JP2009024750A - Flexible hose with built-in tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the flexible hose from being disturbed in the stretchability and bendability of a flexible hose in a tube-mounted flexible hose that can be used in a vacuum cleaner or the like even at a site where a tube inserted into the hose is bonded. Provided is a flexible hose with a built-in tube in which foreign matter is hardly caught in an adhesive portion.
A flexible hose with a built-in tube in which a flexible tube is inserted and bonded and integrated into a loose flexible hose having a hose inner peripheral wall portion that enters the inside of the hose in the radial direction. A flexible hose with a built-in tube is formed on the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose by forming concave grooves and ridges along the loose shape as viewed from the inside of the hose, and bonding and integrating the tube to the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose at the ridges. It was.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a flexible hose used in a vacuum cleaner and the like, and in particular, a tube for returning the exhaust of the vacuum cleaner to a suction tool or a tube for storing a conducting wire is provided in the hose. Relates to a flexible hose with a built-in tube.

As such a tube built-in flexible hose, there exists a thing of patent document 1, for example. Patent Document 2 describes a method for manufacturing such a tube-containing flexible hose. Patent Document 1 discloses a flexible hose in which an auxiliary tube is bonded to the inner wall surface along the inner wall surface of the flexible hose.
JP-A-6-201073 European Patent EP1011960 (B1) Publication

  However, the conventional flexible hose described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, in the conventional flexible hose with a built-in tube, as shown in FIG. 6, the tube 62 is longer in the hose axial direction than the inner wall portion 34d constituting the inner wall portion of the hose that has entered the hose in the radial direction. Glued throughout. Therefore, in the vicinity of the part where the tube 62 is bonded, there is a problem that deformation of the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose and the tube 62 is inhibited, and the stretchability and bendability of the flexible hose are inhibited.

In addition, in the portion where the tube 62 and the inner wall portion 34d are bonded, the relative movement between the tube 62 and the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose is hindered. Once caught on the bonding portion between the inner wall portion 34d and the inner wall portion 34d, the foreign matter is unlikely to come off, and as a result, foreign matter may be deposited and the hose may be blocked.

An object of the present invention is to provide a flexible hose with a built-in tube that can prevent the stretchability and bendability of the flexible hose from being hindered, and that foreign matter is not easily caught between the bonded portions of the tube.

As a result of intensive studies to achieve the above object, the inventors have provided concave grooves and ridges along the inner wall of the hose of the flexible hose, and bonded the tube inserted through the hose to the ridge. As a result, the inventors have found that the above problems can be solved, and have completed the present invention.

That is, in the present invention, a flexible tube is provided inside a loose flexible hose having a hose outer peripheral wall portion in which the hose wall surface protrudes outward in the hose radial direction and a hose inner peripheral wall portion that enters the hose radial inner side. A flexible hose with a built-in tube that is inserted and bonded and integrated, and the inner wall portion of the hose is formed with concave grooves and ridges along the loose shape, as viewed from the inside of the hose, and A flexible hose with a built-in tube, characterized in that the tube is bonded and integrated to the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose at the ridge. (Claim 1)

In the flexible hose with a built-in tube of the present invention, the flexible hose spirally winds a strip having a substantially S-shaped cross section, and bonds the overlapping portions of the strips adjacent to each other with an adhesive. In addition to being a flexible hose that is integrated, both ends of the band-like body are the overlapping portions in the cross section, and an inner peripheral wall portion of the hose is wound between the overlapping portions during winding. An inner wall portion to be formed, an outer wall portion that forms a hose outer peripheral wall portion at the time of winding, and a rising portion between the inner wall portion and the outer wall portion are provided, and both end portions of the inner wall portion are substantially arc-shaped. While it becomes a connection part with a cross section, at least one part of the said inner wall part may be arrange | positioned in the position far from a hose center line rather than the part in which the said connection part approaches the hose center line most. 2). These hoses can be suitably used particularly for a vacuum cleaner.

In the present invention, the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose is formed with concave grooves and ridges as viewed from the inside of the hose along the loose shape, and the tube is bonded and integrated with the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose in the ridges. Therefore, even in the vicinity of the portion where the tube is bonded, the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose is still stretchable in the axial direction of the hose. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the stretchability and bendability of the flexible hose from being lost due to adhesion.

Further, when the hose is subjected to expansion / contraction / bending, the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose and the tube can be displaced relative to each other, and the gap between the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose and the tube can be enlarged. Therefore, even when foreign matter is caught near the tube bonding portion, the caught foreign matter is easily removed while the hose is operated, so that the hose can be prevented from being blocked due to the accumulation of foreign matter.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
(See the first embodiment, FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3)
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional structure of a tube built-in flexible hose 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The tube 61 is inserted into the rotated flexible hose, and the tube 61 is bonded and integrated to the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose with an adhesive 70. In FIG. 3, sectional drawing of the wall surface part of the tube built-in flexible hose 10 is shown.

The flexible hose with a built-in tube of the present invention can be used as a flexible hose 10 that connects between the electric vacuum cleaner main body 40 and the hand operation unit 51 as shown in FIG. 7, for example, and is inserted into the hose. A conducting wire is incorporated in the tube, and an electric signal is transmitted from the hand operating section 51 to the cleaner body, or power for driving a motor of the suction nozzle section is supplied from the cleaner body 40. it can. The use of the tube to be inserted is not limited to the storage of the conductive wire, but can also be used for supplying the recirculated air, supplying the cleaning liquid, and the like.

The band-like body 14 is manufactured by extrusion molding so as to have a cross section shown in FIG. 2 using a polyolefin resin as a material. Examples of the polyolefin resin include polypropylene resin (PP), polyethylene resin (PE), ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin (EVA), or a mixed composition thereof. The extruded belt-like body 14 is cooled, and after its cross-sectional shape is fixed, the belt-like body 14 is spirally wound around a guide shaft of a hose manufacturing apparatus (not shown). The belt-like body 14 is wound so that the overlapping portion 14a is positioned in the concave portion 14b. By filling and bonding the adhesive 13 between the overlapping portions 14a and 14c adjacent to each other, a hose wall is formed. To be manufactured. In addition, the belt-shaped body 14 may be formed into a hose by extruding and cooling, wound up on a reel or the like and temporarily stored on a guide shaft at the time of hose molding.

As shown in FIG. 2, the belt-like body 14 has a substantially S-shaped cross-sectional shape, and overlaps with each other when the belt-like body 14 is wound and is bonded and integrated by the adhesive 13. Overlapping portions 14a and 14c are provided. Between the overlapping portions 14a and 14c provided at both ends of the belt-like body 14, a portion (hereinafter referred to as an inner wall portion) 14d constituting a hose inner peripheral wall portion that has entered the hose radial direction inside when being wound, A portion (hereinafter referred to as an outer wall portion) 14f constituting a hose outer peripheral wall portion protruding outward in the hose radial direction when rotated, and a rising portion 14e between the inner wall portion 14d and the outer wall portion 14f are provided. The inner wall portion 14d and the outer wall portion 14f are substantially parallel in cross section with respect to the central axis of the hose, and the inner wall portion 14d is disposed and wound closer to the hose central axis than the outer wall portion 14f. The overlapping portions 14a and 14c and the rising portion 14e are provided such that their cross sections intersect with the hose central axis (desirably so as to form an angle of 45 to 90 degrees). Both end portions of the inner wall portion 14d have substantially arc-shaped cross sections as connecting portions 14g and 14h, and smoothly connect the inner wall portion 14d, the overlapping portion 14a, and the rising portion 14e. In the present embodiment, the outer wall portion 14f, the rising portion 14e, the connection portion 14h, the inner wall portion 14d, and the connection portion 14g are smoothly connected with a constant thickness.

The inner wall portion 14d is provided with a protruding portion 14i that protrudes toward the outer surface of the hose when the strip 14 is wound around the hose. By providing the projecting portion 14i, in the state where the strip 14 is wound and formed into a hose, the projecting portion 14i of the inner wall portion 14d is more than the portion where the connecting portions 14g and 14h are closest to the hose center line. , It is arranged at a position far from the hose center line. That is, when viewed from the inside of the hose, a concave groove corresponding to the projecting portion 14i is formed on the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose constituted by the inner wall portion 14d, and a ridge corresponding to the connecting portions 14g and 14h is formed. . That is, the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose constituted by the inner wall portion 14d has a so-called corrugated form.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, weir-like protrusions are provided at the boundary between the regions bonded by the adhesive to prevent the adhesive 13 from flowing out of the region. That is, a weir-like protrusion 14j that protrudes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the center line of the hose 10 to be molded is provided at the end of the overlapping portion 14a of the strip 14. A weir-like protrusion 14k is provided on the hose outer surface side of the overlapping portion 14a, and a weir-like protrusion 14m is provided on the hose inner surface side of the overlapping portion 14c.

As shown in FIG. 3, the overlapping portions 14a and 14c of adjacent strips 14 are overlapped and bonded and integrated by an adhesive 13 to form a hose wall. However, the weir-shaped protrusion 14j is a hose of the outer wall portion 14f. The weir-shaped protrusion 14k and the weir-shaped protrusion 14m are disposed to face each other on the inner surface. Adhesion of the belt-like body 14 is performed by filling an adhesive 13 in a region surrounded by the overlapping portion 14a, the dam-like protrusion 14j, the outer wall portion 14f, the overlapping portion 14c, the dam-like protrusion 14m, and the dam-like protrusion 14k. And by solidifying the adhesive.

The adhesive 13 applied and injected into the region filled with the adhesive will spread to other regions as the strip 14 is wound and the gap between the overlapping portions 14a and 14c becomes smaller. However, in the present invention, the weir-like projections 14j, 14k, and 14m can reliably prevent the adhesive 13 from flowing out or protruding into other areas.

The adhesive 13 is a hot-melt adhesive made of the same polyolefin resin as that of the band-like body 14, and it is desirable to use an adhesive whose hardness is higher than that of the band-like body 14. The material of the strip 14 and the adhesive 13 may be the same, but desirably, for example, when the strip 14 is EVA having a Shore hardness D35, the adhesive 13 has a Shore hardness D60 or a hardness close thereto. A high density polyethylene resin (HDPE) is used.

By making the hardness of the adhesive 13 higher than the hardness of the belt-like body 14, the adhesive 13 having a relatively high hardness functions as a reinforcing body for the belt-like body 14 having a relatively low hardness, and the flexibility of the hose itself is impaired. It is possible to prevent the hose from buckling due to a small bend.

The tube 61 is a flexible tube manufactured by extrusion molding or the like using a soft resin as a material. As the soft resin, a polyolefin-based resin (polypropylene resin (PP), polyethylene resin (PE), ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin (EVA) or a mixed composition thereof) or a thermoplastic elastomer can be used. The tube structure may be a straight tube formed by extrusion molding, but as shown in the present embodiment, the tube may be a loose tube obtained by continuous blow molding or the like. This is preferable from the viewpoint of enhancing the flexibility and stretchability of the built-in flexible hose.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hose formed by the belt-like body 14 and the tube 61 are bonded to each other by an adhesive 70 at protruding portions corresponding to the connecting portions 14 g and 14 h. On the other hand, the tube 61 and the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose are not bonded to each other in the concave groove portion corresponding to the protruding portion 14i. Such partial adhesion at the ridges is, for example, applying an adhesive to a roller that can be introduced into the hose, rolling while pressing the roller against the inner peripheral wall of the hose, and applying the adhesive applied to the roller. This can be realized by transferring to the inner peripheral wall of the hose and bonding the tube. Further, even when an adhesive is applied to the outer surface of the tube or the entire inner peripheral wall of the hose, if the thickness of the applied adhesive is reduced, the inner peripheral wall of the hose and the tube 61 are not substantially bonded to each other in the concave groove portion. Therefore, also by this method, the partial adhesion in the above-mentioned protruding line part can be realized.

The tube 61 is bonded to the inner wall portion of the hose at the protruding portion, and the tube 61 and the inner wall portion of the hose are not bonded to each other in the concave groove portion corresponding to the protruding portion 14i. The inner peripheral wall portion and the tube 61 can be stretched and deformed relatively freely without hindering expansion and contraction. Therefore, the flexibility of the tube built-in flexible hose 10 is not hindered.

Further, since the tube 61 and the hose inner peripheral wall portion are merely bonded to each other at the protruding portion corresponding to the connecting portions 14g and 14h, the concave groove corresponding to the protruding portion 14i is particularly accompanied with expansion and contraction of the hose. There is room for relative displacement in the vicinity of the part. Therefore, even if a foreign object may be caught between the tube 61 and the inner wall of the hose, the hose is stretched or bent while the hose is operated, and the tube 61 and the inner peripheral wall of the hose are relatively displaced from each other. The trapped foreign matter is easily removed.

  The adhesive 70 is not particularly limited as long as it can bond the tube 61 and the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose and has an appropriate flexibility, but in the present invention, the tube 61 and the hose are applied by applying a molten adhesive. More preferably, it is a thermoplastic adhesive that can be bonded together by pressing them together. As the thermoplastic adhesive, an adhesive prepared and marketed as a so-called hot melt adhesive may be used, or a thermoplastic resin compatible with the material of the tube 61 or the hose may be used. . By using the same material for the hose and the tube 61, the range of selection of usable adhesives can be expanded. Furthermore, if the adhesive 70 is also made of the same material as that of the hose or the tube 61, the bonding can be made more reliable. Further, an adhesive containing a solvent can be used as the adhesive 70.

(Refer to the second embodiment, FIGS. 4 and 5)
FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the strip-like body 24 constituting the hose wall of the tube built-in flexible hose 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows the wall surface portion of the tube built-in flexible hose 20. It is sectional drawing, the strip | belt-shaped body 24 is wound, a part is piled up, it adhere | attaches with the adhesive agent 23, it becomes a hose wall, and the state where the inserted tube 62 was adhere | attached on the inner peripheral wall part of the hose is shown. Yes.

In the second embodiment, the belt-like body 24 has a substantially S-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the overlapping portion 24a, a portion constituting the hose inner peripheral wall portion that enters the hose radial inner side when wound (hereinafter referred to as the hose inner circumferential wall portion). Inner wall part) 24d, rising part 24e, hose outer peripheral wall part (hereinafter referred to as outer wall part) 24f projecting outward in the radial direction of the hose when wound, 24f, rising part 24e, overlapping part 24c are provided. The inner wall 24d is similar to the first embodiment in that both ends of the inner wall 24d have connection portions 24g and 24h having a substantially arc-shaped cross section. However, in the present embodiment, the inner wall 24d has a belt-like shape. Two protrusions 24i are provided to protrude toward the outer surface of the hose when the body 24 is wound around the hose 20. In the state where the belt-like body 24 is wound and formed into a hose, the hose inner surface side surface of the protruding portion 24i is provided at a position where the distance from the hose center line is farther than the inner peripheral surface of the connection portions 24h and 24g. When the hose is viewed from the inside of the hose, two concave grooves corresponding to the projecting portions 24i and 24i are formed on the inner wall portion of the hose constituted by the inner wall portion 24d, corresponding to the connecting portions 24g and 24h. A protruding line between the protruding line and the protrusions 24i, 24i is formed. That is, the hose inner peripheral wall portion constituted by the inner wall portion 24d has a so-called corrugated form.

Further, on the inner surface side of the hose 20 of the outer wall portion 24f of the belt-like body 24, a dam-like protrusion 24k is provided that protrudes in a direction substantially perpendicular to the center line of the hose 20 to be molded. A weir-shaped protrusion 24j is provided on the hose outer surface side of the overlapping portion 24a.

As shown in FIG. 5, the dam-like protrusion 24k is arranged to face the end of the overlapping portion 24a, and the dam-like protrusion 24j is arranged to face the overlapping portion 24c. Adhesion of the belt-like body 24 is performed by filling the adhesive 23 in a region surrounded by the overlapping portion 24a, the weir-shaped protrusion 24k, the outer wall portion 24f, the overlapping portion 24c, and the weir-shaped protrusion 24j, and solidifying the adhesive. Is done by doing.

The tube 62 is inserted into the hose formed by the belt-like body 24, and the tube 62 is adhered to the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose by the adhesive 70, and the flexible hose 20 with a tube according to the second embodiment of the present invention is used. Become. The tube 62 is bonded to a protrusion between the protrusion corresponding to the connecting portions 24g and 24h of the hose inner peripheral wall and the protrusions 24i and 24i. The tube 62 and the hose inner peripheral wall are not bonded to each other at the concave groove corresponding to the protrusions 24i, 24i. Such adhesion can be performed by thinly applying the adhesive 70 to the tube 62 to form an adhesive layer and pressing the tube against the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose.

Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when the hose expands / contracts, the inner wall portion of the hose and the tube 62 can be expanded / contracted and deformed relatively freely without the expansion / contraction of each other. The effect that the flexibility of the tube built-in flexible hose 20 is not hindered is obtained. Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, even if a foreign object may be caught between the tube 62 and the inner wall of the hose, the hose can be expanded or contracted while the hose is operated. Therefore, the tube 62 and the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose are relatively displaced from each other, and the caught foreign matter is easily removed.

In addition, the flexible hose with a built-in tube which concerns on this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change variously within the range of the summary.

The cross-sectional shape of the belt-shaped body constituting the flexible hose wall has various cross-sectional shapes as long as it has the characteristics of the present invention when the tube is bonded in addition to the shapes shown in the above embodiments. Can be adopted. Furthermore, the kind and hardness of the polyolefin-based resin, which is the material of the tubes and strips mentioned in the above embodiments, are examples, and can be appropriately changed according to the use of the hose itself or the required characteristics.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, a part of the belt-like body 14 is molded with a polyolefin resin having a higher hardness than the material of the belt-like body 14, or a part of the belt-like body 14 has a hardness higher than that of the material of the belt-like body 14. A reinforcing core made of a polyolefin-based resin may be provided. In this case, the adhesive 13 may have a low hardness.

Further, in the above embodiment, the tube is inserted into a flexible hose formed by spirally winding a strip having an S-shaped cross section and bonding and integrating the side edges of adjacent strips. However, the configuration of the flexible hose is not limited to the one in which the belt-like body is wound, and for example, the flexible hose is flexible by a well-known blow molding method. It may be the one produced by the sex hose. Even in such a hose, as shown in the above-mentioned embodiment, the hose wall surface has a hose outer peripheral wall portion protruding outward in the radial direction of the hose and a hose inner peripheral wall portion entering the inner side in the radial direction of the hose. , A loose-shaped flexible hose, and the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose has a so-called corrugated plate shape in which concave grooves and ridges are formed along the loose shape when viewed from the inside of the hose. If the tube inserted inside the hose is bonded and integrated to the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose at the ridge portion, the same effects as those of the above embodiment are exhibited. The loose shape of the flexible hose may be a spiral shape composed of one or a plurality of strips, or a hose outer peripheral wall portion and a hose inner peripheral wall portion provided in a ring shape alternately. It may be arranged in the length direction.

By extruding an EVA resin having a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 2 and having a thickness of 0.8 mm from the connecting portion 14g to the outer wall portion 14f, a hardness of Shore hardness D35 The belt-shaped body is prepared, and the overlapped portion is bonded with HDPE resin having a Shore hardness of D60 to obtain a flexible hose having an inner diameter of 35 mm and an outer diameter of 43 mm, which is a component of the first embodiment. It was. Further, by continuous blow molding, a loose tube made of EVA resin having a Shore hardness D35 and having a diameter of 10 mm and a thickness of 0.5 mm was obtained. When an adhesive was applied to the surface of the tube and adhered to the inner surface of the flexible hose, a tube built-in flexible hose was obtained in which the tube was bonded to the ridges corresponding to the connecting portions 14g and 14h. In the obtained flexible hose with a built-in tube, the hose wall still remained stretchable in the vicinity of the portion where the tube was bonded, and the flexibility of bending as a flexible hose was not lost so much.

According to the present invention, it can be used for a vacuum cleaner or the like, and can prevent the stretchability and bendability of the flexible hose from being hindered even at the site where the tube inserted inside the hose is bonded. It is possible to provide a flexible hose with a built-in tube that is not easily caught.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a tube-containing flexible hose according to the first embodiment of the present invention. These are sectional drawings of the strip | belt shaped object used as the hose wall of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. These are sectional drawings of the wall surface vicinity of the flexible hose with a built-in tube which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. These are sectional drawings of the strip | belt shaped object used as the hose wall of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. These are sectional drawings of the wall surface vicinity of the flexible hose with a tube which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. These are sectional drawings of the wall surface vicinity of the flexible hose with a tube of a prior art example. These are figures which show the example which applied the flexible hose with a built-in tube of this invention to the vacuum cleaner.

Explanation of symbols

10, 20, 30 Flexible hose with built-in tube
13, 23, 33 Adhesives 14, 24, 34 Strips 14a, 24a, 34a Overlapping portions 14b, 24b Recesses 14c, 24c, 34c Overlapping portions 14d, 24d, 34d Inner wall portions 14e, 24e, 34e Rising portions 14f, 24f, 34f Outer wall portions 14g, 24g Connection portions 14h, 24h Connection portions 14i, 24i Protruding portions 14j, 14k, 14m Weir-shaped protrusions 24j, 24k Weir-shaped protrusions 40 Vacuum cleaner main body 51 Hand operating portions 61, 62 Tube 70 Agent

Claims (4)

Inside the loose flexible hose, which has a hose outer peripheral wall part that protrudes outward in the hose radial direction and a hose inner peripheral wall part that enters the hose radial inner side,
A flexible hose with a built-in tube that is inserted and integrated with a flexible tube,
On the inner peripheral wall portion of the hose, concave grooves and ridges are formed along the loose shape, as viewed from the inside of the hose,
A flexible hose with a built-in tube, wherein the tube is bonded and integrated with an inner peripheral wall portion of the hose at the ridge. A flexible hose with a built-in tube according to claim 1,
The flexible hose is a flexible hose formed by spirally winding a belt-like body having a substantially S-shaped cross section, and bonding and integrating the overlapping portions of the belt-like bodies adjacent to each other with an adhesive. ,
In the cross section, the both ends of the band-shaped body are the overlapping portions, and an inner wall portion that forms a hose inner peripheral wall portion at the time of winding, and an outer wall of the hose at the time of winding, between the overlapping portions. The outer wall part forming the part, and the rising part between the inner wall part and the outer wall part is provided,
And both ends of the inner wall portion is a connection portion having a substantially arc-shaped cross section,
At least a part of the inner wall portion is arranged at a position farther from the hose center line than a portion where the connection portion is closest to the hose center line,
The flexible hose with a built-in tube according to claim 1. The hose for a vacuum cleaner according to claim 1. A vacuum cleaner comprising the hose according to claim 3.

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