REAR-SIDE FILTERING AND INTAKE AIR COMPRESSOR STRUCTURE

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/673,359 filed on May 25, 2024.

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 bottom (rear) side thereof, to a filter assembly in order to prevent powdery dust and moisture from entering the interior of the air compressor to cause damage and corrosion to the drive motor and a cylinder, so as to achieve effective increase of the service life and adaptability to various severe environments for the air compressor.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

An inflator machine is primarily used as a source of gas for use with a pneumatic tool, a vehicle tire, or various inflatable objects. In the field of do-it-yourselves (DIY), in addition to the role that an inflator machine plays as a necessary tool for home improvements, the inflator machine is also a primary charging or inflating apparatus for vehicle tires.

The basic operation principle of the 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 connection rod to make a piston reciprocally moving up and down so as to cause a change of the cylinder volume for compression and exhaust of a compressible gas. As such, in the entire process of compression, due to the change of the cylinder volume, the compressed air moves through a one-way valve mechanism (check valve) to have the compressible gas pass 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 inflator machines (such as a portable inflator machine or a desktop inflator machine) are not equipped with a filter device for filtering off powdery dust and moisture. Therefore, in case that moisture is contained in the air, or powdery dust is present, the powdery dust, once entering the cylinder of the inflator machine, causes wear between the piston and the cylinder wall. In addition, moisture, once getting into the cylinder of the inflator machine, causes corrosion of the piston and the cylinder wall, resulting in shortening of the service life of the 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 bottom 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 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 an outside bottom position. The air compressor is connected, at the air outlet, with a second guide tube and 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, namely moving sequentially through the filter assembly and the first guide tube to get into the drive motor of the air compressor, and the air compressor discharges compressed air 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) end of the drive motor of the air compressor, so that the externally arranged filter assembly can filter off powdery dust and moisture contained air to effectively prevent the powdery dust and moisture contained in air from getting into the interior of the air compressor to cause damage and corrosion to the drive motor and the cylinder, thereby effectively increasing the service life of the air compressor and allowing the air compressor to be widely used in various environments (for example the air compressor being used in environments of beaches and sea shores).

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.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, the present invention provides, in a first embodiment, a rear-side filtering and intake air compressor structure, which comprises at least one or more than one air compressor 1. The air compressor 1 can be a medium-sized or small-sized air compressor (such as a portable inflator machine or a desktop inflator machine). As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the first embodiment of the present invention discloses an air compressor structure that includes two air compressors 1, one of which may be a low-pressure output air compressor 1 with a motor of a relatively small power, and the other may be a high-pressure output air compressor 1 with a motor of a relatively large power.

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, and at least one or more than one cylinder, connection rod, and piston). The way of combination of the drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1 with the gear set, the cylinder, the connection rod, and the piston is not a novel part of the present invention and no further description will be provided herein. Each of the drive motors 13 of the air compressors 1 is connected, at a bottom 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, a first guide tube 14 is connected to the air inlet 11 of the air compressor 1 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 bottom position thereof. The air outlet 12 of the air compressor 1 is arranged on a pre-arranged 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 (as shown in FIG. 2), or alternatively, the air outlet 12 is directly connected to and in communication with the exhaust valve 3 (as shown in FIG. 3). In the illustrated example of the present invention, the air compressor 1 comprises 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 thereof corresponding to 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 and in communication with each other 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 a position of a cylinder block on the front side of 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 (as shown in FIG. 2). 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.

An air accumulation tank 5 can be further arranged between the air outlet 12 of the air compressor 1 and the exhaust valve 3 (as shown in FIG. 3). In other words, the air outlet 12 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 air outlet 12 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 each air compressor 1, and the air compressor 1 supplies the compressed air through the second guide tube 15 into the air accumulation tank 5, or the air compressor 1 directly supplies the compressed air from the air outlet 12 directly to the air accumulation tank 5, and finally, the compressed air is exhausted from the exhaust valve 3. In this way, the filter material 22 of the filter assembly 2 can filter off powdery dust and moisture contained the air to prevent the powdery dust and moisture contained in the air from getting into the drive motor 13 and the cylinder of the air compressor 1 to cause wearing damage and corrosion to the drive motor 13 and the cylinder.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, the present invention also discloses, in a second embodiment, 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 bottom 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 bottom position thereof. The air outlet 12 of the air compressor 1 is arranged on a pre-arranged cylinder. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, 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 to the filter assembly 2 depicted in FIGS. 1-3, and only the outside appearances are different, wherein the filter assembly 2 similarly 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 thin slits 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 and in communication with each other.

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 a position of a cylinder block on the front side of the air compressor 1 to cool down the air compressor 1.

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 air compressor 1 supplies the compressed air through the air outlet 12 for output. In this way, the filter material 22 of the filter assembly 2 can filter off powdery dust and moisture contained in the air to prevent the powdery dust and moisture contained the air from getting into the drive motor 13 and the cylinder of the air compressor 1 to cause wearing damage and corrosion to the drive motor 13 and the cylinder.

Referring to FIG. 7, the present invention also discloses, in a third embodiment, 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 or that depicted in FIGS. 4-6, while each drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1 is connected, at a bottom 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. An air outlet 12 of the air compressor 1 is arranged on a pre-arranged cylinder and the air outlet 12 is connected with a second guide tube 15. Further, the air compressor 1 is combined, at a rear end (tail end) of the drive motor 13, with an external cover 6, and the air inlet 11 of the air compressor 1 is connected to and in communication with a filter assembly 2, so that the filter assembly 2 is correspondingly arranged in an interior of the external cover 6 to be protected and is connected to a bottom position of the drive motor 13 of the air compressor 1. As shown in FIG. 7, 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 to the filter assembly 2 depicted in FIGS. 1-3 or that depicted in FIGS. 4-6, and only the outside appearances are different, wherein the filter assembly 2 is arranged in the interior of the external cover 6 of the air compressor 1 and the filter assembly 2 similarly 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 with an ingress opening 211 corresponding to a rear end of the filter material 22. Further, the housing 21 is combined with the top cap 23 corresponding to a front end of the filter material 22, and the housing 21 is formed with an egress opening 212 on the top cap 23 and is provided with a connecting portion 213 that is arranged, in a projecting manner, as being extended from the egress opening 212, 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 and in communication with each other.

When the air compressor 1 is activated, external air enters the interior of the external cover 6 through a through opening 61 pre-formed in the external cover 6, and is then forcibly sucked in through the ingress opening 211 of the filter assembly 2 to realize a function of forced intake. In other words, the external air enters through the ingress opening 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 air compressor 1 supplies the compressed air through the air outlet 12 for output. In this way, the filter material 22 of the filter assembly 2 can filter off powdery dust and moisture contained in the air to prevent the powdery dust and moisture contained the air from getting into the drive motor 13 and the cylinder of the air compressor 1 to cause wearing damage and corrosion to the drive motor 13 and the cylinder.

As such, the primary technical feature of the present invention is 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 and moisture contained in air, in order to effectively prevent the powdery dust and moisture contained in 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, thereby realizing effective increase of the service life of the air compressor 1, and allowing the air compressor 1 to be widely used in various environments (for example the air compressor being used in environments of beaches and sea shores).