Patent ID: 7198076

Claim:
An air pump assembly for inflating and deflating an inflatable article, the inflatable article being formed with an interior chamber and an aperture in fluid communication with the interior chamber, said air pump assembly comprising: a base adapted to be mounted within the aperture in the inflatable article and including a pair of first and second air chambers, an inflow inlet in fluid communication with said first air chamber and adapted to permit flow of air into said first air chamber therethrough, an inflow outlet in fluid communication with said second air chamber and adapted to be in fluid communication with the interior chamber in the inflatable article, an outflow inlet in fluid communication with said first air chamber and adapted to be in fluid communication with the interior chamber in the inflatable article, and an outflow outlet in fluid communication with said second chamber and adapted to permit outflow of air from said second chamber therethrough; an inflow valve disposed on said base and in proximity to said inflow outlet in said base and biased to close said outflow inlet so as to prevent flow of air from said base into the interior chamber through said inflow outlet; an outflow valve disposed on said base and in proximity to said outflow inlet in said base and biased to close said outflow inlet so as to prevent flow of air from the interior chamber into said base through said outflow inlet; an air pump disposed in said base between said first and second air chambers and in fluid communication with said first and second air chambers; a control circuit disposed in said base and connected electrically to said air pump, said control circuit including an inflow contact switch and an outflow contact switch; and a movable member disposed movably on said base and movable between an inflating position, where said outflow outlet is closed, where said inflow valve is moved to a non-sealing position so as to open said inflow outlet, where said movable member contacts said inflow contact switch so that said air pump forces air to flow from said first air chamber into said second air chamber, and where air flows into the interior chamber in the inflatable article via a flow path formed by said inflow inlet, said first air chamber, said air pump, said second air chamber, and said inflow outlet, and a deflating position, where said inflow inlet is closed, where said outflow valve is moved to a non-sealing position so as to open said outflow inlet, where said movable member contacts said outflow contact switch so that said air pump forces air to flow from said first air chamber into said second air chamber, and where air flows out of the interior chamber in the inflatable article via a flow path formed by said outflow inlet, said first air chamber, said air pump, said second air chamber, and said outflow outlet.