Patent ID: 7650912

Claim:
A flexible conduit element for an exhaust system of a combustion engine vehicle, comprising: a helically or annularly corrugated preferably metal bellows member; an outer flexible member disposed around the bellows member; and a resilient member biasing at least a section of the flexible outer member towards the bellows member, wherein: the outer flexible member comprises a reticulated structure, the bellows member comprises a plurality of adjacent corrugations having a shorter extension than neighboring corrugations, the bellows member further comprises a groove defined by a first plurality of peaks from the neighboring corrugations and a second plurality of peaks from the adjacent corrugations having the shorter extension, the second plurality of peaks being disposed between the first plurality of peaks, the groove is located in a middle section of the bellows member, the resilient member is at least partially received within the groove, and the resilient member engages an outer surface of the flexible outer member.