# US 5,704,401 A · Washing machine hose

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- Number: US 5,704,401 A
- Document ID: US5704401A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 08/632,363
- Filed: 1996-04-10
- Granted: 1998-01-06
- Earliest claimed: 1995-04-12
- Assignees: Totaku Industries, Inc.
- Inventors: Kouki Fukui; Hiroyuki Masui; Toshihiro Nakanishi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US5704401A

## CPC

- F16L 11/11: with corrugated wall
- D06F 33/42: of draining
- D06F 39/083: {Liquid discharge or recirculation arrangements}
- Y10S 138/11: Shape
- F16L: PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
- D06F: LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

## Abstract

With a desired intermediate portion as a boundary, in a hose, a corrugated wall is formed on one side of the boundary while a scalene-triangularly corrugated wall is formed on the other side of the boundary, the whole of a hose is formed of a soft synthetic resin material and a hard synthetic resin material in the form of a double-layered wall. The soft synthetic resin material is made thicker than the hard synthetic resin material in a portion on a connection cylindrical portion side while the hard synthetic resin material is made thicker than the soft synthetic resin material in a portion on a drainage cylindrical portion side.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A washing machine hose having a first end and a second end opposite said first end, said washing machine hose comprising:
a connection cylindrical portion positioned on said first end of said washing machine hose for being connected to a drainage pipe of a washing machine;
an intermediate cylindrical portion disposed along an intermediate portion of said washing machine hose;
a drainage cylindrical portion formed on said second end of said washing machine hose;
an annularly corrugated wall formed between said connection cylindrical portion and said intermediate cylindrical portion; and
a scalene-triangularly corrugated wall formed between said intermediate cylindrical portion and said drainage cylindrical portion;
an integrated double-layered wall having a first layer comprising a soft synthetic resin material and a second layer comprising a hard synthetic resin material, and
wherein said soft synthetic resin material has a thickness greater than that of said hard synthetic resin material in said annularly corrugated wall and said hard synthetic resin material has a thickness greater than that of said soft synthetic resin material in said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall, such that said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall has a higher rigidity than that of said annularly corrugated wall.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose according to claim 1, wherein said annularly corrugated wall includes a large-diameter corrugated wall portion and a small-diameter corrugated wall portion.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose according to claim 1, wherein said annularly corrugated wall includes an internal fixing cylindrical portion for being connected to an inside of said washing machine and a washing machine-wall fixing cylindrical portion for being connected to a wall of said washing machine.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose according to claim 1, wherein said intermediate cylindrical portion comprises a boundary portion between said annularly corrugated wall and said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose as in claim 1, wherein said double-layered wall extends a full length of said washing machine hose.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose as in claim 1, wherein said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall includes corrugations, each of said corrugations including a first linear portion pivotally connected to a second linear portion, wherein an angle between said first linear portion and said second linear portion decreases as said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall narrows and said angle increases as said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall widens.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose as in claim 1, wherein said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall has a predetermined rigidity to independently maintain a shape and said annularly corrugated wall lacks said predetermined rigidity.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose as in claim 1, wherein said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall is selectively expandable and contractible, said scalene-triangularly corrugated wall having a predetermined rigidity to independently maintain an expanded or contracted length.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

A washing machine hose as in claim 1, wherein said thickness of said first layer and said thickness of said second layer are inversely varied along a length of said intermediate cylindrical portion.