MECHANICAL PIPE COUPLINGS

• US 3,851,901 A
• Filed: 10/17/1973
• Issued: 12/03/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cecil M. Sills
• Original Assignee: Cecil M. Sills
• Inventors: Sills, Cecil M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Arola, Dave W.
• Application Number:
  US05/407,308
• Time in Patent Office: 412 Days
• Field of Search: 285/236,112,364,365,366,367,406,408,407,409,410,411,413,415,414,373,229
• US Class Current: 285/112
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 17/04 with longitudinally split or divided sleeve

Abstract

Mechanical pipe couplings for providing fluid-tight joints between two abutting pipe ends, in a pressure system, each of the pipe ends having an annular groove in the outer surface thereof. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the pipe coupling includes two pairs of identical locking rings positionable around the pipe ends, each locking ring having a tongue which extends into the adjacent groove in one of the pipe ends and an annular groove in the outer surface thereof; an annular sealing gasket positionable between the pairs of locking rings; an elongate, planar, flexible, connecting shield wrapable around the locking rings and the sealing gasket and having grooves or ridges in the opposite sides thereof which mate with the grooves in the locking rings; and a pair of hose clamps positionable around the connecting shield and being tightenable to secure the sides of the connecting shield in the grooves in the locking rings to connect the locking rings and the pipe ends together. According to a second embodiment, the locking rings are omitted and the sides of the connecting shield mate with the grooves in the pipe ends. According to a third embodiment, the shield is divided into two halves, each half being made integral with two of the locking rings, one from each pair.

Claims

1. A pipe coupling for providing a fluid-tight joint between two abutting pipe ends, each of said pipe ends having an annular groove in the outer surface thereof, comprising:

two pairs of identical, semicircular, locking rings, each locking ring having an inwardly projecting tongue adapted to extend into said grooves in said pipe ends and an annular groove in the outer surface thereof, one pair of said rings being adapted to surround one of said pipe ends and the other pair of said rings being adapted to surround the other of said pipe ends;

a resilient, annular, sealing gasket positioned between said pairs of locking rings and being positionable around said abutting pipe ends;

an elongate, planar, flexible, connecting shield positioned around said locking rings and said sealing gasket, the width of said connecting shield being approximately equal to the combined width of said sealing gasket and said pairs of locking rings, the opposite ends of said connecting shield overlapping; and

a pair of hose clamps positioned around the sides of said connecting shield, said clamps being tightenable to secure said sides of said connecting shield in said grooves in said pairs of locking rings to connect said locking rings and said pipe ends together.

2. A pipe coupling according to claim 1 wherein said sides of said connecting shield have grooves therein which permit said sides to mate with said grooves in said locking rings.

3. A pipe coupling according to claim 1 wherein said sealing gasket has a generally trapezoidal cross-section and wherein at least one side of each of saId locking rings is tapered at an angle equal to the angle of the sides of said sealing gasket, said one side of each of said locking rings being positioned in contact with said sealing gasket.

4. A pipe coupling according to claim 3 wherein the side of said tongue of each locking ring closest to said one side thereof is tapered at an acute angle relative to a plane normal to the axes of said pipe ends so that the inner periphery of said tongue is wider than the outer periphery thereof, and wherein the adjacent side of said grooves in said pipe ends are positioned at an identical angle.

5. A pipe coupling according to claim 1 wherein said tongues and said grooves in said pipe ends are rectangular.

6. A pipe coupling according to claim 1 wherein the side of said tongue of each locking ring positionable closest to said joint between said pipe ends is tapered at an acute angle relative to a plane normal to the axes of said pipe ends so that the inner periphery of said tongue is wider than the outer periphery thereof, and wherein the adjacent side of said grooves in said pipe ends are positioned at an identical angle.

7. A pipe coupling according to claim 6 wherein the overall width of each of said tongues is smaller than the overall width of each of said annular grooves in said pipe ends to permit insertion of said tongues into said grooves, said locking rings being movable towards each other after insertion of said tongues into said grooves to bring said tapered surfaces of said tongues and said grooves into contact, the spacing between said pairs of locking rings, when said tapered surfaces of said tongues are in contact with said tapered surfaces of said grooves, being equal to the width of said sealing gasket.

8. A pipe coupling according to claim 1 wherein each of said hose clamps is a worm drive hose clamp tightenable around said connecting shield.

9. A pipe coupling according to claim 1 wherein the width of each of said hose clamps is slightly less than the width of said grooves in said locking rings.

10. A pipe coupling for providing a fluid-tight joint between two abutting pipe ends, each of said pipe ends having an annular groove in the outer surface thereof, comprising:

a resilient, annular, sealing gasket being positionable around said abutting pipe ends;

an elongate, planar, flexible, connecting shield positioned around said sealing gasket, the central portion of said connecting shield conforming to the outer periphery of said sealing gasket, the opposite sides of said connecting shield being adapted to extend into said grooves in said pipe ends, the opposite ends of said connecting shield overlapping; and

a pair of hose clamps positioned around said sides of said connecting shield, within said grooves in said pipe ends, said clamps being tightenable to secure said sides of said connecting shield in said grooves in said pipe ends to connect said shield to said pipe ends and said pipe ends together.

11. A pipe coupling for providing a fluid-tight joint between two abutting pipe ends, each of said pipe ends having an annular groove in the outer surface thereof, comprising:

first and second identical, semicircular, housing segments, each of said housing segments including a pair of identical, semicircular, locking rings connected by a semicircular, cylindrical section, each locking ring having an inwardly projecting tongue adapted to extend into the respective grooves in said pipe ends and an annular groove in the outer surface thereof, one of said rings being adapted to surround half of one of said pipe ends and the other of said rings being adapted to surround half of the other of said pipe ends;

a resilient, annular, sealing gasket positioned between said housing segments, between said locking rings of each housing segment, the inner periphery of said housing segments conforming to the outer periphery of said sealing gasket, said sealing gasket being positionable around said abutting pipe ends; and

a pair of hosE clamps positioned around said housing segments, in said grooves in said locking rings, said clamps being tightenable to bring said housing segments together and to secure said housing segments to said pipe ends with said tongues in said grooves therein.

12. A pipe coupling according to claim 11 wherein said tongue of each of said locking rings and said grooves in said pipe ends are rectangular.

13. A pipe coupling according to claim 11 wherein the side of said tongue of each locking ring positionable closest to said joint between said pipe ends is tapered at an acute angle relative to a plane normal to the axes of said pipe ends so that the inner periphery of said tongue is wider than the outer periphery thereof, and wherein the adjacent side of said grooves in said pipe ends are positioned at an identical angle.

14. A pipe coupling according to claim 13 wherein the overall width of each of said tongues is smaller than the overall width of each of said annular grooves in said pipe ends to permit insertion of said tongues into said grooves, said pipe ends being moveable away from each other after insertion of said tongues into said grooves to bring said tapered surfaces of said tongues and said grooves into contact.