Technical Field

The invention relates to an apparatus for the sealing of inflatable objects, in particular tires, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1.

Background Art

Devices of this kind are already known from DE 196 52 546 Al and serve to seal a leak in an inflatable object, for example in a pierced tire or a tire damaged during a journey in that a special sealing agent is introduced into the tire via the tire valve and the tire is subsequently pumped up to at least a pressure at which it can be run. A sealing device of this type in accordance with the invention typically has a removal unit which comprises a container containing a sealing agent and having a gas inlet connectable to a gas pressure source and an outlet couplable to an object to be sealed, with the gas inlet and the gas outlet being in communication with one another via the interior space of the container.

Removal units for the handling of liquids are known from a series of further specifications, for example from US 5,584,411, EP 0 557 913 A, DE 44 37 981 A, US 3,908,871 and US 3,374,927.

A sealing device is known from EP 1 121 324 Bl which provides a separate removal unit and thereby makes it possible to exchange the container when the sealing agent has been consumed or has decayed without the whole sealing device having to be replaced. Thanks to the corresponding coupling capability of a separate removal unit, the reusable removal unit can be used with containers of different sizes and the sealing device in accordance with the invention can thus be matched to the respective inflatable object. However, this already known removal unit comprises a separate container filled with the sealing agent which has to be connected to the pressure source, on the one hand, and to the object inflatable for sealing, on the other hand, via

corresponding hose pieces. In this known apparatus, a series of components of the total device must therefore be provided, namely - in addition to the pressure source - also the removal unit, a container containing the sealing agent and hose connection pieces. A comparatively large space requirement must hereby be provided for the storage of the corresponding sealing device, for example in motor vehicles in which it is carried along.

Disclosure of Invention

It is the object of the invention to further develop a device of the type first named such that it is made in as compact a manner as possible and consists of as few individual parts as possible.

This object is solved as a result of the combination of the features of claim 1. Starting from a device for the sealing of inflatable objects, in particular tires, comprising a gas pressure source, a pressure hose for the connection of the gas pressure source to the inflatable object and a sealing agent contained in the removal unit, the pressure hose here simultaneously forms the removal unit forming the sealing agent. A device is thus made available which is substantially formed from two components, namely from the gas pressure source, on the one hand, and the pressure hose, which simultaneously contains the sealing agent, on the other hand. An apparatus of this type can be made in a very compact manner. Depending on the volume requirements of the sealing agent, pressure hoses of different lengths or of different fillings can be provided. On the other hand, the pressure hoses can be replaced in the event that the sealing agent has been consumed or has decayed without the total sealing device having to be replaced. A commercial pressure hose can also easily be added in addition to the pressure hoses filled with sealing agent, said commercial pressure hose serving a connection to the inflatable object in order, for example, to refill air without simultaneously filling a sealing agent into the inflatable object, for example into the tire.

Preferred aspects of the invention result from the dependent claims following on from the main claim.

Accordingly, the pressure hose can advantageously be connectable to the gas pressure source and to the inflatable object via connection pieces.

The pressure hose can have a check valve in front of the connection piece connectable to the inflatable object. In the case of pumping up, this prevents an unwanted backflow of the compressed air which was filled into the inflatable object with the sealing agent.

Membranes which respectively close the hose and which can be opened on the use of the device for sealing are contained in the connection pieces. In order to be opened, they can, for example, be pierced or can be cut during the screwing of the connection piece onto the pressure source or the inflatable object such as the tire.

hi addition, where necessary, closing caps can be mounted, for example plugged or screwed, onto the connection pieces of the pressure hose.

To be able to accept sufficient sealing agent, the pressure hose can have an expanded cross-section in the region in which it accepts the sealing agent.

The gas pressure source is particularly advantageously formed by a housing which presents a recess at its jacket surface for the acceptance of the pressure hose which can be wound onto the housing.

One side of the housing of the gas pressure source can advantageously be formed as a standing leg, whereas a gas pressure indicator is arranged at the oppositely disposed side.

The pressure hose can already be connected to the gas pressure source via the corresponding connection piece in the wound on state.

hi addition, a recess for the acceptance of an electrical connection cable, which can be wound on, can be formed separately from the recess for the acceptance, of the pressure source at the housing jacket. This electrical connection cable serves to connect the gas compressor to a current source, for example to a 12 V battery of the vehicle.

The pressure hose preferably has a comparatively larger diameter in its middle region, The necessary amount of the sealing agent can hereby be accepted, To simplify a complete pushing out of the sealing agent, a membrane slider is displaceably arranged in the region of the pressure hose having an expanded diameter. It is therefore a matter of a thin- wall slider construction here which is displaced along the wall of the pressure hose by the compressed air. A device, for example a corresponding cutting device, can be present toward the end of the thickened part, by means of which the membrane slider is cut open or pierced in order to permit the passage of compressed air.

A further preferred aspect of the invention consists of a ball slider being movably arranged in the pressure hose and pressing out the sealing agent from the pressure hose via the compressed air. At the end of the hose, an acceptance recess is formed for the acceptance of the ball slider in order hereby to release the volume of the pressure hose for the compressed air flowing through.

Finally, in accordance with a further advantageous aspect of the invention, the pressure hose is wound in spiral form - optionally also in multilayer form, It should hereby be achieved that the sealing agent can in each case collect in the direction of gravity and is pressed out by the inflowing compressed air.

Brief Description of the Several Views of the Drawings

Further features, details and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing. There are shown:

Figure 1 : a perspective representation of a device in accordance with the invention for the sealing of inflatable objects;

Figure 2: the device in accordance with Figure 1 with an unwound pressure hose; Figure 3: a sectional representation of a pressure hose such as can also be wound onto the device in accordance with the invention; Figure 4: a schematic representation of a modified embodiment variant of the invention;

Figure 5: a further schematically modified embodiment of the invention; and Figure 6: a further alternative embodiment of the device in accordance with the invention.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

In the embodiment of the invention in accordance with Figure 1, a device 10 for the sealing of inflatable objects, in particular tires, consists of a gas pressure source 12 and a pressure hose 14 wound onto the jacket of the gas pressure source 12.

As can in particular be seen from Figure 2, the housing 16 of the gas pressure source 12 consists of a substantially cylindrical body having a wide recess 18 on its jacket surface which serves for the acceptance of the spirally wound on pressure hose 14. In Figure 1, the pressure hose 14 is shown in the wound on state and in Figure 2 in the unwound state.

The lower side of the housing 16 is made as a standing leg 20. The upper side of the housing 16 has a gas manometer 22 via which the pressure is indicated of the inflatable object not shown in any more detail here, for example, the tire, to which the gas pressure source can be connected via the pressure hose 14.

A narrower recess 26 is provided next to the recess 18, is arranged in parallel, is separated by a partition wall 24 and in which an electrical connecting cable can be wound up which is not shown in more detail here.

The pressure source is generally designed in a known manner. Reference can be made in this respect, for example, to EP 1 121 324 Bl.

Figure 3 shows the pressure hose 14 in a sectional representation. The pressure hose has a connection piece 28 at its end connectable to the gas pressure source 12. A connection piece 30 is arranged at the oppositely disposed end connectable to the inflatable object. The pressure hose 14 is extended in cross-section over its main length with respect to the two end regions 32 and 34, as can be seen schematically from Figure 3. The pressure hose 14 is filled with a sealing agent which can have a composition known per se from the prior art. Reference is made in this respect to the sealing agent named, for example, in DE 196 52 548 Al.

A closing membrane 36 which can be opened in the use of the sealing device is arranged in the region of the connection piece 28.

The connection pieces 28 and 30 can be closed by means of closing caps 38 and 40.

A check valve 42 is arranged in the end region 34 of the pressure hose 14. The filling direction in which the sealing agent can be filled is shown by the arrow 44. The compressed air is also introduced in this direction to fill the sealing agent into the inflatable object.

As is shown in Figure 2, the pressure hose 14 is directly connected to the gas pressure source 12 in the embodiment shown here. No cover cap 38 is to be provided in this embodiment variant.

The gas pressure source 12 is made for the provision of compressed air in this

embodiment and can be made, for example, as a small compressor, a central motor vehicle compressor, a stationary compressed air supply unit or as a portable pressure storage container such as are available at filling stations or as a hand-operated air pump or as a foot-operated air pump. The maximum pressure to be generated by the gas pressure source 12 does not need to be larger than the pressure required for at least emergency operation of a tire.

An alternative embodiment variant is shown in Figure 4, with the gas pressure source to which the pressure hose 14 is connected being schematically indicated here by 12. The pressure hose 14 is in turn connected to a tire 50 which is to be repaired. In is middle region, the pressure hose 14 has a region 52 of increased diameter in which a correspondingly larger volume of sealing agent can be accepted. A membrane slider is designated by 54 which facilitates the pushing out of the sealing agent. The slider 54 is displaceable by the compressed air being discharged from the gas pressure source and thus presses the sealing agent in the direction of the tire 50. A blade is designed by 56 which cuts the membrane slider on the reaching of the end position of said membrane slider such that the compressed air can pass from the gas pressure source 12 through the membrane slider 54 and can penetrate into the further pressure hose system 14.

A modified embodiment variant of the invention results from Figure 5 in which the pressure hose has a ball slider 58 which, in a similar manner to the membrane slider in accordance with Figure 4, serves the pressing out of the sealant mass from the pressure hose 14, A corresponding recess 60 is provided in the end region of the hose and a bounding element 62 is additionally provided. When the end position is reached, the ball slider 58 is stopped by the bounding element 62 so that it falls into the recess 60 and thus releases the volume of the pressure hose 14. In the embodiment shown here, an additional pressure hose 64 which does not contain any sealing agent, that is which only serves the pressure charging of a tire 50 by means of the gas pressure source 12, is connected to the compressed air source 12.

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A further aspect of the invention is shown in Figure 6 in which the pressure hose 14 is wound in the manner of a spiral. It is hereby ensured that the sealant mass can collect in each case in the lower windings of the spiral and can be acted on by the compressed air from the pressure source 12.