Abstract:
The present disclosure relates to a device for the sealing of inflatable objects, in particular tires, comprising a gas pressure source, a pressure hose for the connection of the gas pressure source to the inflatable object and a sealing agent contained in a removal unit. In accordance with the present disclosure, the pressure hose simultaneously forms the removal unit containing the sealing agent.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to German Patent Application Serial No. DE 10 2004 048 002.8 filed Oct. 1, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.  
       FIELD  
       [0002]     The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for the sealing of inflatable objects, in particular tires.  
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY  
       [0003]     Devices of this kind are already known from DE 196 52 546 A 1 and serve to seal a leak in an inflatable object, for example in a pierced tire or a tire damaged during a journey in that a special sealing agent is introduced into the tire via the tire valve and the tire is subsequently pumped up to at least a pressure at which it can be run. A sealing device of this type in accordance with the present disclosure typically has a removal unit which comprises a container containing a sealing agent and having a gas inlet connectable to a gas pressure source and an outlet couplable to an object to be sealed, with the gas inlet and the gas outlet being in communication with one another via the interior space of the container.  
         [0004]     Removal units for the handling of liquids are known from a series of further specifications, for example from U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,411, EP 0 557 913 A, DE 44 37 981 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,871 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,927.  
         [0005]     A sealing device is known from EP 1 121 324 81 which provides a separate removal unit and thereby makes it possible to exchange the container when the sealing agent has been consumed or has decayed without the whole sealing device having to be replaced. Thanks to the corresponding coupling capability of a separate removal unit, the reusable removal unit can be used with containers of different sizes and the sealing device in accordance with the present disclosure can thus be matched to the respective inflatable object. However, this already known removal unit comprises a separate container filled with the sealing agent which has to be connected to the pressure source, on the one hand, and to the object inflatable for sealing, on the other hand, via corresponding hose pieces. In this known apparatus, a series of components of the total device must therefore be provided, namely—in addition to the pressure source—also the removal unit, a container containing the sealing agent and hose connection pieces. A comparatively large space requirement must hereby be provided for the storage of the corresponding sealing device, for example in motor vehicles in which it is carried along.  
         [0006]     It is one object of the present disclosure to further develop a device of the type first named such that it is made in as compact a manner as possible and has as few individual parts as possible.  
         [0007]     This object may be solved by a device for the sealing of inflatable objects, in particular tires, comprising a gas pressure source, a pressure hose for the connection of the gas pressure source to the inflatable object and a sealing agent contained in the removal unit, the pressure hose here simultaneously forming the removal unit containing the sealing agent. A device is thus made available which is substantially formed from two components, namely from the gas pressure source, on the one hand, and the pressure hose, which simultaneously contains the sealing agent, on the other hand. An apparatus of this type can be made in a very compact manner. For example, depending on the volume requirements of the sealing agent, pressure hoses of different lengths or of different fillings can be provided. On the other hand, the pressure hoses can be replaced in the event that the sealing agent has been consumed or has decayed without the total sealing device having to be replaced. A commercial pressure hose can also easily be added in addition to the pressure hoses filled with sealing agent, said commercial pressure hose serving a connection to the inflatable object in order, for example, to refill air without simultaneously filling a sealing agent into the inflatable object, for example into the tire.  
         [0008]     In one example, the pressure hose can advantageously be connectable to the gas pressure source and to the inflatable object via connection pieces.  
         [0009]     The pressure hose can also have a check valve in front of the connection piece connectable to the inflatable object. In the case of pumping up, this prevents an unwanted backflow of the compressed air which was filled into the inflatable object with the sealing agent.  
         [0010]     Membranes which respectively close the hose and which can be opened on the use of the device for sealing are contained in the connection pieces. In order to be opened, they can, for example, be pierced or can be cut during the screwing of the connection piece onto the pressure source or the inflatable object such as the tire.  
         [0011]     In addition, where necessary, closing caps can be mounted, for example plugged or screwed, onto the connection pieces of the pressure hose.  
         [0012]     To be able to accept sufficient sealing agent, the pressure hose can have an expanded cross-section in the region in which it accepts the sealing agent.  
         [0013]     The gas pressure source is particularly advantageously formed by a housing which presents a recess at its jacket surface for the acceptance of the pressure hose which can be wound onto the housing.  
         [0014]     One side of the housing of the gas pressure source can advantageously be formed as a standing leg, whereas a gas pressure indicator is arranged at the oppositely disposed side.  
         [0015]     The pressure hose can already be connected to the gas pressure source via the corresponding connection piece in the wound-on state.  
         [0016]     In addition, a recess for the acceptance of an electrical connection cable, which can be wound on, can be formed separately from the recess for the acceptance of the pressure source at the housing jacket. This electrical connection cable serves to connect the gas compressor to a current source, for example to a 12 volt battery of the vehicle.  
         [0017]     The pressure hose preferably has a comparatively larger diameter in its middle region. The necessary amount of the sealing agent can hereby be accepted. To simplify a complete pushing out of the sealing agent, a membrane slider is displaceably arranged in the region of the pressure hose having an expanded diameter. It is therefore a matter of a thin-wall slider construction here which is displaced along the wall of the pressure hose by the compressed air. A device, for example a corresponding cutting device, can be present toward the end of the thickened part, by means of which the membrane slider is cut open or pierced in order to permit the passage of compressed air.  
         [0018]     A further preferred aspect of the present disclosure consists of a ball slider being movably arranged in the pressure hose and pressing out the sealing agent from the pressure hose via the compressed air. At the end of the hose, an acceptance recess is formed for the acceptance of the ball slider in order hereby to release the volume of the pressure hose for the compressed air flowing through.  
         [0019]     Finally, in accordance with a further advantageous aspect of the present disclosure, the pressure hose is wound in spiral form—optionally also in multilayer form. It should hereby be achieved that the sealing agent can in each case collect in the direction of gravity and is pressed out by the inflowing compressed air. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0020]     Further features, details and advantages of the present disclosure will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing. There are shown:  
         [0021]      FIG. 1 : a perspective representation of a device in accordance with the present disclosure for the sealing of inflatable objects;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2 : the device in accordance with  FIG. 1  with an unwound pressure hose;  
         [0023]      FIG. 3 : a sectional representation of a pressure hose such as can also be wound onto the device in accordance with the present disclosure;  
         [0024]      FIG. 4 : a schematic representation of a modified embodiment variant of the present disclosure;  
         [0025]      FIG. 5 : a further schematically modified embodiment of the present disclosure; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 6 : a further alternative embodiment of the device in accordance with the present disclosure. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0027]     In the embodiment of the present disclosure in accordance with  FIG. 1 , a device  10  for the sealing of inflatable objects, in particular tires, comprises a gas pressure source  12  and a pressure hose  14  wound onto the jacket of the gas pressure source  12 .  
         [0028]     As can in particular be seen from  FIG. 2 , the housing  16  of the gas pressure source  12  consists of a substantially cylindrical body having a wide recess  18  on its jacket surface which serves for the acceptance of the spirally wound-on pressure hose  14 . In  FIG. 1 , the pressure hose  14  is shown in the wound-on state and in  FIG. 2  in the unwound state.  
         [0029]     The lower side of the housing  16  is made as a standing leg  20 . The upper side of the housing  16  has a gas manometer  22  via which the pressure is indicated of the inflatable object not shown in any more detail here, for example, the tire, to which the gas pressure source can be connected via the pressure hose  14 .  
         [0030]     A narrower recess  26  is provided next to the recess  18  and is arranged in parallel to recess  18 . Further, recess  26  is separated by a partition wall  24  from recess  18 . Finally, an electrical connecting cable can be wound up within recess  26 , which is not shown in more detail here.  
         [0031]     The pressure source is generally designed in a known manner. Reference can be made in this respect, for example, to EP 1 121 32481.  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  shows the pressure hose  14  in a sectional representation. The pressure hose has a connection piece  28  at its end, connectable to the gas pressure source  12 . A connection piece  30  is arranged at the oppositely disposed end connectable to the inflatable object. The pressure hose  14  is extended in cross-section over its main length with respect to the two end regions  32  and  34 , as can be seen schematically from  FIG. 3 . The pressure hose  14  is filled with a sealing agent which can have a composition known per se from the prior art. Reference is made in this respect to the sealing agent named, for example, in DE 196 52 548 A 1.  
         [0033]     A closing membrane  36  which can be opened in the use of the sealing device is arranged in the region of the connection piece  28 .  
         [0034]     The connection pieces  28  and  30  can be closed by means of closing caps  38  and  40 .  
         [0035]     A check valve  42  is arranged in the end region  34  of the pressure hose  14 . The filling direction in which the sealing agent can be filled is shown by the arrow  44 . The compressed air is also introduced in this direction to fill the sealing agent into the inflatable object as is shown in  FIG. 2 . The pressure hose  14  is directly connected to the gas pressure source  12  in the embodiment shown here. No cover cap  38  is to be provided in this embodiment variant.  
         [0036]     The gas pressure source  12  is made for the provision of compressed air in this embodiment and can be made, for example, as a small compressor, a central motor vehicle compressor, a stationary compressed air supply unit or as a portable pressure storage container such as are available at filling stations or as a hand-operated air pump or as a foot-operated air pump. The maximum pressure to be generated by the gas pressure source  12  does not need to be larger than the pressure required for at least emergency operation of a tire.  
         [0037]     An alternative embodiment variant is shown in  FIG. 4 , with the gas pressure source to which the pressure hose  14  is connected being schematically indicated here by  12 . The pressure hose  14  is in turn connected to a tire  50  which is to be repaired. In its middle region, the pressure hose  14  has a region  52  of increased diameter in which a correspondingly larger volume of sealing agent can be accepted. A membrane slider, which is designated by  54 , facilitates the pushing out of the sealing agent. The slider  54  is displaceable by the compressed air being discharged from the gas pressure source and thus presses the sealing agent in the direction of the tire  50 . A blade, which is designed by  56 , cuts the membrane slider on the reaching of the end position of said membrane slider such that the compressed air can pass from the gas pressure source  12  through the membrane slider  54  and can penetrate into the further pressure hose system  14 .  
         [0038]     A modified embodiment variant of the present disclosure results from  FIG. 5  in which the pressure hose has a ball slider  58  which, in a similar manner to the membrane slider in accordance with  FIG. 4 , serves the pressing out of the sealant mass from the pressure hose  14 . A corresponding recess  60  is provided in the end region of the hose and a bounding element  62  is additionally provided. When the end position is reached, the ball slider  58  is stopped by the bounding element  62  so that it falls into the recess  60  and thus releases the volume of the pressure hose  14 . In the embodiment shown here, an additional pressure hose  64  which does not contain any sealing agent, that is which only serves the pressure charging of a tire  50  by means of the gas pressure source  12 , is connected to the compressed air source  12 .  
         [0039]     A further aspect of the present disclosure is shown in  FIG. 6  in which the pressure hose  14  is wound in the manner of a spiral. It is hereby ensured that the sealant mass can collect in each case in the lower windings of the spiral and can be acted on by the compressed air from the pressure source  12 .