Patent Application
20230265951
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The disclosure relates to hose coupler devices and more particularly pertains to a new hose coupler device for inhibiting hoses from becoming kinked. The device includes a first male fitting and a second male fitting that is rotatably coupled to the first male fitting. The first male fitting is insertable into a first hose and the second male fitting is insertable into a second hose. In this way the first hose and the second hose can be deployed without kinking.
The prior art relates to hose coupler devices including a swiveling hose fitting which includes a first fitting threadably engaging a second fitting and a metal sleeve extending through the first fitting and the second fitting. The prior art discloses a swivel joint comprising a ball and a socket. The prior art discloses a swivel joint for a pool cleaner hose. The prior art discloses a swiveling hose connection which comprises a pair of female hose couplers that are rotatably coupled together with ball bearings. The prior art discloses a swiveling hose connection which comprises a female hose coupler that is rotatably coupled to a male hose coupler with ball bearings. The prior art discloses a kink inhibiting fitting which has a first half that rotatably engages a second half and a pair of hoses which is each attachable to a respective first half and second half.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a first male fitting that is insertable into a female end of a first hose. The first male fitting is hollow to pass a fluid from the first hose outwardly through the male fitting. A second male fitting is rotatably coupled to the first male fitting such that each of the first male fitting and the second male fitting extends along a common axis, and the second male fitting is rotatable about the common axis. The second male fitting is insertable into a female end of a second hose to inhibit the first hose and the second hose from becoming kinked. The second male fitting is hollow to pass the fluid from the first male fitting into the second hose.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The first male fitting 12 has a shoulder 24 extending outwardly from the outer surface 22 and the shoulder 24 extends around a full circumference of the outer surface 22. The shoulder 24 is positioned closer to the second end 20 than the first end 18, and the outer surface 22 between the shoulder 24 and the second end 20 has a diameter is less than a diameter of the outer surface 22 between the shoulder 24 and the first end 18. The outer surface 22 has a plurality of first ridges 26 each extending around a full circumference of the outer surface 22. The first ridges 26 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed between the shoulder 24 and the first end 18 of the first male fitting 12. Each of the first ridges 26 has a sloped surface 28 angling away from the outer surface 22 and a vertical surface 30 extending between the sloped surface 38 and the outer surface 22. The sloped surface 28 of each of the first ridges 26 slopes upwardly between the first end 18 of the first male fitting 12 and the shoulder 24 such that an intersection between the sloped surface 28 and the vertical surface 30 frictionally engages an interior surface 32 of the first hose 16 to inhibit the first male fitting 12 from being removed from the first hose 16. Additionally, the first male fitting 12 is inserted into the female end 14 of the first hose 16 until the female end 14 of the first hose 16 abuts the shoulder 24.
The outer surface 22 has a first groove 34 extending around a full circumference of the outer surface 22. The first groove 34 is positioned between the shoulder 24 and the second end 20 of the first male fitting 12. Continuing, the first groove 34 has a bounding surface 36 and the bounding surface 36 is concavely arcuate with respect to the outer surface 22. The outer surface 22 has a second groove 38 extending around a full circumference of the outer surface 22. Additionally, the second groove 38 is positioned between the first groove 34 and the second end 20.
A second male fitting 40 is rotatably coupled to the first male fitting 12 such that each of the first male fitting 12 and the second male fitting 40 extends along a common axis. Additionally, the second male fitting 40 is rotatable about the common axis. The second male fitting 40 is insertable into a female end 42 of a second hose 44 thereby rotatably attaching the first hose 16 to the second hose 44. In this way the first male fitting 12 and the second male fitting 40 inhibit the first hose 16 and the second hose 44 from becoming kinked. The second male fitting 40 is hollow to pass the fluid from the first male fitting 12 in the second hose 44. Additionally, the second male fitting 40 may be comprised of brass or other rigid, corrosion resistant material. Each of the first hose 16 and the second hose 44 may comprise sections of a garden hose or other type of low pressure fluid hose.
The second male fitting 40 has a primary end 46, a secondary end 48 and an outside surface 50 extending between the primary end 46 and the secondary end 48, and the second male fitting 40 is elongated between the primary end 46 and the secondary end 48. The outside surface 50 is continuously arcuate about an axis extending through the primary end 46 and the secondary end 48 such that the second male fitting 40 has a tubular shape, and each of the primary end 46 and the secondary end 48 is open. The outside surface 50 has a plurality of second ridges 52 each extending around a full circumference of the outer surface 22. The second ridges 52 are spaced apart from each other and are distributed between the primary end 46 and the secondary end 48 of the second male fitting 40. Each of the second ridges 52 has a sloped surface 54 angling away from the outside surface 50 and a vertical surface 56 extending between the sloped surface 54 and the outside surface 50. The sloped surface 54 of each of the second ridges 52 slopes upwardly between the primary end 46 and the secondary end 48 such that an intersection between the sloped surface 54 and the vertical surface 56 of the second ridges 52 frictionally engages an interior surface 58 of the second hose 44 to inhibit the second male fitting 40 from being removed from the second hose 44.
The second male fitting 40 has an inside surface 60 and the inside surface 60 has a third groove 62 extending around a full circumference of the inside surface 60. The third groove 62 is positioned closer to the secondary end 48 than the primary end 46. The third groove 62 has a bounding surface 64 and the bounding surface 64 of the third groove 62 is concavely arcuate with respect to the inside surface 60. The third groove 62 is aligned with the first groove 34 in the outer surface 22 of the first male fitting 12 when secondary end 48 insertably receives the second end 20 of the first male fitting 12. Furthermore, the secondary end 48 of the second male fitting 40 abuts the shoulder 24 when the second male fitting 40 is fully seated on the first male fitting 12.
A plurality of ball bearings 66 is each positioned in the first groove 34 and the third groove 62 for retaining the second male fitting 40 on the first male fitting 12. A gasket 68 is provided which forms a closed loop and the gasket 68 is positioned in the second groove 38 such that the gasket 68 extends outwardly beyond the outer surface 22 of the first male fitting 12. The gasket 68 engages the inside surface 60 of the second male fitting 40 when the second male fitting 40 is fully seated on the first male fitting 12. Additionally, the gasket 68 is comprised of a resiliently compressible material such that the gasket 68 forms a fluid impermeable seal with the inside surface 60 of the second male fitting 40. In this way the gasket 68 inhibits fluid from leaking outwardly from the secondary end 48 of the second male fitting 40.
In use, the first male fitting 12 is inserted into the female end 14 of the first hose 16 until the first hose 16 abuts the shoulder 24. The second male fitting 40 is inserted into the female end 42 of the second hose 44 until the second hose 44 abuts the shoulder 24. In this way the first hose 16 is rotatably coupled to the second hose 44. Thus, the first hose 16 and the second hose 44 can be deployed without kinking as is common in lengths of garden hose, for example. Furthermore, the first male fitting 12 and the second male fitting 40 facilitate a water tight seal between the first hose 16 and the second hose 44.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
