Patent Grant
11564479
This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage application of and which claims priority to PCT Application Ser. No. PCT/CN2017/106523, filed on Oct. 17, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present subject matter relates to inflatable beds, and more particularly, to a manually operable pump for filling inflatable beds with air.
Often times, inflatable consumer goods, such as pool toys, inflatable mattresses, etc., require that a consumer use lung-power to inflate the product. Alternatively, some inflatables are compatible with a pump. Suitable pumps may be separate from the inflatable or integrated therein. Regardless, pumps take up space, add weight, and require a power source, such as batteries and/or an electrical connection. A separate pump is stored with and/or transported with the inflatable for use therewith, while lung-powered inflatables often require the mouth of the user to be placed on the product. Pumps fill the inflatable quickly and with relative ease for the user, and lung-powered inflation may be slow and tiring for the consumer. A conveniently transportable inflation mechanism that is easily operated by the user represents an improvement in the art.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, an inflatable air mattress system comprises an inflatable air mattress defining an air chamber and including an inlet passageway, an inflation valve mounted to the inflatable air mattress, and a connector. The valve defines a passageway that includes a lip and a valve member. Further in accordance with this aspect, the valve member includes a seal movable between a closed position wherein the valve member is at least partially covering the lip. When in an open position, inflation air can pass through the passageway and into the air chamber of the mattress. Still further, the inflatable air mattress system includes an inflating bladder including an interior portion defined by at least one wall of flexible fabric having a first end and a second end. The first end includes a wide opening by a closing spring, while the second end includes an outlet adapted to connect to the connector. The inflating bladder is configurable to force a quantity of air from the interior of the inflating bladder, through the connector, and into the air mattress to inflate the mattress.
According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of inflation includes the steps of coupling a first end of an inflating bladder to an inflatable with a valve connector, opening the second end of the inflating bladder, closing the second end of the inflating bladder to capture air within the inflating bladder, and folding the second end of the inflating bladder towards the valve connector to force air through the valve connector and into the inflatable.
According to yet another aspect of the disclosure, an inflation system includes an inflatable having an interior air chamber and an inflating bladder with first and second ends. Further in accordance with this aspect, the first end of the inflating bladder is detachably coupled with the inflatable, and the second end has an opening for taking air into the inflating bladder. Still further, the system has a closing spring for capturing air within the inflating bladder such that movement of the second end of the inflating bladder towards the first end of the inflating bladder forces air from the inflating bladder into the inflatable.
Further according to aspects of the disclosure, an inflation system includes an inflatable with an air chamber inside same, and an inflation valve mounted to the inflatable. In accordance with this aspect, the valve defines a passageway through which air can pass into the air chamber of the air mattress, and an inflating bladder further includes an interior portion defined by at least one wall of flexible fabric having a first end and a second end. Still further, the inflating bladder has a wide opening at the first end thereof securable by a closing spring, while the second end of the inflating bladder includes an outlet having a connecting tube insertable through the inflation valve of the inflatable so as to open the passageway. Additionally, the inflating bladder is configurable to force a quantity of air from the interior of the inflating bladder, through the inflating bladder connecting tube, and into the air chamber of the inflatable.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the attached drawings wherein like numerals designate like structures throughout the specification.
In one or more implementations, not all of the depicted components in each figure may be required, and one or more implementations may include additional components not shown in a figure. Variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the scope of the subject disclosure. Additional components, different components, or fewer components may be utilized within the scope of the subject disclosure.
The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of various implementations and is not intended to represent the only implementations in which the subject technology may be practiced. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described implementations may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Example embodiments include threading disposed on the male portion 106 of the connector 118. Complementary threading may be disposed within the female connecting portion 108 such that the male portion 106 may be screwed into the female portion 108 couple the male and female portions 106, 108 of the connector 118. Additionally, one or more rubber washers or seals may be disposed within and/or about the male and female connecting portions 106, 108, together or separated from the threading, so as to aid creation of a seal therebetween and to decrease the amount of air leaked through the connector 118 during the inflation operation described hereinbelow with reference to
In example embodiments, a one-way inflation valve 126 is configured within the female connecting portion 108. The one way inflation valve 126 may include a valve stem and a spring associated therewith. During operation of the inflating bladder 104 air pressure may cause compression of the spring allowing passage of air through a passageway 156 formed within the inflation valve 126. When air pressure is not present from the exterior of the inflation valve 126, a seal of the inflation valve 126 may occlude the passageway 156 therethrough. However, once air pressure is greater outside the inflatable 102 as compared to within an interior chamber 160 of the inflatable 102, the seal may open the passageway 156 allowing air to pass therethrough and into the interior chamber 160 of the inflatable 102. The valve 126 may be configured as a ball check valve, a tilting disc check valve, a lift-check valve, an in-line check valve, a duckbill valve, a pneumatic non-return valve, or any other suitable valve structure. Also, in the alternative, a valve stem and spring may be depressed to open the valve 126, or the seal may be deformed or pushed away from the passageway 156, via a protrusion extending from the connector 118 of the inflating bladder 104 or by another manual depression technique. For example, a protrusion on the inflating bladder 104 or on a valve stem or any other part of the valve 126 may cause opening of the valve 126 upon connection between the inflating bladder 104 and the inflatable 102. An additional valve 170 may be disposed to block air from escaping the interior chamber 160.
In an example embodiment depicted in
Referring now to
In alternative example embodiments, the closing mechanism 132 may be a spring 162 (
As shown in
Upon forcing an amount of air from the inflating bladder 104, the user 140 may unroll and/or unfold the inflating bladder 104. Then the user 140 separates the first and second magnetic strips 134a, 134b thereby opening the relatively large air intake end 116 and allowing air to fill the inflating bladder 104 once again. Next, the user 140 may reseal the air intake end 116 by bringing the first and second magnetic strips 134a, 134b into proximity with one another to re-seal the inflating bladder 104. The user 140 may repeat the opening, filling, sealing, and rolling/folding steps as necessary to adequately fill the inflatable 102.
In example embodiments of the system 100 described hereinabove, the inflating bladder 104 may also serve as a bag for carrying the inflatable 102. For example, it may be possible to fold up an inflatable mattress for insertion into the inflating bladder 104 for storage and transport thereof. (See
The above disclosure may represent an improvement in the art because it allows for use of the inflatable without a pump and without the laborious task of lung-powered inflation. Further, this disclosure provides the user with improved storage and transport of the inflatable within the inflating bladder while doing away with the storage and transport of pumps and/or associated power sources. Still further, the disclosure improves the art by supplying an alternative use for the inflating bladder as a pillow.
It is to be understood that all described elements and features in this disclosure can be formed of any number of materials including, but not limited to, polymers, rubbers, foams, ceramics, metals, metal alloys or any other material known to those skilled in the art. In particular, the material forming the inflating bladder 104 and/or inflatable 102 may be plastic, vinyl, coated fabric, and/or another suitable material or combination of materials. The valve system 110 and the connector 118 may be formed from extruded plastic, machined aluminum, another metal alloy, and/or another materials or combination of materials suitable for manufacturing the components of the valve 110.
While some implementations have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the disclosure, and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims.
Headings and subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit the invention. The word exemplary is used to mean serving as an example or illustration. To the extent that the term include, have, or the like is used, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term comprise as comprise is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions.
Phrases such as an aspect, the aspect, another aspect, some aspects, one or more aspects, an implementation, the implementation, another implementation, some implementations, one or more implementations, an embodiment, the embodiment, another embodiment, some embodiments, one or more embodiments, a configuration, the configuration, another configuration, some configurations, one or more configurations, the subject technology, the disclosure, the present disclosure, other variations thereof and alike are for convenience and do not imply that a disclosure relating to such phrase(s) is essential to the subject technology or that such disclosure applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A disclosure relating to such phrase(s) may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspect or some aspects may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa, and this applies similarly to other foregoing phrases.
The disclosed systems and methods are well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular implementations disclosed above are illustrative only, as the teachings of the present disclosure may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular illustrative implementations disclosed above may be altered, combined, or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope of the present disclosure. The systems and methods illustratively disclosed herein may suitably be practiced in the absence of any element that is not specifically disclosed herein and/or any optional element disclosed herein. While compositions and methods are described in terms of “comprising,” “containing,” or “including” various components or steps, the compositions and methods can also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various components and steps. All numbers and ranges disclosed above may vary by some amount. Whenever a numerical range with a lower limit and an upper limit is disclosed, any number and any included range falling within the range are specifically disclosed. In particular, every range of values (of the form, “from about a to about b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a to b,” or, equivalently, “from approximately a-b”) disclosed herein is to be understood to set forth every number and range encompassed within the broader range of values. Also, the terms in the claims have their plain, ordinary meaning unless otherwise explicitly and clearly defined by the patentee. Moreover, the indefinite articles “a” or “an,” as used in the claims, are defined herein to mean one or more than one of the element that it introduces. If there is any conflict in the usages of a word or term in this specification and one or more patent or other documents that may be incorporated herein by reference, the definitions that are consistent with this specification should be adopted.
A phrase “at least one of” preceding a series of items, with the terms “and” or “or” to separate any of the items, modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list. The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, the phrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of the items. By way of example, each of the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or “at least one of A, B, or C” refers to only A, only B, or only C; any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, and C.
It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps, operations, or processes disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps, operations, or processes may be performed in different order. Some of the steps, operations, or processes may be performed simultaneously. The accompanying method claims, if any, present elements of the various steps, operations or processes in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented. These may be performed in serial, linearly, in parallel or in different order. It should be understood that the described instructions, operations, and systems can generally be integrated together in a single software/hardware product or packaged into multiple software/hardware products.
In one aspect, a term coupled or the like may refer to being directly coupled. In another aspect, a term coupled or the like may refer to being indirectly coupled. Terms such as top, bottom, front, rear, side, horizontal, vertical, and the like refer to an arbitrary frame of reference, rather than to the ordinary gravitational frame of reference. Thus, such a term may extend upwardly, downwardly, diagonally, or horizontally in a gravitational frame of reference.
The disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the subject technology. The disclosure provides various examples of the subject technology, and the subject technology is not limited to these examples. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the principles described herein may be applied to other aspects.
All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout the disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for”.
The title, background, brief description of the drawings, abstract, and drawings are hereby incorporated into the disclosure and are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not as restrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the detailed description, it can be seen that the description provides illustrative examples and the various features are grouped together in various implementations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
The claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects described herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims and to encompass all legal equivalents. Notwithstanding, none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails to satisfy the requirements of the applicable patent law, nor should they be interpreted in such a way.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “said” and similar references in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. An element proceeded by “a,” “an,” “the,” or “said” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional same elements. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosure and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the disclosure unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the disclosure.
Numerous modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the disclosure. It should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the disclosure.
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| PCT/CN2017/106523 | 10/17/2017 | WO |
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| WO2019/075636 | 4/25/2019 | WO | A |
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