Inflator with an Air Guidinge Sleeve

An inflator with an air guiding sleeve includes a chassis, a core and a drive motor installed in the chassis, an air guiding sleeve and a cooling fan. The air guiding sleeve has an air guiding hole penetrating through the air guiding sleeve. The drive motor includes a main body and a shaft rotatably installed to the main body, and the shaft has an end protruded from the main body and provided for driving the core to move and the other end protruded from the main body and provided for connecting the cooling fan. The air guiding sleeve includes a positioning shell and an air guiding ring connected to the positioning shell, and the positioning shell is installed to the chassis and/or the drive motor, and the air guiding ring is sheathed onto the external side of the cooling fan and installed around the cooling fan.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the technical field of inflators, and more particularly to an inflator with an air guiding sleeve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Inflator is one of the common devices used for inflating various types of pneumatic tires. During the use of the inflator, wind blades are usually provided for cooling the inflator, but the structural design of most conventional inflators fails to meet the heat dissipation requirements. As a result, the performance of the inflator is affected adversely due to the low heat dissipation efficiency of the inflator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforementioned drawback of the conventional inflators, the inventor of the present invention based on years of experience in the related industry to conduct extensive research and experiment, and finally developed an inflator with an air guiding sleeve, wherein a rotating cooling fan is provided for flowing the air from a chassis through an air guiding hole to increase the wind pressure and wind speed of the air flowing through a core and a drive motor, so as to improve the heat dissipation performance of the inflator, and an air guiding ring is provided for protecting the cooling fan and preventing the cooling fan from being damaged by collisions.

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide an inflator with an air guiding sleeve comprising: a chassis; a core and a drive motor, installed in the chassis, and the drive motor being provided for driving the core to inflate an external object, characterized in that the inflator further comprises an air guiding sleeve and a cooling fan, and the air guiding sleeve has an air guiding hole penetrating through the air guiding sleeve, and the drive motor comprises a main body and a shaft rotatably installed to the main body, and the shaft has an end protruded from the main body for driving the core to move, and the other end protruded from the main body for coupling the cooling fan, air and the guiding sleeve includes a positioning shell and an air guiding ring coupled to the positioning shell, and the positioning shell is installed to the chassis and/or the drive motor, and the air guiding ring is sheathed onto the external side of the cooling fan, and the air guiding ring is installed around the cooling fan.

Preferably, the positioning shell has a cross-section in a rectangular shape, and the air guiding ring has a cross-section in a circular shape, and the positioning shell has a hole diameter greater than the hole diameter of the air guiding ring, and an external surface of the positioning shell abuts against the chassis.

Preferably, the positioning shell has a plurality of limiting arms extending into the air guiding hole, and installed around the central axis of the air guiding sleeve and disposed on the same side of the cooling fan, and a side of the limiting arm away from the cooling fan is provided for abutting against the main body.

Preferably, the limiting arm has a blocking protrusion formed by extending a free end of the blocking protrusion towards the central axis of the air guiding sleeve, and the plurality of limiting arms are disposed around the main body, and a free end of the limiting arm is provided for abutting against an external surface of the main body, and the blocking protrusion is provided for abutting against the main body.

Preferably, the limiting arm has a positioning slot concavely formed on a side of the limiting arm away from the cooling fan, and the chassis has a positioning portion extending into the positioning slot.

Preferably, the positioning shell has a notch concavely formed at an end of the positioning shell away from the air guiding ring, and the chassis has a latching block extending into the notch.

Preferably, the inflator with an air guiding sleeve further comprises a fixing ring sheathed onto an external side of the drive motor, and an air gap being formed between the drive motor and the chassis; and two lugs convexly formed at both sides of the fixing ring and disposed away from one another, and the two lugs being installed to the chassis.

Preferably, one of the lugs has a limiting bump, and the chassis has a limiting groove for receiving the limiting bump.

Preferably, the drive motor has a circular blind slot concavely formed on an external surface of the drive motor, and the fixing ring is received into the circular blind slot.

Preferably, the drive motor has an anti-rotation slot communicated with the circular blind slot, and the fixing ring has an anti-rotation plate extending into the anti-rotation slot.

In summation, the present invention has the following advantages and effects. With the air guiding sleeve, the positioning shell of the air guiding sleeve is provided for positioning the chassis and/or the drive motor precisely to guarantee the cooling fan to be positioned into the air guiding ring of the air guiding sleeve precisely, and the rotating cooling fan extracts the air from the chassis through an air guiding hole to increase the wind pressure and wind speed of the air flowing through the core and the drive motor to improve the heat dissipation performance of the inflator. The air guiding ring is provided for protecting the cooling fan and preventing the cooling fan from being damaged by collisions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The technical contents of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of preferred embodiments accompanied with the illustration of related drawings as follows. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

With reference toFIGS. 1 to 7for an inflator with an air guiding sleeve in accordance with the present invention, the inflator comprises: a chassis1; a core2and a drive motor3installed in the chassis1, and the drive motor3being provided for driving the core2to inflate an external object (such as a pneumatic tire or a balloon, etc.), and the chassis1having an air inlet hole (not shown in the figure) and an air outlet hole (not shown in the figure) communicated with the air inlet hole; an air guiding sleeve7and a cooling fan6, and the air guiding sleeve7having an air guiding hole11penetrating through the air guiding sleeve7, and the core2and the drive motor3being disposed between the air inlet hole and the air outlet hole. Preferably, the core2and the drive motor3are disposed collinearly between the air inlet hole and the air outlet hole, and the drive motor3comprises a main body4and a shaft5rotatably installed to the main body4, and both ends of the shaft5are protruded from both left and right ends of the main body4respectively, and the end of the shaft5protruded from an end of the main body4is provided for driving the core2to move, and the other end of the shaft5protruded from the other end of the main body4is provided for connecting the cooling fan6. The air guiding sleeve7comprises a positioning shell8and an air guiding ring9coupled to the positioning shell8, wherein the positioning shell8and the air guiding ring9are integrally formed as a one-piece structure, and the positioning shell8is mounted onto the chassis1and/or the drive motor3, and the air guiding ring9is sheathed onto an external side of the cooling fan6, and the air guiding ring9is installed around the cooling fan6.

During the use of the inflator, the core2and the drive motor3are major heat generating components. The inflator of the present invention comes with the air guiding sleeve7, and the positioning shell8of the air guiding sleeve7is provided for positioning the chassis1and/or the drive motor3precisely to guarantee the cooling fan6to be positioned precisely in the air guiding ring9of the air guiding sleeve7, so that the rotating cooling fan6can extract the air from the chassis1through the air guiding hole11of the air guiding sleeve7to increase the wind pressure and wind speed of the air flowing through the core2and the drive motor3, so as to improve the heat dissipation performance of the inflator. The air guiding ring9is provided for protecting the cooling fan6, preventing the cooling fan6from being damaged by collisions, and extending the service life of the cooling fan6.

The positioning shell8has a cross-section in a rectangular shape, and the air guiding ring9has a cross-section in a circular shape, and the positioning shell8has a hole diameter greater than the hole diameter of the air guiding ring9, and the difference between the hole diameter of the positioning shell8and the hole diameter of the air guiding ring9gives a flow rate difference of the air to achieve a change of the wind pressure and the wind speed of the flowing air, so as to improve the cooling effect of the cooling fan6to the drive motor3and the core2. The positioning shell8has an external surface abutting against the chassis1, wherein a flat external surface of the positioning shell8abuts the chassis1, so that the positioning shell8and the chassis1can be attached altogether securely to prevent the positioning shell8from rotating with respect to the chassis1. In this embodiment, the positioning shell8has a plurality of lead inclined plates (not labelled in the figure) disposed at the corners of the positioning shell8respectively, wherein the quantity of the lead inclined plates is equal to four, and the four lead inclined plates are arranged around the central axis of the air guiding hole11into an circular array. The lead inclined plates enhance the strength of the positioning shell8to prevent the positioning shell8from being compressed and deformed by the chassis1easily, so as to improve the performance of the air guiding sleeve7.

The positioning shell8has a plurality of limiting arms12extending into the air guiding hole11and disposed around the central axis of the air guiding sleeve7, wherein the limiting arms12are situated on the same side of the cooling fan6, and a side of each limiting arm12away from the cooling fan6is provided for abutting against the main body4. In an assembling process of the inflator, the air guiding sleeve7is assembled to the main body4of the drive motor3until an end of the main body4abuts against a side of the limiting arm12, such that the assembling positon between the main body4and the air guiding sleeve7can be positioned precisely, and then the cooling fan6is installed into the air guiding ring9.

The limiting arm12has a blocking protrusion13formed by extending a free end of the limiting arm12towards the central axis of the air guiding sleeve7, and the plurality of limiting arms12is disposed around the main body4, and the blocking protrusions13of the plurality of limiting arms12are arranged around the central axis of the air guiding hole11, and the free end of the limiting arm12is provided for abutting an external surface of the main body4to prevent the drive motor3from moving along the radial direction of the air guiding sleeve7and with respect to the air guiding sleeve7, and the blocking protrusion13is provided for abutting against an end surface of an end of the main body4to limit the assembling position between the main body4and the air guiding sleeve7precisely. Preferably, the air guiding sleeve7has a transitional arm (not shown in the figure) coupled to the plurality of limiting arms12, wherein the transitional arm is provided for coupling the plurality of limiting arms altogether. Compared with the strength of a single limiting arm12, this arrangement can prevent the deformation of the single limiting arm12with a smaller strength or the affection of the precise positioning between the air guiding sleeve7and the drive motor3.

The limiting arm12has a positioning slot14concavely formed on a side of the limiting arm12away from the cooling fan6, and the chassis1has a positioning portion (not shown in the figure) extending into the positioning slot14. A sidewall of the positioning slot14abuts against the positioning portion to effectively prevent the chassis1and the positioning shell8from moving with respect to each other.

The positioning shell8has a notch15concavely formed at an end of the positioning shell8away from the air guiding ring9, and the chassis1has a latching block (not shown in the figure) extending into the notch15. In this embodiment, the chassis1is formed by engaging an upper casing (not labelled in the figure) and a lower casing (not labelled in the figure). After the inflator is assembled, the latching block is extended into the notch15, and the latching block is provided to assist improving the strength of the positioning shell8. After the upper casing and the lower casing abut against the external surface of the positioning shell8, the positioning shell8can be prevented from being deformed by pressed excessively by its own strength.

The inflator with an air guiding sleeve further comprises a fixing ring16sheathed on to an external surface of the drive motor3and fixed onto the chassis1, and an air gap formed between the external surface of the drive motor3and the internal surface of the chassis1, and the cooling fan6drives the air flowing through the air gap between the drive motor3and the chassis1, so as to dissipate the heat of the core2and the drive motor3and improve the cooling effect of the inflator.

The fixing ring16has two lugs17formed on both sides away from the fixing ring16and configured to be opposite to each other, and the two lugs17are fixed onto the chassis1to decrease the contact area of the fixing ring16and the chassis1. Preferably, both lugs17have a latching blind slot18, and the fixing ring16is made of plastic. With the latching blind slot18, the thickness of the lugs17can be reduced (compared with the conventional solid lugs17) to prevent defects of the lugs177caused by the plastic shrinkage rate or a too-large thickness of the lugs17. The chassis1may have two latching blocks (not shown in the figure) if needed, and the two latching blocks are extended into the latching blind slots18respectively.

After the fixing ring16is installed onto the chassis1, the latching block of the chassis1is extended into the latching blind slot18, and a sidewall of the latching blind slot18is provided for blocking the latching block to limit the position of the fixing ring16of the chassis1. After the inflator is assembled, the fixing ring16can be prevented effectively from moving with respect to the chassis1.

One of the lugs17has a limiting bump19, and the chassis1has a limiting groove (not shown in the figure) for receiving the limiting bump19. During the process of installing the fixing ring16and the chassis1, the limiting bump19is aligned precisely with the limiting groove first, and then the chassis1and the fixing ring16are installed, so that the limiting bump19is plugged into the limiting groove to align the positions of the fixing ring16and the chassis1precisely, so as to prevent a defect of the assembled inflator caused by the wrong installation of the fixing ring16.

The drive motor3has a circular blind slot21concavely formed on an external surface of the drive motor3, and the fixing ring16is received into the circular blind slot21, and a sidewall of the circular blind slot21is provided for blocking the fixing ring16to prevent the fixing ring16from moving with respect to the drive motor3, and a portion of the main body of the fixing ring16is not extended out from the external surface of the drive motor3. In other words, the remaining portion of the fixing ring16other than the two lugs17is completely sunk into the circular blind slot21to prevent the fixing ring16from blocking the air flowing through the air gap between the drive motor3and the chassis1, so as to guarantee the air driven by the cooling fan6to flow stably and assist improving the cooling effect.

The drive motor3has an anti-rotation slot22communicated with the circular blind slot21, and concavely formed on a sidewall of the circular blind slot21. The fixing ring16has an anti-rotation plate23, so that after the fixing ring16is sheathed on the drive motor3, the anti-rotation plate23is extended into the anti-rotation slot22, and a sidewall of the anti-rotation slot22is provided for abutting against the anti-rotation plate23to prevent the fixing ring16and the drive motor3to rotate with respect to one another. In this embodiment, the lugs17are coupled to the fixing ring16and the anti-rotation plate23to achieve the effects of extending the length of the lugs17, assisting extending the length of the latching blind slot18, and improving the latching effect between the latching block and the lugs17.

In this embodiment, the fixing ring16is made of soft plastic such as silicone, wherein the soft plastic gives a better effect of absorbing the shock produced during the operation of the drive motor3.

The chassis1has a grip24, and both ends of the grip24are coupled to the chassis1, and a yielding hole25(not labelled in the figure) is formed between the grip24and the chassis1. During use, a user may insert a finger into the yielding hole25and then hold the grip24by a hand to facilitate the chassis1to move the inflator conveniently, so as to improve the user's using experience. Preferably, the grip24further has a frictional bump26abutting the user's hand to increase the friction between the user's hand and the rip24. The frictional bump26may come with a plural quantity, and the frictional bumps26are configured collinearly along the lengthwise direction of the grip24.