Patent ID: 7766050

Claim:
A conduit comprising: a thin plastic ribbon having a consistent thickness over both length and width, said ribbon helically wound and contorted so that consecutive turns of the ribbon overlap, each turn of the ribbon partially overlapping a previous turn of the ribbon, a trailing lateral edge of each turn of the ribbon bonding with the previous turn of the ribbon at or near a centerline, the overlapping portions of the ribbon separated by an air gap, and a separate plastic reinforcing bead bonding consecutive turns of the ribbon together to form the conduit, each turn of the ribbon contacting two consecutive turns of the reinforcing bead, a first turn of said two consecutive turns of the reinforcing bead bonding with each turn of the ribbon at an inner face near the centerline and a second turn of said two consecutive turns of the reinforcing bead bonding with each turn of the ribbon at an outer face near a leading lateral edge.