Balloon storage and inflation assembly

A balloon storage and inflation assembly comprising in combination:

• a deflated sealed balloon;
• gas generating means including at least one chemical substance in said balloon for generating a gas to inflate said balloon;
• frangible means including in said balloon a burstable container holding said chemical substance in a pre-activation state;
• storage means for preventing unintentional rupture of said container and thereby protecting said balloon from unintentional inflation during shipping and handling operations, said storage means including a substantially rigid, substantially planar throw-away structure having an area of extent at least substantially coextensive with said deflated sealed balloon, said storage means further including a recess in said support structure for receiving and at least partially enclosing said container and a portion of said balloon during said shipping and handling operations, thereby preventing accidental rupture of said container;
• and
• rupture facilitating means on said support structure for facilitating manual breakage of said container and concomitant inflation of said balloon, said facilitating means including a plate member swingably attached to said support structure and rotatable into said recess.

A balloon storage and inflation assembly comprising in combination:

• a deflated sealed balloon;
• gas generating means including a pair of chemical reactants in said balloon for generating a gas to inflate said balloon;
• frangible means including a burstable container holding at least one of said chemical reactants separated from the other of said chemical reactants;
• storage means for preventing unintentional rupture of said container and thereby protecting said balloon from unintentional inflation during shipping and handling operations, said storage means including a substantially rigid, substantially planar throw-away structure having an area of extent at least substantially coextensive with said deflated sealed balloon, said storage means further including a recess in said support structure for receiving and at least partially enclosing said container and a portion of said balloon during said shipping and handling operations, thereby preventing accidental rupture of said container, said support structure including a first planar piece and a second planar piece hingedly secured to one another along respective edges, said recess taking the form of a first opening in said first planar piece and a second opening in said second planar piece, said first and said second opening being substantially coextensive and aligned with one another in a folded configuration of said first planar piece and said second planar piece, said plate member being attached to one of said first planar piece and said second planar piece along an edge of one of said first opening and said second opening;
• and
• rupture facilitating means on said support structure for facilitating manual breakage of said container and concomitant mixing of said chemical reactants, said facilitating means including a first plate member swingably attached to said support structure and rotatable into said recess, said facilitating means further including a second plate member hingedly secured to the other of said first planar piece and said second planar piece along an edge of the other of said first opening and said second opening, said first and said second plate member being attached to respective ones of said said first planar piece and said second planar piece so that the plate members are swingable in opposite directions from said recess in said folded configuration.

A method for inflating a balloon, comprising the steps of:

• providing a balloon storage and inflation assembly comprising (a) a deflated sealed balloon, (b) gas generating means incluidng a pair of chemical reactants in said balloon, (c) frangible means including a burstable container holding at least one of said chemical reactants separated from the other of said chemical reactants, (d) storage means for preventing unintentional rupture of said container and thereby protecting said balloon from unintentional inflation during shipping and handling operations, said storage means including a substantially rigid support structure, said storage means further including a recess in said support structure for receiving and at least partially enclosing said container and a portion of said balloon during said shipping and handling operations, thereby preventing accidental rupture of said container, and (e) rupture facilitating means on said support structure for facilitating manual breakage of said container and concomitant mixing of said chemical reactants;
• manipulating said rupture facilitating means to shift same from a storage configuration to a breakage facilitating configuration in which a portion of said rupture facilitating means is in physical contact with said balloon in a region coextensive with said container;
• and
• striking said portion of said rupture facilitation means in said region with sufficient force to burst said container and thereby permit said one of said chemical reactants to come into contact with said other of said chemical reactants.