Abstract:
An air nozzle and relief valve arrangement for use in a vertical tire pump is disclosed to include a lever-operated air nozzle adapted to guide pumped air into the inflatable body (tire), and a button-controlled relief valve installed in the lever-operated air nozzle and protected below the lever of the lever-operated air nozzle against outside dust for discharging excessive air pressure from the inflatable body (tire) when necessary.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a vertical tire pump and, more specifically, to an air nozzle and relief valve arrangement for use in a vertical tire pump. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
     FIG. 7  shows a conventional vertical tire pump, which was invented by the present inventor. This structure of vertical tire pump  1  has an inner tube  4  mounted inside the plunger tube  6  and connected to the handle  8 , and a relief valve  7  mounted in the top end of the inner tube  4  inside the handle  8 . Through the relief valve  7  the user can discharge excessive air pressure out of the inflatable body. If the user does not have a pressure gage, or does not know the standard pressure of the inflatable body, the user may press the inflatable body  10  with the fingers to check the internal pressure status of the inflatable body. If the internal pressure of the inflatable body is excessively high, the user can then open the relief valve  7  to discharge excessive air pressure out of the inflatable body. However, because the relief valve  7  is disposed in the handle  8  of the vertical tire pump  1  far away from the inflatable body, the user must move the hand through a long distance from the inflatable body to the relief valve  7  at the handle  8 , and then open the relief valve  7  to discharge air. Due to a long distance between the inflatable body and the relief valve, a delay error may occur when discharging excessive air pressure out of the inflatable body, resulting in an accurate discharge. Further, if the relief valve failed, the user can not replace the relief valve by one self, and must ask a professional person to do the job or replace the whole vertical tire pump. The repair cost according to this design is high. Further, because this design is not a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) design, the user cannot install or dismount the relief valve by one self. 
   Therefore, it is desirable to provide an air nozzle and relief valve arrangement that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide an air nozzle and relief valve arrangement, which enables the user to operate the relief valve to discharge excessive air pressure from the inflatable body efficiently and accurately with less effort. It is another object of the present invention to provide an air nozzle and relief valve arrangement, which enables the user to replace the relief valve by oneself when the relief valve failed, saving the repair cost. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the air nozzle and relief valve arrangement comprises an air nozzle, and a relief valve installed in the air valve. The air nozzle has a first end, a second end connected the air output hose of a vertical tire pump, an air passage extended between the first end and the second end, a filling plug assembly mounted in the first end, and a lever coupled to the filling plug assembly for operation by the user to move the filling plug assembly between an open position for enabling air to pass from the air passage to the inflatable body being connected to the first end and a close position to block said air passage. The relief valve is mounted in the air nozzle in air communication with the air passage, and selectively controlled to discharge air out of the air passage into the atmosphere. Because the relief valve is installed in the air nozzle, the user can conveniently efficiently operate the relief Valve with the same hand after checking the pressure status of the inflatable body. Further, the simple structure design enables the user to remove the relief valve from the air nozzle conveniently by one self for a replacement when the relief valve failed. 
   Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will now be described by way of example with the annexed drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing an air nozzle and relief valve arrangement installed in a vertical tire pump according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line  3 — 3  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view showing an operation status of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of a part of  FIG. 4 , showing the closed status of the relief valve. 
       FIG. 6  is similar to  FIG. 5  but showing the relief valve opened. 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view of a vertical tire pump according to the prior art. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , an air nozzle  10  is mounted with a relief valve  20 , and connected to the hose  31  of a vertical tire pump  30 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the air nozzle  10  has a first end  11 , a second end  12 , an air passage  15  extended from the first end  11  to the second end  12 , a filling plug assembly  13  mounted in the first end  11  and connectable to a US model air valve or French model air valve, and a lever  14  coupled to the first end  11  and adapted to control the filling plug assembly  13  and to further close/open the air passage  15 . Because the filling plug assembly  13  is of the known art, no further detailed description in this regard is necessary. The second end  12  is coupled to the hose  31  of the vertical tire pump  30  for enabling pumped air to pass from the vertical tire pump  30  through the hose  31  into the internal air passage  15  of the air nozzle  10 . The air nozzle  10  further has a first through hole  16  and a second through hole  17  respectively vertically disposed in communication with the air passage  15 . 
   The relief valve  20  comprises a valve rod  21 , a valve cap  22 , and a spring member  23  provided between the stem washer  22  and the valve rod  21 . The valve rod  21  has a first end  211  and a second end  212 . The first end  211  is inserted through the first through hole  16  to the outside of the air nozzle  10 . The outer diameter of the valve rod  21  is slightly smaller than the first through hole  16 , leaving a gap. The first end  211  of the valve rod  21  has an outer thread  213  around the tip, which is threaded into the inner thread  241  of a button  24  that is disposed outside the air nozzle  10  for pressing by the user. The second end  212  of the valve rod  21  has a flange  214  extended around the periphery. An O-ring  25  is mounted on the first end  211  of the valve rod  21 , and stopped between the flange  214  and the shoulder  161  of the first through hole  16 . The valve cap  22  has an outer thread  221  threaded into an inner thread  171  inside the second through hole  17 . An O-ring  26  is mounted on the valve cap  22 , and stopped between the valve cap  22  and the shoulder  171  of the second through hole  17 . The valve cap  22  has a center recessed hole  222  adapted to accommodate one end of the spring member  23 . The other end of the spring member  23  is sleeved onto the second end  212  of the valve rod  21  and stopped against the flange  214 . The valve cap  22  further has a bottom tool hole  223  adapted to receive a tool that is used to rotate the valve cap  22 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 3  again, normally, the relief valve  20  is closed, and the air passage  15  of the air nozzle  10  is not in communication with the atmosphere. As illustrated, the relief valve  20  is provided below the lever  14 , which protects the relief valve  20  against outside dust. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , before pumping operation, the lever  14  is lifted to open the filling plug assembly  13  to let the air passage  15  be in air communication with the inside space of the inflatable body (tire)  40  to be inflated. At this time, the air pressure of the air passage  15  is equal to the inside pressure of the inflatable body (tire)  40 . If the tire pump is not equipped with a pressure gage, the user may press the inflatable body (tire)  40  with the fingers to check the internal pressure status of the inflatable body (tire)  40  during pumping operation. 
   Referring to  FIG. 6 , if the user feels that the air pressure of the inflatable body (tire)  40  is too high (a hard touch is sensed) after pressed the inflatable body (tire)  40  with the fingers, the user can then use the same hand to press the button  24 , causing the relief valve  20  to discharge air. Because the relief valve  20  is installed in the air nozzle  10 , which is connected to the inflatable body (tire)  40 , the user can conveniently rapidly check the pressure status of the inflatable body (tire)  40  with the fingers and the press the button  24  to open the relief valve  20  with the same hand when necessary. When the user pressed the button  24  with the hand, the valve rod  21  is lowered to move the respective O-ring  25  away from the shoulder  161  of the first through hole  16 , for enabling air to rapidly pass out of the inflatable body  40  to the atmosphere to lower the internal air pressure of the inflatable body (tire)  40 . 
   More important, because the relief valve  20  is installed in the air nozzle  10 , the short distance between the relief valve  20  and the inflatable body (tire)  40  enables air to be quickly and accurately discharged out of the inflatable body (tire)  40 . When the relief valve  20  failed, the user can directly remove the air nozzle  10  from the tire pump  30  for a replacement without throwing the whole tire pump  30  away. This DIY (Do-It-Yourself) design enables the user to make the replacement by oneself without the help of a professional person, thereby reducing the repair cost. 
   A prototype of air nozzle and relief valve arrangement for vertical tire pump has been constructed with the features of  FIGS. 1˜6 . The air nozzle and relief valve arrangement for vertical tire pump functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier. 
   Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.