Patent Publication Number: US-2009224069-A1

Title: Hose Assembly

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a hose assembly having an inner tube and an outer tube, in which the inner tube includes slits and the outer tube is made by water permeable material. 
     2. The Prior Arts 
     A conventional way to water plants is generally to use a sprinkler or hose manually to damp the soil around the plants. However, the user has to water each plant and this requires a significant labor demand. When the hose is filled with water, the water pressure makes the hose stiff and move. The moving hose might hit the plants and injure the sprouts or buds. Furthermore, lack of water source is a concern when watering plants. 
     Some people pre-set hoses around the garden and holes are defined through the hoses so that when the water passes through the hose, the water flows out from the holes to water the plants. By this way, the users simply turn on the faucets to water certain area of the gardens without too much labor. This method has its inherent shortcoming which is that the water coming out from the holes flushes soil away and the water stream directly hits the roots of the plants. When the faucet is turned off, a suction force is generated at the holes and sucks pebbles to obstacle the holes. 
     The other way, as shown in  FIG. 1 , is to set automatic sprinkling system which includes a main pipe buried in the soil and a plurality of nozzles are connected to the main pipe by sub-pipes. The sub-pipes provide water streams to hit the nozzles which pivots back and forth to send water to the area around the nozzle. 
     However, the water sprinkled from the nozzles into the air may be blown away from the garden so that exceed water is needed. The range of water sprinkling is fixed and may be sprinkled on sidewalks or even the pedestrians. The exposed nozzles affect the aesthetic appearance of the garden. Besides, the system is costly and the nozzles cannot be removed. Some plants are tiny and weak, they might be hurt by strong water stream by the system. 
     The present invention provides a hose assembly for watering plants and the hose assembly of the present invention improves the shortcomings of the conventional watering systems and ways. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, a hose assembly is provided and includes an inner tube having a ridge spirally extending from an outer periphery of the inner tube and a plurality of slits are defined through the inner tube and located between the ridge. An outer tube is wrapped around the inner tube and water coming from the slits can pass through the outer tube. 
     A main objective of the present invention is to provide a hose assembly, in which the outer tube is made by water permeable material, and the water permeates through the outer tube of the hose assembly so as not to damage the plants. 
     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a hose assembly, in which the outer tube is made by water impermeable material, and the outer tube includes holes through which water flows out therefrom. Accordingly by using the hose assembly, the water does not be wasted. 
     Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a hose assembly, in which there is no suction force to suck pebbles to obstruct the slits of the inner tube. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a conventional automatic sprinkling system; 
         FIG. 2A  shows an inner tube and an outer tube of a hose assembly in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  shows another shape of slits in the inner tube; 
         FIG. 3  shows that the hose assembly is connected with a faucet and installed under the soil; and 
         FIG. 4  shows a hose assembly in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to the drawings and in particular to  FIGS. 2A ,  2 B and  3 , a hose assembly  1  in accordance with the present invention comprises an inner tube  10  and an outer tube  20 . 
     The inner tube  10  includes a ridge  11  spirally extending from an outer periphery of the inner tube  10  so as to reinforce the structural strength of the inner tube  10 . A plurality of slits  12  are defined through the inner tube  10  and located between the ridge  11 . The slits  12  each may be an X-shaped slit as shown in  FIG. 2A , a V-shaped slit as shown in  FIG. 2B , a straight-line slit, a U-shaped slit, serrated slit or any shape of slit. Water can pass through the slits  12  which are opened according to the water pressure. The larger the water pressure is, the larger the slits  12  can be opened. 
     The outer tube  20  is wrapped around the inner tube  10 , in which water flowing in the inner tube  10  can pass through the slits  12  of the inner tube  10  and then a wall of the outer tube  20 . The outer tube  20  is made by water permeable material such as woven fabric, cotton, fiber or sponge. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the hose assembly  1  is installed in the soil “G” and connected with a faucet  2  which provides water into the inner tube  10 . The water flows out from the slits  12  and permeates through the outer tube  20  and damps the soil “G”. By this way, the roots of the plants are not damaged by strong water streams and all of the water is absorbed by the soil. 
       FIG. 4  shows a hose assembly  1 ′ in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, which includes an inner tube  10 ′ with a ridge  11 ′ spirally extending from an outer periphery of the inner tube  10 ′. A plurality of slits  12 ′ are defined through the inner tube  10 ′ and located between the ridge  11 ′. An outer tube  20 ′ is wrapped around the inner tube  10 ′ and is made by impermeable material. At least one seam  21 ′ is defined in the outer tube  20 ′ and a plurality of holes  22 ′ are defined through the outer tube  20 ′ and located along the at least one seam  21 ′. The hose assembly  1 ′ is located in the soil “G” and water coming from the slits  12 ′ passes through the holes  22 ′ and flows into the soil “G”. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims.