WO2006002459A1

WO2006002459A1 - Hose assembly safety equipment

Info

Publication number: WO2006002459A1
Application number: PCT/AU2005/000889
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leigh Morrison
Original assignee: Australasian Steel Products Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-07-02
Filing date: 2005-06-21
Publication date: 2006-01-12

Abstract

A hydraulic or pneumatic hose assembly (1) has a cover (4) provided thereon that is anchored at both ends and possibly along its length to act as a whipcheck and to contain whipping of the hose (2), should the hose assembly (1) fail, e.g. through separation of a hose coupling (3) from the hose (2) or a burst of the hose (2). The cover (4) also acts as a fluid suppression device. It may fit loosely about the hose (2) with a gap (11) between the cover (4) and the hose (2). It may include eyelets (8a, 8b) in its ends that allow it to be anchored to the hose couplings (3) by staples (6). It could also be anchored to an external fixing point by a wire cable, and could be anchored to the hose couplings by crimping or the like. The cover (4) may include two or more sleeves (5) and a guard element within the sleeves.

Description

Hose Assembly Safety Equipment

The present invention relates to hose assemblies and to safety equipment for such assemblies. Hydraulic and pneumatic control and power systems are used with a wide variety of machines and tools and in a wide variety of situations.

A critical feature of these systems is the integrity of the hose assemblies that convey the hydraulic or pneumatic fluids. For example, a failed hose assembly may whip about violently, and may cause serious damage should it strike machinery or, more seriously, personnel. Furthermore, high-pressure fluid from the hose (and material entrained therein) may be sprayed onto personnel or injected into them.

The present invention relates to new and advantageous safety equipment for hose assemblies that aim to address such safety concerns. Viewed from one aspect, the present invention provides a hose assembly over which is provided a whipcheck cover, the cover being formed from a sleeve of material that provides a burst suppression ability, the sleeve being sized to fit over the hose portion of the assembly with a gap between the cover and the hose portion, the cover in use being anchored towards its ends to resist whipping of the hose assembly on failure thereof.

A hose may fail by separating from a coupling or by splitting into two at a point along its length, in which case the freed ends may whip about violently. A hose may also fail without separation, e.g. the pressurised fluid may puncture a small hole in the hose or may burst open the hose, in which case the mid- sections of the hose may whip about.

The present cover is able to provide a whipcheck to the hose assembly should the assembly fail in either manner, and is able to restrain the movement of a failed hose assembly at its ends or at a failure point along its length.

The sleeve also contains the high-pressure working fluid within the cover and prevents/retards the ejection of the fluid, which might otherwise hit or be injected into a person.

The cover thus assists in reducing the risk of damage to nearby machinery or injury to personnel. The sizing of the hose and sleeve for a gap between the two allows some of the fluid energy to dissipate before it strikes the sleeve and/or allows the sleeve to give somewhat under the force. It has also been found that the sleeve can deflect the ejected fluid along the length of the assembly, which can reduce whipping forces by the redirection of the fluid, and the corresponding forces, longitudinally. Further, the sizing of the sleeve can prevent reinforcement material in a hose, e.g. wire or the like, from piercing the sleeve when the hose bursts and the reinforcing material is thrust up.

The cover preferably fits loosely over the hose, and, in normal use, when the hose has not failed, the cover may be in a relaxed or partially tensioned state. This allows the cover to give to some degree with the initial impact of the ejected fluid on the inside of the cover, so that the cover can absorb the fluid's energy. This can help to prevent the fluid from bursting through the cover, whilst still containing the fluid and restraining the hose movement. Similarly, the cover may also give somewhat under the movement of the hose. The sleeve material may have a limited degree of stretch to accommodate the hose and fluid movement, although not to such a degree that the cover cannot adequately restrain the hose's whipping movement.

Although the cover and hose are sized for a gap, there will generally be contact between them, e.g. due to movement of the hose and cover and also due to the cover being generally mounted on the hose is a loose manner.

In one preferred form, the inner diameter of the cover is larger than the outer diameter of the hose of the assembly by about 25% or more, and preferably between about 25% and about 50% (between about 1.25 to 1.5 times the diameter of the hose). A 50% larger diameter has been found to provide a particularly useful size of cover that provides good whipcheck and burst suppression, whilst also not being overly bulky, e.g. at the coupling points, where space may be at a premium.

In one embodiment, the cover is anchored to the hose assembly itself, e.g. to the couplings on the ends of hose. In another embodiment, the cover is anchored to points independent of the hose assembly. In one such embodiment, the cover may be anchored to couplings external of the hose assembly. For example, the cover may be anchored to couplings with which the couplings of the hose assembly connect. The cover may also or alternatively be fixed to other external anchoring points, e.g. fixed points adjacent the hose assembly ends, e.g. to parts of the machinery with which the hose assembly is connected or to fixed points nearby.

The anchoring may take any suitable form. In one particularly preferred embodiment, the cover includes one or more eyelets with which an anchoring element may engage. The anchoring element may in one form be a cable, e.g. of metal or nylon or the like, that connects between the eyelet or eyelets and an anchoring point. There may be one cable per eyelet, or a single cable may pass through a number of eyelets. The anchoring elements may be pins of the like, and, in one particularly preferred form, the anchoring element is a staple element, e.g. of U-shaped form. The staple or staples may connect the cover to the hose coupling or to a coupling with which the hose assembly is to connect or to both such couplings. It may do this quickly, simply and in a secure manner. A staple is a particularly useful form of anchoring for use in coal mining applications and in other similarly safety-critical situations, in which staple connections are already used for the normal coupling of hose assemblies to machines or the like, e.g. so as to reduce the need for tools and the associated dangers of sparking. A staple may pass through a pair of eyelets on one side of the cover, through a coupling, and then pass through a further pair of eyelets on the other side of the cover. The staple may be locked in position if desired, e.g. by a fastening element between the free ends of the staple legs, although this is generally not required. The use of a pin, staple or the like may also provide an anchoring system that is unobtrusive and takes up little space. This can be especially useful where there are a number of hoses terminating in the same general location, where securing points that do not interfere with the operation or accessibility of an associated machine or the like may be at a premium. Further, a pin or staple anchoring may reduce the chances of the anchoring itself being damaged by whipping movements.

Further, pin and staple connections need no user judgement as to how tight to pull a cable anchor or the like, and so the cover is automatically installed in the correct manner, e.g. provided to be suitably loose or at a slight tension or the like.

Generally, the same staple used for anchoring a hose coupling to an external coupling may also be used to anchor the cover, so that no extra anchors are needed over the usual coupling fittings, and coupling can be quick and simple.

In another embodiment, the cover is crimped, swaged or clamped to the hose coupling or to an external coupling. For example, a metal sleeve or ferrule may be provided about the end of the cover, and this may be swaged or crimped onto the coupling. This may have similar advantages to the use of a staple, e.g. they are unobtrusive.

A hose assembly may employ different anchoring methods at its ends, e.g. a cable at one end and a staple at the other.

As well as anchoring the cover towards its ends, the cover may also be anchored along its length. For example, the cover may include eyelets along its length, e.g. towards its middle, that allow the hose assembly to be fixed to adjacent anchoring points. This may be especially useful for long lengths of hoses, where anchored ends may not prevent significant and dangerous movement of the hose assembly at a burst point along its length. The anchoring also provides a good way of fixing the hose assembly in place from the point of view of general routing needs.

The cover may be applied to any suitable type of hose assembly, and may apply to hydraulic and pneumatic hoses in general, and to hoses in general that transport fluid under pressure, e.g. feed lines for pumps and the like. The cover has many applications, and may be used in coal-mining, hard- rock mining, compressed air lines, mobile equipment, fixed installations or any application where the exposure of the hose assembly poses a risk to human health or property damage in the event of failure.

The cover sleeve may be made of any suitable materials. It may be of closed form (e.g. having substantially no opening or interstices), so as to be able to block or hinder the ejection of fluid during a burst, although it need not be fluid tight. It may be made from a textile material, and may be of a woven or non-woven structure. It may be a synthetic sleeving, and e.g. may be made of nylon. It may have a closed form and may be of a substantially closed weave, so that it generally has no interstices.

The sleeve may also be formed using composite materials, such as metal reinforcing, and also could be of an extruded form, e.g. of plastics material.

In one preferred form, the cover is flame-resistance and also has suitable anti-static properties so that it may be used in mines and the like. The cover may for example be given anti-static qualities by applying conductive dyes or paints to the materials used to make one or more of the sleeves, or by including a weave of a conductive material such as steel wire in the sleeve material. It may for example be given a resistance of less than 1 MΩ/m. The cover may for example be designed so as to be flame-resistant and anti-static (FRAS) according to suitable standards, such as Australian standard AS2660 or the like. The cover takes the form of a burst suppression/abrasion resistant cover that is anchored towards its ends as a whipcheck device.

The cover may extend the full length of the hose, and may also extend over the hose couplings and possibly also over an external coupling. It could also however stop short of the hose ends, and be suitably tied off at a point before the ends. Although not preferred, this latter arrangement would for example allow the coupling area to remain free for ease of access.

The cover may be reinforced at its end, e.g. by doubling over the sleeve material at its end, so as to prevent failure or damage at the anchoring points, and/or e.g. to allow for a suitable amount of material to provide anchoring eyelets or the like.

The cover may include more than one layer, and may for example include two or more sleeves. The sleeves are preferably spaced apart from one another, and the outer sleeve may be a loose, relaxed fit over the inner sleeve.

The cover sleeves may be of the same form, e.g. the cover could be formed of two or more sleeves of closed weave material.

The use of two sleeves may provide added strength, and, further, it has been found that using a pair of sleeves can be beneficial over a single stronger sleeve, as the movement of the sleeves and the gap between them can provide for a better absorption of ejected working fluid and the like. The cover layers could also be of different form and perform different functions. Again, the additional sleeve or sleeves may be normally in a relaxed and loose state.

A hose protection reinforcement element may be provided within the cover sleeve. This may strengthen and/or protect the hose against damage, and reduce the chances of failure, and may also provide the added advantage of redirecting working fluid ejected during a failure so that it deflects along the length of the hose, whilst the sleeve also assists in this and also contains the fluid. This can help to reduce hose movement due to a redirection of the fluid forces that might otherwise whip the hose around.

In one embodiment, the cover may include a deflector element within it that deflects the working fluid along the length of the hose. This may then help to dampen the whipping due to the redirection of the forces along the hose length. In one embodiment, a spiral guard or wire armour may be provided about the hose of the hose assembly, and this may provide a deflection effect, as well as generally protect the hose so that failure is less likely to begin with.

It is noted that two types of whipchecks are known, but neither of them provides the advantages of the present invention. Thus, one method of whipchecking is to use a steel cable that runs along the inside of hose, whilst the other method uses a wire net that extends over the hose. The net is completely open, and is also of a narrower diameter than the hose assembly in its relaxed state, and is stretched to fit onto the hose. It clamps tightly to the hose assembly and increases in tightness as the mesh is stretched during a failure. Another type of hose restraint is merely a cable that is looped at one end about a hose end and is tied at the other end to a fix point. Again, it does not provide the present advantages.

Viewed from a further aspect, the present invention provides a hose assembly whipcheck cover that includes a sleeve of a closed-form that is adapted to be fastened at both of its ends to the hose assembly so that the sleeve can resist whipping of the hose assembly on failure thereof, the sleeve being sized to provide a gap between the hose of the assembly and the sleeve.

Viewed from another aspect, the present invention provides a hose assembly whipcheck including a cover formed from a sleeve that extends along the length of the hose assembly and that is anchored in place at at least one of its ends by a staple element.

Viewed from a still further aspect, the present invention provides hose assembly whipcheck including a cover formed from two concentric sleeves having an annular gap therebetween, the cover being anchored at its ends to couplings of the hose assembly or to anchoring points adjacent thereto.

The present invention also provides a method of securing a hose assembly against whipping on failure of the hose assembly, the method including the step of providing a sleeve over the hose assembly along the length of the assembly's hose, the sleeve being of a closed form, and anchoring the sleeve towards its ends to the hose assembly and/or to one or more anchoring points external of the assembly.

The present invention further provides a hose assembly safety device including a sleeve of material that acts as a working fluid ejection retardant and that includes means towards its ends that allows it to be anchored to a hose assembly coupling or to a fixed point adjacent the coupling.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of restraining a hose assembly, including the steps of providing the hose assembly with a burst suppression cover and of anchoring the burst suppression cover towards its ends to the hose assembly or to external points.

Viewed from another aspect, the present invention provides a hose assembly over which is provided a whipcheck cover, the cover being formed from a sleeve of material of a substantially closed structure, the sleeve being sized to fit over the hose portion of the assembly with a gap between the cover and the portion, the cover in use being anchored towards its ends to resist whipping of the hose assembly on failure thereof.

It should be noted that any one of the aspects mentioned above may include any of the features mentioned in relation to any of the other aspects mentioned above, as appropriate. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the particularity of the drawings does not supersede the generality of the preceding description of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side-view of a hose assembly and whipcheck cover according to one embodiment of the present invention, partly in cross-section;

Figure 2 is a side-view of a hose assembly and whipcheck cover according to another embodiment of the present invention, partly in cross- section; and

Figure 3 is a side-view of a hose assembly and whipcheck cover according to a further embodiment of the present invention, partly in cross- section.

Referring to Fig. 1 , a high-pressure hose assembly 1 will generally comprise a length of hose 2 and a pair of hose couplings 3, one at each end of the hose 2.

Such hose assemblies 1 may be used as hydraulic or pneumatic lines, and may contain and transfer working fluid, e.g. oil or air, so as to provide a control or power action. They may also be used as transport lines to supply material, e.g. the fluid itself or material entrained therein, and e.g. may be used as pump lines.

Due to the high pressures that are generally involved, significant safety concerns may arise should the hose assembly 1 fail. For example, fluid ejected from a burst hose may spray personnel or adjacent machinery, and may even be injected into a person under the high pressures. Also, the forces involved in the failure may cause the hose to whip about violently, causing harm and damage should the hose hit a person or machinery.

The present invention provides safety equipment that aims to mitigate against fluid ejection problems and to restrain the movement of the hose. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , the present invention provides a whipcheck and burst suppression cover 4 in the form of a sleeve 5 that extends along the length of the hose assembly 1 and that is anchored at its ends to the hose assembly couplings 3 by anchoring elements in the form of staples 6.

Each staple 6 is of a U-shaped design, and has a pair of legs 7 (one of each being visible in the side view), which pass through pairs of opposed eyelets 8a,8b that are mounted in a portion of the sleeve 5 that is reinforced by being folded back on itself to provide a double thickness. The staple legs 7 extend either side of the associated coupling 3, and lie between circumferential flanges 9 of a collar 10 of the coupling 3, so as to be held longitudinally in position on the hose assembly 1.

The coupling 3 may be connected to an external coupling (not shown) using the same staple 6. Thus, the external coupling may extend over the hose coupling 3 (between the hose coupling 3 and the cover 4), and a staple 6 may extend through eyelets 8a, through corresponding holes in the external coupling, between the flanges 9, through further holes in the external coupling, and out through eyelets 8b.

The staples 6 may be of the type currently used to couple hoses in mining situations and the like. These staples are generally made from spring steel or stainless steel and may have a slight opposing flaring at the end of each of their legs, and the spring tension imposed and/or the opposing flaring of the legs can secure the staple in place. Also, in use, line pressure will generally cause the hose and external couplings to hold the staples 6 tightly. If desired, however, a fastener may be provided between the free ends of a staple 6 to lock the staple 6 in position once it has been pushed into place, although this is not generally necessary.

The sleeve 5 may be formed of a closed-weave material, and may be e.g. made of textiles material. It may for example be made of multi-filament nylon. This can provide a strong sleeve that is able to resist whipping and fluid forces, and that can also prevent fluid from escaping through its surface.

The cover 4 is a loose fit over the hose 2, and is sized so that there is a gap 1.1 between the hose 2 and the cover 4. The cover 4 may for example, in a relaxed state, have an inner diameter that is greater than the outer diameter of the hose 2 by about 25% or more, e.g. between about 25% to about 50%, with 50% being particularly advantageous. The cover 4 may be sized so that it can extend over the couplings 3, so that it can be placed over the hose assembly 1 after the hose 2 and couplings 3 are connected together.

The cover 4 provides a dual role should the hose assembly 1 fail. Thus, it suppresses or retarding the ejection of pressurised fluid from the hose 2 into the surroundings, and also restrains the movement of the hose 2, so that whipping of the hose 2 is limited or eliminated.

For example, should the hose 2 separate from one of the couplings 3, the fluid ejected from the hose end will remain in the cover 4 and be channelled along its length. Even if fluid did burst through the cover 4, it would have expended a good deal of its energy, and so would be able to cause less harm.

Further, the hose 3 is constrained to whip within the cover 4, and the cover 4 is able to give and to absorb a lot of the energy of the hose 3, whilst itself being restrained to move only within a limited area. Even with burst- through of fluid, the hose cover 4 will generally be able to keep sufficient integrity along its length to anchor the hose assembly against violent movements.

The loose fitting and sizing of the sleeve has been found to be advantageous in that the force of the ejected fluid can significantly drop between its ejection through the hose 2 and its hitting of the cover 4, thereby reducing the possibility of the sleeve 5 being penetrated.

It also has the advantage that it allows the fluid that hits the cover 4 to be redirected along the gap 11 along the length of the hose 2, and this can help to dampen the whipping action of the hose 2 through a redirection of the fluid forces longitudinally.

A further point is that the hoses 2 often include wire-reinforcement or the like, and when the hoses burst, these reinforcement materials may be thrust up in a violent manner. The current sleeving arrangement has the advantage that it can reduce the possibility of these reinforcements piercing the sleeving on their up thrust.

The cover 4 should be of a suitable strength such that it can withstand the forces associated with a failure of the associated hose, which will generally be explosive and comprise a sudden release of stored energy over a relatively short period.

The strength required will generally depend on the pressures involved, the hose and the like. As one example, for a hose of Vz diameter operating at

350 bar, an appropriate sleeving may have a tensile strength of around 400 Kg force or more per layer (two layers/sleeves may therefore have a 800 Kg tensile strength).

The cover 4 may be made to be flame-resistant and anti-static. It may for example be made of materials to which conductive dyes or paints have been applied, and/or may include a weave of conductive material, e.g. steel wire, therein. It may for example have a resistance of less than 1 MΩ/m, and/or may conform to other suitable standards, e.g. Australian standard AS2660.

Overall, the cover 4 provides a simple, easily installed and effective fluid suppression and whipcheck device that can provide significant safety benefits. As the staples can be the same as those used in the normal coupling of the hose assembly and external coupling, a strong anchor can be achieved without the need for extra tools or fittings and in a quick, unobtrusive and space-saving manner.

Fig. 2 shows a similar arrangement to that of Fig. 1. In this embodiment, however, the cover 4 includes the use of two identical sleeves 5a, 5b, both of which are anchored at their ends, and also another form of anchoring is shown.

The sleeves 5a, 5b can be of the same type and construction as that discussed in Fig. 1. They are separate from one another and are of different diameter, with the outer sleeve 5b being a loose fit about the inner sleeve 5a, and with the sleeves sized so that there is a gap 12 between them.

The use of two sleeves 5a, 5b provides for greater strength in the cover 4, and so can resist greater amounts of whipping force. The two sleeves 5a, 5b also provide for a greater resistance to fluid ejection, and it has been found that the use of two separate sleeves (rather than a single sleeve of greater strength) is particularly good at containing fluid ejection and whipping. Thus, when fluid is ejected under high pressure, both the sleeves 5a, 5b will move and absorb the energy of the fluid and restrain any resulting movement of the hose 2, whilst if fluid bursts through the first sleeve 5a, a lot of its force will be dissipated, and further force will be dissipated crossing the gap 12. Thus, when it hits the outer sleeve 5b, the fluid's force may be greatly reduced, so that the second sleeve 5b, which will also give under the fluid pressure, will be able to absorb the remaining fluid energy and deflect the fluid along the gap 12 without its own failure.

As said, the two sleeves 5a, 5b may be of identical construction, although different characteristics are also possible. For example, the inner sleeve 5a may be of lower strength than the outer sleeve 5b and may provide a sacrificial role, e.g. it may be designed to rupture and absorb fluid force, whilst the outer sleeve 5b ensures that the fluid is constrained within the cover and prevents hose whip. Further layers of sleeve may also be provided, if considered necessary.

At the right-hand end of Fig. 2, the sleeves 5a, 5b are mounted in the same manner as in Fig. 1 , with both being anchored by the same staple.

At the left-hand end of the hose assembly, the sleeves 5a,5b are anchored by a cable 13, which extends through the sleeve eyelets 8a,8b. The ends of the cable 13 are tied off to fixed anchoring points 14 that may e.g. be located on machinery with which the hose assembly 1 connects or that may be mounted on walls or other fixed structures adjacent to the hose assembly end.

This type of anchoring may be useful for example in hose assemblies where a staple coupling is not used.

As well as anchoring the cover 4 at or towards its ends, the cover 4 may also be anchored at points along its length. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, further eyelets 15 may be provides along the length of the hose cover 4 remote from the cover ends. A cable 16 may then be looped through the eyelets 15 and may be tied off at its ends to further anchoring points 17 adjacent to the hose.

Anchoring of the hose assembly 1 along its length may have particular advantage where the hose assembly 1 is of a long length, e.g. as would be the case for a supply hose in a coal-mine. The anchoring then enables the hose assembly to be restrained along its length should a burst occur away from the hose assembly ends. It may also aid in general mounting and routing of the hose assembly to ensure that it does not drift during normal use.

A single cable 13, 16 may go through all of the eyelets at the end of the hose or at a location along the length of the hose, or a number of cables may be used, and in one embodiment, each eyelet may have a separate cable looped through it that is then tied off to an anchoring point.

Fig. 3 shows another embodiment that is again similar to the arrangement of Fig. 1 , except that the cover 4 is crimped to the hose couplings 3 by a metal crimping sleeve or ferrule 18. Again, the sleeve 5 of the cover 4 may be folded upon itself to provide reinforcement at the crimping.

The crimping sleeve 18 may for example be made from free machining steel or non-ferrous material. The crimping force should be sufficient to retain the sleeving in the event of hose failure, but not so severe as to damage the sleeving such that the sleeving itself may fail. This embodiment also includes a hose protector 19 mounted about the hose 2 between the hose 2 and the sleeve 5. In the example shown, the hose protector 19 is a plastics spiral guard that may be wrapped around the hose 2.

The guard 19 may not only prevent damage to the hose 2, so as to reduce the likelihood of failure, but may be effective when the hose 2 bursts, as it is able to deflect fluid along the length of the hose, and so may help to dampen the whipping forces.

Although not shown, the guard 19 may also be anchored to the couplings 3 so as to provide some resistance to hose whip. Other embodiments of the present invention are also possible, and for example, the features of each of the disclosed embodiments may be combined in a number of different ways. Also, the covers 4 may be constructed of further sleeves of material, and may be made of other materials or composites including metal reinforcing. They may be made of any materials and structures such that they are able to provide both burst suppression and also hose restraint.

It is to be understood that various alterations, additions and/or modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the ambit of the present invention, and that, in the light of the above teachings, the present invention may be implemented in a variety of manners as would be understood by the skilled person.

Claims

1. A hose assembly over which is provided a whipcheck cover, the cover being formed from a sleeve of material that provides a burst suppression ability, the sleeve being sized to fit over the hose portion of the assembly with a gap between the cover and the hose portion, the cover in use being anchored towards its ends to resist whipping of the hose assembly on failure thereof.

2. The hose assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sleeve is anchored to the hose couplings.

3. The hose assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sleeve is anchored to an external fixing point.

4. The assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the sleeve includes one or more eyelets through which extends an anchoring element.

5. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is anchored at an end by a staple.

6. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sleeve is anchored at end by one or more cables.

7. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the sleeve is anchored to a hose coupling of the assembly by crimping, clamping or swagging.

8. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is sized to have an inner diameter that is about 25% or more larger than the outer diameter of the hose of the assembly.

9. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is sized to have an inner diameter that is between about 25% and about 50% larger than the outer diameter of the hose of the assembly.

10. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the cover includes at least two sleeves having a gap therebetween.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the sleeves are formed of the same material as one another.

12. The assembly of claim 10 or 11 , wherein an outer sleeve is fitted loosely about an inner sleeve.

13. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the cover includes a sleeve layer configured to deflect fluid ejected from the hose longitudinally along the length of the hose.

14. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein a hose protector is provided within the sleeve.

15. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein a plastics spiral guard is provided within the sleeve.

16. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the cover is anchored along its length at one or more points remote from its ends.

17. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is formed of a material of a substantially closed form.

18. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is formed of a closed weave material.

19. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is made of a textile material.

20. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is made of nylon material.

21. The assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the sleeve is a burst suppression sleeve.

22. A hose assembly whipcheck cover that includes a sleeve of a material of a closed form that is adapted to be fastened at both of its ends to the hose assembly so that the sleeve can resist whipping of the hose assembly on failure thereof, the sleeve being sized to provide a gap between the hose of the assembly and the sleeve.

23. A hose assembly whipcheck including a cover formed from a sleeve that extends along the length of the hose assembly and that is anchored in place at at least one of its ends by a staple element.

24. A hose assembly whipcheck including a cover formed from two concentric sleeves having an annular gap therebetween, the cover being anchored at its ends to couplings of the hose assembly or to anchoring points adjacent thereto.

25. A method of securing a hose assembly against whipping on failure of the hose assembly, the method including the step of providing a sleeve over the hose assembly along the length of the assembly's hose, the sleeve being of a closed form, and anchoring the sleeve towards its ends to the hose assembly and/or to one or more anchoring points external of the assembly.

26. A hose assembly safety device including a sleeve of material that acts as a working fluid ejection retardant and that includes means towards its ends that allows it to be anchored to a hose assembly coupling or to a fixed point adjacent the coupling.

27. A method of restraining a hose assembly, including the steps of providing the hose assembly with a burst suppression cover and of anchoring the burst suppression cover towards its ends to the hose assembly or to external points.

28. A hose assembly over which is provided a whipcheck cover, the cover being formed from a sleeve of material of a substantially closed structure, the sleeve being sized to fit over the hose portion of the assembly with a gap between the cover and the portion, the cover in use being anchored towards its ends to resist whipping of the hose assembly on failure thereof.