AU4601201A - An insert for a plastic hose - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant: KENNETH ABNER KING Invention Title: AN INSERT FOR A PLASTIC HOSE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 AN INSERT FOR A PLASTIC HOSE The present invention is concerned with an insert for a plastic hose of the type used for transferring water from a tap to a remote location. The insert ensures that kinking of the plastic hose does not occur and therefore does not interfere with transfer of the water. For the sake of convenience, the invention will be described primarily with reference to the situation in which the plastic hose is a garden hose used for transferring water from a tap to a remote location where it is expelled onto a garden or the like, but is not limited to this subject matter alone.

The end of a garden hose which delivers water is frequently moved from location to location while the hose remains connected to the tap supplying the water. A single hose may cover an entire yard area. In such Smovement objects are often encountered which cause the hose to bend around them and, over time, even the highest 20 quality garden hoses develop lines of weakness about which they frequently kink when dragged. This is frustrating for the user of the garden hose as they must return to the region of the kink, straighten the kink and then return to the area to be watered. However, in so doing the kink 25 frequently reestablishes itself and the operation must be repeated. As a garden hose ages this problem becomes increasingly more severe, and the garden hose must eventually be replaced. Certain hoses made of a very heavy duty plastic are quite kink-resistant, but these hoses are heavy and not easily handled. They are also expensive compared to hoses made of lighter gauge plastic.

It would therefore be desirable to allow even those hoses made of lighter gauge plastic to become resistant to kinking, and the present invention makes this possible.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an insert for a plastic hose of the type used for transferring water from a tap to a H:\MaraR\Keep\Speci\P42156.doc 16/05/01 3 remote location, which ensures that kinking of said plastic hose does not interfere with transfer of the water, said insert comprising: an elongated, resilient member of lesser crosssection than said plastic hose and only slightly lesser in length than said plastic hose; and locating means for locating said elongated, resilient member entirely within said plastic hose and so as to extend substantially the length of said plastic hose, while not impeding water flow through said plastic hose.

Typically said locating means comprises a first stop member joined to a first end of said elongated, resilient member and a second stop member joined to a second end of said elongated, resilient member. Both of the first and second stop members are adapted to prevent said elongated, resilient member moving out of the first .end and second end, respectively, of said plastic hose.

o. Generally said stop members are substantially 20 tubular in shape and one end of each of said tubular stop members abuts that portion of a hose fitting which extends into said plastic hose in order to prevent the elongated, oresilient member moving past either of said fittings. The elongated, resilient member is thus retained within said 25 plastic hose. In this embodiment of the invention said Stubular stop members are of slightly lesser diameter than said plastic hose and are open at the end adjacent the hose fitting to allow water to flow into or out of the stop member, as appropriate.

At the end distal to the hose fitting the end of each of the tubular stop members is at least partially closed where it joins said elongated, resilient member.

In particular, an orifice is formed in said at least partially closed end so that the elongated, resilient member may extend therethrough and be retained, for example, by a flanged end. It will nevertheless be appreciated that there are numerous other means of H:\MaraR\Keep\Speci\P42156.dOC 16/05/01 4 retaining the elongated, resilient member in said orifice, and of joining it to the stop members.

Advantageously said elongated, resilient member is able to swivel where it is connected to the stop members.

While the end at which the stop members are joined to said elongated, resilient member may be only partially closed, cut-out portions may also be provided in the side of the tubular stop members to ensure that water can flow through the stop members.

Typically said elongated, resilient member is a spring steel cable. A spring steel cable consists of a plurality of strands of wire (usually seven) made of an appropriate material such as stainless steel which are twisted together in a manner known per se, and may be plastic-coated. The material is cheap and lightweight and yet a plastic hose containing an elongated, resilient member such as a spring steel cable is found not to kink when one end is dragged whilst the other end remains fixed oo 20 to a tap when said elongated, resilient member is located in the manner described above.

~According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a plastic hose having inserted therein an insert as described above.

25 Advantageously the plastic hose further comprises "hose fittings fitted to either end. These hose fittings are conventional fittings and are typically an adaptor for connection to a tap at one end and an adaptor for connection to a spray fitting at the other. The fittings may be either plastic or brass, but brass fittings are preferred.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit of parts comprising an insert as described above, a plastic hose and, optionally, hose fittings. Typically the insert is provided in a kit of this nature in its constituent parts.

H:\MaraR\Keep\Speci\P42156.doc 16/05/01 5 Accordingly, in a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a kit of parts comprising an elongated, resilient member as defined in the first aspect of the invention, locating means as defined in the first aspect of the invention, optionally, a plastic hose and, optionally, hose fittings.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an insert in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of one end of the insert shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a cross-section through a plastic hose containing an insert in accordance with the present invention at one end of the hose.

With reference to Fig. 1, it may be seen that the insert 10 comprises an elongated, resilient member, in this case a length of spring steel cable 11, which has 20 first stop member 12 at one end and second stop member 13 at the other end. The first stop member 12 and the second stop member 13 are identical in this case, but they need not be. Each of the stop members 12, 13 comprises a tube 14, 15 made of a metallic material such as stainless 25 steel, brass or copper or of a plastic material. The tube "14 is open at end 16 and the tube 15 is open at end 17.

The wall of tube 14 contains cut-outs 18, 19 at top and •e bottom so that, in effect, only relatively thin arms 21 extend to the other end of the tube. Likewise, tube contains cut-outs 22, 23 such that only thin arms 24, extend to the other end of the tube. In each case the other end of the tube is only partially closed, by which is meant (if the walls of the tube were uniform for their length) that part of the end of the tube would be missing.

To look at it another way, arms 20, 21 of tube 14 bend to form an end segment 26 which contains a rounded portion 27. Likewise, tube 15 contains an end segment 28 which H:\MaraR\Keep\Speci\P42156 .doc 16/05/01 6 contains a rounded portion 29. In each case the rounded segment 27, 29 includes an orifice through which the spring steel cable 11 extends and, in each case, the spring steel cable 11 has a flanged end 30 (best seen in Fig. 2) which abuts the rounded portion 27 and prevents withdrawal of the cable 11.

In use, as best seen in Fig. 3, the insert is positioned within a plastic hose 31. The end 16 of tube 14 abuts the portion 32 of hose fitting 33 which extends into the plastic hose 31 in order for it to be secured thereto. The arrangement of such hose fittings is wellknown to those skilled in the art and need not be described in detail. Suffice it to say that the external portion of the fitting 31 applies clamping pressure to the internal portion 32, with the hose 31 being secured between the two portions of the fitting. However, neither the tube 14 nor the tube 15 at the other end of the hose is fixed in any way to the plastic hose 31 in the embodiment shown. It is simply a case that the end 16 20 abuts the fitting at that end if the insert 10 moves in one direction and the end 17 of tube 15 abuts the fitting at the other end should the insert move in that direction.

This means that the insert simply cannot move out of either end of the hose. Although it need not abut both 25 fittings simultaneously, it should still extend .0 *substantially the length of the plastic hose to ensure that kinking does not occur.

Once the hose containing the insert is fitted to a tap and the tap turned on, assuming the end shown in Fig. 3 to be the one secured to the tap, water will flow in the direction of arrows A, B and C. Initially, water flows in the direction of arrow A from the adaptor into the plastic hose itself through open end 16 of tube 14.

While some of the water may encounter the partially closed end 26 of the tube 14, the majority of the water will flow in the direction of arrow B to either side of the partially closed end through cut-outs 19, 20. The water H:\MaraR\Keep\Speci\P42156 doc 16/05/01 7 will then flow along the hose around the cable 11 (which is of substantially lesser diameter than the hose 31) and along the hose in the direction of arrow C to the other end. There it will encounter tube 15, and the reverse sequence of events will occur. Should the hose be dragged from one end by the user and to tend to kink, the spring steel cable 11 will quickly reverse the tendency and prevent kinks forming. Therefore, the path in the direction of arrow C will not be impeded by the walls of the plastic hose 31 coming together, as they do when a hose kinks. The user may therefore pull and drag the hose as they wish with the knowledge that kinks will not form.

Throughout this specification and the claims, the words "comprise", "comprises" and "comprising" are used in a non-exclusive sense, except where the context requires otherwise.

variations and modifications of this device will be apparent to the person skilled in the art, and those variations and modifications are within the scope of the 20 present invention.

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Claims (15)

1. 2. An insert as claimed in claim 1 wherein said S. locating means comprises a first stop member joined to a first end of said elongated, resilient member and a second ego• 20 stop member joined to a second end of said elongated, resilient member, both of said first and second stop members being adapted to prevent said elongated, resilient member moving out of a first end and second end, respectively, of said plastic hose.
2. 3. An insert as claimed in claim 3 wherein said stop members are substantially tubular in shape.
3. 4. An insert as claimed in claim 3 wherein said tubular stop members are of only slightly lesser diameter than said plastic hose. An insert as claimed in claim 4 wherein one end of each of said tubular stop members is arranged so as to abut that portion of a hose fitting which extends into said plastic hose. H:\MaraR\Keep\Speci\P42156,doc 16/05/01 9
4. 6. An insert as claimed in claim 5 wherein said one end is open to allow water to flow through said tubular stop members.
5. 7. An insert as claimed in claim 6 wherein each of said tubular stop members is at least partially closed at its other end and joins said elongated, resilient member at that end.
6. 8. An insert as claimed in claim 7 wherein the side wall of said tubular stop members includes one or more cut-out portions through which water can flow.
7. 9. An insert as claimed in claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the join with said stop members is arranged so as to allow said elongated, resilient member to swivel. An insert as claimed in claim 9 wherein said at least partially closed end includes an orifice through oooo 20 which said elongated, resilient member extends. oooo
8. 11. An insert as claimed in claim 10 wherein said elongated, resilient member has a flanged end which prevents withdrawal through said orifice.
9. 12. An insert as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 wherein said elongated, resilient member is spring steel cable.
10. 13. A plastic hose having inserted therein an insert as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12.
11. 14. A plastic hose as claimed in claim 13 further comprising hose fittings fitted to either end. H:\MaraR\Keep\Speci\P42156.doc 16/05/01 10 A plastic hose as claimed in claim 14 wherein one said fitting is an adaptor for connection to a tap and the other is an adaptor for connection to spray fitting.
12. 16. A kit of parts comprising an insert as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12, a plastic hose and, optionally, hose fittings.
13. 17. A kit of parts comprising an elongated, resilient member as defined in claim 1, locating means as defined in claim 1, optionally, a plastic hose and, optionally, hose fittings.
14. 18. An insert for a plastic hose substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
15. 19. A plastic hose including an insert substantially as herein before described with reference to the 20 accompanying drawings. Dated this 1 6 t h day of May 2001 KENNETH ABNER KING By his Patent Attorneys 25 GRIFFITH HACK Fellows Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia H:\MaraP.\Keep\Speci\P421 5 6 .doc 16/05/01