A hose clamp or hose clip is a device used to attach and seal a hose onto a fitting such as a barb or nipple.
Many types are available, including :
Screw clamps consist of a galvanized or stainless steel band into which a screw thread pattern has been cut or pressed. One end of the band contains a captive screw. The clamp is put around the hose or tube to be connected, with the loose end being fed into a narrow space between the band and the captive screw. When the screw is turned, it acts as a worm drive pulling the threads of the band, causing the band to tighten around the hose (or when screwed the opposite direction, to loosen). Screw clamps are normally used for hoses 1/2 in diameter and up, with other clamps used for smaller hoses.
Pairs of screw clamps on a short rubber tube form a "no-hub band," often used for attaching sections of domestic wastewater piping, or used for other pipes as a flexible coupler (to fix alignment difficulties or to prevent pipe breakage due to relative movement of sections) or an emergency repair.
They can also be used in a similar way, as a simple means for the transmission of small amounts of power. A short length of hose is clipped between two shafts where vibration or variations in alignment may be taken up by the flexibility of the hose. This technique is well adapted to use for mock-ups in a development laboratory.
This type of clamp was invented in 1921 by ex Royal Navy Commander, Lumley Robinson, who founded L. Robinson & Co (Gillingham) Ltd., a business in Gillingham, Kent. The company owns the trademark for Jubilee Clip.
A similar type of clamp to the screw band, also with a solid screw, is the Marman clamp.
Spring clamps are typically made from a strip of spring steel, cut so that one side has a narrow protrusion centered on the end, and the other side a pair of narrow protrusions on either side. The ends of these protrusions are then bent outwards, and the strip rolled to form a ring, with the protruding tabs intermeshing. To use the clamp, the exposed tabs are pressed towards each other (typically using pliers), increasing the diameter of the ring, and the clamp is slid onto the hose, past the portion that will go onto the barb. The hose is then fit onto the barb, the clamp expanded again, slid onto the portion of the hose over the barb, then released, compressing the hose onto the barb. Clamps of this design are rarely used for high pressures or large hoses, as they would require unwieldy amounts of steel to generate enough clamping force, and be impossible to work with using just hand tools. They are commonly used on automotive cooling system hoses several inches in diameter, for example on most water-cooled Volkswagen automobiles.