Inflator Pump and One-Way Piston

The present application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application Nos. 202421023752.5 filed on May 11, 2024, and 202520145808.2 and 202520145906.6 filed on Jan. 22, 2025. All the above are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

This application relates to the technical field of inflator pumps, particularly an inflator pump and a one-way piston.

An inflator pump is a common mechanical device primarily used to compress air or other gases and deliver them into a specific container or space to increase internal air pressure. Inflator pumps have broad application scenarios, covering multiple fields such as daily life, industrial production, and healthcare. In daily life, inflator pumps are commonly used to inflate car tires, bicycle tires, inflatable mattresses, swimming rings, and the like.

Most existing inflator pumps only have a single inflation function and lack the dual functionality of both suction and inflation, requiring the user to purchase an additional suction device, thus increasing usage costs. Therefore, this application proposes an inflator pump to address this issue.

In view of the shortcomings of the prior art mentioned above, an objective of this application is to provide an inflator pump.

To achieve the above objective, this application provides an inflator pump, including a housing, where the housing includes a middle shell, a top of the middle shell is provided with an upper shell, a bottom of the middle shell is provided with a lower shell, the housing is mounted with a drive mechanism therein, the drive mechanism is mounted in a cylindrical shell, an inclined swing piece, a piston, and a circular plate are disposed in the cylindrical shell, a plurality of piston holes are annularly arranged at equal angles to penetrate through a top of the circular plate in a longitudinal direction, the piston is disposed in cooperation with the piston hole, the drive mechanism is configured to drive the inclined swing piece to swing and periodically push and pull the piston to reciprocate, a through hole penetrates through a center position of the top of the circular plate, a one-way valve is mounted in the through hole, a suction nozzle thread port penetrates through a top of the upper shell, and an inflation nozzle thread port penetrates through a bottom of the lower shell.

Optionally, the upper shell and the lower shell are integrally formed with the middle shell, and the suction nozzle thread port and the inflation nozzle thread port are each connectable to an air nozzle.

Optionally, the air nozzle includes a threaded pipe end, the suction nozzle thread port and the inflation nozzle thread port are each in threaded engagement with the threaded pipe end, a top of the threaded pipe end is mounted with an air nozzle end, and the air nozzle end communicates with the threaded pipe end.

Optionally, a front surface of the middle shell is provided with a control panel, the control panel includes a power button, an air pressure adjustment button, and a display screen, a controller is mounted in the middle shell, and the drive mechanism and the control panel are both electrically connected to the controller.

Optionally, a side wall of the middle shell is provided with an interface structure, the interface structure includes an interface slot, a car charger DC head and a Type-C charging port are disposed in the interface slot, and a dustproof plug is detachably snapped into the interface slot.

Optionally, an outer wall of the housing is provided with a heat dissipation mechanism, the heat dissipation mechanism includes a first heat dissipation outlet and a second heat dissipation outlet, the first heat dissipation outlet is disposed on a side wall of the upper shell, and the second heat dissipation outlet is disposed on the side wall of the middle shell.

Optionally, the drive mechanism includes a motor, the motor is disposed on a side of a bottom of the cylindrical shell, the cylindrical shell is fixedly disposed in the middle shell, an output end of the motor penetrates through the cylindrical shell and is mounted with an output gear, an eccentric wheel is rotatably disposed in the cylindrical shell, the eccentric wheel meshes with the output gear, an eccentric rod is mounted above the eccentric wheel, the inclined swing piece is mounted above the eccentric rod, a top of the eccentric rod is provided with an eccentric hole, a central axis of the eccentric hole forms an angle with a rotation axis of the eccentric wheel, one end of a drive shaft is inserted into the eccentric hole, the other end of the drive shaft is mounted with the inclined swing piece, and the drive shaft is connected to a center position of the inclined swing piece.

Optionally, a periphery of the inclined swing piece is uniformly and fixedly provided with a plurality of swing arms, a connection hole penetrates through a top of the swing arm, the circular plate is fixed at an upper end inside the cylindrical shell, a bottom of the piston is fixedly provided with a piston rod, a bottom of the piston rod is fixedly provided with a connecting ball head, and the connecting ball head cooperates with the connection hole to connect the piston and the inclined swing piece.

Optionally, a bottom of the circular plate is fixedly provided with an anti-scratch washer, an inner wall of the anti-scratch washer is smooth, and the swing arm is in sliding contact with the anti-scratch washer. A bottom of the eccentric wheel is fixedly provided with a rotating rod, and the rotating rod is rotatably mounted at a bottom inside the cylindrical shell.

Optionally, a top of the eccentric wheel is fixedly mounted with a connecting block, a top of the connecting block is fixedly mounted with the eccentric rod, another side of the bottom of the cylindrical shell is mounted with an intake pipe, the intake pipe penetrates through the cylindrical shell, and a penetration region between the intake pipe and the cylindrical shell is sealed.

Optionally, the piston includes a cylindrical plug body, a direction in which the plug body compresses and discharges fluid in a cylindrical shell is defined as forward, an opposite direction is defined as backward, a plug rod is connected to a rear side of the plug body along an axial direction, and a flow guide channel is disposed along a periphery of the plug body.

A sealing ring is provided in the flow guide channel, and a thickness of the sealing ring is less than a front-rear width of the flow guide channel, allowing the sealing ring to move forward and backward in the flow guide channel; an outer diameter of the sealing ring is greater than an outer diameter of the plug body, allowing the sealing ring to protrude from the periphery of the plug body and abut against an inner wall of the cylindrical shell for sealing; an inner diameter of the sealing ring is greater than a bottom radius of the flow guide channel, so as to form a first flow guide channel between the sealing ring and the flow guide channel; and a flow guide hole communicating with the first flow guide channel is disposed at a front end of the plug body.

When the plug body moves forward, the sealing ring moves backward under friction with the inner wall of the cylindrical shell to tightly abut against a rear side wall of the flow guide channel, preventing fluid on a front side of the plug body from flowing to a rear side of the plug body; and when the plug body moves backward, the sealing ring moves forward under friction with the inner wall of the cylindrical shell to tightly abut against a front side wall of the flow guide channel, so as to form a second flow guide channel between a rear side wall of the sealing ring and the rear side wall of the flow guide channel, allowing fluid on the rear side of the plug body to flow to the front side of the plug body sequentially through the second flow guide channel, the first flow guide channel, and the flow guide hole, thereby achieving one-way flow guide of the one-way piston.

Optionally, a force-bearing slot communicating with the flow guide hole is further disposed on a front side of the sealing ring, and when the plug body moves forward to compress and discharge fluid, the fluid on the front side of the plug body presses the force-bearing slot, allowing the sealing ring to move backward to tightly abut against the rear side wall of the flow guide channel.

Optionally, a plurality of flow guide holes are distributed uniformly and circumferentially on the front side of the plug body.

To resolve the problems in the prior art, this application further provides a one-way piston, including a cylindrical plug body. A direction in which the plug body compresses and discharges fluid in a cylindrical shell is defined as forward, an opposite direction is defined as backward, a plug rod is connected to a rear side of the plug body along an axial direction, and a flow guide channel is disposed along a periphery of the plug body.

A sealing ring is provided in the flow guide channel, and a thickness of the sealing ring is less than a front-rear width of the flow guide channel, allowing the sealing ring to move forward and backward in the flow guide channel; an outer diameter of the sealing ring is greater than an outer diameter of the plug body, allowing the sealing ring to protrude from the periphery of the plug body and abut against an inner wall of the cylindrical shell for sealing; an inner diameter of the sealing ring is greater than a bottom radius of the flow guide channel, so as to form a first flow guide channel between the sealing ring and the flow guide channel; and a flow guide hole communicating with the first flow guide channel is disposed at a front end of the plug body.

When the plug body moves forward, the sealing ring moves backward under friction with the inner wall of the cylindrical shell to tightly abut against a rear side wall of the flow guide channel, preventing fluid on a front side of the plug body from flowing to a rear side of the plug body; and when the plug body moves backward, the sealing ring moves forward under friction with the inner wall of the cylindrical shell to tightly abut against a front side wall of the flow guide channel, so as to form a second flow guide channel between a rear side wall of the sealing ring and the rear side wall of the flow guide channel, allowing fluid on the rear side of the plug body to flow to the front side of the plug body sequentially through the second flow guide channel, the first flow guide channel, and the flow guide hole, thereby achieving one-way flow guide of the one-way piston.

Optionally, a force-bearing slot communicating with the flow guide hole is further disposed on a front side of the sealing ring, and when the plug body moves forward to compress and discharge fluid, the fluid on the front side of the plug body presses the force-bearing slot, allowing the sealing ring to move backward to tightly abut against the rear side wall of the flow guide channel.

Optionally, a plurality of flow guide holes are distributed uniformly and circumferentially on the front side of the plug body.

Compared with the prior art, this application has the following beneficial effects:

. piston hole;. drive mechanism;. motor;. eccentric wheel;. drive shaft;. swing arm;. eccentric hole;. output gear;. connection hole;. inclined swing piece;. rotating rod;. housing;. upper shell;. middle shell;. lower shell;. anti-scratch washer;. circular plate;. connecting block;. eccentric rod;. air nozzle;. air nozzle end;. threaded pipe end;. connecting ball head;. piston;. cylindrical shell;. intake pipe;. inflation nozzle thread port;. suction nozzle thread port;. through hole;. one-way valve;. control panel;. display screen;. power button;. air pressure adjustment button;. interface structure;. dustproof plug;. car charger DC head;. Type-C charging port;. heat dissipation mechanism;. first heat dissipation outlet;. second heat dissipation outlet;. plug body;. plug rod;. flow guide channel;. sealing ring;. first flow guide channel;. flow guide hole;. second flow guide channel; and. force-bearing slot.

It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the embodiments and features within the embodiments of this application may be combined with each other. The preferred embodiments of this application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in, this application provides specific embodiments of an inflator pump.

The inflator pump includes a housing. The housingincludes a middle shell. A top of the middle shellis provided with an upper shell. A bottom of the middle shellis provided with a lower shell. The housingis mounted with a drive mechanismtherein, and the drive mechanismis mounted in a cylindrical shell. An inclined swing piece, a piston, and a circular plateare provided in the cylindrical shell. A plurality of piston holesare annularly arranged at equal angles to penetrate through a top of the circular platein a longitudinal direction. The pistonis disposed in cooperation with the piston hole. The drive mechanismis configured to drive the inclined swing pieceto swing and periodically push and pull the pistonto reciprocate. The drive mechanismincludes a motor. The motoris disposed on a side of a bottom of the cylindrical shell, and another side of the bottom of the cylindrical shellis mounted with an intake pipe. The intake pipepenetrates through the cylindrical shell, and a penetration region between the intake pipeand the cylindrical shellis sealed. The cylindrical shellis fixedly disposed in the middle shell. An output end of the motorpenetrates through the cylindrical shelland is mounted with an output gear. An eccentric wheelis rotatably disposed in the cylindrical shell, and a bottom of the eccentric wheelis fixedly provided with a rotating rod. The rotating rodis rotatably mounted at a bottom inside the cylindrical shell. The eccentric wheelmeshes with the output gear. An eccentric rodis mounted above the eccentric wheel, a top of the eccentric wheelis fixedly mounted with a connecting block, and a top of the connecting blockis fixedly mounted with the eccentric rod. The inclined swing pieceis mounted above the eccentric rod, and a top of the eccentric rodis provided with an eccentric hole. A central axis of the eccentric holeforms an angle with a rotation axis of the eccentric wheel. One end of a drive shaftis inserted into the eccentric hole, and the other end of the drive shaftis mounted with the inclined swing piece. The drive shaftis connected to a center position of the inclined swing piece, and a periphery of the inclined swing pieceis uniformly provided with a plurality of swing arms. A connection holepenetrates through a top of the swing arm. The circular plateis fixed at an upper end inside the cylindrical shell. A bottom of the pistonis fixedly provided with a plug rod, and a bottom of the plug rodis fixedly provided with a connecting ball head. The connecting ball headcooperates with the connection holeto connect the pistonand the inclined swing piece. A through holepenetrates through a center position of the top of the circular plate. A one-way valveis mounted in the through hole, and the one-way valveallows gas in the middle shellto be discharged outward. A suction nozzle thread portpenetrates through a top of the upper shell, and an inflation nozzle thread portpenetrates through a bottom of the lower shell. The upper shelland the lower shellare integrally formed with the middle shell. The suction nozzle thread portand the inflation nozzle thread portare each connectable to an air nozzle. The air nozzleincludes a threaded pipe end. The suction nozzle thread portand the inflation nozzle thread portare each in threaded engagement with the threaded pipe end. A top of the threaded pipe endis mounted with an air nozzle end, and the air nozzle endcommunicates with the threaded pipe end. A front surface of the middle shellis provided with a control panel, and the control panelincludes a power button, an air pressure adjustment button, and a display screen. A controller is mounted in the middle shell. The drive mechanismand the control panelare both electrically connected to the controller. After the motorstarts, its output end drives the output gearto rotate. The output gearmeshes with the eccentric wheelto rotate the eccentric wheel. The rotation of the eccentric wheelis transmitted to the inclined swing piecevia the eccentric rodand the drive shaft, causing the inclined swing pieceto swing. The swinging of the inclined swing piecedrives the pistonto reciprocate in the piston holevia the swing armand the connecting ball head. When inflation is needed, a suitable air nozzleis selected and tightly screwed through rotation onto the inflation nozzle thread portof the inflator pump. Then the air nozzleis inserted into the valve of the to-be-inflated product and tightened. When the pistonmoves downward, the gas in the cylindrical shellenters the upper shellvia the one-way valve. When the pistonmoves upward, the gas in the upper shellis compressed to enter the inflatable product via the air nozzle, thus achieving the inflation function through reciprocation. When suction is needed, a suitable air nozzleis selected and tightly screwed through rotation onto the suction nozzle thread portof the inflator pump. Then the air nozzleis inserted into the valve of the product that is to undergo suction, and tightened. When the pistonmoves upward, the gas in the product is sucked. When the pistonmoves downward, the gas in the cylindrical shellis discharged outward via the one-way valve, thus achieving the suction function through reciprocation. This addresses the issue that most existing inflator pumps only have a single inflation function and lack the dual functionality of both suction and inflation, requiring the user to purchase an additional suction device, thus increasing usage costs.

As an improvement to the above technical solution, a side wall of the middle shellis provided with an interface structure, and the interface structureincludes an interface slot. A car charger DC headand a Type-C charging portare disposed in the interface slot. A dustproof plugis detachably snapped into the interface slot. The arrangement of the car charger DC headand Type-C charging porthelps to provide power supply to charge the inflator pump. The dustproof plugis detachably snapped into the interface slot, which can provide dust-proof protection for the car charger DC headand the Type-C charging port.

As an improvement to the above technical solution, an outer wall of the housingis provided with a heat dissipation mechanism, and the heat dissipation mechanismincludes a first heat dissipation outletand a second heat dissipation outlet. The first heat dissipation outletis disposed on a side wall of the upper shell, and the second heat dissipation outletis disposed on the side wall of the middle shell. The arrangement of the first heat dissipation outletand the second heat dissipation outletimproves the heat dissipation performance of the inflator pump, prolonging the service life of the inflator pump.

As an improvement to the above technical solution, a bottom of the circular plateis fixedly provided with an anti-scratch washer, and an inner wall of the anti-scratch washeris smooth. The swing armis in sliding contact with the anti-scratch washer. The anti-scratch washeris provided between the inclined swing pieceand the inner wall of the cylindrical shell, and the inclined swing pieceis in sliding contact with the smooth inner wall of the anti-scratch washerduring the swinging process, effectively avoiding direct scraping between the inclined swing pieceand the inner wall of the cylindrical shell, thus reducing noise caused by scraping. It also reduces wear on the inner wall of the cylindrical shellduring the swinging process of the inclined swing piece, thereby prolonging the service life of the inclined swing piece.

Operation of drive mechanism: The drive mechanismincludes the motor, and the motoris disposed on a side of a bottom of the cylindrical shell. After the motorstarts, its output end drives the output gearto rotate. The output gearmeshes with the eccentric wheelto rotate the eccentric wheel. The rotation of the eccentric wheelis transmitted to the inclined swing piecevia the eccentric rodand drive shaft, causing the inclined swing pieceto swing.

Inflation and suction through reciprocation of piston: The swinging of the inclined swing piecedrives the pistonto reciprocate in the piston holevia the swing armand the connecting ball head. When inflation is needed, a suitable air nozzleis selected and tightly screwed through rotation onto the inflation nozzle thread portof the inflator pump. Then the air nozzleis inserted into the valve of the to-be-inflated product and tightened. When the pistonmoves downward, the gas in the cylindrical shellenters the upper shellvia the one-way valve. When the pistonmoves upward, the gas in the upper shellis compressed to enter the inflatable product via the air nozzle, thus achieving the inflation function through reciprocation. When suction is needed, a suitable air nozzleis selected and tightly screwed through rotation onto the suction nozzle thread portof the inflator pump. Then the air nozzleis inserted into the valve of the product that is to undergo suction, and tightened. When the pistonmoves upward, the gas in the product is sucked. When the pistonmoves downward, the gas in the cylindrical shellis discharged outward via the one-way valve, thus achieving the suction function through reciprocation.

It should be noted that the inflator pump can be powered by an internal battery or plugged in for use.

Referring to, the pistonincludes a plug body, a plug rod, and a sealing ring.

The plug bodyis configured as cylindrical. In this embodiment, a direction in which the plug bodycompresses and discharges fluid in the cylindrical shellis defined as forward, and an opposite direction for drawing fluid is defined as backward. The plug rodis disposed on the rear side of the plug bodyalong the axial direction of the plug bodyto pull or push the pistonto move.

A periphery of the plug bodyis provided with an annular flow guide channel. A sealing ring is provided in the flow guide channel. A thickness of the sealing ringis less than a front-rear width of the flow guide channel, allowing the sealing ringto move forward and backward in the flow guide channel. An outer diameter of the sealing ringis greater than an outer diameter of the plug body, allowing the sealing ringto protrude from the periphery of the plug bodyand abut against an inner wall of the cylindrical shellfor sealing. This prevents fluid from passing a space between the sealing ringand the inner wall of the cylindrical shell. An inner diameter of the sealing ringis greater than a bottom radius of the flow guide channel, so as to form a first flow guide channelbetween the sealing ringand the flow guide channel. A flow guide holecommunicating with the first flow guide channelis disposed at a front end of the plug body.

When the plug bodymoves forward to discharge the fluid on the front side of the plug body, the sealing ringmoves backward in the flow guide channelunder friction with the inner wall of the cylindrical shell. This causes the rear side wall of the sealing ringto tightly abut against the rear side wall of the flow guide channel. It prevents the fluid on the front side of the plug bodyfrom flowing to the rear side of the plug bodyduring the discharge process, ensuring the correct flow direction of the discharged fluid. When the plug bodymoves backward to draw in fluid from the rear side of the plug body, the sealing ringmoves forward in the flow guide channelunder friction with the inner wall of the cylindrical shell. This causes the front side wall of the sealing ringto tightly abut against the front side wall of the flow guide channel. The second flow guide channelis formed between the rear side wall of the sealing ringand the rear side wall of the flow guide channel. The second flow guide channelcommunicates with the first flow guide channel, allowing the fluid on the rear side of the plug bodyto be drawn to the front side of the plug bodysequentially through the second flow guide channel, the first flow guide channel, and the flow guide hole. This ensures the proper operation of the pistonand achieves one-way flow guide of the one-way piston. The structure of the pistonis simple and not easily damaged, providing a good one-way flow guide effect.

As a preferred solution, a force-bearing slotis further disposed on a front side of the sealing ring, and the force-bearing slotcommunicates with the flow guide hole. When the plug bodymoves forward to compress and discharge fluid, the fluid on the front side of the plug bodypresses the force-bearing slot. This causes the sealing ringto move backward in the flow guide channelto tightly abut against the rear side wall of the flow guide channel, providing power for the movement of the sealing ring. Combined with the friction between the sealing ringand the inner wall of the cylindrical shell, it jointly pushes the sealing ringto move. This ensures the sealing ringmoves into position, achieving a good sealing effect and enhancing the stability of the one-way flow guide of the piston.

In this embodiment, a plurality of flow guide holesare provided. They not only increase the flow rate during fluid drawing, but also allow the force-bearing slotto be pressed better when fluid is compressed and discharged. This increases the pressing force of fluid on the sealing ring, ensuring the sealing ringcan accurately move into position. The plurality of flow guide holesare distributed uniformly and circumferentially on the front side of the plug body, ensuring uniform flow around the periphery of the pistonand uniform force on the sealing ring. As a preferred solution, the flow guide holemay alternatively be annularly arranged on the front side of the plug bodyto achieve a good fluid guide effect.

It should be understood that the above embodiments are merely illustrative of the technical solutions of this application and should not be construed as limiting. Those skilled in the art may modify the technical solutions described in the embodiments or equivalently substitute some of the technical features. All such modifications and substitutions shall fall within the scope of protection defined by the appended claims of this application.