The present disclosure generally relates to inflators, and particularly to a portable electric inflator.
Inflators have been widely used in people's lives, and they can be used to inflate tires of automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles, rubber balls, and rubber boats, etc. Many electric inflators use the rotary motion of a motor to drive a piston to reciprocate in a cylinder and compress the air in the cylinder to achieve the purpose of inflation.
With the high-level requirements of the market and product competitiveness, users hope that the inflators have higher inflation efficiency, that is, the time for inflating an object (e.g., a tire) is required to be shorter and shorter. However, in some conventional inflators, improving the inflation efficiency is generally achieved by increasing the output rotational speed of the motor, that is, increasing the speed at which the piston compresses the air in the cylinder. However, this approach will also have a negative impact on the inflator, i.e., the increase of heat and noise, which results in poor user experience. The housing of some portable air pumps has a high temperature at the motor and cylinder, and is even hot, which is not conducive to users to hold. The housing of some inflators is slippery, which is not conducive to users to hold, and it is easy for the inflators to slip out of user's hands.
Some inflators realize heat dissipation by arranging cooling holes on their housing or using metal cooling fins. The cooling holes or cooling fins are visible to users, which is not conducive to the simple and esthetic appearance of the inflators.
The motor shaft inside some inflators is generally provided with fan blades. When the motor shaft rotates, it drives the fan blades to rotate, thereby increasing the air flow, allowing the air to accelerate into the inflators and take away the internal heat, which can cool the surfaces of the inflators. However, the housing of the inflators has heat dissipation holes and is not dust-proof. When used in some harsh environments, there is a risk of tiny foreign objects being sucked into the inside of the inflators. In severe cases, it may damage the seal between the motor/cylinder and the piston, which will affect the inflation efficiency and service life of the inflators.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a portable electric inflator to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
Many aspects of the present embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, all the views are schematic, and like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references can mean “at least one” embodiment.
Although the features and elements of the present disclosure are described as embodiments in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone or in other various combinations within the principles of the present disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
The housing of the inflator of the present disclosure is covered with a layer of cloth. By selecting the cloth of suitable material, such as cloth with characteristics including anti-slip, dust-proof, water-repellent, breathable, heat-insulating, sound-insulating, wear-resistant, dirt-resistant, ultraviolet-resistant, fire-proof, flame-retardant, and excellent hand feel, it can bring the following positive effects to the inflator.
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In one embodiment, the air compressing mechanism 12 may include a cylinder 121, a piston rod 122 accommodated in the cylinder 121, and a piston 123 connected to one end of the piston rod 122. The output component of the transmission mechanism 13 is connected with end of the piston rod 122 opposite to the piston 123, and the transmission mechanism 13 transmits the rotational motion from the motor 11 to the piston rod 122. That is, the rotational motion of the motor shaft of the motor 11 is converted into the swing of the piston rod 122, causing the piston rod 122 to push the piston 123 to reciprocate in the cylinder 121 to compress and discharge the air in the cylinder 121.
In one embodiment, the transmission mechanism 13 may be a gear transmission device, which includes a gear set including one or more pairs of gears. For example, the transmission mechanism may include a pinion gear fixed on the motor shaft of the motor 11 and a bull gear meshed with the pinion gear. The end face of the bull gear is provided with a shaft offset from its axis of rotation. The end of the piston rod 122 opposite to the piston 123 is provided with a shaft hole, and the shaft is rotatably connected to the shaft hole. When the motor is in operation, the motor shaft drives the pinion gear to rotate coaxially, and then drives the bull gear to rotate. The shaft rotates around the axis of rotation of the bull gear, thereby driving the end of the piston rod 122 to swing repeatedly. The piston rod 122 can thus push the piston 123 to reciprocate in the cylinder 121 to compress and discharge the air in the cylinder 121. The gear transmission is a well-known technology, and its details will not be discussed here.
It should be noted that the transmission mechanism 13 is not limited to the above-mentioned configuration, and other conventional transmission devices can be selected according to actual needs.
The end of the cylinder 121 opposite to the piston 123 defines a through hole 1211, and the core assembly further includes an air storage chamber 124 that communicates with the cylinder 121 through the through hole 1211. The reciprocating movement of the piston 123 in the cylinder 121 pushes the air in the cylinder into the air storage chamber 124, and the air storage chamber 124 communicates with an air outlet 125. When in use, the user can connect the object to be inflated (such as a tire) with the air outlet 125 through a hose, so that the air flowing out of the air outlet 125 flows to the object to be inflated along the hose.
The core assembly 10 may further include a circuit board 14 (see
It should be noted that the core assembly 10 may further include other components related to the motor 11 and the air compressing mechanism 12, such as air pressure detection components, etc., which will not be discussed here.
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In other words, the first short edge 503 of the cloth 50 extends from the second edge 4012 of the first housing 401 to the inner surface of the first housing 401, and the second short edge 504 of the cloth 50 opposite to the first short edge 503 extends from the second edge 4022 of the second housing 402 to the inner surface of the second housing 402. The first long edge 501 of the cloth 50 between the first short edge 503 and the second short edge 504 extends from the third edge 4013 of the first housing 401 and the third edge 4023 of the second housing 402 to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402. The second long edge 502 of the cloth 50 between the first short edge 503 and the second short edge 504 extends from the fourth edge 4014 of the first housing 401 and the fourth edge 4024 of the second housing 402 to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402. The portion of the cloth 50 that is in contact with the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 may be fixed to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 by glue. As shown in
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In one embodiment, the number of the flexible hinges 403 is two in one embodiment. It should be noted that the number of the flexible hinges 403 may vary according to actual needs. In one embodiment, the flexible hinges 403 can be made of flexible plastic. In one embodiment, each flexible hinge 403 is roughly in the shape of a square strip.
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It should be noted that the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 can be rotatably connected to each other through other connection techniques. For example, the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 may both be provided with shaft holes, and the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 are rotatably connected together by a shaft passing through the shaft holes.
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Similarly, the second housing 402 is provided with a second engaging member near its second edge 4022 on its inner surface, and the core assembly 10 includes a second counterpart member facing the second engaging member. The second engaging member is engaged with the second counterpart member, so that the second housing 402 is detachably fixed to the core assembly 10.
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In one embodiment, the display 30 can be fixed to the core assembly 10 by means of snap-fit connection similar to the above-mentioned snap-fit connection that connects the first housing 401 to the core assembly 10. Snap-fit connections typically includes a small protrusion (i.e., a male component such as a hook, bead, or bump) that deflects during assembly to snap into a female element (i.e., a depression) on the mating part. Snap connections come in many variations, including cantilever, torsional and annular.
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In one embodiment, the top of the core assembly 10 is provided with a light emitting element 101 (e.g., a light emitting diode), and the upper end cover 60 defines a through hole to allow the light emitted by the light emitting element 101 to pass through. In one embodiment, the inflator 100 may further include a transparent light cover 80, which can be fixed to the upper end cover 60 by means of snap-fit connection. For example, a fixing technique (i.e., snap-fit connection) similar to that of the above-mentioned first housing 401 being fixed to the core assembly 10 is adopted.
The assembly process of the inflator 100 is as follows: firstly, the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 are connected to each other through the flexible hinges 403. Specifically, the ends of the posts 404 on the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 respectively pass through the through holes 4031 of the flexible hinges 403, and then the ends of the posts 404 are heat fused, so that the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 are rotatably connected to each other. Then, the external surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 are covered with the cloth 50. The edges of the cloth 50 are folded at the edges of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 so that the edges of the cloth 50 extend to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402. Specifically, the first short edge 503 of the cloth 50 extends from the second edge 4012 of the first housing 401 to the inner surface of the first housing 401, and the second short edge 504 of the cloth 50 opposite to the first short edge 503 extends from the second edge 4022 of the second housing 402 to the inner surface of the second housing 402. The first long edge 501 of the cloth 50 between the first short edge 503 and the second short edge 504 extends from the third edge 4013 of the first housing 401 and the third edge 4023 of the second housing 402 to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402. The second long edge 502 of the cloth 50 between the first short edge 503 and the second short edge 504 extends from the fourth edge 4014 of the first housing 401 and the fourth edge 4024 of the second housing 402 to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402. The portion of the cloth 50 that adheres to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 is fixed to the inner surfaces of the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 by glue.
Then, the fixing post 172 of each button 17 is passed through the cloth 50 and connected to the housing 40. Specifically, the fixing post 172 of each button 17 is passed through the cloth 50 and through a corresponding through hole 40S on the housing 40. The end of each fixing post 172 is heat fused, thereby connecting the buttons 17 to the housing 40.
Then, after the assembly 20 composed of the housing 40 and the cloth 50 is opened at a certain angle (similar to the state shown in
Then, after the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 are initially fixed by snap-fit connection, the through holes on the fixing tabs that are located near the top and bottom of the second housing 402 and protruding from the inner surface of the second housing 402 are aligned with the threaded holes in the core assembly 10, and the through holes on the fixing tabs protruding from the inner surface of the display receiving hole 41 of the first housing 401 is aligned with the threaded holes on the front of the core assembly 10. A number of screws are passed through the through holes in the above-mentioned fixing tabs one by one and screwed into the threaded holes, so that the first housing 401 and the second housing 402 are firmly fixed to the core assembly 10.
Then, the upper end cover 60 is fixed to the top of the core assembly 10 by screws, and the light cover 80 is fixed to the upper end cover 60 by snap-fit connection.
Then, the lower end cover 70 is fixed to the bottom of the core assembly 10 by snap-fit connection.
Finally, the display 30 is fixed in the display receiving hole 41 by snap-fit connection.
The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.