BALLOON INFLATOR TECHNICAL FIELD The invention herein resides in the art of inflation devices and relates to a balloon inflator that employs a bypass motor having separate working air and motor cooling air paths. The invention further relates to a balloon inflator that is quiet in operation and power efficient. In particular embodiments, the invention further relates to a balloon inflator that interacts with a silencer base to further decrease the noise generated during operation.

BACKGROUND ART Various types of balloon inflators have previously been known. Typically, such inflators incorporate a through-flow motor which draws air from the surrounding atmosphere and exhausts it through an air duct adapted to receive the neck of a balloon.

Accordingly, the air used for inflating the balloon is the same air that was drawn through the motor to cool it. As the motor works, its temperature rises. This is aggravated by the use of narrow nozzles at the outlet of the inflator to receive the balloon neck. The narrow nozzle restricts the air flow and accordingly raises the motor temperature. This is particularly true when a large number of balloons are being inflated in succession, for each balloon constitutes a motor load that varies as the balloon inflates. As a result, the motors of such inflators are given to quick wear-out after operating at continuously high temperatures. Furthermore, as the temperature of the motor rises, the balloons are inflated with increasingly warmer air, and, as a result, after the balloon is inflated and the neck sealed, the balloon appears to deflate as the warm air cools and contracts.

There has previously been provided in the art an inflator employing a bypass motor that drives a fan held within a fan chamber to provide"working air" (i. e. , air for inflation), and separates this working air from motor cooling air, resulting in an inflator that exhibits less heat build up. This inflator is provided in U. S. Patent No. 5,199, 847, which establishes the state of the art of balloon inflators at this point in time. However, the balloon inflator taught by this prior patent, while constituting an improvement over

its prior art, still could benefit from being more quiet and less power consuming.

Particularly, the commercial embodiments of the prior inflator (US 5,199, 847) employ bypass motors that have been found to run hotter and louder and consume more power than necessary for inflating balloons. Indeed, the prior art device requires a bypass motor operating at over 1000 watts to produce the desired inflation pressure at the inflation nozzle. Furthermore, the inflation nozzle is taught to be moveable between complete engagement with an outlet of the fan chamber and partial communication therewith, in order to allow for partial exhaust of the working air to decrease heat and noise generation, when no balloon is being filled. This moveable part requires special manufacturing that should preferably be avoided to reduce costs. The prior art inflator, with a bypass motor retained in the housing taught therein, operates at about 88 to 94 decibels, which, although quieter than its prior art, is a noise level that should advantageously be reduced.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION In one embodiment of this invention, a balloon inflator is provided comprising: a housing including an involute fan chamber and an inflation nozzle; a bypass motor; a fan driven by said bypass motor and retained within said involute fan chamber, said inflation nozzle communicating with an outlet of said involute fan chamber and providing an orifice for airflow produced by said fan, wherein said bypass motor, within said housing, operates at between 500 and 800 watts and generates noise levels of less than 90 decibels, while driving said fan to generate pressures of from 70 to 95 inches water (in. H2O) at said orifice.

In another embodiment, a balloon inflator is provided comprising: a housing having a cooling air inlet and exhaust vent, a bypass motor drawing in cooling air at said cooling air inlet to cool said bypass motor, said cooling air being exhausted from said housing at said exhaust vent; a fan driven by said bypass motor and retained within a fan chamber, said fan generating working air that is driven to an outlet of said fan chamber; an inflation nozzle communicating with an outlet of said fan chamber; and a silencer base intimately receiving a portion of said housing to shroud said exhaust vent, said silencer

base providing a base outlet that is out of alignment with said exhaust vent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS For a complete understanding of the objects, techniques and structure of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a balloon inflator according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view in partial cross section of the inflator of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a side view in partial cross section of the inflator of FIG. 1 viewed from the air intake side; FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the inflator of FIG. 1; and FIG. 5 is an assembly diagram of a silencer base for use with the inflator, particularly for receipt of a portion of the housing of the inflator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings and more particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, it can be seen that a balloon inflator according to this invention is designated generally by the numeral 10. As shown, inflator 10 includes housing 12, which may be of any suitable material and construction. Preferably, and in accordance with a most preferred embodiment, housing 12 is formed of two halves, first housing portion 14 and second housing portion 16, joined by interaction of male members 18 and appropriately shaped and positioned female members (not shown) that receive male members 18. Such construction facilitates manufacturing and assembly. Byway of example only, male members 18 may be screw fasteners mating with threaded bores (female members) on second housing portion 16.

Notably, housing 12 is formed of two pieces. It is believed that this construction, among other aspects of the current inflator 10, contributes to the improved performance characteristics regarding power consumption, air pressure production, and noise generation of the inflator 10. In accordance with the prior art, a multi-component (i. e., more than two component) housing is provided, and because each component has to be

joined to the other components, multiple components contribute to the production of noise and the loss of fill pressure created by a fan held within the housing. Each piece of housing 12 must be mated to its adjoining pieces, and each such joinder provides potential areas for leaks that would increase noise production and lead to a loss of power.

Thus, the two piece construction provides less leaks and is believed to contribute to the benefits of this invention.

Housing 12 is preferably a molded plastic housing defining a cavity 19 for receiving and maintaining bypass motor 20 therein. Support members, such as those indicated at 21, in Fig. 2, may be employed to help secure motor 20 in position within housing 12. Motor 20 drives fan 22 retained within fan chamber 24. Advantageously, fan chamber 24 includes first sealing rib 100 and second sealing rib 102, both of which intimately contact fan 22 around its circumference to further seal off noise producing elements (namely, fan 22 and motor 20) and muffle noise. Fan 22 draws in air at intake opening 26, which is covered by shroud 27 to also help muffle the noise of operation of motor 20. Fan 22 generates working air (i. e. , air for inflation of balloons) that is directed from fan chamber 24 to inflation nozzle 28.

With reference to FIG. 3, the air drawn into fan chamber 24 is passed from chamber 24, through horn 30, to inflation nozzle 28, and out of orifice 32. Preferably, fan chamber 24 is provided in the form of an involute to achieve desired air velocity and pressure at inflation nozzle 28 for introduction into a balloon received thereon in communication with orifice 32.

With reference to FIG. 4, it can be seen that cooling air inlet 34 is provided for communication with the interior of housing 12 receiving motor 20. Accordingly, cooling air inlet 34 provides a means for drawing motor cooling air into housing 12 and through the windings of motor 20 to cool the same. For this purpose, a motor cooling fan (not shown) or the like would be provided with motor 20, as is standard with bypass motors of the type preferably implemented herein. Such bypass motors that provide separate sources of working and motor cooling air are well known. The motor cooling air is exhausted out of exhaust vent 36, after passing through and cooling bypass motor 20.

Bypass motor 20 preferably operates at between 500 and 800 watts, more

preferably, between 550 and 700 watts, and, in a particular embodiment, bypass motor 20 operates at about 600 watts (plus or minus about 10 %). Bypass motor 20 preferably drives fan 22 to generate pressures of from 70 to 90 inches H20 at orifice 32. In other preferred embodiments, bypass motor 20 generates pressures of from 75 to 90 inches H2O, and, in a particular embodiment, bypass motor 20 generates a pressure of from about 75 to 85 inches H2O. Within the disclosed wattage range, the bypass motor 20 preferably generates the preferred pressures while generating noise levels of less than 90 decibels, more preferably less than 85 decibels, and, in a particular embodiment, the bypass motor 20 and fan 22, within housing 12, as disclosed, at about 600 watts, produce pressures of about 80 inches H2O and generates a maximum noise level of less than about 82 decibels. Bypass motors satisfying these limitations have been found to be particularly beneficial for providing an inflator that operates at appreciably lower decibel levels than the prior art, without requiring the use of a movable nozzle and special bypass opening exhaust. Also, such a motor generates acceptable pressures for filling various balloons, while consuming less power than the inflators heretofore employed in the prior art.

In the prior art inflators employing bypass motors, the inflation nozzle floats within a collar of the housing and has to be depressed so that a flange member of the nozzle seals against the horn, otherwise a portion of the working air is directed through a bypass opening toward an exhaust vent, and does not exit at the nozzle orifice. When the flange member is depressed to seal against the horn, the bypass opening is blocked, and a majority of the working air is directed to the nozzle orifice. This is taught as necessary in the prior art to reduce the noise and heat of the operation of the inflator when a balloon is not fitted over the nozzle for inflation. With the particular motor of the present invention having specifications as provided above, this movable nozzle is no longer required, as the motor does not generate excessive noise and heat, even as the full supply of working air is directed through nozzle 28 and orifice 32, with no balloon fixed thereto to muffle noise. The moveably nozzle and collar concept is, however, optional, although it should be noted that the present invention improves balloon inflators without the use of such nozzle and collar, and the nozzle and collar design, to work efficiently,

must affect a very good seal between the nozzle and collar.

It should now be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that only ambient air drawn through intake opening 26 and into fan chamber 24 is introduced into the interior of a balloon received upon inflation nozzle 28. No motor cooling air is allowed to enter the balloon. By selecting motor 20 to be a bypass motor, keeping motor cooling air and working air separated, only air of ambient temperature is introduced into the interior of the balloon, such that the risk of shrinking upon cooling is significantly reduced and the life of the motor is extended by avoiding excessive overheating.

In an alternative embodiment, inflation nozzle 28 may be configured to interact with a collar of housing 12, as in U. S. Patent No. 5, 199, 847, to even further reduce the noise of operation. The entirety of US5,199, 847 is incorporated herein by reference.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the bypass nature of motor 20, separating the working air and motor cooling air, greatly reduces the operating temperature of motor 20. Similarly, separation of cooling air inlet 32 from exhaust vent 36 also reduces the operating temperature. Accordingly, inflator 10 may run continuously without the excessive heat buildup characteristic of inflators using standard through flow motors. Such prior inflators typically required cool down times of 10-15 minutes for every 20-25 minutes of use, such a duty cycle being ineffective and a waste of costly inflation time. Inflator 10 improves usage efficiency over the flow through motor prior art and allows continuous motor use without excessive heat buildup.

In accordance with particularly preferred embodiments of this invention fan chamber 24 is provided in the form of an involute. Those skilled in the art will understand that as the working air decelerates from fan 22, it trades velocity for air pressure. Such a trade-off in an involute is extremely efficient. As the working air passes through fan chamber 24, it passes to areas of increasing cross sectional area such that the velocity of air decreases while the air pressure increases. Additionally, fan chamber 24 includes first sealing rib 100 and second sealing rib 102, both of which intimately contact fan 22 around its circumference to substantially seal the working air within the preferred involute fan chamber 24. Accordingly, an optimum air pressure is achieved at inflation nozzle 28 and orifice 32. Consequently, motor size can be minimized, along with incident

noise, without adversely impacting the effectiveness or efficiency of inflator 10.

The inflators of this invention also benefit from the provision of means for providing for various levels of operation, allowing for the selection of different air pressures for various balloons to be inflated. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that larger latex balloons may be inflated at a lower pressure or rate than smaller latex balloons. Similarly, the inflation of different foil balloons may also demand selectively of pressure and time. Accordingly, if desired, the speed of the motor 14 may be controlled by a control circuit, such as that shown in US5,199, 847, and incorporated herein by reference. A control circuit allows the selection of high and low speeds or high and low pressures at which inflator 10 will operate.

In order to further facilitate the filling of various types and sizes of balloons, various nozzles are provided. Referring back to FIG. 1, a particular embodiment in accordance with this invention provides three different nozzles, identified as accessory inflation nozzles 50A, 50B, and 50C. These accessory inflation nozzles 50A, 50B, 50C are adapted to sealingly engage nozzle 28 and provide alternate orifices 52A, 52B, 52C, respectively. It will be appreciated that the different shapes provide for interaction with different types and sizes of balloons. To ensure that such accessory inflation nozzles 50A-C do no become lost or misplaced, housing 12 includes a plurality of nozzle holders 54A, 54B, 54C that securely retain a respective accessory inflation nozzle 50A, 50B, 50C, for example, by a friction fit with the inner diameter of holders 54A-C or through interaction with posts P within holders 54A-C.

Referring now to FIG. 5, silencer base 60 is preferably provided for receiving inflator 10. Silencer base 60 includes base plate 62, having aperture 64 therein for viewing information appropriately placed on housing 12, when received in silencer base 60. Base plate 62 also includes male members 66 for mating with appropriately shaped and positioned female members on base shroud member 68. Base shroud member 68 includes a housing aperture 70 that is shaped specifically to intimately receive housing 12, and dampening medium 72 may be provided around housing aperture 70 so that housing 12 is received in aperture 70 in contact with dampening medium 72. Dampening medium 72 would serve to dampen vibrations and otherwise reduce the noise of

operation of inflator 10. Much or all of the interior surface of the base shroud member 68 is preferably covered with dampening medium 73 to further reduce noise. The dampening medium is a sound dampening or absorbing material such as foam.

Noise generation is further reduced by the placement of base outlet 74 offset from <BR> <BR> (i. e. , out of alignment with) exhaust vent 36, because the air forcibly exhausted from housing 12 does not have a straight path to the exit (outlet 74) of silencer base 60. An inlet 76 allows for outside air to reach cooling air inlet 34, while the base shroud member 68 reduces the noise generated by the drawing in of cooling air. Likewise, intake opening 26 and shroud 27 communicate with the interior of silencer base 60, as at contour 78, and draw working air into base shroud member 68 at working air inlet 80. Appropriate structural members 82 separate outlet 74 and exhaust vent 36 from inlet 76 and cooling air inlet 34 and from working air inlet 80 and intake opening 26. By separating these different air paths, noise is further reduced.

Inflator 10 preferably includes three-position rocker switch 84 for controlling the operation of motor 20 and fan 22. Rocker switch 84 is movable between a continuously on position, an off position, and a momentary on position, and is located such that someone filling a balloon at nozzle 28 can manipulate both the balloon and rocker switch 84 simultaneously. This is advantageous in that it allows for easy operation in the momentary mode, wherein air is supplied at nozzle 28 (i. e. , fan 22 is operated) at desired intervals only, upon actuation of rocker switch 80 to the momentary mode. The prior art shows more complex and costly nozzle actuation switches, some in conjunction with a separate switch for affecting a continuous"on"mode.

Thus it can be seen that the objects of the invention have been satisfied by the structure presented above. While in accordance with the patent statutes only the best mode and preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented and described in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.

Accordingly, for an appreciation of the true scope and breadth of the invention, reference should be made to the following claims.