Air inflatable device such as a leisure device provided with a quick closure means
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inflatable objects, such as air-fillable bags and mattresses, face challenges in maintaining airtightness without curving the opening, which restricts their ability to maintain a flat shape post-inflation.
Innovation Solution
The device features flexible strips with rigid movable parts that pivotally connect to clamp the strips together, ensuring airtight closure without the need for curving the opening, allowing for rapid air filling and preventing air leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the opening is closed by rolling and curving the neck to guarantee airtightness, then air leakage is prevented, but the bag cannot maintain a flat shape
Solution Approach 1:
The closure means is divided into two separate flexible strips located at the periphery of the air inlet opening, which can be independently clamped by rigid movable parts. This segmentation allows the strips to be pressed together to create an airtight seal without requiring the entire neck to be curved, thus maintaining the flat shape of the bag while ensuring reliability.
2Reliability
If a closure means is installed to prevent air escape, then air retention is achieved, but the closing process becomes complex requiring rolling and curving
Solution Approach 1:
The curving and rolling operations are extracted from the closure process. Instead of requiring the neck to be curved, the invention uses two flexible strips that can be directly pressed together by rigid movable parts. This extraction simplifies the closure process while maintaining air retention through the clamped strips.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of curving the neck to create a seal, the invention inverts the approach by using straight flexible strips that are pressed together by movable clamping parts. This inversion eliminates the need for complex rolling and curving operations while achieving the same air retention effect.
3Reliability
If flexible strips are pressed against each other to prevent air escape, then airtightness is achieved, but rapid closure is difficult without additional clamping mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
Rigid movable parts act as intermediary clamping mechanisms that pivotally connect to the flexible strips. These intermediaries enable rapid closure by mechanically pressing the strips together without requiring manual rolling or curving operations, thus achieving both airtightness and fast closure speed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables the inflatable device to maintain airtightness without curving the opening, allowing it to retain a flat shape and facilitating easy folding and storage, while ensuring complete air retention during use.
Implementation Method 1
the two strips are held tight against each other by the elastic action from their curvature
Implementation Method 2
at least one rigid movable part pivotally connected to one of the ends of the strips such that the movable part can be positioned around the strips in a closed position in which the two strips are kept clamped together
Data Source
AI summary
Device (10, 110, 210) including at least one flexible pouch (12, 21, 22) delimiting an interior volume, one air inlet opening (13) per flexible pouch to allow air to pass into an interior volume of the pouch, a closure for closing the air inlet in an airtight manner, the closure including two flexible strips (14, 16) located at the periphery of the air inlet opening, the strips being connected at their ends and adapted to be pressed against one another. A rigid movable part (24, 25, 26) is pivotally connected to one of the ends of the strips so that the movable part can be positioned around the strips in a closed position in which the two strips are kept clamped together so as to prevent air from escaping the device.