JP2003042320A - Valve device and air cushion using the valve device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a check valve capable of smoothly and manually injecting air with a simple structure, and certainly preventing the leakage of air from an air bag and the like, and to provide an air cushion using the check valve. SOLUTION: A check valve 20 for supplying air into an air bag by an air pump and preventing the leakage of air from the air bag stored in a cushion body is provided. The check valve 20 has a valve element 21, a valve seat 22, and an energizing means 26 for energizing the valve element toward the valve seat 22. The valve element 21 is integrally formed by an elastic element, and has a generally cylindrical portion 25 for receiving the valve element 21 and an opening portion 23 for communicating the generally cylindrical portion 25 to the air pump. The generally cylindrical portion 25 has a diameter generally same as the diameter of the valve element 21 at a bottom portion 24, and is formed in a tapered shape increasing the diameter as separating from the valve seat 22. The energizing means 26 is disposed in the generally cylindrical portion 25, and energizes the generally whole circumference on a contacting portion 21c of the valve element 21 and the valve seat 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a check valve and an air pillow equipped with the check valve. More specifically, the present invention relates to a valve device having a check valve for supplying air to an air bag by an air pump and preventing air from leaking from the air bag, and an air pillow having the check valve.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a check valve of a valve device attached to an air bag such as an air pillow, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a rubber packing 1 having a bottomed tubular portion 101 is provided.
It is known that a notch 102 is formed at 00, and this type is used, for example, with an airbag of a sphygmomanometer. According to this configuration, the air f supplied from the hand pump passes through the cut 102 to supply the air to the airbag, and the pressing resistance of the hand pump is adjusted by the length of the cut 102.

However, according to this construction, the force for bringing the cuts 102 acting as air valves into contact with each other to close them is obtained by the air pressure p from the air bag applied to the bottomed tube. Normally, the air pillow increases or decreases the amount of air, so the cut line 102 is formed only by the air pressure of the air bag.
It is difficult to obtain a sufficient force p to block the. As a result, there is a problem that low-pressure air leaks from the cut line 102 and the air pillow shrinks.

Further, for example, in the check valve described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 52-71125, the coil body is biased by a coil spring. However, this check valve is intended to prevent water hammers, and is an invention whose main purpose is to prevent leakage under high water pressure. Therefore, in order to withstand a sudden change in water pressure, a disc that supports packing is used, or a stem provided on the disc is slidably supported by a bushing to prevent the disc from tilting. Is also expensive.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the conventional situation as described above, it is an object of the present invention to more reliably prevent air leakage from an air bag or the like while allowing smooth air injection by hand with a simple structure. Another object of the present invention is to provide a non-returnable check valve and an air pillow using the same.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the valve device according to the present invention is characterized by a check valve for supplying air to an air bag by an air pump and preventing air leakage from the air bag. The check valve includes a valve body, a valve seat, and an urging means for urging the valve body toward the valve seat, and the valve body is an elastic body. And has a substantially cylindrical portion for receiving the valve body and an opening for communicating the substantially cylindrical portion with the air pump, and the substantially cylindrical portion has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the valve body at the bottom. It has the same diameter and has a tapered shape that expands as it moves away from the valve seat, and the urging means is disposed in the substantially cylindrical portion and almost entirely over the contact portion of the valve body and the valve seat. It is to energize around the lap.

According to this characteristic construction, the contact portion between the valve body and the valve seat is pressed by the urging means over substantially the entire circumference, and the diameter of the bottom portion of the substantially cylindrical portion and the diameter of the valve body are almost the same. Therefore, the close contact between the valve body and the valve seat is maintained firmly. Since the valve body is integrally formed of an elastic body, the overall structure of the valve device is simplified and can be manufactured at low cost. Moreover, even if some manufacturing error occurs between the diameter of the valve body and the diameter of the valve seat, the manufacturing error can be absorbed by the deformation of the elastic body to maintain good contact between the valve body and the valve seat. You can That is, due to the synergistic effect of the biasing means and the elastic valve body, even if the air pressure in the airbag and the valve body is reduced, the valve closed state is maintained more reliably.

Further, since the inner wall of the substantially cylindrical portion is tapered so as to increase in diameter as it is separated from the valve seat, the valve body in the valve open state is caught by the wall of the substantially cylindrical portion and does not return to the closed position. Such inconvenience is unlikely to occur. Moreover,
The valve body is more surely returned to the original position due to the bias of the elastic body, and surely comes into close contact with the valve seat.

As a result, the aperture of the valve seat can be made relatively large, and the air pressure acts more efficiently on the valve opening. Further, ventilation is possible even if the entire valve body is not uniformly separated from the valve seat.
Therefore, it is possible to inject air into the air bag or the like even if the force applied to the hand pump is not large.
It is desirable to use a compression coil spring as the urging means.

Further, the valve device according to the present invention is provided with a connecting portion for connecting to the airbag, and an exhaust valve capable of discharging the air in the airbag is provided between the connecting portion and the check valve. You may communicate.

On the other hand, the features of the air pillow according to the present invention include a valve device having any one of the features of the valve device according to the present invention, and the air pump and the air bag respectively connected to the valve device. And a pillow main body for accommodating the airbag.

[0012]

As described above, according to the features of the valve device according to the present invention, the valve body can be reliably manufactured regardless of the air pressure of the air bag or the like, while the number of parts is small and the valve device can be manufactured at a low cost. Since it can be brought into contact with the valve seat, it is possible to more reliably prevent air leakage from an airbag or the like. In addition, the expansion of the opening resulting from the reliable close contact between the valve body and the valve seat allows the air to be smoothly injected by hand.

As a result, it is possible to provide an air pillow which can increase and decrease the air in the air bag with a small force during sleep without stress and can reliably maintain the comfort of sleeping until morning.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, referring to the attached drawings,
The present invention will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 1, an air pillow 1 according to the present invention generally includes an air pillow body 5, a valve device 10 for adjusting the flow of air, an air pump 40 for supplying air, and an air pillow. An air bag 50 that is stored in the main body 5 and stores air is provided. The material of the air pillow body 5 is, for example, low-resilience urethane foam. Then, by manually pushing the air pump 40, air is appropriately supplied into the airbag 50 via the valve device 10 while the check valve is operating, and the air pillow main body 5 has a shape suitable for sleeping. Adjust so that

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the valve device 10 generally includes a check valve 20 and a connecting portion 28 to the air bag 50.
And an intermediate portion 29 connecting the check valve 20 and the connecting portion 28. The exhaust valve 30 is communicated with the ventilation path 27 of the intermediate portion 29 to form the valve device 10.

The air pump 40 is for supplying air to the air bag by hand pressure, and generally, for introducing the air into the rubber ball 41, the exhaust port 42 for exhausting the air, and the rubber ball 41. Simple check valve 43
It has and. The valve seat 10 is connected by fitting the valve seat 22 into the discharge port 42. Then, by pushing the rubber ball 41 by hand, the simple check valve 4
The air taken into the rubber ball 41 from 3 is sequentially supplied to the valve device 10 and the air bag 50 through the exhaust port 42.

As a material for the air bag 50, for example, polyurethane or the like may be used. One end of a connecting tube 52 is connected to a plug 51 attached to the inlet of the air bag 50. In addition, the connecting tube 52
The other end of is fitted onto the connecting portion 28 of the valve device 10.

The check valve 20 is intended to prevent the air from leaking from the air bag 50 while allowing the injection of air into the air bag 50.
A valve seat 22 and a compression coil spring 26 as a biasing means for bringing the valve element 21 into contact with the valve seat 22. An opening portion 23 for allowing the air from the air pump 40 to flow into the valve device 10 is formed at one end of the valve seat 22. On the other hand, the tubular portion 22a that is the other end of the valve seat 22 is fitted into the fitting portion 29a of the intermediate portion 29, and abuts and supports the other end of the compression coil spring 26.

The valve body 21 is provided with a circular plate-shaped seat portion 21a that contacts the valve seat 22, and a cylindrical overhang portion 21b that extends from the center of the seat portion 21a. An elastic body such as rubber or synthetic resin is used as these materials. The seat portion 21a is brought into contact with the valve seat 22 and the opening portion 23 is closed to prevent air leakage. The overhanging portion 21b has such a length that it can collide with the inner wall of the valve body when the valve body 21 is greatly tilted.
When the valve is tilted, the overhanging portion 21b collides against and repels the inner wall of the substantially cylindrical portion 25, thereby correcting the tilt of the valve body 21.

The substantially cylindrical portion 25, which is the inner wall of the valve seat 22 in the longitudinal direction of the valve, is formed in a tapered shape whose diameter increases slightly as it is separated from the valve seat. In addition, this substantially cylindrical portion 2
The bottom portion 24 of No. 5 is formed to have a diameter substantially equal to that of the valve body 21. As a result, when the valve body 21 shifts from the valve open state to the valve closed state, the side surface 21d of the valve body 21 is substantially cylindrical.
There will be no inconvenience that the valve will be caught in 5 and the valve will not be completely closed. Moreover, the valve body 2 returned to the valve closed position
The contact portion 21c of No. 1 and the bottom portion 24 of the substantially cylindrical portion 25 surely come into contact with each other.

The above-mentioned compression coil spring 26 is arranged in the substantially cylindrical portion 25 and is formed so as to urge the contact portion 21c between the valve body 21 and the valve seat 22 over substantially the entire circumference. As a result, when the valve is closed, the entire contact portion 21c of the valve body 21 against the valve seat 22 is pressed. And, due to the synergistic effect of the above-mentioned members,
The closed state of the check valve 20 is reliably maintained regardless of the pressure of the air bag 50 applied from the ventilation path 27 side.

The exhaust valve 30 is used to exhaust the air in the airbag 50. This exhaust valve 30
In general, it includes a valve box 31, a valve seat 32, an O-ring 33, a valve rod 34, a washer 35, a button 36, and a compression coil spring 37. The inside of the valve box 31 is composed of a first cylindrical portion SA that houses the compression coil spring 37 and a second cylindrical portion SB that forms a part of the air passage 27.

A washer 35 is fixed to the tip of the valve rod 34, and a push button 36 is press-fitted to the other end. The valve seat 32 located between the first cylindrical portion SA and the second cylindrical portion SB is urged by the urging force of the compression coil spring 37.
Is always closed by the O-ring 33. Then, by manually pressing the push button 36, the O-ring 33 is separated from the valve seat 32, and the air in the air bag 50 is discharged to the outside.

When using the air pillow 5 equipped with the valve device 10 described above, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the user H lies on the air pillow 5 and pushes the air pump 40 by hand.
Inject air into the airbag 50. At this time, according to the check valve 20 described above, it is possible to reliably prevent the reverse flow of air from the air bag 50 while easily supplying air with a small resistance. When the amount of injected air is too high and the pillow 5 becomes too high, the amount of air in the airbag 50 can be reduced by pressing the button 36. Then, by selectively operating the air pump 40 and the button 36, the height of the air pillow 5 can be appropriately adjusted. After that, the air pump is stored in a pocket provided in the lateral portion of the pillow 5 as indicated by reference numeral 40 '.

In the above embodiment, the valve device 10 according to the present invention is used for the air pillow. However, the valve device 10 according to the present invention is not limited to an air pillow, and can be used for an air bed, an air chair, or the like that needs to accumulate and maintain air for a long time.

The reference numerals in the claims are merely for convenience of comparison with the drawings, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the accompanying drawings by the reference. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a usage mode of a valve device according to the present invention and an air pillow using the valve device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connected state of a valve device and a hand pump.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the valve device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the valve device as viewed from the side of a hand pump.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a valve element used in a conventional check valve.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Air pillow, 5: Air pillow body, 10: Valve device, 20: Check valve, 21: Valve body, 21a: Seat part, 21b: Overhang part, 21c: Contact part, 21d: Side surface, 22: Valve Zodiac, 22
a: tubular portion, 23: opening portion, 24: bottom portion, 25: substantially cylindrical portion, 26: compression coil spring, 27: ventilation passage, 28
Connection part, 28a: opening, 29: intermediate part, 29a: fitting part, 30: exhaust valve, 31 valve box, 32: valve seat, 33: O ring, 34: valve rod, 35: washer, 36: button, Three
7: coil spring, 40: air pump, 41: rubber ball, 42: outlet, 43: simple check valve, 50: air bag, 51: plug, 52: connecting tube, 10
0: rubber packing, 101: bottomed tubular portion, 10
2: Notch, SA: first cylindrical portion, SB: second cylindrical portion,
H: User

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A valve device comprising a check valve (20) for supplying air to an air bag (50) by an air pump (40) and for preventing air leakage from the air bag (50). The check valve (20) includes a valve body (21), a valve seat (22), and a biasing means (26) for biasing the valve body (21) toward the valve seat (22). And the valve body (21) is integrally formed of an elastic body.
1) has a substantially cylindrical portion (25) and an opening (23) for communicating the substantially cylindrical portion (25) with the air pump (40), and the substantially cylindrical portion (25) Has a diameter which is substantially the same as the diameter of the valve body (21) at the bottom portion (24) and has a taper shape which increases in diameter as the distance from the valve seat (22) increases. It is arranged in the cylindrical portion (25) and the valve body (2
1) and the valve seat (22) on the contact portion (21c) is urged over substantially the entire circumference. 2. The valve device according to claim 1, wherein the biasing means (26) is a compression coil spring. 3. An exhaust valve (30) capable of discharging air in the airbag (50) between the check valve (20) and a connecting portion (28) connecting to the airbag (50). The valve device according to claim 1 or 2 which is open for free passage. 4. The valve device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and the air pump (40) and the airbag (50) connected to the valve device (10), respectively.
And an pillow body (5) for accommodating the airbag (50).