Prior art

The USPTO website provides a "Patent Public Search" tool for searching patents and patent application publications.

Here is an analysis of the most relevant prior art cited in US patent 11608915:

Ragner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,527

• Full Citation: Ragner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,527, "Pressure-actuated linearly retractable and extendible hose"
• Publication/Filing Date: Granted September 27, 2005. Application filed November 25, 2002.
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a linearly self-actuated hose for transporting fluids, which has a retractable and/or extendible means built into the hose itself. The hose utilizes internal pressure or vacuum pressure to control its extending and retracting. It aims to provide a hose that retracts to a much smaller length and volume when not in use and automatically extends for use, with control based on the pressure differential. The hose includes a biasing spring extending along its full length, covered by inner and outer hose cover materials to form a sealed hose.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): Claims 1 and 14 broadly describe an expandable and contractible hose that responds to pressurized fluid. Ragner et al. discloses a hose that "retracts itself to a much smaller length when not in use" and "automatically extends itself for use" based on internal pressure. The core concept of an automatically expanding and contracting hose due to fluid pressure is present. However, a key distinction of US11608915 is the explicit separation of a non-elastic outer tube and an elastic inner tube that are "unattached, unconnected, unbonded, and unsecured...along the entire length" and the absence of metal components like springs along the length. Ragner et al. uses a "biasing spring" along the full length. Therefore, while the broad functionality of an expanding/contracting hose is anticipated, the specific structural arrangement of the inner and outer tubes being unattached along their length and the absence of a biasing spring distinguishes US11608915. Thus, it potentially anticipates the broader functional aspects of Claims 1 and 14, but not the specific structural limitations.

Ragner, U.S. Pat. No. 7,549,448

• Full Citation: Ragner, U.S. Pat. No. 7,549,448, "Linearly self-actuated hose for use in transporting fluids"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication date is not explicitly stated in the provided text, but it is mentioned in relation to US20210172546A1.
• Brief Description: This patent also discloses a linearly self-actuated hose for transporting fluids, similar to US6948527. It features a biasing spring that extends along the full length of the hose, covered by inner and outer hose cover materials to form a sealed hose. The cover materials are bowed inward or outward radially between the individual spring coils.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US6948527, this patent anticipates the broad functional concept of a self-actuating, expandable, and contractible hose. However, it also includes a "biasing spring", which is explicitly absent in the design of US11608915. Therefore, it potentially anticipates the functional aspects of Claims 1 and 14 but not the specific structural configuration of US11608915.

Ragner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,776,836

• Full Citation: Ragner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,776,836, "Hose with helical indentation"
• Publication/Filing Date: The text refers to this patent but does not explicitly state its publication or filing date.
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a hose having a biasing spring along its full length, covered with hose cover material on the outside and hose support and sealing layers on the inside to form a sealed hose. The improvement is defining the layers as bowed inwardly radially between the individual spring coils to create a helical indentation, which causes the hose body materials to move inward radially when the hose is retracted, reducing its volume and protecting the layers from damage.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent further details a spring-biased expandable hose with specific structural improvements for retraction. Again, the reliance on a "biasing spring" distinguishes it from the spring-free design of US11608915. Thus, it potentially anticipates the broad function of an expanding/contracting hose (Claims 1 and 14) but not the specific structural features of US11608915.

R. H. Vansickle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,368

• Full Citation: R. H. Vansickle et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,368, "Flexible hose"
• Publication/Filing Date: Priority art keywords indicate a date of 2011-11-04 for US11608915.
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a flexible hose comprising an elastomer liner tube surrounded by metallic wire reinforcement layers and an external cover. The inner reinforcing layer has helically wound wires interlaced by textile yarns. Additional reinforcing layers of wire may be wound helically, and a layer of braided wire may be provided.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent describes a multi-layered flexible hose with reinforcement. While it has an "elastomer liner tube," it is heavily reinforced with "metallic wire reinforcement", which is a significant structural difference from US11608915 that explicitly states it "does not contain any metal components such as springs, wire mesh or other metal parts along the entire length of the hose". Therefore, it doesn't appear to directly anticipate the claims of US11608915 in its entirety, especially regarding the absence of metal reinforcement and the free movement of the outer tube.

Logan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,063

• Full Citation: Logan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,063, "Molded hose construction and method of making same"
• Publication/Filing Date: The text refers to this patent but does not explicitly state its publication or filing date.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a molded hose with axially spaced convolutions (crests and troughs), having an elastomeric inner layer, an elastomeric outer layer, and an intermediate reinforcing layer of fabric material with open spaces. The layers are bonded as a unitary structure by elastomeric material extending through these spaces.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): Logan's patent describes a multi-layered hose, but it emphasizes the bonding of layers "as a unitary structure". This directly contradicts a fundamental claim of US11608915, which states the "outer tube is unattached, unconnected, unbonded, and unsecured to the inner tube along the entire length". Therefore, it does not anticipate the core unattached nature of the inner and outer tubes in US11608915.

Fujimoto, U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,132

• Full Citation: Fujimoto, U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,132, "Flexible hose"
• Publication/Filing Date: The text refers to this patent but does not explicitly state its publication or filing date.
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a flexible hose with a bellows hose wall composed of an inner wall and an outer wall (each made of soft resin) and a spiral hard reinforcement interposed between them. As the hose contracts, a spiral groove is formed inside, and unbonded fragments of the inner wall separate from the outer wall and reinforcement to close the spiral groove.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): Fujimoto describes a flexible hose with inner and outer walls and a spiral reinforcement. While it mentions "unbonded sites or fragments 8", the overall structure includes a "spiral hard reinforcement" and the inner wall and outer wall are not entirely separated, but rather form a "bellows hose wall" with components interposed and forming grooves. This differs significantly from US11608915's complete separation of the inner and outer tubes along their entire length and the absence of a hard spiral reinforcement.

Kanao, U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,915

• Full Citation: Kanao, U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,915, "Cleaner hose"
• Publication/Filing Date: The text refers to this patent but does not explicitly state its publication or filing date.
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a cleaner hose with a hose body, connection cylinders, and a reinforcement wire material wound spirally and continuously over the whole length of the hose body. The wire material is shaped in steeply slanted spirals near the ends and gently slanted spirals in the intermediate portion.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): Kanao's hose uses a "reinforcement wire material wound in the hose body spirally and continuously over the whole length", which, like other metal-reinforced hoses, differs from the spring-free, unattached inner/outer tube design of US11608915.

Weyker, U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,189

• Full Citation: Weyker, U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,189, "Garden hose assembly"
• Publication/Filing Date: The text refers to this patent but does not explicitly state its publication or filing date.
• Brief Description: This patent discloses a garden hose assembly with an elongated and flexible tubular member having an oblong shape when filled with fluid and a substantially flattened shape when empty. It also mentions an outer surface colored a fluorescent color and threaded male and female couplers.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): While this patent addresses a garden hose and its shape in filled/unfilled states, it does not describe the specific two-tube, unattached, expandable/contractible mechanism of US11608915. The "tubular member" is described as a single entity, which is distinct from the inner and outer tube arrangement of the claimed invention.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,941

• Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,941, "Expandable and contractible hose"
• Publication/Filing Date: Filed November 4, 2011, and issued October 23, 2012.
• Brief Description: US11608915 claims priority as a continuation of several applications, including U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,941. This patent family describes a hose that automatically expands longitudinally and laterally upon fluid pressure and contracts upon release, including an elastic inner tube and a non-elastic outer tube secured only at the ends, allowing free movement between them.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): Given that US11608915 claims priority from US8291941, it is highly likely that US8291941 anticipates many, if not all, of the independent claims (Claims 1 and 14) of US11608915. This is a common strategy in patent prosecution, where later patents in a family build upon or refine claims from earlier family members. The descriptions of both patents align closely on the core inventive concept of an elastic inner tube and a free-moving non-elastic outer tube, expanding and contracting with fluid pressure.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,942

• Full Citation: U.S. Pat. No. 8,291,942, "Expandable hose assembly"
• Publication/Filing Date: Filed June 5, 2012, and issued October 23, 2012.
• Brief Description: US11608915 also claims priority as a continuation-in-part of this patent. This patent describes a hose assembly with an outer tube assembly (non-elastic) housing an inner tube member (elastic), attached only at the ends by couplers, allowing the outer tube to extend about the inner tube in an undulating state in a contracted condition and capture the inner tube in an expanded state upon fluid pressure.
• Potential Anticipated Claims (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US8291941, this patent is part of the same family and describes the core features of the expandable hose, including the unattached inner and outer tubes and their behavior under pressure. Therefore, it is highly probable that US8291942 anticipates many, if not all, of the independent claims (Claims 1 and 14) of US11608915 due to their shared inventive concept within the patent family.

Other cited patents: The patent also lists numerous other patents in the "DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART" section, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,725 (vacuum cleaning system hose), U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,202 (collapse-resistant reinforced hose), U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,734 (self-retracting coiled tubing), U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,908 (thermoplastic hose with reinforcement), U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,568 (flexible hose with braided-spiral reinforcement), U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,185 (hose reinforced by armature layers), U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,643 (composite hose with elastomer adhered fabric plies), U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,959 (system for extending and retracting waste hose), U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,890 (reinforcement device for garden hose), U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,254 (anti-kinking device for water hose), U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,262 (refrigerant transporting hose), U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,888 (hose with mesh-network), U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,107 (retractable conduit from memory-set polyester), U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,622 (protective sleeve for garden hose), U.S. Pat. No. 5,894,866 (garden hose assembly with holding means), U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,134 (laminated tape hose), U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,666 (tubing assembly for conveying fluid), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,610 (flexible water spray wand). These generally describe various types of hoses, reinforcement, or hose-related accessories, but their descriptions as provided in the US11608915 patent text do not appear to present the specific combination of an elastic inner tube and a freely moving non-elastic outer tube, secured only at the ends, which is central to the claims of US11608915.