|Publication number||US5927757 A|
|Application number||US 09/018,043|
|Publication date||Jul 27, 1999|
|Filing date||Feb 3, 1998|
|Priority date||Feb 15, 1997|
|Also published as||DE69806425D1, DE69806425T2, EP0858763A1, EP0858763B1|
|Publication number||018043, 09018043, US 5927757 A, US 5927757A, US-A-5927757, US5927757 A, US5927757A|
|Original Assignee||Smiths Industries Public Limited Company|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (12), Referenced by (2), Classifications (19), Legal Events (5)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This invention relates to hose assemblies.
Hose assemblies used with wet and dry vacuum cleaners often include a small-bore tube extending along their length by which cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning head. The cleaning liquid tubing is usually attached to the outside of a hose by means of an outer sleeve that is shrunk about the hose and tube, trapping the tube onto the outside of the hose. The problem with this arrangement is that, because the tube is fixed in position, it creates a spine along the hose, restricting its flexibility in some directions. A similar problem also exists with hose assemblies having electrical wires incorporated in a similar way, such as for use in providing electrical power to a beater head.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hose assembly.
According to the present invention there is provided a hose assembly comprising a flexible hose, a flexible channel member extending externally longitudinally along substantially the length of the hose, and an elongate member extending within said channel member and projecting from the channel member at both ends, the elongate member being displaceable along the channel member on flexing of the hose assembly.
The channel member is preferably provided by a U-shape member attached to the hose. The channel member may be bonded to the outside of the hose, such as by a heat bond. The hose is preferably corrugated and may have a fitting at one end adapted for connection to a vacuum cleaner, and a fitting at its opposite end adapted for connection to a cleaning head. The elongate member may be a tube for supply of liquid, or an electrical cable.
Hose assemblies for a vacuum cleaner, according to the present invention, will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing.
FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of one form of assembly;
FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional side elevation view along the line II--II of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of an alternative assembly.
With reference first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hose assembly is for use with a wet-and-dry vacuum cleaner and comprises a conventional hose 1 corrugated externally and internally to improve its flexibility. The hose 1 is preferably of a plastics material, such as PVC, but may be of any conventional material. Typically, the external diameter of the hose is about 40 mm. At opposite ends, the hose has moulded-on end fittings 2 and 3, for connection respectively to a vacuum cleaner suction inlet and to cleaning head (neither shown). Alternatively, the fittings could be screwed onto the hose, or otherwise attached.
The hose assembly also includes a channel member 4 attached to the outer surface of the hose 1 and extending longitudinally along the hose, terminating just short of the end fittings 2 and 3. The channel 4 is made from a strip of PVC about 30 mm wide (when flattened) and 1.5 mm thick with a hardness of 65 to 75 Shore A. The strip forming the channel 4 is extruded with a U-shape profile having outwardly-projecting edges 5. The edges 5 of the strip are bonded to the outside of the hose 1 by means of a hot air gun, although other techniques could be used, such as a solvent. The channel 4 provides a recess 6 along the outside of the hose 1 in which a flexible tube 7 extends and from which it projects at opposite ends. The tube 7 is of a rubber or plastics material having an external diameter slightly less than the internal dimensions of the recess 6. The tube 7 is not bonded to, or gripped by, the channel member 4, so that it is free to slide along the channel member. In use, the left-hand end of the tube 7 is attached to an outlet spigot of a cleaning fluid pump in the vacuum cleaner, the right-hand end of the tube being attached to the cleaning head, so that cleaning fluid is supplied to the cleaning head.
When the hose assembly is flexed, the channel 4 flexes with it, and the tube 7 is free to move along the channel 4. In this way, the reduction in flexibility of the assembly as a result of the tube, is substantially less than in conventional assemblies where the tube is fixed relative to the hose.
The invention also has application in hose assemblies including alternative elongate members. As shown in FIG. 3, the assembly could include an electrical cable 8' of the kind used to supply power to a vacuum cleaner beater head, the cable extending within the channel member 4' attached to the corrugated hose 1'.
It will be appreciated that the invention is not confined to vacuum cleaner hose assemblies but could be used with other hose assemblies.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US3553629 *||Sep 9, 1968||Jan 5, 1971||Cons Foods Corp||Electric hose with end fittings for a vacuum cleaner|
|US3962745 *||Nov 21, 1974||Jun 15, 1976||Sydney Wellington Collier||Wall rug cleaning machine|
|US4064355 *||Nov 8, 1976||Dec 20, 1977||Dayco Corporation||Polymeric flexible hose construction and method of making same|
|US4165140 *||Feb 17, 1978||Aug 21, 1979||Whirlpool Corporation||Vacuum cleaner attachment wand with demountable electrical connector|
|US4368348 *||Dec 8, 1980||Jan 11, 1983||Techno-Chemie Kessler & Co. Gmbh||Vacuum cleaner hose with an electrical conductor|
|US4517404 *||Feb 2, 1983||May 14, 1985||Dayco Corporation||Multiple fluid conveying hose assembly and method of making same|
|US5109568 *||Jun 15, 1990||May 5, 1992||Rexair, Inc.||Handle assembly for a vacuum system cleaning tool|
|EP0601981A1 *||Sep 29, 1993||Jun 15, 1994||Ariberto Tamborini||Flexible hose for washing exhausting machines for cleaning floors, moquettes, carpets and the like|
|FR2309190A1 *||Title not available|
|GB1547114A *||Title not available|
|GB2066408A *||Title not available|
|GB2258711A *||Title not available|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US20040076783 *||Oct 22, 2002||Apr 22, 2004||Andrew Norman||Corrugated liquid and vapor carrying fuel tubes and method|
|US20110202019 *||Aug 18, 2011||Mt Industries, Inc.||Hand held skin treatment spray system with air heating element|
|U.S. Classification||285/7, 174/47, 285/423, 285/21.1, 285/903, 285/124.1, 285/21.3, 285/906|
|International Classification||F16L11/118, A47L9/24, F16L11/22|
|Cooperative Classification||Y10S285/906, Y10S285/903, F16L11/22, A47L9/24, F16L11/1185|
|European Classification||A47L9/24, F16L11/118B, F16L11/22|
|Feb 3, 1998||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SMITHS INDUSTRIES PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY, ENGLAND
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:KEITH, GORDON;REEL/FRAME:008979/0508
Effective date: 19980115
|Mar 2, 2001||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: SMITHS GROUP PLC, ENGLAND
Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:SMITHS INDUSTRIES PLC;REEL/FRAME:011566/0432
Effective date: 20001130
|Feb 12, 2003||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Jul 28, 2003||LAPS||Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees|
|Sep 23, 2003||FP||Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee|
Effective date: 20030727