Air chucks and air chuck heads

Abstract

To provide an air chuck which is easy to handle and has good workability when filling air into a tire. [Solution] An air chuck 100 supplies air from an air source C to a tire T, and comprises a main body 1 connected to the air source C and a head 2 provided at an end 11 of the main body 1. When the head 2 is pressed against a valve V of the tire T, the valve V is opened and an air supply path in the head 2 is opened, thereby supplying air to the tire T. The head 2 is detachable from the main body 1.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air chuck and a head for an air chuck. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when inflating a vehicle tire, an air supply connector called an air chuck is used. The air chuck is attached to the end of an air hose connected to an air source. The air chuck is composed of a main body provided with, for example, a grip for an operator to hold during operation, and a cylindrical head attached to the end of the main body. When the head is pressed against the tire valve, for example, the internal movable valve element is displaced axially, opening the air supply passage inside the air chuck and opening the valve, supplying air from the air source into the tire. An example of such an air chuck is the air chuck described in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-169220 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The air chuck described in Patent Document 1 has a body and a head that are inseparably integrated. The valves to which the air chuck is connected may have different valve opening and closing methods, depending on the country, for example. In such cases, an air chuck appropriate for the opening and closing method is required. Furthermore, air chucks with different overall lengths may be required depending on the length of the valve, for example. Thus, the air chuck described in Patent Document 1 requires separate air chucks appropriate for the valve opening and closing method, shape, etc., which makes handling cumbersome and reduces workability.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an air chuck that is easy to handle and has good workability when filling air into a tire. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to this first invention, An air chuck that supplies air from an air source to a tire, a main body connected to an air source and a head provided on the main body; When the head is pressed against the tire valve, the valve opens and the air supply passage in the head is opened, and air from the air source is supplied to the tire through the valve. The head is detachable from the main body.

[0007] According to this, a detachable head appropriate for the application is selected, and the selected head is attached to the main body to form an air chuck. Then, by attaching or detaching it to the main body and replacing it with a head appropriate for a different application, an air chuck appropriate for a different application is formed. In other words, in addition to the main body, it is sufficient to prepare only the head appropriate for each application, and there is no need to stock all the air chucks appropriate for each application.

[0008] In the air chuck according to the second invention, the head has a movable valve body that opens and closes the air supply passage in the head depending on whether or not the head is pressed against the tire valve, the main body has an operating part that can open and close the air supply passage in the main body, The movable valve body is characterized in that a through hole is provided in the movable valve body, which passes through the movable valve body in the air supply direction.

[0009] When filling up tires with air, a tool called a duster is often used, which sprays compressed air from an air source to blow away and remove dust and other foreign matter that has adhered to the tire, etc. In this case, it is necessary to prepare a duster separately from the air chuck, which makes handling cumbersome and reduces work efficiency.

[0010] According to the second invention, even when the air chuck is not pressed against the valve (i.e., the air supply passage in the head is closed), the inside and outside of the head are connected via the through-hole. Therefore, the air chuck can be used as a duster by the operator opening the air supply passage in the main body using the operating part of the main body, allowing compressed air to be sprayed from the head.

[0011] The head for the air chuck according to the third invention is a head for the air chuck according to the first invention or the second invention, When the head is pressed against the tire valve, the valve opens and an air supply passage in the head is opened, allowing air from an air source to be supplied to the tire through the valve. This head is detachable from the main body of the air chuck.

[0012] This can achieve the same effects as the first or second invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to this invention, there is no need to stock all the air chucks required for the purpose of filling a tire with air. Therefore, handling is simple and workability is good. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration example of an air chuck according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the air chuck. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a movable valve body in the head of the air chuck. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an air chuck 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] [Configuration of the air chuck 100 of the first example] Referring to FIG. 1, a configuration example of an air chuck 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1, the air chuck 100 includes a main body 1 connected to an air source C such as a compressor, and a cylindrical head 2 that is detachable from the main body 1. The air chuck 100 supplies air from the air source C to a tire T via a valve V of the tire T. In the following description, the side closer to the air source C will be referred to as the "upstream side," and the side closer to the valve V of the tire T will be referred to as the "downstream side."

[0018] A hollow shaft 10 is provided at the end of the main body 1, and a center cylinder 3 is provided upstream of the head 2. A socket 31 of the center cylinder 3 of the head 2 is detachably attached to the end 11 of the hollow shaft 10. A connection port 42 of the head 2 is connected to a valve V, and the head 2 is pressed against the valve V. This opens the interior of the head 2 and the valve V, and air is supplied to the tire T through the valve V.

[0019] The configuration of the head 2 will be described with reference to Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the head 2 is formed with a socket 31 that can be connected to the end 11 of the hollow shaft 10. An outer thread 15 is formed on the outer periphery of the end 11 of the hollow shaft 10. An annular groove 12 is provided around the entire outer periphery of the end 11 on the axial upstream side of the outer thread 15, and an annular seal member S1 is fitted into the annular groove 12.

[0020] The socket 31 has a seal surface 33 formed on the inner periphery of the open end of the socket 31, and a rear end surface 34 formed on the rear side of the socket 31 relative to the seal surface 33. An internal thread 35 that is threadedly mated with the external thread 15 is formed on the inner periphery of the socket 31 between the seal surface 33 and the rear end surface 34.

[0021] The head 2 can be freely attached to and detached from the main body 1 as described above by the threaded structure of the outer thread 15 and the inner thread 35 described above.

[0022] The head 2 depicted in FIG. 2 is adapted to the main body 1 of the air chuck 100 depicted in FIG. 1. Note that FIG. 2 depicts a detailed cross-sectional structure of the head in a portion to the right of the threaded structure described above. However, the cross-sectional structure of the head depicted in FIG. 2 is adapted to a head 202 according to a second example of an air chuck 200, which will be described later, and is not adapted to head 2. As will be described in detail later, the cross-sectional structure in FIG. 2 depicts a movable valve body 6 having a through-hole 63 formed therein. However, in head 2, although not shown, the movable valve body 6 is solid and does not have a through-hole 63 formed therein. The configuration other than the through-hole 63 is common to head 202 and head 2.

[0023] [Air Chuck 100 Function] The operation of the air chuck 100 will be described with reference to Figure 2. The hollow shaft 10 and the center cylinder 3 (head 2) are connected by mating the inner threads 35 of the socket 31 with the outer threads 15 of the end portion 11. At this time, the end face 14 of the end portion 11 contacts the inner end face 34 of the socket 31, and the seal member S1 is inserted between the bottom peripheral surface of the annular groove portion 12 of the end portion 11 and the seal surface 33 of the socket 31.

[0024] The connection between the head 2 and the main body 1 is completed when the end face 14 of the end portion 11 comes into contact with the inner end face 34 of the socket 31, and at this time, the bottom peripheral surface of the annular groove portion 12 of the end portion 11, i.e., the outer peripheral surface of the end portion 11, and the seal surface 33 of the socket 31 are securely sealed by the seal member S1. This effectively prevents air from leaking between the end portion 11 and the socket 31, allowing air from the air source C to be suitably supplied to the tire. In this way, the air chuck 100 is configured so that the head 2 can be easily attached and detached to the main body 1.

[0025] Therefore, in the air chuck 100, a head 2 appropriate for the application is selected as appropriate and attached to the main body 1 appropriate for the application for use. For example, in the example described above with reference to Fig. 1, the air chuck 100 in which the head 2 is attached to the main body 1 is described as an example, but a head 2v different from the head 2 (for example, a head 2v having an overall length different from that of the head 2) (see Fig. 1) can be selected and the head 2v can be attached to the main body 1 to form the air chuck 100v.

[0026] The head 2 can also be configured as an air chuck 100v by being attached to a main body 201 (see FIG. 1) that allows an operator to manually open and close the air supply path in the main body 201. The main body 201 is provided with a lever 201b (an example of an "operating unit") that is connected to an open / close valve (not shown) of the air supply path in the main body 201 and that allows an operator to manually operate the open / close valve. The operator can easily open and close the air supply path in the main body 201 by operating the lever 201b. The outer surface of the head 2, 2v is formed with a nut-shaped outer peripheral surface (reference numeral omitted) that can be engaged with a tool to perform a rotational operation. Therefore, when connecting (threading) the head 2, 2v to the main body 1, 201, the head 2, 2v can be easily and firmly connected to the main body 1, 201 by engaging a tool with the nut-shaped outer peripheral surface.

[0027] As described above, it is possible to prepare and select the head 2, 2v according to the application, and then attach it to the main body 1, 201 according to the application to configure the air chuck 100, 100v, so there is no need to stock all the air chucks according to the application. As a result, handling is not complicated when filling air into a tire, and workability is good.

[0028] [Configuration of the air chuck 200 of the second example] In the second example of the air chuck 200, the head 202 having the configuration shown in Fig. 2 is attached to the main body 201 described above with reference to Fig. 1. To reiterate, the main body 201 is configured so that the air supply path within the main body 201 can be opened and closed by the operator operating the lever 201b.

[0029] The head 202 is composed of a center cylinder 3, a front cylinder 4, and a compression spring 5 and a movable valve element 6 housed inside the center cylinder 3 and the front cylinder 4. The above-described socket 31 is formed at the upstream end in the axial direction of the center cylinder 3. Another socket 32 ​​is formed at the downstream end in the axial direction of the center cylinder 3.

[0030] An internal thread 36 is formed on the inner periphery at the open end of the socket 32. A spring accommodating portion 50 is formed on the inner periphery of the socket 32, further back than the internal thread 36. The compression spring 5 is accommodated in the spring accommodating portion 50 in a state in which it can expand and contract in the axial direction.

[0031] The movable valve element 6 is formed with a cylindrical main body 60 and a tongue portion 61 on the axial downstream side of the main body 60, and a flange 62 on the axial upstream side. The movable valve element 6 will be further described with reference to FIG. 3. For the sake of explanation, the radial direction facing up and down in FIG. 3 will be referred to as the first radial direction, and the radial direction perpendicular to the first radial direction will be referred to as the second radial direction. The tongue portion 61 is formed with convex portions 61b, 61b that protrude outward from the outer diameter of the main body 60 in the first radial direction on the outer periphery of the tongue portion 61, and concave portions 61c, 61c that are recessed inward from the outer diameter of the main body 60 in the second radial direction. The movable valve element 6 is provided with a through-hole 63 that penetrates the movable valve element 6 in the axial direction (an example of the "supply direction").

[0032] Referring again to FIG. 2 , an end 41 at the upstream axial end of the front tube 4 is connected to the socket 32. A connection port 42 connected to the valve V is formed at the downstream axial end of the outer tube 4. An annular seal member S2 is housed on the inner periphery of the end 41. An outer thread 44 is formed on the outer periphery of the end 41 to be mated with the inner thread 36 of the socket 32. A flange 45 protruding radially outward from the outer periphery of the end 41 is formed on the downstream axial side of the outer thread 44. An annular seal member S3 is disposed on the outer periphery of the end 41 on the upstream axial side of the flange 45. An annular seal member S4 is disposed at the rear end of the connection port 42 along the inner periphery of the connection port 42. An air supply passage L is formed between the outer surface of the movable valve element 6 and the inner circumferential surface of the outer tube 4.

[0033] A valve core Vc is provided inside the valve V, and the valve V is opened when the valve core Vc is pressed and displaced axially downstream. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the head 202 is not pressing against the valve V, and the air supply path L inside the head 202 is closed. In detail, in FIG. 2, the upstream end face of the flange 62 of the movable valve element 6 is in contact with the end of the compression spring 5, and the movable valve element 6 is pressed axially downstream by the compression spring 5. This causes the flange 62 of the movable valve element 6 to abut against the end face of the seal member S2 at the end 41. Therefore, a state is reached in which compressed air from upstream does not flow into the air supply path L (hereinafter referred to as the "closed state").

[0034] [Air Chuck 200 Function] The operation of the air chuck 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, when an operator operates the lever 201b to open the air supply path inside the main body 201 of the air chuck 200, compressed air can flow from the upstream side to the downstream side in the axial direction through the through-hole 63 in the movable valve body 6 even when the head 202 is in a closed state (arrow D1 in Fig. 2). Therefore, since the compressed air can be ejected to the outside of the head 202 through the through-hole 63, the air chuck 200 can be suitably used as a duster by having an operator operate the lever 201b near the main body 201 (see Fig. 1) to open the air supply path inside the main body 201.

[0035] The air chuck 200 can also be configured with the head 202 attached to a main body 201 equipped with a pressure gauge G (see the imaginary line in FIG. 1). This allows the air to be filled into the tire while checking the air pressure with the pressure gauge G. Therefore, the operator can easily adjust the amount of air to be filled into the tire to obtain the required air pressure by appropriately operating the lever 201b of the main body 201 while checking the pressure gauge G. In other words, the air chuck 200 is suitable for use as a duster, and by attaching the head 202 to the main body 201 equipped with the pressure gauge G, the workability of filling a tire with air is improved.

[0036] It is preferable that the opening area of ​​the through-hole 63 is configured to be smaller than the opening area of ​​the air supply path L. As a result, the flow path is narrowed when the air passes through the through-hole 63, limiting the flow rate, and the flow velocity of the air after passing through the through-hole 63 is faster than that after passing through the air supply path L, so that the air chuck 200 can be suitably used as a duster.

[0037] Although not shown, when the valve V is received into the connection port 42 of the head 202 and the head 202 is pressed against the valve V, the end face of the valve core Vc abuts against the end face of the tongue portion 61 of the movable valve element 6, and the movable valve element 6 is pushed axially upstream until the upstream end face of the valve V abuts against the end face of the seal member S4 at the back end of the connection port 42. At this time, the valve core Vc is displaced axially downstream by a predetermined amount, and the valve V is opened.

[0038] As a result, the end face of the flange 62 of the movable valve body 6 is separated from the end face of the seal member S3, and air from upstream passes between the flange 62 and the seal member S3 and becomes capable of being supplied to the air supply path L. The supplied air then passes between the recess 61c (see FIG. 3) in the tongue portion 61 and the seal member S4, and is supplied to the tire through the inside of the valve V.

[0039] As described above, according to the air chuck 200 of the present invention, the head 202 is attached to the main body 201, and can be suitably used as a duster when the head 202 is closed relative to the valve V. Then, the head 202 is pressed against the valve V, allowing air to be suitably filled into the tire. In other words, there is no need to prepare a duster separately from the air chuck 200, which makes handling less cumbersome. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] S1 Sealing material 1 Main unit 10 hollow shaft 12 Annular groove 2 heads 3 Middle tube 31 socket 32 Another Underbite 33 Sealing surface 34 Back end surface 4 Nozzle 42 Connection port 5 compression springs 6 Movable valve body 61 Tongue 62 flange 63 Through hole

Claims

1. An air chuck that supplies air from an air source to a tire, a main body connected to an air source and a head provided on the main body; When the head is pressed against the tire valve, the valve opens and the air supply passage in the head is opened, and air from the air source is supplied to the tire through the valve. The air chuck is characterized in that the head is detachable from the body.

2. The head has a movable valve body that opens and closes an air supply passage in the head depending on whether or not the head is pressed against the tire valve, the main body has an operating part that can open and close the air supply passage in the main body, 2. The air chuck according to claim 1, wherein the movable valve body is provided with a through hole that penetrates the movable valve body in the air supply direction.

3. A head for the air chuck of claim 1 or claim 2, When the head is pressed against the tire valve, the valve opens and an air supply passage in the head is opened, allowing air from an air source to be supplied to the tire through the valve. The head for an air chuck is characterized in that the head is detachable from the main body of the air chuck.

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