JP3078683B2 - Flexible hose - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a flexible hose used exclusively in cleaners (such as vacuum cleaners), washing machines, sinks, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A flexible hose widely used in a cleaner, a washing machine, a sink, and the like generally has a structure in which a thin organic polymer tube having flexibility and a core wire are spirally reinforced. It has become. This core wire has a function of maintaining the shape so that the hose is not deformed and loses its function even if the inside of the hose is depressurized, pressurized, or bent. Conventionally, most flexible hoses have used hard steel wires as core wires.

[0003]

There have been several problems that have heretofore been raised due to the use of hard steel wire as the core of a flexible hose, but there are no suitable alternatives to this. It reached today. For example, since hard steel wire is a material that is extremely easy to spring back, wrinkles occur in the hose body during molding, it is difficult to adjust the angle of assembly after shipping, and after assembly, the hand switch or running alongside In some cases, the position of the conductive wire was shifted, the core wire was exposed, or an accident such as a short circuit occurred. In addition, it is hard to use due to poor corrosion, poor flexibility,
There is a problem that the shape may not return to its original shape if the hose is accidentally stepped on due to insufficient resilience of the shape. The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by developing a flexible hose using a core wire that does not spring back, and aims to provide a product that is easy to use for a long time and has no accidents, not only at the time of manufacturing and mounting. It was completed.

[0004]

As a result of studying the means for solving the above problems by trial and error, the hose body is composed of a hose body made of a flexible organic polymer and the core wire of the hose body made of polyacetal strand. It has been found that in a flexible hose, the above object can be achieved if the core wire is covered with an organic polymer which is softer than the core wire of polyacetal strand and adheres to the hose body. In the flexible hose of the present invention, the core wire coated with the organic polymer can be configured to be inscribed or circumscribed to the hose body.

[0005]

[Examples and actions of the embodiments]
The present invention will be described more specifically. First, the organic polymer constituting the main body of the flexible hose of the present invention, that is, the tube, may be a conventionally used material such as a soft vinyl chloride resin or a polyolefin, and is not particularly limited. It may be reinforced with glass fiber or the like.

As the polyacetal used for the core wire, commercially available polyacetal copolymers and homopolymers can be used. Polyacetal has higher rigidity, tensile strength, flexural strength,
Excellent mechanical properties such as impact strength and toughness, but more pliable than hard steel wire; Long-lasting creep resistance against tension, bending, compression, torsion, etc .; Repeated tension, bending, compression, torsion, impact,
Fatigue resistance against vibrations and the like; less susceptible to plasticizers and the like contained in soft materials that come into contact with it, and have chemical resistance without stress cracking even under long-term stress; not corroded That it has a high melting point and a high heat distortion temperature, and has excellent heat resistance due to excellent long-term heat deterioration resistance;
It has very well-balanced physical properties such as thermoplasticity and good moldability for use as the core wire of a flexible hose. Due to the thermoplasticity, the shape at the time of molding is fixed and can be easily corrected, and since the elastic modulus is lower than that of hard steel wire, the effect of springback can be prevented by the hose body.

The core wire of the polyacetal strand used in the present invention is covered with an organic polymer which is softer than polyacetal and adheres to the hose body, and is adhered to the hose body. The flexible coated polymer layer acts as a cushion between the core wire and the hose body, and when the hose is bent, the elastic stress applied to the hose body is dispersed without being concentrated locally, and the flexible hose is It has the effect of giving flexibility and extending the flex life. If necessary, a metal conductive wire or the like may be skewed or embedded in the core wire. Further, a core wire can be formed by using a material other than polyacetal in combination.

The present invention will be further described with reference to the drawings showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view in which a part of a flexible hose is cut away. The hose body 1 is usually a circular tube. The cross-sectional shape and spiral pitch of the polyacetal strand (core wire) 2 can be determined according to the cross-sectional shape and thickness of the hose, the pressure difference between inside and outside, and the purpose of use. The core wire 2 is not limited to a single winding, and a plurality of spirals can be arranged in parallel. Although the core wire 2 is inscribed in the hose body 1 in the drawing, the core wire 2 may be circumscribed or embedded in the hose body 1 depending on the purpose of use such as when internal pressure is applied.

Further, specific examples of the cross section of the core portion of the flexible hose of the present invention are enlarged and shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The present invention is not limited to this specific example. Reference numeral 3 denotes a covered portion of the core wire, and reference numeral 4 denotes a conductive wire such as a copper stranded wire attached to the core wire 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes a coated conductive wire (two) or a parallel coated conductive wire, and reference numeral 6 denotes a parallel coated conductive wire. Assuming that the core wire has a single winding, for example, a cleaner hose having a single electric circuit for a remote controller has a shape shown in FIG. 2A, and a cleaner hose having two electric circuits for a cleaner hose with a power brush. (B), (b '), (c), (d)
Is suitable. FIG. 3 (e) shows a hose body in which a resin-coated polyacetal strand is embedded. It is suitable for pressure-resistant hoses used for transporting powders, fluids and the like. It is also suitable for a sink hose or the like together with the embodiment shown in FIG.

Since various methods can be applied to the production of the flexible hose of the present invention, two main embodiments will be described. The first example is a method often used for manufacturing the hoses shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and first, a polyacetal and a coating resin are extruded and processed into a core wire. . After this core wire is wound around the outer periphery of the mandrel that goes straight, the mandrel is passed through the crosshead of the extruder, and a soft tube is extruded from the extruder around the mandrel and coated. When this is cooled and the mandrel is pulled out, a flexible hose of the present invention having a certain length can be manufactured.

The second example is a method often used for manufacturing the hose shown in FIG. 3, in which a resin tape is spirally wound to manufacture a hose body. Third
The hose shown in Fig. (E) embeds the core wire of the resin-coated polyacetal strand through a soft synthetic resin extruder crosshead and into a soft resin tape.
Wrap the obtained cored resin tape in a spiral shape,
Manufactured by bonding adjacent side edges. Numeral 8 is an adhesive surface of an adjacent side edge.

[0012]

The flexible hose of the present invention uses polyacetal for the core wire and further covers the core wire with an organic polymer that is softer than polyacetal and adheres to the hose body. The core wire does not spring back unlike the flexible hose, and there is no possibility that the hose will be wrinkled during molding. Therefore, the wiring of the conductive wire and the assembling work are efficiently performed, and the thickness of the hose body can be reduced. In addition, the angle of the assembly after shipment is easily adjusted, and there is little danger of an angle failure. Since the shape can be restored, it easily returns to its original shape even when stepped on. Since it is light and does not have the tension of a hard steel wire, it has a flexible and soft touch from the hose when used and is easy to use. Then, the organic polymer covering the polyacetal strand plays a role of a cushion, and it is possible to prevent the core wire from being displaced from the hose body or the conductive wire and causing an accident.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a flexible hose with a part cut away.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a core portion.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a core wire portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Hose body 2: Polyacetal strand (core wire) 3: Covered part 4: Conductive wire 5: Covered conductive wire (two) or parallel covered conductive wire 6:
Parallel coated conductive wire 7: Resin tape (hose body) 8: Adhesive surface of side edge where resin tapes are adjacent to each other

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-131682 (JP, U) JP-A-2-105682 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F16L 11 / 10 A47L 9/24 B29D 23/18

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A flexible hose comprising a hose body made of an organic polymer having flexibility and a core wire of a hose body made of a polyacetal strand, wherein the core wire is more than the core wire of the polyacetal strand. A flexible hose characterized by being soft and coated with an organic polymer that adheres to the hose body. 2. The flexible hose according to claim 1, wherein said core wire coated with an organic polymer is inscribed or circumscribed in a hose body.