Filler and pressure indicator valve
OwnerDavid A. Bernoudy, Jr.inventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A filler and pressure indicator valve having a housing with a main valve openable upon depression by a conventional filler tool upon adding air to the tire and automatically closeable upon release of the tire filling tool. A shaft is slidable through the main valve, and on the inner end of the shaft there is a sensor valve. The sensor valve is normally closed but responds to a low pressure condition within the tire to open, moving the shaft inwardly and releasing a pop-up cap on the end of the shaft to trigger a visual sensor element. The device can be adjusted to settings for different desired air pressure levels below which the sensor valve will be actuated.
Claims17
A filler and pressure indicator valve comprising:
- a valve body adapted to be installed in a tire or tube filler stem,
- a passage through the body between an upstream end where air can be introduced for filling the tire and a downstream end where air flows from the stem to the tire,
- a main valve means for normally blocking the flow of air through the passage and being operable to unblock the flow of air through the passage in response to actuation by an air filler tool engaging the upstream end,
- a sensor valve including a sensor valve seat in the passage and a sensor valve member movable into and away from sealing engagement with the valve seat,
- means for maintaining the sensor valve member in sealing engagement with the sensor valve seat in response to maintenance of air pressure above a predetermined level at the downstream end,
- means for moving the sensor valve member away from sealing engagement with the sensor valve seat in response to reduction of air pressure to a level below said predetermined level,
- means for moving the sensor valve member away from sealing engagement with the sensor valve seat in response to said actuation by an air filler tool engaging the upstream end,
- a cap assembly mountable over the upstream end and including an indicator movable into and away from a position at which it is visible,
- and means responsive to movement of the sensor valve member away from sealing engagement with the sensor valve seat for moving the indicator into said visible position.
A filler and pressure indicator valve comprising:
- a housing having an outer end and an inner end adapted for threading into the stem of a tire or tube with the inner end inward of the tire and the outer end outward of the tire,
- an interior wall in the housing defining an air flow passage through the housing,
- a main valve seat in the passage between the outer and inner ends,
- a main valve member slidable between seated and unseated positions relative to the valve seat for alternatively blocking and unblocking the flow of air through the passage,
- a means for biasing the main valve member toward the seated position,
- a shaft means extending through the main valve member and having an outer end accessible for depression contact by an air filler tip and having an inner end at the inner end of the housing,
- means for maintaining an air-tight seal between the main valve member and the shaft means while allowing relative sliding movement therebetween,
- a sensor valve seat formed in the housing,
- a sensor valve member supported by the shaft means at the inner end thereof and moveable upon sliding movement of the shaft means between seated and unseated positions relative to the sensor valve seat,
- sensor spring means for biasing the sensor valve member toward its unseated position,
- the sensor valve member having a valve face oriented downstream and exposed to air pressure within the tire or tube for biasing the sensor valve member toward its seated position and for yielding to allow the sensor valve member to move to its unseated position when the force applied by the sensor spring means exceeds the force resulting from tire or tube pressure against the face of the sensor valve member,
- and means responsive to movement of the sensor valve member to its unseated position for indicating a low pressure condition in the tire or tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.