Patent ID: 7121591

Claim:
A hose assembly comprising: a) a thin metal ribbon arranged in a helix that is wound about a central axis, said ribbon including convolutions formed in adjacent edges of the ribbon which engage each other to form a closed wall flexible metal hose; and b) a hose fitting, said hose fitting comprising: i) a fitting body defining a throughpassage for material conveyed by the hose assembly having an inner fitting surface that contacts an outer hose surface of said flexible metal hose, wherein the inner fitting surface includes an annular notch and an outer fitting surface including a mating portion for connecting the hose assembly to a corresponding fitting which delivers or accepts material passing through the hose assembly; and ii) a sleeve which engages by contact a surface of the fitting body and an inner hose surface of said flexible metal hose to thereby secure an end portion of the metal hose to the fitting body by trapping the end portion of the metal conduit between said sleeve and the fitting body such that the end portion of the metal hose that contacts said sleeve is displaced by said sleeve outward radially and received into said annular notch to effectuate a connection between said metal hose and said fitting body, and wherein said notch is a stepped notch and wherein one portion of the notch defines an abutting surface and wherein said sleeve has one end that contacts said abutting surface as it is inserted into an interior of the fitting.