Expandable air hose and method

Abstract

A pneumatic air hose is formed from an inner elastic tubular member surrounded by an outer non-elastic tubular member. In use, one end of the air hose is connected with an air compressor and one end is connected with a pneumatic tool. When engaged, the pneumatic air hose and the inner resilient tubular member expand to an extended state while the outer tubular sleeve extends together with the inner tubular member to a longer length than the original non-extended state. When the air compressor is disengaged, the expandable hose restores its original non-extended state.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application date of September 16, 2016, application number 201680083377.5, and name “Expandable Air Hose and Method”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15 / 066,657, filed on March 10, 2016, entitled “Expandable Air Hose and Process,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates to a pneumatic air hose. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved air hose for use in conjunction with an air compressor and various pneumatic tools such as blow guns, nail guns, and pneumatic staplers.

[0005] An air compressor is a device that converts power from a motor or engine into energy to compress air. The compressed air is usually contained within a pressure vessel, and the release of the compressed air can be triggered in a rapid burst. The two most common uses of air compressors are for air charging and pneumatic tools.

[0006] Inflating accessories include nozzles that allow people to inflate everything from beach balls to car tires. Pneumatic tools are generally faster, lighter, and more powerful than traditional power tools. Some pneumatic tools that work with air compressors include: blow guns, nail guns, pneumatic staplers, and spray guns.

[0007] Air compressors are often attached to pneumatic tools via elongated air hoses. However, these hoses can be bulky and cumbersome to use. Such elongated hoses can easily become tangled and difficult to neatly unroll and rewind between uses. Conventional hoses can also require a large amount of storage space. Therefore, there is a need for an improved air hose that is compact and configured for use with an air compressor. Background Art

[0008] Devices involving hoses have been disclosed in the prior art. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application disclosures. Devices in the art include devices that expand longitudinally and laterally when fluid pressure is applied. Other devices include hoses for fluids that have an inner tube member made of an elastic material and an outer tube member made of a non-elastic material. However, these prior art devices do not disclose a hose for use with an air compressor and having the structure of the present invention. Listed above are the devices that are considered to be most relevant to the present disclosure and are described herein for the purpose of highlighting and distinguishing the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the shortcomings that exist in the prior art.

[0009] Specifically, Berardi's U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,942 discloses a hose that expands longitudinally and transversely when fluid pressure is applied. Berardi's device can expand longitudinally to six times its contracted length. Berardi's device discloses an inner tube made of an elastic material and an outer tube made of a non-elastic material. The inner tube is concentrically disposed within the outer tube and is secured by first and second ends of both the inner and outer tubes.

[0010] Likewise, Berardi's published U.S. Patent Application No. 2013 / 0087205 discloses a hose having an inner tube member made of an elastic material and an outer tube member made of an inelastic material. The inner tube member is secured to the outer tube at the ends by an inlet coupler and an outlet coupler. The inlet coupler is adapted to be secured to a water source, and the outlet coupler is coupled to a flow restrictor so that the inner tube is pressure balanced with water received from the water source. The water causes the inner tube to expand longitudinally and transversely.

[0011] U.S. Patent No. 4,895,185 to Champleboux discloses a flexible hose and an expandable hose for use in a field. The device of Champleboux discloses a hose comprising at least two adjacent pairs of reinforcing layers made of flexible cables spirally arranged and attached to at least one rigid end piece. The rigid end piece comprises an inner support element and an outer clamping element. The inner support element and the outer clamping element are coaxial and have a conical compression surface that diverges toward one end. The device of Champleboux is a hose for a well packer.

[0012] Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,701 to Kovacik discloses a reel for storing an air hose having a spring-loaded pulley system mounted therein. The reel includes a hollow reel housing having a flange mounted on the exterior of the housing, a pulley rotatably mounted within the housing. The pulley further includes a nozzle mounted thereon. The reel hose is wound around the pulley and one end of the reel hose is attached to the nozzle.

[0013] The devices disclosed in the prior art have several known disadvantages. These devices are limited in that they are not suitable for use with air compressors. One invention discloses a hose that expands longitudinally and laterally when fluid pressure is applied. Another invention discloses a hose for fluids having an inner tubular member made of an elastic material and an outer tubular member made of a non-elastic material. Summary of the invention

[0014] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a new pneumatic air hose.

[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic air hose that is expandable when in use and that contracts to a non-expanded state when not in use.

[0016] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of using an expandable pneumatic air hose.

[0017] These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by an expandable pneumatic air hose formed by an inner elastic tubular member surrounded by an outer non-elastic tubular sleeve. The method is performed by connecting one end of the elastic tubular member to an air compressor and the other end to an air tool, engaging the air compressor to expand the inner tubular member to an extended state, while the outer tubular sleeve and the inner tubular member are extended to a length greater than the original non-extended state. When the air compressor is disengaged, the expandable hose returns to its original non-extended state. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1A is a perspective view of the expandable air hose of the present invention in a non-expanded state.

[0019] Figure 1B is a perspective view of a portion of an extendable air hose in an extended state.

[0020] Figure 2A It is the cross-section of the end of the expandable hose in the non-stretched state.

[0021] Figure 2B is a plan view of an extendable air hose of length D in a non-extended state.

[0022] Figure 3A is the cross section of the extendable air hose in its extended state.

[0023] Figure 3B is a plan view of an extendable air hose having a length D2 in an extended state.

[0024] Figure 4 is a plan view showing the pneumatic air hose in its operating mode. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] According to the present invention, it has been found that a pneumatic air hose can be formed to be extendable for use with a pneumatic tool and to have a non-extended shorter state for storage when not in use. Various other advantages and features will become apparent from the following description.

[0026] Figure 1Ais a partially cutaway perspective view of an expandable hose 1 according to the present invention. The expandable hose has an inner tubular elastic member 3 surrounded by a tubular non-elastic sleeve 5. The inner elastic tubular member 3 is connected to a pneumatic fitting 7, which can be connected to a pneumatic tool or air compressor in a conventional manner. A handle 9 facilitates attachment. The expandable air hose 1 when inflated stretches to about 1.5 to 2 times its non-stretched state. When stretched, the outer non-elastic tubular sleeve 5 stretches together with the elastic tubular member 3. Due to the very loose folds around the elastic tubular member 3, the non-elastic sleeve 5 can be stretched to a longer length.

[0027] When the expandable hose is inflated in actual use, the non-elastic outer sleeve 5 is stretched to the full length of the inner tubular member 3. Figure 1B As shown in FIG, the non-elastic tubular sleeve is stretched to substantially eliminate wrinkles therein. Figure 2A It is further shown in the cross-sectional view of , which shows the extendable hose 1 in a non-extended state.

[0028] Figure 3A is a partial cross-sectional view of the expandable hose 1 in the expanded state. Figure 3A The arrow in the figure indicates the direction of extension when in the stretched state.

[0029] Figure 2B is a plan view of an expandable pneumatic hose 1 having a length D in a non-stretched state. Figure 3B is a plan view showing the expandable hose 1 of length D2 in an extended state. In actual operation, the ratio of D2 to D is in the range of 1.5 to 2. This extension occurs when compressed air is applied at a pressure in the range of 90-120 psi.

[0030] Figure 4 2 is a plan view of an expandable hose 1 connected to an air compressor 21 and an air tool 23. When inflated and stretched, the expandable hose 1 has an extended length to facilitate its use. However, when the air compressor is disconnected, the expandable hose has a memory and returns to the original non-stretched state.

[0031] Nylon or other inelastic materials are suitable construction materials for the outer tubular inelastic sleeve. The inner elastic tubular member 3 is preferably made of a thermoplastic elastomer or natural butyl rubber. In tests of expandable hoses it has been found that pressures up to 600 psi can be achieved without rupturing the elastic tubular member.

[0032] While the present invention has been described as an expandable pneumatic hose and method of use thereof, this description is not intended to be limiting, but rather to be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of providing compressed air from a compressor to a work tool, comprising: providing an expandable air hose in a non-expanded state, the expandable air hose comprising an inner tubular elastic member and an outer tubular non-elastic sleeve, the inner tubular elastic member being connected at both ends to a pneumatic fitting; connecting the first end of the expandable air hose to an air compressor; connecting the second end of the expandable air hose to a pneumatic tool; coupling the air compressor to the first end of the expandable air hose to allow compressed air to enter the inner tubular elastic member to achieve a pressure in the range of 90 to 120 psi to achieve an expanded state having a length of 1.5 to 2 times the non-expanded length; engaging the pneumatic tool through the compressed air hose and the second portion, wherein engaging causes pressure to flow through the pneumatic fitting and move the pneumatic tool; and The first end portion is disengaged from the air compressor, wherein the disengagement removes the pneumatic fitting from the air compressor and enables the inner tubular resilient member to return to a non-stretched state.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The outer tubular inelastic sleeve is corrugated in the non-stretched state.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The outer tubular inelastic sleeve eliminates wrinkles in the stretched state.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The inner tubular elastic member is made of thermoplastic elastomer or natural butyl rubber.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The outer tubular non-elastic sleeve is made of nylon.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The inner tubular resilient member is capable of withstanding pressures up to 600 psi.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The ratio of the length of the outer tubular inelastic sleeve to the length of the inner tubular elastic member in a non-stretched state is 1.5 to 2 times.

8. A method of providing compressed air from a compressor to a work tool, comprising: Providing an expandable air hose in a non-expanded state, wherein the expandable air hose comprises an inner elastic tubular member and an outer non-elastic sleeve, with pneumatic fittings at both ends for connecting the elastic tubular member to an air compressor at one end and to a pneumatic tool at the other end; connecting an end of the extendable air hose to the air compressor; connecting the other end of the expandable air hose to the pneumatic tool; engaging the air compressor to allow compressed air to enter the inner elastic tubular member, thereby filling the inner elastic tubular member to 90-120 psi and expanding into the outer non-elastic sleeve and causing the extensible air hose to enter an extended state having the length of the outer sleeve; engaging the pneumatic tool to induce motion; and The air compressor is disengaged from the inner elastic tubular member, wherein the disengagement allows compressed air to escape from the inner elastic tubular member, thereby returning the expandable hose to its unexpanded state.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The ratio of the length of the outer non-elastic sleeve to the length of the inner elastic tubular member in a non-stretched state is 1.5 to 2 times.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The inner resilient tubular member is capable of withstanding pressures up to 600 psi.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The inner elastic tubular member is made of thermoplastic elastomer or natural butyl rubber.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The outer non-elastic sleeve is made of nylon.

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