Pump and housing configuration for inflating and deflating an air mattress

Abstract

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.

1 . An airbed system, comprising:
 an air mattress having at least one air mattress chamber;   a boundary-layer pump connected to the at least one air mattress, configured to fill the at least one air mattress with gas, the boundary-layer pump comprising:
 a pressure recovery chamber housing including a pressure recovery chamber, a pump inlet, and a pump outlet; 
 a plurality of disks within the pressure recovery chamber; and 
 a motor attached to the plurality of disks, configured to rotate the plurality of disks; 
 wherein the plurality of disks are configured such that rotation of the plurality of disks, utilizing viscous boundary layer adhesion forces, imparts a velocity profile having a centrifugal component and a radial component to gas entering the boundary-layer pump through the pump inlet so as to impel the gas radially outwards from centers of the plurality of disks towards edges of the plurality of disks based on the imparted velocity profile; and 
   a control unit, configured to receive user input corresponding to increasing or decreasing the pressure in the at least one air mattress chamber and to control the boundary-layer pump based on the received user input;   wherein the pressure recovery chamber comprises a pressure recovery involute spanning approximately 360 degrees having a curvature defined by the edges of the plurality of disks and interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing, wherein the width of the pressure recovery involute, defined by the distance between the edges of the plurality of disks and the interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing, decreases along the pressure recovery involute from the pump outlet to a region of the pressure recovery involute farthest from the pump outlet along a flow path of the pressure recovery involute.   
     
     
         2 . The airbed system of  claim 1 , wherein the boundary-layer pump further comprises:
 a base disk, positioned farther from the pump inlet than the plurality of disks.   
     
     
         3 . The airbed system of  claim 2 , wherein the base disk is closest to the motor out of the plurality of disks. 
     
     
         4 . The airbed system of  claim 2 , wherein the base disk is farthest from the motor out of the plurality of disks. 
     
     
         5 . The airbed system of  claim 1 , wherein dimensions of the pressure recovery involute are based on disk geometry, number of disks, and an operable range of revolutions per minute. 
     
     
         6 . The airbed system of  claim 1 , wherein disks of the plurality of disks include disk inlet areas. 
     
     
         7 . The airbed system of  claim 6 , wherein the disk inlet areas of the plurality of disks forms a tapered flow channel. 
     
     
         8 . The airbed system of  claim 1 , wherein the motor is reversible; and
 wherein operation of the motor in one direction corresponds to a pumping operation with respect to the at least one air mattress chamber and operation of the motor in the other direction corresponds to a powered dumping operation with respect to the at least one air mattress chamber.   
     
     
         9 . The airbed system of  claim 8 , wherein the boundary-layer pump further comprises:
 an exhaust outlet;   a plug, configured to isolate the pressure recovery chamber from the exhaust outlet in a first position during filling operation and, in a second position, to connect the pressure recovery chamber to the exhaust outlet during the powered dumping operation; and   a valve for blocking the pump inlet during the powered dumping operation;   wherein the plurality of disks are further configured such that rotation of the plurality of disks in a reverse direction during powered dumping operation impels gas entering the boundary-layer pump through the pump outlet towards the exhaust outlet.   
     
     
         10 . The airbed system of  claim 9 , wherein the pressure recovery chamber includes a first pressure recovery involute geometry during the filling operation defined by the edges of the plurality of disks, interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing, and the plug in the first position, and wherein the pressure recovery chamber includes a second pressure recovery involute geometry during the powered dumping operation defined by the edges of the plurality of disks, interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing, and the plug in the second position. 
     
     
         11 . The airbed system of  claim 8 , wherein the boundary-layer pump further comprises:
 an exhaust outlet; and   an adjustable sheath, configured to isolate the pressure recovery chamber from the exhaust outlet during filling operation in a first position, and further configured to connect the pressure recovery chamber to the exhaust outlet during the powered dumping operation and block the pump inlet during powered dumping operation in a second position;   wherein the plurality of disks are further configured such that rotation of the plurality of disks in a reverse direction during the powered dumping operation impels gas entering the boundary-layer pump through the pump outlet towards the exhaust outlet.   
     
     
         12 . The airbed system of  claim 11 , wherein the pressure recovery chamber includes a first pressure recovery involute geometry during the filling operation defined by the edges of the plurality of disks, interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing, and the adjustable sheath in the first position; and a second pressure recovery involute geometry during the powered dumping defined by the edges of the plurality of disks, interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing, and the adjustable sheath in the second position. 
     
     
         13 . The airbed system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a manifold chamber, wherein the boundary-layer pump is connected to the air mattress via the manifold chamber.   
     
     
         14 . The airbed system of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a dump channel, configured to provide a connection between the manifold chamber and the pump inlet during a powered dumping operation.   
     
     
         15 . The airbed system of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 means for switching the system between modes of operation, the modes of operation including an inflate operation where operation of the boundary-layer pump impels gas from the boundary-layer pump into a chamber of the air mattress and a powered dumping operation where operation of the boundary-layer pump impels gas from the chamber of the air mattress out of the boundary-layer pump.   
     
     
         16 . The airbed system of  claim 13 , wherein the air mattress comprises a plurality of chambers and the manifold chamber is connected to the plurality of chambers of the air mattress; and
 wherein the manifold chamber is configured to provide independent pumping or powered dumping operations with respect to each of the plurality of air chambers of the air mattress.   
     
     
         17 . The airbed system of  claim 13 , wherein the manifold chamber is switchable between different configurations, including a configuration where one air chamber of the air mattress is inflated while another air chamber of the air mattress is deflated. 
     
     
         18 . The airbed system of  claim 13 , wherein the manifold chamber is switchable between different configurations, including configurations where multiple air chambers of the air mattress are simultaneously inflated or deflated. 
     
     
         19 . A boundary-layer pump for an airbed system, the boundary-layer pump comprising:
 a pressure recovery chamber including:
 a pressure recovery involute; 
 a pump inlet for receiving gas into the pressure recovery chamber; and 
 a pump outlet connected to the air mattress chamber; 
   a plurality of disks within the pressure recovery chamber; and   a motor for rotating the plurality of disks;   wherein the plurality of disks are configured such that rotation of the plurality of disks, utilizing viscous boundary layer adhesion forces, imparts a velocity profile having a centrifugal component and a radial component to gas entering the boundary-layer pump through the pump inlet so as to impel the gas radially outwards from centers of the plurality of disks towards edges of the plurality of disks based on the imparted velocity profile; and   wherein the pressure recovery involute has a curvature defined by the edges of the plurality of disks and interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing spanning approximately 360 degrees, wherein the width of the pressure recovery involute, defined by the distance between the edges of the plurality of disks and the interior walls of the pressure recovery chamber housing, decreases along the pressure recovery involute from the pump outlet to a region of the pressure recovery involute farthest from the pump outlet.   
     
     
         20 . The boundary-layer pump of  claim 19 , wherein the motor is reversible; and
 wherein operation of the motor in one direction corresponds to a pumping operation with respect to the at least one air mattress chamber and operation of the motor in the other direction corresponds to a powered dumping operation with respect to the at least one air mattress chamber.