A flexible, stretchable, crush resistant hose particularly well suited for supplying breathing gases to patients in medical applications and the like is formed by providing a helix of coils of thermoplastic material that are bonded to a web of thermoplastic material, preferably along inner diameter
A flexible, stretchable, crush resistant hose particularly well suited for supplying breathing gases to patients in medical applications and the like is formed by providing a helix of coils of thermoplastic material that are bonded to a web of thermoplastic material, preferably along inner diameter surface portions of the coils. The web extends radially outwardly from between adjacent coils to define a helical reverse-direction crease at a maximum outer diameter of the hose when the hose is in a normal minimal-length condition wherein the coils are situated side-by-side sandwiching portions of the web therebetween. The thermoplastic material of hose is stress relieved by an annealing process performed while the hose is axially compressed after the hose is formed.
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1. A method of forming a flexible, stretchable, crush resistant axially extending hose, comprising the steps of providing coils entirely of thermoplastic material to form a continuous helix of substantially constant diameter, providing a thin, narrow, elongate web of thermoplastic material that exte
1. A method of forming a flexible, stretchable, crush resistant axially extending hose, comprising the steps of providing coils entirely of thermoplastic material to form a continuous helix of substantially constant diameter, providing a thin, narrow, elongate web of thermoplastic material that extends between adjacent coils of the helix and has edge regions welded to adjacent ones of the coils to form a single continuous wall with the web having a radially outwardly extending, centrally located fold situated between adjacent ones of the coils, and enhancing the flexibility of the hose by subjecting the hose to an annealing process while axially compressing the hose so that molecules of the thermoplastic material forming the coils of the helix and the thin elongate web are relaxed such that stress is substantially absent from the hose when the coils of the helix are close together. 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the annealing process is completed while the hose is axially compressed to a minimal length normal condition wherein the coils of the helix are side-by-side snugly sandwiching radially outwardly extending portions of the web therebetween to give the resulting hose a memory of the normal condition to which the hose will tend to return when released from external force influences. 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the coils of the helix are formed to have a substantially uniform cross-section with a curved outer surface and a substantially flat inner surface that defines an interior diameter of the hose. 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the hose is formed such that, when the hose is in the normal condition, portions of the web that extend radially outwardly define a reverse-direction crease at a maximum outer diameter of the hose. 5. The method of claim 4 additionally including the step of utilizing the annealing process to set the reverse-direction crease. 6. The method of claim 1 additionally including the steps of forming the coils of the helix with a substantially uniform cross-section, and forming the material of the web to have a substantially uniform thickness. 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing thermoplastic material to form the helix and the step of providing thermoplastic material to form the web include providing the same thermoplastic material. 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the thermoplastic material to form the helix includes providing thermoplastic material selected from among polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic urethane (TPU), polypropylene (PP), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and the step of providing thermoplastic material to form the web includes providing thermoplastic material selected from among PVC, TPU, PP, TPE and ABS thermoplastic. 9. The method of claim 2 wherein the hose is provided with spring tension tending to cause the hose to retract to the normal condition that builds up in the hose only when the hose is stretched, with the spring tension being attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the web in proportion to the spring tension attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the coils of the support spiral being 25% to 50%. 10. The method of claim 1 wherein different thermoplastic materials are used to form the helix and the web, with the thermoplastic material forming the helix being selected to have a higher modulus of elasticity than that of the thermoplastic material forming the web. 11. The method of claim 2 wherein the thermoplastic materials selected to form the hose provide a stretch ratio of the length to which the hose can be stretched in comparison to the length of the hose in the normal condition that is at least 1.5:1. 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the thermoplastic materials selected to form the hose provide a spring constant effective when the hose is stretched that has a value of 5 N/m to 25 N/m, with these values being determined by the thickness of the web and the nature of the material selected to form the web. 13. A method of forming a flexible, stretchable, crush resistant, axially extending hose for supplying gases to patients in medical applications, comprising the steps of providing coils entirely of thermoplastic material that form a substantially uniform diameter helix, providing a thin web of thermoplastic material bonded to adjacent coils of the helix along inner diameter portions of the coils to form a single continuous wall and extending radially outwardly from between the adjacent coils to form a helical reverse-direction crease that defines a maximum outer diameter of the hose when the hose is in a normal condition wherein the coils are situated as closely together as possible, snugly sandwiching the material of the web therebetween, and subjecting the resulting hose to an annealing process to enhance the flexibility of the hose and to minimize the force needed to stretch the hose by axially compressing the hose during the annealing process so that molecules of the thermoplastic material forming the helical coils and forming the web are relaxed such that stress is substantially absent from the hose when the coils of the helix are closer together. 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the annealing process is completed while the hose is axially compressed to a minimal length normal condition wherein the coils of the helix are side-by-side snugly sandwiching radially outwardly extending portions of the web therebetween to thereby give the resulting hose a memory of the normal condition to which the hose will tend to return when released from external force influences. 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the coils of the helix are formed to have a substantially uniform cross-section with a curved outer surface and a substantially flat inner surface that defines an interior diameter of the resulting hose. 16. The method of claim 13 wherein the annealing process that is provided during axial compression of the hose is performed such that, in the normal condition, portions of the web that extend radially outwardly define a reverse-direction crease at a maximum outer diameter of the hose. 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the reverse-direction crease is set during the annealing process. 18. The method of claim 13 wherein the coils of the helix are formed to have a substantially uniform cross-section, and the material of the web is formed to have a substantially uniform thickness. 19. The method of claim 13 wherein different thermoplastic materials are used to form the helix and the web. 20. The method of claim 13 wherein the same thermoplastic materials are used to form the helix and the web. 21. The method of claim 13 wherein the thermoplastic material selected to form the helix is selected from among polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic urethane (TPU), polypropylene (PP), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) material selected to form the web is selected from among PVC, TPU, PP, TPE and ABS thermoplastic. 22. The method of claim 13 wherein thermoplastic material is selected to provide the hose with a spring tension that tends to cause the hose to retract to the normal condition that builds up in the hose only when the hose is stretched, and said spring tension attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the web in proportion to the spring tension attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the coils of the support spiral is 25% to 50%. 23. The method of claim 13 wherein the thermoplastic material selected to form the helix has a higher modulus of elasticity than the thermoplastic material selected to form the web. 24. The method of claim 13 wherein thermoplastic material selected to form the hose provides the hose with a stretch ratio of the length to which the hose can be stretched in comparison to the length of the hose in the normal condition of at least 1.5:1. 25. The method of claim 13 wherein thermoplastic material selected to form the hose provides the hose with a spring constant effective when the hose is stretched having a value of 5 N/m to 25 N/m, with these values being determined by the thickness of the web and the nature of the material selected to form the web. 26. The method of claim 2 wherein the hose is provided with spring tension tending to cause the hose to retract to the normal condition that builds up in the hose only when the hose is stretched, with the spring tension being attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the web in proportion to the spring tension attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the coils of the support spiral being 25% to 90%. 27. The method of claim 13 wherein thermoplastic material is selected to provide the hose with a spring tension that tends to cause the hose to retract to the normal condition that builds up in the hose only when the hose is stretched, and said spring tension attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the web in proportion to the spring tension attributable to the thermoplastic material forming the coils of the support spiral is 25% to 90%.
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