REAR-SIDE FILTERING AND INTAKE AIR COMPRESSOR STRUCTURE

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure, and more particularly to an air compressor of which a drive motor is connected, at a rear side thereof, to a filter assembly in order to prevent powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture from entering the interior of the air compressor to cause damage and corrosion to the drive motor and a cylinder block, so as to achieve effective increase of the service life and adaption to various severe environment for the air compressor.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

An air compressor or an inflator machine is primarily used as a source for charging air to a pneumatic tool, a vehicle tire, or various inflatable objects. In the field of do-it-yourselves (DIY), the air compressor or inflator machine also plays a role and besides being a necessary tool for home improvements, they are also a must for emergency air charging for vehicle tires.

The basic operation principle of the air compressor or inflator machine is, primarily, an internally arranged electric machine directly driving a crankshaft to cause a rotation motion of the crankshaft in order to drive a link to make a piston reciprocally moving up and down to cause a change of the cylinder block volume to fulfill compression and exhaust of a compressible gas. As such, in the entire process of intake, compression, and exhaust, due to the change of the cylinder block volume, the compressed air moves through a one-way valve mechanism (check valve) to allow the compressible gas to conduct through a flexible tube to discharge through a nozzle, so as to charge the gas into an object.

However, known medium-sized or small-sized air compressors or inflator machines (such as a vehicle-carrying emergency backup inflator machine, a portable inflator machine, or a desktop inflator machine) are not equipped with a filter device for filtering off powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture. Further, air intake means adopted by the known medium-sized or small-sized air compressors or inflator machines are often to take in air through a gap in a periphery of an electric machine (drive motor) or an opening space pre-formed in a lower portion of a front-side cylinder block (which is the site where a rotation motion of a crankshaft takes place). As such, in case that the environment in which the device is operating contain powdery dust and sand, once getting into the air compressor or the inflator machine, the powdery dust and the sand may directly cause damage to the electric machine (drive motor), as well as wear and abrasion between the piston inside the cylinder block and the cylinder wall, severely affecting the charging performance. Further, in case that moisture of a highly humid environment gets into the air compressor or the inflator machine, it causes corrosion of the electric machine (drive motor) and the piston and the cylinder of the cylinder block, these all severely affecting the charging efficiency and service life of the air compressor or inflator machine.

Thus, the primary issue that the present invention aims to resolve is to provide an air compressor or inflator machine that is capable of filtering off powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining external air in order to enhance the charging efficiency and service life of the entirety of the air compressor or inflator machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure, which comprises an air compressor comprising at least one air inlet and at least one air outlet. The air compressor comprises at least one drive motor, and the drive motor is connected, at a rear side thereof, with a closure cover. The air inlet is correspondingly arranged on the closure cover, such that the air inlet is in communication with an interior of the drive motor. Further, the air compressor is connected, at the air inlet, with a first guide tube and is connected to and in communication with a filter assembly, such that the filter assembly is connected to the drive motor of the air compressor at a rearward position. The air compressor is connected, at the air outlet, with a second guide tube and is connected to and in communication with an exhaust valve.

When the air compressor is activated, external air is forcibly drawn in through the filter assembly to realize a function of forced intake, meaning moving sequentially through the filter assembly and the first guide tube to get into the drive motor of the air compressor, and a cylinder discharges air compressed therethrough in sequentially through the second guide tube and the exhaust valve to implement an air charging operation.

The primary technical feature of the present invention is that a filter assembly is connected to a bottom (rear side) end of the drive motor of the air compressor, so that the externally arranged filter assembly can filter off powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining air to effectively prevent the powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture that entrains air from getting into the interior of the air compressor to cause damage and corrosion to the drive motor and the cylinder block to thereby realize effective increase of the service life of the air compressor, allowing the air compressor to be widely used in various environments (such as being used in severe environments of beaches, sea shores, and dusty fields).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an air flowing direction of the rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing the rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an air flowing direction of the rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring firstly to FIGS. 1-3, the present invention provides a rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure, which comprises an air compressor 1. The air compressor 1 can be medium-sized or small-sized air compressor (such as a portable vehicle-carrying air compressor, a household small-sized air compressor, or a desktop small-sized air compressor).

The air compressor 1 comprises at least one air inlet 11 and at least one air outlet 12. The air compressor 1 comprises a drive motor 13, a gear set, at least one or more than one cylinder block (which includes a link and a piston). Combining the drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1 with the gear set, the cylinder, the link, and the piston is not a novel part of the present invention and no further description will be provided herein.

The air compressor 1 may include multiple drive motors 13, each of which is connected, at a rear side thereof, with a closure cover 131. The air inlet 11 is arranged, in a corresponding manner, on the closure cover 131, in such a way that the air inlet 11 is in communication with an interior of the drive motor 13. Further, the air compressor 1 is provided with a first guide tube 14 connected to the air inlet 11 and is connected with and in communication with a filter assembly 2, wherein the filter assembly 2 is connected, in a corresponding manner, to the drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1 at an outside rearward position thereof. The air outlet 12 of the air compressor 1 is arranged at a top end portion of the cylinder and the air outlet 12 is connected with a second guide tube 15 to be connected to and in communication with an exhaust valve 3. In the illustrated example of the present invention, the air compressor 1 is provided with two drive motors 13, and the air compressor 1 of the present invention includes two air inlets 11.

The filter assembly 2 comprises a housing 21, a filter material 22, and a top cap 23. The housing 21 defines, in an interior thereof, a filtering space 210 in which the filter material 22 is disposed. The housing 21 is formed, in a periphery of the filter material 32, with a plurality of ingress openings 211 and at least one egress opening 212. Further, the housing 21 is combined, at a top portion thereof, with the top cap 23, so that the top cap 23 hermetically closes and seals the filtering space 210. The first guide tube 14 of the air compressor 1 is connected to the egress opening 212 of the filter assembly 2 (as shown in FIG. 3), so that the air inlet 11 of the air compressor 1 and the filter assembly 2 are connected by the first guide tube 14.

The air compressor 1 is further provided with at least one fan 4 outside of the air inlet 11. The fan 4 blows external cold air toward the air compressor 1 to cool down the air compressor 1.

An air accumulation tank 5 can be further arranged between the second guide tube 15 of the air compressor 1 and the exhaust valve 3. In other words, the second guide tube 15 is connected to a pre-set ingress terminal of the air accumulation tank 5, while the exhaust valve 3 is connected to a pre-set egress terminal of the air accumulation tank 5, so that compressed air discharged through the second guide tube 15 of the air compressor 1 is first accumulated in the air accumulation tank 5 to allow the exhaust valve 3 to subsequently exhaust the compressed air.

In summary, when the air compressor 1 is activated (as shown in FIG. 3), external air is forcibly sucked in through the ingress openings 211 of the filter assembly 2 to realize a function of forced intake. In other words, the external air enters through the ingress openings 211 of the filter assembly 2, and is filtered by the filter material 22, so that the air flows through the egress opening 212 of the filter assembly 2 toward the first guide tube 14 and the air inlet 11 to get into the interior of the drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1, and the cylinder block supplies the air compressed thereby through the second guide tube 15 into the air accumulation tank 5, and finally, the compressed air is exhausted from the exhaust valve 6. In this way, the filter material 22 of the filter assembly 2 can filter off powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining the air to prevent powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining the air from getting into the drive motor 13 and the cylinder block of the air compressor 1 to cause wearing damage and corrosion of the drive motor 13 and the cylinder block.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, the present invention also provides another rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure, which similarly comprises an air compressor 1, and the air compressor 1 is generally similar, in structure, to the air compressor 1 depicted in FIGS. 1-3, while each drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1 is connected, at a rear side thereof, with a closure cover 131, and the air inlet 11 is arranged, in a corresponding manner, on the closure cover 131, in such a way that the air inlet 11 is in communication with an interior of the drive motor 13. Further, the air compressor 1 is directly connected, at the air inlet 11, to the filter assembly 2, so that the filter assembly 2 is directly connected to the drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1 at an outside rearward position thereof. The air outlet 12 of the air compressor 1 is arranged at a top end portion of the cylinder. As shown in FIG. 4, in the illustrated example of the present invention, the air compressor 1 is provided with one drive motor 13, and the air compressor 1 of the present invention comprises one air inlet 11.

The filter assembly 2 is generally similar, in structure, to the filter assembly 2 depicted in FIGS. 1-3, and only the outside appearances are different, wherein the filter assembly 2 comprises a housing 21, a filter material 22, and a top cap 23. The housing 21 defines, in an interior thereof, a filtering space 210 in which the filter material 22 is disposed. The housing 21 is formed, in a periphery of the filter material 32, with a plurality of ingress openings 211 in the form of a thin slit and at least one egress opening 212. Further, the housing 21 is combined, at a top portion thereof, with the top cap 23, so that the top cap 23 hermetically closes and seals the filtering space 210. A connecting portion 213 is arranged, in a projecting manner, as being extended from the egress opening 212 of the housing 21, and the connecting portion 213 is connected to and combined with the air inlet 11 of the air compressor 1, so that the air inlet 11 of the air compressor 1 and the filter assembly 2 are connected.

The air compressor 1 is further provided with at least one fan 4 outside of the drive motor 13. The fan 4 blows external cold air toward the air compressor 1 to cool down the air compressor 1.

As shown in FIGS. 4-6, when the air compressor 1 is activated, external air is forcibly sucked in through the ingress openings 211 of the filter assembly 2 to realize a function of forced intake. In other words, the external air enters through the ingress openings 211 of the filter assembly 2, and is filtered by the filter material 22, so that the air flows through the egress opening 212 of the filter assembly 2 toward the connecting portion 213 and the air inlet 11 to get into the interior of the drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1, and the cylinder block supplies the air compressed hereby through the air outlet 12 for exhaust. In this way, the filter assembly 2 can filter off powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining the air to prevent powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining the air from getting into the drive motor 13 and the cylinder block of the air compressor 1 to cause wearing damage and corrosion of the drive motor 13 and the cylinder block.

As such, the primary technical feature of the present invention is mainly that the air compressor 1 is arranged to connect with the filter assembly 2 that is externally located, so that the externally located filter assembly 2 can filter off powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining air, in order to effectively prevent the powdery dust, sand/gravel, and moisture entraining the air from getting into the interior of the air compressor 1 to cause damage and corrosion to the drive motor 13 and the cylinder block to thereby realize effective increase of the service life of the air compressor 1, 5 allowing the air compressor 1 to be widely used in various environments (such as being used in severe environments of beaches, sea shores, and dusty fields).