Patent ID: 7175113

Claim:
A drip irrigation hose, comprising: a tube for conducting pressurized water through its interior and formed with a plurality of tube outlets for discharging water at longitudinally-spaced locations along the length of the tube; and a plurality of emitter elements secured within said tube at longitudinally-spaced locations along its length to define a plurality of labyrinths each having an inlet end in communication with the interior of the tube, and an outlet end in communication with a said tube outlet for discharging water therefrom at a slow rate; said plurality of emitter elements including a relatively elastic material shaped in the form of at least the tips of a plurality of groups of teeth, each group defining a said labyrinth at each of said longitudinally spaced locations along the length of said tube; said plurality of emitter elements further including a continuous strip of a relatively inelastic material shaped to define at least an outlet passageway for each labyrinth connecting its outlet end to a said tube outlet for discharging the water therefrom.