Expansion ring assembly with removable drive mechanism
First Claim
1. An expansion ring assembly, comprising:
- a ring including a pair of overlapping end portions, said end portions including ratcheting structures in engagement with one another; and
a drive mechanism, comprising;
a pair of block members each having a threaded bore therein, said bores of said block members being oppositely threaded, said block members removably engaged with respective end portions of said ring; and
a bolt including oppositely-threaded ends respectively threaded within said bores of said block members, whereby rotation of said bolt in a first direction causes said block members to be simultaneously driven apart from one another to thereby expand said ring and sequentially engage said ratcheting structures of said ring end portions with one another.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An expansion ring assembly for sealing a gasket within an opening in the wall of a structure, the assembly including a drive mechanism having a pair of block members each having a threaded bore, and a bolt having oppositely threaded ends respectively threaded within the bores. The block members are removably engaged with respective ends of the expansion ring. An oversleeve is disposed in overlapping relationship with the expansion ring ends, and the expansion ring ends and the oversleeve include cooperating ratcheting structures. Rotation of the bolt of the drive mechanism in a first direction causes the block members to move outwardly along the bolt to expand the expansion ring and concurrently sequentially engage the ratcheting structures of the expansion ring ends and the oversleeve. Once the expansion ring is expanded to a desired extent, the bolt of the drive mechanism may be rotated in a second direction opposite the first direction to move the block members inwardly along the bolt and allow disengagement of the block members from the expansion ring ends and removal of the drive mechanism. The expansion ring ends are maintained in their expanded condition by the engagement of the ratcheting structures of the expansion ring ends and the oversleeve. In another embodiment, overlapping ends of the expansion ring have ratcheting structure therebetween, and are driven apart by the removable the drive mechanism, wherein the oversleeve member is eliminated.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An expansion ring assembly, comprising:
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a ring including a pair of overlapping end portions, said end portions including ratcheting structures in engagement with one another; and
a drive mechanism, comprising;
a pair of block members each having a threaded bore therein, said bores of said block members being oppositely threaded, said block members removably engaged with respective end portions of said ring; and
a bolt including oppositely-threaded ends respectively threaded within said bores of said block members, whereby rotation of said bolt in a first direction causes said block members to be simultaneously driven apart from one another to thereby expand said ring and sequentially engage said ratcheting structures of said ring end portions with one another. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An expansion ring assembly, comprising:
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a ring including a pair of end portions, at least one of said end portions including first ratcheting structure;
an oversleeve disposed in overlapping relationship with said ring end portions, said oversleeve including a pair of opposite ends, at least one of said opposite ends having second ratcheting structure in respective engagement with said first ratcheting structure of said ring end portions; and
a drive mechanism, comprising;
a pair of block members each having a threaded bore therein, said bores of said block members being oppositely threaded, said block members removably engaged with respective end portions of said ring; and
a bolt including oppositely-threaded ends respectively threaded within said bores of said block members, whereby rotation of said bolt in a first direction causes said block members to be simultaneously driven apart from one another to thereby expand said ring and sequentially engage said first ratcheting structure of said ring end portion with said second ratcheting structure of said oversleeve. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification