TWI901114B - Air compressor structure - Google Patents

Abstract

An air compressor structure including a cylinder, a piston, a cylinder lid, and a pressure gauge is provided. The piston coupled in the cylinder performs reciprocating motion to generate compressed air, and the cylinder lid is assembled to the cylinder to receive the compressed air. The pressure gauge includes a barrel movably disposed in the cylinder lid and having a gear rack, a value panel disposed on a surface of the cylinder lid, a pointer, and a spring disposed in the cylinder lid and leaned against the barrel. The pointer includes a pointing portion and a pivot, wherein the pivot is disposed to the cylinder lid and has a gear engaged to the gear rack. The pointing portion is extended from the pivot and located on the value panel.

Description

Air compressor structure

The present invention relates to an air compressor structure.

Small air compressors currently used to inflate items such as car tires and air cushions have only two outlet manifolds (ducts) on the air reservoir. One duct is used to mount a round box-shaped pressure gauge, and the other is connected to a hose with an air nozzle at one end. The air nozzle is connected to the object to be inflated, such as a car tire. The compressed air generated by the air compressor is delivered to the object to be inflated to achieve the purpose of inflation. The pressure gauge allows the user to visually check the current pressure value to ensure the safety of the inflation operation.

Most of the aforementioned pressure indicators are mechanical pointer-type pressure gauges based on the Bourdon tube principle. However, these pressure gauges require a large number of precision components, which are also easily damaged, resulting in a loss of measurement accuracy. Therefore, the use efficiency of these pressure gauges is not very good.

The present invention provides an air compressor structure that simplifies the structure of a pressure gauge while taking durability into consideration.

The air compressor structure of the present invention includes a cylinder, a piston, a cylinder head, and a pressure gauge. The piston is coupled to the cylinder and reciprocates to generate compressed air. The cylinder head is assembled to the cylinder to receive the compressed air. The pressure gauge includes a thrust cylinder, a digital disk, a pointer, and a spring. The thrust cylinder is movably disposed in the cylinder head and has gears. The digital disk is disposed on the surface of the cylinder head. The pointer has a pointing portion and a pivot shaft. The pivot shaft is disposed in the cylinder head and has gears coupled to the gears. The pointing portion extends from the pivot shaft and is located on the digital disk. The spring is disposed in the cylinder head and abuts the thrust cylinder. Compressed air provides a driving force to the thrust cylinder, causing it to move within the cylinder head and deform the spring, generating a spring force. The moving thrust cylinder, through the gears and the racks, causes the pointer to move on the dial until the driving force and the spring force reach equilibrium, at which point the thrust cylinder stops moving, reflecting the compressed air pressure.

Based on the above, the pressure gauge of the air compressor structure is installed on the cylinder head. This allows the compressed air generated by the reciprocating motion of the piston in the cylinder to directly enter the cylinder head and instantly reflect the compressed air pressure value through the pressure gauge. The pressure gauge includes a thrust cylinder, a dial, a pointer, and a spring. The compressed air provides the driving force for the thrust cylinder to move within the cylinder head. The moving thrust cylinder is matched with the gear of the pointer, which converts the linear motion of the thrust cylinder into the rotational motion of the pointer. Simultaneously, the linear motion of the thrust cylinder deforms the spring abutting it, generating an elastic force. When the elastic force and the driving force reach equilibrium, the thrust cylinder stops moving, causing the needle to point to the dial, reflecting the compressed air pressure. This significantly simplifies the pressure gauge's components compared to existing technologies, and the connections between the components are intuitive, eliminating the need for complex designs. This effectively achieves the goal of pressure sensing while maintaining a simple and compact structure.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an air compressor structure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded view of the air compressor structure of Figure 1. Cartesian coordinates X-Y-Z are provided herein to facilitate component description. Referring to Figures 1 and 2 together, in this embodiment, air compressor structure 100 includes a cylinder 110, a cylinder head 120, a piston 130, a transmission mechanism 140, a motor 150, and a pressure gauge 160. Cylinder head 120 is assembled to cylinder 110. The transmission mechanism 140 is connected between the motor 150 and the bottom end of the piston 130, and the top end of the piston 130 is movably coupled to the cylinder 110, so that the motor 150 drives the piston 130 to reciprocate in the cylinder 110 through the transmission mechanism 140 (such as the gear set shown in the figure) to generate compressed air, wherein the top end of the piston 130 moves along with the As piston 130 reciprocates, moving closer to or further from cylinder head 120, its top end simultaneously moves toward cylinder head 120, forcing compressed air from cylinder 110 toward cylinder head 120. When piston 130 returns to its original position, its top end moves away from cylinder head 120, allowing air from the external environment to flow into cylinder 110. Cylinder head 120 has an outlet 123. After piston 130 generates compressed air within cylinder 110, the compressed air is forced into cylinder head 120 by piston 130 as previously described, and then discharged from compressor structure 100 through outlet 123.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the cylinder head 120 exhibits an integrated structural feature, comprising a cover 121, a carrier 122, and the aforementioned air outlet 123. Compressed air enters the cover 121 of the cylinder head 120 from the cylinder 110, then enters the air storage chamber 122a of the carrier 122, and finally exits the cylinder head 120 through the air outlet 123.

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the cylinder head components. Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the cylinder head. Figure 5A is a partial cross-sectional view of the cylinder head and pressure gauge. Referring to Figures 3, 4, and 5A, in this embodiment, the air outlet 123 extends into the air storage chamber 122a to form an opening 123a. Therefore, after the compressed air enters the air storage chamber 122a of the carrier 122 through the cover 121, it can be discharged from the carrier 122 through the opening 123a and the air outlet 123.

Furthermore, the carrier 122 has a chamber 122b, which is separate from the air storage chamber 122a but connected to the other through an opening 122d. The pressure gauge 160 includes a thrust cylinder 161, a numerical (scale) disk 162, a pointer 163, a spring 164, and an adjustment member 165. The thrust cylinder 161 is movably mounted within the chamber 122b of the cylinder head 120 and has a notch 161b and teeth 161a located along the edges of the notch 161b. The numerical disk 162 is mounted on the surface of the cylinder head 120. Pointer 163 has a pointing portion 163b and a pivot 163a. Pivot 163a is mounted on cylinder head 120 and passes through thrust cylinder 161 and its slot 161b. A gear 163c is mounted on the outside of pivot 163a to couple to a gear 161a located on one side of slot 161b. Pointer 163b extends from pivot 163a and is located on digital dial 162. Compressed air within the air storage chamber 122a of the cylinder head 120 enters the accommodating chamber 122b through the opening 122d, driving the thrust cylinder 161 toward the positive Z-axis. The gear 161a and the gear 163c cause the pointing portion 163b of the pointer 163 to move on the digital dial 162 (rotating relative to the X-axis) to reflect the pressure of the compressed air.

FIG5B illustrates another state of the pressure gauge in FIG5A . Referring to both FIG5A and FIG5B , in this embodiment, spring 164 is located within chamber 122 b and abuts against thrust cylinder 161 to resist the driving force exerted by compressed air on thrust cylinder 161. Adjustment member 165 is movably assembled to cylinder head 120, with spring 164 abutting between adjustment member 165 and thrust cylinder 161. Specifically, the adjustment member 165 includes a cover 165a and a shaft 165b. The cover 165a has an internal thread 165c that is movably threaded onto a stud 122c extending from the carrier 122 of the cylinder head 120 to seal the accommodating chamber 122b. The spring 164 abuts between the cover 165a and the thrust cylinder 161. The shaft 165b extends from the cover 165a and into the accommodating chamber 122b of the cylinder head 120, wherein the spring 164 is sleeved on the shaft 165b. Furthermore, the outer diameter D1 of the shaft 165b of this embodiment is smaller than the inner diameter D2 of the thrust cylinder 161, so that the thrust cylinder 161 can be sleeved on the shaft 165b when it is driven by compressed air and moves in the positive Z-axis direction.

In this way, the designer selects the appropriate spring 164 based on the corresponding relationship between the gear 161a and the gear 163c, and fine-tunes the deformation of the spring 164 in combination with the cover 165a and the stud 122c, so that the pressure applied by the compressed air on the thrust cylinder 161 can instantly and accurately drive the pointer 163 to the corresponding pressure value.

In addition, the pressure gauge 160 of this embodiment further includes a sealing ring 166, which is sleeved on the thrust cylinder 161 and abuts against the inner wall W1 of the accommodating chamber 122b of the cylinder head 120. The sealing ring 166 moves within the accommodating chamber 122b along with the thrust cylinder 161. Furthermore, the carrier 122 of the cylinder head 120 has a pressure relief port 122e that connects the external environment to the accommodating chamber 122b. The pressure relief port 122e is located in the travel path of the sealing ring 166. When the sealing ring 166 reaches the pressure relief port 122e, the compressed air that originally entered the accommodating chamber 122b to propel the thrust cylinder 161 can be discharged from the compressor structure 100 through the pressure relief port 122e. This provides an extreme limit for the pressure gauge 160, venting the excess pressure when the operating pressure is about to exceed the safe operating value, thereby protecting the entire compressor components, the inflated object, and the operator from injury.

Figures 6A through 6C illustrate the placement of the digital dial on the cylinder head in various identification orientations. Referring to Figures 6A through 6C , in this embodiment, since pointer 163 (pointing portion 163b) rotates relative to the X-axis on digital dial 162 due to the movement of pivot 163a, digital dials 1621, 1622, and 1623 are positioned on the surface of carrier 122 of cylinder head 120 in a variety of identification orientations for user convenience and ease of use.

In summary, in the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the pressure gauge of the air compressor structure is mounted on the cylinder head. This allows the compressed air generated by the reciprocating motion of the piston within the cylinder to directly enter the cylinder head and instantly reflect the compressed air pressure value through the pressure gauge. The pressure gauge includes a thrust cylinder, a dial, an indicator, and a spring. The thrust cylinder, driven by the compressed air, moves within the cylinder head. Through the interaction between the thrust cylinder's gears and the indicator's gears, the thrust cylinder's linear motion is converted into rotational motion of the indicator. At the same time, the linear movement of the push cylinder will cause the spring against it to deform and generate elastic force until the elastic force is balanced with the driving force. At this time, the push cylinder stops moving and the pointer points to the digital dial to reflect the value of the compressed air.

Furthermore, the pressure gauge also includes an adjusting element, with a spring abutting between the adjusting element and the thrust cylinder. Therefore, designers choose the right combination of the gear and pinion characteristics, along with the spring's elasticity and the adjusting element's control over its deformation, to ensure that the compressed air pressure is instantly and accurately reflected on the dial via the pointer. Conversely, the selection of these components can also reflect the compatibility of the compressed air with pistons and cylinders of varying compression capacities.

Therefore, the pressure gauge has a significantly simplified component structure compared to existing technologies, and the connection between components is intuitive without the need for complex designs. Therefore, it can effectively achieve the purpose of pressure sensing while taking into account the simplicity and compactness of the structure.

100: Air compressor structure 110: Cylinder 120: Cylinder head 121: Cover 122: Carrier 122a: Air storage chamber 122b: Storage chamber 122c: Stud 122d: Opening 122e: Pressure relief vent 123: Air outlet 123a: Opening 130: Piston 140: Transmission mechanism 150: Motor 160: Pressure gauge 161: Thrust cylinder 161a: Rack 161b: Slot 162: Digital dial 163: Pointer 163a: Pivot 163b: Pointing portion 163c: Gear 164: Spring 165: Adjustment element 165a: Cover 165b: Shaft 165c: Thread 166: Sealing ring D1: Outer diameter D2: Inner diameter W1: Inner wall X-Y-Z: Cartesian coordinates

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an air compressor structure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded view of the air compressor structure of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an exploded view of the cylinder head components. Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the cylinder head. Figure 5A is a partial cross-sectional view of the cylinder head and pressure gauge. Figure 5B shows the pressure gauge of Figure 5A in another state. Figures 6A to 6C show schematic diagrams of the digital dial positioned on the cylinder head in different identification orientations.

100: Air compressor structure

110: Cylinder

120: Cylinder cover

121: Cover

122: Carrier

123: Exhaust

130: Piston

140: Transmission

150: Motor

160: Pressure gauge

X-Y-Z: Cartesian coordinates

Claims (9)

An air compressor structure includes: a cylinder; a piston coupled within the cylinder and reciprocating to generate compressed air; a cylinder head assembled to the cylinder to receive the compressed air; and a pressure gauge, including: a thrust cylinder movably disposed within the cylinder head, the thrust cylinder having gears; a digital dial disposed on a surface of the cylinder head; and a pointer having a pointing portion and a pivot, the pivot being disposed in the cylinder head, the pivot having gears coupled to the gears, the pointing portion extending from the pivot and located on the digital dial; and A spring is disposed within the cylinder head and abuts the thrust cylinder. The compressed air provides a driving force to the thrust cylinder, causing it to move within the cylinder head and deform the spring to generate an elastic force. The moving thrust cylinder, through the gear and the toothed wheel, causes the pointing portion of the pointer to move on the digital dial until the driving force and the elastic force reach equilibrium, at which point the thrust cylinder stops moving to reflect the compressed air pressure value. The air compressor structure as described in claim 1, wherein the pressure gauge further includes an adjusting member movably assembled on the cylinder cover, and the spring abuts between the adjusting member and the thrust cylinder. An air compressor structure as described in claim 2, wherein the adjusting member includes a cover and a shaft, the cover is movably screwed to the cylinder cover, the spring abuts between the cover and the thrust cylinder, the shaft extends from the cover and into the cylinder cover, and the spring is sleeved on the shaft. In the air compressor structure as described in claim 3, the outer diameter of the shaft is smaller than the inner diameter of the thrust cylinder, so that the thrust cylinder can be sleeved on the shaft when it is driven and moved by the compressed air. An air compressor structure as described in claim 3, wherein the cylinder head has a receiving chamber and an air storage chamber that are connected to each other, the air storage chamber receives the compressed air, and the thrust cylinder, a part of the pointer, the spring and the shaft are arranged in the receiving chamber. The air compressor structure as described in claim 1, wherein the thrust cylinder has a slot, the gear is located on one side of the slot, and the pivot passes through the slot and the thrust cylinder. The air compressor structure as described in claim 1, wherein the pressure gauge further includes a sealing ring, which is sleeved on the thrust cylinder and abuts against the inner wall of the cylinder cover, and the sealing ring moves in the cylinder cover along with the thrust cylinder. An air compressor structure as described in claim 7, wherein the cylinder head has a pressure relief port connected to the external environment, located on the movement path of the sealing ring, so that when the sealing ring reaches the pressure relief port, the compressed air is discharged from the air compressor structure through the pressure relief port. The air compressor structure as described in claim 1, wherein the pointer rotates on the numerical dial due to the driving of the pivot shaft, and the numerical dial is configured on the surface of the cylinder cover in one of a plurality of different identification orientations.