WO1990005086A1

WO1990005086A1 - Apparatus and method of filling a balloon with articles and air

Info

Publication number: WO1990005086A1
Application number: PCT/US1989/004982
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lynn R. Oyler
Original assignee: Balloon Wrap, Inc.
Priority date: 1988-11-03
Filing date: 1989-10-31
Publication date: 1990-05-17
Also published as: EP0453445A1; AU4643389A; US4924919A; EP0453445A4

Abstract

Apparatus for and method of filling a balloon with articles and air wherein a container (12) having a removable cover (12f) having an outlet pipe (14) therein. The container (12) is evacuated after the opening of a balloon (18) is attached to said pipe (14) within the container to thereby expand the balloon and permit articles to be placed therewithin through the pipe. A stopper (20) is then placed in the pipe and the air pump (18) is shut off whereby the end of the balloon can be tied off.

Description

-APPARATUS AND METHOD OF FILLING A BALLOON WITH ARTICLES AND AIR

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to apparatus and method for placing articles within a balloon and for filling the balloon with air for providing a unique package.

Brief Statement of the Prior Art

For various occasions it is desirable to provide gifts for one's friends or relatives, and it is a further desire to provide something which is unique and out of the ordinary. In this regard, it is desirable to have a different or unique package for your gift to further emphasize the feelings between the giver and the receiver or at least to make the receiver feel extraordinary. Heretofore, many different kinds of packages or packaging have been used to attempt to make such uniqueness and attractiveness, but most of such attempts have been very ordinary and usual. For instance, various different designs and colorings have been printed on wrapping paper to attempt to create such uniqueness, and yet, what with the myriad of presents or gifts that are exchanged, such attempts at making unusual designs on paper become somewhat ordinary. In view of the foregoing, it is a desire to provide a unique package for articles which are given as gifts or presents such that the articles are within an inflated balloon. In this regard, it is believed that on the occurrence of an extremely unusual happening such as an engagement of marriage between people, an engagement ring or the like might be uniquely presented by being within a balloon filled with air. However, it has been difficult to provide such unique packaging what with the size of the opening to a balloon as compared with articles which might be placed therewithin. Brief Description Of The Invention

This invention provides an apparatus and method for the filling of a balloon with one or more articles as well as air, by evacuating a container wherein the balloon is operatively positioned, to expand the balloon into the container. The balloon is secured to the end of a pipe within the container and air enters the balloon through the pipe when the chamber is evacuated. Articles, e.g., gifts, toys,- etc. can then be placed within the interior of the balloon through the open pipe. The pipe is then closed off, preferably with a plug, removed from the container and the elastic opening of the balloon is tied off, thereby securing the article within the balloon. The balloon has an inflated shape, and the articles are contained within the balloon and are visible through the sidewall of the balloon, thus providing a highly unusual and decorative package.

Brief Description Of The Drawings

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of apparatus according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 of the drawings;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 3, showing the inflated balloon;

FIGURE 5 is a similar sectional view showing the insertion of article;

FIGURE 6 is a similar sectional view showing the use of a stopper in the container opening;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the cover removed from the body of the container; and FIGURE 8 shows the finished balloon package. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, there is shown therein apparatus 10 for use in filling an expandable balloon with air ' and various articles. Such apparatus includes a container 12 having sidewalls 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d, as well as bottom wall 12e. Also part of the container 12 is a removable cover 12f having an offset edge 12g thereabout for closure cooperation with the sidewalls of the container, as shown in the drawings.

Although the container shown in the drawings has corner sections at 45 degrees to the sidewalls that are being joined, it will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art, that such construction is not necessary for successful practice of the present invention, but rather the sidewalls of the container 12 may meet at 90 degrees to each other: in fact, the specific construction of the container 12 is not critical to successful practice of the present invention, it being well understood by those persons skilled in the art that the shape or design of such container can vary as desired. Positioned within the cover 12f is an intake pipe 14 which is hermetically sealed within a through opening in cover 12 f , as by means of bonding, welding, soldering, brazing or the like. Such opening within cover 12f is preferably centrally located within the cover. Pipe 14 is so positioned within the cover 12f as to have an interior portion 14a within container 12, and an exterior portion 14b. As will hereinafter be explained in greater detail, the interior portion 14a of 15 pipe 14 is formed with an annular groove or recess 14c.

Mounted within an opening formed in the sidewall 12c of container 12 is a conduit 16 which leads to a vacuum source or air pump 18. Such vacuum source, of course, includes external power such as electricity 20 or the like (not shown) for operation of the air pump.

As shown most particularly in FIGURE -3, to fill a balloon with articles and air, a balloon 18 having a flexible opening 18a is positioned within container 12, with such opening 18a positioned about the interior portion 14a of pipe 14. In this regard, most balloons are formed with a flexible bead 18b about the end 18a, and it has been found desirable to locate such bead within the annular groove 14c of pipe 14. This arrangement assists in retaining the balloon in the proper position during filling as will hereinafter become more apparent.

With the balloon so positioned, the air pump 10 which is part of vacuum source 18, is caused to operate to thereby decrease the pressure within container 12, as shown in FIGURE 4. This causes the atmospheric pressure about container 12 to force air into the balloon through pipe 14, thus causing the balloon to expand by being 15 filled with air as shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawings.

With the balloon so inflated, articles, as shown in FIGURE 5 of the drawings, can be placed into the balloon through the pipe 14. Thereafter, as shown in FIGURE 6 of the drawings, a stopper or plug 20 is 20 placed in the exterior portion 14b of pipe 14 so as to interrupt the flow of air into or out of the balloon 18. The air pump is then turned off, enabling the cover 12f to be removed from the sidewalls of the container 12 so as to appear as shown in FIGURE 7 of the drawings.

Thereafter, the balloon 18 can have the flexible open end 18a thereof tied off with string, ribbon 22 or the like so as to provide a unique package for the articles, as shown most particularly in FIGURE 8 of the drawings. As will be well realized, the stopper 20 can then be removed from pipe 14 and the entire process or methodology repeated to fill other balloons with articles and air as above explained.

It is thus seen that the present invention provides unique apparatus and method for filling a balloon with articles as well as air to provide a unique and distinctive package for such articles. Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am well aware that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the filling an elastic toy balloon to provide an inflated balloon with irregularly-shaped articles occupying a minor portion of the internal volume of said balloon and air occupying the major portion of said internal volume of said balloon, said apparatus comprising: a. an airtight container having a bottom, sidewalls and a removable cover defining a chamber with an internal volume at least equal to said internal volume of said inflated balloon, with a first opening in a wall thereof, and a second opening located in said cover, said second opening receiving a pipe having a diameter sufficient to provide a through ^{^}opening sufficiently large to permit passage of said articles, b. a balloon engaging surface on the end of said pipe within said container to secure the elastic opening of said elastic toy balloon; and c. an air pump having its intake port operatively connected to said first opening of said container to evacuate the interior of said container.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1 including a'stopper for placement in said pipe for preventing the flow of air through said cover opening when said cover is removed.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 1 wherein said pump is positioned exteriorly of said container.

4. The method of filling an elastic toy balloon to provide an_. inflated balloon with an internal volume containing irregularly-shaped articles occupying a minor portion of said internal volume and air occupying the major portion of said internal volume comprising the steps of: a. providing an airtight container having a bottom, sidewalls and a removable cover defining a chamber with an internal volume at least equal to said internal volume of said inflated balloon, with a first opening-therein, and a second opening located in said cover, said second opening receiving a pipe having" a diameter sufficient to provide a through opening sufficiently large to permit passage of said articles, b. stretching and securing the elastic opening of said elastic toy balloon having a small diameter opening less than the diameter of said inflated balloon and less than the diameter of said pipe onto said pipe and placing said toy balloon within said airtight container, c. causing an air pump to be operatively positioned at said first opening and to be operated to evacuate the interior of said container while permitting unrestricted flow of air at ambient pressure to enter said balloon through said pipe and thereby inflate and expand said balloon against the internal sides of said container, d. filling said balloon with articles through said pipe, tying off the opening of said balloon while filled with air at ambient, atmospheric pressure, e. . restoring the pressure within said chamber to atmospheric pressure, and f. removing said cover and recovering said balloon from said container to obtain said toy balloon having a minor portion of its internal volume filled with said articles and a major portion of its internal volume filled with air.

5. The method of filling a balloon according to Claim 4 wherein a stopper is placed in said pipe after said balloon is filled with articles and air prior to said steps of removing said cover and recovering said balloon, to allow the opening of said balloon to be tied off thereafter without losing air.

6. The method of filling a balloon according to Claim 5 said removable cover is removed from said container and wherein said balloon opening is stretched and secured to the end of said pipe on the undersurface of said cover and said cover is removed following placement of said stopper in said first opening to enable said balloon to be tied off.

7. The method of filling a balloon according to Claim 5 wherein the operation of said air pump is caused to cease following placement of said stopper in said pipe and before the container cover is removed.

8. The method of filling a balloon according to Claim 6 wherein said articles are placed in said balloon through said pipe, and said stopper is placed in said pipe exteriorly of said container.