EP4245709B1

EP4245709B1 - Hose trolley

Info

Publication number: EP4245709B1
Application number: EP22161942.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tobias Schlegel; Axel Mock
Original assignee: Husqvarna AB
Current assignee: Husqvarna AB
Priority date: 2022-03-14
Filing date: 2022-03-14
Publication date: 2024-04-10
Anticipated expiration: 2042-03-14
Also published as: EP4245709A1; CN116750590A

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a hose trolley, and more particularly to a pivotable support element of the hose trolley.

BACKGROUND

One of the necessities for home ownership is a garden hose for watering the lawn, washing cars, etc. Various products are available for ease of handling and storage of a garden hose while presenting a generally neat appearance of the hose. Portable hose trollies are also available which not only provide convenient winding and pay out of the hose, but additionally permit the hose to be easily moved between a use location and a storage location. Portable hose trolleys for convenient handling and storage of garden hoses have been commercially available for many years.
A typical hose trolley, is required to be light weight, compact in size, and have dimensions as small as possible facilitating efficient logistics. Further, the hose trolley is required to be stable on the ground surface while operational. Thus, the hose trolley may be provided with a support element for stability on the ground surface.
An example of such a hose trolley is provided by the European patent 3,532,418 (hereinafter referred to as '418 reference). The '418 reference provides a hose cart with a carrier frame that further includes a guide handle. Further, the hose cart includes a hose drum held in the carrier frame. The hose drum carries a hose reel wound around the hose drum. The hose cart includes a first support bracket attached to the carrier frame. The first support bracket supports the hose cart on a ground surface from a first end. The hose cart further includes at least one second support bracket attached to the carrier frame. The second support bracket supports the hose cart on the ground surface from a second end. The second support bracket is pivotable between a first position and a second position. The first position is associated with a non-operational configuration of the hose cart and the second position is associated with an operational configuration of the hose cart. However, there is still a need for a pivotal support element assembly for the hose trolley that may be easy to assemble as well as disassemble without the need of any complex coupling mechanisms.

SUMMARY

In view of the above, it is an objective of the present invention to solve or at least reduce the drawbacks discussed above. The objective is at least partially achieved by a hose trolley according to claim 1.
The hose trolley with a carrier frame includes a guide handle. The hose trolley includes a hose drum held in the carrier frame. The hose drum is adapted to carry a hose reel wound around the hose drum. The hose trolley includes a support element attached to the carrier frame. The support element is adapted to support the hose trolley on a ground surface. The support element is pivotable between an operational position and a non-operational position. The operational position is associated with an operational configuration of the hose trolley and the non- operational position is associated with a non-operational configuration of the hose trolley. The support element defines at least one pivot opening. The support element is pivotable around the pivot opening relative to the carrier frame between the operational position and the non-operational position. The hose trolley is characterized in that the support element further includes at least one protrusion adapted to move between a first position and a second position relative to the support element such that the at least one protrusion is biased to remain in the second position. When the at least one protrusion is in the first position, the at least one protrusion is enclosed within the support element. Further, when the at least one protrusion is in the second position, the at least one protrusion extends at least partially outside the support element through the pivot opening such that the support element is pivotable about the at least one protrusion.
Thus, the hose trolley of the present disclosure advantageously provides a hose trolley with a pivoting arrangement for the support element, which is easy to assemble, and cost-effective from manufacturing standpoint. The at least one protrusion may be pressed by a user and the support element may then be pushed through or slid through relative to the carrier frame to assemble the hose trolley. Once the protrusion is pressed, the protrusion allows the support element to be moved axially. After positioning the support element, the user may align the protrusion to extend at least partially outside the at least one pivot opening and allow the support element to pivot about the protrusion. Such an arrangement is easy to use for any person with ordinary skills in the art and does not require any special knowledge or skills.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the support element is a hollow linear tube. Further, the at least one protrusion includes a first protrusion and a second protrusion. The at least one pivot opening includes a first pivot opening and a second pivot opening such that the first protrusion engages with the first pivot opening and the second protrusion engages with the second pivot opening. The hollow linear tube supports the hose trolley on the ground surface. The first protrusion and the second protrusion extend at least partially from the first pivot opening and the second pivot opening respectively and allow the support element to be pivoted about the first protrusion and the second protrusion. The support element may pivotally rotate about an axis passing through the first pivot opening and the second pivot opening and may be moved between the operational position and the non-operational position.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first protrusion and the second protrusion are enclosed within the support element in the first position. When a user presses the first protrusion and the second protrusion, the first protrusion and the second protrusion move to the first position such that both the first protrusion and the second protrusion are enclosed within the support element. This allows the support element to slide relative to the carrier frame, and to be suitably coupled with the carrier frame.
When the support element is not coupled to the carrier frame, the first protrusion and the second protrusion are pressed to move to the first position. Then, the support element is pushed or slid relative to the carrier frame to be coupled with the carrier frame. Thereafter, the first protrusion and the second protrusion are allowed to move back to the second position and subsequently allow the support element to pivot about the first protrusion and the second protrusion. Similarly, when the support element is coupled with the carrier frame, the first protrusion and the second protrusion are pressed to move to the first position, and the support element is decoupled with the carrier frame.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the second position, the first protrusion extends at least partially outside the first pivot opening and the second protrusion extends at least partially outside the second pivot opening. Extension of the first protrusion and the second protrusion at least partially outside the first pivot opening and the second pivot opening respectively creates an anchorage and allows the support element to pivot between the operational position and the non-operational position.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the support element is a hollow U-shaped tube. In such case, the at least one protrusion may be a single protrusion. Each of legs of the U-shaped tube may be provided with such a protrusion to effectively couple the support element with the carrier frame.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the at least one protrusion is biased to remain in the second position by a biasing element. The biasing element may advantageously be a spring. The spring is cheap and easily available biasing element known and understood in the art.
Other features and aspects of this invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a hose trolley with a hollow U-shaped tube-like support element, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a hollow U-shaped tube-like support element with protrusions in a second position, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2B illustrates a perspective view of a hollow U-shaped tube-like support element with protrusions in a first position, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a hollow U-shaped tube-like support element and a biasing element, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the hose trolley of FIG. 1 in an operational configuration, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 5 illustrates a side view of the hose trolley of FIG. 1 in a non-operational configuration, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a hose trolley with a hollow linear tube-like support element, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 7A, 8A illustrates perspective views of hollow linear tube-like support elements with protrusions in a second position, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 7B, 8B illustrates perspective view of hollow linear tube -like support element with protrusions in a first position, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 9A, 9B illustrates perspective view of hollow U-shaped tube-like support elements and a biasing element, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure;
FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of a hose trolley of FIG. 6 in an operational configuration, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure; and
FIG. 11 illustrates a side view of a hose trolley of FIG. 6 in a non-operational configuration, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the invention incorporating one or more aspects of the present invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, one or more aspects of the present invention may be utilized in other embodiments and even other types of structures and/or methods. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements.
Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the invention. For example, "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "side", "longitudinal", "lateral", "transverse", "upwards", "downwards", "forward", "backward", "sideward", "left," "right," "horizontal," "vertical," "upward", "inner", "outer", "inward", "outward", "top", "bottom", "higher", "above", "below", "central", "middle", "intermediate", "between", "end", "adjacent", "proximate", "near", "distal", "remote", "radial", "circumferential", or the like, merely describe the configuration shown in the Figures. Indeed, the components may be oriented in any direction and the terminology, therefore, should be understood as encompassing such variations unless specified otherwise.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a hose trolley 100. The hose trolley 100 includes a pair of wheels 118A, 118B and may be used to carry a hose reel (not shown) while performing a gardening operation. The hose trolley 100 includes a carrier frame 102. Various components and sub-parts of the hose trolley 100 are attached to the carrier frame 102 at different locations on the carrier frame 102. The carrier frame 102 may have means to connect the various parts and subsystems of the hose trolley 100. The hose trolley 100 has a first end 104 and a second end 106. The first end 104 and the second end 106 may interchangeably be a front end and a rear end of the hose trolley 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the first end 104 is a rear end and the second end 106 is a front end.
The hose trolley 100 further includes a guide handle 108. The guide handle 108 is attached to the carrier frame 102 towards the first end 104. The guide handle 108 may be used by an operator while using the hose trolley 100 to propel the hose trolley 100 in a forward or backward direction. The operator may hold the guide handle 108 and push or pull the guide handle 108 to propel the hose trolley 100 accordingly as per the need of the present application. In the illustrated embodiment, the guide handle 108 is an inverted U-shaped tube. The guide handle 108 may have any other shape or size as well. In some embodiments, the guide handle 108 may be of an adjustable shape and size. The guide handle 108 may be made of a plastic material or a metal material. The guide handle 108 may have means to provide a better grip to the operator attached to the guide handle 108.
The hose trolley 100 further includes a hose drum 110. The hose drum 110 is used for carrying the hose reel wound around the hose drum 110. The hose drum 110 is held in the carrier frame 102 and is rotatable relative to the carrier frame 102. A direction of rotation of the hose drum 110 determines winding or unwinding of the hose reel from the hose drum 110. A hand lever 112 is provided with the hose drum 110 to facilitate easy rotation of the hose drum 110. The hand lever 112 may have a collapsible design such that the hand lever 112 may be stored in a folding configuration as illustrated. In some embodiments, the hose drum 110 may be rotated by virtue of an electric motor, spring, or any other suitable means known and understood in the art that may ease or automate the rotation of the hose drum 110.
With continued reference to FIG. 1 , the hose drum 110 includes a first side member 110A and a second side member 110B. The first side member 110A and the second side member 110B are generally circular in shape and are coupled to the carrier frame 102. The first side member 110A and the second side member 110B may be of any other shape as well. The first side member 110A and the second side member 110B hold the hose drum 110 in between coupled to the first side member 110A and the second side member 110B.
In the illustrated embodiment, the hose drum 110 has a cylindrical cross-sectional surface. The hose drum 110 may also have a polygonal or any other cross-sectional surface as well to suit the need of the present invention. The hand lever 112 imparts the rotational movement to the hose drum 110 and the hose reel winds or unwinds based on the direction of rotation of the hose drum 110. A hose connecting member (not shown) may provide means to connect the hose reel with a water supply pipe (not shown). The hose connecting member may be a hollow cylindrical shape component having threads on both ends. The water supply pipe may have internal threads which may be connected by the threads on the hose connecting member. Similarly, the hose reel may also have internal threads to connect the hose reel with the hose connecting member.
The hose trolley 100 further includes a support element 114 attached to the carrier frame 102. The support element 114 is adapted to support the hose trolley 110 on a ground surface "G" towards the second end 106. In some embodiments (as shown in FIG. 1 ), the support element 114 is a hollow U-shaped tube. In some embodiments (as shown in FIG. 6 ), the support element 114 is a hollow linear tube. However, the support element 114 may have any other cross-sectional shape as well to suit the needs of various applications possible with the present invention.
The support element 114 (as shown in FIG. 1 ) includes a first end portion 114A, a second end portion 114B, and a ground surface engaging portion 114C. A protective element (not shown) may be coupled to the ground surface engaging portion 114C of the support element 114 to avoid wear of the support element 114 due to contacting the ground surface "G".
The support element 114 defines at least one pivot opening 115 (as shown in FIG. 3 ). The at least one pivot opening 115 includes one pivot opening towards the first end portion 114A and another pivot opening towards the second end portion 114B of the support element 114. The support element 114 is pivotable between an operational position "P1" and a non-operational position "P2". The operational position "P1" (as shown in FIG. 4 ) is associated with an operational configuration of the hose trolley 100 and the non- operational position "P2" (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 ) is associated with a non-operational configuration of the hose trolley 100. The support element 114 is pivotable around the pivot opening 115 relative to the carrier frame 112 between the operational position "P1" and the non-operational position "P2".
The support element 114 further includes at least one protrusion 116 adapted to move between a first position "X1" (as shown in FIG. 2B ) and a second position "X2" (as shown in FIG. 2A ) relative to the support element 114 such that the at least one protrusion 116 is biased to remain in the second position "X2". The at least one protrusion 116 is biased to remain in the second position "X2" by a biasing element 113 (as shown in FIG. 3 ). The biasing element 113 may advantageously be a spring. For the application of the present disclosure, the spring is already connected to the at least one protrusion 116 such that the spring and protrusion 116 assembly is in the form of a valco button 113. However, any other combination of the biasing element 113 and the protrusion 116 or any other assembly with similar functionality may be used without limiting the scope of the present invention.
When the at least one protrusion 116 is in the first position "X1", the at least one protrusion 116 is enclosed within the support element 114. Further, when the at least one protrusion 116 is in the second position "X2", the at least one protrusion 116 extends at least partially outside the support element 114 through the pivot opening 115 such that the support element 114 is pivotable about the at least one protrusion 116.
In some embodiments, the at least one protrusion 116 includes a first protrusion 116A and a second protrusion 116B (as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B ). The first pivot opening, and the second pivot opening of the at least one pivot opening 115 are towards the first end portion 114A and the second end portion 114B respectively along an axis X-X'. The first protrusion 116A engages with the first pivot opening towards the first end portion 114A and the second protrusion 116B engages with the second pivot opening towards second end portion 114B. The first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B extend at least partially from the first pivot opening and the second pivot opening respectively and allow the support element 114 to be pivoted about the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B. The support element 114 pivotally rotates about the axis X-X' passing through the first pivot opening and the second pivot opening and moves between the operational position "P1" and the non-operational position "P2".
Further the FIG. 1 illustrates the non-operational configuration of the hose trolley 100 with the hollow U-shaped tube-like support element 114. The non-operational configuration of the hose trolley 100 may be a storage configuration, a parking configuration, etc. The non-operational configuration of the hose trolley 100 offers a compact configuration having a relatively lesser footprint area. In the non-operational configuration, the hose trolley 100 may be easily stored as the hose trolley 100 takes up minimum space in the non-operational configuration. The dimensions of the hose trolley 100 are considerably reduced in the non-operational configuration helping in an efficient packaging. The hose trolley 100 is stable in the non-operational configuration and is balanced by a weight of the hose trolley 100, enabling the hose trolley 100 to stand without any external support. As the non-operational position of the hose trolley 100 is stable, there is no requirement of any additional locking elements.
To assemble the hose trolley 100 in the non-operational configuration, the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B are enclosed within the support element 114 in the first position "X1". When the operator presses the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B, the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B move to the first position "X1" such that both the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B are enclosed within the support element 114. This allows the support element 114 to slide relative to the carrier frame 112, and to be suitably coupled with the carrier frame 112.
When the support element 114 is not coupled to the carrier frame 112, the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B are pressed to move to the first position "X1". Then, the support element 114 is pushed or slid relative to the carrier frame 112 to be coupled with the carrier frame 112. Thereafter, the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B are allowed to move back to the second position "X2" and subsequently allow the support element 114 to pivot about the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B. In the second position "X2", the first protrusion 116A extends at least partially outside the first pivot opening and the second protrusion 116B extend at least partially outside the second pivot opening. Extension of the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B at least partially outside the first pivot opening and the second pivot opening respectively creates an anchorage and allows the support element 114 to pivot between the operational position "P1" and the non-operational position "P2".
Similarly, when the support element 114 is coupled with the carrier frame 112, the first protrusion 116A and the second protrusion 116B are pressed to move to the first position "X1", and the support element 114 is decoupled with the carrier frame 112.
The support element 114 may be brought to various non-operational positions "P2" (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 ) by allowing maximum permissible relative motion between the first end portion 114A, the second portion 114B of the support element 114 and the carrier frame 112. The relative motion may be restricted between the support element 114 and the carrier frame 112 as both the support element 114 and the carrier frame 112 would interfere with the movement of each other when the support element pivots about the at least one pivot opening 115. Further, the relative motion may be achieved by pushing the support element 114 with the foot of the operator or by any means known in the art without restricting the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates the operational configuration of the hose trolley 100. The operational configuration of the hose trolley 100 may refer to the configuration of the hose trolley 100 when the hose trolley 100 is being used to wind or unwind the hose reel in a gardening operation, etc. In this configuration, the support element 114 does not need to support the hose trolley 110 on the ground surface "G". This configuration is achieved by pushing the support element 114 from the non-operational position "P2" to the operational position "P1"
In some embodiments, as shown with FIGS. 6 , 10 and 11 , the support element 114 is a hollow linear tube. The hollow linear tube includes two legs 120A, 120B. The leg 120A include the first end portion 114A and the leg 120B includes the second end portion 114B. The legs 120A and 120B include the at least one pivot opening 115 (as shown with FIGS. 7A, 7B , 8A and 8B ). Further, each of the legs 120A and 120B include at least one protrusion 116 (116A, 116B) adapted to move between the first position "X1" (as shown with FIGS. 7B and 8B ) and the second position "X2" (as shown with FIGS. 7A and 8A ) relative to the legs 120A and 120B such that the at least one protrusion 116 (116A, 116B) is biased to remain in the second position "X2" by virtue of the biasing element 113 (as shown with FIGS. 9A and 9B ). The at least one protrusion 116A are two protrusions 116A. Similarly, the at least one protrusion 116B are two protrusions 116B. Further, the assembly and the pivotable movement of the hollow linear tube-like support element 114 relative to the support frame 112 is similar in principle to the assembly and the pivotable movement of the U-shaped tube-like support element 114 relative to the support frame 112 as discussed in detail above.
Thus, the hose trolley 100 of the present disclosure advantageously provides a hose trolley 100 with a pivoting arrangement for the support element 114, which is easy to assemble, and cost-effective from manufacturing standpoint. Such an arrangement is easy to use for any person with ordinary skills in the art and does not require any special knowledge or skills.
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed preferred embodiments and examples of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation of the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.

LIST OF ELEMENTS

100: Hose Trolley
102: Carrier Frame
104: First End
106: Second End
108: Guide Handle
110: Hose Drum
110A: First Side Member
110B: Second Side Member
112: Hand Lever
113: Biasing Element/ Valco Button
114: Support Element
114A: First End Portion
114B: Second End Portion
114C: Ground Surface Engaging Portion
115: Pivot Opening
116: Protrusion
116A: First Protrusion
116B: Second Protrusion
118A, 118B: Wheels
120A, 120B: Legs
X1: First Position
X2: Second Position
G: Ground Surface
P1: Operational Position
P2: Non-Operational Position
X-X': Axis

Claims

A hose trolley (100) with a carrier frame (112) comprising:
a guide handle (108);

a hose drum (110) held in the carrier frame (112), the hose drum (110) adapted to carry a hose reel wound around the hose drum (110); and

a support element (114) attached to the carrier frame (112), the support element (114) adapted to support the hose trolley (100) on the ground surface (G), wherein the support element (114) is pivotable between an operational position (P1) and a non-operational position (P2), such that the operational position (P1) is associated with an operational configuration of the hose trolley (100) and the non- operational position (P2) is associated with a non-operational configuration of the hose trolley (100); and

wherein the support element (114) defines at least one pivot opening (115), such that the support element (114) is pivotable around the pivot opening (115) relative to the carrier frame (112) between the operational position (P1) and the non-operational position (P2);

characterized in that:
the support element (114) further includes at least one protrusion (116) adapted to move between a first position (X1) and a second position (X2) relative to the support element (114) such that the at least one protrusion (116) is biased to remain in the second position (X2);

wherein when the at least one protrusion (116) is in the first position (X1), the at least one protrusion (116) is enclosed within the support element (114); and

wherein when the at least one protrusion (116) is in the second position (X2), the at least one protrusion (116) extends at least partially outside the support element (114) through the pivot opening (115) such that the support element (114) is pivotable about the at least one protrusion (116).
The hose trolley (100) of claim 1, wherein the support element (114) is a hollow linear tube.
The hose trolley (100) of claim 2, wherein:
the at least one protrusion (116) includes a first protrusion (116A) and a second protrusion (116B); and

the at least one pivot opening (115) includes a first pivot opening and a second pivot opening such that the first protrusion (116A) engages with the first pivot opening and the second protrusion (116B) engages with the second pivot opening.
The hose trolley (100) of claim 3, wherein the first protrusion (116A) and the second protrusion (116B) are enclosed within the support element (114) in the first position (X1).
The hose trolley (100) of claim 3, wherein in the second position (X2), the first protrusion (116A) extends at least partially outside the first pivot opening and the second protrusion (116B) extends at least partially outside the second pivot opening.
The hose trolley (100) of claim 1, wherein the support element (114) is a hollow U-shaped tube.
The hose trolley (100) of any of the previous claims, wherein the at least one protrusion (116) is biased to remain in the second position (X2) by a biasing element (113).