Patent Publication Number: US-6220273-B1

Title: Pumping device with an internal pivotal tube for various valves

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/276,075 filed on Mar. 25, 1999. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a pumping device, and more particularly to a pumping device that includes a pivotal switch member for various valves without the need of visual discrimination of the types of the valves. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Various pumping devices have heretofore been provided for inflating bicycle tires. Since there are many kinds of valves for bicycle tires, e.g., French valve, Japanese valve, and American valve, a so-called “double head” type pump with a switch means have been proposed to be used on these different valves. Nevertheless, the conventional pumping devices generally have complicated structures and require troublesome operation to suit different valves. U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,781 to Wu issued on Oct. 13, 1998 discloses a pumping device with a pivotal lever for various valves that can be successfully used on different valves, yet troublesome operation of the pivotal lever is still required. The present invention is intended to provide a pumping device that can be used without the need of visual discrimination of the types of the valves to be inflated. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a pumping device that has a pivotal switch member for various valves without visual discrimination of the types of the valves to be inflated. 
     A pumping device in accordance with the present invention comprises: 
     a main body having a passage defined therein through which air passes, 
     a head including a first end and a second end, the second end of the head being communicated with the passage, 
     a pivotal switch member including a hollow cam seat and a lever extending from the cam seat to move therewith, the cam seat being rotatably received in the first end of the head, the cam seat including a central rotating axis relative to the first end of the head, the lever being extended beyond the head for manual operation, the cam seat including a first side with a first opening and a second side with a second opening communicated with the first opening, a distance from the central rotating axis of the cam seat to the first side being smaller than a distance from the central rotating axis of the cam seat to the second side, 
     a retainer slidably received in the head and including a first compartment therein, a first end, and a second end, the second end of the retainer including a conical recess defined therein, a spring being mounted in the first compartment, a nozzle being slidably mounted in the second end of the retainer and including a first end attached to the spring and a second end, a pin being slidably mounted in the retainer and including a first end extended beyond the first end of the retainer and a second end secured to the nozzle to slide therewith, 
     the second opening of the cam seat being sized to be smaller than the first end of the pin to prevent the first end of the pin from passing through the second opening, the first opening of the cam seat being sized to be larger that the first end of the pin to allow the first end of the pin to pass through, and 
     a nozzle head securely mounted in the second end of the head and including a second compartment communicated with the first compartment via the nozzle, the nozzle head including a hollow conical section for engaging with the conical recess of the retainer. 
     In an embodiment of the invention, the retainer includes a transverse hole for communicating the first compartment of the retainer and the passage of the main body. The pin includes a second transverse hole communicated with the first-mentioned transverse hole via the first compartment of the retainer. The pin further includes an axial hole that communicates the second transverse hole with the second end of the nozzle. 
     The passage of the main body may include a check valve mounted therein such that air is only flowable from the passage to the first compartment. 
     An outer cap is securely mounted to the second end of the head to secure the nozzle head in position. The outer cap includes an opening communicated with the second compartment of the nozzle head. 
     Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a pumping device in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pumping device in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cam seat of a pivotal switch member of the pumping device in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the cam seat taken along line A—A in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the cam seat taken along line B—B in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the pumping device in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the pumping device in accordance with the present invention used on a French valve. 
     FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 7, wherein the French valve is tightly clamped. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the pumping device in accordance with the present invention used on an American valve. 
     FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 9, wherein the American valve is tightly clamped. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1,  2 , and  6 , a pumping device for bicycles tires in accordance with the present invention generally includes a main body  10  having a passage  101  defined therein and a head  11  connected to the main body  10 . The passage  101  is communicated to a chamber (not labeled, see FIG. 6) which receives a piston (not shown) therein for pumping air into the passage  101 . Structure and operation of the piston are conventional and therefore not described in detail. 
     As shown in FIG. 6, the passage  101  includes a check valve  103  mounted therein such that air is only flowable from the passage  101  to the head  11 . In this embodiment, the passage  101  includes an enlarged section  102 , and the check valve  103  includes a spring, a ball, and a holed cap  104  to which the spring (not labeled) bears against. The head  11  includes a compartment  12  that communicates with the passage  101 . In addition, the head  11  includes an opening  114  in a first end thereof through which a pivotal switch member  17  is mounted into the compartment  12  of the head  11 , which will be described later. 
     Still referring to FIGS. 2 and 6, a retainer  14  is slidably received in the compartment  12  of the head  11 . The retainer  14  includes a transverse hole  145  in a periphery thereof and a compartment  141  that communicates with the transverse hole  145  and that receives a spring  142  and a nozzle  143  therein. The retainer  14  further includes a conical recess  146  defined in an end thereof. 
     The nozzle  143  includes a recess  1431  (FIG. 6) defined in a first end thereof for receiving an end of the spring  142 . The first end of the nozzle  143  further includes a notch  1432  defined therein, and a second end of the nozzle  143  includes a plurality of annular groove  1433  defined in an outer periphery thereof and a needle  1434  therein. As shown in FIG. 6, the second end of the nozzle  143  extends in the conical recess  146  of the retainer  14 . 
     A nozzle head  15 , preferably of plastic material, is mounted in a second end of the head  11  and includes a compartment  152  which communicates with the compartment  141  of the retainer  14  and which may receive a valve of a bicycle tire which will be further described. The nozzle head  15  further includes a conical section  151  having an outer curvature complimentary to the conical recess  146  of the retainer  14  so as to be fittingly received in the conical recess  146 . As shown in FIG. 6, the conical section  151  is hollow so as to allow the second end of the retainer  14  to extend. 
     An outer cap  16  is mounted to enclose the second end of the head  11  by threading engagement  161 ,  111 . The outer cap  16  includes an opening  162  defined therein through which the valve of the bicycle tire may pass. 
     Still referring to FIGS. 2 and 6, a pin  18  is slidably extended through the retainer  14  and includes an enlarged first end  181  beyond the first end of the retainer  14 . The first end of the retainer  14  may include a recessed section (not labeled) to receive the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18 . A second end of the pin  18  is secured in the recess  1432  of the nozzle  143  by threading engagement  182  such that the pin  18  and the nozzle  143  move together. The pin  18  further includes a transverse hole  183  that communicates with the compartment  141  of the retainer  14 , and an axial hole  184  is defined in the second end of the pin  18  to communicate the transverse hole  183  with the needle  1433  of the nozzle  143 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the pivotal switch member  17  includes a hollow cam seat  173  (with an interior  174 ) that is rotatably received in the first end of the head  11  adjacent to the main body  10 . In this embodiment, the cam seat  173  of the pivotal switch member  17  includes two flanged ends  171  and  172 , and an O-ring  1723  is mounted in an annular groove  1722  in flanged end  172  to provide a sealing effect. The cam seat  173  further includes a lever  1721  extending from the flanged end  172  and beyond the head  11  for manual operation. Referring to FIGS. 3,  4 , and  5 , the cam seat  173  includes a first side  175  with a first opening  1751  that allows the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  to pass through. The cam seat  173  further includes a second side  176  that is adjacent to the first side  175  and that has a second opening  1761  communicated with the first opening  1751 . The second opening  1761  is sized to be smaller than the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  to prevent the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  from passing through the second opening  1761 . The remaining peripheral wall portion (not labeled) of the cam seat  173  includes a central rotational axis C about which the cam seat  173  rotates relative to the first end of the head  11 . As can be seen from FIG. 3, a distance L 1  from the central rotating axis C of the cam seat  173  to the first side  175  is smaller than a distance L 2  from the central rotating axis C of the cam seat  173  to the second side  176 . It is appreciated that the compartment  12  of the head  11  communicates with the passage  101  via the cam seat  173 . Nevertheless, the compartment  12  of the head  11  can be communicated with the passage  101  by other suitable passages. 
     In operation, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, when pumping a tire (not shown) via a French valve FV, the lever  1721  of the pivotal switch member  17  is rotated relative to the head  11  in a direction until the first opening  1751  the first side  175  of the cam seat  173  faces the retainer  14  while the second side  176  of the cam seat  173  faces upwardly (as viewed from the direction of FIG.  7 ). Then, the French valve FV is extended into the compartment  152  of the nozzle head  15 . The needle FV′ of the French valve FV pushes the nozzle  143  and the pin  18  inward and thus makes the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  enter the interior  174  of the cam seat  173  via the first opening  1751  of the first side  175 , as shown in FIG.  7 . It is appreciated that the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  bears against an interior wall of the cam seat  173  that faces the first side  175 . 
     Thereafter, the lever  173  of the pivotal switch member  17  is rotated relative to the head  11  in a reverse direction to make the second opening  1761  of the second side  176  of the cam seat  173  face the retainer  14  while the first side  175  faces downward (as viewed from the direction of FIG.  8 ). The enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  still remains in the interior  174  of the cam seat  173 , yet the cam seat  173  is rotated such that the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  is moved to bear against another interior wall of the cam seat  173  that faces the second side  176 . It is appreciated that the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  moves the retainer  14  toward the French valve FV by a distance L 2 −L 1  as a result of different length and width of the interior  174  of the cam seat  173 . Accordingly, the conical recess  146  of the retainer  14  is completely filled by the conical section  151  of the nozzle head  15 , while the nozzle  143  contacts with the needle FV′ of the French valve FV, as shown in FIG.  8 . Air from the passage  101  (under reciprocating motion of the above-mentioned piston) enters the French valve FV via the compartment  12  of the head  11 , the transverse hole  145  of the retainer  14 , the transverse hole  183  and the axial hole  184  of the pin  18 , and the needle  1433  of the nozzle head  143 , as indicated by arrows in FIG.  8 . During the inflation procedure, a portion of inlet air enters a space between an inner periphery of the head  11  and an outer periphery of the retainer  14  and thus exerts an inward radial force on the conical elastic nozzle head  15  to thereby tightly clamp the French valve FV in place. 
     Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, when pumping a tire (not shown) via an American valve AV, the lever  173  of the pivotal switch member  17  is rotated relative to the head  11  in a direction until the first opening  1751  the first side  175  of the cam seat  173  faces the retainer  14  while the second side  176  of the cam seat  173  faces upwardly (as viewed from the direction of FIG.  9 ). Then, the American valve AV is extended into the compartment  152  of the nozzle head  15 . The needle AV′ of the American valve AV does not contact with the nozzle  143 , as the needle AV′ is short and hidden in the American valve AV. Thus, the pin  18  remains in its initial position shown in FIG.  9 . 
     Thereafter, the lever  173  of the pivotal switch member  17  is rotated relative to the head  11  in a reverse direction to make the second opening  1761  of the second side  176  of the cam seat  173  face the retainer  14  while the first side  175  faces downward (as viewed from the direction of FIG.  10 ). The enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  is moved to bear against the second side  176  of the cam seat  173 . Since the second opening  1761  is too small to allow the enlarged first end  181  of the pin  18  to pass through, the enlarged end  181  of the pin  18  moves the retainer  14  toward the American valve AV by a distance L 2 −L 1 , best shown in FIG.  10 . As a result, the conical recess  146  of the retainer  14  is completely filled by the conical section  151  of the nozzle head  15 , while the nozzle  143  contacts with the needle AV′ of the American valve AV. Air from the passage  101  (under reciprocating motion of the above-mentioned piston) enters the American valve AV via the compartment  12  of the head  11 , the transverse hole  145  of the retainer  14 , the transverse hole  183  and the axial hole  184  of the pin  18 , and the needle  1433  of the nozzle head  143 , as indicated by arrows in FIG.  10 . During the inflation procedure, a portion of inlet air enters a space between an inner periphery of the head  11  and an outer periphery of the retainer  14  and thus exerts an inward radial force on the conical elastic nozzle head  15  to thereby tightly clamp the American valve AV in place. 
     According to the above description, it is appreciated that the pumping device in accordance with the present invention may be used on various valves by simple rotation of the main body. In addition, the user does not have to discriminate the types of the valves to be inflated, while no external operative lever is required. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.