Abstract:
A hose coupling is disclosed utilizing a main hollow body and an expandable inner sleeve and an intermediate end of a hose which is securely held in place upon radially outward expansion of the sleeve.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/818,441 filed Jul. 3, 2006. 
     
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to hose couplings and more particularly to a composite hose coupling for the end of a flexible resilient hose such as a garden hose. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Garden hoses made of various forms of rubber and plastic are generally provided with male and female end couplings by which the hoses are connected to one another, to faucets or spigots supplying liquid thereto, and to nozzles, sprinklers, etc. for dispensing the liquid. On currently marketed hoses such couplings are permanently affixed to the hose ends during production of the hose assembly and commonly comprise threaded male and female couplers made of brass and include a ferrule placed over the outer end of the hose. A cylindrical tail piece of brass is introduced into the hose end and permanently expanded outwardly to urge the hose into liquid-tight engagement with the ferrule. These threaded male and female couplings may also be formed of plastic. In such couplings, a plastic cylindrical tail piece is inserted into the hose end and a clamp member, generally of brass, surrounds the external periphery of the hose and is crimped inwardly after being placed around the hose, to urge the hose into liquid-tight engagement with the tail piece. 
         [0004]    The couplings have heretofore been fabricated either entirely of metal or entirely of plastic. However each of these has certain disadvantages. Thus, metallic couplings are costly to fabricate and assemble. Both the material itself and the forming process are expensive. In order to economically manufacture the metallic couplings, the couplings have been stamped from annealed brass stock. 
         [0005]    To effectively reduce the cost of such couplings, it has been deemed desirable to produce a hose coupling utilizing a minimum of brass metal in the fabrication thereof. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    It has surprisingly been discovered that a hose coupling may be produced wherein the structure is formed of a single plastic part containing the threads and an associated expandable sleeve insert for securing the coupling to the end of a hose. 
         [0007]    In accordance with the invention, there is provided a hose coupling comprising a main hollow body formed of plastic material having a first end, a second end, an inner surface, an outer surface, and a hollow cylindrical section extending axially from the second end toward the first end and terminating in a radially inwardly projecting shoulder; a hollow expandable sleeve having a first end and a second end and disposed coaxially within the hollow cylindrical section of the main body with the first end abutting the inwardly projecting shoulder of the main body and an outer surface spaced from the inner surface of the main body defining a cylindrical zone therebetween of a first thickness; whereby a hollow flexible and resilient hose having a wall of a thickness greater than the first thickness of the zone between the outer surface of the expandable sleeve and the inner surface of the main body may be snugly received therebetween. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The advantages of the invention may be readily understood by one skilled in the art from reading the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a sectional view of the main body of a male hose coupling incorporating the features of the invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the expandable sleeve insert for use with the main body of a male coupling as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view of a male hose coupling utilizing the main body and the associated expandable sleeve insert illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  respectively coupled to one end of a hose. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0012]    Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated a male hose coupling embodying the features of the present invention and is generally noted by reference numeral  10 . 
         [0013]    The male hose coupling  10  includes a main hollow body  12  formed of a plastic material such as nylon, for example. As clearly illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the main body  12  has a first end  14 , a spaced apart second end  16 , an inner surface  18 , an outer surface  20 , a male threaded section  22  extending outwardly from the outer surface  20  adjacent the first end  14 , and a hollow cylindrical section  24  extending axially from the second end  16  toward the first end  14  and terminating in a radially inwardly projecting annular shoulder  26 . 
         [0014]    While it has been found that the hollow body  12  will incorporate satisfactory structural characteristics by being molded from a nylon plastic material, the body  12  could be fabricated from other plastic materials such as polyolefins such as polypropylene or polyethylene, for example; polyamide, such as nylon; polyester; polyvinylalcohol; or polyacrylate. 
         [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates a cooperating hollow expandable sleeve  30  having a first end  32 , and a spaced apart second end  34 . The sleeve  30  is typically substantially cylindrical and fabricated from a brass material. The sleeve  30  is provided with an outer surface  36  which extends from the first end  32  to the second end  34 . If desired, the outer surface  36  may contain undulations if found necessary. It has been found that satisfactory results may be achieved by slightly flaring the second end  34 . 
         [0016]    In assembling the hose coupling  10 , the main body  12 , and the hollow expandable sleeve  30  to a hose end, the following installation steps may be followed: Initially a garden-type hose  40  is provided. One free end  42  of the hose  40  is provided with the expandable sleeve  30  which is inserted into the hose  40 . The insertion is accomplished by sliding or moving the first end  32  of the sleeve  30  into the interior of the hose  40  until the second end  34  is flush with the end of the hose  40 . 
         [0017]    Next, the free end  42  of the hose  40  containing the sleeve  30  is inserted into the hollow cylindrical section  24  of the main body  12 . The insertion is complete when the free end of hose  40  and the second end  34  of the sleeve  30  abut against the ledge  26  of the main body  12 . 
         [0018]    Finally, the assembly described above is properly supported and expansion tooling is employed to effect radial outward expansion of the sleeve  30 . Since the hollow cylindrical section  14  remains static and the sleeve  30  is radially expanded, the section of the hose  40  residing therebetween is snugly retained completing the fabrication of the hose coupling. 
         [0019]    While the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated and described as a male hose coupling, it will be understood that satisfactory results may be achieved by repositioning the threaded section to the interior surface of the main body, for example, to produce a female coupling. 
         [0020]    In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be understood that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.