Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an air compressor tool kit for providing ready access
to air
compressors for low pressure, high volume inflation, and to higher pressure
low volume
inflation and accessories, and to parts for such a kit, in a single location.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Air compressors are known to be required for various purposes. In some cases,
they
may be required for inflating high volume, low pressure items such as
inflatable boats,
tents, mattresses and the like. In these cases, a compressor will be required
to supply
a high volume of air at low air pressure so as to provide inflation in a
reasonably short
time span, with a minimum of manual effort.
In other cases, air compressors are required for higher air pressures but
lower volumes.
These cases may include inflating tires of vehicles, balls used for sports
games such as
soccer, football, basketball and the like. Both of these functions are often
required
around the home where it is not always possible to access a large, expensive
air
compressor installation meeting all of these needs. Accordingly, for house
use, it has
been proposed in the past to provide two forms of air compressors. One
provides a low
pressure, high volume supply and the other which supplies a high pressure, low
volume
supply of air. The two compressors were designed differently for their
particular
purposes.
Preferably, such compressors are operated by electrical power. Preferably the
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
electrical power will be supplied from a battery source, a re-chargeable
battery being
particularly suitable. Such batteries in common experience, must be inserted
into the
tool for use and must be removed and placed on a charging set for re-charging.
Such
battery-operated compressor tools are more suitable for domestic use purposes
and
can be manufactured in large quantities at lower costs so that they may be
available at
a price which is affordable by the home owner. Such air compressor hand tools
are
also useful since they are portable and may be carried to various locations.
Ideally they
might be useful for holiday travelling, camping and fishing or inflating a
tire on the road.
There are, however, various disadvantages with what has been available in the
past. In
the first place, for complete compressor applications where two portable
compressors
were required. Storage of these compressors was not always secure or
convenient for
a home owner. The re-charging of batteries required a re-charger which must
also be
stored. One battery, or the other, would be on charge at one time. In addition
to these
factors, the portability of such units have lent themselves to use away from
the home,
as suggested above, for use on vacations or travelling holidays such as
camping.
However, the use of the battery charger is not always possible in remote
locations. It is
therefore desirable for such portable compressors to be powered by alternate
means
such as the electrical supply system of a vehicle. In addition, it is
desirable that such
portable compressors shall be provided with a variety of accessories, by means
of
which they can be used for various different articles. For example, inflation
of camping
or floating mattresses may require one type of nozzle and the inflation of
vehicle tires
may require an adaptor connecting to the tire valve. The inflation of a
recreational
2
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
sports ball may require the use of a needle. Other forms of adaptors may be
required
for various other purposes.
All of these accessories and adaptors may be provided, but the storage and
retrieval of
them at any given moment may be a problem for the home owner.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With a view to overcoming the various disadvantages mentioned above, the
invention
comprises an air compressor tool kit for providing a low pressure, high volume
portable
compressor and a high pressure, low volume portable compressor unit and a
single
stand for these two compressors, both compressors having rechargeable
batteries, and
providing electrical re-charging connections within the stand for each
compressor and
providing electrical re-charging connection in the battery of each compressor,
so that
when the two compressors are placed in position in the stand, they may both be
continuously on charge simultaneously and ready for use.
It is a further and related objective of the invention, to provide such a kit
with a set of
accessories and adaptors which allows these two compressors to function for a
wide
variety of different applications and having recesses in the stand for storing
such
accessories.
It is a further and related objective of the invention to provide such a kit
and
incorporating an adaptor for supplying power from a vehicle electrical system,
which
can be connected to either of the compressors.
3
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
Preferably, in this case, an electrical adaptor will be provided for
connection to the
vehicle's electrical system and the electrical adaptor will be capable of
fitting into one or
other of the compressors and replacing the re-chargable battery unit normally
contained
within the compressor.
Preferably, the re-chargable batteries of the two compressors will have
exposed
terminals for re-charging and the stand will have electrical terminals adapted
to inter-
connect with the terminals on the two batteries of the two compressors
simultaneously
so that they may both be kept on charge permanently while stored on the stand.
Preferably, the stand will be provided with supports by means of which it may
be stood
at a convenient angle on a table and which supports may be interchangeably
attached to
the stand, for mounting it at a convenient angle on a wall. Preferably, the
attachments
will be the same attachments suitable for both table and wall mount purposes.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed
out with
more particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this
disclosure. For a
better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific
objects
attained by its use, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and
descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred
embodiments of
the invention.
4
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
IN THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a general perspective of an illustration of an air compressor kit,
showing the
stand and the two air compressors and the various accessories in position,
standing on
a table;
Figure 2 is an exploded rear perspective of Fig. 1;
Figure 3 is an exploded view of two compressors and batteries;
Figure 4 is an exploded rear perspective of Fig. 3;
Figure 5 is an exploded front perspective view of Fig. 1;
Figure 6 is an exploded rear perspective of the stand;
Figure 7 is a perspective of the low voltage adaptor; and
Figure 8 is an exploded view of compressor and high pressure connector.
5
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT
As is described generally above, the air compressor kit is illustrated in
Figure 1 as (10).
The kit (10) incorporates a first low pressure, high volume air compressor
(12) and a
second high pressure, low volume air compressor (14), in side-by-side
locations. The
locations are provided by the stand (16) on which the two air compressors are
nested
side-by-side.
Also stored nested in the same stand (16) are accessory nozzles (18), (20),
and (22) to
be described below and an electrical adaptor (24) for connecting either of the
compressors to a vehicle's electrical system.
It can thus be seen that the kit provides all of the components necessary for
use of the
two compressors in a variety of different applications and situations where
compressed
air may be required in a convenient, comprehensive single location ready to
hand. The
home owner may place such a kit in a basement or in a garage, for example, and
always
have all these components readily available to him.
The air compressors (12) and (14) are of type, which is known per se, as are
also in the
details of the interior components. The interior construction of the
compressors will not
be described in detail and may vary from design to design without affecting
the scope of
the invention.
Each of the air compressors (12) and (14) is readily portable and hand
operated and is
free of electrical wiring. For this purpose, each of the air compressors (12)
and (14)
6
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
contains a re-chargable storage battery unit (26). The rechargeable battery
unit (26) is
received in a cavity in the handle of the air compressor (12) or (14) and is
held in
position by means such as resilient clips (28) on the battery units (26). Each
of the
battery units (26) is provided with electrical connection terminals (30) at
its base, which
are exposed and are ready for connection with a source of electrical charging
power at
the correct voltage. A battery unit is normally standing on charge while
installed in the
compressor stand.
While it may seem superfluous to make provision for the removal of the
rechargeable
battery units (12) from the compressors, the purpose of such removable battery
units
(26) will become apparent when it is considered that the kit also makes
provision for the
connection of either of the compressors to low voltage electrical system from
a vehicle.
Conventionally, such vehicle systems are 12 volts. A separate form of adapter
(24) is
provided for that purpose, to be described below.
The separate form of adapter (24) for either of the compressors (12) and (14)
to a
vehicle system consists simply of an exterior shell of a shape generally
similar to the
shape of either of the removable batteries, and having clips (32) by which it
may be
releasably inserted into the handles of either of the compressors (12) and
(14). An
electrical connection cord (34) for adapter (24) has plug (36). Card (34) has
another
plug (not shown) suitable a cigarette lighter of a vehicle. In this way, when
the adapter
unit (24) is inserted into the handle of one of the compressors (12) or (14),
and the plug
(36) is inserted, power will be supplied to that
7
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
compressor enabling it to be used directly off the electrical power system of
the vehicle
and without using the rechargeable batteries.
In order to expand the uses of the entire kit, a plurality of different
nozzles and adaptors
are provided indicated as (18), (20) and (22). These may be connected to the
outlet (38)
of either of the compressors as required. In addition, in order to make
provision for
controllably and precisely inflating, for example, the tires of a vehicle or a
ball such as a
basketball or the like (not shown), a further hose connector (40) is provided
for
connecting to the outlet (38) of the high-pressure compressor (). The
connector (40)
provides a hose and also a pressure gauge (42). This way the pressure of the
object
being inflated can be read off precisely.
In accordance with the objects of the invention, all of these components are
nested in a
stand, in this case a single stand (16). The stand (16) is typically formed of
moulded
thermo-plastic material. It is formed with first and second compressor
recesses (44) and
(46) for receiving the low and high pressure compressors respectively. Each of
the two
recesses (44) and (46) are formed with a platform (48) at the lower end, the
lower end
being that which will support the weight of the compressor when the stand is
erected as
shown or is placed on a wall. In each of these platforms (48), there are
provided
projecting electrical terminals (50) and (52). These connect with the
electrical terminals
(30) at the base of each compressor. Thus when a compressor (12) or (14) is
placed in
its recess, it will be continuously charged by contact with the electrical
terminals (50) and
(52) in the platform at the lower end of the recess. It will be appreciated
that within the
interior of the stand (16), there may be a transformer (not shown), for
transforming main
8
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
electrical power to a suitable DC voltage for powering the battery.
Alternatively, a simple
transformer plug such as is well known in the art (not shown), may be provided
for
plugging into a wall receptacle at the standard household voltage, and a low
voltage wire
may extend from such a transformer (not shown) to the terminals in the stand
(16). The
stand (16) is closed at the rear by a closure panel (54).
In order to accommodate the electrical adaptor (24), a third recess (56) is
provided in the
stand which can receive the adaptor (24) and its associated wiring.
A narrow slot-like recess (58) is also provided in the stand (16) for
receiving the high
pressure connector hose (40) and its associated pressure gauge (42).
Generally cylindrical recesses (60) are provided in the stand (16) for
receiving the
various adaptor nozzles provided in the stand. In order to support the stand
(16) at an
angle on a table as shown in Fig. 1, generally triangular leg brackets (62)
are provided.
The leg brackets (62) are provided with key-like buttons (64) and (66). Key
hole
recesses (68) are provided in the rear panel (54) of the stand (16), for
making mating
inter-engagement with the keys (64) and (66) and are securing the brackets
(62) nto the
stand.
In the event that it is desired to mount the stand (16) on a wall, then the
legs (62) may
be reversed and screwed by suitable fastenings (not shown) to a wall. Suitable
screw
holes (70) are provided in the legs (62) for the purpose.
9
CA 02516850 2005-08-25
When mounted in this way, on a wall, the stand (16) may be secured to the keys
(64)
and (66) on the legs (62). For this purpose further key hole slots (72) are
provided in the
stand.
It will thus be seen that the kit according to the invention provides an
installation
consisting of a stand, two compressors, a low voltage adaptor and various
accessories
all of which are contained in a homogenous location, convenient for use. The
two
compressor batteries are kept constantly under charge, so long as the
electrical cord
from the stand is plugged into an electrical supply. Thus the two compressors
are always
ready for immediate use for whatever purpose may be required.
In the event that the owner takes a vacation or makes a trip, he may take the
two
compressors with him and take along the adaptor (24). This will then enable
him to use
either the low pressure or the high pressure compressors (12) or (14), by
powering it
from the electrical system of the vehicle, for whatever purposes are required.
The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention
which is given
here by way of example only. The invention is not to be taken as limited to
any of the
specific features as described, but comprehends all such variations thereof as
come
within the scope of the appended claims.
10
