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US-12625024-B2 - Pressurized air apparatuses and associated processing circuitry

US12625024B2US 12625024 B2US12625024 B2US 12625024B2US-12625024-B2

Abstract

Pressurized air apparatuses and associated methods are described. According to one aspect, a pressurized air apparatus includes an air input configured to receive pressurized air, a pressure sensor configured to receive the pressurized air from the air input, measure a plurality of different pressures of the pressurized air at a plurality of moments in time, and generate a plurality of signals that are indicative of the different pressures of the pressurized air, processing circuitry configured to receive the signals from the pressure sensor, and process the signals to select one of the signals and disregard others of the signals, and a user interface configured to communicate a value indicative of the pressure of the pressurized air that corresponds to the selected one of the signals to an operator of the pressurized air apparatus.

Inventors

  • ERIK J. CEGNAR

Assignees

  • BOONIE LABS LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20220217

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A pressurized air apparatus comprising: an air input configured to receive pressurized air from a pressurized volume of air; a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the air input, and wherein the pressure sensor is configured to: receive the pressurized air from the air input; measure a plurality of different pressures of the pressurized air at a plurality of moments in time; and generate a plurality of signals that are indicative of the different pressures of the pressurized air measured by the pressure sensor at the plurality of moments in time; processing circuitry coupled with the pressure sensor, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: receive the plurality of signals from the pressure sensor; and process the signals to select one of the signals and disregard others of the signals; and a user interface coupled with the processing circuitry, and wherein the user interface is configured to communicate a value indicative of the pressure of the pressurized air that corresponds to the selected one of the signals to an operator of the pressurized air apparatus.
  2. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to select the one of the signals as a result of the selected one of the signals corresponding to a maximum of the measured pressures of the pressurized air compared with other ones of the measured pressures of the pressurized air of the others of the signals.
  3. 3 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least a substantially airtight seal is formed between the air input and the pressurized volume of air, and wherein the pressure sensor is configured to measure the different pressures of the pressurized air prior to and after the formation of the at least substantially airtight seal.
  4. 4 . The apparatus of claim 3 wherein at least one of the moments in time occurs after breakage of the at least substantially airtight seal.
  5. 5 . The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the pressurized air apparatus is a hand held apparatus, and the operator forms and breaks the at least substantially airtight seal.
  6. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least a substantially airtight seal is formed with respect to the pressurized volume of air, wherein the at least substantially airtight seal is temporary, and wherein the user interface is configured to communicate the value of the pressure of the pressurized air to the operator after breakage of the at least substantially airtight seal.
  7. 7 . The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an interface comprising the air input and configured to form at least a substantially airtight seal with a valve of the pressurized volume of air.
  8. 8 . The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the interface is configured to open the valve during the interfacing of the air input with the valve.
  9. 9 . The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a pump configured to increase pressure of the pressurized air, and wherein the pump comprises an outlet configured to output the pressurized air to an air chamber of an inflatable device and the air input.
  10. 10 . The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the pump comprises a handle used by the operator of the pressurized air apparatus to increase the pressure of the pressurized air, and wherein the user interface is coupled with the handle in a position to be observed by the operator.
  11. 11 . The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the pump is configured to increase the pressure of the pressurized air over a plurality of pump cycles, the pressure of the pressurized air increases during the pump cycles, and the processing circuitry is configured to select the one of the signals corresponding to a maximum pressure of the pressurized air and to disregard the others of the signals as a result of the others of the signals corresponding to pressures of the pressurized air that are less than the maximum pressure.
  12. 12 . The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the pump is configured to increase the pressure of the pressurized air over a plurality of pump cycles, the pressure of the pressurized air increases and decreases during each of the pump cycles, and the processing circuitry is configured to select the one of the signals as a result of the one selected signal corresponding to a maximum pressure of the pressurized air during one of the pump cycles.
  13. 13 . The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the pump is configured to increase the pressure of the pressurized air over a plurality of pump cycles, the pressure of the pressurized air increases and decreases during each of the pump cycles, and the processing circuitry is configured to select the one of the signals and plurality of additional signals as a result of the one signal and the additional signals corresponding to a plurality of maximum pressures of the pressurized air during respective ones of the pump cycles, and the user interface is configured to communicate a plurality of additional values to the operator that correspond to the additional signals.
  14. 14 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the user interface comprises a display configured to visually convey the value to the operator of the pressurized air apparatus.
  15. 15 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of moments in time are moments of time over a period of time, and wherein the user interface is configured to communicate the value of the pressure of the pressurized air to the operator after the period of time.
  16. 16 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pressure of the pressurized air rises to a maximum and thereafter decreases, and the user interface is configured to communicate the value of the maximum during the decreasing of the pressure of the pressurized air.
  17. 17 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pressure of the pressurized air rises to a maximum and thereafter decreases during each of a plurality of cycles, and the user interface is configured to communicate the value and a plurality of additional values that are indicative of the maximums of the pressure of the pressurized air for respective ones of the cycles.
  18. 18 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the signals individually comprise data that is indicative of the pressure of the pressurized air at one of the moments in time, and the processing circuitry is configured to process the data of the signals to select the one of the signals and disregard the others of the signals.
  19. 19 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the signals individually comprise data that is indicative of the pressure of the pressurized air at one of the moments in time, and the processing circuitry is configured to compare the pressures of the pressurized air of the signals to select the one of the signals and disregard the others of the signals.
  20. 20 . The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to select the one of the signals and disregard the others of the signals as a result of the data of the one of the signals indicating a pressure of the pressurized air that is greater than the pressures of the pressurized air indicated by the data of the others of the signals.

Description

RELATED PATENT DATA This application claims priority to PCT/US2022/016849, which has an international filing date of Feb. 17, 2022, entitled “Pressurized Air Apparatuses and Associated Methods”, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/152,455, filed Feb. 23, 2021, entitled “Pressure Measurement Apparatus”, and the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to pressurized air apparatuses and associated methods. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure relates to pressurized air apparatuses and associated methods for facilitating the determination of air pressures within a pressurized volume of air, such as an inflatable watercraft, tire, etc. As described herein, one embodiment of a pressurized air apparatus is configured to inflate or increase the air pressure within an associated pressurized volume of air and to communicate the pressure of the pressured air within the pressurized volume to an operator of the pressurized air apparatus. Another embodiment of a pressurized air apparatus is configured to interface with a pressurized volume of air and to communicate the pressure of the pressurized air within the pressurized volume to an operator of the pressurized air apparatus. According to some embodiments described herein, a plurality of outputs of a pressure sensor are processed and some outputs are disregarded and one of the outputs is selected and a corresponding value of the selected output is communicated to an operator of the pressurized air apparatus and is indicative of the measured air pressure. Other example aspects of pressurized air apparatuses and associated methods are described herein as is apparent from the following detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Example embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to the following accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pressurized air apparatus according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional diagram of the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of electrical components of a pressurized air apparatus according to one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a pressure gauge according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 is an illustrative view of a pressurized air apparatus and an inflatable watercraft according to one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the pressurized air apparatus and inflatable watercraft of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a pressurized air apparatus and tire according to one embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flow chart of processing performed by a pressurized air apparatus according to one embodiment. FIG. 9 is a graphical representation of air pressure over time during pumping and inflation of an inflatable device. FIG. 10 is a graphical representation of air pressure over time during a spot-check of pressure of an inflatable device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure is submitted in furtherance of the constitutional purposes of the U.S. Patent Laws “to promote the progress of science and useful arts” (Article 1, Section 8). Referring to FIG. 1, a pressurized air apparatus 10 is shown according to one embodiment. The depicted apparatus 10 includes a pressure gauge 100 integrated with a hand inflation pump 200 that is configured to increase the pressure within a pressurized volume of air. The depicted pump 200 includes a pump compression chamber 209, handle 210 and an outlet in the form of a connection hose 205 that is configured to be coupled with and provide pressurized air to an inflatable device or chamber (not shown in FIG. 1) during pump cycles where handle 210 is raised and lowered. Pressure gauge 100 is configured to measure air pressure within connection hose 205 and communicate information regarding the measured air pressure to an operator of the apparatus 10. Pressure gauge 100 comprises a user interface in the form of a display 101 that is configured to visually depict measured air pressure for observation by an operator of apparatus 10 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 although the measured air may be communicated to the operator in other ways in other embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment, the gauge 100 is coupled with the handle 200 and display 101 is positioned to be observed by the operator of the apparatus 10. The illustrated pump is one possible pump implementation and other pump configurations are possible. Referring to FIG. 2, operation of pump 200 is described with respect to inflation of an inflatable air chamber of an inflatable device 204. Example inflatable devices 204 include watercraft, tires or tubes for tires in example embodiments and may include a valve 301 to maintain air pressure within the air chamber. The pump 200 has a piston 208 that is coupled with handle 210 of FIG. 1 and which moves in an up and down motion 201 in one or more pump cycles (each pump cycle including an upstroke and downstroke).