Hose box

The present invention relates generally to the field of hose boxes. More specifically, the present document discloses a hose box for storing a spiral hose.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Different solutions are known for storing hoses, specifically water hoses. For example, hose reels are known which comprise a frame including the reel for coiling the hose. In addition, hose reels are known which have to be attached to a wall. However, the installation of such hose reels causes undesired damages at the wall.

Spiral hoses may be preferred hoses in areas with limited stor ^¬ age space. However, said spiral hoses comprise a limited action radius and cannot be used in environments in which the water tap is far away from the objects to be irrigated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the embodiments of the present invention to provide a hose box for storing a spiral hose which provides a simple removal and storing of a spiral hose. The objective is solved by the features of the independent claim. Preferred em ^¬ bodiments are given in the dependent claims. If not explicitly indicated otherwise, embodiments of the invention can be freely combined with each other. According to an aspect, the invention relates to a hose box adapted to receive a spiral hose. The hose box comprises:

- a base body, in particular a base body of circular shape, confining a cavity for receiving the spiral hose and comprising a lower base body portion provid ^¬ ing a support for the spiral hose received in the base body, the lower base body portion comprising a passage for the spiral hose; and

- fixing means adapted to fix the hose box above the ground .

Said hose box is advantageous because the tubular base body can be attached to the ground or to a vertical fixing element (e.g. house wall, railings etc.) with minimal installation effort and provides a space-saving storage for said spiral hose.

According to embodiments, the said fixing means may comprise an elastic fixing portion providing a flexible coupling of the base body with a fixing area. Thereby, the base body can be tilt to ^¬ wards the ground when pulling the spiral hose out of the base body. Particularly, the base body may even touch on the ground when the spiral hose is pulled along the ground. Thereby the forces for pulling the spiral hose out of the base body are sig ^¬ nificantly reduced.

According to other embodiments, the base body comprises one or more openings for installing the base body at a wall, railings etc. Said openings may be bores or screw holes. Alternatively, openings may be provided through which cable ties or Velcro fas ^¬ teners are pulled through in order to fix the base body at a post or column.

According to embodiments, the elastic fixing portion comprises an elastically deformable coupling element, specifically a spring. Hereby the elastically deformable coupling element could for example be made out of metal or plastics. In one embodiment the size of that coupling element is smaller than the tubular base body. In another embodiment the coupling element could well measure a circumference that is approximately the same than that of the base body. This is in particular advantageous with cou ^¬ pling elements made out of plastics as this shape helps to im ^¬ prove stability.

Said elastically deformable coupling element may elastically couple the base body with an installation surface. Thereby a flexible arrangement of the base body at the ground or installa ^¬ tion surface is obtained which eases the pulling-out of the spi ^¬ ral hose and lowers the load on the fixing element providing a fixing of the base portion at the installation surface because the length of the lever is reduced.

According to embodiments, the elastic fixing portion provides a passage for the spiral hose. More specifically, a portion of the spiral hose may be provided through the interior of the elas ^¬ tically deformable coupling element thereby realizing a space- saving feed-through of the hose towards the installation surface .

According to embodiments, said fixing means further comprise a base portion for fixing the hose box at a fixing area. Said base portion may comprise a plate-like shape. Preferably, the base portion may be a multifunctional fixing portion providing the possibility of directly mounting the base portion at an instal ^¬ lation surface (e.g. by screwing the base portion directly on a installation surface) or by attaching the base portion on an an- chor element, e.g. a ground anchor.

According to embodiments, the base portion is coupled with the lower base body portion by means of said elastically deformable coupling element, specifically by means of said spring. Thereby a secure coupling of the hose box at the installation surface can be obtained and the base body is elastically mounted at said installation surface due to providing said elastically deforma- ble coupling element between the base body and the base portion. According to embodiments, the lower base body portion comprises a thread adapted to receive the loops of the spring of the elas ^¬ tic fixing portion. For example, said spring may be a tension spring comprising multiple coils. The thread provided at the lower base body portion may be configured according to said spring coils in order to be able to screw the spring in or onto the lower base body portion. For example, the lower base body portion may comprise a recess or cavity including a female thread for receiving the spring. In other embodiments, the lower base body portion may comprise a protrusion with a male thread on which the spring can be screwed on.

According to embodiments, the base portion comprises a coupling portion for coupling the base portion with said elastically de- formable coupling element, specifically with said spring. Said coupling portion may be formed by a recess or cavity included in the base portion. Alternatively, the coupling portion may com ^¬ prise a protrusion adapted to receive said elastically deforma- ble coupling element . According to embodiments, the coupling portion comprises a thread for receiving the loops of the spring of the elastic fix ^¬ ing portion. The thread provided at the base portion may be con ^¬ figured according to the spring coils in order to be able screw the spring in or onto the base portion. For example, the base portion may comprise a recess or cavity including a female thread for receiving the spring. In other embodiments, the base portion may comprise a protrusion with a male thread on which the spring can be screwed on. According to embodiments, the base portion comprises openings or boreholes for receiving fixing elements in order to fixly arrange the base portion at a fixing area. Said fixing elements may be screws, nails etc. The openings/ boreholes may be circumferen- tially arranged around the centre of the base portion. Alterna- tively, the base portion may be adapted to be glued to an instal ^¬ lation surface.

According to embodiments, the base portion is adapted to be de- tachably connected with an anchor element, specifically a ground anchor or a spike. Said anchor element may be adapted to be in ^¬ serted or screwed into the ground in order to fix the hose box in a lawn area. Said detachable connection between the anchor element and the base portion may comprise a bayonet joint or a threaded connection in order to couple the base portion at the anchor element. Due to the detachable connection, the hose box can be easily uninstalled, for example, for lawn mowing or dur ^¬ ing winter .

According to embodiments, the base portion comprises a passage for the spiral hose, the passage being adapted such that the spiral hose or an end portion of the spiral hose protrudes lat ^¬ erally, specifically radially from the base portion. For exam ^¬ ple, a hose connector may be provided at the base portion in or ^¬ der to couple the spiral hose with a water hose for coupling the spiral hose with a water tap. Alternatively, the spiral hose may not end in the area of the base portion but may protrude by a certain length from the base portion (e.g. 0.5m, 0.75m, lm, 1.25m, 1.5m) in order to directly couple the spiral hose with the water tap.

According to embodiments, the elastic fixing portion comprises restoring forces such that in case that no external forces are applied, the longitudinal axis of the base body is arranged in a vertical or essentially a vertical direction. In other words, the elastic fixing portion is adapted to place the base body of the hose box in an upright position. Due to the removal position at the top of the hose box, a comfortable and ergonomic removal of the spiral hose is possible. According to embodiments, the elastic fixing portion comprises restoring forces such that in case of pulling the spiral hose out of the base body, the longitudinal axis of the base body is displaced in a tilted position or in a horizontal or essentially horizontal position. So, depending on the pulling direction of the spiral hose, the base body is inclined towards said pulling direction. Due to the elastic coupling of the base body with the base portion, the forces applied to the coupling means connect ^¬ ing the base portion with the installation surface (screws, nails, anchor element etc.) are reduced.

According to embodiments, the height of the base body in a di ^¬ rection parallel to the longitudinal axis is greater, specifi ^¬ cally at least two or three times greater than the dimension of the base body crosswise to the longitudinal axis. Thereby, the spiral hose is stored in an upright position and can be pulled out in a height which ensures an ergonomic removal of the spiral hose .

According to embodiments, the base body and the base portion may be formed as one-piece elements. For example, the base body and the base portion may be single-piece plastic elements and may be manufactured by injection molding. The spring may be made of metal or plastic. The term "essentially" or "approximately" as used in the inven ^¬ tion means deviations from the exact value by +/- 10%, prefera ^¬ bly by +/- 5% and/or deviations in the form of changes that are insignificant for the function. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various aspects of the invention, including its particular features and advantages, will be readily understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which :

Fig. 1 illustrates a lateral view of a hose box according to a first embodiment;

Fig. 2 illustrates a lateral view of a hose box according to a second embodiment;

Fig. 3 illustrates the hose box according to said second em ^¬ bodiment with an anchor element attached to the base portion ;

Fig. 4 illustrates the hose box according to said second em ^¬ bodiment with a spiral hose pulled out of the hose box;

Fig. 5 illustrates the hose box according to said second em ^¬ bodiment wherein the base portion is inclined due to pulling the spiral hose out of the hose box;

Fig. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the hose box ac ^¬ cording to said second embodiment with an inclined base body;

Fig. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the lower part of the hose box according to said second embodiment with an anchor element attached to the base portion; and

Fig. 8 illustrates a hose box set including a spiral hose, a sprayer, a hose connector and an anchor element in a ready-for-sale arrangement . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully with ref- erence to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodi ^¬ ments are shown. However, this invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Throughout the following description similar reference numerals have been used to denote similar elements, parts, items or features, when ap- plicable.

Fig. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a hose box 1 in a lat ^¬ eral view. The hose box 1 comprises a base body 3 for receiving a spiral hose 2. The base body 3 comprises a tubular, elongated shape. More in detail, the base body 3 comprises a cavity 3.1 adapted to receive a spiral hose 2. The base body 3 may comprise a cylindrical or essentially cylindrical sidewall portion later ^¬ ally confining said cavity 3.1. At the top of the base body 3, an opening 3.4 is provided for inserting the spiral hose 2 into the base body 3, respectively, pulling the spiral hose 2 out of the base body 3. A spiral hose 2 according to the present inven ^¬ tion may be a hose which comprises multiple loops in case that no external forces are applied to the hose in order to elongate the hose. In addition, said spiral hose 2 may be adapted to au- tomatically coil back into said spiral shape after elongating the hose during usage. Thus, no coiling of the hose is necessary but the spiral hose 2 automatically runs back into the base body 3 due to the residual stress within the spiral hose 2. A spray head 2.1 coupled to the spiral hose 2 may be stored within the cavity 3.1 provided in the base body 3 or may be stored by loosely hanging outside at the base body 3.

Opposite to the opening 3.4 of the base body 3 a lower base body portion 3.2 is provided. Said lower base body portion 3.2 pro- vides a support for the spiral hose 2 received within the cavity 3.1 of the base body 3. For example, the lower base body portion

3.2 may comprise a planar shape or may be funnel-shaped. In the centre of the lower base body portion 3.2, a passage 3.3 for the spiral hose 2 is provided. Said passage 3.3 is adapted to pro- vide a feed through for the spiral hose 2 such that the spiral hose 2 passes from the interior of the cavity 3.1 outwardly. The lower base body portion 3.2 may also comprise a water drain hole in order to avoid an accumulation of water within the cavity 3.1. Said water drain hole may be provided by the passage 3.3 or by a separate opening within the lower base body portion 3.2.

In order to fix the base body 3 above the ground, fixing means 4 are provided. In the present embodiment, said fixing means 4 are formed by one or more openings or boreholes which are provided at the cylindrical sidewall of the base body 3. Thereby the hose box can be fixed at a wall, balcony railing etc. by screwing. In addition, the hose box may be adapted to be fixed at a tree, railing etc. by means of cable ties, Velcro fastener etc. Fig. 2 to 6 show further embodiments of the hose box 1. The base body 3 and the spiral hose 2 may be configured as described be ^¬ fore. Therefore, with respect to the features of the spiral hose 2 and the base body 3, reference is made to the embodiment de ^¬ scribed before.

For fixing the base body 3 at a fixing area 4, for example, ground or an installation surface like a terrace floor, the hose box 1 comprises an elastic fixing portion 5. Said elastic fixing portion 5 comprises a base portion 7 and an elastically deforma- ble coupling element 6. The base portion 7 may be a plate- or disk-shaped element which provides at its lower end a contact surface adapted to mount the hose box at a fixing area, for ex ^¬ ample, ground, terrace floor or any other installation surface. Opposite to the contact surface, the base portion is coupled with said elastically deformable coupling element 6 which pro ^¬ vides a coupling between the base body 3 and the base portion 7. The elastically deformable coupling element 6 may be any element which shows elastic material properties and which comprises re- storing forces such that the elastic fixing portion 5 returns into its initial position after deformation. More in detail, the elastic fixing portion 5 may be a spring, specifically a coil spring or any other elastic component. As shown in Fig. 2, the longitudinal axis LA of the base body 3 is arranged perpendicular or essentially perpendicular to the contact surface of the base portion 7 in case that no external forces are applied to the base body 3. More in detail, the lon ^¬ gitudinal axis LA of the base body may be arranged vertically in case that no external forces are applied to the base body 3. Due to upper-mentioned elastic fixing portion 5, the base body 3, respectively, the hose box 1 comprises self up-lifting proper ^¬ ties, i.e. after displacing the base body 3 from its vertical (upright) orientation into a tilted position, the base body 3 may automatically return into said vertical position.

As shown in Fig. 4 to 6, the spiral hose 2 can be pulled out of the base body 3 at the opening 3.4. Due to said pulling forces applied to the spiral hose 2, the base body 3 is displaced from its upright position (fig. 4) into an inclined position (fig. 5 and 6), i.e. the base body 3 of the hose box 1 is adapted to be inclined in the direction in which the spiral hose 2 is pulled.

As shown in Fig. 6 and 7, an end portion of the spiral hose 2 is fed through a passage provided within the elastic deformable coupling element 6, specifically, through the interior of the spring. In other words, the elastic deformable coupling element 6 and the spiral hose portion provided within the elastic de ^¬ formable coupling element 6 provides a deformable water-bearing coupling between the base body 3 and the base portion 7. After passing the elastic deformable coupling element 6, the spiral hose 2 is laterally fed through the wall of the base portion 7. In other words, in the area of the base portion 7, the spiral hose 2 is bent by an angle of 90° or essentially 90°. The spiral hose 2, specifically its free end may protrude laterally at said base portion 7 in order to enable an overground coupling of the spiral hose 2 with a water inlet. In other words, the spiral hose 2 may protrude radially at said base portion 7. According to an example embodiment, a guick-coupling element may be provided at the base portion 7 in order to provide a coupling interface for a hose connector of a water hose. According to other embodiments, the hose protruding at the base portion 7 may not directly end in close proximity to the base portion 7 but may protrude from said base portion 7 for a certain length in order to enable a direct coupling of the free end of spiral hose 2 with a water tap. For example, the hose may protrude from the base portion 7 with a length in the area of 0.5m to 2m, specifically, 0.75m, lm, 1.25m, 1.5m or 1.75m.

The base portion 7 may comprise one or more bores or openings 7.2 for fixing the base portion 7 at an installation surface. For example, multiple bores or openings 7.2 may be circumferen- tially distributed around the centre of the base portion 7.

Through said bores or openings 7.2, fixing elements, e.g. screws can be provided in order to fix the base portion 7 and thereby the hose box 1 at the installation surface.

Referring to Fig. 3, 6 and 7, the base portion 7 may be adapted to be coupled with an anchor element 8 for fixing the hose box 1 at the ground. The anchor element 8 may be a ground anchor con ^¬ figured as ground spike with a tapered spike or configured as ground screw comprising a thread for screwing the anchor element 8 into the ground. Thereby it is possible to directly fix the hose box 1 in the ground, for example, in a lawn area. The an ^¬ chor element 8 may be made of any rigid material, specifically metal or plastic. As shown in Fig. 7, the base portion 7 may be adapted to be de- tachably mounted at the anchor element 8. More in detail, the base portion 7 and the anchor element 8 may comprise means for implementing a bayonet joint between the base portion 7 and the anchor element 8. For example, the anchor element 8 may comprise a plate-shaped connection portion 8.1 for coupling the base portion 7 at the anchor element 8. At said connection portion 8.1 fixing means are provided which interact with corresponding fixing means at the base portion 7. In the present embodiment, the fixing means provided at the anchor element 8 are hook-shaped portions 8.2 which protrude upwardly. Said hook-shaped portions are adapted to receive planar fixing portions 8.2. In case that the planar fixing portions 7.4 engage into the hook-shaped por ^¬ tions 8.2, the hose box 1 is fixed at the anchor element 8. The coupling between the base portion 7 and the anchor element 8 may be realized by rotating the base portion 7 and the anchor ele ^¬ ment 8 against each other.

In order to ease the alignment of the base portion 7 and the an ^¬ chor element 8, the connection portion 8.1 may provide one or more wall portions 8.3. Said wall portions 8.3 may interact with a lateral wall portion 7.5 of the base portion 7. More in de ^¬ tail, the wall portions 8.3 may rest against the lateral wall portion 7.5 thereby providing a guidance for putting the base portion 7 on the connection portion 8.1 and rotating the base portion 7 against the anchor element 8.

However, apart from the upper-described bayonet joint, also other coupling means may be possible, for example, a screw con ^¬ nection using corresponding threads at the base portion 7 and the anchor element 8. Fig. 7 shows in closer detail the elastic fixing portion 5 using an elastic deformable coupling element 5 (e.g. a spring) cou ^¬ pling the tubular base body 3 and the base portion 7. For fixing the elastic deformable coupling element 5 at the base body 3, the base body 3 comprises at its lower base body portion 3.2 a coupling portion 7.1. Said coupling portion 7.1 may comprise a thread 7.1.1 which is adapted to the coils of the spring. For example, the coupling portion 7.1 may be a recess or cavity in which a free end of the spring is received. For coupling the spring with the coupling portion 7.1, said spring may be screwed into the female thread 7.1.1 within said recess or cavity. Al ^¬ ternatively, the coupling portion 7.1 may be a protrusion provided at the lower base body portion 3.2. Said protrusion may comprise a male thread in order to screw the protrusion into the interior of the spring.

Similarly, the coupling of the elastic deformable coupling ele ^¬ ment 5 with the base portion 7 is obtained by a coupling portion 7.1 provided at the base portion 7. In the present embodiment, the coupling portion 7.1 comprises a protrusion. The elastic deformable coupling element 5 is coupled with the protrusion by placing the elastic deformable coupling element 5 over said pro ^¬ trusion. More in detail, the elastic deformable coupling element 5 may be a spring and the coupling portion 7.1 may comprise a male thread for receiving the coils of the spring. Thereby, the spring can be screwed onto the coupling portion 7.1. Alternatively, the base portion 7 may comprise a recess or cavity for receiving the free end of the elastic deformable coupling ele- ment 5. For example, the recess or cavity may comprise a female thread in which a spring can be screwed.

Fig. 8 shows a set 10 comprising a hose box 1 as described be ^¬ fore together with a spiral hose 2 and an anchor element 8 for fixing the hose box 1 in the ground. The set 10 may further com ^¬ prise a spray head and/or a hose connector for coupling a water hose with the hose connection portion provided at the base por ^¬ tion 7. Due to the tubular shape of the base body 3, the compo- nents of the set 10 can be stored in the interior of the base body 3. The anchor element 8 , specifically the plate-shaped con ^¬ nection portion 8.1 of the anchor element 8 may be used to close the base body 3 in the area of the opening 3.4. In other words, the plate-shaped connection portion 8.1 provides a cover at the top of the hose box 1. The ground spike or ground thread may protrude into the cavity 3.1 of the base body 3. Thereby, the packaging size and the amount of packaging material can be sig ^¬ nificantly reduced. The proposed hose box 1 comprises a slim design. More in detail, the height h of the base body 3 may be larger than the diameter of the cavity 3.1. For example, the height h of the base body 3 may be at least two or three times greater than the diameter of the cavity 3.1. Due to the significant height h of the hose box 1 (e.g. 60cm between the lower end of the base portion 7 and the top portion of the base body 3) a comfortable and ergonomic re ^¬ moval of the spiral hose 2, specifically the spray head 2.1 ar ^¬ ranged at the spiral hose 2 can be obtained. In addition, due to the arrangement of the spray head 2.1 close to the upper portion of the base body 3 (close to the opening 3.4), the spray head 2.1 remains clean because it does not touch the ground.

It should be noted that the description and drawings merely il ^¬ lustrate the principles of the proposed hose box. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention. List of reference numerals

1 hose box

2 spiral hose

2.1 spray head

3 base body

3.1 cavity

3.2 lower base body portion

3.2.1 thread

3.3 passage

3.4 opening

4 fixing means

5 elastic fixing portion

6 elastic deformable coupling element

7 base portion

7.1 coupling portion

7.1.1 thread

7.2 opening

7.3 passage

7.4 planar fixing portion

7.5 lateral wall portion

8 anchor element

8.1 connection portion

8.2 hook-shaped portion

8.3 wall portion

10 set h height

LA longitudinal axis