CN209818943U - Flexible hose - Google Patents

Abstract

A flexible hose (1) is provided in which a spirally corrugated hose wall (2) is integrated with the outer periphery of a spiral reinforcement body (11), and the extended state and the contracted state of the hose can be maintained. The hose wall (2) is formed in a triangular wave shape in cross section of the hose wall (2) by crests (21), troughs (22), and two walls (23a, 23b) of linear cross section connecting the crests and the troughs. The surface of the reinforcement body (11) on the outer periphery of the hose is integrated with the surface of the ridge (21) on the inner periphery of the hose. The trough (22) is thinner than the walls (23a, 23 b). A thin portion (24) having a thickness smaller than the thickness of the other portion of the wall portion (23a) is provided adjacent to the portion of one wall portion (23a) where the crest (21) and the reinforcement body (11) are integrated, and the thin portion (24) is formed as a ridge protruding outside the hose. The flexible hose has good shape maintenance performance during extension and contraction, and the operating force required for the expansion operation and the buckling operation is not excessive.

Description

Flexible hose

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a flexible hose having a hose wall in the shape of a spiral corrugation. In particular, the present invention relates to a flexible hose having a hose wall with a spiral bellows shape, which can maintain an extended state of the hose and a contracted state of the hose.

Background

Flexible hoses that have a spirally corrugated hose wall and can maintain an extended state of the hose and a contracted state of the hose are lightweight and are used as air supply ducts and the like. In particular, the hose is used as an air duct of a quilt dryer, an air duct of an air conditioner, and the like, by utilizing the property that the hose can maintain an extended state and a contracted state.

Patent document 1 describes a spiral corrugated pipe made of synthetic resin as a material of a pipe wall, the spiral corrugated pipe having grooves in a trough portion and a peak shoulder portion of the pipe wall, and a reinforcing coil added to the peak portion. Patent document 2 discloses a bellows duct having the following structure: when the spirally corrugated tube wall is integrated with the spiral reinforcing body, the reinforcing body is integrated so as to be wrapped around the side edge of the ribbon body constituting the tube wall.

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. H08-320090

Patent document 2: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 11-248053

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

Problem to be solved by utility model

These bellows tubes are required to have good shape retention properties during expansion and contraction, and to have no excessive operating force required for expansion and contraction operations and buckling operations.

The corrugated pipe of patent document 1 has a pipe wall having a U-shaped cross section that is gradually curved to a valley of the pipe wall, and therefore it is difficult to fold the pipe wall compactly and to form a form in which the reinforcing body of the hose is tightly adhered when the pipe is contracted. In addition, the duct is easily stretched from the contracted state. That is, the corrugated pipe of patent document 1 has poor shape retention during contraction.

In addition, the corrugated pipe of patent document 2 is excellent in shape retention when contracted, but the operating force when the pipe is changed from the expanded state to the contracted state is likely to be excessively large. If the operation force is too large, the pipeline is difficult to lay and connect.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flexible hose which has good shape retention properties during extension and contraction, and in which the operating force required for the extension operation and the buckling operation is not excessive. Another object of the present invention is to provide a flexible hose which is not easily broken even when pulled.

Means for solving the problems

The inventor has found that the corrugated pipe of patent document 2 has a V-shaped cross section from the pipe wall to the trough and adds a spiral reinforcement, which increases the operating force.

Further, the inventor has intensively studied and found that at least one of the above problems can be solved by providing a thin wall portion in a convex strip shape protruding outward adjacent to a peak portion of a spirally corrugated hose wall, and the present invention has been completed.

The present invention is a flexible hose capable of maintaining an extended state of the hose and a contracted state of the hose by integrating a spiral corrugated hose wall with an outer periphery of a spiral reinforcing body, the flexible hose being characterized in that the spiral corrugated hose wall is formed such that a cross section of the hose wall is triangular wave-shaped by a crest formed at a position protruding outside the hose, a trough formed at a position recessed inside the hose in a bent manner, and two wall portions connecting linear cross sections between the crest and the trough, the surface on the outer periphery side of the hose of the reinforcing body is integrated with the surface on the inner periphery side of the hose of the crest, the trough of the hose wall is formed thinner than the wall portions, a thin wall portion is provided on one wall portion so as to be adjacent to a portion of the hose wall where the crest is integrated with the reinforcing body, and the thin wall portion is thinner than the other portion of the thin wall portion, the thin wall portion is formed as a convex strip protruding toward the outside of the hose (first means).

In the first aspect, it is preferable that the thin portion is formed by cutting off the inside of the tube of the wall portion (second aspect). In the second aspect, it is preferable that the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge of the thin portion is disposed inward of the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge (third aspect). In the third aspect, it is preferable that the wall portion on the side where the thin portion is provided has a smaller width than the other wall portion (fourth aspect).

According to the flexible hose (first aspect), the shape retention during extension and contraction is good, and the operating force required for the telescopic operation and the buckling operation is not excessive. In addition, according to the flexible hoses of the second and fourth aspects, the shape retention property at the time of expansion and contraction becomes further excellent. In addition, the flexible hose according to the third aspect further exhibits the following effects: even if the hose is dragged, the hose is not easy to break.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view of a flexible hose of a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing a form of a hose wall in an extended state of the flexible hose according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a hose wall form in a contracted state of the flexible hose according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a sectional shape of a resin strip for manufacturing the flexible hose of the first embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a shape of a hose wall in a process of deforming the flexible hose according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the morphology of the hose wall of the deformation process of the flexible hose of the comparative example.

Description of reference numerals:

1 Flexible hose

11 reinforcing body

2 wall of flexible pipe

21 peak part

22 valley portion

23a first wall part

24 thin wall part

23b second wall part

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described by taking a flexible hose for sending warm air of a quilt dryer as an example, with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the individual embodiments described below, and can be implemented by changing the form thereof. The use of the flexible hose is not limited to the bedding dryer, and the flexible hose can be used as a blowing duct or a ventilation duct used in an air conditioner or the like, a hose for a vacuum cleaner, or a flexible hose for transporting liquid or powder.

Fig. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a flexible hose 1 according to a first embodiment. In the following description, the term "cross section of the hose wall" refers to a cross section cut out on a plane including the center line of the hose as shown in fig. 1 and 2.

The flexible hose 1 is configured by integrating a spiral corrugated hose wall 2 with the outer periphery of a spiral reinforcing body 11. The flexible hose 1 is stretched and flexed so that the spiral bellows-shaped hose wall 2 is folded. The flexible hose 1 can maintain the extended state of the hose (shown in fig. 2) and the contracted state of the hose (shown in fig. 3).

The spiral reinforcing body 11 is made of a metal wire or a resin wire, but the material constituting the reinforcing body 11 is not particularly limited. The reinforcing body 11 is preferably formed of a resin-coated steel wire or the like so as to be reliably integrated with the hose wall.

The spiral corrugated hose wall 2 is made of synthetic resin. The kind of the synthetic resin is not particularly limited, and a thermoplastic resin such as a so-called soft vinyl chloride resin, an ethylene-vinyl acetate resin (EVA resin), a polyolefin resin, and a thermoplastic elastomer is preferably used.

The spirally corrugated hose wall 2 has crests 21, troughs 22, and two wall portions 23a, 23 b. The peak 21 is provided at the outermost periphery of the hose wall 2, i.e., at a position protruding outward of the hose, so as to protrude outward of the hose. Typically, the peak 21 is in a flexed state. The valley portion 22 is provided at the innermost circumference of the hose wall 2, i.e., at a position recessed toward the inside of the hose, and is bent so as to protrude toward the inside of the hose.

The crests 21 and troughs 22 are connected by two wall portions 23a, 23b, and a series of hose walls are cylindrical. In the following description, in fig. 1 and 2, a wall portion connected to the left side of the ridge portion 21 is referred to as a first wall portion 23a, and a wall portion connected to the right side of the ridge portion 21 is referred to as a second wall portion 23 b. These wall portions linearly connect the crest portions 21 and the trough portions 22. That is, the first wall portion 23a and the second wall portion 23b have a linear cross section having a predetermined thickness. The wall thickness of the wall portion may also vary within the cross-section.

As shown in fig. 2, the cross section of the hose wall 2 is formed in a triangular wave shape in which the crests 21, troughs 22, and two walls (first wall 23a and second wall 23b) having a linear cross section are bent in a zigzag manner.

As shown in fig. 2, the surface of the reinforcement body 11 on the outer periphery of the hose is integrated with the surface of the ridge 21 on the inner periphery of the hose wall 2. The inner circumferential surface of the hose of the reinforcement body 11 is not integrated with the hose wall. The means for integrating the reinforcement body 11 and the hose wall 2 may be bonding or resin welding, and is not particularly limited.

The trough portion 22 of the hose wall 2 is thinner than the wall portions 23a, 23 b. This allows the trough portion 22 to be more easily deformed than the wall portions 23a and 23 b.

The first wall portion 23a, which is one wall portion, is provided with a thin portion 24 adjacent to a portion of the hose wall 2 where the bead 21 and the reinforcement body 11 are integrated, and the thin portion 24 has a smaller thickness than the other portion of the wall portion 23 a. That is, the first wall portion 23a is easily deformed by buckling at the thin portion 24, and is not easily deformed by buckling at the other portions. The thin portion 24 is formed to be thin relative to the thickness of the peak portion 21.

The second wall portion 23b, which is the other wall portion, is not provided with the thin portion as described above.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, when the flexible hose 1 is stretched and contracted, the hose wall is stretched and contracted so that the thin valley portions 22 and the thin portions 24 of the first wall portion are bent and deformed, mainly when the hose wall is stretched and contracted. The thickness of the trough 22 and the thin wall 24 is preferably set to be about 1/5 to 1/2 of the thickness of the two walls 23a and 23b, so that such deformation is easily achieved.

The thin portion 24 is formed as a convex strip protruding outside the hose. That is, the thin portion 24 formed in a thin film shape is curved so as to bulge outward of the hose when viewed in cross section, and becomes a ridge when viewed from the outside of the hose. The width of the thin portion 24 is preferably substantially the same as the diameter of the reinforcement 11, i.e., about 0.5 to 2 times the diameter of the reinforcement 11. Here, the width of the thin portion 24 is a length of the thin portion 24 measured along the extending direction of the first wall portion 23a when the wall portion is taken in cross section as shown in fig. 2.

It is preferable, though not essential, that the first wall portion 23a is cut away from the inside of the flexible hose 1 to form the thin portion 24, as in the flexible hose 1 of the present embodiment. The cut-outs may be provided on the outside of the hose of the wall portion. The thickness of the thin portion 24 is preferably substantially constant, but may be gradually changed in the extending direction of the thin portion in the cross section.

Further, as in the flexible hose 1 of the present embodiment, it is preferable that the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge of the thin portion 24 is disposed inside the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge portion 21 (i.e., near the inner periphery of the hose), although this is not essential.

Further, as in the flexible hose 1 of the present embodiment, it is preferable that the first wall portion 23a, which is the wall portion on the side where the thin portion 24 is provided, has a smaller width than the other wall portion (second wall portion) 23 b. Here, the width of the wall portion is a length measured along the extending direction of the wall portion when the wall portion is taken in cross section as shown in fig. 2. The width of the first wall portion 23a excluding the thin-walled portion 24 is preferably smaller than the width of the second wall portion 23 b. Particularly, the width of the first wall portion 23a including the thin portion 24 is preferably smaller than the width of the second wall portion 23 b.

An example of the method for manufacturing the flexible hose 1 according to the above embodiment will be described.

The flexible hose 1 can be manufactured by a so-called spiral forming method using a hose forming shaft. The hose forming shaft used in the spiral forming method is configured to perform a spiral rotary conveying operation while winding a wire or a strip supplied to the forming shaft. Hose forming shafts used in the spiral forming method are well known.

The wire material to be the reinforcement body 11 is supplied to the winding device, formed into a spiral form of the reinforcement body 11, and transferred to the hose forming shaft.

The synthetic resin to be the wall of the hose was extruded from the extruder into a band-like shape in a semi-molten state in a cross section as shown in fig. 4, to obtain a tape T. The strip T is provided with portions T23a, T23b to be wall portions 23a, 23b, a portion T22 to be a valley portion 22, and a portion T24 to be a thin wall portion 24 in the hose wall. Both side edges of the tape T overlap at the outer periphery of the reinforcement body 11 to form portions T21a and T21b to be the crests 21.

The strip T extruded in a semi-molten state into a predetermined cross-sectional shape is supplied to a hose molding shaft to which the reinforcing body 11 is supplied, and the reinforcing body 11 and the both side edge portions T21a, T21b of the strip T are integrated so that the both side edge portions T21a, T21b of the strip T overlap each other at positions covering the outer periphery of the reinforcing body 11. The integration means may be welding or may use an adhesive.

The reinforcing body 11 is integrated with the strip T on the hose forming shaft, and the strip T is cooled while being shaped, thereby fixing the shape of the hose wall 2. Guide rollers and the like may be used together to shape the hose wall. The flexible hose 1 of the above embodiment can be continuously molded by continuously performing the above molding operation on the hose molding shaft that performs the rotational conveyance motion.

The cross-sectional shape of the extruded strip T is not limited to the curved cross-sectional shape shown in fig. 4, and a strip in a curved form as shown in fig. 4 may be obtained by bending a strip extruded in a flat band shape at the widthwise central portion of the strip. In order to project the thin portion 24 in a convex shape, a portion T24 to be a thin portion may be projected in a convex shape at the time of extrusion molding as in the strip T of fig. 4, or the portion may be extruded in advance in a flat shape at the time of extrusion molding of the strip T, and the thin portion 24 may be projected in a convex shape by applying pressure from the inside of the hose, for example, at the time of molding the hose.

The operation and effect of the flexible hose 1 of the above embodiment will be described. The flexible hose 1 of the above embodiment has good shape retention properties during expansion and contraction, and the operating force required for the expansion and contraction operation and the buckling operation is not excessively large.

In the flexible hose 1, the two wall portions 23a, 23b connecting between the crest portion 21 and the trough portion 22 of the hose wall 2 have a linear cross section, the cross section of the hose wall 2 is formed in a triangular wave shape, and the two portions, namely the trough portion 22 and the thin-walled portion 24, are thin. Therefore, the valley portions 22 and the thin portions 24 can compactly fold the wall portions 23a and 23b having a linear cross section like a hinge. Thus, when the hose 1 is in the contracted shape, the hose wall 2 is folded tightly, and the shape maintenance performance during contraction is good.

On the other hand, in the flexible hose having the structure described in patent document 1, since the portion corresponding to the valley portion of the hose wall is bent in a U shape, and the sectional shape of the hose wall is also bent instead of a straight line shape, the bending becomes an obstacle when the hose wall is folded, and it is difficult to fold the hose wall so as to closely overlap. Therefore, in the flexible hose having the structure described in patent document 1, even when the hose is in a contracted state, the folding of the hose wall cannot be made tight, and the shape maintenance performance at the time of contraction becomes poor.

For the same reason, the wall portions 23a and 23b of the flexible hose 1 having a linear cross section also contribute to good shape retention during elongation of the flexible hose 1. In order to improve the shape retention, the cross sections of the wall portions 23a and 23b need not be strictly straight lines, and the cross section of the entire hose wall 2 may be formed in a triangular wave shape so as to have a tight folded structure by buckling the hose wall at the valley portion 22.

In the flexible hose 1, the thin portion 24 is provided adjacent to the portion of the tubular wall 2 where the crests 21 are integrated with the reinforcement 11, and the thin portion 24 is formed as a convex strip protruding outward from the hose.

In the bellows hose of patent document 2, although the shape retention property is excellent at the time of contraction, the operating force at the time of transition from the extended state to the contracted state tends to become excessively large. The inventors have found that, if the cross section of the hose wall is triangular wave-shaped and a reinforcing body is provided, the handling force tends to become excessive. The portion (93 in fig. 6) corresponding to the oblique side of the hose wall is given a circumferential length such that the shape is stable in the extended state and the contracted state of the hose, but in an intermediate state between the extended state and the contracted state, the stable relationship between the arrangement of the oblique side and the circumferential length is broken. Without the reinforcement (91, fig. 6), the entire hose wall can move in the radial direction, and therefore the intermediate state can be overcome without excessively increasing the operating force. However, if the reinforcement (91) is integrated, the circumferential length of the reinforcement hardly changes, and therefore, the entire hose wall is not allowed to displace in the radial direction, and the hose wall does not go beyond the intermediate state unless the hose wall is largely locally deformed. In the flexible hose of patent document 2, since the inclined edge 93 of the hose wall is linear, the hose wall tends to be rigid in the width direction, and the operating force tends to be excessive.

On the other hand, in the flexible hose 1 of the above embodiment, the thin portions 24 provided adjacent to the joint portions of the crests and the reinforcement are formed as the convex ridges protruding outward from the hose, so that the portions of the thin portions 24 promote displacement and deformation of the first wall portions 23a in a preferred form, and the operation force required for the expansion and contraction operation and the buckling operation is not excessively large.

That is, in the cross section of the tube in the extended state as shown in fig. 2, when the tube is contracted, the portion of the thin portion 24 is pressed toward the reinforcement body 11 by the first wall portion 23 a. Thereby, the thin-walled portion 24 formed as the convex strip is urged to be deformed so that the convex becomes higher. When the first wall portion 23a is further pressed, the thin wall portion 24 having a convex shape guides a portion of the first wall portion 23a near the crest to be pushed out to the outside of the hose while being deformed. Further, as shown in fig. 5, in an intermediate state between the extended state and the contracted state, the thin-walled portion 24 formed as the convex strip is displaced so as to allow the first wall portion 23a to be displaced to the outside of the hose, and thereby easily goes beyond the intermediate state. By forming the thin wall portion 24 as a ridge, the hose wall is easily deformed, and the series of displacement and deformation is smoothly guided, thereby reducing the operating force.

That is, in the flexible hose 1 of the above embodiment, the interaction between the reinforcement body 11 and the thin wall portion 24 in the bead form causes deformation of the hose wall as shown in fig. 5, thereby reducing the operating force for the expansion and contraction operation.

Further, if the surface of the reinforcement body 11 on the outer periphery side of the hose is integrated with the surface of the bead 21 on the inner periphery side of the hose, and if the surface of the reinforcement body 11 on the inner periphery side of the hose is not integrated with the hose wall 2, flexibility of the portion of the bead 21 connected to the thin portion 24 is increased, so that the above-described deformation is easily generated, and it contributes to reduction of the operation force.

On the other hand, in the case where the thin portion is not formed as a convex portion protruding to the outside of the hose, the thin portion tends to be straightened, and as a comparative example, as shown in fig. 6, the portion where the oblique edge 93 and the thin portion 94 are connected tends to be drawn toward the inside of the hose. If deformed as shown in fig. 6, the deformation mode cannot be changed to the deformation mode shown in fig. 5. Therefore, if the thin portion 94 is not formed as a convex rib protruding outward of the hose, the operating force tends to be excessive.

From the viewpoint of further improving shape retention during expansion and contraction, it is preferable that the thin portion 24 is formed by cutting the inside of the first wall portion 23a in the tube as in the present embodiment. This is because if this is done, the thin-walled portion 24 is sandwiched between the wall portion 23a and the peak portion 21 at the time of contraction, thereby preventing the inability to fold compactly.

From the viewpoint of improving shape retention during shrinkage, it is preferable that the first wall portion 23a, which is the wall portion on the side where the thin portion 24 is provided, has a smaller width than the other wall portion (second wall portion 23 b). This is because if this is done, it is easy to place the wall portions in close contact with each other when the hose is contracted. In this case, the operation force required for the telescopic operation and the buckling operation can be reduced.

Further, when the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge of the thin portion 24 is disposed inward of the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge 21 (i.e., close to the central axis of the hose), the portion of the ridge 21 comes into contact with the ground or the like when the hose is pulled over the ground or the floor, thereby preventing the portion of the thin portion 24 from coming into contact with the ground or the like and being worn or damaged. Therefore, the hose is not easily broken even if the hose is pulled.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented by being variously modified. In the following description, the description will be given mainly on the portions different from the above-described embodiments, and detailed description on the same portions will be omitted. Further, these embodiments can be implemented by combining or replacing a part thereof with each other.

In order to improve the practical strength of the flexible hose, the shape of the crest 21 may be a form in which a protective ridge is provided on the outer periphery. The wall portions 23a and 23b may have a pattern or the like on the surface.

In the above embodiment, the reinforcing body 11 is a resin-coated hard steel wire coated with a vinyl chloride resin, but the specific form of the reinforcing body is not limited thereto, and for example, the reinforcing body may be formed of a wire rod formed by extrusion molding of a hard vinyl chloride resin into a rectangular cross section. Further, the reinforcement 11 may be provided with a tendency to elongate or contract.

Industrial applicability

The flexible hose according to the above embodiment can be used as, for example, an air supply duct, can maintain an extended state and a contracted state, and has a high industrial value.

Claims (4)

1. A flexible hose capable of maintaining an extended state of the hose and a contracted state of the hose by integrating a spirally corrugated hose wall with an outer periphery of a spiral reinforcement body,

the spiral corrugated tube wall is formed such that the cross section of the tube wall is triangular corrugated by a crest formed at a position projecting outside the tube, a trough formed in a bent form at a position recessed inside the tube, and two wall portions having a linear cross section connecting the crest and the trough,

the surface of the reinforcement body on the outer periphery of the hose is integrated with the surface of the reinforcement body on the inner periphery of the hose,

the trough portion of the hose wall is formed to be thinner than the wall portion,

a thin portion is provided in one wall portion so as to be adjacent to a portion where the crest of the hose wall is integrated with the reinforcement body, the thin portion having a smaller wall thickness than other portions of the wall portion,

the thin wall portion is formed as a convex strip protruding toward the outside of the hose.

2. Flexible hose according to claim 1,

the thin portion is formed by cutting the inside of the hose of the wall portion.

3. Flexible hose according to claim 2,

the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge of the thin portion is disposed inward of the outermost peripheral portion of the ridge.

4. Flexible hose according to claim 3,

the wall portion on the side where the thin portion is provided has a smaller width than the other wall portion.