Flexible conduit
US5730188A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 11, 1996 |
| Grant date | Mar 24, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 11, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16L11/083
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A flexible conduit formed by a helically wound band of metal that resists burst pressure. The band has a leading edge hook and a trailing edge hook that engage and interlock. The cross-section of the band has a radially asymmetrical Z-shaped profile. When the band is helically wound, the downstream hook of one turn of the band is received in the upstream valley of the previous turn of the band so that the downstream and upstream hooks form an interlock holding the windings together. In the wound configuration, the thickness of the profile between the upstream valley and the internal surface of the tube is greater than the thickness of the profile between the downstream valley and the external surface of the tube to provide greater material thickness to reduce contact stress at the hook and valley interface and to reduce alternating stresses in the valley corners. The outer surface of the profile tapers towards the center of the tube to direct externally applied radial compression forces toward the thickest section of the profile. A multilayer conduit employing the band may include a central, helically wound collapse-resistant layer disposed within a flexible fluid barrier that in t…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.