초록 ▼

A pressure washer apparatus and method comprising a telescoping tube section which contains a hose. There is a forward outlet section having an outlet housing with a quick disconnect to the forward end of the hose in the telescoping tube section. A control section is located at the rear end of the t

A pressure washer apparatus and method comprising a telescoping tube section which contains a hose. There is a forward outlet section having an outlet housing with a quick disconnect to the forward end of the hose in the telescoping tube section. A control section is located at the rear end of the telescoping tube section and makes a second quick disconnect connection to the hose. Releasable connectors are provided for the tube sections to lock the tube sections in place, and these comprise tapered threaded gripping fingers which combine with a locking nut with the threads of the two of the gripping fingers, and the locking nut having a taper end and thread configuration enabling the connection to be accomplished by only a very short rotation of the compression nut.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A pressure washing apparatus comprising:a) a telescoping tube section comprising a rear end portion and a forward end portion, and defining a hose carrying passageway, said telescoping tube section having a longitudinal center axis extending along said tube passageway, and comprising at least a r

1. A pressure washing apparatus comprising:a) a telescoping tube section comprising a rear end portion and a forward end portion, and defining a hose carrying passageway, said telescoping tube section having a longitudinal center axis extending along said tube passageway, and comprising at least a rear tube member and a front tube member; b) a control section located at the rear end portion of the telescoping tube section and having a water supply inlet connector adapted to be connected to a water supply line, a hose inlet connector adapted to be connected to a rear end of a hose that extends through the telescoping tube section, and a control mechanism to control water flow from the water supply inlet connection to the hose inlet connector; c) a forward outlet section mounted to the forward end of the telescoping tube section and comprising a hose outlet connection arranged to have a releasable connection to a forward outlet end of a hose in the hose passageway, said forward outlet section being arranged to permit access to the releasable connection, whereby a hose in the telescoping tube section can be connected and disconnected to the hose outlet connection and the hose inlet connector for insertion of the hose into an operating position in the telescoping tube section and removal therefrom; d) at least one tube member having at an end portion thereof a releasable connector comprising a tube engaging section comprising: i) a rearwardly positioned sleeve portion arranged to extend substantially around the first tube and be secured thereto; ii) a forwardly positioned gripping portion having a forward end portion and rear end portion, and comprising a plurality of gripping fingers arranged to be positioned at spaced circumferential locations, each of said fingers having a rear base end portion connected to the sleeve portion, a forward end finger portion, and an interior gripping surface; iii) said gripping portion having a tapered outer surface portion comprising outer tapered surface portions of said gripping fingers, each outer tapered surface portion sloping in a forwardly and longitudinally inward taper toward the forward end finger portion of the forward gripping portion; iv) said gripping portion having an outer tapered surface formed with exterior threads which follow the taper of the outer tapered surface so that the outer diameter of the exterior threads increase in a rearward direction, with said exterior threads extending across and through the outer tapered surface portions of the gripping fingers; e) a compression nut having a tapered inwardly facing compression surface arranged to extend around the gripping portion, said tapered inwardly facing compression surface of said compression nut having interior threads tapering outwardly in rearward direction and being arranged to come into threaded engagement with the exterior threads of the forward gripping portion. 2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the sleeve portion of the tube engaging section is fixedly attached to the outer surface of its related tube member a short distance away from a forward edge of its related tube member, and the forwardly positioned gripping portion extends forwardly from the sleeve portion toward the adjacent forward edge portion of its related tube member, said gripping portion and that portion of its related tube member which is immediately adjacent to the gripping portion each being formed with longitudinal slots which define said gripping fingers of the gripping portion, and also form the end tube portion that is adjacent to the gripping portion as tapered fingers of the end portion of the tube member, whereby when the compression nut is rotated to move the gripping fingers inwardly, the tube fingers also move inwardly with the tube fingers gripping an adjacent portion of a tube member positioned within the related tube member with the releasable connector.3. The apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the forward threaded end portion comprises at least one forward thread portion and at least a part of a second thread portion, having a slope at a slant angle between about six degrees to twenty degrees.4. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein said angle of slant is between about nine degrees and five degrees.5. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the threads in the rear thread portion have an angle of slant between zero and five degrees.6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the tapered outer surface portion of the gripping portion has an angle of taper which is slightly less than an angle of taper of the threads of the compression nut, so that with the compression nut at least partially threaded onto the gripping portion, forward threads of the gripping portion and the compression nut are located relatively closer to one another than more rearward threads of the gripping portion and the compression nut.7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the compression nut is made of a relatively hard metal, and the gripping portion is made of a more yielding plastic, the threads of each of the gripping portion and the compression nut being formed as ridges and valleys between the ridges, said threads of the compression nut and the gripping portion being configured so that a radial length dimension of the ridges of the compression nut is moderately greater than a radial dimension of the ridges of the gripping fingers, so that as the threaded portions of the compression nut come into engagement with the valleys of the gripping portion, the ridges of the compression portion are spaced moderately away from the valleys of the compression nut, whereby prior to any appreciable wear on the gripping fingers and the compression nut, more forward thread portions of the compression nut and the gripping portion come into engagement with the ridges of the compression nut coming into initial engagement, and as wear progresses, engagement of the threaded portions increase in a rearward direction, and the ridges of the gripping fingers are positioned more closely to the valleys of the compression nut.8. A pressure washing apparatus comprising:a) a telescoping tube section comprising a rear end portion and a forward end portion, and defining a hose carrying passageway, said telescoping tube section having a longitudinal center axis extending along said tube passageway, and comprising at least a rear tube member and a front tube member; b) a control section located at the rear end portion of the telescoping tube section and having a water supply inlet connector adapted to be connected to a water supply line, a hose inlet connector adapted to be connected to a rear end of a hose that extends through the telescoping tube section, and a control mechanism to control water flow from the water supply inlet connection to the hose inlet connector; c) a forward outlet section mounted to the forward end of the telescoping tube section and comprising a hose outlet connection arranged to have a releasable connection to a forward outlet end of a hose in the hose passageway, said forward outlet section being arranged to permit access to the releasable connection, whereby a hose in the telescoping tube section can be connected and disconnected to the hose outlet connection and the hose inlet connector for insertion of the hose into an operating position in the telescoping tube section and removal therefrom; d) said forward outlet section comprising an outlet housing removably mounted to the forward end portion of the telescoping tube section, with said outlet housing providing a through passageway connecting to the hose outlet connection of the forward outlet section; e) said forward outlet section being removably connected to the forward end of the telescoping tube section by a releasable connector comprising a tube engaging section comprising: i) a rearwardly positioned sleeve portion arranged to extend substantially around the first tube and be secured thereto; ii) a forwardly positioned gripping portion having a forward end portion and rear end portion, and comprising a plurality of gripping fingers arranged to be positioned at spaced circumferential locations, each of said fingers having a rear base end portion connected to the sleeve portion, a forward end finger portion, and an interior gripping surface; iii) said gripping portion having a tapered outer surface portion comprising outer tapered surface portions of said gripping fingers, each outer tapered surface portion sloping in a forwardly and longitudinally inward taper toward the forward end finger portion of the forward gripping portion; iv) said gripping portion having an outer tapered surface formed with exterior threads which follow the taper of the outer tapered surface so that the outer diameter of the exterior threads increase in a rearward direction, with said exterior threads extending across and through the outer tapered surface portions of the gripping fingers; f) a compression nut having a tapered inwardly facing compression surface arranged to extend around the gripping portion, said tapered inwardly facing compression surface of said compression nut having interior threads tapering outwardly in rearward direction and being arranged to come into threaded engagement with the exterior threads of the forward gripping portion. 9. A pressure washing apparatus comprising:a) a telescoping tube section comprising a rear end portion and a forward end portion, and defining a hose carrying passageway, said telescoping tube section having a longitudinal center axis extending along said tube passageway, and comprising at least a rear tube member and a front tube member; b) a control section located at the rear end portion of the telescoping tube section and having a water supply inlet connector adapted to be connected to a water supply line, a hose inlet connector adapted to be connected to a rear end of a hose that extends through the telescoping tube section, and a control mechanism to control water flow from the water supply inlet connection to the hose inlet connector; c) a forward outlet section mounted to the forward end of the telescoping tube section and comprising a hose outlet connection arranged to have a releasable connection to a forward outlet end of a hose in the hose passageway, said forward outlet section being arranged to permit access to the releasable connection, whereby a hose in the telescoping tube section can be connected and disconnected to the hose outlet connection and the hose inlet connector for insertion of the hose into an operating position in the telescoping tube section and removal therefrom; d) said forward outlet section comprises a connector adapted to make a threaded connection with different members having variously sized and/or shaped threaded sockets, said connector comprising: i) a connecting section having a longitudinal center axis, a forward end, a rear end, and a surrounding threaded surface portion comprising a forward threaded end portion, and a rear threaded end portion, which in turn comprise a plurality of outwardly facing thread members; ii) said thread portions being connected in a generally helical pattern, with a radial dimension of the thread members of the forward threaded end portion generally increasing in at a first rate of increase which is greater than zero in a rearward direction from a forward end of the forward threaded end portion to a more rear location of the forward threaded end portion, and with the rear threaded end portion having a radial dimension which is characterized in that any rate of increase in the radial dimension in a forward to rear direction is less than the rate of increase in the forward threaded end portion; iii) the threaded members of the forward threaded end portion and the rear threaded end portion each having a radially outwardly facing perimeter surface, with the perimeter surfaces of the forward threaded end portion having an inwardly and forwardly extending slope relative to the longitudinal axis at an angle of slope measured in a geometric plane passing through the longitudinal center axis, and any slope of the perimeter surfaces of the thread members of the rear threaded end portion being characterized that any inwardly and forwardly extending slope of the threaded members of the rear threaded end portion is less than the slope of the forward threaded end portion.