Visual tire cap pressure indicator

• US 5,929,330 A
• Filed: 04/28/1998
• Issued: 07/27/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert P. Ford
• Original Assignee: Robert P. Ford
• Inventors: Ford, Robert P.
• Primary Examiner(s): FELBER, JOSEPH LEON
• Application Number:
  US09/067,686
• Time in Patent Office: 455 Days
• Field of Search: 73/146.8, 73/715, 73/744
• US Class Current: 73/146.8
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/0496 Valve stem attachments positioned outside of the tyre chamber

Abstract

A pressure gauge for a pressurized device is disclosed that provides a simple, efficient and highly visual indication of pressure change from a normal condition to various abnormal conditions. The pressure gauge includes a chamber, a pressure converter located within or operably associated with the chamber, a rotary member coupled to the converter and having an indicator pattern and a cap including at least one window through which at least a portion of the indicator pattern is viewable. Once the gauge is brought into fluid communication with a pressurized device, then the cap may be rotated or adjusted to align the windows with a desired marker type placing the gauge in a normal or first indicator data. A change in pressure in the chamber will cause the gauge to undergo a change to a new or different indicator state.

Claims

1. A gauge comprising:

a. a chamber adapted to be placed in fluid communication with a pressurized device;

b. a converter operably associated with the chamber;

c. a cylindrical rotary member coupled to the converter including an open-ended bottom, a closed-ended top, a side portion extending from top to bottom and an indicator pattern on the exterior surface of the side portion; and

d. a cap covering the rotary member including an open-ended cap bottom, a closed-ended cap top, a cap side portion extending from top to bottom, a cylindrical inner surface co-axial with the exterior surface of the rotary member, and a plurality of windows having a width,

where in response to a change in chamber pressure, the converter moves causing the rotary member to rotate relative to the cap windows changing an indicator state from a first state to a second state where the indicator state is viewable from the cap side.

2. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the pressure converter comprises a bourdon tube including an hermetically sealed end, an open end, and a twist where an interior of the tube is in fluid communication with the chamber at its open end, the sealed end is operatively connected to the rotary member, and a change in chamber pressure causes the tube to rotate the rotary member.

3. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the pressure converter comprises;

i. a piston including a bottom surface and a top surface;

ii. a track member having a twist angle attached to or integral with the top surface of the piston;

iii. a follower member including a slit designed to slidingly engage and follow the track member and designed to be affixed to or be integral with the rotary member;

iv. a flexible diaphragm sealingly engaging the chamber having a chamber side and a piston side where the piston side is affixed to the bottom surface of the piston, where the diaphragm is adapted to isolate the chamber from the piston, the track member, the follower member, the rotary member and the cap and where the diaphragm has a elastic resistance to deformation; and

where a change in chamber pressure causes the piston and the track member to move up or down causing the follower member and the rotary member to rotate.

4. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the rotary member top includes a second indicator pattern and where the cap top includes at least one cap top window.

5. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the cap is adjustable for setting the gauge to the first indicator state.

6. The gauge of claim 1, the cap further including a plurality of masks having a mask width and pattern and wherein the indicator pattern comprises a plurality of marker patterns, each marker pattern having a marker pattern width.

7. The gauge of claim 6, wherein each marker pattern comprises a repeating sequence of bands, each band having a band width and pattern.

8. The gauge of claim 7, wherein a first band in the repeating sequence of bands has a first band pattern, a second band in the repeating sequence of bands has a second band pattern and a third band in the repeating sequence of bands has a third band pattern.

9. The gauge of claim 8, wherein the first band pattern is a first color, the second band pattern is a second color and the third band pattern is a third color.

10. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the indicator pattern comprises a plurality of a first marker pattern having a first marker width, a plurality of a second marker pattern having a second marker width and a plurality of a third marker pattern having a third marker width, and the cap window width is equal to the first marker width and the cap further including a plurality of masks having a mask width equal to the first marker width and a pattern equal to the first marker pattern.

11. The gauge of claim 6, wherein the patterns are solid colors.

12. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the gauge is a tire valve cap pressure gauge and the pressurized device is a tire.

13. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the converter comprises:

i. a cylindrical cam including a cylindrical surface having at least one helical groove where the helical groove has a helical angle and adapted to engage at least one tab on an interior surface of the rotary member; and

ii. a bias member comprising;

(a) a spring having a spring constant interposed between a top of the cam and a bottom of the cap where the spring asserts a downward force on the cam;

or

(b) a flexible diaphragm sealingly engaging and isolating the chamber from the cam, the indicator and the cap, where the cam side of the diaphragm is affixed to a bottom of the cam and where the diaphragm has a elastic resistance to deformation.

14. The gauge of claim 13, wherein the spring constant and the helical angle or the elastic resistance to deformation and the helical angle cooperate so that a pressure change in the chamber between about 3 psi to about 5 psi results in a visual change in indicator state.

15. The gauge of claim 1, wherein the converter comprises:

i. a cylindrical cam including a cylindrical surface having at least one helical groove where the helical groove has a helical angle and adapted to engage at least one tab on an interior surface of the rotary member;

ii. a bias member comprising a spring having a spring constant interposed between a top of the cam and a bottom of the cap where the spring asserts a downward force on the cam; and

iii. a flexible diaphragm sealingly engaging and isolating the chamber from the cam, the indicator and the cap, where the cam side of the diaphragm is in contact with a bottom of the cam.

16. The gauge of claim 15, wherein the diaphragm is inelastic.

17. The gauge of claim 16, wherein the spring constant and the helical angle cooperate so that a pressure change in the chamber between about 3 psi to about 5 psi results in a visual change in indicator state.

18. A method comprising the steps of:

a. attaching to a pressurized device a gauge comprising;

i. a chamber adapted to be placed in fluid communication with a pressurized device;

ii. a converter operably associated with the chamber;

iii. a cylindrical rotary member coupled to the converter including an open-ended bottom, a closed-ended top, a side portion extending from top to bottom and an indicator pattern on the exterior surface of the side portion; and

iv. a cap covering the rotary member including an open-ended cap bottom, a closed-ended cap top, a cap side portion extending from top to bottom, a cylindrical inner surface co-axial with the exterior surface of the rotary member, and a plurality of windows where each window has a width,

where in response to a change in chamber pressure, the converter moves causing the rotary member to rotate relative to the cap windows changing an indicator state from an initial state to a new state where the indicator state is viewable from the cap side.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of:

b. rotating the cap to the initial state.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of:

c. observing the new state.