US20100247337A1

US20100247337A1 - Air pump for air mattress

Info

Publication number: US20100247337A1
Application number: US12/606,258
Authority: US
Inventors: Chun-Chung Tsai
Original assignee: Dongguan Tiger Point Metal and Plastic Products Co Ltd
Current assignee: Dongguan Tiger Point Metal and Plastic Products Co Ltd
Priority date: 2009-03-26
Filing date: 2009-10-27
Publication date: 2010-09-30
Also published as: CN201391431Y

Abstract

An air pump for an air mattress has a housing, a first air vent and a second air vent respectively mounted on a top and a bottom of the housing, a chamber, a blower and an air direction switcher mounted in the chamber, an actuating mechanism, and an air valve. A slider in the air direction switcher is moved by operating the actuating mechanism being a solenoid valve or a knob gear and a follower. The air valve is propped up by a sloping partition of the slider to open the second air vent. Given the structure of the air pump, the first and second air vents are flexibly arranged and can be directly aligned with each other. Therefore, the air path is shortened to inflate and deflate more rapidly and more efficiently.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an air pump for an air mattress, and more particularly to an air pump for rapidly inflating and deflating an air mattress.
2. Description of the Related Art
Air pumps are critical parts of inflatable air mattresses. Usually, air pumps are mounted inside the inflatable air mattresses for inflating and deflating air mattresses and also maintaining the pressure therein. As inflatable air mattresses can be used or stored by inflating and deflating it, they are widely used for traveling and going camping or providing a temporary bed.
A conventional air pump for an air mattress has a housing, and a motor, an impeller, a solenoid valve, a slider and an air valve mounted inside the housing. An air vent and an air slot are respectively mounted on a side and a bottom of the housing. The air valve seals the air vent, and the slider corresponds to the air slot. The air valve is connected to one end of the rod of the solenoid valve, and the slider is connected to the other end of the rod of the solenoid valve. When the motor drives the impeller to rotate with a high speed in generation of air flow, the air valve is controlled by the solenoid valve to open and close the air vent. Meanwhile, the slider is driven by the solenoid valve to switch the direction of air flow so as to inflate or deflate the air mattress.
Despite the inflating and deflating features owned by the conventional air pump, there are still many problems of the conventional air pump yet to be improved, especially poorly fitting structural elements reducing efficiency and poor air flow path, specifically, the air valve and the slider are all activated by the rod of the solenoid valve. As a consequence, the air vent and the air slot are respectively mounted on the side and the bottom of the housing so an air flow path is not straight for inflation or deflation. Therefore, air must be deflected to flow from the bottom to the side or the other way around so increasing length of the air flow path and the corresponding drag force, tantamount to longer time of air flowing in the air pump and slower inflation speed of the air pump.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide an air pump for an air mattress featuring with shorter air path inside the air pump and faster inflation and deflation speed.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the air pump for an air mattress has a housing, a blower, an air direction switcher and an air valve.
The housing has a chamber, a first air vent and a second air vent. The chamber is defined in the housing. The first air vent is mounted on a top of the housing, communicates with the chamber and is adapted to be exposed beyond the air mattress. The second air vent is mounted on a bottom of the housing, communicates with the chamber, and is adapted to communicate with the air mattress.
The blower is mounted in the chamber and has a first air compartment, a second air compartment, an impeller, a motor and an air direction switcher.
The first air compartment has an air outlet formed through a bottom of the first air compartment and is directly aligned with the second air vent.
The second air compartment is adjoined with the first air compartment, communicates with the first air compartment through a first opening formed through a first partition between the first air compartment and the second air compartment, communicates with the first air vent through a second opening formed through a second partition of the second air compartment opposite to the first partition and abutting the first air vent, and has an air inlet formed through a bottom of the second air compartment and is directly aligned with the second air vent.
The impeller is located in the first air compartment. The motor drives the impeller to rotate and generate air flow.
The air direction switcher is mounted in the chamber and has an actuating mechanism and a slider. The actuating moves in a straight line. The slider is connected with the actuating mechanism and has a cavity and a sloping partition. The slider is alternately moved by the actuation mechanism to align the cavity to the air inlet and the air outlet. The sloping partition is located on the slider.
The air valve is mounted at the second air vent and is propped up by the air flow generated by the motor and the impeller while inflating and by the sloping partition while deflating to open the second air vent.
Differing from conventional air pump for an air mattress, the present invention mainly employs the actuating mechanism to move the slider and the sloping partition of the slider to prop up the air valve so as to switch to different operation mode. Structurally, the present invention has greater flexibility in layout of the first air vent and the second air vent, which can be directly aligned with each other. Consequently, such layout shortens the air paths inside the air pump, rendering a fast and efficient inflation and deflation speed of the air pump for an air mattress.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of an air pump for an air mattress in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view in FIG. 1 without a controller;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 without a controller when the air pump is inflating;

FIG. 4 is another partial cross-sectional view in FIG. 1 when the air pump is deflating;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a blower in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a slider in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of an air pump for an air mattress in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of an actuating mechanism in FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a blower in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, a first embodiment of an air pump for an air mattress has a housing (10), a chamber (101), a first air vent (102), a second air vent (103), an air valve (20), a blower (30) and an air direction switcher (40).
The chamber (101) is defined inside the housing (10). The first air vent (102) is mounted on a top of the housing (10), takes the form of a plurality of parallel slots or round holes formed through the top of the housing (10), communicates with the chamber (101), and is exposed beyond an air mattress in which the air pump is mounted. The second air vent (103) is mounted on a bottom of the housing (10) opposite to the top of the housing (10), and communicates with the chamber (101) and an inner space of the air mattress. The first air vent (102) and the second air vent (103) may be arranged to directly align to each other. The air valve (20) is mounted at the second air vent (103) to block or open the second air vent (103). The blower (30) and the air direction switcher (40) are mounted inside the housing (10) and between the first air vent (102) and the second air vent (103).
The blower (30) has a motor (31), an impeller (32), a first air compartment (33) and a second air compartment (34).
The motor (31) drives the impeller (32) to rotate and generate air flow. The impeller (32) is mounted inside the first air compartment (33). The first air compartment (33) and the second air compartment (34) are adjoined. The first air compartment communicates with the second air compartment (34) through a first opening (301) formed through a first partition (37) between the first air compartment (33) and the second air compartment (34). The second air compartment (34) communicates with the first air vent (102) through a second opening (302) formed through a second partition (38) of the second air compartment (34) opposite to the first partition (37) and abutting the first air vent (102). An air outlet (35) is formed through a bottom side of the first air compartment (33) to align to the second air vent (103). An air inlet (36) is formed through a bottom side of the second air compartment (34) to align to the second air vent (103).
The air direction switcher (40) has a slider (41) and an actuating mechanism driving the slider (41) to move in a straight line. The slider (41) is connected with the actuating mechanism, has four partitions and a cavity (411) formed within the four partitions and formed through a bottom board (413), and is alternately moved by the actuating mechanism to align the cavity (411) to communicate with the first air compartment (33) or the second air compartment (34) and the second air vent (103). The slider (41) has a sloping block (412) formed to penetrate through two opposite partitions. The sloping block (412) is hollow and has a sloping partition (413) formed on a top surface thereof and going downhill in a direction from the second air compartment (34) to the first air compartment (33). In the first embodiment, the actuating mechanism is a solenoid valve (42). The slider (41) is connected to a rod (421) of the solenoid valve (42). A wired controller (50) is electrically connected with the solenoid valve (42) and the motor (31) to operate the solenoid valve (42) and the motor (31).
The air valve (20) has a yoke (21), a spring (22) and a rubber plate (23). The yoke (21) has a seat ring (211) and a stem (212). The seat ring (211) has a plurality of arms radially connected with a center and a rim thereof. The stem (212) is perpendicularly extended from the center of the seat ring (211). The rubber plate (23) is fixedly mounted to the seat ring (211) and accompanies with the seat ring (211) to hermetically seal the second air vent (103). A tail end of the stem (212) penetrates through a positioning hole defined at the second air vent (103) to prop up a bottom surface (414) of the sloping partition (413). The spring (22) is sleeved around the stem (212). One end of the spring (22) is urged against the tail end of the stem (212) and the other end is urged against an inner surface of the housing (10) so that the yoke (21) and the rubber plate (23) as a whole can elastically seal or open the second air vent (103).
With reference to FIGS. 7 to 10, a second embodiment of an air pump for an air mattress in accordance with the present invention mainly differs from the first embodiment in the actuating mechanism. The actuating mechanism of the second embodiment has a gear knob (43) and a follower (44). The gear knob (43) has a knob (431) and a gear-like member (432) having a plurality of cogs and attached underneath the knob (431), and is mounted on the top of the housing (10). The knob (431) is exposed beyond the top of the housing (10), and the gear-like member (432) is located inside the housing (10). The slider (41) is fixedly mounted on the follower (44) and is similar to that in the first embodiment except that the slider (41) additionally has an erected cover (413) mounted on the follower (44). The follower (44) has a rack (441) having a plurality of cogs corresponding to those of the gear-like member (432) and engaged therewith. When the knob (431) is turned, the gear-like member (432) is rotated to move the rack (441) of the follower (44) along a straight line. The follower (44) and the slider (41) are driven by rectilinear motion until the cavity (411) is directly aligned with either the first air compartment (33) or the second air compartment (34) and communicates therewith. Accordingly, the desired air flow direction or the operating mode can be switched.
When the slider (41) is moved and the cavity (411) communicates with the first air compartment (not shown), the erected cover (413) is covered on the second opening (302) to prevent air from leaking from the second opening (302). When the slider (41) is moved and the cavity (411) communicates with the second air compartment (not shown), the erected cover (413) is removed from the second opening (302) to facilitate air flowing from the second opening (302) to the second air compartment (not shown) so as to generate desired air flow.
With further reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the operating theory of the present invention is described as follows.
The air pump of the present invention has three types of operating modes, namely, inflation, pressure hold-up and deflation.
During the inflation mode, air outside the air mattress is promptly pumped into an inner chamber of the air mattress to inflate the air mattress until it is ready for use. Upon inflating, the actuating mechanism is actuated to drive the slider (41) to move so that the cavity (411) of the slider (41) directly communicates with the air outlet (35). Then, the motor (31) drives the impeller (32) to rotate with a high speed for generating air flow, and the air flow pushes the air valve (20) to open the second air vent (103). Air outside the air mattress sequentially flows through the first air vent (102), the second opening (302), the second air compartment (34), the first opening (301), the first air compartment (33), the air outlet (35), the cavity (411) and the second air vent (103) to the inner chamber as marked by arrowheads in FIG. 3, to fulfill the function of inflation.
During the pressure hold-up mode, the air mattress is fully inflated and the motor (31) is switched off by using the wired controller (50) or the gear knob (43). At the time, the cavity (411) of the slider (41) directly communicates with the air outlet (35). Since the air pressure in the inner chamber of the air mattress is far higher than the atmospheric pressure outside the air mattress, the air valve (20) tightly seals the second air vent (103) due to the pressure difference effect, achieving the pressure holding function.
During the deflation mode, air inside the inner chamber of the air mattress is evacuated. When the air mattress is no longer in use and needs to be packed up and deflated, the wired controller (50) or the gear knob (43) is operated to activate the actuating mechanism. The actuating mechanism is further actuated to drive the slider (41) to move until the cavity (411) of the slider (41) directly communicates with the air inlet (36). When the slider (41) is moved, the air valve (20) is propped up by the bottom surface (414) of the sloping partition (413) of the slider (41) to open the second air vent (103). Meanwhile, the motor (31) drives the impeller (32) to rotate with a high speed for generating air flow. After sequentially flowing through the second air vent (103), the cavity (411), the second air compartment (34), the first opening (301), the first air compartment (33), the air outlet (35) and the first air vent (102) (as marked by arrowheads in FIG. 4), air in the air mattress is evacuated out of the air mattress to fulfill the function of deflation. Besides, air flowing along the air path inside the air pump also carries away the heat generated by the motor (31).
In sum, the present invention is characterized in that the slider is moved through the operation of the solenoid valve or the gear knob and the air valve is propped up by the sloping partition of the slider so as to switch the operating modes of the air pump. In contrast to conventional air pumps using the rod of the solenoid valve to simultaneously drive the slider and the air valve, the arrangement of the first air vent and the second air vent in the present invention is more flexible. Given the flexible arrangement, the first air vent and the second air vent can be respectively mounted on a top surface and a bottom surface of the housing. As such, the air path inside the air pump is shortened to result in a direct and fast inflation and deflation of the air mattress.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. An air pump for an air mattress, comprising:

a housing having

a chamber defined in the housing;

a first air vent mounted on a top of the housing, communicating with the chamber and adapted to be exposed beyond an air mattress; and

a second air vent mounted on a bottom of the housing, communicating with the chamber, and adapted to communicate with the air mattress;

a blower mounted in the chamber and having

a first air compartment having an air outlet formed through a bottom of the first air compartment and directly aligned with the second air vent;

a second air compartment adjoined with the first air compartment, communicating with the first air compartment through a first opening formed through a first partition between the first air compartment and the second air compartment, communicating with the first air vent through a second opening formed through a second partition of the second air compartment opposite to the first partition and abutting the first air vent, and having an air inlet formed through a bottom of the second air compartment and directly aligned with the second air vent;

an impeller located in the first air compartment; and

a motor driving the impeller to rotate and generate air flow;

an air direction switcher mounted in the chamber and having

an actuating mechanism moving in a straight line; and

a slider connected with the actuating mechanism, having a cavity, alternately moved by the actuation mechanism to align the cavity to the air inlet and the air outlet, and having a sloping partition thereon; and

an air valve mounted at the second air vent propped up by the air flow generated by the motor and the impeller while inflating and by the sloping partition while deflating to open the second air vent.

2. The air pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first air vent and the second air vent are directly aligned with each other.

3. The air pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first air compartment and the second air compartment are located between the first air vent and the second air vent.

4. The air pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air valve comprise a yoke having:

a seat ring having a plurality of arms radially connected with a center and a rim thereof; and

a stem perpendicularly extended from the center of the seat ring and penetrating through a positioning hole located at the second air vent to prop up a bottom surface of the sloping partition;

a rubber plate fixedly mounted to the seat ring to hermetically seal the second air vent, and

a spring sleeved around the stem, one end of the spring urged against a tail end of the stem and the other end urged against an inner surface of the housing so that the yoke elastically seals or opens the second air vent.

5. The air pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air pump further comprises a wired controller electrically connected with the motor and the actuating mechanism, the actuating mechanism is a solenoid valve having a rod and operated by the wired controller, and the slider is connected to the rod of the solenoid valve.

6. The air pump as claimed in claim 2, wherein the air pump further comprises a wired controller electrically connected with the motor and the actuating mechanism, the actuating mechanism is a solenoid valve having a rod and operated by the wired controller, and the slider is connected to the rod of the solenoid valve.

7. The air pump as claimed in claim 3, wherein the air pump further comprises a wired controller electrically connected with the motor and the actuating mechanism, the actuating mechanism is a solenoid valve having a rod and operated by the wired controller, and the slider is connected to the rod of the solenoid valve.

8. The air pump as claimed in claim 4, wherein the air pump further comprises a wired controller electrically connected with the motor and the actuating mechanism, the actuating mechanism is a solenoid valve having a rod and operated by the wired controller, and the slider is connected to the rod of the solenoid valve.

9. The air pump as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating mechanism comprises:

a knob mounted on and exposed beyond the top of the housing;

a gear-like member attached underneath the knob, located inside the housing, and having a plurality of cogs, and

a follower fixedly connected with the slider and having a rack having a plurality of cogs corresponding to and engaged with the plurality of cogs of the gear-like member.

10. The air pump as claimed in claim 2, wherein the actuating mechanism comprises:

a knob mounted on and exposed beyond the top of the housing;

11. The air pump as claimed in claim 3, wherein the actuating mechanism comprises:

a knob mounted on and exposed beyond the top of the housing;

12. The air pump as claimed in claim 4, wherein the actuating mechanism comprises:

a knob mounted on and exposed beyond the top of the housing;

13. The air pump as claimed in claim 9, wherein the slider has an erected cover mounted thereon, the erected cover is covered on the second opening to prevent air from leaking from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the first air compartment, and the erected cover is removed from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the second air compartment.

14. The air pump as claimed in claim 10, wherein the slider has an erected cover mounted thereon, the erected cover is covered on the second opening to prevent air from leaking from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the first air compartment, and the erected cover is removed from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the second air compartment.

15. The air pump as claimed in claim 11, wherein the slider has an erected cover mounted thereon, the erected cover is covered on the second opening to prevent air from leaking from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the first air compartment, and the erected cover is removed from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the second air compartment.

16. The air pump as claimed in claim 12, wherein the slider has an erected cover mounted thereon, the erected cover is covered on the second opening to prevent air from leaking from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the first air compartment, and the erected cover is removed from the second opening when the slider is moved and the cavity directly communicates with the second air compartment.