WO2021118335A1

WO2021118335A1 - A hose fixing member

Info

Publication number: WO2021118335A1
Application number: PCT/MY2020/050130
Authority: WO
Inventors: Soon Peng TAN; Soon Sien TAN; Jia Huang CHOO
Original assignee: Daikin Research & Development Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Priority date: 2019-12-09
Filing date: 2020-11-03
Publication date: 2021-06-17

Abstract

A fixing member (100) for securing a hose (200) onto a fitting of a device. The fixing member (100) comprises a hose receiving portion (101) and a fixing portion (102) extending from the hose receiving portion (101), characterized in that the fixing portion (102) is shaped to bend upwardly from the hose receiving portion (101), thereby forming a 10 substantially L-shaped or V-shaped structure. Further, the fixing portion (102) comprises a fixing hole (103) for connecting the fixing member (100) to a supporting structure (301) adjacent to the fitting in order to secure the hose (200) in place.

Description

A HOSE FIXING MEMBER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hose fixing member, particularly a fixing member for attaching a hose onto a fitting of a device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A hose fixing structure is commonly used for securing connection between a hose and a rigid tube. In air conditioning applications, such fixing structure is generally used to fix a drain hose to an outlet of an air conditioning unit for discharging condensed water.

There have been a number of hose fixing structures available over the prior art aiming to provide an efficient installation and most of them are integrally formed with a screw hole which requires a screw for connecting the hose fixing structure to the air conditioning unit.

For instance, WO2018180322A1 discloses a clip for fastening a drain hose inserted into a drain hose insertion port provided in a drain pan. The clip comprises a circular band where the drain hose is inserted and a fastening portion for attaching the clip onto the drain pan. The fastening portion is provided with a screw hole and a positioning rib that engages with protruding screw boss provided by the drain pan. Nevertheless, the assembling process involving this hose fastening clip is not efficient especially when the screw hole needs to be positioned to meet with the protruding screw boss before fastening. As a result, more time is required to complete the fastening step. Moreover, it is difficult to reach the hose fastening clip especially during maintenance because the insertion port is normally located behind the drain pan which is barely accessible.

JP4507568B2 discloses another type of hose attachment device for attaching drain hose to a discharge port of an air conditioner, wherein the hose attachment device comprising a C-shaped fixing band for holding the drain hose and a receptacle for fitting the fixing band thereto. An extended flange part is formed from the respective end of the fixing band and they are adapted to be fitted around the drain hose. The fixing band also comprises a screw flange portion with a screw hole and a plurality of hooks to be hooked onto the receptacle. Manufacturing cost is relatively higher as this hose attachment device consists of more components as compared to the conventional ones. Furthermore, the design of the hose attachment device is relatively complex which is not user-friendly. Also, it is inconvenient to access the hose attachment device after being assembled because the discharge port is hidden behind the air conditioner.

Next, JP5278341B2 discloses a fixing member for fixing a drain hose to a drain pipe of an air conditioner which provides an improved attachment workability of the fixing member for drain hose. The fixing member comprises a C-shaped holding portion where the drain hose is inserted thereinto, and an extended portion with a screw hole. Further, there is a side wall bent perpendicularly from the extended portion which is to prevent over rotating of the fixing member during process of aligning the screw hole to the position of a mounting hole adjacent to the drain pipe. Nevertheless, the fastening requires a correct positioning of the screw hole to the mounting hole and this takes longer time to complete installation.

Accordingly, it can be seen in the prior art documents that there exists a need to have an efficient hose fixing member which overcomes the aforesaid problems and shortcomings. The hose fixing member shall be convenient for installation and maintenance work. Further, the hose fixing member shall be designed to be handy for the workers regardless the location of the insertion point. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a fixing member that fixes a hose onto a fitting of a device without the need of any additional fastening member, thereby reducing the components required as well as the production cost.

It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a fixing member that facilitates hose attachment or detachment from a fitting of a device when performing installation or maintenance.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a fixing member for securely connecting a hose to a fitting of a device, in which the fixing member comprising a fixing portion adapted to be hooked onto a supporting structure provided adjacent to the fitting.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a fixing member having a fixing portion which is positioned apparently to be spotted when in use, thereby providing an easier access to the fixing member as compared to the conventional fixing member.

Accordingly, these objectives may be achieved by following the teachings of the present invention. The present invention relates to a fixing member for securing a hose onto a fitting of a device, the fixing member comprising a hose receiving portion and a fixing portion extending from the hose receiving portion, characterized in that the fixing portion is shaped to bend upwardly from the hose receiving portion, thereby forming a substantially L-shaped or V-shaped structure. The fixing portion comprises a fixing hole for connecting the fixing member to the fitting in order to secure the hose in place.

It is preferred that a supporting structure is provided adjacent to the fitting to connect to the fixing hole. The fixing hole is preferably hooked onto the supporting structure when they are connected to each other. It is further preferred that the fixing portion comprises a tilted upper end.

Further, the hose receiving portion is preferably a disc-like configuration having a central cutout portion. Another cutout portion is created on the rim of the disc-like configuration of the hose receiving portion.

Preferably, the fitting is a pipe and the device is an air conditioner.

The present invention also describes a method of securing a hose onto a fitting of a device by a fixing member which comprises a hose receiving portion and a fixing portion formed in a substantially L-shaped or V-shaped structure. The method comprises a first step of fitting the hose into the hose receiving portion, followed by connecting the fixing portion to a supporting structure adjacent to the fitting of the device. A fixing hole is provided on the fixing portion for connecting the fixing portion to the supporting structure so as to ensure that the hose is securely connected to the fitting of the device. It is preferred that the fitting is a pipe and the device is an air conditioner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The features of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a side view of the internal configuration of an air conditioning unit incorporated with a conventional hose fixing member.

Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of a fixing member in accordance with the present invention. Figure 3 illustrates a side view of a fixing member in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view showing a fixing member securing a hose onto a drain pipe in air conditioning unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 illustrates a plane perspective view showing a fixing member securing a hose onto a drain pipe in air conditioning unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 illustrates a side view of the internal configuration of an air conditioning unit incorporated with a fixing member in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim. As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one” and the word “plurality” means “more than one” unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other components, integers or steps. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention.

The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawings correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, a number of materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The present invention relates to a fixing member (100) for securing a hose (200) onto a fitting of a device. The fixing member (100) comprises a hose receiving portion (101) and a fixing portion (102) extending from the hose receiving portion (101), characterized in that the fixing portion (102) is shaped to bend upwardly from the hose receiving portion (101), thereby forming a substantially L-shaped or V-shaped structure. The fixing portion (102) also comprises a fixing hole (103) for connecting the fixing member (100) to a supporting structure (301) adjacent to the fitting, thereby securing the hose (200) in place. Referring to the drawings shown in Figures 1-6, the invention will now be described in more detail.

Figure 1 illustrates a side view of the internal configuration of an air conditioning unit incorporated with a conventional fixing member (10). The air conditioning unit is an indoor unit mounted on wall (40) and the unit comprises a drain pan (30) adapted for collecting condensed water resulted from operation of air conditioning system. The drain pan (30) further comprises a drain pipe connecting to a drain hose (20) via the conventional fixing member (10) which forms as part of the condensate drainage line of air conditioning system.

As shown in Figure 1, the drain pipe is commonly located behind the drain pan (30) and the connection between the drain pipe and drain hose (20) is supported by the conventional fixing member (10). The conventional fixing member is required to be fastened in order to secure the drain hose (20) onto the drain pipe.

Under normal circumstances, the connection point between the drain hose (20) and the drain pipe is difficult to be identified as it is hidden. Also, it is inconvenient to access the connection point due to limited space availability between the wall (40) and the drain pan (30) inside the air conditioning unit. As a result, workers may find the conventional fastening process troublesome and time-consuming especially during installation and maintenance.

The fixing member (100) in accordance with the present invention provides a solution to overcome the aforementioned issues and shortcomings of the conventional fixing member (10). With reference to Figures 2 and 4, the fixing member (100) of the present invention is employed for securing a hose (200) onto a fitting of a device, wherein the fixing member (100) comprises a hose receiving portion (101) and a fixing portion (102) extending from the hose receiving portion (101). The fixing member (100) is applicable for several types of fitting including, but not limited to, a pipe inlet, pipe outlet, flange, adapters, nipple and union. Further, the fixing member (100) is applicable for several types of devices that comprise drainage system, including, but not limited to, air conditioner, dehumidifier, washing machine and dishwasher.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing member (100) is a sheet metal member, which is strong and durable.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hose receiving portion (101) is a disc-like configuration with a central cutout portion that serves as a passage for insertion and removal of a hose (200). In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hose receiving portion (101) is a disc like configuration having a central cutout portion and another cutout portion on the rim of the disc-like configuration, forming a substantially C-shaped structure, as shown in Figure 2. The hose receiving portion (101) can also be formed in other applicable shapes including oval, square, hexagon and triangle. Apart from the preferred disc-like configuration, the hose receiving portion (101) may be constructed in the form of a band or a loop.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hose receiving portion (101) is adapted for holding the hose (200) without overstressing.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing portion (102) comprises a fixing hole (103) that connects to the supporting structure (301) provided adjacent to the fitting of the device. The fixing hole (103) is directed towards the supporting structure (301) that receives the fixing hole (103) during insertion; in particular the fixing hole (103) passed through the supporting structure (301) and hooked thereto to keep them fixedly connected to each other. Furthermore, the fixing hole (103) can be constructed in any suitable shape, preferably but not limited to, a rounded rectangular shape. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing portion (102) is extended from the hose receiving portion (101), in which the fixing portion (102) is preferably constructed to be bent upwardly from the hose receiving portion

(101). In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing portion

(102) is bent upwardly and perpendicular to the hose receiving portion (101), forming a substantially L-shaped structure. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixing portion (102) is bent upwardly at an angle which is less or more than 90° relative to the hose receiving portion (101), forming a substantially V-shaped structure as illustrated in Figure 3.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper end of the fixing portion (102) adjacent to the fixing hole (103) is slightly bent outwardly therefrom, providing a tilted end (104) as illustrated in Figure 3. The titled end (104) serves as a force-exerting means for allowing external force applied thereto when attaching or detaching the fixing portion (102) to and from the supporting structure (301). For instance, a pulling force is exerted onto the titled end (104) when disconnecting the fixing portion (102) from the supporting structure (301), in particular the fixing portion (102) moves outwardly from the supporting structure (301).

According to the example shown in Figures 4 and 5, the hose (200) is fitted onto the drain pipe (302) by the fixing member (100). The drain pipe (302) serves as an outlet for the drain pan (300) of the air conditioning unit.

When in use, the hose receiving portion (101) of the fixing member (100) is fitted around the hose (200) and then the hose (200) is securely press-fitted into the drain pipe (302). The hose (200) is then securely fixed to the drain pipe (302) via the fixing member (100) by hooking the fixing hole (103) onto the supporting structure (301) which is located adjacent to the drain pipe (302).

With reference to Figure 5, the end of the hose (200) that connects to the drain pipe (302) is formed with an annular groove along its outer periphery where the hose receiving portion (101) is fitted around. Further, the supporting structure (301) is preferably a protrusion integrally formed adjacent to the drain pipe (302) of the air conditioner as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. More preferably, a groove (3011) is formed along the circumferential of the protrusion where the fixing portion (102) is engaged thereto so as to make the connection between the hose (200) and the drain pipe (302) firm. In particular, the fixing portion (102) moves towards the protrusion and engages with the groove (3011) via the fixing hole (103) provided on the fixing portion (102). Furthermore, the supporting structure (301) is preferably disposed at the side of the drain pan (300) which is located perpendicularly to the drain pipe (302). The supporting structure (301) can be constructed in any other shapes that is efficient in restricting the fixing portion (102) from being detached, for instance, a hook-shaped structure.

The fixing member (100) in accordance with the present invention offers a number of advantages over the conventional fixing member (10). One of the advantages is that the fixing member (100) provides a fixing portion (102) that can be easily spotted and accessed during installation or maintenance. In particular, the fixing portion (102) is a bent structure which is attached to the supporting structure (301) disposed adjacent to the drain pipe (302). By having such configuration, the fixing portion (102) is highly visible to be spotted as illustrated in Figure 6. Further, the fixing portion (102) comprises a fixing hole (103) which is adapted to be hooked onto the supporting structure (301) so as to secure the hose (200) onto the drain pipe (302) without requiring any fastening member, thus presenting a more convenient way to assemble the hose (200) to the drain pipe (302).

The exemplary implementation described above is illustrated with specific shapes, dimensions, and other characteristics, but the scope of the invention also includes various other shapes, dimensions, and characteristics. For example, the particular shape and size of the fixing portion (102) and the hose receiving portion (101) as well as the bending angle between the fixing portion (102) and the hose receiving portion (101) could be modified to adapt to any appropriate particular combination of various parts of the fixing member (100). Also, rather than the materials mentioned above, the components of the fixing member (100) may be made of other materials having similar and/or enhanced properties. Also, the components as described above could be manufactured in various other ways and could include various other materials.

Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but is to be providing broadest scope of consistent with the principles and the novel features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claim.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A fixing member (100) for securing a hose (200) onto a fitting of a device comprising a hose receiving portion (101); and a fixing portion (102) extending from the hose receiving portion (101); characterised in that the fixing portion (102) is shaped to bend upwardly from the hose receiving portion (101), thereby forming a substantially L-shaped or V- shaped structure; and wherein the fixing portion (102) comprises a fixing hole (103) for connecting the fixing member (100) to the fitting so as to secure the hose (200) in place.

2. The fixing member (100) according to claim 1, wherein the fixing member (100) is connected to a supporting structure (301) provided adjacent to the fitting via the fixing hole (103).

3. The fixing member (100) according to claim 2, wherein the fixing hole (103) is hooked onto the supporting structure (301).

4. The fixing member (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the fixing portion (102) comprises a tilted upper end.

5. The fixing member (100) according to claim 1, wherein the hose receiving portion (101) is a disc-like configuration having a central cutout portion.

6. The fixing member (100) according to claim 5, wherein the hose receiving portion comprises a cutout portion on the rim of the disc-like configuration.

7. The fixing member (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the fitting is a pipe.

8. The fixing member (100) according to claim 1, wherein the device is an air conditioner.

9. A method of securing a hose (200) onto a fitting of a device by a fixing member (100) having a hose receiving portion (101) and a fixing portion (102) formed in a substantially L-shaped or V-shaped structure, wherein the method comprising: fitting the hose (200) into the hose receiving portion (101); and connecting the fixing portion (102) to a supporting structure (301) adjacent to the fitting of the device; wherein the fixing portion (102) is connected to the supporting structure (301) via a fixing hole (103) provided on the fixing portion (102) so as the hose (200) is securely connected to the fitting of the device.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the fitting is a pipe.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the device is an air conditioner.