FLEXIBLE HOSE LINE HAVING INTEGRATED SENSOR MATERIAL

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flexible hose line with a wall, wherein the wall has integrated sensor material which has a material property that varies with an operating parameter of the hose line to be ascertained.

Claims

1. A flexible hose line with a wall, wherein the wall has integrated sensor material which has a material property that varies with an operating parameter of the hose line.

2. The flexible hose line according to claim 1, wherein the integrated sensor material is in the form of at least one additive and/or in the form of at least one transducer.

3. The flexible hose line according to claim 2, wherein the additive is selected from the group consisting of thermochromic additives, piezochromic additives, piezoelectric additives, photochromic additives and mixtures thereof.

4. The flexible hose line according to claim 2, wherein the wall has at least one layer which comprises a thermoplastic material, and the additive is contained in the thermoplastic material.

5. The flexible hose line according to claim 2, wherein the wall has a helically running reinforcing element with a coating and the additive is contained in the coating of the reinforcing element.

6. The flexible hose line according to claim 2, wherein the wall has a woven fabric and the additive is contained in a coating of the woven fabric.

7. The flexible hose line according to claim 2, wherein the at least one transducer is selected from the group consisting of an electrical conductor, an optical fibre, a strain gauge and combinations thereof.

8. The flexible hose line according to claim 7, wherein an electrical conductor and/or an optical fibre extend in the axial direction of the hose line parallel to or helically about the hose axis.

9. The flexible hose line according to claim 8, wherein the wall has at least one layer which comprises a thermoplastic material, and the electrical conductor and/or optical fibre are embedded in the layer.

10. The flexible hose line according to claim 8, wherein the wall has a woven fabric and the electrical conductor and/or optical fibre are interwoven into the woven fabric.

11. The flexible hose line according to claim 7, wherein the wall has a woven fabric and the electrical conductor is formed thread-like and is stitched onto the wall or onto a carrier material attached to the wall.

12. The flexible hose line according to claim 7, wherein a strain gauge is attached to the wall.

13. The flexible hose line according to claim 1, wherein the operating parameter of the hose line is selected from the group consisting of the temperature of the hose wall, the positive or negative pressure acting on the hose wall, the integrity of the hose wall, the bend radius of the hose line, the elongation or compression of the hose line, and the vibration and the degree of ageing of the material of the hose wall.

14. The flexible hose line according to claim 1, further comprising a device for recording measurement data representing the material properties of the sensor material.

15. The flexible hose line according to claim 14, further comprising a device for transmitting the measurement data to a data processing device.

16. The flexible hose line according to claim 2, wherein the operating parameter of the hose line is selected from the group consisting of the temperature of the hose wall, the positive or negative pressure acting on the hose wall, the integrity of the hose wall, the bend radius of the hose line, the elongation or compression of the hose line, the vibration and the degree of ageing of the material of the hose wall.

17. The flexible hose line according to claim 3, wherein the wall has at least one layer which comprises a thermoplastic material, and the additive is contained in the thermoplastic material.

18. The flexible hose line according to claim 3, wherein the wall has a helically running reinforcing element with a coating and the additive is contained in the coating of the reinforcing element.

19. The flexible hose line according to claim 3, wherein the wall has a woven fabric and the additive is contained in a coating of the woven fabric.

20. A method of monitoring an operating parameter of a flexible hose line, said method comprising the step of: sensing a material property of a sensor material integrated in a wall of the hose line, wherein the material property varies with the operating parameter of the hose line.

Description

[0095] In the following, the present invention is explained in more detail with reference to merely preferred embodiment examples and the drawings. There are shown in:

[0096] FIG. 1: a hose line according to a first embodiment of the invention in a sectional view;

[0097] FIG. 2: a hose line according to a second embodiment of the invention in a top view;

[0098] FIG. 3: a hose line according to a third embodiment of the invention in a top view; and

[0099] FIG. 4: a hose line according to a fourth embodiment of the invention in a top view.

[0100] FIG. 1 shows a section of a hose line 1 or of a hose with a hose wall 3, which surrounds the hose interior 5. The hose wall 3 has a helically running material web 7, which is a helically wound extruded profiled rim made of transparent thermoplastic material, wherein adjacent sections of the material web are connected to each other overlapping in the edge area 9. A reinforcing element 11 in the form of a wire spiral, which also extends helically in the hose direction or in the longitudinal direction of the hose line 1, is embedded in the material web 7.

[0101] The reinforcing element 11 has a coating 13 in which thermochromic additive is contained which is transparent up to a temperature of 80 C. and spontaneously changes its colour at a temperature higher than 80 C. In this way, an operator can quickly, cost-effectively and reliably recognize when the temperature of the wall 3 of the hose line 1 has exceeded a critical value of 80 C. The coating 13 is obtained by first coating the wire spiral of the reinforcing element 11 with the thermochromic additive and then covering it with a thin layer of a transparent plastic. Subsequently, the coated wire spiral is conveyed to a standard manufacturing method for producing spiral hoses. The fact that the additive is only contained in the coating of the reinforcing element 11 and the material web is free from thermochromic additive leads to the further advantage that the quality and reliability of the connection of adjacent material webs 7 in the edge areas 9 by means of welding and/or gluing is not negatively affected.

[0102] The hose wall 3 further has, on the surface facing the hose interior 5, a coating 15 in which a plurality of additive particles 17 are embedded. In this embodiment, the additive particles 17 also constitute a thermochromic additive, with the result that, by means thereof, the temperature of the hose wall 3 can be monitored in the area of the contact zone with the medium located in the hose interior 5. The type of colour change of the additive particles 17 preferably differs from the colour change of the additive contained in the coating 13. In any case, for this reason alone an exceeding of the temperature on the inner surface of the hose wall 3 can also differ from an exceeding of a temperature in the area of the reinforcing element 11, as the colour change caused by additive particles 17 is substantially to be observed over a large area of the coating 15 and not only in the area of the reinforcing element 11.

[0103] FIG. 2 shows a top view of a second embodiment of a hose line 1 according to the invention. In this embodiment, the hose wall 3 has a woven fabric 19 which is formed by interweaving plastic yarns 21. The plastic yarns 21 have a coating made of thermoplastic material in which thermochromic additive is contained. The detection of the exceeding of a predefined maximum operating temperature of the hose line 1 can thus be guaranteed in a simple manner by selecting a suitable thermochromic additive.

[0104] FIG. 3 also shows a hose line 1 in which the wall 3 is formed from a woven fabric 19. In this embodiment, an electrical conductor 23 and an optical fibre 25 are woven into the woven fabric 19, by interweaving the electrical conductor and the optical fibre 25 with the yarns 21. Both the electrical conductor 23 and the optical fibre 25 extend in the axial direction 27 of the hose line.

[0105] FIG. 4 also shows a hose line 1 in which the wall 3 is formed from a woven fabric 19. In this embodiment, a strain gauge 29 is secured to the woven fabric 19. The connectors 31 of the strain gauge 29 are connected to a device 33 for recording the electrical conductivity of the strain gauge 29. Furthermore, the hose line 1 has a device 35 for transmitting the measurement data to a data processing device (not shown in FIG. 5). Both device 33 and device 35 are attached to the hose line 1, with the result that the user does not need any external accessories, but the hose line 1 allows an effective and simple monitoring of operating parameters of the hose.

[0106] FIG. 5 shows a hose line 1 in which the wall 3 is formed from a woven fabric 19, to the outside of which a carrier material 37 is applied, on which an electrical conductor 39 is stitched. In the case of a pressure or temperature effect the stitched sensor material 39 changes its electrical conductivity, with the result that by means of the device 33 for recording the electrical conductivity and the device 35 for transmitting the measurement data to a data processing device a change in the operating temperature or in the operating pressure of the hose line becomes recognizable.