Flexible connection tube for automotive exhaust system
US5806899A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 18, 1996 |
| Grant date | Sep 15, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 18, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16L27/11
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A flexible connection tube for an automotive exhaust system comprises a flexible metal bellows adapted to be connected between a run of exhaust piping for absorbing expansion or contraction of the exhaust piping, and an outer knitted metal-wire braid covering the outer periphery of the bellows for protecting the bellows from damage and for preventing the bellows from stretching to its full length. The outer knitted metal-wire braid is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape by knitting plural metal-wire bundles (each bundle being produced by a plurality of parallelly bonded metal wires) alternately with each other in spiral directions with respect to the axial direction of the bellows. Apertures are defined by many groups of four adjacent metal-wire bundles knitted alternately with each other. A total opening area of all of the apertures is set within a range of 20% to 50% with respect to an over-all area of a curved surface of the outer knitted metal wire braid, for providing a substantially cylindrical low-density knitted outer metal wire braid.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.