Patent Application
20240384713
The present invention relates to a portable air pump and, more particularly, to a portable pump including a foot pedal which is movable to different angular positions for different purposes.
Portable air pumps usually have a compact shape for easy portability. However, it becomes laborious and complicate to assemble many smaller-sized components of a portable air pump, and inconvenient to operate the portable air pump. For example, 1) portable air pumps usually do not have an easy readable pressure gauge, 2) the connection between an air nozzle of the potable air pump and a valve of a tire of a bike is easily obstructed by external objects such as rim spokes, 3) a difficulty to read a pressure value after the air nozzle is connected to the tire, and 4) it is tiring to inflate the tire when a user holds a cylinder of the portable pump with one hand and hold a handle of the portable pump with the other hand.
The present invention is, therefore, intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in the prior art.
A portable air pump includes an inflating mechanism including a cylinder, a joint seat arranged at an end of the cylinder, a support seat pivotally coupled to the joint seat, a positioning mechanism pivotally coupled to the support seat, and a footrest is arranged on a side of the support seat. The joint seat has a joint end including a first positioning portion and a groove. The support seat includes a connection pivotally received by the groove and has a receptacle. The positioning mechanism includes a positioning member pivotally engaged in the receptacle and a biasing member arranged between a surface of the receptacle and the positioning member. The positioning member is biased by the biasing member and detachably engagable with the first positioning portion such that the joint seat and the support seat are restrained from pivoting relative to each other. The footrest is folded out when the positioning member is engaged with the first positioning portion and adapted to be folded toward the inflating mechanism when the positioning member is disengaged from the first positioning portion.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components assembly forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the abstract is to enable the public generally, and especially scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
Other objectives, advantages, and new features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanied drawings.
The inflating mechanism 10 includes a cylinder 11 which is adapted to receive a piston (not shown) and store air compressed by the piston.
The joint seat 20 is arranged at an end of the cylinder 11. The joint seat 20 has a joint end 21 in a form including a pair of connections. The joint end 21 includes a first positioning portion 211 and a second positioning portion 212. Each of the first and the second positioning portions 211 and 212 defines two holes, with one hole extending in one of the pair of connections, and with another hole extending in the other of the pair of connections. The second positioning portion 212 is spaced from the first positioning portion 211. The first and the second positioning portions 211 and 212 are spaced from each other along an outer periphery of the joint end 21 at an arc length which subtends an angle of 90 degrees. Moreover, the pair of connections include a groove 22 formed therebetween. The two holes of the respective first and second positioning portions 211 and 212 are disposed on opposite sides of the groove 22.
The support seat 30 is pivotally coupled to the joint seat 20. The support seat 30 includes a connection 31 and has a receptacle 32. The connection 31 is pivotally received by the groove 22. The support seat 30 includes the connection 31 and the receptacle 32 located on a top side and a bottom side thereof respectively. The receptacle 32 has a first receptacle portion 322 and a second receptacle portion 323. The support seat 30 has a first through hole 33 extending transverse to and through the first receptacle portion 322.
The positioning mechanism 40 is pivotally coupled to the support seat 30. The positioning mechanism 40 includes a positioning member 41, a biasing member 42, and a pivot 43. The positioning member 41 is pivotally engaged in the receptacle 32 by the pivot 43 and biased by a biasing member 42. The biasing member 42 is arranged between a surface of the receptacle 32 and the positioning member 41. The biasing member 42 is a torsion spring.
The positioning member 41 has a second through hole 414 aligned and corresponding with the first through hole 33. The biasing member 42 has an abutment portion 421 abutting against the bottom 321 of the receptacle 32 and a receiving portion 422 receiving the pivot 43. The receiving portion 422 is in a form of two loops and located on different sides of the abutment portion 421. The pivot 43 is configured to pivotally connect the positioning member 41 to the support seat 30. The pivot 43 is inserted in the first through hole 33, through the biasing member 42, and in the second through hole 414. The pivot 43 is inserted through the receiving portion 422.
The positioning member 41 is detachably engagable with the first or the second positioning portions 211 and 212 such that the joint seat 20 and the support seat 30 are restrained from pivoting relative to each other. The joint seat 20 and the support seat 30 are angled at a first angle when the positioning member 41 is engaged with the first positioning portion 211 and at a second angle when the positioning member 41 is engaged with the second positioning portion 212.
The positioning member 41 has an actuating end 411 usable for pivoting the positioning member 41 and a positioning end 412 configured for selectively engaging with the first and the second positioning portions 211 and 212. The first receptacle portion 322 is adapted to receive the actuating end 411 and the second receptacle portion 323 is adapted to receive the positioning end 412, respectively. The actuating end 411 is spaced from and movable toward and away from a bottom 321 of the receptacle 32. The positioning end 412 extends from the actuating end 411 and is in a form including a pair of ears, and each of the pair of ears has an engaging portion 413 configured to detachably engage with the first and the second positioning portions 211 and 212.
The footrest 50 is arranged on a side of the support seat 30. The support seat 30 has a hold end 34 at an end and the footrest 50 has a fixed end 51 engaged with the hold end 34 of the support seat 30. The footrest 50 is folded out when the positioning member 41 is engaged with the first positioning portion 211 and adapted to be folded toward the inflating mechanism 10 when the positioning member 41 is disengaged from the first positioning portion 211. Thus, when the positioning member 41 is engaged with the first positioning portion 211, the footrest 50 is folded out, and the inflating mechanism 10 and the footrest 50 include a space therebetween adapted to allow a user to stand on the footrest 50 when operating the portable air pump.
The joining mechanism 60 is configured to connect an object to be inflated to the portable air pump. The joining mechanism 60 is pivotally connected to the joint seat 20. The joint end 21 of the joint seat 20 and the connection 31 of the support seat 30 include a shaft connector 70 inserted therein. The joining mechanism 60 is connected to the shaft connector 70.
In view of the foregoing, the positioning member 41 is selectively engaged with the positioning portions 211 and 212 of the on the joint seat 21, such that the portable pump is selectively positioned at the use configuration and the compact configuration, and the footrest 50 is adapted to be angled relative to the cylinder 11 for different purposes. In addition, when the positioning member 41 is engaged with either of the first and the second positioning portions 211 and 212 of the joint seat 20, the joint seat 20 and the support seat 30 are prevented inadvertent pivotal movements, thereby the user will not suffer unexpected relative pivotal movement between the joint seat 20 and the support seat 30 when carrying out an inflation operation.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications and variations are still possible without departing from the scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is limited by the accompanying claims.
