achieve the aforesaid objective, the gas communication device of this invention comprises a main body, at least one gas delivery pipe and a cover. The gas delivery pipe is at least partially disposed in the main body and forms a gas outlet at one end; the cover is movably pivoted to the main body and comprises at least one sealing structure for correspondingly sealing the gas outlet, wherein the cover is movable along an axis relative to the main body and away from the gas outlet so as to break the seal of the sealing structure on the gas outlet and make the cover rotatable relative to the main body to expose the gas outlet.
In one embodiment, the gas communication device further comprises at least one locking module for limiting the cover from moving or rotating relative to the main body.
Also disclosed herein is an inflation and deflation apparatus comprising a gas communication device and a gas supplier, wherein the gas communication device comprises a main body; at least one gas delivery pipe at least partially disposed in the main body and forming a gas outlet at one end; a cover movably pivoted to the main body, the cover comprising at least one sealing structure for correspondingly sealing the gas outlet and being movable along an axis relative to the main body and away from the gas outlet so as to break the seal of the sealing structure on the gas outlet such that the cover is rotatable relative to the main body to expose the gas outlet; and an engagement structure connected with the gas supplier; and wherein the gas communication device is separable from the gas supplier when the gas communication device is disengaged sequentially from two ends.
The gas communication device may be configured as a removable or separable structure to be rapidly connected with the gas supplier or removed or separated from the gas supplier. For example, the gas communication device has two holes formed respectively on the upper and lower portions engaged with two corresponding connection structures of the gas supplier configured as two hooks. To remove the gas communication device from the gas supplier, users may press the button on the gas communication device to disengage the upper portion and then disengage the lower portion subsequently.
A more complete understanding of the subject matter can be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in conjunction with the following figures, wherein like reference numbers refer to similar elements throughout the figures.
Since various aspects and embodiments are merely exemplary and not limiting, after reading this specification, skilled artisans appreciate that other aspects and embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Other features and benefits of any one or more of the embodiments will be apparent from the following detailed description and the claims.
The use of “a” or “an” is employed to describe elements and components described herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the scope of the invention. Accordingly, this description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.
Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a component, structure, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such component, structure, article, or apparatus.
As used herein, the terms “gas” and “air” are used interchangeably to refer to air or any other gas or gaseous elements useful for inflating an air mattress.
Refer concurrently to
The gas delivery pipe 20 is at least partially disposed in the main body 10 and may be communicated with a device to be inflated and a gas supplier (not shown) to form gas communication therebetween. Each gas delivery pipe 20 may be a single linear pipe or a branched pipe. In this embodiment, the gas delivery pipe 20 has one end forming a gas outlet 21 exposed from the outer surface 11, and the gas delivery pipe 20 is elongated along an axis O as the central axis passing through the gas outlet 21.
The cover 30 is movably pivoted to the main body 10. In other words, in this embodiment, the cover 30 is connected with the main body 10 and is slidable and rotatable relative to the main body 10. The cover 30 comprises at least one sealing structure 31, a top portion 33 and two symmetrical side portions 34 connected with the top portion 33. Each sealing structure 31 is arranged on the inner side of the top portion 33, such that each sealing structure 31 may correspondingly seal each gas outlet 21.
In this embodiment, the cover 30 further comprises two sliding slots 32 respectively arranged at the side portions 33, such that each side portion 33 is provided with a sliding slot 32; the main body 10 further comprises two pivoting members 12 symmetrically formed on the outer surface 11, and each pivoting member 12 is corresponded to each sliding slot 32. When the cover 30 is assembled with the main body 10, each pivoting member 12 is located in each sliding slot 32, such that the cover 30 may slide relative to the main body 10 through the coordination of the sliding slots 32 and the pivoting members 12. In addition, in this embodiment, the gas communication device 1 further comprises two auxiliary securing members 13. Each auxiliary securing member 13 may be connected with each pivoting member 12 correspondingly after the cover 30 is assembled with the main body 10, such that each side portion 34 is arranged between each auxiliary securing member 13 and the main body 10, thereby preventing the separation of the cover 30 from the main body 10.
In this embodiment, each sliding slot 32 is configured as a dumbbell-like slot with two ends wider than the middle portion, such that when the cover 30 slides to locate each pivoting member 12 to one end of each sliding slot 32, the pivoting member 12 can be prevented from being unintentionally moved to the other end to provide temporarily positioning. In other embodiments, each sliding slot 32 may also be configured as a linear slot or other shapes.
It should be noted that the pivoting members 12 of the main body 10 and the corresponding sliding slots 32 of the cover 30 may be configured interchangeably; in other words, according to different needs, two pivoting members may be arranged on the cover 30, and two corresponding sliding slots may be arranged on the main body 10, thereby enabling the cover 30 to slide relative to the main body 10 in a similar way; moreover, a different structural assembly with similar function can be used to replace the pivoting members 12 and the sliding slots 32.
In this invention, the cover 30 further comprises at least one airtight member 35 correspondingly sleeved on the sealing structure 31 to enhance the airtightness of the seal formed by the sealing structure 31 on the gas outlet 21. The airtight member 35 may be an elastic ring member made by such as rubber or foam or other materials with better sealing capability, but this invention is not limited thereto.
In addition, in one embodiment, the gas communication device 1 further comprises at least one stop member 14 protrudingly arranged on the outer surface 11 of the main body 10 to limit the rotation direction of the cover 30 relative to the main body 10.
As illustrated in
Refer concurrently to
After that, because the sealing structure 31 of the cover 30 no longer restrains the cover 30 from moving at a direction perpendicular to the axis O, the user may now rotate the cover 30 relative to the main body 10 to expose the gas outlet 21 of the gas delivery pipe 20. Since at least one stop member 14 is arranged, the rotation direction of the cover 30 relative to the main body 10 is limited; therefore, in this embodiment, the cover 30 can only rotate downwardly in the direction indicated by the arrow in
Accordingly, the gas communication device 1 employs the cover 30 which may be opened in two stages, such that the user has to linearly slide the cover 30 relative to the main body 10 and then rotate the cover 30 relative to the main body 10 to expose the gas outlet 21, thereby providing an operational mechanism for preventing the user from unintentionally actuating the gas outlet 21 and breaking the seal, so as to increase the safety in use.
Refer to
In this embodiment, each locking module 40 comprises a press member 41 and an elastic member 42; the press member 41 is at least partially protruded from the outer surface 11 of the main body 10a and is capable of performing linear movement relative to the main body 10a; the elastic member 42 has two ends abutted against the press member 41 and the main body 10a respectively to provide elastic resilience to the press member 41 after its movement relative to the main body 10a. Corresponding to the arrangement of the locking modules 40, the cover 30a further comprises at least one locking hole 36 to be passed through by each press member 41.
When the cover 30a is combined with the main body 10a, each pivoting member 12 is arranged in each sliding slot 32, such that the cover 30a may slide relative to the main body 10a through the coordination of the sliding slots 32 and the pivoting members 12. Similarly, each auxiliary securing member 13 is connected with each pivoting member 12 correspondingly after the cover 30a is assembled with the main body 10a, such that each side portion 34 is arranged between each auxiliary securing member 13 and the main body 10a. Unlike the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, when the cover 30a is combined with the main body 10a, each press member 41 may pass through the locking hole 36 of the cover 30a so as to form another restraint limiting the movement of the cover 30a. Therefore, the use of locking modules 40 may provide locking to the cover 30a of the gas communication device 1a before it is opened.
Refer to
Next, when the cover 30a is no longer locked by the locking modules 40, the user may, as described in the first embodiment, slide the cover 30a in the direction away from the main body 10a, such as the direction indicated by the arrow in
Afterward, the user may rotate the cover 30a relative to the main body 10a so as to expose the gas outlet 21 of the gas delivery pipe 20. During the rotation, the at least one stop member 14 may similarly limit the rotation direction of the cover 30a relative to the main body 10a, such that the cover 30a may only be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in
Therefore, the gas communication device 1a in this embodiment provides three operational stages for opening the cover 30a, by which the user has to first unlock the locking modules 40 from the cover 30a, then slide the cover 30a linearly relative to the main body 10a and then rotate the cover 30a relative to the main body 10a to expose the gas outlet 21. The aforesaid configuration may ensure safety in use and prevent unintentional actuation of the cover 30a.
Refer to
In this embodiment, each locking module 50 comprises a locking member 51 pivotally connected with the cover 30b to rotate and swing like a lever relative to the cover 30b. Each locking member 51 comprises a pivoting part 511, a manipulation part 512 and a hooking part 513; the manipulation part 512 and the hooking part 513 are respectively arranged at two ends of the locking member 51, and the pivoting part 511 is configured between the manipulation part 512 and the hooking part 513. Therefore, when the locking member 51 is pivotally connected to the cover 30b with the pivoting part 511, the locking member 51 may rotate and swing relative to the cover 30b using the pivoting part 511 as the fulcrum. The cover 30b further comprises at least one holding part 37 arranged at the side portion 34 of the cover 30b for correspondingly holding the pivoting part 511 of the locking member 51. In this embodiment, the holding part 37 is configured as a C-shaped engagement member for holding and securing the cylindrical pivoting part 511, but the holding part 37 may also be configured as other structures and shapes.
In this embodiment, each locking module 50 further comprises a spring 52, and the manipulation part 512 comprises a column 5121, such that the spring 52 is sleeved on the column 5121 with its two ends respectively abutted against the manipulation part 512 and the cover 30b to provide elastic resilience to and reposition the manipulation part 512 after it has rotated and swung relative to the cover 30b. The cover 30b further comprises at least one first hole 38 on each side portion 34 corresponding to the position of the column 5121, such that when the user rotate and swing the manipulation part 512 toward the side portion 34 of the cover 30b, the column 5121 may pass through the first hole 38.
The cover 30b further comprises at least one second hole 39 on each side portion 34 of the cover 30b corresponding to the position of the hooking part 513 and passed through by the hooking part 513. The main body 10b further comprises at least one notch 15 arranged on the outer surface 11 of the main body 10b and corresponding to the position of each hooking part 513, such that the hooking part 513 of the locking member 51 may pass through the cover 30b and into the corresponding notch 15.
In addition, in this embodiment, each locking module 50 further comprises a protective cover 53 connected with the cover 30b, such that the locking member 51 is secured between the protective cover 53 and the cover 30b. The protective cover 53 comprises an opening 531 arranged at one side corresponding to the manipulation part 512 of the locking member 51. Thus, after the protective cover 53 has been connected to the cover 30b, the manipulation part 512 is exposed by the opening 531 to enable convenient manipulation by the user. In addition, the protective cover 53 may further prevent unintentional actuation and unlocking of the locking member 51.
Each protective cover 53 further comprises an auxiliary holding part 532 arranged on one side of the protective cover 53 facing the locking member 51 to operate in coordination with the holding part 37 of the cover 30b for holding the pivoting part 511 of each locking member 51. In this embodiment, the auxiliary holding part 532 is configured as a curved notch corresponding to the C-shape engagement member of the holding part 37, such that the pivoting part 511 of each locking member 51 is secured between the holding part 37 and the auxiliary holding part 532. Generally, the auxiliary holding part 532 has a structure which is variable correspondingly to the structure of the holding part 37.
When the cover 30b is connected with the main body 10b, each pivoting member 12 is positioned in each sliding slot 32, such that the cover 30b may slide relative to the main body 10b through the coordination of the sliding slot 32 and the pivoting member 12; in addition, each auxiliary securing member 13 is connected with the corresponding pivoting member 12 after the cover 30b is connected with the main body 10b, such that each side portion 34 is secured between each auxiliary securing member 13 and the main body 10b.
Refer to
Refer concurrently to
Next, after each locking module 50 has been unlocked, similar to the first embodiment, the user may slide the cover 30b away from the main body 10b in the direction indicated by the arrow on the cover 30b shown in
Finally, the user rotates the cover 30b relative to the main body 10b to expose the gas outlet 21 of the gas delivery pipe 20. During the rotation, the at least one stop member 14 may similarly limit the rotation direction of the cover 30b relative to the main body 10b, such that the cover 30b may only be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in
Accordingly, the gas communication device 1b in this embodiment also provides three operational stages for opening the cover 30b, by which the user has to first unlock the locking modules 50, then slide the cover 30b linearly relative to the main body 10b to break the seal of the gas outlet 21 and then rotate the cover 30b relative to the main body 10b to expose the gas outlet 21. The aforesaid configuration may further ensure safety in use and greatly prevent unintentional actuation of the cover 30b.
The above detailed description is merely illustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the embodiments of the subject matter or the application and uses of such embodiments. Moreover, while at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary one or more embodiments described herein are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claimed subject matter in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient guide for implementing the described one or more embodiments. Also, various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope defined by the claims, which include known equivalents and foreseeable equivalents at the time of filing this patent application.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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103129141 | Aug 2014 | TW | national |