Patent ID: 7540339

Claim:
A sleeved hose assembly for lateral jet drilling through an ultra-short radius curve, comprising: (a) a wire-wound high-pressure hose configured to accommodate a high-pressure fluid and to traverse an ultra-short radius curve; (b) a sleeve jacketing the wire-wound high-pressure hose, the sleeve being formed of a material having a transverse stiffness sufficient to prevent buckling of the sleeved hose assembly during lateral jet drilling; and (c) a pressure responsive housing disposed at a distal end of the sleeved hose assembly, the pressure responsive housing being configured to: (i) bend when a side load is applied to the pressure responsive housing and the pressure responsive housing is exposed to relatively low pressure conditions; (ii) return to a generally straight configuration when a side load is substantially reduced, and the pressure responsive housing is exposed to relatively high pressure conditions; and (iii) lock into an existing configuration when the pressure responsive housing is exposed to relatively high pressure conditions.