Ball inflating apparatus and method

Claim 2

In an apparatus for automatic inflation of inflatable balls of type each having an integral elastic valve housing apertured for inward yielding reception of a closure adapted to retain inflating fluid in the balls, comprising, top and bottom guide means, top and bottom slide members slidably received in said top and bottom guide means respectively, an inflation needle having a distal end and coacting with said top slide member to be reciprocated toward and from a fixed position on said support member to project the distal end of the needle freely of the support member, ball supporting means in association with said support member and to align the valve housing aperture with said needle, means for reciprocating said needle to and from reception of said distal end thereof into the apertured valve housing of a ball for inflating the ball to a predetermined size, and closure applying means operable in synchronism with retraction of the reciprocated inflation needle to inject a said closure into yielding reception thereof within the elastic ball valve housing aperture for maintaining the ball in inflated condition.

Claim 3

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1, said ball supporting means including ball sizing and gripping means located in relation to said fixed position on the support member for gripping coaction with the ball, and means adapted for coaction with said ball sizing and gripping means for operation in response to expansion of the ball to predetermined expanded diameter to cause retraction of said needle and actuation of said closure applying means.

Claim 4

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said inflation needle and said closure applying means are carried by said top slide member for shifting movement therewith.

Claim 5

Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said sizing and gripping means includes laterally disposed disc members adapted to engage the sides of the ball, and means for biasing the disc members toward one another.

Claim 6

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support member comprises a generally vertically extending opening therethrough communicating at one end thereof with said top guide means and at the other end thereof with the exterior underside of said support member, said top slide member having a pair of laterally spaced generally vertically extending openings provided therethrough, said inflation needle extending into one of the last mentioned vertically extending openings and said closure applying means extending into the other of the same, and said last mentioned vertically extending openings being adapted to be sequentially aligned with the first mentioned vertically extending opening for sequential movement of first the needle and then the closure applying means through said support member opening for coaction with the ball.

Claim 7

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including reciprocal fluid powered motor means coacting with said inflation needle and with said closure applying means for reciprocating the same.

Claim 8

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said closure applying means comprises a plunger member including a reciprocal plunger rod extending parallel to said needle, said rod being operable for engaging a said closure and forcing the latter into the valve housing aperture.

Claim 9

Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 including a motor unit operatively coupled to said top slide member for shifting the latter with respect to said opening in said support member and with respect to said bottom slide member, to sequentially align the needle and the closure applying means with the support member opening, said bottom slide member having a generally vertical opening therethrough adapted for receiving a said closure applying means in the starting position of said bottom slide member and operable to locate said bottom slide member opening with said other of said last mentioned openings in a shifted stop position of said bottom slide member.

Claim 10

Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 including motor means coacting with said sizing and gripping means for actuating said sizing and gripping means after injection of said closure applying means into the valve housing for permitting the ball to drop by gravity from said sizing and gripping means.

Claim 11

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including control means for controlling automatic operation of said apparatus through a predetermined cycle of operation, said control means including means responsive to insertion of a ball into coaction with the distal end of said needle to initiate flow of inflating fluid through the needle and into the ball to inflate the latter.

Claim 12

Apparatus in accordance with claim 9 including control means for controlling automatic operation of said apparatus through a predetermined cycle of operation, said closure applying means including reciprocal plunger means, said control means including timer means for causing the retraction of said reciprocal plunger means after insertion of the closure device into the valve housing aperture and causing actaution of said motor means coacting with said sizing and gripping means.

Claim 13

Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said bottom slide member includes aperture means adapted to receive therein a said closure whereby said bottom slide member upon shifting movement thereof from said fixed position to a predetermined stop position, locates the closure in overlying relation with the valve housing aperture for subsequent insertion therein by said closure applying means.

Claim 14

Apparatus in accordance with claim 12 wherein said means for supplying said closures includes a rod of plastic material the end of which is adapted to be received within said aperture means in said bottom slide member in the start position of the latter, said bottom slide member being operative to automatically shear the end of the rod from the remainder of the rod during shifting movement of said bottom slide member from said start position toward said stop position, thereby to form a closure plug for subsequent insertion into the valve housing aperture of the ball by said closure applying means.

Claim 15

Apparatus for inflating balls having apertured valve housings comprising, a supporting base provided with a generally horizontally extending first guide passage and a second generally horizontal guide passage extending generally transversely of said first guide passage, said base having generally vertically extending passageway means therethrough communicating with said first and second guide passages and with the exterior of said base, first and second guide elements mounted in said first and second guide passages respectively to be slidable therein from respective start positions toward given stop positions and return of said slide elements back to said start positions, said slide elements being provided with generally vertical apertures alignable with each other and with the first mentioned passageway means in said positions, feeding means for feeding ball valve closure means into one of said apertures in said second slide element while said first and second slide elements are in certain of said positions thereof, said first slide element carrying a reciprocal inflation element and a reciprocal closure inserting element laterally spaced with respect to one another, motor means for reciprocating said first slide element to alternately align said inflation element and then said inserting element with said first mentioned passageway means, and vice versa, means to momentarily operate said inflation element in said ball to inflate the same and then to move said inflation element generally vertically out of said ball whereupon said motor means shifts said first slide element to its said stop position wherein said closure inserting element is aligned with said first passageway means, and means to cause shifting of said second slide element to a position wherein said one aperture thereof and the associated valve closure means therein are in alignment with said first mentioned passageway means, and means for causing reciprocation of said closure inserting element to cause injection of said valve closure means into the valve housing aperture of the ball for maintaining the ball in inflated condition, and means for causing the last mentioned shifting means to return said second slide element to said start position and for causing said motor means to return said first slide element to said start position.

Claim 16

Apparatus for inflating balls having apertured valve housings comprising, a supporting base provided with a generally horizontally extending first guide passage and a second generally horizontal guide passage extending generally transversely of said first guide passage, said base having generally vertically extending passageway means therethrough communicating with said first and second guide passages and with the exterior of said base, first and second guide elements mounted in said first and second guide passages respectively to be slidable therein from respective start positions toward given stop positions and return of said slide elements back to said start positions, said slide elements being provided with generally vertical apertures alignable with each other and with the first mentioned passageway means in said positions, feeding means for feeding ball valve closure means into one of said apertures in said second slide element while said first and second slide elements are in certain of said positions thereof, said first slide element carrying a reciprocal inflation element and a reciprocal closure inserting element laterally spaced with respect to one another, motor means for reciprocating said first slide element to alternately align said inflation element and then said inserting element with said first mentioned passageway means, and vice versa, means to momentarily operate said inflation element in said ball to inflate the same and then to move said inflation element generally vertically out of said ball whereupon said motor means shifts said first slide element to its said stop position wherein said closure inserting element is aligned with said first passageway means, and means to cause shifting of said second slide element to a position wherein said one aperture thereof and the associated valve closure means therein are in alignment with said first mentioned passageway means, and means for causing reciprocation of said closure inserting element to cause injection of said valve closure means into the valve housing aperture of the ball for maintaining the ball in inflated condition, and means for causing the last mentioned shifting means to return said second slide element to said start position and for causing said motor means to return said first slide element to said start position.

Claim 19

A method in accordance with claim 15 including the step of cutting a valve closure from a continuous supply of valve closure material and positioning the cut valve closure over the valve aperture in a single laterally shifting operation moving transversely of the first mentioned shifting movement of said inflation element.

Claim 20

A method in accordance with claim 15 wherein the ball is impaled upon the inflation element by moving the ball upwardly into coacting relation with the inflation element while the latter extends downwardly.

Claim 21

A method in accordance with claim 15 including the step of heating the ball prior to inflating it so that the defining wall thereof can be readily stretched during inflation of the ball to permit predetermined enlargement of the ball by the inflating fluid.