Patent Application
20250222366
The present invention has no foreign or domestic priority claim.
The present invention is in the field of inflatable play structures.
Current inflatable play structures have an electric fan that maintains inflation of the inflatable play structures. The inflatable play structures are temporary and often set up for children's events such as birthday parties and neighborhood parties. A variety of different references in the patent picture describe various inflatable play structures.
For example, in Lau U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,762, issued Oct. 31, 2006, entitled Inflatable Product with Stowable Pump, the inventor describes, “An inflatable product has a socket disposed in a wall of an inflatable body and extending into an interior of the inflatable body. A pump is slidably disposed in the socket, and is slidable from a retracted position to an extended position. The retracted position defines an insertion limit of the pump into the socket, and the extended position defines a withdrawal limit of the pump from the socket. The pump is operable to inflate the inflatable body when in the extended position. The pump includes a power source connected to a fan, operable to inflate the inflatable body. The pump includes a switch operable to activate the fan when in a closed position. The switch is in an the closed position when the pump is in the extended position, and in an open position when the pump is in the retracted position. The pump includes an air intake in fluid communication with ambient air when the pump is in the extended position, and the air intake is sealed from the ambient air when the pump is in the retracted position. The socket includes an outlet in fluid communication with an interior of the inflatable body, and, when the pump is in the extended position, the socket and the pump define a sealed conduit fluidly connecting an outlet of the pump to the outlet of the socket to inflate the body indirectly via the sealed conduit. The socket has an opening through which the pump extends and the opening is substantially sealed by the pump. The pump seals the outlet of the socket when the pump is in the retracted position. Detent projections and recesses releasably maintain the pump in the extended position. A battery is removable when the pump is in the extended position”.
For example, in Amberg US Patent 2009/0124402 A1, issued May 14, 2009, entitled Inflatable Play Structure with Integrated Air Source, the inventor describes, “An inflatable structure having an integral air pump positioned within a housing at or near an edge of the structure. The housing is generally formed of the same material as the play structure. An orifice within the housing operably connects the air pump to the air chambers of the inflatable device. A flexible hose may be used to connect the air pump to the orifice. An access hatch is provided to facilitate air exchange and allow the air pump to be viewed during operation. This configuration increases safety because it eliminates the likelihood that users, generally children, will touch or come into contact with an externally positioned air pump during use”.
For example, in Thompson US Patent 2015/0148141 A1, issued May 28, 2015, entitled Inflatable Play Structure with Integrated Inflation Mechanism, the inventor describes, “Embodiments of inflatable play structures are presented. In an embodiment, the inflatable play structure includes an air pump integrated with the inflatable play structure and configured to inflate the inflatable play structure to a pressure level, and to seal air at the pressure level into the inflatable play structure”.
For example, in Lindstrom US Patent 2016/0310860 A1, issued Oct. 27, 2016, entitled Inflatable Play Structure, the inventor describes, “An inflatable structure having an integral air pump positioned within a housing at or near an edge of the structure. The housing is generally formed of the same material as the play structure. An orifice within the housing operably connects the air pump to the air chambers of the inflatable device. A flexible hose may be used to connect the air pump to the orifice. An access hatch is provided to facilitate air exchange and allow the air pump to be viewed during operation. This configuration increases safety because it eliminates the likelihood that users, generally children, will touch or come into contact with an externally positioned air pump during use”.
An inflatable device has an inflatable structure. The inflatable structure has an inflated mode and a deflated mode. The inflatable structure has an inflatable base. The inflation module is connected to the inflatable structure. The inflation module has a fan blower powered by a fan motor. The inflation module further includes an air intake. The fan blower draws air from the air intake and inflates the inflatable structure. The inflation module forms a storage housing. The storage housing receives the inflatable structure when the inflatable structure is in a deflated mode.
Optionally, the inflatable carrier's fan blower is mounted at the air intake. The connection straps are mounted on the storage housing and are configured to connect the storage housing to the inflatable base. The inflatable carrier has an attached mode, where the inflation module attaches to the inflatable structure at the inflatable base. An air inlet conduit receives airflow from the fan blower which is configured to inflate the air inlet conduit. The air inlet conduit is inflatable. The inflation module has a detached mode. The inflation module detaches from the inflatable structure, only being connected at a conduit. The inflatable structure can be removed from the inflation module. The connection straps are configured to close the storage housing and retain the inflatable structure within the storage housing. The air collector is formed around the fan blower. The air collector is configured to muffle the sound of the fan motor.
The following call out list of elements can be a useful guide in referencing the element numbers of the drawings.
As shown in
An inflation module 30 can be mounted to the inflatable base 21 in an attached mode where straps 29 can strap connect the inflation module 30 to the inflatable base 21. The inflation module 30 is electrically powered such as by household electric current. The inflation module 30 has a fan blower 32 mounted in an inflation module housing 31. The inflation module housing 31 can be flexible and have a soft padded outside surface such as a foam or inflatable outside surface.
As shown in
The inflation module 30 can connect to the storage housing 28 at the storage housing connector 37 formed on the inflation module 30 such that the storage housing connector 37 rigidly secures the storage housing 28 to the inflation module 30. Airflow can pass through an air inlet conduit 35. The air inlet conduit 35 receives air from an air inlet collector 36. The air inlet collector 36 is preferably acoustically treated for muffling the fan sound such as being padded or lined with a thin layer of soft foam. The inflation module 30 has an air intake 33 that receives air through a fan motor 34 powering a fan blower 32. The fan blower 32 passes air through the air inlet collector 36 and then to the inlet conduit 35. The fan blower 32 is mounted in the inflation module 30, and the storage housing 28 can also be mounted in the inflation module 30. Therefore, the entire package can be collected into a single luggage shaped container.
As shown in
The construction of the inflation module 30 with the storage proximal portion 43 is preferably as a luggage which can have hard or soft panels. The luggage configuration also preferably includes wheels 53 and pull handle 52.
As shown in
As shown in
