Collar for sealing pipe joints

• US 4,053,176 A
• Filed: 10/15/1975
• Issued: 10/11/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: West Chester Chemical Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: West Chester Chemical Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Hilbush, Edward Oscar
• Primary Examiner(s): Arola, Dave W.
• Application Number:
  US05/622,696
• Time in Patent Office: 727 Days
• Field of Search: 285/15, 285/294, 285/293, 138/97, 138/99, 425/13, 425/256, 425/812, 425/DIG. 242, 264/31, 264/32, 264/36
• US Class Current: 285/15
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 55/175 by using materials which fill a space around the pipe before hardening

Abstract

This invention pertains to equipment for sealing pipe joints and particularly a collar for sealing a leaking underground gas main with an absolute minimum of excavation. The procedure as currently practiced for accomplishing this result includes the installation of a rubber collar through a narrow bore hole which can then be clamped to the bell and spigot joint by means of bands. It is then filled with a sealant injected through a suitable inlet in the collar under pressure in excess of that in the gas main. The present collar provides improvements by eliminating gas pockets which have heretofore formed when the sealant is introduced into the collar and also means for sealing leaks in gas mains carrying pressure on the order of 50 psi.

Claims

1. A molded flexible collar for sealing bell and spigot joints in pipes, said collar having a large sleeve to enclose the bell, a small sleeve to enclose the spigot, a connecting sleeve joining said large and small sleeves, the sleeves being integrally molded from an elastomeric material, a vent in said connecting sleeve for elimination of voids in the sealant by permitting gases to escape from the collar, a sealant inlet tube in said connecting sleeve circumferentially spaced from said vent, a dam secured to the inside of said connecting sleeve, said dam extending across the inside of said connecting sleeve and extending radially inward therefrom so that the top of said dam is spaced from the pipes to define a flow path between the pipes and said dam for the sealant to flow over said dam so that sealant flows in at least two circumferential directions about the collar with one direction of flow subject to a flow impediment caused by said dam, said inlet tube being circumferentially spaced from said dam and being connected to the collar so that sealant injected into the collar has a flow direction which is biased toward said dam.

2. The collar of claim 1, wherein said dam is integral with the collar.

3. The collar of claim 1, wherein said large and small sleeves each have one end forming a tip of the collar and said large and small sleeves each have a tapering cross section so that said large and small sleeves are each thicker at said collar tips than at the portion of the collar adjacent said connecting sleeve.