JP2007062241A - Sealant pump-up apparatus of tire - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a sealant pump-up apparatus of a tire for enabling a user to know an operation state. <P>SOLUTION: A display part 30 constituted of six light emitting diodes 32A-32F is provided to a lid member 94 and respectively corresponds to the "start" (the start of the injection) of a sealant, "during the injection of the sealant", the "start" (the start of the supply) of compressed air, "during the supply of compressed air" and the "completion" (the completion of the supply of compressed air). A control circuit allows the corresponding light emitting diode 32 to light when the sealant pump-up apparatus 80 is set to either one of the above mentioned states. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire sealing and pumping device that supplies compressed air into a pneumatic tire to increase the internal pressure of the pneumatic tire.

  In recent years, when a pneumatic tire (hereinafter simply referred to as “tire”) is punctured, the tire puncture hole is repaired with a sealing agent and the internal pressure is increased to a predetermined reference pressure without replacing the tire and the wheel. Tire sealing / pump-up devices (hereinafter simply referred to as “sealing / pump-up devices”) are widely used. An example of this type of sealing / pump-up device is described in Patent Document 1.

By the way, in such a sealing / pump-up device, the user does not know in which stage the operating state is.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-212883

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a tire sealing / pump-up device in which a user can know the operating state.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a tire sealing pump for injecting a liquid sealing agent into a punctured pneumatic tire and then supplying pressurized air into the pneumatic tire to increase the internal pressure of the pneumatic tire. An air compressor that generates compressed air, a sealing agent container that contains the sealing agent, and a control device that selectively supplies the compressed air and the sealing agent into a pneumatic tire And an informing means for informing the operating state of the sealing / pump-up device.

  By providing the notification means in this way and notifying the operating state of the sealing / pump-up device, the user can know the operating state of the sealing / pump-up device.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the notifying means is capable of notifying at least the injection state of the sealing agent and the supply state of the pressurized air. .

  That is, if at least the sealing agent injection state and the pressurized air supply state are notified, the convenience for the user is improved. In particular, as described in claim 3, the notification means can further notify the start of injection, the injection, and the end of injection of the sealing agent, and the supply start, supply, and supply end of the pressurized air. If it is the configuration, the convenience is further improved.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the notification means is a visual recognition means that can be notified by visual recognition.

  That is, the method of notification by the notification means is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, by voice. However, if the notification is performed by visual recognition by the visual recognition means as described in claim 4, for example, it is not affected by ambient noise or the like. preferable. Of course, the visual recognition means and the voice notification means may be used in combination.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the visual recognition means includes a plurality of light emitting diodes.

  In other words, a liquid crystal display or a light bulb may be used as the visual recognition means, but a light emitting diode is preferable because it consumes less power and has high responsiveness. Depending on the operating state of the sealing and pumping device, it is also possible to use light emitting diodes of different colors.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the tire sealing / pump-up device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein an abnormality occurs when the sealing / pump-up device is in an abnormal state. It further has an abnormal state informing means for informing the state.

  Therefore, the user can know the abnormal state of the sealing / pump-up device by the notification by the abnormal state notification means.

  The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 6, the abnormal state notifying means notifies in conjunction with the notifying means.

  That is, the user can know in which process an abnormality has occurred in the operating state of the sealing / pump-up device.

  Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, the user can know the operating state.

  1 and 2 show a tire sealing / pump-up device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sealing / pump-up device 80 injects a sealing agent 82 into a punctured pneumatic tire (hereinafter simply referred to as “tire”), and then supplies compressed air into the tire to cause the tire to have a predetermined reference pressure. The internal pressure is re-pressurized.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing / pump-up device 80 includes a box-shaped casing 84 as an outer shell. As shown in FIG. 2, an air compressor 86 as a compressed air supply source, a sealing agent container 88 containing a sealing agent 82, and the sealing agent container 88 are sucked into the casing 84 from the inside of the tire 84. A liquid supply pump 90 for supplying to the air supply, an air compressor 86, a control circuit 92 for controlling power supply to the liquid supply pump 90, and the like are disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the power switch 18 and the pressure gauge 20 are disposed on the outer surface (the lid member 94) of the casing 84. The power switch 18 can be held at either the “off position” or the “on position”, and outputs a contact signal as a drive command to the control circuit 92 in the “on position”. Further, in the “off position” state, the output of the contact signal to the control circuit 92 is stopped.

  The pressure gauge 20 is connected to a pressure conduit (not shown) that branches from a piping path through which compressed air in the air compressor 86 flows, and the pressure gauge displays air pressure with a display needle or the like. Note that the air pressure in the piping path of the air compressor 86 substantially matches the internal pressure of the tire when the air compressor 86 communicates with the inside of the tire by an air hose 24 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pump-up device 80 includes a power cable 22 and an air hose 24. The power cable 22 has a base end connected to the control circuit 92 inside the casing 12, and a distal end extending to the outside of the casing 12. A connection plug 26 is provided at the tip of the power cable 22, and the connection plug 26 can be inserted into and removed from a cigar socket provided in the vehicle.

  Here, the control circuit 92 is electrically connected to the battery mounted on the vehicle via the power cable 22 by inserting the connection plug 26 into the cigar socket. In this state, when the operator moves the power switch 18 from the “off position” to the “on position”, the control circuit 92 converts the power from the battery into a predetermined voltage or current as necessary, and converts it into an air compressor. Supply to electrical components such as 86.

  The base end of the air hose 24 can be connected to the air compressor 86 and the liquid supply pump 90 inside the casing 12, and the adapter 28 is disposed on the tip side thereof. The adapter 28 can be screwed to the tire valve of the tire, and the air hose 24 is connected to the air compressor 86 and the adapter 28 is screwed to the tire valve so that the air compressor 86 passes through the air hose 24 to the inside of the tire. The compressed air can be supplied into the tire by the air compressor 86.

  Further, a hose storage portion 98 that can be stored in a state where the air hose 24 is curved in a U shape is provided on the upper portion of the casing 84. A cable storage portion 122 for storing the power cable 22 is provided at the lower portion of the casing 84.

  An opening mechanism 108 connected to the liquid supply hose 116 is provided in the casing 84 at the upper end of the sealing agent container 88. The plug opening mechanism 108 allows the sealant container 88 to communicate with the liquid supply pump 90 through the liquid supply hose 116 by receiving a predetermined opening operation by the operator.

  A gas / liquid supply port 140 to which the base end of the air hose 24 is connected is provided in the casing 84. The gas-liquid supply port 140 is connected to the discharge port 148 of the air compressor 86 and the discharge port 150 of the liquid supply pump 90 via a three-way solenoid valve 142 and pipes 144, 145, and 146, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lid member 94 is provided with a display unit 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 30 includes six light emitting diodes 32A to 32F, and “start” (injection start), “during injection”, and “end” (injection end) of the sealing agent, respectively. , And “start” (supply start), “supplying” and “end” (supply end) of compressed air. The control circuit 92 lights the corresponding light emitting diode 32 when the sealing / pump-up device 80 is in any of the above states.

  The lid member 94 is provided with a buzzer 34, and the control circuit 92 emits a buzzer sound when an abnormality occurs during the supply of compressed air.

  As shown in FIG. 2, one or a plurality of light transmission type liquid level sensors 36 (one pair in the vertical center and the lower part of the sealing agent container 88 in this embodiment) are arranged in the sealing agent container 88. Has been. Each liquid level sensor 36 is composed of a light emitting element 36A and a light receiving element 36B, and can detect the liquid level by receiving / not receiving the laser beam emitted from the light emitting element by the light receiving element 36B. Yes. The detection data is sent to the control circuit 92 through a signal line (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, an air pressure sensor 38 is attached to the tip of the adapter 28 so that the air pressure in the tire when supplying compressed air can be detected. The detected air pressure is sent to the control circuit 92 through a signal line (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lid member 94 is provided with an abnormality notification light emitting diode 40 that is turned on only when the sealing / pump-up device 80 is in an abnormal state. The abnormality notification light emitting diode 40 is controlled by the control circuit 92 so as to be interlocked with the lighting of the light emitting diode 31, and in the puncture repair process by the sealing / pump-up device 80, in the process where the abnormality occurs, the process is performed. The corresponding light emitting diode 32 and the abnormality notification light emitting diode 40 are lit simultaneously.

  Next, an operation procedure for repairing a punctured tire using the sealing / pump-up device 80 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  When puncture occurs in the tire, first, the operator connects the adapter 28 of the air hose 24 connected to the gas-liquid supply port 140 as described above to the tire valve of the tire and opens the plug opening mechanism 108. On the other hand, a predetermined opening operation is performed. Next, when the operator moves the power switch 18 from the “off position” to the “on position”, the liquid supply pump 90 is activated to suck the sealing agent 82 from the sealing agent container 88 and add the sealing agent 82. The pressure is discharged from the discharge port 150. At this time, the discharge port 150 communicates with the gas-liquid supply port 140 through a three-way electromagnetic valve 142. Thereby, the sealing agent 82 sucked from the sealing agent container 88 by the liquid supply pump 90 is supplied into the tire through the air hose 24 and the tire valve.

  Here, the control circuit 92 turns on the light emitting diode 32A at the start of injection of the sealing agent 82 (see FIG. 3A). During the injection, the light emitting diode 32B is turned on (see FIG. 3B), and at the end of the injection, the light emitting diode 32C is turned on (see FIG. 3C).

  In this way, when the prescribed amount of the sealing agent has been injected into the tire, the sealing / pump-up device 80 automatically stops the liquid supply pump 90 and simultaneously supplies the gas / liquid with the three-way solenoid valve 142. After the connection destination of the port 140 is switched from the discharge port 150 to the discharge port 148, the air compressor 86 is operated. Thereby, the air compressor 86 discharges compressed air from the discharge port 148, and this compressed air is supplied into the tire through the air hose 24 and the tire valve to inflate the tire.

  Again, the control circuit 92 turns on the light emitting diode 32D when the supply of compressed air is started (see FIG. 3D). Then, the light emitting diode 32E is turned on during supply (see FIG. 3E), and the light emitting diode 32F is turned on at the end of supply (see FIG. 3F).

  When the operator confirms that the internal pressure of the tire has reached the specified pressure by turning on the light emitting diode 32F, the operator returns the power switch 18 to the “off position” and stops the air compressor 86. If necessary, the internal pressure of the tire may be confirmed again by the pressure gauge 20.

  Next, the operator pulls out the adapter 28 from the tire valve, removes the air hose 24 from the tire, and pulls out the connection plug 26 from the cigar socket of the vehicle. In this state, the worker temporarily stores the sealing / pump-up device 80 in a trunk or the like, and then travels preliminarily for a certain distance using the tire into which the sealing agent 82 is injected. As a result, the sealing agent 82 is uniformly diffused inside the tire, and the sealing agent 82 is filled in the puncture hole to close the puncture hole.

  When the above puncture repair process is normally performed, the abnormality notification light emitting diode 40 is not turned on. However, if an abnormality occurs in any of the processes, the control circuit 92 performs a process in which the abnormality has occurred. The light emitting diode 32 and the abnormality notification light emitting diode 40 are turned on simultaneously, and a buzzer sound is generated from the buzzer 34. Thereby, the operator can easily know the occurrence of the abnormality. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when an abnormality occurs during the injection of the sealing agent, the corresponding light emitting diode 32B and the abnormality notification light emitting diode 40 are lit at the same time. You can easily know what happened.

  Thus, in the sealing / pump-up device 80 of the present embodiment, it is possible to know the operating state (in which state) by visually confirming the lighting of the light emitting diode 32 on the display unit 30. Moreover, it can be easily known by the lighting of the light emitting diode 32F that the condition for starting the preliminary traveling is satisfied by the end of the supply of the compressed air.

  In the above description, the configuration in which the operating state of the ceiling / pump-up device 80 is notified to the operator by lighting the plurality of light emitting diodes 32A to 32F is described. However, the visual recognition means of the present invention is not limited to the light emitting diode 32. . For example, a light bulb or a liquid crystal display may be used. Use of the light emitting diode 32 as in the above embodiment is preferable because it consumes less power and has high responsiveness. Further, the color of the light emitting diode 32 can be made different depending on the operating state. When the liquid crystal display is used, the operation state of the sealing / pump-up device 80 can be displayed in more detail by characters, drawings, illustrations, and the like. Similarly, a light bulb or a liquid crystal display can be applied in place of the abnormality notification light emitting diode 40 as the abnormal condition notification means of the present invention.

  Regardless of the configuration, the operating states displayed by the light emitting diodes 32 are not limited to the six states shown in FIG. 3, but display more (or fewer) operating states as necessary. May be. However, it is preferable that at least the injection state of the sealing agent 82 and the supply state of compressed air (particularly the supply end) can be notified.

  In addition to displaying the operating state of the ceiling / pump-up device 80 by visual recognition in this way, a voice notification means may be provided in combination with (or instead of) this. The voice in this case includes a pre-recorded voice guidance and the like in addition to a buzzer sound and a chime according to the operating state. In particular, at the end of the supply of compressed air, it is preferable to perform audio notification in addition to visual notification.

  The means for detecting the injection amount of the sealing agent 82 is not limited to the light transmission type liquid level sensor 36 described above, and a different type of optical sensor may be used. Furthermore, the time from the start of injection may be measured by a timer, and the injection amount may be known from this time. The light transmission type liquid level sensor 36 as in the above embodiment is preferable because accurate detection is possible and the liquid level sensor 36 is not easily affected by the liquid level displacement caused by vibration of the sealing / pump-up device 80.

  The means for detecting the air pressure in the tire is not limited to the above-described air pressure sensor 38. For example, the air pressure may be known in conjunction with TPMS or the like provided in advance in the vehicle.

1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a tire sealing / pump-up device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the sealing / pump-up apparatus of the tire shown by FIG. (A)-(F) are all explanatory drawings which show the display state of the light emitting diode in the sealing / pump-up device of the tire shown by FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the display state of a light emitting diode and abnormality alerting light emitting diode when abnormality occurs in the tire sealing / pump-up device shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

12 casing 18 power switch 20 pressure gauge 22 power cable 24 air hose 26 connection plug 28 adapter 30 display unit 32 light emitting diode 32A light emitting diode 32B light emitting diode 32C light emitting diode 32D light emitting diode 32E light emitting diode 32F light emitting diode 34 buzzer 36 liquid level sensor 36A light emitting Element 36B Light receiving element 38 Air pressure sensor 40 Abnormality notification light emitting diode (abnormal state notification means)
80 Sealing / pump-up device 80 Pump-up device 82 Sealing agent 84 Casing 86 Air compressor 88 Sealing agent container 90 Liquid supply pump 92 Control circuit 94 Lid member 98 Hose storage part 108 Opening mechanism 116 Liquid supply hose 122 Cable storage part 140 Air Liquid supply port 142 Three-way solenoid valve 144 Piping 145 Piping 146 Piping 148 Discharge port 150 Discharge port

Claims (7)

A tire sealing / pump-up device for injecting a liquid sealing agent into a punctured pneumatic tire and then supplying pressurized air into the pneumatic tire to increase the internal pressure of the pneumatic tire,
An air compressor that generates compressed air;
A sealant container for containing the sealant;
A control device for controlling to supply the compressed air and the sealing agent selectively into a pneumatic tire;
Informing means for informing the operating state of the sealing / pump-up device,
A tire sealing / pump-up device. The notification means is
The tire sealing / pump-up device according to claim 1, wherein at least an injection state of the sealing agent and a supply state of the pressurized air can be notified. The tire sealing / pump-up device according to claim 2,
The notification means is
Further, the sealing / pump-up device for a tire is capable of reporting the start of injection of the sealing agent, during injection and completion of injection, and the start of supply of pressurized air, during supply and completion of supply. The informing means can be informed by visual recognition,
The tire sealing / pump-up device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tire sealing / pump-up device is provided.   The tire sealing / pump-up device according to claim 4, wherein the visual recognition means includes a plurality of light emitting diodes. A tire sealing / pump-up device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An abnormal condition notifying means for notifying the abnormal condition when the sealing / pump-up device becomes an abnormal condition;
A tire sealing / pump-up device further comprising: The abnormal state notification means notifies in conjunction with the notification means,
The tire sealing / pump-up device according to claim 6.

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