AU647235B2 - Flexible hose - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patent Act SP EC I

(ORIGINAL)

647ICA FICATION COMPLETE Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: Complete Specification Lodged: Accepted: Published: Priority: Related Art: Names(s) of Applicant(s): DIETER HANS FRIEDERICH KALLENBACH Actual Inventor(s): Dieter Hans Friederich Kallenbach Our Address for service is: PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street MELBOURNE, Australia 3000 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: FLEXIBLE HOSE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): 1 0804n KALLEN.HOa 2 "FLEXIBLE HOSE"

INTRODUCTION

This invention relates to flexible hose and more particularly to hose that is used for suction cleaners such as vacuum cleaners and especially but not confined to swimming pool cleaner hose.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Flexible hose of plastics material has been used for many years to facilitate the operation of swimming pool cleaners. Where these cleaners are of the kind which /operate automatically 3 operate automatically through the pool filtration system it has been found that the characteristics of the hose have an important influence on the operation of the pool cleaner.

The hose presently available is made to a corrugated longitudinal cross-section to provide radial stiffness to the hose with longitudinal flexibility both along and transverse to the axis of the hose.

To date the hose used with swimming pool cleaners has been made from extruded plastics material and this inherently requires that the hose be made with two parts which are adhered together in the manufacturing process. This has the disadvantage that the manufacture VQ^ o" makes it impossible to have a constanti wall thickness 15 for the hose. This can result in either an undesirable stiffness against flexing of the hose or alternatively tooee a tendency for the hose to collapse under the internal reduced pressure experienced during use.

o The manufacturing technique enables the hose to be made in a continuouls length but this necessitates cutting of the hose into appropriate lengths. However a further /disadvantage is 4 disadvantage is that male or female couplings components must be separately manufactured and fitted or moulded to the ends of the tube lengths.

Several different recipes of plastics material are used and these have been found to enable proper use of the swimming pool cleaner to be obtained. Not all hoses are suited to all cleaners but the appropriate recipe is readily ascertainable by persons skilled in the art.

The hoses are made to a compromise to give reliable use over a reasonable period of time and at reasonable cost.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the present invention to provide a flexible hose for the purposes above set forth which Si i avoidd th G SUMMARY OF THE INVE-TION According is invention there is provided a length /suitable plastics will at least partly avoid some of the disadvantages referred to.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to this invention there is provided a length of flexible hose of corrugated form blow moulded from suitable plastics material to have an integral male coupling component at one end and a female coupling component at the other, the male component having a plurality of outwardly extending rings spaced apart along the length thereof of decreasing diameter towards the free end and the female coupling component providing a sleeve to extend over the male component with the male -nponent more radially rigid than the female component.

Advantageously the radial wall thickness of the hose 15 lengths is constant throughout.

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O 0 S f"25 0 4a- 5 component at each end, Further features of this invent r/provide for there to be a male coupling com nt at one end of the hose length and a fe component at the other end and for the wal ickness of the hose lengths to be constant Alternatively the wall thickness of the coupling components can be made thicker or thinner than the remainder of the hose length.

The hose will be produced as a continuous length which is cut to the required length as it progresses from the blow moulding equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of this invention are described below with 5.

:15 reference to the accompanying drawings in which i 1 Fig 2 illustrates 6 Fig 1 illustrates two lengths of hose about to be connected together; and Fig 2 illustrates two lengths of hose connected together.

The Figures are in longitudinal cross-section and each illustrates a different pair of coupling components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Known blow moulding equipment can be used to produce the flexible hose 1 shown on a continuous basis and in accordance with known techniques.

V

The mould into which the plastics material is introduced is intermittently interchanged in known manner so that at predetermined internals the wall of the hose 1 is changed from corrugated section indicated at 2 alternatively to provide the wall sections indicated at 3 and 4. These changes are reversed so that the hose can be produced continuously.

7 The lines 5 indicate where the hose is severed into separate sections. This can be done using a flying guillotine or in other known conventional manner.

It will be appreciated that when the hose is severed into separate lengths where indicated each length will have integral therewith a male coupling component on one end and a female component on the other.

The process enables the hose lengths to be made to meet a '-iide range of specifications both with regard to the material used and the wall thickness. It will also be appreciated that the wall thickness is constant. Thus different degrees of flexibility, resistance to collapse and other characteristics can be obtained to meet specific requirements.

15 Where however the wall thickness is made to a thickness which could result in coupling components which may be too soft to withstand normal use when handled during 00 connecting or under reduced pressure during use it will be understood that proper, control of the moulding equipment will enable theithickness of the wall of the /hose to '\rN n 8 hose to be increased automatically along those lengths which form the coupling components.

4 are smooth. This can make the compone soetimes difficult to connect toge e-w le still providing an adequate s a ound the joined ends of contiguous It will be appreciated that the angle of the wall of the coupling component to the axis of the hose is another variable which will be determined by the manufacturer. The material used for the hose, length of coupling component and wall thickness can all influence this angle so that a coupling which is easily connected and disconnected and provides a proper seal can be 15 obtained.

I om Referring to Fig.# whcrezt=hz, o it will be seen that the lengths of the male and female components 4 are substantially equal but as shown a resilient lip 6 is frmed on the free end of the male component.

/The sectional

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-V 'T s 9 The sectional shape of the wall of the components is made to provide, progressing towards the free end of the component, truncated sections 7 of the normal corrugated shape of the hose. The sections are of greater truncation towards the free ends of the components.

However, the truncated sections 7 for the male coupling component are the inner sections of the corrugations while the sections 7 on the female component 3 are provided by the outer sections of the corrugations.

?hea two sets of truncated sections thus give complementary outer and inner shapes the same as the normal corrugations of the hose.

To join two contiguous lengths of hose the male 15 coupling component is inserted into the female component. The connection is completed with the lip 6 resiliently engaging behind the corrugation of the female component remote from the free end.

This retains the coupling components together during use and particularly when reduced pressure is relieved /within the 10 within the hose. The lip 6 acts in combination with the friction between the contacting surfaces of the male and female components to retain the components together.

The components can be pulled apart if necessary without damage due to the inherent resilience of the material from which the hose is manufactured.

The overall appearance of the hose in use in this embodiment is one of a continuous length of hose.

As shown in Fig S. the wall section 3 of the male coupling component has a corrugated wall but the corrugations are made to a serrated cross-section and the male coupling component is made to taper inwardly to the free end 8 at an angle of between 1land 4: The serrated section will have a base length and height of about 3 mms.

The female coupling component 4 is made as a sleeve with plain inner and outer surfaces 9 and "with plain inner and outer surfaces 9 and /The sleeve 11 The sleeve will have an internal taper complementary to that of the male component and the length of these components can be of the order of 60 mms.

The wall thickness of both male and female sections can be the same as that of the corrugated section of each hose length.

The coupling components can be easily connected and the sleeve has a sufficient degree of flexibility to seat on the tips of the serrations of the male component.

The latter are sufficiently rigid so that when reduced pressure is applied within the hose a good seal against the ingress of surrounding fluid is achieved.

4 The construction also compensated for irregularities which occur in the inner surface of the female sleeve 15 member due to the method of manufacture.

It has been found that mixtures of EVA and low density polyethelene have proved effective in the manufacture of the hose according to this invention. Final mixtures to meet particular requirements will be determined by those skilled in the art.

/CLAIM:

Claims (9)

1. A length of flexible hose of corrugated form blow moulded from suitable plastics material to have an integral male coupling component at one end and a female coupling component at the other, the male component having a plurality of outwardly extending rings spaced apart along the length thereof of decreasing diameter towards the free end and the female coupling component providing a sleeve to extend over the male component with the male component more radially rigid than the female component.

2. A length of hose as claimed in claim 1 wherein the wall of the coupling components are shaped equivalent to the rings of the hose but with each ring being of increasingly truncated form from one end of the component to the other.

3. A length of hose as claimed in claim 2 wherein the shape of the walls of the male and female components are complementary to give the appearance when connected of a continuous corrugated hose.

4. A length of hose as claimed in claim 1 wherein the male coupling component has a serrated longitudinal profile and the sleeve of the female coupling component has a plain inner surface.

5. A length of flexible hose as claimed in claim 25 1, wherein said rings of the male coupling component have free peripheries which are of narrow cross section and the sleeve of the female coupling component is thin walled and planar.

6. A length of flexible hose as claimed in claim 5 in which the rings are of generally triangular cross-sectional shape.

7. A length of flexible hose as claimed in claim 6 in which each ring provides a pair of peripheral substantially line contact surfaces spaced apart.

8. A length of hose as claimed in claim 7 wherein the coupling components are tapered complementarily and the angle of the taper is between 10 and

9. The length of flexible hose substantially as IV To herein described and illustrated. DATED: 27 October 1993 PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK Attorneys for: DIETER HANS FRIEDERICH KALLENBACH AA:.dS td& *2 *IA4_42 13 ABSTRACT A length of flexible hose of a corrugated form, which is blow moulded from a suitable plastics material. The length of flexible hose is blow moulded such that it has an integral coupling component 9 and 10 see Fig. 3) at each end. 2807