초록 ▼

An air compressor package that includes a pancake air tank, which has a pair of convex tank members that are coupled to one another about an equator of the pancake air tank, a motor and a compressor that is driven by the motor. The compressor is coupled in fluid communication with the pancake air ta

An air compressor package that includes a pancake air tank, which has a pair of convex tank members that are coupled to one another about an equator of the pancake air tank, a motor and a compressor that is driven by the motor. The compressor is coupled in fluid communication with the pancake air tank. The motor and the compressor are arranged relative to the pancake air tank such that a plane taken through the equator of the pancake air tank passes through the motor and the compressor.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. An air compressor package comprising: a pancake air tank having a pair of convex tank members that are coupled to one another about an equator of the pancake air tank; a handle having opposite ends coupled to the equator of the pancake air tank; a housing coupled to the panca

What is claimed is: 1. An air compressor package comprising: a pancake air tank having a pair of convex tank members that are coupled to one another about an equator of the pancake air tank; a handle having opposite ends coupled to the equator of the pancake air tank; a housing coupled to the pancake air tank and the handle, the housing defining an internal cavity and sized to surround only a portion of the pancake air tank and only a portion of the handle; a motor disposed in the cavity; and a compressor disposed in the cavity and driven by the motor, the compressor being coupled in fluid communication with the pancake air tank; wherein the motor and the compressor are arranged relative to the pancake air tank such that a plane taken through the equator of the pancake air tank passes through the motor and the compressor; and wherein the plane extends longitudinally through the entire handle. 2. The air compressor package of claim 1, wherein the plane passes through a rotational axis of the motor. 3. The air compressor package of claim 2, wherein the compressor includes a compressor pulley and the plane passes through a rotational axis of the compressor pulley. 4. An air compressor package comprising: a pancake air tank having a pair of convex tank members that are coupled to one another about an equator of the pancake air tank; a handle having a widened C-shape with opposite terminal ends fixed to the equator of the pancake air tank, the entire handle extending parallel to a plane that extends through the equator of the pancake air tank; a housing coupled to the air tank and the handle so as to only partially shroud each of the air tank and the handle; a motor housed in the housing; and a compressor housed in the housing and driven by the motor, the compressor being coupled in fluid communication with the pancake air tank; wherein the motor and the compressor are disposed between the pancake air tank and the handle. 5. An air compressor package comprising: a pancake air tank having a pair of convex tank members that are coupled to one another about an equator of the pancake air tank; a handle coupled to the pancake air tank, the handle including a first handle portion and a second handle portion; a housing coupled to the pancake air tank and the handle, the housing defining an internal cavity and only partially shrouding the pancake air tank, and the housing only partially shrouding the handle so as to form recessed portions spaced apart from the handle and each other that define the first handle portion and the second handle portion; a motor housed in the internal cavity; a compressor housed in the internal cavity and driven by the motor, the compressor being in fluid communication with the pancake air tank; and a manifold assembly coupled in fluid communication with the pancake air tank, the manifold assembly including a gauge, a regulator and an outlet coupling; wherein the air compressor package has a first operating position in which the equator of the pancake air tank is positioned vertically and the first portion of the handle is generally parallel to a first surface on which the air compressor package is positioned, wherein the air compressor package has a first hand-carried transport position in which the first portion of the handle is adapted to be engaged by a single hand of a user to transport the air compressor package such that the first portion of the handle is disposed above the pancake air tank, wherein the air compressor package has a second hand-carried transport position in which the second portion of the handle is adapted to be engaged by the single hand of the user to transport the air compressor package such that the second portion of the handle is disposed above the pancake air tank, and wherein the second transport position is rotated by an angle of about 90 degrees from the first transport position; and wherein the motor and the compressor are housed in the housing when the air compressor package is positioned in the first operating position, the first hand-carried transport position and the second hand-carried transport position. 6. The air compressor package of claim 5, wherein the air compressor package has a second operating position in which the equator of the pancake air tank is positioned horizontally. 7. The air compressor package of claim 5, wherein the handle has a widened C-shape. 8. The air compressor package of claim 5, wherein the housing defines a front exterior surface and wherein the gauge and the regulator are located within the housing such that the gauge and the regulator do not contact the first surface when the front exterior surface is positioned in contact with the first surface. 9. The air compressor package of claim 5, wherein the housing defines a pocket recessed from the surrounding exterior surface of the housing and into which the outlet coupling is disposed so as to be substantially contained within the pocket and not contact the first surface when the surrounding exterior surface is positioned in contact with the first surface. 10. The air compressor package of claim 4, wherein the handle is at least partially formed of a length of tubular material. 11. The air compressor package of claim 10, wherein the tubular material has a central axis that is disposed in the plane. 12. The air compressor package of claim 4, further comprising a foot coupled directly to the pancake air tank, the foot being disposed on a side of the pancake air tank opposite the handle. 13. The air compressor package of claim 12, wherein the foot includes an L-shaped bracket that is fixedly coupled to the pancake air tank at least about the equator, and a foot member that is formed of a resilient material and coupled to the L-shaped bracket. 14. The air compressor package of claim 13, further comprising a drain valve coupled to the pancake air tank at a location that is shrouded by the foot. 15. The air compressor package of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a pair of housing shells that are disposed on opposite sides of the plane, each of the housing shells shrouding only a portion of the handle and only a portion of an associated one of the convex tank members. 16. The air compressor package of claim 15, wherein one of the housing shells includes a gauge panel recess, which slopes rearwardly and upwardly from the handle, and a raised portion that is disposed about the gauge panel recess, and wherein at least one of a gauge, a regulator and an output fitting is disposed in the gauge panel recess. 17. The air compressor package of claim 1, further comprising a foot coupled directly to the pancake air tank, the foot being disposed on a side of the pancake air tank opposite the handle. 18. The air compressor package of claim 17, wherein the foot includes an L-shaped bracket that is fixedly coupled to the pancake air tank at least about the equator, and a foot member that is formed of a resilient material and coupled to the bracket. 19. The air compressor package of claim 18, further comprising a drain valve coupled to the pancake air tank at a location that is shrouded by the foot. 20. The air compressor package of claim 5, wherein the entire handle extends parallel to a plane extending through the equator of the pancake air tank.