Pump and housing configuration for inflating and deflating an air mattress

摘要

Efficient systems and methods for inflating, deflating, or simultaneously inflating and deflating air mattress chambers using various pump and pump housing configurations are provided. Examples of the various pump and pump housing configurations include: boundary-layer pumps having single disk array or multiple disk array layouts, different disk geometries, different pressure recovery chamber geometries, adjustable components for switching between filling and powered dumping operations, and reversible and non-reversible motors; and pump housings having one or more dump channels for manifold-driven powered dumping, multiple sides or stages for pressure and/or flow compounding, various manifold chamber configurations for robust connectivity with air mattresses having multiple chambers, and various valve configurations for flexible control over filling, powered dumping, and simultaneous filling and powered dumping operations. Pump products having pumps and pump housings designed according to the principles described herein are able to satisfy a wide range of different performance and cost requirements.

主权项

1. An air mattress pumping system for inflating and deflating an air mattress, the air mattress having a plurality of chambers, the system comprising:
a pumping apparatus, comprising a first pumping element and a second pumping element; a manifold, configured to connect the first and second pumping elements of the pumping apparatus to the plurality of chambers of the air mattress and configured to be switched between multiple configurations; and means for independently operating each of the first pumping element and the second pumping element in one of multiple modes of operation, the modes of operation including an inflate operation wherein operation of the respective pumping element impels gas entering the pumping apparatus into a chamber of the air mattress and a powered deflate operation wherein operation of the respective pumping element impels gas from a chamber of the air mattress out of the pumping apparatus; wherein in a first configuration of the manifold, an outlet of the first pumping element is connected to a first chamber of the air mattress and an outlet of the second pumping element is connected to a second chamber of the air mattress; wherein in a second configuration of the manifold, an inlet of the first pumping element is connected to the first chamber of the air mattress and the outlet of the second pumping element is connected to the second chamber of the air mattress; and wherein in a third configuration of the manifold, the inlet of the first pumping element is connected to the first chamber of the air mattress and an inlet of the second pumping element is connected to the second chamber of the air mattress.