Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2~39544
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TOOL FOR MOu N'l'lN~ A PROTECTIVE SLEEVE ONTO A HOSE
AND METHOD OF USE T~RRR~OR
RAC~RoUND OF THE lNV~;N'l'lON
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hoses and protective sleeves
which it thereover. More part;~ rly, the present invention
relates to a tool and method of use thereor for mounting a
protective sleeve onto a hose.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Protective sleeves for covering hoses, such as central vacuum
hoses or the l~ce, are known and are commercially av~ hl~. These
protective sleeves or hoses are advantageous because they protect
household items, such as f urniture, f rom being scratched or marred
by the hose. For exAmrle, protective sleeves for central vacuum
hoses are av~ hl~ from Vacsoc Inc. of Concord, Ontario, and from
Cen-Tec Systems of Bloomington, T~ ais. The commerci~lly
avA;l~hle protective sleeves are flaccidly fl~,~ihlQ and n~ lly
include an elastic f abric or f abric-like material as part of tht~i r
construction so that they wi~l conf orm snugly to the external
contours of the central vacuum hose, which is itself fl~}rihlQ and
nnrm~lly ribbed.
However, the ~ob of mounting such a protective sleeve onto
a central vacuum hose i5 a dif ficult and time-consuming ef f ort,
since the protective sleeve tends to grip the hose at any parti ~ r
paint when placed thereon, particularly due to the ribbing, and
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21395~
6ince the protective sleeve must generally pass over an enlarged
fitting at one end bef ore it reaches the hose itself . A need
theref ore exists in the art f or an im-proved method of mounting a
protective sleeve onto a hose, and for a tool which will facilitate
mounting a protective sleeve onto such a hose.
SUMMARY OF THE ~vh~ N
The present invention provides a tool for facilitating the
placement of a protective sleeve onto a hose. The tool in
accordance with the present invention i8 generally composed of a
substantially cylindr;~Al tube having a hollow passageway formed
therethrough, and a substantially con;~Al end portion removably
attached to an end of the tube in coAxiAl Al;gnment therewith.
The present invention also provides an improved method of
mounting a protective sleeve onto a hose. The method in
accordance with the present invention generally includes the steps
of: prov;~;ng a tool to assist a user in mounting the protective
sleeve onto the hose, the tool being essent;Ally constituted as
described immediately hereinabove, placing an open end of a
flacci~ly fl~srihll? protective sleeve onto the end portion of the
tool, sli~ing a first part of the protective sleeve over the end
portion and onto the tube, progressively sliding the rest of the
sleeve over the coni~Al end portion and onto the tube until at least
substantially the entire protective sleeve is situated on the tube,
removing the c~ni~;~l end portion from the tube, passing a first end
of a hose through the tube f rom one end thereof and out the other
2139544
.
end thereof until the second end of the hose is adjacent the one
end of the tube, sl;~l;ng the first part of the protective sleeve off
of the tube and onto the hose, moving the second end of the hose
axially away f rom the one end of the tube while simultaneously
f eeding the rest of the protective sleeve onto the hose at a rate
equal to the movement of the hose, and separating the tube f rom
the hose whereupon the protective sleeve is situated on the hose.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a toal f or ~ 1Ah1Y mounting a protective sleeve onto a
hose.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a
tool f or fil;-lAhJy mounting a protective sleeve onto a hose, wherein
the ends of the hose have fittings connected thereto which have
cross-sections exceeding that of the hose itself .
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a
method f or placing a protective sleeve onto a hose.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide
a method f or placing a protective sleeve onto a hose, wher~in the
ends of the hose have fittings connected thereto which exceed the
diameter of the hose itself.
BRIEF DES~l~ ON OF T~E DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1 is a top elevational view, partially in cross-section,
of a preferred embodiment of the tool in accordance with the
present invention, the depicted embo~ t including a tube and an
end portion.
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FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a protective sleeve f or a
hose being mounted on the e-mbodiment of Figure 1.
FIGURE 3 is a perspective view sim;l;~r to Figure 2, with the
protective sleeve installed on the tube thereof and the end portion
removed f rom the tube.
FIGURES 4 and 5 are side views of the tube and protective
sleeve of Figure 3, with a hose inserted through the tube and the
protective sleeve being placed thereon, wherein the hose is shown
partially cut away.
FIGURE 6 is a side view of the hose of Figures 4 and 5, with
the protective sleeve mounted thereon.
For a more c~ rlete understanding of the present invention,
the reader is referred to the fo~lowing det~;led descriptionr which
should be read in conjunction with the accnmrAnying drawings.
Throughout the f ollowing description and in the drawings, li~;e
numbers ref er to lilce parts throughout the several views.
DE~rA~ n DES~:~llON OF THE PREFERRED EMBOD~ENT
Ref erring now to the drawings, and particularly to Figure 1,
a tool 10 in accordance with a preferred emborl;m~nt of the
present invention is shown which includes a tube 12 of preferably
cylin~ Al cross-section, having a hnllow passageway 14 formed
therethrough. The tube 12 is pref erably f ormed f rom a smooth,
durable material such as plastic or metal. It is preferred that the
exterior surf ace of the tube 12 be smooth, continuous, and
uninterrupted in order to present a sll;tAhle surface for sliding a
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f abric or f abric-like protective sleeve thereupon. The tube 12 is
preferably three to five feet in length and the passageway 1~ i5
pref erred to be at least three inches in diameter in order to allow
a hose 30 to pass therethrough, as well as an optional fitting which
may or may not be connected to one end of the hose. As noted,
the preferred shape for the tube 12 is cylin~lr;~Al, although it could
be made with a geometric cross-section such as for ~xATnrlR an
hexagonal or octagonal shape and sti:ll be eqllivalent.
The tool 10 also includes a gener~]ly c~ni~Ally shaped end
portion 20 having a connection end 21 which~ is dimensioned to
mate with at least one end of the tube. In this regard, the
connection end 21 is shown lel~uv~bly attached to a first end 16 of
the tube 12. The attachment between the connection end 21 of the
end portion 2 0 and the first end 16 of the tube 12 may be by
interf erence fit, by means of interconnecting screw threads f ormed
on respectively contacting portions of the tube and end portion, or
by other appropriate means, so long as the end portion 20 is easily
removable by a user of the tool 10. In the embodiment shown in
the drawings, the end portion 20 is provided with a connector end
21 having a hollow interior opening 22 in which the inside diameter
thereof is just slightly larger than the outside diameter of the first
end 16 of the tube 12 so as to ~llow the first end to fit F~ hly
therein and thereby provide the aforementioned S1;~1Ah1~
interf erence fit therebetween. This structural arrangement ensures
that a protective sleeve 18 may be slid over the end portion 2 0
and onto the tube 12 without getting pinched between the tube 12
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and the end portion 20. It is preferred, in the practice of the
present invention, that the end portion 20 be con;~Ally shaped with
a rounded tip 24 in order to present a surface which wi~l not pose
any saf ety hazard to pets or ~;mall children, and which wi~l resist
piercing of the material of the protective sleeve 18 when placed
sl;~ hly thereupon. It is also preferred that the exterior surface of
the end portion 20 be smooth, continuous, and uninterrupted in
order to present a suitable surface for sl;~;ng a fabric or
f abric~ e protective sleeve 18 thereover, as is f urther described
hereinbelow. The length of the end portion 20 is not cri~ical, but
a sn;t~hle length could be in the range of appro~imately six to
eight inches.
The tube 12 together with the end portion 2 0 make up the
preferred embol;me~nt of the tool 10 hereof. Those skilled in the
art to which the present invention pertains will re;~lize that the
tool 10 hereof could easily be mo l;f;~1 or ;~ 1;t;~ al features could
be added thereto without changing the essent;~l character or
function thereof. It is also cont~mrl~ted that the tool 10 hereof
could be soad in a package with a protective sleeve 18 to f orm a
complete set.
The present invention also encompasses an improved method
of install;ng a protective sleeve 18 onto a hose 30 using the tool
10 hereof, and the reader will gain a better understanding of the
use of the tool 10 hereof af ter reading the f ollawing description of
the method in accordance with the present invention. The
f ollowing description is directed primarily to placing a protective
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2139~;4~
sleeve 18 on a hose 30 in the form of a fl~7~;hl~, rihh~r~ central
vacuum hose such as might be used in f~le.qning a home or the li~ce.
However, the tool and method according to the present invention
are appropriate f or use in any application of placing a protective
sleeve onto a hose.
In practicing the method in accordance with the present
invention, a hollow and flac~ ly flP~ihl~ protective sleeve 18,
pref erably constructed of an elastic f abric material although this is
not a requirement, is applied to the exterior surf ace of a hose 3 0
using the tool 10. Initi~lly, the connection end 21 of the end
portion 2 0 is attached to the first end 16 of the tube 12. A first
open end 19 of the protective sleeve 18 is slirl~hly placed onto the
end portion 20 from the tip 24 toward the connection end 21
thereof. A first part 18a of the protective sleeve 18, ad]acent to
the open end 19 thereof, is slid over the con;~;~l end portion 20
and onto the tube 12. Subsequently, the rest of the protective
sleeve 18 are progressively slid over the c~ni~l end portion 20 and
onto the tube 12, in turn, until at least substantially the entire
protective sleeve 18 is situated on and surrounding the tube 12.
The first part 18a should be now located adjacent the second end
17 of the tube 12. Once the protective sleeve 18 has been placed
on the tube 12, the end portion 20 is removed therefrom and the
hose 30 is passed through the tube 12 starting from either the first
end 16 or the second end 17 thereof, the second end being depicted
for thi8 purpose irl Figure 4. When using the tool 10 to mount a
protective sleeve 18 onto the hose 3 0 which is in the f orm of a
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central vacuum hose, the first end 32 of the central vacuum hose is
defined by a connector fitt;ng which is firstly ed through the tube
12. This is done because the othe~ end 34 of the vacuum hose is
defined by a handle fitting that has a much larger cross-section
than the connector fitting, which makes it impossible to be passed
through the passageway 14 of the tube 12, since the tube diameter
is too small due to the limited accnmmc~l~tive elasticity of the
protective sleeve 18 which prevents it being placed onto a tube of
so large a cross-section.
The hose 30 is passed through the tube until the second end
34 of the hose is adjacent the second end 17 of the tube 12. The
hose 30 is then pu~led back out of the tube 12 (the second end 34
being pulled axially away f rom the second end 17 of the tube)
while the first part 18a of the protective sleeve 18 is slid of f of
the tube 12 and placed f eedably onto the hose 3 0 starting f rom
adjacent the second end 34 thereof at a rate that matches
movement of the hose with respect to the tube 12. The hose 30 is
pulled through the passageway 14 of the tube 12 while the
protective sleeve 18 is transferred from the exterior surface of the
tube 12 and onto the ho~e 30. Af ter the entire length of the
protective sleeve 18 has been placed surroundingly onto the hose 30
along the full length thereof between the first and second ends 32,
34, the tube 12 is separated from the hose 30 whereupon the
protective sleeve 18 i~3 surroundingly located onto the hose.
While the above description detAils passing the hose through
the tube 12 f r~n the second end thereof, the hose can, of course,
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21395~4
be passed through the tube starting from either of the first or the
second ends thereof.
The above described method of mounting a protective sleeve
18 onto a hose 30 is ~;~n;fi--~ntly superior to the previously known
method because it i8 much faster and e~ r than the cumbersome
task of continuously stretching parts of the elastic protective
sleeve 18 over the connector fitting at the first end 3 2 of the hose
30. A business using the method and to~L according to the present
invention would reali~e a s;gn;f;~nt savings in labor cost if this
task were to be perf ormed repetitively on the iob. The above
described process would be essentially reversed if a user wished to
use the tool hereof to remove the protective sleeve 18 f rom the
hose 3 O.
Although the present invention has been described herein
with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be
understood that the f oregaing description is intended to be
illustrative rather than restrictive, and that the invention is not
limited to the spe~;fic emb~;~-~t described herein. Many
morl;f;~tions will occur to those ski~led in the art to which the
invention pertains. For instance, the end portion may be composed
of a series of cnn;f~l shape def;n;ng wires, rather than an actual
continuous cc~n;c;ll surface, and/or the tube may be c~nposed of a
series of tube shape defining wires, each oriented parallel to the
tube axis, rather than an actual continuous tube surf ace. All such
m~l;f;~tions which f~ll within the scope of the appended claims
are intended to be within the scope and spirit of the present
2139~41
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inventio~.
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