U.S. patent application number 10/060988 was filed with the patent office on 2003-07-31 for inflatable device.
Invention is credited to Lee, Ming-Hsin.
Application Number | 20030144096 10/060988 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27610121 |
Filed Date | 2003-07-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030144096 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lee, Ming-Hsin |
July 31, 2003 |
Inflatable device
Abstract
An inflatable device, such as a sport ball, includes a tubular
elastomeric member inserted into and attached to a rubber carcass
and having a valve slit at a bottom wall thereof. A tubular rigid
stem is inserted into a receiving hole in the elastomeric member
and is spaced apart from the valve slit so as not to deform the
valve slit. The rigid stem confines a passage communicating with
the valve slit to admit ambient air into the carcass via the
passage and the valve slit.
Inventors: |
Lee, Ming-Hsin; (Taipei
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHRISTENSEN, O'CONNOR, JOHNSON, KINDNESS, PLLC
1420 FIFTH AVENUE
SUITE 2800
SEATTLE
WA
98101-2347
US
|
Family ID: |
27610121 |
Appl. No.: |
10/060988 |
Filed: |
January 29, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/611 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 41/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/611 |
International
Class: |
A63B 041/02 |
Claims
I claim:
1. An inflatable device comprising: a carcass having an inner layer
surface, an outer layer surface opposite to said inner layer
surface, and an inner peripheral wall surface extending from said
inner layer surface along an axis through said outer layer surface
and confining an inlet hole; a tubular elastomeric member of a
single piece construction, inserted into said carcass via said
inlet hole, and including a bottom wall having a periphery and a
valve slit which extends therethrough in an axial direction
parallel to the axis, and a tubular wall extending from said
periphery of said bottom wall toward said inner peripheral wall
surface and surrounding the axis to form a first inner surrounding
wall surface which confines a receiving hole that communicates with
said valve slit, said tubular wall terminating at an upper
surrounding end which is disposed to be secured relative to said
inner peripheral wall surface; and a tubular rigid stem made from a
material more rigid than that of said elastomeric member, and
inserted into said receiving hole in the axial direction from said
upper surrounding end, said rigid stem having a first outer
surrounding wall surface which is dimensioned to abut against said
first inner surrounding wall surface, and which has upper and lower
ends that are disposed opposite to each other in the axial
direction and distal and proximate to said bottom wall
respectively, said lower end being spaced apart from said slit in
the axial direction, said tubular stem further having a second
inner surrounding wall surface opposite to said first outer
surrounding wall surface in radial directions relative to the axis
and surrounding the axis, said second inner surrounding wall
surface confining a passage which communicates with said valve slit
and said inlet hole so as to admit air into said carcass via said
passage.
2. The inflatable device of claim 1, wherein said elastomeric
member further includes an annular flange extending outwardly and
in the radial directions from said upper surrounding end and
secured to said inner layer surface adjacent to said inner
peripheral wall surface.
3. The inflatable device of claim 2, further comprising an annular
abutting wall which is integrally formed with and which extends
outwardly and in the radial directions from said upper end of said
first outer surrounding wall surface of said rigid stem so as to be
superimposed on said annular flange.
4. The inflatable device of claim 3, wherein said annular abutting
wall is attached securely on said inner peripheral wall surface and
is flush with said outer layer surface.
5. The inflatable device of claim 4, further comprising a rigid
tubular holding member disposed in said carcass to hold and secure
said elastomeric member and said tubular rigid stem to said inner
layer surface.
6. The inflatable device of claim 2, further comprising a pump
mechanism including a cylinder having a second outer surrounding
wall surface which has an upper end portion that is secured
sealingly on said inner peripheral wall surface, and a third inner
surrounding wall surface which surrounds the axis and which has a
lower end portion that is opposite to said upper end portion in the
axial direction, said annular flange being disposed sealingly on
said lower end portion to cooperate with said third inner
surrounding wall surface to confine an accommodation space, and a
piston member disposed in said accommodation space and operable to
move along the axis to pump ambient air which is drawn into said
cylinder, through said valve slit and into said carcass.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] This invention relates to an inflatable device, such as a
sport ball or a tyre, more particularly to an inflatable device
with an inflating mechanism.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional inflatable sport ball is
shown to include a rubber carcass 110, and an inflating valve 200
secured in a rubber wall 120 in the carcass 110. The inflating
valve 200 has a valve slit 230 for insertion of an inflating needle
(not shown) therethrough. The inflating needle is connected to a
pump so as to inflate the ball. Then, the inflating needle is
withdrawn from the valve slit 230 which self-seals to maintain the
air pressure in the ball. The drawback of the conventional ball
resides in that an inner peripheral wall of the valve 200 is
susceptible to wearing in the event of inaccurate or repeated
insertion of the inflating needle. Moreover, the inflating
operation is inconvenient to conduct since an inflating needle is
needed.
[0005] To solve the above problems, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3,
U.S. pat. No. 6,287,225 B1 shows a self-contained sport ball
inflation mechanism for inflating or adding air pressure to a sport
ball 100. The mechanism includes a cylinder 310 attached to a
carcass 110 of the ball 100, a cap 311 disposed in the cylinder
310, a piston 320, an O-ring seal 322, a piston rod 321 and a
spring 330 disposed in the cylinder 310. At a bottom of the
cylinder 310 there is a one-way valve 350 of a duckbill-type. The
spring 330 forces the piston 320 and the piston rod 321 down into
the cylinder 310 so that the piston rod 321 is pulled up against
the spring force of the spring 330. A flip-up pull ring 340 is
connected to an upper end of the piston rod 321, and is flipped
down so as to be covered with a flap cover 130 of the ball 100.
Although air can be pumped into the ball 100 by means of the
mechanism, the one-way valve 350 of the duckbill type will not
self-seal and leakage owing to overpressure in the ball 100 is
likely to occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an
inflatable device which can prevent wearing of an inner wall of a
valve mechanism when inflated, and which can be maintained in an
inflated state even when overpressure in the device occurs.
[0007] According to this invention, the inflatable device includes
a carcass having an inner layer surface, an outer layer surface
opposite to the inner layer surface, and an inner peripheral wall
surface extending from the inner layer surface along an axis
through the outer layer surface and confining an inlet hole. A
tubular elastomeric member of a single piece construction, is
inserted into the carcass via the inlet hole, and includes a bottom
wall with a valve slit which extends therethrough in an axial
direction parallel to the axis, and a tubular wall which extends
from a periphery of the bottom wall toward the inner peripheral
wall surface to terminate at an upper surrounding end to be secured
relative to the inner peripheral wall surface and which surrounds
the axis to form a first inner surrounding wall surface that
confines a receiving hole to communicate with the valve slit. A
tubular rigid stem is inserted into the receiving hole in the axial
direction from the upper surrounding end, and has an outer
surrounding wall surface which abuts against the first inner
surrounding wall surface and which has upper and lower ends distal
and proximate to the bottom wall respectively. The lower end is
spaced apart from the valve slit in the axial direction. A second
inner surrounding wall surface of the tubular stem confines a
passage which communicates with the valve slit and the inlet hole
so as to admit air into the carcass via the passage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of a conventional
inflatable sport ball;
[0010] FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate another conventional inflatable
sport ball;
[0011] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of a preferred
embodiment of an inflatable device according to this invention;
[0012] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a valve mechanism
of the preferred embodiment; and
[0013] FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing another
embodiment of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0014] Before the present invention is described in greater detail,
it should be noted that same reference numerals have been used to
denote like elements throughout the specification.
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the preferred embodiment of the
inflatable device according to the present invention is shown to
comprise a rubber carcass 110, such as that of a sport ball. The
carcass 110 has an inner layer surface 1101, an outer layer surface
1102 opposite to the inner layer surface 1101, and an inner
peripheral wall surface 1103 which extends from the inner layer
surface 1101 along an axis through the outer layer surface 1102 and
which confines an inlet hole 1104.
[0016] A valve mechanism 400 includes a tubular elastomeric member
420, a tubular rigid stem 410, and a rigid tubular holding member
430. The elastomeric member 420 has a single piece construction and
is made of a rubber material. The elastomeric member 420 is
inserted into the carcass 110 via the inlet hole 1104, and includes
a bottom wall 425 which has a valve slit 424 extending therethrough
in an axial direction parallel to the axis, and a tubular wall 422
which extends from a periphery of the bottom wall 425 toward the
inner peripheral wall surface 1103 of the carcass 110 to terminate
at an upper surrounding end 426 and which surrounds the axis to
form a first inner surrounding wall surface 4221 confining a
receiving hole 423 that communicates with the valve slit 424. An
annular flange 421 extends outwardly and in radial directions from
the upper surrounding end 426 and is secured to a rubber mounting
sleeve 120 on the inner layer surface 1101 adjacent to the inlet
hole 1104.
[0017] The tubular rigid stem 410 is made of a rigid plastic
material more rigid than that of the elastomeric member 420, and is
inserted into the receiving hole 423 in the axial direction from
the annular flange 421. The rigid stem 410 has a first outer
surrounding wall surface 411 which abuts against the first inner
surrounding wall surface 4221 of the elastomeric member 420, and
which has upper and lower ends that are disposed opposite to each
other in the axial direction and distal and proximate to the bottom
wall 425 of the elastomeric member 420, respectively. The lower end
of the first outer surrounding wall surface 411 is spaced apart
from the valve slit 424 in the axial direction so as to maintain
the sealing effect of the valve slit 424. The tubular stem 410
further has a second inner surrounding wall surface 414 opposite to
the first outer surrounding wall surface 411 in the radial
directions relative to the axis and which surrounds the axis. The
second inner surrounding wall surface 414 confines a passage 412
which communicates with the valve slit 424 and the inlet hole 1104
so as to admit air into the carcass 110 via the passage 412. An
annular abutting wall 413 is integrally formed with and extends
outwardly and in the radial directions from the upper end of the
first outer surrounding wall surface 411 to be superimposed on the
annular flange 421. The annular abutting wall 413 is attached
securely on the inner peripheral wall surface 1103 and is flush
with the outer layer surface 1102 of the carcass 110.
[0018] The tubular holding member 430 is made of a rigid plastic
material, and includes a holding wall 431 which is sleeved on the
elastomeric member 420, and an annular lower flange 432 which is
secured in the mounting sleeve 120 so as to hold and secure the
elastomeric member 420 and the tubular rigid stem 410 to the
mounting sleeve 120.
[0019] During inflation, an inflating needle (not shown) can be
inserted into and through the passage 412 and the valve slit 424.
By guidance of the rigid stem 410, the inflating needle can be
inserted accurately, and does not come into direct contact with the
first inner surrounding wall surface 4221 of the elastomeric member
420 so as to avoid wearing of the elastomeric member 420. In
addition, the rigid stem 410 can prevent deformation of the
elastomeric member 420 and the valve slit 424 once the carcass 110
is subjected to overpressure.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 6, the inflatable device of another
embodiment according to this invention is shown to further include
a pump mechanism which is disposed in the carcass 110 and which is
similar that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 as described hereinbefore. The
pump mechanism includes a cylinder 510 with a second outer
surrounding wall surface which has an upper end portion that is
secured sealingly on the inner peripheral wall surface 1103 of the
carcass 110, and a third inner surrounding wall surface surrounding
the axis and having a lower end portion that is opposite to the
upper end portion in the axial direction. The annular flange 421 of
the elastomeric member 420 and the annular abutting wall 413 of the
tubular rigid stem 410 are disposed sealingly on the lower end
portion of the cylinder 510 and cooperate with the third inner
surrounding wall surface to confine an accommodation space. The
tubular holding member 430 is disposed to secure the elastomeric
member 420 to the third inner surrounding wall surface of the
cylinder 510. A piston member includes a piston rod 521 and a
piston 520 which are disposed in the accommodation space and which
are operable to move along the axis to pump ambient air through the
passage 412 and the valve slit 424 and into the carcass 110. As
such, there is no need to insert an inflating needle into the valve
mechanism 400 during inflation of the carcass 110 so as to avoid
wearing of the valve mechanism 400.
[0021] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretations and equivalent arrangements.
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