GB2310369A

GB2310369A - Vacuum cleaner hose

Info

Publication number: GB2310369A
Application number: GB9703615A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nicholas Gerald Grey; Mark Tinkler
Original assignee: Vax Ltd
Current assignee: Vax Ltd
Priority date: 1996-02-22
Filing date: 1997-02-21
Publication date: 1997-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 2017-02-21
Also published as: GB9603744D0; GB2310369B; GB9703615D0

Abstract

A suction hose for use with a vacuum cleaning system and having at one end an end fitting (13) for connection to a source of suction and at the other end an end fitting (23) for connection to a cleaning implement comprises a first hose portion (10) of substantially predetermined and non-extensible length, and a second hose portion (20) which is extensible to a substantial extent between a contracted condition and a range of extended conditions whereby the overall length of the hose between said end fittings (13,23) is variable . The two hose portions (10,20) may be secured together with a non-releasable manner, and in this case a handle assembly (24) may be provided in association with the end fitting (23), and a collar (16) at the end of the extensible hose portion (20) remote from the end fitting (23) may be releasably connectable to the handle assembly (24) to hold the extensible hose portion (20) in its contracted condition. In an alternative arrangement, the hose portions (10,20) may be releasably connected together.

Description

Title: vacuum Cleaner Hose" Description of the invention This invention relates to hoses for use with vacuum cleaning appliances and installations.

In vacuum cleaning appliances of the so-called "canister" type a cleaning implement to which suction is applied is connected to a source of suction within a body of the appliance by means of a flexible hose. In vacuum cleaners of the so-called "upright" type in which a main cleaning implement is carried by a body of the appliance together with a source of suction, it is customary to provide one or more accessory cleaning implements which can optionally be connected to the source of suction within the body by means of flexible hose.

In central vacuum cleaning systems, in which a source of suction is provided at a fixed location within a building which is equipped with pipework leading from the source of suction to connection points distributed throughout the building, again a flexible hose is provided to connect cleaning implements to such connection points.

In all cases, the flexible hose employed is conventionally of a predetermined and substantially non-extendable length. By "substantially nonextendable" we mean that the hose cannot be extended by more than a few percent of its natural length by the application of an endwise force, although a small degree of extensibility may be inherent in the materials from which such hoses are made.

Hoses for use with mobile vacuum cleaners (e.g. of the canister or upright types) normally have a length of between about 1.5 and 2.0 metres.

Anything shorter provides an inadequate working range, whereas anything longer becomes unwieldy, and difficult to handle and store. However, generally longer lengths are appropriate for use in central vacuum cleaning installations because of the fixed location of the connection points.

Particularly in the case of hoses for use with mobile vacuum cleaners, the use of a hose of substantially pre-determined and invariable length can be disadvantageous under some circumstances, for example when cleaning a flight of stairs. The normal length of hose provided is generally insufficient to reach from an appliance located at the bottom of a flight of stairs up to the top of the flight. This requires the appliance to be carried up to the top of the stairs and for cleaning to be continued downwardly from the top of the flight. However, this can be dangerous in that force applied to the hose by the user can pull the appliance onto, and hence down, the stairs.

There are also other circumstances where the conventional length of hose is inconvenient, for example when applying an upholstery cleaning tool to curtains in a high-ceilinged room.

To obviate these disadvantages, in accordance with the present invention we provide a suction hose for use with a vacuum cleaning system and having at the distal ends thereof a first end fitting for connection to a source of suction and a second end fitting for connection to a cleaning implement respectively, wherein the hose comprises a first hose portion of substantially predetermined and non-extensible length, and connected thereto a second hose portion which is extensible to a substantial extent between a contracted condition and a range of extended conditions, whereby the overall length of the hose between said end fittings is variable from a minimum length in which the second hose portion is in its contracted condition to a maximum length in which the second hose portion is in a fully extended condition.

The vicinal ends of the two hose portions may be connected together in a substantially fixed (i.e. non-readily-detachable) manner, and in this case the second hose portion is preferably provided with said second end fitting and is, in use, connected between said first hose portion and said cleaning implement.

Releasable retaining means are preferably provided to hold the second hose portion in its contracted condition. Such retaining means may comprise a first member at the end of the extensible hose portion at or adjacent to its connection with said non-extensible hose portion and a second member at or adjacent to the second end fitting, and a bridging member which extends between said first and second members to hold them in a predetermined spaced relationship, one of said first and second members being releasably connected to said bridging member whereby the extensible hose portion is releasably held in its contracted condition with said second end fitting substantially rigidly connected at the end of the non-extensible portion.

In a particularly preferred arrangement the bridging member is formed or provided with a hand-grip portion and said first member is releasably connected to the bridging member so that when it is released from the bridging member the hand-grip portion can be used to extend the second hose portion and to manipulate a cleaning implement carried by the second end fitting adjacent to said second member.

In an alternative arrangement the vicinal ends of the two hose portions may be provided with respective releasable connection elements whereby the two portions are joined together in such a manner that the second hose portion can be released from the first hose portion as and when required by the user. In this case, the second hose portion is preferably connected, in use, between the first hose portion and the cleaning implement. However, it would alternatively be possible for the second portion to be connected, in use, between the first hose portion and the source of suction, the first hose portion then being connected to the cleaning implement.

These and other features of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIGURE 1 shows a first embodiment of hose in its normal, contracted condition; FIGURE 2 shows the hose of Figure 1 in an extended condition; and FIGURE 3 shows a second embodiment of hose in an uncoupled condition.

The preferred embodiment of hose as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 includes a first hose portion 10 comprising a tube 11 of appropriate length and made from a conventional flexible and substantially inextensible material, and a second hose portion 20 comprising a tube 21 made of a material such that it substantially extensible. The tube 11 of the inextensible hose portion 10 is secured at one end within a collar 12 of a conventional end fitting 13 for releasable attachment to a source of suction. At the other end, the tube 11 is secured within a collar 14 provided at one end of a flexible tubular member 15 which terminates at its opposite end in a further collar 16 to which one end of the tube 21 of the extensible hose portion 20 is non-detachably secured.The tube 21 is extensible from a normal, or contracted, condition as shown in Figure 1 to an extended condition as shown in Figure 2, and terminates at its free end in a further collar 22 in which is received a conventional end fitting 23 for the connection of interchangeable cleaning implements.

The end fitting 23 typically comprises a length of rigid, usually metallic, tube which is moulded into the collar 22, which in this embodiment is formed as an integral part of a handle assembly 24 of plastics material. The handle assembly includes an upper portion 25 appropriately shaped to serve as a hand grip, and a lower portion 26 which extends beneath the hand-grip portion 25 and is united with the latter at the end remote from the end fitting 23. The handle assembly 24 is releasably coupled to the tubular member 15 at the end of the inextensible hose portion 10 by means of a downwardly directed lug 27 at the end of the handle assembly remote from the end fitting 23. Any appropriate release mechanism may be employed, preferably operated by means of a button 28 provided on or adjacent to the lug 27 as shown, such a latching element (not shown) on the handle assembly 24 engageable in a locking recess 17 formed in the collar 16.

Conveniently, the handle assembly 24 is shaped such that the end fitting 23 extends generally obliquely relative to the tubular member 15, as shown.

In normal usage, the handle assembly 24 is coupled to the collar 16 on tubular member 15 as shown in Figure 1 and the required cleaning implement (not shown) is attached to the end fitting 23 and manipulated by means of the handle assembly 24 in a conventional manner. The handle assembly 24 forms a rigid bridge between the end fitting 23 and the tubular member 15 at the free end of the inextensible hose portion 10, so that the hose as a whole is then substantially inextensible and can be used in the manner of a conventional vacuum cleaner hose.

However, where a longer length of hose is required, the user operates the button 28 to release the handle assembly 24 from the collar 16, whereupon the tube 21 of the extensible hose portion 20 can be freely extended to give the extra length required, as shown in Figure 2, up to the maximum extension available.

As mentioned previously, a conventional hose for use with a suction cleaner typically has a length between 1.5 and 2.0 metres. The extensible tube 21 may typically be capable of extending up to six times its contracted length.

Accordingly, by using an extensible tube 21 having a contracted length of, say, between 20 and 30 cm, it is therefore possible to extend the length of the hose by up to as much as 1.2 to 1.8 metres, thereby giving an overall length which may be in excess of 3.5 metres, which is adequate to cope with most flights of stairs.

Whilst the embodiment described above and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 represents a preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that many other embodiments of the invention are possible. For example, the separate hand grip portion 25 of the handle assembly 24 may be omitted, and the remaining portion 26 may be modified so as to permit it to be gripped directly by the user in the vicinity of the end fitting 23. Alternatively, the handle assembly may be in the form of a curved tube within which the extensible tube 21, in its contracted condition, is received.

Whilst the handle assembly 24 is preferably connected releasably to the collar 16 by means of any appropriate form of catch mechanism as described above, the collar 16 could alternatively be designed as a snap-fit into a recess afforded by the handle assembly 24, or it could be slidably associated therewith and releasable from the handle assembly by rearward movement of the latter relative to the collar 16.

Although it is convenient to provide the flexible tubular member 15 at the end of the first hose portion 10, it will be appreciated that the tube 11 could be fitted directly into the collar 16.

Whilst the extensible hose portion 20 is most conveniently provided with means whereby it is normally held in its contracted condition as shown in Figure 1, it would alternatively be possible for there to be no direct connection between the handle assembly 24 and the collar 16 or other equivalent end member carried inextensible hose portion 10 so that the overall length of the hose is at all times variable.

Whilst the extensible hose portion 20 is preferably joined to the nonextensible hose portion 10 in a substantially non-releasable manner as described above, it would alternatively be possible to provide a readily releasable connection between the two hose portions as shown in Figure 3. In this case, the inextensible hose portion 10' is similar to that described above, except that it terminates in a conventional end fitting 18, similar to the end fitting 23, whereby a cleaning implement may be connected directly to the inextensible hose portion 10' in conventional manner when a hose of normal length is required. However, the extensible hose portion 20' inclul s a coupling sleeve 29 at the end opposite the end fitting 23, which sleeve is a friction-fit on the end fitting 18 of the inextensible hose portion 10'.

Thus, the extensible hose portion 20' can be connected to the end fitting 18 of the inextensible hose portion 10' when the user requires a greater, and variable, length of hose, the cleaning implement then being connected to the end fitting 23.

In the illustrated embodiments, the extensible hose portion is arranged to extend between the inextensible hose portion and the end fitting to which a cleaning implement is connected. However, it would alternatively be possible to arrange for the extensible portion of the hose to be connected between the noninextensible portion and the source of suction by appropriate modification of the end fittings.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A suction hose for use with a vacuum cleaning system and having at the distal ends thereof a first end fitting for connection to a source of suction and a second end fitting for connection to a cleaning implement respectively wherein the hose comprises a first hose portion of substantially predetermined and nonextensible length, and connected thereto a second hose portion which is extensible to a substantial extent between a contracted condition and a range of extended conditions, whereby the overall length of the hose between said end fittings is variable from a minimum length in which the second hose portion is in its contracted condition toA maximum length in which the second hose portion is in a fully extended condition.

2. A suction hose according to Claim 1 wherein vicinal ends of the two hose portions are connected together in a non-readily-detachable manner, and releasable retaining means are provided to hold the extensible hose portion in its contracted condition.

3. A suction hose according to Claim 2 wherein the extensible hose portion is provided with said second end fitting and is adapted to be connected, in use, between the non-extensible hose portion and said cleaning implement.

4. A suction hose according to Claim 3 wherein said retaining means comprise a first member at the end of the extensible hose portion at or adjacent to its connection with said non-extensible hose portion and a second member at or adjacent to the second end fitting, and a bridging member which extends between said first and second members to hold them in a predetermined spaced relationship, one of said first and second members being releasably connected to said bridging member whereby the extensible hose portion is releasably held in its contracted condition with said second end fitting substantially rigidly connected at the end of the non-extensible hose portion.

5. A suction hose according to Claim 4 wherein the bridging member is formed or provided with a hand-grip portion, and said first member is releasably connected to the bridging member so that when said first member is released from the bridging member the hand-grip portion can be used to extend the extensible hose portion and to manipulate a cleaning implement carried by the second end fitting.

6. A suction hose according to Claim 1 wherein the vicinal ends of the two hose portions are provided with respective releasable connection elements whereby the two hose portions are joined together in such a manner that the extensible hose portion can be released from the non-extensible hose portion as and when required by the user, the releasable connection element on the hose portion which is provided with the first end fitting being adapted to receive said cleaning implement when the other of said hose portions is not connected.

7. A suction hose according to Claim 6 wherein the extensible hose portion is provided with said second end fitting and is adapted to be connected, in use, between the non-extensible hose portion and said cleaning implement, the releasable connection element on the non-extensible hose portion being adapted to received said cleaning implement when the inextensible hose portion is not connected.

8. A suction hose according to Claim 6 wherein the extensible hose portion is provided with said first end fitting and is adapted to be connected, in use, between the non-extensible hose portion and said source of suction, the releasable connection element on the extensible hose portion being adapted to receive said cleaning implement when the nonextensible hose portion is not connected.

9. A suction hose as claimed in Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

10. A suction hose as claimed in Claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.