JP5037396B2 - Power inflator for buoyancy regulator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power inflator for a buoyancy regulator worn by a diver.

  Conventionally, a buoyancy regulator that can open an exhaust valve attached to a buoyancy bag in a buoyancy regulator using a power inflator and thereby discharge pressurized air filled in the buoyancy bag is known or well known.

  For example, in the diving buoyancy adjustment jacket disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 2-49959 (Patent Document 1), one end of a pull cord passed through the inside of the inflation hose is connected to the valve opening / closing mechanism of the float bag, The end is connected to the inside of the power inflator. The inflation hose is elastically extended, and when the power inflator is grasped and this hose is extended, the pull cord becomes tensioned, and the exhaust valve of the floating bag can be opened via the valve opening / closing mechanism.

Moreover, the diving buoyancy adjustment device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-71957 (Patent Document 2) has an inner hose inside a first hose extending between the float bag and the power inflator. The inner hose can open the exhaust valve provided on the jacket by pressurized air supplied from one end thereof, and the pressurized air is supplied by operating a button provided on the inflator. It becomes possible. When the exhaust valve is opened, the pressurized air in the jacket is released.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-49959 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-71957

  In the jacket disclosed in Patent Document 1, when trying to open the exhaust valve of the floating bag, for example, a hand is placed on the power inflator and the inflator hose is pulled to place the pull cord in a tension state. However, in this manual operation, there is a trouble that the power inflator must be firmly held with one hand and then the inflator hose must be pulled and pulled, so that the exhaust valve opening operation is not always easy. Further, the device disclosed in Patent Document 2 sends pressurized air toward the exhaust valve by a button operation and opens the exhaust valve by the force of the pressurized air, but the remaining amount of pressurized air is poor. In this case, it becomes difficult to reliably open the exhaust valve.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a power inflator that can easily and reliably open the air bag exhaust valve in the buoyancy regulator.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is directed to the following power inflator. That is, a low pressure chamber connected to an elastically expandable inflation hose extending from a bladder in a buoyancy regulator, and a high pressure connected to an air hose that is a pressurized air supply source for supplying pressurized air to the low pressure chamber An inflation valve is interposed between the chamber and a pull cord having a first front end portion and a first rear end portion extending in parallel with the inflation hose inside the inflation hose; The first rear end is connected to a mechanism for opening and closing the exhaust valve of the bag, and the exhaust valve is opened when the pull cord is in a tension state, and the exhaust valve is closed when the pull cord is in a relaxed state. Power inflator.

  In the power inflator, the present invention is characterized as follows. That is, the low-pressure chamber is provided with a cylinder that can reciprocate in the extending direction of the pull cord and accommodates a piston having a second front end and a second rear end, and the second rear end. The pull cord has the first front end attached thereto, and the piston is biased by a first spring in a direction from the second front end to the second rear end. Between the low-pressure chamber and the high-pressure chamber, the air passage extending perpendicularly to the direction in which the piston reciprocates and the air passage can reciprocate and project from the outer surface of the power inflator. A slider biased by a second spring is provided in the direction, and a push button for sliding the slider against the bias of the second spring is formed on the outer surface. The piston and the cylinder extend in the direction of reciprocating sliding movement of the piston, the third front end is connected to the air passage, and the third rear end opposite to the third front end is the third rear end. An air supply path that leads to a clearance between the piston and the cylinder is formed, and the pressurized air that is supplied to the piston from the third rear end through the air passage and the air supply path. Is formed with a working surface of the pressurized air that enables sliding movement against the biasing of the first spring of the piston. When the slider slides by pressing the push button, the slider is connected to the high pressure chamber while being disconnected from the low pressure chamber, so that the pressurized air can be supplied to the air supply path. When the sliding operation is performed under the bias of the second spring after being released from the pressing operation, it is connected to the low pressure chamber in a state of being disconnected from the high pressure chamber and supplied to the air supply path. A switching portion for the air supply path that allows the pressurized air to be discharged into the low pressure chamber. When the piston is slid by the supply of the pressurized air to the air supply path, the pull cord is in a tensioned state, and the pressurized air is discharged from the air supply path to the low pressure chamber and the second spring. When the piston is slid, the pull cord is in a relaxed state.

  In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a mouthpiece can be attached, and a purge valve that allows air in the low-pressure chamber to be discharged from the mouthpiece and a purge button for opening the purge valve are provided. is doing.

  In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the piston is formed such that an outer diameter of the second front end portion is larger than an outer diameter of the second rear end portion, and between the both end portions. A step is formed, and the step becomes the working surface.

In one preferred embodiment another embodiment of the present invention, the sheet kilometers, are formed at the end of the air supply passage portion and before Symbol cylinder extending in the direction of the reciprocating sliding movement be formed in the piston And extending in a direction crossing the first air supply path, and extending toward the clearance in the vicinity of the working surface. And a second air supply path having an opening, and one end of the first air supply path is connected to the switching portion of the slider so as to allow ventilation .

  In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the slider has two large-diameter portions that are slidably in contact with the peripheral surface of the air passage via an O-ring. The small diameter portion is formed between the large diameter portions, and the small diameter portion serves as the switching portion.

  In the power inflator according to the present invention, the pull cord inside the inflatable inflatable hose has its first rear end attached to the opening / closing mechanism of the exhaust valve, while its first front end is attached to the piston of the power inflator. Since it is attached to the second rear end portion, when the power inflator is gripped and the inflation hose is pulled, the pull cord becomes tensioned and the exhaust valve of the float bag can be opened. Further, in this power inflator, when the slider push button is pressed, the pressurized air passes from the air passage to the working surface of the piston and slides the piston against the bias of the first spring. Because of the dynamic movement, the pull cord is tensioned by the piston and the exhaust valve is opened. As described above, in the power inflator according to the present invention, the exhaust valve is opened by pulling the inflation hose connected thereto, and the exhaust is also performed by operating the slider using the push button provided in the power inflator. The valve opens.

  The details of the power inflator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 are a front view and a rear view of the buoyancy adjuster 2 in which the power inflator 11 is used. The buoyancy adjuster 2 is in a state worn by a wearer 5 indicated by an imaginary line, and includes a jacket 3 also serving as a floating bag, and a belt 6 for fixing an air tank 4 partially indicated by the imaginary line to the back of the jacket 3. Have The jacket 3 includes a high-pressure hose 8 that can be ventilated to a pressure reducing valve (not shown) of the air tank, a power inflator 11 that can be vented to the high-pressure hose 8 via a coupler 9, and a jacket 3 that extends from the power inflator 11. It has the inflation hose 12 connected to the intake / exhaust part 21 provided in the left shoulder part so that ventilation is possible. The inflation hose 12 is sometimes called an inflator hose.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of the inflation hose 12 extending in a straight shape, and shows the power inflator 11 and the exhaust part 21 connected to the inflation hose 12 together. The inflation hose 12 has a front end portion 16 and a rear end portion 17, the rear end portion 17 is connected to the exhaust portion 21, and the front end portion 16 is connected to the inflator 11. The inflation hose 12 is also flexible and elastic in the longitudinal direction P, and has a bellows structure between the front end portion 16 and the rear end portion 17. The power inflator 11 includes a mouthpiece 31, an inflation button 32, a purge button 33, and a pull cord operation push button 34 in addition to the coupler 9 detachably connected to the high-pressure hose 8. In the exhaust part 21, an exhaust hole 23 (see FIG. 4) is formed in the cap part 22. The inflate button 32 is sometimes called an inflator button.

  4, 5 and 6, FIG. 4 shows the internal structure of the exhaust part 21 in FIG. 3, and the floating bag portion 3 a of the jacket 3 is indicated by a virtual line. 5 and 6 show the internal structure of the power inflator 11 in FIG. 3 and the section taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5, and FIG. 5 shows the high-pressure hose 8 in phantom. In addition, the IV-IV line and VV line which show the position of the cross section of FIG. 4, 5 are shown by FIG.

  In FIG. 4, the exhaust part 21 is shown in a state where the right half of the center dividing line AA is closed, and is shown in a state where the left half is open. The exhaust portion 21 includes a housing 21a and an exhaust valve 21b. The housing 21a is fixed in an airtight manner to the floating bag portion 3a, and can be detached from the base portion 24 including a plurality of members. It has the intermediate part 25 which is attached and has the inflation hose connection part 25a, and the cap part 22 attached to the intermediate part 25 so that removal is possible. On the inner side of the intermediate portion 25, a ring member 26 having a vent hole 26b communicating with the floating bag portion 3a and a valve seat 26c is set. An exhaust hole 23 is formed in the cap portion 22. An exhaust valve 21b is attached to the movable support member 27 inside the housing 21a. The movable support member 27 has a shaft portion 27a slidably inserted into the center hole 26e of the ring member 26, and is biased in a direction in which the exhaust valve 21b is closed by a spring 28 that contacts the top portion 27b. The lower end 27b of the shaft portion 27a is in contact with a pull cord 70 that is supported by a pair of guide portions 25f formed in the intermediate portion 25 and bent so as to draw a V shape. The pull cord 70 is in a state in which a rear end portion 71 formed in a spherical shape is fixed to the intermediate portion 25, and extends toward the inflator 11 through a guide hole 25g formed in the intermediate portion 25 (FIG. 5). reference). The pull cord 70 on the right side of the dividing line AA is in a relaxed state, the movable support member 27 is pressed and lowered by the spring 28, the exhaust valve 21 is pressed against the valve seat 26c, and the vent hole 26b is closed. Yes. At this time, the air bag portion 3a is in a state in which pressurized air as shown by a plurality of arrows can flow in and cannot be exhausted. On the left side of the dividing line AA, although not shown, the pull cord 70 is in a tensioned state, the movable support member 27 is raised by the tensioned pull cord 70, and the exhaust valve 21 is separated from the valve seat 26c. The vent hole 26b is opened. At this time, the pressurized air that has entered the inside of the floating bag portion 3 a is discharged through the vent hole 26 b and the exhaust hole 23.

  A pull cord 70 extends in parallel to the inflation hose 12 inside the inflation hose 12 in FIG. The pull cord 70 is inserted inside the highly rigid sheath 72 so as to be able to reciprocate and the end of the sheath 72 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the inflation hose 12 via a member 73. The member 73 is made to be able to vent so as not to block the air flow inside the inflation hose 12.

  The power inflator 11 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 has a hollow body 40. The body 40 includes a coupler 9, a mouthpiece 31, an inflation button 32, a purge button 33, a pull cord operation push button 34, and the like. Is attached. The body 40 has a high-pressure chamber 41 connected to the high-pressure hose 8 via the coupler 9 and a low-pressure chamber 42 connected to the floating bag portion 3 a of the jacket 3 via the inflation hose 12. Between the high-pressure chamber 41 and the low-pressure chamber 42, an inflation valve 43 that opens and closes by operation of the inflation button 32 is interposed. In FIG. 6, when the inflation button 32 is pushed in the direction of arrow B against the bias of the spring 44 toward the inside of the body 40, the inflation valve 43 moves in the direction of arrow B to leave the valve seat 43b, The high pressure chamber 41 and the low pressure chamber 42 are connected to each other, and as shown by a plurality of arrows in FIGS. 4 and 5, a clearance 43 a is formed in which pressurized air from the high pressure hose 8 is formed in the vicinity of the inflation valve 43. It passes through the low pressure chamber 42 and then flows through the inflation hose 12 to the floating bag portion 3a. The portion 41a of the high pressure chamber 41 shown in FIG. 5 extends toward the clearance 43a shown in FIG.

  When the purge button 33 located on the right side of the body 40 in FIG. 5 is pushed against the bias of the spring 46, the purge valve 47 is separated from the seat surface 48 formed on the body 40 and connected to the floating bag portion 3a. The air in the low-pressure chamber 42 flows between the purge valve 47 and the seat surface 48 and flows out of the mouthpiece 31. The purge valve 47 is also opened when the wearer 5 blows exhaled air from the mouthpiece 31, and the exhaled gas can be sent toward the floating bag portion 3a. In addition, when the power inflator 11 is a thing when the mouthpiece 31 is not required, the attaching part of the mouthpiece 31 in the body 40 can be closed.

A pull cord drive unit 50 is formed in the low pressure chamber 42 of the body 40 in the power inflator 11. The pull cord drive unit 50 includes a piston 51 and a cylinder 52 that is housed so that the piston 51 can reciprocate in the direction of arrow P. The piston 51 has a front end portion 53 having a large outer diameter and a rear end portion 54 having a small outer diameter, and there is a step between the front end portion 53 and the rear end portion 54 to form a working surface 55. . A first spring 56 that urges the piston 51 toward the jacket 3 in the direction of arrow P is pressed against the front end 53, and a front end formed in a spherical shape of a pull cord 70 is formed on the member 54 a of the rear end 54. The part 74 is attached so as not to be removable. Inside the piston 51, there are a first air supply passage 57 extending in the direction of arrow P, and an opening 58 on the outer peripheral surface of the rear end portion 54 that extends perpendicular to the first air supply passage 57 in the vicinity of the working surface 55. A second air supply path 59 is formed. The front end portion 57 a of the first air supply path 57 opens toward the inside of the cylinder 52.

  A clearance 49 is formed between the cylinder 52 and the body 40, and the clearance 49 is connected to the inside of the inflation hose 12. The cylinder 52 also has a front end portion 61, a rear end portion 62, and an intermediate portion 63. A peripheral wall inner surface 63a of the intermediate portion 63 is formed so that the front end portion 53 of the piston 51 can slide in the direction of arrow P. A peripheral wall inner surface 62a of the rear end portion 62 of the cylinder 52 is formed such that the rear end portion 54 of the piston 51 can reciprocate in the direction of the arrow P, and a sheath 72 of the pull cord 70 is fixed via an attachment member 76. ing. There is a step 67 between the peripheral wall inner surface 63a and the peripheral wall inner surface 62a of the cylinder 52, and the working surface 55 of the piston 51 is detachably contacted. However, a clearance 60 through which high-pressure air supplied from the second air supply path 59 can enter is formed between the step 67 and the working surface 55. A vent passage 90 extending in the radial direction of the cylinder 52 perpendicular to the arrow P direction is formed at the front end portion 61 of the cylinder 52, and extends in the arrow P direction to open to the inside of the cylinder 52 and the vent passage 90. An extension portion 93 of the first air supply path 57 and an exhaust path 94 that extends in the direction of arrow P and opens to the ventilation path 90 and the low pressure chamber 42 are formed. The extension portion 93 is a front end portion of the intake passage including the first intake passage 57 and the second intake passage 58.

  The ventilation path 90 extends from the pull cord drive unit 50 to the body 40, and has an upper end portion 91 in the pull cord drive unit 50 and a lower end portion 92 connected to the high pressure chamber 41. The lower end portion 92 is formed with an enlarged diameter portion 95 in which the inner diameter of the air passage 90 is partially increased. A slider 100 formed of a plurality of pin members capable of reciprocating and sliding in the vertical direction in the figure orthogonal to the arrow P is inserted into the air passage 90. A stored second spring 102 is interposed between the lower end portion 101 of the slider 100 and the body 40, and the push button 34 is attached to the upper end portion 103 of the slider 100 at a portion protruding from the outer surface of the body 40. The slider 100 is urged upward in the figure. The push button 34 is urged upward by the auxiliary spring 104 so that the operation is easy. When the push button 34 is pressed against the bias of the auxiliary spring 104, the slider 100 moves down against the bias of the second spring 102, and when the push button 34 is released from the press, the slider 100. Rises and returns to the state of FIG.

  The slider 100 is positioned immediately above the first large diameter portion 105 a formed by the first O-ring 106 positioned immediately above the enlarged diameter portion 95 of the air passage 90 in FIG. 5 and the exhaust path 94 of the cylinder 52. A second large-diameter portion 105b formed by the second O-ring 107, and both the O-rings 106 and 107 are in close contact with the peripheral surface of the air passage 90 so as not to allow ventilation. The slider 100 also includes a small-diameter portion 110 that can form an air-permeable clearance 108 between the first O-ring 106 and the second O-ring 107 in the vertical direction and the peripheral surface of the air passage 90. It is out. In the air passage 90 of FIG. 5 in such a state, high-pressure air from the high-pressure hose 8 enters the high-pressure chamber 41, but enters the low-pressure chamber 42 by closing the inflation valve 43. In addition, since the first O-ring 106 is in close contact with the peripheral surface of the air passage 90, it does not enter the clearance 108. On the other hand, the low pressure chamber 42 and the inside of the cylinder 52 are connected to each other through the third air supply passage 93 and the exhaust passage 94 so that the piston 51 is biased by the first spring 45 and the state shown in FIG. It is in. The pull cord 70 at this time is in a relaxed state with the front end portion 74 approaching the rear end portion 71.

  FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 when the push button 34 is pressed by the fingertip and the slider 100 is in the lowered state. At this time, in the slider 100, the first O-ring 106 is positioned in the enlarged diameter portion 95 of the air passage 90, and the second O-ring 107 is exhausted from the extension portion 93 of the first air supply passage 57 in the front end portion 61 of the cylinder 51. It is located between the road 94. The small-diameter portion 110 of the slider 100 is in a state in which the lower-diameter portion 95 is connected to the high-pressure chamber 41 so as to allow ventilation, and in the upper portion, the small-diameter portion 110 is connected to the third supply passage 93 so as to be able to vent. Therefore, the high pressure air in the high pressure chamber 41 passes through the clearance 108 between the air passage 90 and the small diameter portion 110 from the enlarged diameter portion 93 and then enters the inside of the cylinder 52 through the third air supply passage 93. It passes through the first air supply passage 57 and the second air supply passage 58 and comes out between the piston 51 and the cylinder 52 to press the action surface 55 of the piston 51. Then, the piston 51 moves to the right against the urging force of the first spring 56 to be in the state shown in FIG. At this time, the piston 51 pulls the pull cord 70 to the right to make it tension. The pull cord 70 opens the exhaust valve 21b as shown on the left side of the dividing line AA in FIG.

  When the push button 34 is released from the pressing operation, the slider 100 returns to the state shown in FIG. At this time, the high-pressure air that has entered the first supply passage 57, the second supply passage 58, the inside of the cylinder 52, and the like passes through the extension portion 93 of the supply passage and is further formed by the small diameter portion 110. The clearance 108 and the exhaust passage 94 are discharged into the low-pressure chamber 42, the internal pressure of the cylinder 52 decreases, the piston 51 returns to the state shown in FIG. 5, the pull cord 70 becomes relaxed, and the exhaust valve 21b is closed. become.

  As is clear from these explanations, the small-diameter portion 110 of the slider 100 functions as a portion that switches the air pressure inside the cylinder 52 and thereby switches the air pressure acting on the working surface 55 of the piston 51. .

  Such a power inflator 11 is attached to an inflating hose 12 that elastically extends, and pulling the inflator hose 12 with the power inflator 11 held in one hand may cause the pull cord 70 to be in a tension state. it can.

The combination of the pull cord driving unit 50, the air passage 70, and the slider 100 illustrated in FIG. 5 is applied to a power inflator with a regulator that enables supply of air to the wearer 5 in addition to the power inflator 11 illustrated in the figure. Such power inflators are also within the scope of the present invention.

The front view of the buoyancy regulator in a wearing condition. The rear view of the buoyancy regulator in a wearing condition. The side view of the inflation hose where the inflator is used. Sectional drawing of an exhaust part. Sectional drawing of a power inflator when a pull cord exists in a relaxation | loosening state. VI-VI sectional view taken on the line of FIG. Sectional drawing of a power inflator when a pull cord exists in a tension | tensile_strength state.

Explanation of symbols

2 Buoyancy adjuster 3a Buoyancy bag 11 Power inflator 12 Inflation hose 21b Exhaust valve
31 Mouthpiece 32 Inflation valve 33 Purge button 34 Push button 41 High pressure chamber 42 Low pressure chamber 47 Purge valve 51 Piston 52 Cylinder 53 Second front end portion 54 Second rear end portion 55 Working surface 56 First spring 57 First intake passage 58 First 3 Rear end portion, opening 59 Second intake passage 60 Clearance 70 Pull cord 71 First rear end portion 74 First front end portion 90 Ventilation passage 93 Third front end portion 100 Slider 102 Second spring 105a Large diameter portion 105b Large diameter portion 106 O -Ring 107 O- Ring 110 Switching part (small diameter part)

Claims (5)

A low pressure chamber connected to an elastically extensible inflatable hose extending from the bladder in the buoyancy regulator, and a high pressure chamber connected to an air hose that is a pressurized air supply source for supplying pressurized air to the low pressure chamber; An inflation valve is interposed between the first and second pull cords. A pull cord having a first front end portion and a first rear end portion extends in parallel with the inflation hose inside the inflation hose. A power inflator of a buoyancy regulator whose rear end is connected to a mechanism that opens and closes the exhaust valve of the bladder, and that the exhaust valve opens when the pull cord is in tension, and that the exhaust valve closes when the pull cord is relaxed Because
The low-pressure chamber is provided with a cylinder that can reciprocate in the direction in which the pull cord extends and accommodates a piston having a second front end and a second rear end, and the second rear end includes the cylinder. The first front end of the pull cord is attached, and the piston is biased by a first spring in a direction from the second front end to the second rear end;
Between the low-pressure chamber and the high-pressure chamber, the air passage extending perpendicularly to the direction in which the piston reciprocates and the air passage can reciprocate and project from the outer surface of the power inflator. A slider biased by a second spring in a direction, and a push button for sliding the slider against the bias of the second spring is formed on the outer surface,
The piston and the cylinder extend in the direction of reciprocating sliding movement of the piston, the third front end is connected to the air passage, and the third rear end opposite to the third front end is the third rear end. An air supply path that leads to a clearance between the piston and the cylinder is formed, and the pressurized air that is supplied to the piston from the third rear end through the air passage and the air supply path. Is formed with a working surface of the pressurized air that enables sliding movement against the bias of the first spring of the piston,
When the slider slides by pressing the push button, the slider is connected to the high pressure chamber while being disconnected from the low pressure chamber, so that the pressurized air can be supplied to the air supply path. When the sliding operation is performed under the bias of the second spring after being released from the pressing operation, it is connected to the low pressure chamber in a state of being disconnected from the high pressure chamber and supplied to the air supply path. Having a switching site for the air supply path that allows the pressurized air to be released into the low pressure chamber;
When the piston is slid by the supply of the pressurized air to the air supply path, the pull cord is in a tensioned state, and the pressurized air is discharged from the air supply path to the low pressure chamber and the second spring. The power inflator is characterized in that the pull cord is in a relaxed state when the piston is caused to slide by the above.   The power inflator according to claim 1, further comprising a purge valve to which a mouthpiece can be attached and which allows air in the low pressure chamber to be discharged from the mouthpiece and a purge button for opening the purge valve.   The piston is formed such that an outer diameter of the second front end portion is larger than an outer diameter of the second rear end portion, and a step is formed between both ends, and the step is the working surface. The power inflator according to claim 1 or 2. The paper kilometers, on the extension of the reciprocating slide supply passageway portion and a front SL is formed on the end portion the sheet kilometers portion of the cylinder extending in a movement to the direction of the piston is formed in the piston A first air supply path including a certain air supply path portion; a second air supply path extending in a direction intersecting with the first air supply path and having an opening toward the clearance in the vicinity of the working surface; The power inflator according to claim 1, wherein one end portion of the first air supply path is connected to the switching portion of the slider so as to allow ventilation.   The slider is formed with two large-diameter portions that are slidably in contact with the peripheral surface of the air passage through an O-ring, and are separated from each other in the direction in which the air passage extends. The power inflator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a small-diameter portion is formed between the small-diameter portions, and the small-diameter portion serves as the switching portion.

Images