This application claims the benefit of the earlier filing date of Nov. 30, 2010 of PROVISIONAL APPLICATION No. 61418259.
DESCRIPTION The Tire Inflator Tool (T.I.T.) (FIG. 1) was invented to make the filling of air inflated tires and devices easier. The T.I.T. uses a pressure release valve that is preset to a designated pressure. Although invented for automobile tire use, the T.I.T. can be manufactured to any pressure requirement for use on bicycle, trailer, motorcycle or scooter tires and basket or soccer balls. The T.I.T. would stay the same while different springs would be used in each application. Alternatively a T.I.T. could be made using a digital type mechanism that would use a battery or power source. This version would be intended for a more experienced user who would have the knowledge to be able to set different pressures using a digital type display for different applications. This version would use the same principle design except switches and/or relays would manipulate the stopper allowing a single T.I.T. version that could be used for multiple inflating applications. What sets the T.I.T. apart is its ease of use for all people. Common tire gauges use air to measure the pressure with the user responsible for achieving the correct pressure through a trial and error process of inflating and removing air. Whereas the T.I.T. uses air to set the tire pressure automatically to a constant designated precise pressure such as 35 psi used commonly on automobile tires. When inflating tires a recommended psi needs to be achieved. To date a person must use a tire gauge that has multiple measurements even though most all automobile tires use 35 psi. Achieving the precise pressure using a tire gauge is a trial and error process where the user must inflate or deflate air, continuously checking the pressure. Even when this is achieved it's very difficult to fill all the tires the same. The gauges can be hard to read and hard to understand. Comparing the T.I.T. to other devices is difficult since there are no other devices like it in the current marketplace. For all the above noted reasons the T.I.T. will make tire type gauges and that process obsolete. Because it has a preset pressure setting and works automatically it makes the process of achieving correct tire pressure simple. The T.I.T. works in conjunction with air pumps such as those commonly found at gas stations or portable air compressors for home use. The process is the same for all applications. First you connect the T.I.T. flip nozzle (or alternatively other attachments for filling could be used for example a needle type for filling footballs or soccer balls or other types of standard fittings used for inflating tire valve stems) (14, FIG. 1) to the valve stem of the tire you are filling, you then turn on the air compressor line and press the air line to the T.I.T. valve stem (or alternatively other fittings could be used to connect the T.I.T. directly to an air hose for use in areas where the T.I.T. is used in a more permanent environment such as a repair garage) (7, FIG. 1). Continue to fill tire until pressure relief valve (4, FIG. 1) opens and starts to release air (5, FIG. 1), remove air compressor line from T.I.T. valve stem (7, FIG. 1) and wait for the air relief valve (4, FIG. 1) to stop omitting air by closing (FIG. 6). At this point the tire being inflated will be set to the exact pressure. The only requirement for using the T.I.T. is knowing the psi of the tire or device being inflated and the general knowledge needed to use an air compressor as described above.
The T.I.T. is composed of a moulded brass body (10, FIG. 1) with three intersecting outlets (6,9,11, FIG. 2). The first outlet (9, FIG. 2) has a standard tire valve stem (7, FIG. 2) held on with a compression fitting (8, FIG. 2). The second outlet (11, FIG. 2) has a rubber hose (13, FIG. 1) and flip nozzle (14, FIG. 1) that can been seen used on most bicycle pumps and is also held on by a compression fitting (12, FIG. 1). The third outlet (6, FIG. 2) is the pressure release air valve (4, FIG. 2) that is threaded and screwed into place (4, FIG. 2). The air relief valve stem is a standard type with a hollowed body (4, FIG. 6), a spring (3, FIG. 3), a stopper (1, FIG. 4) and a cap (2, FIG. 5). Note that all springs (3, FIG. 3) used in this T.I.T. have to be engineered to an absolute specification in order to achieve the specific psi requirements for each application. FIG. 6 illustrates a representation of a compound type injection moulded body (15, FIG. 6) that will make manufacturing the final T.I.T. cheaper and faster. Although the automatic releasing and closing of air will not change, the general spirit of the design will remain the same and changes will occur to support manufacturing.
