PRIORITY CLAIM

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/382,729 filed September 1, 2016, the entirety of the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Current vent/inflation tubes have flat flanges where they are to be welded or bonded to material defining an air chamber. In the case of a foam-filled mattress, these are prone to blocking, either by the mattress surface material or by the foam internal to such surface material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

[0003] FIG. 1 is a front plan view of an inflation element according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0004] FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the element illustrated in FIG. 1; and

[0005] FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the inflation element according to an embodiment of the invention coupled to an air mattress. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0006] This patent application is intended to describe one or more embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the use of absolute terms, such as "must," "will," and the like, as well as specific quantities, is to be construed as being applicable to one or more of such embodiments, but not necessarily to all such embodiments. As such, embodiments of the invention may omit, or include a modification of, one or more features or functionalities described in the context of such absolute terms.

[0007] An embodiment minimizes inflation time of a foam-filled mattress chamber by preventing the chamber's vent tube from being blocked by the chamber's loose side wall material while the chamber interior is below, for example, atmospheric pressure. This design can be applied to any inflatable mattress and foam filled mattress chamber with sufficient internal depth and relief to accept the inflation element feature.

[0008] An embodiment may be used with a large volume foam-filled air chamber intended to serve either as a camping mattress, home air bed, or an internal bladder for home bed mattresses.

[0009] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an inflation element 300 of an embodiment for inflating a deformable device, such as an air mattress 100, having an interior chamber 110 and an inflation orifice 120 providing fluid communication between the interior chamber and the ambient is illustrated. Element 300 includes an external stem pipe portion 305 having a first mouth portion 306 fiuidly coupled to the ambient and a first interior channel 307 fiuidly coupled to the first mouth portion. Element 300 further includes an internal stem pipe portion

315 having a wall portion 311 defining a second mouth portion 312 fiuidly coupled to the ambient. The wall portion 311 defines a second interior channel 313 fiuidly coupled to the second mouth portion 312. The second interior channel 313 is fiuidly coupled to the first interior channel 307. The internal stem pipe portion 315 includes one or more slots 310 formed through the wall portion 311 and permitting fluid communication between the second interior channel 313 and the ambient. The wall portion 311 is configured such that the second mouth portion 312 and one or more slots 310 can be inserted into the inflation orifice 120 with a flange 316 configured to assist in sealing off the interior chamber 110 from the ambient. As shown, slots 310 are formed through a length of wall portion between, but not extending to, flange 316 and second mouth portion 312. At least one of the slots 310 may be disposed along wall portion 311 in a manner opposed to that of another of the slots.

[0010] The portions 305, 315 may be connected at an angle to one another by an elbow portion 320 permitting fluid communication between portions 305, 315. Internal portion 315 is sealingly inserted into and extends a distance beyond orifice 120 to allow inflation thereof. These features allow air to flow from external portion 305 into the chamber out of one or more of the slots 310 and end of internal portion 315 regardless of whether the surrounding film/fabric is collapsed onto it or the internal end of element 300 is blocked by contact with the foam inside, thereby dramatically reducing the time required for a large chamber (e.g., 72" x 26" X 6") to re-inflate.

[0011] While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.