Reinforced Flexible Hose Structure for Low Weight and Shape Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reinforced flexible hoses, such as garden hoses, face issues with excessive weight due to high-density polymeric materials, making them difficult to handle and less appealing to users, while existing solutions have not effectively addressed the need for a lightweight and dimensionally stable option.
Innovation Solution
A flexible hose design featuring an inner tubular layer made of elastomer or thermoplastic elastomer, an outer cover layer also made of elastomer or thermoplastic elastomer, and interposed reinforcement layers of polyester yarn, with specific material hardness and density characteristics to minimize weight and maximize ease of use, combined with a reinforcement layer of rigid or slightly elastic textile threads with predetermined inclinations to resist deformation under pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If high-density polymeric materials are used in reinforced flexible hoses, then strength and durability are improved, but weight increases making the hose difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The hose employs a composite structure combining polymeric materials with textile reinforcement layers. The textile layers (spiralled and cross-hatched configurations) provide structural strength and dimensional stability, while the polymeric layers provide flexibility and sealing. This composite approach allows the hose to achieve high strength-to-weight ratio, resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement is applied locally where needed through textile layers positioned at specific orientations (spiralled and cross-hatched). The textile threads are arranged to provide maximum structural support in critical areas while minimizing material usage elsewhere, achieving optimal strength with reduced weight.
2Stability of the object's composition
If textile reinforcement layers are added to resist deformation under pressure, then dimensional stability is improved, but weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The textile reinforcement layers are arranged in spiralled and cross-hatched configurations with specific pitch angles. This curved/angled arrangement of reinforcement threads optimally resists radial expansion under pressure while maintaining longitudinal flexibility, providing dimensional stability with minimal material.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcement structure uses multiple layers with different orientations (spiralled layers at different angles, cross-hatched layers). This multi-dimensional arrangement of textile threads provides comprehensive resistance to deformation in all directions under pressure, achieving superior dimensional stability without excessive weight increase.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
A ultra-lightweight reinforced flexible hose for transporting fluids, in particular a flexible garden hose for transporting water, comprising: at least one inner tubular layer (2) made of at least one first elastomeric or thermoplastic elastomer material; at least one outer cover layer (3) made of at least one second elastomeric or thermoplastic elastomer material; and at least one reinforcement layer (4) interposed between the inner (2) and outer (3) layer. The at least one reinforcement layer (4) consists of rigid or slightly elastic textile threads having at least partially a respective first and second predetermined inclination (α, β) mutually opposite with respect to said axis (X), each of the first and second inclinations (α, β) being comprised between 45° and 55° with respect to said axis (X).