Preloaded fluid bladder with integral pump

Abstract

A thermoplastic bladder and pump combination comprises three coextensive superposed layers of thermoplastic material peripherally sealed to one another to thereby form a bladder having upper and lower co-extensive air chambers. The upper chamber is defined by the upper and intermediate layers and the lower chamber is defined by the intermediate and lower layers. The lower chamber is permanently inflated at the time of manufacture or assembly into a final product and the fluid pressure in the upper chamber can be modulated by the user who may alternately inflate and deflate the chamber by using an integral pump and release valve which are each disposed on the upper layer. The lower chamber may be filled using a thermoplastic intake check valve sealed between the layers defining that chamber and the superposed layers may be peripherally fused together, as by heat sealing or the like.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.