Expandable and contractible garden hose

What is this patent about?

’278 is related to the field of fluid delivery systems, specifically focusing on a lightweight, self-expanding and self-contracting hose. Traditional garden hoses are often bulky, heavy, and prone to kinking or tangling during storage and use. The background context involves the need for a hose that remains compact and manageable when empty but can reach significant lengths when pressurized, without the mechanical complexity or weight of internal springs or wire reinforcements.

The underlying idea behind ’278 is the use of a pressure-driven expansion mechanism that utilizes the interplay between a highly elastic inner liner and a non-elastic outer jacket. By anchoring the two layers only at the terminal fittings, the inventor realized that the inner tube could act as a hydraulic actuator. When water flow is restricted at the outlet, the resulting internal pressure forces the elastic inner tube to stretch both lengthwise and widthwise, while the outer fabric tube acts as a physical limit to prevent the liner from bursting.

The claims of ’278 focus on a dual-layered assembly where an elastic inner tube is positioned within a non-elastic, bendable outer tube, with the two being secured only at the ends. The independent claims require a first coupler for a water source and a second coupler for a flow restrictor. This specific configuration allows the outer tube to move freely over the inner tube, enabling the hose to transition from a relaxed, shortened state to an expanded state when pressurized water is partially blocked from exiting the second coupler.

In practice, the invention functions by creating a pressure differential within the hose body. When a user attaches a nozzle to the far end and turns on the water, the internal volume fills and the elastic material stretches until it meets the constraints of the outer webbing. Because the outer jacket is significantly longer than the relaxed inner tube, it sits in a gathered or compressed state when the hose is empty. As the inner tube elongates under pressure, the outer jacket unfolds and becomes smooth, providing the structural integrity needed to handle high-pressure water.

This design differs from prior approaches by eliminating the need for metallic springs or permanent bonding between layers. By allowing the outer fabric to slide independently along the length of the elastic core, the hose avoids the kinking common in rigid-wall designs. The automatic contraction is powered entirely by the elastic memory of the inner tube once the water pressure is released, pulling the entire assembly back into a compact form that is significantly lighter and easier to store than conventional rubber or reinforced hoses.