Fabric cover for a vacuum hose

A fabric cover for a vacuum hose provides a snug fit about the hose and is easily installed and removed. The cover is an elongate rectangular piece of fabric having a width approximating the circumference of the hose and having parallel longitudinal edges. A zipper or other suitable fastener is attached along the longitudinal edges to provide the means for installation of the cover about the hose. The longitudinal edges are provided with a bead which cover the fastener when the fabric cover is installed on the hose.

The invention is a fabric cover for a vacuum hose, particularly for a long 
vacuum hose of the type used in conjunction with a central vacuum system. 
A hose for a central vacuum system is typically made of plastic and is 
about 30 feet long. In order to impart strength and flexibility to the 
hose, it is corrugated, and it is these corrugations in the hose that can 
scratch and abrade furniture or other surfaces. One solution to this 
problem has been to cover the vacuum hose with a sleeve made of a 
non-abrasive material such as a fabric. A sleeve of this type is disclosed 
in U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,576 dated Mar. 17, 1992. While effective, sleeve 
type hose covers have several disadvantages associated with their use. The 
hose must be threaded through the sleeve, and for the purpose of covering 
a 30 foot hose, the threading operation is awkward and tedious at best. 
Because vacuum hoses have metal fittings on each end for attachment 
purposes, the sleeve must have a circumference sufficient to readily slip 
over the end fittings. This requirement in turn means that the sleeve is 
circumferentially oversize in relation to its fit about the corrugated 
hose itself. Accordingly, prior art sleeve type hose covers need to have 
means at each end of the sleeve to secure it to the hose, otherwise there 
is a tendency for the sleeve to slip partly off an end of the hose 
particularly when the hose is unattached. As the hose cover itself will 
become soiled with use over time, it is desirable to be able to easily 
remove and reinstall the cover so that it may be washed when it becomes 
soiled. Clearly, the sleeve type hose cover does not lend itself to easy 
installation and removal. 
The present invention addresses these various problems and shortcomings of 
prior art hose sleeves by providing a fabric cover for a vacuum hose which 
comprises an elongate rectangular piece of fabric having a width 
approximately corresponding to the circumference of the hose and having 
parallel longitudinal edges. The cover has fastening means for securing it 
about the hose which are attached along each longitudinal edge so that 
upon securement of the cover about the hose, the fastening means are 
covered by abutting longitudinal edges of the cover. Preferably the 
fastening means is a zipper, but it may also be another type of fastener 
such as interlocking hook and loop materials sold under the trademark 
VELCRO.

The vacuum hose cover 10 of the invention may be made of any suitable 
non-abrasive fabric 11. It has been found that quilted fabrics having a 
thin layer of cushioning material 12 sandwiched between inner and outer 
pieces 13 and 14 of a woven fabric are particularly well suited for use in 
the invention. The fabric 11 comprising the cover 10 is an elongate 
rectangular piece having a length corresponding to the length of 
corrugated hose to be covered, and importantly, the fabric 11 has two 
parallel elongate edges 17 and 18 defining a width for the rectangular 
piece approximate to the circumference of the corrugated hose. Thus, when 
the cover 10 is wrapped about the hose it provides a snug, but not tight, 
fit. 
The longitudinal edges 17 and 18 of the cover 10 are provided with 
fastening means 20 and 21 which cooperate to provide a releasable 
securement of the cover 10 about the corrugated hose. As shown in FIGS. 1 
and 2, a preferred fastening means 20 and 21 is a zipper, but other 
suitable fasteners will be apparent to the skilled person and are within 
the scope of the invention. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates a fastening 
means 20 and 21 of opposing ribbons of releasably interlocking hook and 
loop materials such as the type sold under the trademark VELCRO. 
By providing the cover 10 with the longitudinal releasable fastening means 
20 and 21, it can readily be attached to and removed from the hose. In the 
case of a zipper fastener, the hose is placed on top of the unfastened 
cover 10, and the cover 10 is snuggly secured about the hose by simply 
zipping it up. Of course, it is important that the zipper or other 
fastening means 20 and 21 does not provide a means for scratching or 
abrading surfaces along which the hose is moved, so the fastening means 20 
and 21 is attached along each edge 17 and 18 so that there is a fabric 
edge portion 23 and 24 which covers each fastening means 20 and 21. 
Preferably, each edge portion 23 and 24 is formed by folding under a 
portion of the edge material to form a longitudinal bead along each edge 
17 and 18. The abutting edge beads 23 and 24 efficiently cover the 
fastening means 20 and 21 when the cover 10 is secured about the hose 
(FIG. 2), thereby providing a completely non-abrasive covering of the 
corrugated hose. 
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the shortcomings of prior 
sleeve type covers have been addressed by the invention. Thus, the cover 
10 is snuggly securable about a vacuum hose so that end securement means 
are not needed. The cover 10 may be quickly and easily attached or removed 
so that washing a soiled cover is facilitated.