Abstract:
A plastic bracket ( 10 ) including a screw housing cover ( 26 ) and a pair of opposing tabs ( 28 ) is pressed over a screw housing ( 12 ) of a worm drive clamp ( 14 ) to secure the worm drive clamp ( 14 ) to a hose ( 24 ). The tabs ( 28 ) can extend either be inside or outside of the screw housing cover ( 26 ). A protrusion ( 46 ) located on each of the opposing inner surfaces ( 48 ) of the screw housing cover ( 26 ) retain the bracket ( 10 ) over the screw housing ( 12 ). End caps ( 40 ) and ( 44 ) molded across opposing sides of the screw housing cover ( 26 ) maintain the position of the screw housing ( 12 ) in the screw housing cover ( 26 ) during assembly and prevent the sliding of the worm drive clamp ( 14 ).

Description:
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application serial No. 60/252,713 filed Nov. 22, 2000. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a bracket pressed over the screw housing of the worm drive clamp for attaching a worm drive clamp to a hose. 
     A worm drive clamp is attached to a hose to facilitate the installation of the hose on a vehicle. The clamps are made of stainless steel to provide for maximum corrosion protection. However, as quick setting glues do not bond well to stainless steel, glues are not a desirable method of attachment. 
     Worm drive clamps can be attached to the hose by a metal clip spot-welded to the band of the clamp. The clip is attached to the end of the hose and clinched into the interior wall. However, as the clip may damage the interior wall, this method of attachment is also undesirable. 
     An elastomeric patch or a woven patch of synthetic fabric have also been used as a method of attachment. The elastomeric patch is positioned over the band and vulcanized to the outer surface of the hose. A drawback to the elastomeric patch is that it is time consuming to prepare the surface of the hose and to vulcanize the elastomeric patch. The woven patch is glued over the clamp band, but is difficult to handle, making installation slow. Additionally, both types of patches are unattractive as they protrude over the exterior of the band. 
     In all of the above-mentioned methods of attachments, the worm drive clamp is attached to the hose at the band. A drawback associated with attaching the worm drive clamp at the band is that the worm drive clamp can twist around the outer surface of the hose as the screw is tightened, causing the screw to travel. If the screw travels into a tight space, problems can result in reaching the screw. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A bracket pressed over the screw housing of a worm drive clamp secures the worm drive clamp to a hose. The bracket is preferably made of plastic and includes a screw housing cover having a large portion and a small portion and a pair of opposing tabs. The tabs extend outside of the screw housing and have an appropriate curvature which approximately equals the curvature of the outer surface of the hose. A protrusion on each of the opposing interior surfaces of the screw housing cover secures the bracket onto the screw housing. The screw housing cover further includes a first end cap located on the front side of the large portion and a second end cap located on the opposing rear side of the small portion to maintain the position of the screw housing cover over the screw housing during assembly. Alternatively, the tabs extend inside the screw housing cover. 
     During assembly, the bracket is pressed onto the screw housing. After the hose is inserted into the gluing machine, glue is applied on the hose at the location where the tabs will be positioned. A gluing machine clamp block orients the worm drive clamp and brings the bracket into contact with the hose, providing pressure until the glue hardens. 
     The hose is then removed from the gluing machine with the bracket attached. The worm drive clamp is then tightened around the outer surface of the hose by turning the screw. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The various features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates perspective view of the molded bracket of the present invention pressed over a screw housing of a worm drive clamp; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of the molded bracket; 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a front view of the molded bracket; 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of the molded bracket; 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the molded bracket; and 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a front view of the alternative embodiment of the molded bracket. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 illustrates the bracket  10  of the present invention pressed over a screw housing  12  of a worm drive clamp  14 . As a screw  16  is turned by a screw driver, the threads of the screw  16  engage threads  18  embossed on the band  20  of the worm drive clamp  14 , tightening the worm drive clamp  14  around the outer surface  22  of a hose  24 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 2, the bracket  10  includes a substantially U-shaped screw housing cover  26  and a pair of opposing outwardly extending tabs  28 . Preferably, the bracket  10  is made of plastic and is injection molded. However, the bracket  10  can also be made of metal or a thermal plastic elastomer. The tabs  28  have a width W and a length L and are an integral part of the screw housing cover  26 . The tabs  28  each have a curvature  30  which approximately equals the curvature  58  of the outer surface  22  of the hose  24  (shown in FIG.  1 ). The length L of the tabs  28  can provide a visual gage such that when the end  32  of a tab  28  is aligned with the end of the hose  24 , the bracket  10  is positioned at the proper location. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the screw housing cover  26  includes a large portion  34  which receives the screw housing  12  and an adjacent small portion  36  which covers the screw housing offset  38  (shown in FIG.  1 ). A first end cap  40  on the front side  42  of the large portion  34  and a second end cap  44  on the opposing rear side  46  of the small portion  36  prevent the sliding of the screw housing  12  within the bracket  10  during assembly of the bracket  10  onto the hose  24 . 
     The bracket  10  further includes a pair of protrusions  48  on the opposing interior surfaces  50  of the screw housing cover  26 . After the bracket  10  is pressed over the screw housing  12 , the protrusions  48  retain the bracket  10  over the screw housing  12 . Preferably, each protrusion  48  is approximately {fraction (3/16)} of an inch long and approximately 0.010 of an inch in height. 
     When assembling the worm drive clamp  14  to the hose  24 , the bracket  10  is pressed onto the screw housing  12 , the protrusions  48  retaining the bracket  10  over the screw housing  12 . The worm drive clamp  14  is placed into a clamp gluing machine clamp block. After inserting the hose  24  into a gluing machine, a drop of glue  52  is applied on the outer surface  22  of the hose  24  at the locations where the tabs  28  will be positioned. Preferably, the glue is cyanoacrylate glue. However, it is to be understood that other types of glue can be employed. The clamp block orients the worm drive clamp  14  over the hose  24  and brings the bracket  10  into contact with the hose  24 , providing pressure until the glue  52  hardens. After the clamp block is removed, the hose  24  is removed from the gluing machine with the bracket  10  attached. The band  20  is tightened around the outer surface  22  of the hose  24  by turning the screw  16  with a screw driver. The end caps  40  and  44  prevent sliding of the screw housing  12  as the worm drive clamp  14  is tightened, insuring later alignment of the screw driver within the screw  16 . 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the bracket  110  of the present invention. The bracket  110  includes a screw housing cover  126  and a pair of opposing inwardly extending tabs  128  having a curvature  130  which approximately equals the curvature  58  of the outer surface  22  of the hose  24  (shown in FIG.  1 ). The tabs  128  preferably are approximately 0.015 of an inch thick. The tabs  128  are separated by a gap  132  having a curvature  148  which approximately equals the curvature  54  of the band  20 . Preferably, the gap  132  is approximately 0.125 of an inch wide. 
     The screw housing cover  126  further includes a large portion  134  which receives the screw housing  12  and an adjacent small portion  136  which receives the screw housing cover offset  38 . A first end cap  140  on the front side  142  of the large portion  134  and a second end cap  144  on the opposing rear side  146  on the small portion  136  prevent the sliding of the screw housing  12  within the bracket  110 . 
     When assembling the bracket  110  on the worm drive clamp  14 , the thickness  60  of the band  20  is inserted through the gap  132  of the bracket  110  having the curvature  148 . The bracket  110  is then rotated approximately 90° such that the inner surface  56  of the band  20  overlays the inward tabs  128 . The bracket  110  is then slid over the screw housing  12 . The bracket  110  slightly flexes and opens as the bracket  110  is slid over the screw housing  12  to prevent the end caps  140  and  144  from interfering with the sliding. The worm drive clamp  14  is then attached to the tube  24  in the same manner as the bracket  10 . 
     An advantage of the bracket  110  is that that as the tabs  128  extend inwardly, the tabs  128  can be made larger without affecting the size of the bracket  110 . Additionally, it is easier to apply the glue  52  as there is a greater surface area for attachment. Finally, as the tabs  128  are located on the inside of the screw housing cover  126 , the bracket  110  can be positioned closer to the end of the tube  24  as the bracket  110  can be made narrower. 
     The bracket  10  can also be pressed over the band  20  of the worm drive clamp  14  rather than over the screw housing  12 . The bracket  10  can be over-molded around the worm drive clamp  14  or formed from strip metal. Preferably, the hose  24  is a low-permeation hose. However, other types of hoses can be employed. The bracket  10  can also be utilized with other types of clamps, such as spring steel constant tension clamps, wire band clamps, and pipe boot clamps. The bracket  10  of the present invention is low in cost and has an attractive appearance. 
     The foregoing description is only exemplary of the principles of the invention. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, however, so that one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of this invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specially described. For that reason the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.