Drain hose for washing machine and which includes a corrugated intermediate portion

Claim 1

A drain hose in combination with a washing machine, said washing machine having an outer casing, a drain pipe located at an inside of the outer casing and a hole formed on the outer casing; said drain hose comprising: a one-piece main body including: an integral water-intake port at one end of said main body and connected to the drain pipe; an integral bending part succeeding to said water-intake port and bent into an L-shape; an integral drain port at the other end of said main body and disposed outside said outer casing through said hole; and an integral intermediate part between said bending part and said drain port, said intermediate part being formed with a plurality of corrugations, each of said corrugations being shaped in cross-section so as to have a first inclined wall and a second inclined wall longer in length than said first inclined wall, said first inclined wall and said second inclined wall being joined together at ends thereof, and said intermediate part having such a length as to be completely accommodated inside said outer casing of said washing machine when in a contracted position, wherein each first inclined wall is easily brought into the contracted position substantially parallel to the respective second inclined wall and is operative to self-hold the contracted position so that said intermediate part is completely retracted into the inside of said outer casing of said washing machine through said hole, and wherein when said intermediate part is completely accommodated inside said outer casing in the contracted position, said drain port of said drain hose remains exposed outside of said outer casing of said washing machine through said hole.