초록 ▼

A method allows for controlling the amount of electric current from an electrical circuit used by an electric motor in an electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit. A piston is reciprocated with a portable electric motor while air is channeled through an inlet into a compression cylind

A method allows for controlling the amount of electric current from an electrical circuit used by an electric motor in an electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit. A piston is reciprocated with a portable electric motor while air is channeled through an inlet into a compression cylinder, allowing the piston to draw on compressed amounts of air during each reciprocation. A valve mechanism is mounted to the inlet and is adjustable to a plurality of positions, each position allowing for one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to be permitted to be drawn into the compression cylinder and compressed. The valve mechanism is manually adjusted to control the amount of air drawn into the compression cylinder and compressed by the piston to control the amount of electric current used by the electric motor.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A method for controlling the amount of electric current from an electrical circuit that is used by an electric motor in a portable electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit comprising: reciprocating a piston in a compression cylinder, the piston being driven wit

What is claimed is: 1. A method for controlling the amount of electric current from an electrical circuit that is used by an electric motor in a portable electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit comprising: reciprocating a piston in a compression cylinder, the piston being driven with a portable electric motor; channeling air into the compression cylinder through an inlet that is connected to the compression cylinder to allow the piston to draw and compress amounts of air during each reciprocation; determining the amount of electric current that is used by the electric motor when each of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air is permitted to be drawn into the compression cylinder and to be compressed by the piston during each reciprocation of the piston; providing a valve mechanism that is mounted to the inlet and that is adjustable to a plurality of positions, each position of the valve mechanism allowing for one of the plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to be permitted to be drawn into the compression cylinder and to be compressed by the piston during each reciprocation of the piston; and manually adjusting the valve mechanism to control the amount of air that is drawn into the compression cylinder and then compressed by the piston to control the amount of electric current that is used by the electric motor. 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting the valve mechanism to cause the amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston to increase to cause the amount of electric current that is used by the electric motor to increase. 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting the valve mechanism to cause the amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston to decrease to cause the amount of electric current that is used by the electric motor to decrease. 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting the valve mechanism to one of a plurality of incremental positions, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet for each intake stroke, each predeterminable amount of air drawn through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor. 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: providing a filter on the manually controllable valve mechanism; and filtering particles from air that enters the air compressor unit through the valve mechanism. 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism to change the position of the valve mechanism. 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism with a hand-operated electric control that uses electric current to change the position of the valve mechanism. 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, the valve mechanism being responsive to each of the plurality of selection conditions of the selector switch, the valve mechanism using electric current to assume an incremental position when the selection condition to which the incremental position of the valve mechanism is responsive is manually selected; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by hand operating the selector switch. 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a plurality of solenoid controls, each solenoid control having an ON condition and an OFF condition, each solenoid control corresponding to one of the incremental positions of the manually controllable valve mechanism and corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air flow through the inlet, the manually controllable valve mechanism being responsive to the ON condition and the OFF condition of each solenoid control, the manually controllable valve mechanism being configured to assume one of the incremental positions when a solenoid control corresponding to the same incremental position assumes an ON condition; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, each solenoid control being responsive to one of the plurality of the selection conditions of the selector switch wherein each solenoid control assumes an ON condition when the selection condition to which the solenoid control is responsive is manually selected, and each solenoid control assumes an OFF condition when the selection switch assumes a condition to which the solenoid control is not responsive; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by moving the selector switch by hand to a selection condition. 10. A method for controlling the amount of electric current from an electrical circuit that is used by an electric motor in a portable electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit comprising: causing an electric motor to reciprocate a piston within a compressor's chamber of the compressor unit; channeling an amount of air into the compression cylinder through an inlet that is connected to the compression cylinder; manually controlling the amount of air that flows through the inlet with a valve mechanism that is mounted to the inlet by adjusting the valve mechanism to one of a plurality of positions, each position of the valve mechanism allowing one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet into the compression cylinder for each reciprocation of the piston, at least two of said plurality of positions allowing said predeterminable amounts of air to be greater than zero; manually adjusting the valve mechanism so that the amount of air that is compressed with each reciprocation of the piston increases to cause the amount of electric current that is used by the electric motor to increase; and manually adjusting the valve mechanism so that the amount of air that is compressed with each reciprocation of the piston decreases to cause the amount of electric current that is used by the electric motor to decrease. 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising adjusting the valve mechanism to one of a plurality of incremental positions, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet for each intake stroke, each predeterminable amount of air drawn through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor. 12. The method of claim 10 further comprising: providing a filter on the manually controllable valve mechanism; and filtering particles from air that enters the air compressor unit through the valve mechanism. 13. The method of claim 10 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism to change the position of the valve mechanism. 14. The method of claim 10 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism with a hand-operated electric control that uses electric current to change the position of the valve mechanism. 15. The method of claim 10 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, the valve mechanism being responsive to each of the plurality of selection conditions of the selector switch, the valve mechanism using electric current to assume an incremental position when the selection condition to which the incremental position of the valve mechanism is responsive is manually selected; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by hand operating the selector switch. 16. The method of claim 10 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a plurality of solenoid controls, each solenoid control having an ON condition and an OFF condition, each solenoid control corresponding to one of the incremental positions of the manually controllable valve mechanism and corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air flow through the inlet, the manually controllable valve mechanism being responsive to the ON condition and the OFF condition of each solenoid control, the manually controllable valve mechanism being configured to assume one of the incremental positions when a solenoid control corresponding to the same incremental position assumes an ON condition; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, each solenoid control being responsive to one of the plurality of the selection conditions of the selector switch wherein each solenoid control assumes an ON condition when the selection condition to which the solenoid control is responsive is manually selected, and each solenoid control assumes an OFF condition when the selection switch assumes a condition to which the solenoid control is not responsive; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by moving the selector switch by hand to a selection condition. 17. A method for limiting the amount of current used by an electric motor in a portable electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit that is connected to an electrical circuit having a predeterminable current capacity to a level that is below the current capacity of the electrical circuit, the method comprising: providing the electric motor driven portable compressor unit, the compressor unit having a compression cylinder and a piston, the piston being configured to be driven to reciprocate within the compression cylinder by the electric motor, the piston being configured to draw air into the compression cylinder through an inlet and then to compress and expel air that has been drawn into the compression cylinder through an outlet when the piston reciprocates; causing the electric motor to draw electrical current from the electrical circuit, the compressor unit being configured to increase the amount of electric current used by the electric motor when the amount of air that is drawn by the piston during each reciprocation increases, the compressor unit being configured to decrease the amount of electric current used by the electric motor when the amount of air that is drawn by the piston during each reciprocation decreases; providing a valve mechanism that is mounted to the inlet and that is manually adjustable to a plurality of positions, each position of the valve mechanism allowing for one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to be compressed by the piston during each reciprocation of the piston, at least two of said plurality of positions allowing said predeterminable amounts of air to be greater than zero; and manually adjusting the valve mechanism to one of the plurality of positions that allows a sufficiently small amount of air to be drawn through the inlet during each reciprocation of the piston that the amount of electricity used by the electric motor during each reciprocation of the piston is below the current capacity of the electrical circuit. 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising adjusting the valve mechanism to one of a plurality of incremental positions, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet for each intake stroke, each predeterminable amount of air drawn through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor. 19. The method of claim 17 further comprising: providing a filter on the manually controllable valve mechanism; and filtering particles from air that enters the air compressor unit through the valve mechanism. 20. The method of claim 17 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism to change the position of the valve mechanism. 21. The method of claim 17 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism with a hand-operated electric control that uses electric current to change the position of the valve mechanism. 22. The method of claim 17 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, the valve mechanism being responsive to each of the plurality of selection conditions of the selector switch, the valve mechanism using electric current to assume an incremental position when the selection condition to which the incremental position of the valve mechanism is responsive is manually selected; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by hand operating the selector switch. 23. The method of claim 17 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a plurality of solenoid controls, each solenoid control having an ON condition and an OFF condition, each solenoid control corresponding to one of the incremental positions of the manually controllable valve mechanism and corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air flow through the inlet, the manually controllable valve mechanism being responsive to the ON condition and the OFF condition of each solenoid control, the manually controllable valve mechanism being configured to assume one of the incremental positions when a solenoid control corresponding to the same incremental position assumes an ON condition; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, each solenoid control being responsive to one of the plurality of the selection conditions of the selector switch wherein each solenoid control assumes an ON condition when the selection condition to which the solenoid control is responsive is manually selected, and each solenoid control assumes an OFF condition when the selection switch assumes a condition to which the solenoid control is not responsive; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by moving the selector switch by hand to a selection condition. 24. A method for controlling the amount of electrical current used by an electric motor in a portable electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit that is connected to an electrical circuit having a predeterminable current capacity to control the amount of current that is available for use by devices other than the compressor unit that are also connected to the electrical circuit, the method comprising: providing the electric motor driven portable compressor unit, the compressor unit having a compression cylinder and a piston, the piston being configured to be driven to reciprocate within the compression cylinder by the electric motor, the piston being configured to draw air into the compression cylinder through an inlet and then to compress and expel air that has been drawn into the compression cylinder through an outlet when the piston reciprocates; causing the electric motor to draw electrical current from the electrical circuit, the compressor unit being configured to increase the amount of electrical current used by the electric motor when the amount of air that is drawn by the piston during each reciprocation increases, the compressor unit being configured to decrease the amount of electric current used by the electric motor when the amount of air that is drawn by the piston during each reciprocation decreases; providing a valve mechanism that is mounted to the inlet and that is manually adjustable to a plurality of positions, each position of the valve mechanism allowing for one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to be compressed by the piston during each reciprocation of the piston, at least two of said plurality of positions allowing said predeterminable amounts of air to be greater than zero; determining the amount of air that is necessary to be compressed with each reciprocation of the piston for the compressor unit to service a load of compressed air-driven apparatuses that receive compressed air from the compressor unit; determining the amount of electric current that is necessary for the electric motor to draw from the electrical circuit during each reciprocation of the piston to enable the piston to compress the amount of air that is necessary to service the load of air-driven apparatuses that receive compressed air from the compressor unit; and manually adjusting the valve mechanism to one of the plurality of positions that allows a sustaining amount of air to flow, for each reciprocation of the piston, that is at least sufficient to service the load of air-driven apparatuses that receive compressed air from the compressor unit, while causing the electric motor to draw only the amount of current from the electric circuit that is necessary to maintain the flow of the sustaining amount of air by the compressor unit. 25. The method of claim 24 further comprising adjusting the valve mechanism to one of a plurality of incremental positions, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet for each intake stroke, each predeterminable amount of air drawn through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor. 26. The method of claim 24 further comprising: providing a filter on the manually controllable valve mechanism; and filtering particles from air that enters the air compressor unit through the valve mechanism. 27. The method of claim 24 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism to change the position of the valve mechanism. 28. The method of claim 24 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism with a hand-operated electric control that uses electric current to change the position of the valve mechanism. 29. The method of claim 24 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, the valve mechanism being responsive to each of the plurality of selection conditions of the selector switch, the valve mechanism using electric current to assume an incremental position when the selection condition to which the incremental position of the valve mechanism is responsive is manually selected; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by hand operating the selector switch. 30. The method of claim 24 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a plurality of solenoid controls, each solenoid control having an ON condition and an OFF condition, each solenoid control corresponding to one of the incremental positions of the manually controllable valve mechanism and corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air flow through the inlet, the manually controllable valve mechanism being responsive to the ON condition and the OFF condition of each solenoid control, the manually controllable valve mechanism being configured to assume one of the incremental positions when a solenoid control corresponding to the same incremental position assumes an ON condition; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, each solenoid control being responsive to one of the plurality of the selection conditions of the selector switch wherein each solenoid control assumes an ON condition when the selection condition to which the solenoid control is responsive is manually selected, and each solenoid control assumes an OFF condition when the selection switch assumes a condition to which the solenoid control is not responsive; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by moving the selector switch by hand to a selection condition. 31. A method for controlling the number of devices that can be connected to an electrical circuit having a predeterminable current capacity by controlling the amount of current used by an electric motor in a portable electric motor driven reciprocating air compressor unit that is connected to the electrical circuit, the method comprising: providing the electric motor driven portable compressor unit, the compressor unit having a compression cylinder and a piston, the piston being configured to be driven to reciprocate within the compression cylinder by the electric motor, the compression cylinder being configured to draw air into the compression cylinder through an inlet and then to compress and expel air that has been drawn into the compression cylinder through an outlet when the piston reciprocates, providing a valve mechanism that is mounted to the inlet and that is manually adjustable to a plurality of positions, each position of the valve mechanism allowing for one of the plurality of predetermined amounts of air to be permitted to be drawn into the compression cylinder and to be compressed by the piston during each reciprocation of the piston; causing the electric motor to draw electrical current from the electrical circuit; determining the amount of electrical current that is necessary to operate the devices other than the compressor unit that are to be connected to the electrical circuit; and manually controlling with the valve mechanism the amount of air that is drawn through the inlet and compressed during each reciprocation of the piston to control the amount of electric current that is used by the electric motor to drive the piston and to restrict the amount of electrical current used by the electric motor to a level that is necessary to allow for sufficient remaining current in the electrical circuit to operate the devices other than the compressor unit that are also connected to the electrical circuit. 32. The method of claim 31 further comprising adjusting the valve mechanism to one of a plurality of incremental positions, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet for each intake stroke, each predeterminable amount of air drawn through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor. 33. The method of claim 31 further comprising: providing a filter on the manually controllable valve mechanism; and filtering particles from air that enters the air compressor unit through the valve mechanism. 34. The method of claim 31 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism to change the position of the valve mechanism. 35. The method of claim 31 further comprising hand operating the manually controllable valve mechanism with a hand-operated electric control that uses electric current to change the position of the valve mechanism. 36. The method of claim 31 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each compression stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, the valve mechanism being responsive to each of the plurality of selection conditions of the selector switch, the valve mechanism using electric current to assume an incremental position when the selection condition to which the incremental position of the valve mechanism is responsive is manually selected; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by hand operating the selector switch. 37. The method of claim 31 further comprising: providing a plurality of incremental positions on the manually controlled valve mechanism, each incremental position corresponding to one of a plurality of predeterminable amounts of air to flow through the inlet, each predeterminable amount of air flowing through the inlet corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston, each predeterminable amount of air that is compressed with each stroke of the piston corresponding to one predeterminable current level from the electrical circuit that is used by the motor; providing a plurality of solenoid controls, each solenoid control having an ON condition and an OFF condition, each solenoid control corresponding to one of the incremental positions of the manually controllable valve mechanism and corresponding to a predeterminable amount of air flow through the inlet, the manually controllable valve mechanism being responsive to the ON condition and the OFF condition of each solenoid control, the manually controllable valve mechanism being configured to assume one of the incremental positions when a solenoid control corresponding to the same incremental position assumes an ON condition; providing a selector switch, the selector switch having a plurality of selection conditions, each selection condition corresponding to an incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism, each solenoid control being responsive to one of the plurality of the selection conditions of the selector switch wherein each solenoid control assumes an ON condition when the selection condition to which the solenoid control is responsive is manually selected, and each solenoid control assumes an OFF condition when the selection switch assumes a condition to which the solenoid control is not responsive; and manually controlling the incremental position of the manually controllable valve mechanism by moving the selector switch by hand to a selection condition.