Collapsible handgrip for inflator
View Patent ↗An inflator includes a hollow handgrip and an air cylinder having a shaft. One end of the shaft is connected with a piston in the cylinder and the other end of the shaft is provided with a stud extending out of the cylinder. A bottom wall and an opening are arranged respectively at opposite ends of the handgrip. A tapped hole is formed in the bottom wall for locking the stud. Through the opening, the cylinder may be stored in the handgrip to lessen the volume of the inflator. When using the inflator, a user draws the cylinder out of the handgrip and lock the stud to the tapped hole through the bottom end of the handgrip to thereby extend the shaft. Air is pumped out through an outlet of the cylinder by reciprocal axial motion of the shaft.
1. An inflator comprising:
an air cylinder having a shaft extendcd out of said air cylinder and a stud formed at an end of said shaft; and
a handgrip for removably attached to said air cylinder, said handgrip having a hollow tubular body, an opening at a first end and a bottom wall at a second end, said bottom wall having a tapped hole for receiving said stud;
wherein said air cylinder is receivable within said handgrip through said opening and said stud is locked and received in said tapped hole from an interior side of said bottom wall when said inflator is not in use, and said handgrip forms an extension or said shaft by locking said stud into said tapped hole from an exterior side of said bottom wall when said inflator is in use.
2. The inflator according to claim 1 , wherein said shaft has a non-circular cross section so that said shaft can not be rotated within said air cylinder.
3. The inflator according to claim 1 , wherein a flange is formed on an outer surface of said air cylinder and a groove is formed on an inner wall of said handgrip so that said flange is engageable with said groove for fixing said air cylinder in said handgrip.