Patent Description:
Balloons are a common toy which is enjoyed by children and adults alike. There are various versions of balloon toys including use of different materials to make the balloons, forming the balloon with different shapes or the use of lighter than air gases to inflate the balloons to create balloons that float in the atmosphere.

One recent trend has been to inflate balloons with different toys or decorative items so as to improve the appearance or enjoy-ability of the balloon. One such product is to insert decorative items within an inflated balloon such as LED lights or toys. These add to the interests of the balloons and can also change the effect of the balloon. Examples of such balloons may be to include festive lights into the balloon during Christmas, or romantic items such as flowers or rose pedals during Valentine's day, or the inclusion of soft toys for birthday parties.

However, the manufacturing of such balloons is complicated by the difficulty in the insertion of items into a balloon followed by the correct inflation of the balloon. This process cannot be achieved with simple means as it is difficult to insert objects within a balloon without tearing the balloon itself. Accordingly, the creation of such balloons that houses various toys or objects within typically require specialist equipment that are large and expensive. In turn, such balloons are typically created by specialist toy, balloon or party stores. <CIT> discloses a container inflator system according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container inflator system according to claim <NUM>.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for inflating a balloon according to claim <NUM>.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, there is illustrated an example embodiment of a container inflator system comprising:.

In this embodiment, the container inflator system <NUM> includes a suction chamber <NUM>, and an inflation apparatus <NUM> which operate together to allow a container, such as, but not limited to a balloon (not shown), to be inflated with objects or items placed therein. Such a balloon, once inflated with objects or items, may be referred to as a "stuffed" balloon.

In this example, the suction chamber <NUM> is arranged to firstly expand a container such as a balloon, such that when it is expanded, the container's opening remains accessible for the insertion of objects therein. Once objects have been inserted into the container, the opening of the container may be sealed to prevent the inflating air pressure within the container to escape when it is released from the suction chamber <NUM>. Preferably this is performed by use of a delivery valve (not shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, but shown in one example with respect to <FIG>) arranged to seal the container so as to maintain the expanded state of the container when it is removed from the suction chamber <NUM>.

Once the container is removed from the suction chamber <NUM>, it can then be further inflated by placing the opening of the container into a position for fluid communication with an inflation apparatus <NUM>. The inflation apparatus <NUM> is then arranged to further inflate the container by delivering air pressure into the container so as to further expand the container. The delivery valve is arranged to be received and/or engage with the inflation apparatus <NUM> such that air pressure may be delivered to the container via the delivery valve so as to further inflate the container.

In examples where the container is a balloon, a user may firstly use the suction chamber <NUM> to expand the balloon by use of suction pressure. The balloon may firstly be placed or inserted into the suction chamber <NUM> with its opening being stretched around an annular opening <NUM> of the suction chamber <NUM> so as to seal the suction chamber <NUM> from the atmosphere. Once in this position, a user may then apply suction pressure to the suction chamber <NUM> which is delivered preferably near the base <NUM> of the suction chamber <NUM> by a pumping device. In turn, the suction pressure causes the balloon to expand towards the walls of the suction chamber <NUM> due to the vacuum created within the suction chamber <NUM> and thus allowing the balloon to expand within the suction chamber <NUM> so as to form a balloon chamber, a space within the expanded balloon.

Once formed, this balloon chamber can be filled with various objects such as toys, decorative items such as glitter dust, papers or strings, liquids, lights, plant materials, other balloons or any other items or objects that a user may desire to place within the balloon. Upon the completion of the insertion of objects within the balloon chamber, a user may then proceed to seal the balloon such that the balloon can retain the air pressure within it when the suction pressure or vacuum is removed from the suction chamber <NUM>. One possible method to perform this is by sealing the balloon with any sealing mechanism such as a ribbon or string tied around the balloon, or even by use of the user's digits. However, as it is undesirable to see that the balloon is deflated, since the items within may escape the balloon or may damage the internal walls of the balloon, a delivery valve is preferably used to seal the balloon. Description of an example embodiment of the delivery valve will be described below with reference to <FIG>.

Once the balloon is sealed and the suction pressure is removed, the balloon can be removed from the suction chamber <NUM> by disassembling the housing of the suction chamber <NUM> away from the base <NUM>. In preferred examples, the suction chamber <NUM> is formed by a dome shaped shell which is screw fitted into the base <NUM>. This dome shaped shell can be unscrewed from the base <NUM> and thus allowing the balloon to be removed from the suction chamber <NUM>. Once the balloon is removed from the suction chamber <NUM>, the balloon may then be further inflated by delivering further inflation pressure to the balloon. This is preferable performed by the inflation apparatus <NUM> which in this example embodiment, as shown in <FIG> is placed adjacent to the suction chamber <NUM>. The opening of the balloon is placed to engage with the inflation apparatus <NUM> so as to form a fluid communication between the balloon and the inflation apparatus <NUM>. In turn, the inflation apparatus <NUM> is then operated by the user to deliver air pressure to the balloon.

As shown in this example embodiment, the inflation apparatus <NUM> operates with a pumping device (not shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, but shown in <FIG> and <FIG>) which also provides suction pressure to the suction chamber <NUM>. By use of a valve system having one or more one way valves, the pumping device is able to deliver both the suction pressure to the suction chamber <NUM> and the inflation apparatus <NUM>. This is advantageous as the usage of the same pumping device reduces the size and complexity of the container inflator system <NUM> whilst also reducing the costs of manufacturing the system <NUM>.

Preferably, and shown in <FIG>, an example of a removable delivery valve arrangement (<NUM>, <NUM>) may be used to engage the balloon to the suction chamber <NUM>, The delivery valve arrangement may also seal the balloon when it is desired to remove the balloon from the suction chamber <NUM> and may also allow further inflation pressure to be inserted within the balloon via the inflation apparatus <NUM>. In this example, the removable delivery valve arrangement may also include a one way valve <NUM> which permits air pressure to be inserted into the balloon, whilst preventing its escape from the balloon, and/or a plurality of annular members <NUM> which assists to seal the balloon to the lip of the suction chamber's opening <NUM> whilst also allowing the balloon to be sealed to the valve <NUM> when it is required to be removed from the suction chamber <NUM>.

The removable delivery valve arrangement is advantageous as a user can remove the balloon from the suction chamber <NUM> without losing the air pressure within the balloon. Furthermore, in preferred examples where the valve is arranged to couple with the inflation apparatus <NUM>, such as via an engagement nozzle <NUM> that engages the valve to the inflation apparatus <NUM>, the valve also allows the user to further inflate the balloon with the inflation apparatus <NUM>. Upon the balloons correct or desired inflation, a user may then remove the delivery valve arrangement by sealing the balloon at a position adjacent to the valve, such as the neck of the balloon adjacent to its opening. This can be performed by tying a ribbon or other forms of balloon seals around the balloon. In turn, releasing the valve arrangement for use with another balloon.

As shown in this example embodiment of <FIG> and <FIG>, the suction chamber <NUM> and the inflation apparatus <NUM> is placed adjacent to each other and is housed in these positions by a housing base <NUM> which connects the chamber <NUM> to the inflation apparatus <NUM> to form a single container inflator device <NUM>. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the housing <NUM> may also include one or more storage compartments <NUM> for the storage of tools, balloons or other items. Preferably, as also shown, the housing <NUM> may be moulded to include a plurality of cylindrical slots, each arranged to receive a cylindrical container <NUM> to store various decorative materials. This is advantageous as these containers <NUM> add to the overall aesthetics of the system <NUM> as well as provide the proper storage of decorative materials for use and ease of access by a user.

With reference to <FIG>, there is illustrated the top, side and front view of an example embodiment of the container inflator system <NUM>. These diagrams show the position of the inflator apparatus <NUM> and suction chamber <NUM> as well as the various storage compartments <NUM>, <NUM>. The diagrams also shown some example dimensions, which are provided for guidance only and would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the dimensions can vary, either with minor or significant variations.

As illustrated, the dimensions of this example embodiment of the container inflator system <NUM> are approximately <NUM> in length and <NUM> wide. In turn, although the container inflation system <NUM> may be of any dimensions, this example container inflator system <NUM> is intended to be relatively compact and is sized to be similar to that of a typical desk toy for children. This example embodiment would therefore illustrate the advantages in that the system <NUM> may be used by a child at home or by a user at a party venue, without the necessity of large or complex equipment to insert objects into a balloon to make a "stuffed" balloon.

With reference to <FIG>, there are provided further illustrations of an example container inflator system <NUM> to illustrate the components of the system <NUM> in greater detail. As shown in <FIG>, which is an exploded diagram of an example container inflator system <NUM>, for the purposes of simplicity the various containers <NUM>, <NUM> that are illustrated in the examples of <FIG> are not shown.

In this example embodiment, the suction chamber is formed by a base <NUM> and a suction chamber dome <NUM> which is placed over the base <NUM> so as to form the suction chamber. The suction chamber dome <NUM> is preferably sealed to the suction base <NUM> by screw fit and includes a rubber or soft seal <NUM> so to prevent suction pressure within the suction chamber to be lost through the engagement between the suction chamber dome <NUM> and the base <NUM>. The base <NUM> preferably has an aperture disposed near towards its lowest point which is in turn connected to a fluid conduit, such as an air tube <NUM>, which is in turn connected to a pumping system (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>). The pumping system may then be able to provide suction pressure to the suction chamber. It is also preferred that the aperture disposed near towards its lowest point of the suction chamber is also in communication with an annular slot (not shown) placed on the bottom of the base <NUM> such that the suction pressure may be evenly distributed around the chamber. This may be advantageous as the even distribution of suction pressure may ensure the balloon within the suction chamber can be expanded evenly around the suction chamber and not expanded to one side of the chamber.

In this example embodiment, the inflation apparatus is placed adjacent to the suction chamber and includes a pumping system comprising of various pump related parts (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) that is placed within the inflation apparatus. In this example, the pumping system is a manual pumping system that includes a pump that comprises a pump piston <NUM>, <NUM>, within a pump cylinder <NUM> and a piston spring mechanism <NUM>, <NUM><NUM> so as to allow the pump to create suction and inflation pressure for the inflation apparatus and the suction chamber, although as it will be appreciated, an electric pump system may also be implemented in some examples.

As shown in this example, the container inflator system <NUM> includes a delivery valve arrangement <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> arranged to facilitate the sealing and transfer of the balloon from the suction chamber for further inflation by the inflation apparatus. The delivery valve arrangement may include a one way valve <NUM> which is arranged to ensure air pressure can be inserted into the balloon whilst also ensuring that air pressure cannot escape from the balloon <NUM>. The one way valve would in turn be engaged with a plurality of annular members, including a funnel <NUM>, and optionally a cover (not shown), which is arranged to secure the valve <NUM> to the balloon <NUM>. Preferably, the annular members may also be removably engaged with the opening of the suction chamber thus allowing the balloon <NUM> to expand when it is secured to the suction chamber, and when desired, the delivery valve arrangement, together with the balloon <NUM>, can be removed from the suction chamber.

In such an example arrangement, the annular members may be of a similar size to the opening of the suction chamber. Thus the balloon <NUM> is firstly placed within the suction chamber with its opening being stretched around the opening of the suction chamber. This creates a seal around the suction chamber and thus allows the balloon <NUM> to be expanded when suction chamber is applied to the suction chamber.

As shown in this example and in <FIG>, a hook annular member <NUM> similar to a ring, may be placed around the opening of the suction chamber dome <NUM>. Preferably, the annular member <NUM> has a plurality of soft and blunt hooks which help seat the balloons opening around the opening of the suction chamber dome <NUM>. Thus in this example, the user may insert the balloon <NUM> into the suction chamber, then proceed to stretch the balloon's opening around the opening of the suction chamber by stretching the opening of the balloon around the hooks of the hook annular member <NUM>. The hooks in turn urge the engagement of the balloon <NUM> in position to prevent the balloon <NUM> from unintentional disengaging from the opening of the suction chamber.

Optionally, also shown in <FIG>, is a fingered ring <NUM> which may be seated over the opening of the balloon and the suction chamber. The fingered ring <NUM> includes a plurality of flexible fingers which bends to allow various objects or items to be inserted into the balloon <NUM> when the balloon is inflated within the suction chamber. The ring <NUM>, which can be removed when it is desirable to seal the balloon with the delivery valve, is arranged to protect the neck of the balloon <NUM> from scrapes or physical damage when objects or items are inserted into the balloon <NUM>. This is particularly advantageous when larger or hard objects are inserted into the balloon such as soft toys or LED lights that have harder and sharper batteries or wiring circuits.

After a user inserts various objects or items into the expanded balloon sitting within the suction chamber, the user can insert the delivery valve arrangement into the neck of the balloon <NUM>, which at present has been stretched around the opening of the suction chamber. As the flanged portions of the delivery valve is similar, although slightly smaller in size, to the opening of the suction chamber, the user can insert the delivery valve arrangement over the opening of the suction chamber with a near snug fit over the opening of the balloon. The near snug fit should be sufficiently loose so as not to damage the balloon <NUM>, but should be preferably near the size of the stretched opening of the balloon <NUM> so as to facilitate an easy seal of the balloon <NUM>. Preferably, a soft or rubbery ring, similar to an O-ring, can be used along the edges of the annular members <NUM> such that it can be inserted into the stretched opening of the balloon <NUM> to form a seal with the balloon <NUM>, whilst also permitting it to travel through the opening of the suction chamber so that the balloon <NUM> can be removed from the chamber.

When the delivery valve arrangement is inserted into the stretched opening of the balloon <NUM>, the user may then further seal the balloon's opening to the delivery valve arrangement. This can be performed in various ways depending on a preferred implementation of the annular members <NUM> of the delivery valve arrangements. Preferable, in the above example, when the user inserts the delivery valve arrangement, the O-ring of the valve will then form a seal with the stretched balloon <NUM>. The user may then cover this seal with a cap (not shown) to secure the balloon to the O-ring so as to form a more secure seal of the balloon <NUM> to the valve <NUM>. Once secured, the user can remove the suction chamber dome <NUM> from the base <NUM>, preferably, by rotating the suction chamber dome <NUM> away from the base <NUM> via its screw fit arrangement. Once removed, the user can push the delivery valve arrangement through the opening of the suction chamber dome <NUM>, together with the balloon <NUM> which could now be freed from the suction chamber dome <NUM>.

The user may then further inflate the balloon <NUM> to a larger size by now inserting the delivery valve arrangement to the inflation apparatus adjacent to the suction chamber. Once inserted into inflation apparatus, the user can operate the pump to further inflate the balloon <NUM>. The inflation apparatus, as shown in this example, includes a manual pumping system which has a piston <NUM>, <NUM>, pump cylinder <NUM> and spring unit <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. The pumping system is also connected to the inflation apparatus and the suction chamber with a valve arrangement 326V that includes a plurality of one way valves 326V such that suction pressure can be delivered to the suction chamber whilst inflation pressure can be directed to the inflation apparatus when the pump piston <NUM> is operated by a user.

Once the balloon <NUM> has been inflated to a suitable air pressure, the balloon <NUM> can be disengaged from the delivery valve arrangement by firstly sealing the opening of the balloon <NUM>. This may be performed by simply tying the portions of the balloon <NUM> adjacent to its opening, commonly the neck of a standard balloon, with a ribbon, string, or similar balloon sealing devices. The delivery valve arrangement may in turn be disengaged from the balloon <NUM> and may be used with another balloon.

The present example embodiments of the container inflator system <NUM>, <NUM>, may be advantageous as it is able to assist users to make a "stuffed" balloon without complex equipment. Additionally, as the suction chamber and the inflation apparatus may be integrated into the same unit, the system <NUM>, <NUM> may also be easy to use, compact to store and transport and low cost to manufacture. In turn, rendering the system <NUM>, <NUM> practical as a domestic toy for children and adults.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claim 1:
A container inflator system (<NUM>) comprising:
- a suction chamber (<NUM>) arranged to expand the container within the suction chamber whilst maintaining at least one opening for accessing the container; and
- an inflation apparatus (<NUM>) arranged to further inflate the container when the container is removed from the suction chamber (<NUM>);
wherein the inflation apparatus (<NUM>) and the suction chamber (<NUM>) are operated by a pumping device;
characterised in that the system (<NUM>) further comprises a delivery valve arranged to seal the container so as to maintain the expanded state of the container when it is removed from the suction chamber (<NUM>), wherein the delivery valve is arranged to couple with the pumping device to inflate the container.