Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – Including valve means in flow line
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-17
2004-01-13
Hwu, Davis (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
Including valve means in flow line
C239S451000, C239S587100, C239S587500, C239S537000, C239S581100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06676042
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to dunnage air bags, and more particularly to a new and improved inflation nozzle fixture or assembly for inflating the inflatable bladder disposed interiorly of the dunnage air bag in connection with the use of the dunnage air bag for securing or bracing cargo within the holds of, for example, railroad cars, airplanes, ships, truck trailers, and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Cargo or dunnage air bags are used in the cargo shipment or transportation industry as a means for readily and easily securing or bracing cargo within the holds of, for example, railroad cars, ships, airplanes, truck trailers, and the like. Such dunnage or cargo air bags conventionally comprise an inflatable bladder which is enclosed within an outer bag or envelope fabricated from a plurality of paper plies. The air bags are conventionally of such construction and size as to readily enable the same to be inserted into voids or spaces defined between spaced loads, or between a particular cargo load and a side or end wall of the cargo container or hold, whereupon inflation of the air bag, the air bag will expand thereby fixedly engaging the adjacent cargo loads or the cargo load and container wall so as to secure the cargo loads against undesirable movement during transit. Obviously, in order to achieve the inflation of the cargo or dunnage air bags to a predetermined pressurized level, such air bags are also conventionally provided with an inflation valve which permits compressed or pressurized air to be conducted into the interior portion of the inflatable bladder. Typically, the inflation valve comprises a tubular valve body having a flange portion integrally fixed thereto. The flange portion is welded or heat-sealed to an interior wall portion of the inflatable bladder so as to form an air-tight seal therewith, whereas the tubular valve body projects outwardly from the air bag so as to be externally accessible for fluidic communication with a suitable air inflation fixture or assembly by means of which the compressed or pressurized air can be conducted into the interior portion of the inflatable bladder. The inflation valve also comprises a valve stem which is mounted within the tubular valve body and is movable between CLOSED and OPEN states. The valve stem is normally spring-biased toward the CLOSED state but is able to be moved to the OPEN state against the spring-biasing force by means of the air inflation fixture or assembly.
A conventional or PRIOR ART inflation nozzle or fixture, for enabling the inflation of an inflatable bladder of a cargo air bag, is disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,541 which issued to Krier et al. on Aug. 27, 1991, however, as can be readily appreciated from
FIG. 1
, which corrresponds substantially to
FIG. 3
of the aforenoted patent, the inflation nozzle or fixture of Krier et al. comprises a relatively large number of operative components and is relatively difficult to manipulate. More particularly, the inflation nozzle or fixture
14
is seen to comprise a tubular body portion
24
which is adapted to be threadedly connected to a hose
16
which, in turn, is adapted to be fluidically connected to a source of compressed air, not shown, wherein the tubular body portion
24
comprises an air inlet portion
34
and an air outlet portion
36
which is formed by means of a tubular nozzle tip
42
. A handle
26
is pivotally mounted upon the tubular body portion
24
by means of a pivot pin
28
, and a coil spring
30
is interposed between the handle
26
and the tubular body portion
24
so as to normally bias the handle
26
toward a position at which the forward end
32
of the handle
26
is moved toward the air outlet
36
of the tubular body portion
24
. The forward end
32
of the handle
26
also comprises a recessed or cut-out region or portion
44
which is bounded by side walls or guides
46
, and a closure plate
48
is adapted to slide over the recessed portion
44
so as to normally cover the air outlet
36
. The closure plate
48
is movably mounted within the handle
26
by means of a pin and slot mechanism
50
,
52
, and a coil spring
54
normally biases the closure plate
48
toward the forward end
32
of the handle
26
.
The air bag inflation valve
12
comprises a tubular valve body
56
which extends through the wall
58
of the air bag
10
, and an annular flange
60
which is sealed to the interior wall portion of the plastic bladder
62
. An annular valve seat
64
is disposed interiorly of the bladder
62
, and the tubular valve body
56
projects outwardly from the air bag
10
such that a first annular edge portion
66
of the valve body
56
engages an outer surface portion of the air bag
10
so as to cooperate with the flange portion
60
in securing the inflation valve
12
upon the air bag
10
. The inflation valve
12
further comprises an axially movable valve stem
70
which includes an annular closure plate
72
comprising an annular ridge portion
74
for cooperating with the annular valve seat
64
. A coil spring
76
normally biases the valve stem
70
to its CLOSED position at which the annular ridge portion
74
is engaged with the valve seat
64
, while alternatively, the valve stem
70
is movable to its OPENED position, against the biasing force of the coil spring
76
, when the nozzle tip
42
engages the end
78
of the valve stem
70
which is disposed opposite the closure plate
72
.
In use, an operator grasps the inflation fixture or mechanism
14
and upon squeezing the handle
26
, the handle
26
will pivot around pivot pin
28
such that the forward end
32
of the handle
26
and the closure plate
48
will move away from the nozzle tip
42
. The inflation nozzle
14
is then slid or moved upwardly and transversely with respect to the axis of the inflation valve
12
such that the free end
80
of the valve body
56
moves past the nozzle tip
42
, effectively enters the recessed portion or cut-out region
44
of the handle
26
, and engages the closure plate
48
of the handle
26
so as to move the same downwardly against the biasing force of the spring
54
while the side walls
46
of the handle
26
are secured behind a second annular edge portion
68
of the valve body
56
. Upon release of the hand pressure of the operator which initially achieved squeezing of the handle
26
, spring
30
effectively causes the main body
24
to pivot away from the handle
26
whereby the nozzle tip
42
engages the end
78
of the valve stem
70
so as to move the valve stem
70
to its OPENED position against the biasing force of spring
76
. Inflation of the air bag
10
can then be achieved.
While the aforenoted and briefly described inflation fixture or assembly
14
is operatively viable and reliable, and has accordingly been commercially successful, it is relatively costly to manufacture due to the relatively large number of component parts. In addition, it is noted that the operative mating of the inflation fixture or assembly
14
with the air bag inflation valve
12
is sometimes relatively difficult to achieve because there is no positional limit or stop effectively positioning the free end portion
80
of the valve body
56
at the proper position with respect to the nozzle tip
42
so as to permit the nozzle tip
42
to freely enter the free end portion
80
of the valve body
56
and thereby engage the end portion
78
of the valve stem
70
. If the nozzle tip
42
is not properly coaxially aligned with the free end portion
80
of the valve body
56
, then a peripheral portion of the nozzle tip
42
will engage a peripheral portion of the free end portion
80
of the valve body
56
, the nozzle tip
42
will not be properly positioned within the free end portion
80
of the valve body
56
so as to properly engage the end portion
78
of the valve stem
70
, and just as importantly, the inflation fixture or assembly
14
will not be securely seated or affixed upon the valve body
56
whereby proper inflation of the airbag will not be able t
Howlett, Jr. John J.
Keenan Thomas C.
Hwu Davis
Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Schwartz & Weinrieb
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