Patent Publication Number: US-7896174-B2

Title: Hose hook for a pressure washer

Description:
This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/003,156 filed on Dec. 3, 2004, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Accessory trays currently exist for holding pressure washer accessories. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, a pressure washer is provided having an accessory tray hose hook that can be used on most pressure washers regardless of the tray&#39;s angle of inclination. The pressure washer includes a frame having two frame members configured to be supported on a support surface, a prime mover coupled to the frame, an accessory tray coupled to the frame and including a main body portion extending between the two frame members, and a hose hook portion extending from the main body. The hose hook portion has a hose hook surface that is concave about a first axis and convex about a second axis that is substantially normal to the first axis, the hose hook surface configured to support a hose in a suspended position above the support surface. 
     Further aspects of the present invention, together with the organization and operation thereof, will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a pressure washer having one embodiment of an accessory tray embodying aspects of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a right side view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a rear view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is an additional perspective view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an accessory tray embodying aspects of the invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a front view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 11  is a right side view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 12  is a rear view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 13  is an additional perspective view of the accessory tray shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limited. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The terms “mounted,” “connected,” and “coupled” are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mounting, connecting and coupling. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings, and can include electrical connections or couplings, whether direct or indirect. Finally, as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific mechanical configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, other alternative mechanical configurations are possible. 
     The pressure washer  10  shown in  FIG. 1  includes a frame  12  and a prime mover  14  supported by the frame  12 . The prime mover  14  can be an engine, electric motor, or fuel cell. The prime mover  14  generates a pressurized stream of fluid that is discharged via an accessory fluid line  16  coupled to the prime mover  14 . One or more discharge control accessories  18 , such as wands, spray guns, nozzles, and the like can be coupled to the fluid line  16  to control the discharge of pressurized fluid. An accessory tray  20  is coupled to the frame  12  of the pressure washer  10  to support one or more of the accessories  18  when not in use. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the discharge control accessories  18  and the fluid line  16  can be supported and stored on the accessory tray  20 . 
     As previously mentioned, the accessory tray  20  is supported on the frame  12  of the pressure washer  10 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the accessory tray  20  is positioned on an inclined portion  22  of the frame  12 . In some embodiments, this inclined portion  22  is an extension of the pressure washer frame  12  that extends toward a convenient position to be used as a handle  24  for moving the pressure washer  10 . The frame  12  and/or the accessory portion defines an angle of inclination  25  relative to the ground or support surface  27 . Generally, the angle of inclination of this inclined portion  22  of the frame  12  is not standardized between different models or between different manufacturers of pressure washers  10 . Conventionally, this required a different accessory tray to be designed for each different angle of inclination to properly support the accessories  16 ,  18 . However, the accessory tray  20  of the present invention is designed to be utilized on multiple different frames  12  that can have a wide variety of angles of inclination. 
     The accessory tray  20  has a main body portion  26  that generally extends between two inclined frame members  28  of the pressure washer frame  12 . The ends  30  of the main body portion  26  are adapted to engage the frame members  28  and secure the accessory tray  20  to the pressure washer frame  12 . In the illustrated embodiment, the ends  30  of the main body portion  26  have a curved configuration to match the curved configuration of the pressure washer frame  20 . However, the ends  30  can be configured differently in other embodiments to engage frame members  28  having other configurations. 
     The ends  30  of the accessory tray  20  can be secured to the frame  12  in many different ways. For example, they can be adhesively or cohesively bonded, welded, snap fit, and the like. In the illustrated embodiment, fasteners  32  extend through apertures in the accessory tray to secure the accessory tray  20  to the frame  12 . 
     An accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20  is coupled to the main body portion  26 . The accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20  extends generally between the frame members  28 . The accessory supporting portion  34  has a variety of accessory engaging mechanisms that can support one or more accessories. For example, as best shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  6 , and  7 , several apertures  36  can extend through the accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20  to receive and support accessories  18  in a suspended position above the ground. As illustrated, the apertures  36  can have a variety of different shapes to receive a variety of differently configured accessories  18 . Furthermore, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 7 , a clip or semi-flexible projection  38  can be positioned above the accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20  to retain or trap accessories  18 , such as nozzles, against the accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20 . 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 2 ,  5 , and  7 , the accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20  has a generally concave shape. The concave curved shape of the accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20  allows the accessories  18  to engage the accessory tray  20  securely and rest substantially normal to the ground. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a spray wand  18  is supported within the aperture  36  of the accessory tray  20  such that the wand  18  is oriented substantially normal to the ground or other support surface  27  of the pressure washer  10 . Since the accessory supporting apertures  36  extend along a relatively large sector of the concave surface, accessories  18  can securely rest within the apertures  36  at an angle that is substantially normal to the ground  27  over a wide variety of angles of the accessory tray  20 . Specifically, the concave shape allows the accessories  18  to rest against the accessory tray  20  at a location that has a tangent which is substantially normal to the accessory  18  as it extends through the aperture  36 . Accordingly, this engagement allows the accessory  18  to be securely supported normal to the ground  27  over a wide variety of frame inclination angles. In some embodiments, accessories  18  can be supported substantially normal to the ground  27  by the concave surface over a range of inclination angles from about zero degrees to about ninety degrees (assuming the aperture extends along a large enough sector of the concave surface). This feature is advantageous because it allows a single universal accessory tray design for multiple pressure washer frame configurations. 
     A projection  40  also extends from the main body portion  26  of the accessory tray  20  to provide a hose hook. The hose hook  40  is positioned opposite the accessory supporting portion  34  of the accessory tray  20 . The hose hook  40  allows the accessory fluid line or hose  16  to be supported and stored on the accessory tray  20 . The hose hook  40  also has a concave shape to allow the fluid line  16  to be supported substantially normal to the ground  27  regardless of the frame&#39;s  12  angle of inclination. The fluid line  16  can be supported by the concave surface in a substantially normal orientation relative to the ground  27  when the frame&#39;s angle of inclination relative to the ground  27  ranges from about zero degrees to about ninety degrees. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2-5 , the hose hook  40  has a saddle-like shape. In other words, the hose hook  40  has a concave shape about a first axis  41  and a convex shape about an additional axis  43  that is normal to and non-intersecting with the first axis  41  ( FIG. 2 ). As shown in  FIG. 1 , the first axis  41  would extend in a direction that is generally normal to the frame member  28  of the pressure washer frame  12 , while the additional axis  43  would generally extend in a direction that does not intersect the frame members  28 . The hose hook  40  also tapers as it extends away from the main body portion  26 . For example, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the hook  40  has a first width at the main body portion  26  and a second width at the distal end of the hook  40 . The first width of the hook is greater than the second width. 
     Recesses  42  are positioned on either side of the hose hook  40  and extend into the main body portion  26  of the accessory tray  20 . These recesses  42  prevent the main body portion  26  from interfering with the orientation of the fluid line  16  when a large quantity of fluid line  16  is supported by the hook  40  and/or when the accessory tray  20  is positioned at a relatively low angle of inclination relative to the ground  27 . 
     A second embodiment of the accessory tray  20  is illustrated in  FIGS. 8-13 . As illustrated in these figures, this embodiment is constructed substantially similarly to the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1-7 . The major difference between the two embodiments is that the hose hook  40  is eliminated in the second embodiment. 
     The embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of example only and are not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present invention. As such, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in the elements and their configuration and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, various alternatives to the certain features and elements of the present invention are described with reference to specific embodiments of the present invention. With the exception of features, elements, and manners of operation that are mutually exclusive of or are inconsistent with each embodiment described above, it should be noted that the alternative features, elements, and manners of operation described with reference to one particular embodiment are applicable to the other embodiments. 
     Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.