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Patent 1310678 Summary

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Claims and Abstract availability

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(12) Patent: (11) CA 1310678
(21) Application Number: 579974
(54) English Title: RESTRAINED JOINT WITH GRIPPER GLAND
(54) French Title: RACCORD DE RETENUE AVEC MANCHON PRENEUR
Status: Deemed expired
Bibliographic Data
(52) Canadian Patent Classification (CPC):
  • 285/55
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • F16L 25/00 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • JONES, LAWRENCE S. (United States of America)
(73) Owners :
  • UNITED STATES PIPE AND FOUNDRY COMPANY (United States of America)
(71) Applicants :
(74) Agent: GOWLING WLG (CANADA) LLP
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued: 1992-11-24
(22) Filed Date: 1988-10-13
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data: None

Abstracts

English Abstract






IMPROVED RESTRAINED JOINT WITH GRIPPER GLANT

Abstract of the Disclosure

This invention pertains to bolted mechanical pipe
joints using toothed gripper rings to prevent separation
of the pipe.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.




THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A pipe joint for preventing separation of tele-
scoped pipes wherein an annular packing is provided between a
packing seat formed on the inner periphery of a socket member
and the outer periphery of a spigot, the pipe joint compris-
ing: a first pipe having a socket and a second pipe having a
spigot, said spigot being inserted into said socket, said
socket having an outwardly radially extending raised portion,
said raised portion having radially spaced fastener receiving
holes, said socket further having an annular packing receiving
seat along its inner surface facing said spigot, an annular
packing inserted into said annular packing receiving seat, an
annular mechanical joint gland having an extension integral
therewith along one face thereof and extending axially toward
and abutting said annular packing, said gland having a
radially extending raised portion having radially spaced
fastener receiving holes aligned with said fastener receiving
holes of said raised portion of said socket, said gland
having a recess along its inner radical adapted to receive
gripper line segments, said recess having an uninterrupted radially
inwardly facing surface at least two arcuate gripper ring segments
positioned in said recess and having locking elements secured in a
recess along their inter surface said locking elements being adapted
to lockingly engage said spigot, means for securing said gripper ring
segments together in the form of a closed ring to enclose said
spigot to prevent separation of said mechanical joint and
said extension compresses said annular packing to form a seal
between said spigot and said socket.
2. A pipe joint for preventing separation of tele-
scoped pipes as recited in claim 1 in which said mechanical
joint gland is a unitary annular element.
3. A pipe joint for preventing separation of tele-
scoped pipes as recited in claim 1 in which said


mechanical joint gland is made of separate sections
capable of being assembled into a unitary annular element.
4. A pipe joint for preventing separation of
telescoped pipes as recited in claim 1 in which said
mechanical joint gland has at least two radially spaced
slots along its inner surface adapted to receive protru-
sions of said gripper ring segments and each of said
gripper ring segments has protrusions extending axially
away from the outer periphery of said gripper ring assem-
blies and through said slots in said mechanical joint
gland, said protrusions being parts of said means for securing said gripper
rin segments together.
5. A pipe joint for preventing separation of
telescoped pipes as recited in claim 5 in which said
protrusions of said gripper ring segments have fastener-
receiving holes therein.
6. A pipe joint for preventing separation of pipes
as recited in claim 6 in which fasteners are inserted
through said fastener receiving holes to assemble said
gripper ring segments into a unified annular ring.
7. A pipe joint for preventing separation of pipes
as recited in claim 1 in which said recess in said gland
has a contour with a widening configuration toward said
socket and the outer periphery of said gripper ring
segments is adapted to conform to the contour of said
recess in said gland.
8. A pipe joint for preventing separation of pipes
as recited in claim 1 in which said locking elements are
stainless steel elements with exposed teeth.
9. A pipe joint for preventing separation of pipes
as recited in claim 1 in which said locking elements have
exposed surfaces of an abrasive media.


- 11 -
10. A pipe joint for preventing separation of telescoped pipes
wherein an annular packing is provided between a packing seat formed on
the inner periphery of a socket member and the outer periphery of a
spigot, the pipe joint comprising: a first pipe having a socket and a second
pipe having a spigot, said spigot being inserted into said socket, said socket
having an outwardly radially extending raised portion, said raised portion
having radially spaced fastener receiving holes, said socket further having
an annular packing receiving seat along its inner surface facing said spigot,
an annular packing inserted into said annular packing receiving seat, an
annular ring surrounding said spigot, said annular ring having a first face
adapted to abut said annular packing and a second face located away from
said first face, an annular mechanical joint gland having a face adapted to
abut said second face of said annular ring and further having a radially
extending raised portion, said raised portion having radially spaced
fastener receiving holes aligned with said fastener receiving holes of said
raised portion of said socket, said gland having a recess along its inner
radial surface adapted to receive gripper ring segments, said recess having
an uninterrupted radially inwardly facing surface, at least two arcuate
gripper ring segments positioned in said recess and having locking
elements secured in a recess along their inner surface, said locking
elements being adapted to lockingly engage said spigot, means for securing
said gripper ring segments together in the form of a ring to enclose said
spigot, and fastening means inserted into said fastener receiving holes in
said raised portion of said socket and said raised portion of said gland,
whereby upon tightening of said fastening means, said locking elements
engage said spigot to prevent separation of said mechanical joint and said
extension compresses said annular packing to form a seal between said
spigot and said socket.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.


-` 1 t3~0' 7~3
.




IMPROVED RESTRAINED JOINT WITH GRIPPER GLAND


Backqround of the Invention
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pipe joints and
particularly to bolted mechanical pipe joints in which two
telescoped pipes are prevented from separation. The
particular bolted mechanical joint uses T-bolts to secure
a bell portion of one pipe to a mechanical joint gland
which cooperates with toothed gripper rings to prevent
separation of the pipe.
2. Description of the Prior_Art
One of the most difficult problems in the field of
water distribution is the prevention of joint separation
and ultimately joint leakage from pipes which are carrying
water under pressure. Numerous constructions have been
devised to overcome this problem, but many of these
constructions require special tools and skills to complete
the job. One of the most common types of pressure joints
is the mechan~cal joint which uses T-bolts along with additional parts to
20 hold the pipes together.
A typical mechanical joint is shown in U. S. Patent
No. 4,417,754 which discloses a pipe joint for preventing
separation comprising a holding member connectable to an
annular outer flange formed at the end of a socket and
25 surrounding the outer periphery of a spigot outside the
socket, the holding member being annular or being ~dapted
to form an annular shape, the holding member being provided
on its inner periphery with a tapered surface increasing
in diameter toward the socket; a stopper in the form of a
ring divided at one portion and provided with an outer
p~ripheral tapered surface increasing in diameter toward
the socket and with engaging edges in circumferential rows
on its inner periphery, the stopper being interposed

2 13106-,~
between the tapered surface of the holding member and the
spigot outer periphery; and tap bolts extending through
the holding member at suitable portions along its circum-
ference for pressing the stopper from outside against the
spigot outer periphery. Because the stopper is thus
shaped, the joint is easy to assemble and manufacture.
When the spigot acts to slip off with the tap bolts
tightened up, a diametrically constricting force acts on
the spigot uniformly circumferentially thereof without any
unevenness to reliably prevent separation of the spigot
from the socket.
The difficulty with this structure is that the tap
bolts used to press the stopper from the outside against
the spigot outer periphery may be improperly installed and
adjusted. The tap bolts are torqued to a specified
amount. The setting of the torque requires a special
wrench and a higher degree of care than the normal job of
tightening bolts. In addition, rust on the tap bolts can
result in erroneous torque readings.
With an insufficient torque level on the tap bolts,
the holding member will not hold the required thrust load
of the joint. With too great a torque level, the pipe
wall and the inner cement lining can be damaged or destroyed.
SUMMARY OF THE I~lVENTION
The invention consists of a special annular, cast
metal mechanical joint gland which has one or more axial
slots at its inner diameter and has a spherical surface on
its inner diameter. The gland contacts gripper ring
segments at the spherical surface. A gripper ring segment
is a ductile iron casting which has a spherical surface on
the outer diameter and stainless steel inserts with
hardened teeth on the inner surface. Two or more of the segments
are used to form a loose gripper ring around the
pipe circumference. The ring is normally made in two
segments for the pipe diameters up to 20" and four
segments for the larger diameters.
There are axial protrusions or handles at both ends
of each segment. These protrusions allow for the segment

3 ~ 3 ~
.,
handles to be maneuvered through the slots in the gland
~ut prevent the ~egments from readily falling out of the
gland. Ihis arrangement aids in the ~n~tallation and
handling of the ~land ~nd gripper ring ~e~ment assembly.
S The mechanical ioint gland has an ~tegral ~xtension
which abuts a gasket or annular packing ~hich ~ held in a
recess in the ~ocket of the enclosing pipe. The entire
assembly consisting of the mechanical ~oint ~land and the
gas~et are positioned on the pipe ~pigot. The joint
assembly is made by pulling a me~hanical ~int pipe or
fitting bell up to the mechani~al joint gland with conven-
tional tee head bolts.
The ~olting action of the mechanical joint gland
~ssembly compresses the gasket ~o e~fect the joint 6eal.
The gripper ring segments are then fasten~d together
with bolts or other means to establish an initial bite
to the teeth of the gripper ring. As the joint is pressurized,
the joint ~epar~tes ~l~ghtly untll the outer spherical
surface of the gripper ring and the lnner spherical
surface of the gland contact. The wedging action causes
the teeth to embed into the pipe barrel or spigot prevent-
ing any further separation of the joint.
With the gripper ring of the present invention, the
thrust capability of the joint is a function of the design
and is not controlled by the skill of the men who install
the joint. In addition, the gripper ring of the present
invention can be designed such that the load against the
pipe barrel is limited, thereby eliminating damage to the
pipe and lining.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a novel restrained mechanical joint which is simple to
install.
It ~s another object of the present lnventlon to
provide a novel mechanical ~oint wh~ch is ~lmple to
install but requires no special tools.
other objects and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the
~ollowing descriptio~ ~a~en in conjunction with the accom-


4 ~ 3 1 ~6/'~
panying dràwing in which like numerals represent like
elements and in which:
Figure 1 is a side elevation in longitudinal section
showing a pipe joint according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a side elevation in longitudinal section
showing the pipe joint of the present inven~ion taken
through a different section of the pipe joint.
Figure 3 is an end elevation of the mechani~al joint
gland of the invention.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mechanical
joint gland of the present invention taken along the lines
4-4 of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a side elevational view of a gripper ring
of the invention, partially cut-away.
Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the
gripper ring of Figure 5 taken along lines 6-6 of Figure
5, and
Figure 7 is an end elevational view of two gripper
rings assembled for insertion around the periphery of the
spigot of the pipe enclosed in the bell section of an
outer pipe. Figure 8 is a side elevation in longitudin~l
section showing an alternative pipe joint according to the invention.
Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the mechanical
joint of the present invention showing two pipes 12 and 14
each with a cement lining 16. Pipe 12 has a spigot 18
which is inserted into the socket 20 of pipe 14 for
connection. An annular packing or gasket 22 made of
rubber or other resilient material is interposed between
the outer periphery of spigot 18 and a tapered packing
seat 24 formed on the inner periphery of the open end of
socket 20 of pipe 14. An annular mechanical joint gland
30 surrounds the spigot 18 and is axially spaced from a
raised portion 32 of the bell end of pipe 14. Bolt holes
34 are provided in the raised portion 32 of pipe 14 which
correspond to bolt holes 36 in the mechanical joint gland
30. T-bolts 40 are inserted through bolt holes 34 with
their heads 42 being of T-shape resting against one side
of raised portion 32 and their threaded shanks 44 extending
through holes 36 in the mechanical joint gland 30. Nuts

1~10~7(~

(not shown) are installed over the threads in shanks 44 to
secure mechanical joint gland 30 to the raised portion 32
of pipe 14. Mechanical joint gland 30 has an extension
46, integrally cast with the main portion of gland 30 and
extending outwardly to mate with annular packing 22. When
assembled and when nuts on T-bolts 40 (not ~hown) are
tightened, mechanical joint gland 30 and the raised
portion 32 of bell socket 20 are drawn together and
extension 46 compresses annular packing 22 to effect a
leak-tight condition for the mechanical joint.
The structure of the mechanical joint which has thus
far been described is conventional and is fully in accor-
dance with the American Standard for Rubber Gasket joints
for ductile iron and gray iron pressure pipe and fittings
in accordance with the America Water Works Association
Standards ANSI/AWWA C111/A21.11-85.
The improvement of the present invention which
prevents disengagement of the pipes 12 and 14 to prevent
leakage at the joint will now be descr~bed.
Reference may be had to Figure 3 which shows a
mechanical joint gland similar to that shown in the
ANSI-AWWA C111/A21.11-85 standards but differs therefrom
in two respects. As shown in Figure 3, the mechanical
joint gland 30 of the invention is annular in shape and
has at least two axial slots 50 on opposite sides of the
gland and as shown in Figure 4, the gland has a-recess 52
which is a segment of a sphere. Axial slots 50 are
adapted to permit axial protrusions or handles 64 of
gripper ring segments 54 (see Figure 5) to extend outside
of mechanical joint gland 30. Recess 52 in the inner
su~ace of mechanical gland 30 is contoured to
accommodate the outer spherical surface of gripper ring
segments 54. [See Figures 5, 6 and 7).
Reference may be had to Figure 5 for a detailed
description of a gripper ring segment 54. ~ripper ring
segment 54 comprises an arcuate cast iron segment having
an inner cut-away section 56 which is designed to receive
a stainless steel toothed insert 60. Extending axially,

6 13tO~f~
outwardly and away from the outer periphery of gripper
ring segment are two handles or protrusions 64, one at
each end of the segment. This design permits easy manipula-
tion of the handles 64 through the slots 50 of gland 30
and prevent the segments from readily falling out of the
gland. A fastener receiving or bolt hole 68 is cast
integrally or drilled in protrusion 64 for the reception
of fasteners or bolts 70 to hold two gripper ring segments
54 together to ~orm a hollow ring having approximately the
diameter of the spigot 18 of pipe 12. Insert 60 which is
an elongated arcuate segment of stainless steel has an
outer surface contoured to be received against the inner
surface 56 of gripper ring segment 54 and is spot welded
to said section. The toothed surface of insert 60 extends
outwardly of the cut-away section 56 of gripper ring
segment 54 and is adapted to penetrate the outer periphery
o~ spigot 18 of pipe 12 when two gripper ring segments are
placed over the outer periphery of spigot 18 and tightened
into place. ~igure 7 shows the gripper ring segments 54
in assembled relationship after each gripper ring segment
60 is placed against the periphery of spigot 18 and bolts
70 are placed through holes 68. Nuts 72 are threaded over
the ends of bolts 70 to hold the two gripper ring segments
in assembled relationship.
For a more specific example, if it is desired to make
a gripper ring segment for a spigot of a 4-inch pipe, the
gripper ring segments have an inner radius of about 2.51
inches and so each gripper ring segment 54 will be about
7.5 inches long along its inner surface and the length of
the toothed insert 60 is about 5 inches. Of course, for
pipes of greater or less diameter these figures will vary.
In assembling the novel mechanical joint of the
invention, ring segments 60 are placed loosely into cavity
52 of mechanical joint gland 30 with handles 64 protruding
through slots 50. ~olts 70 are inserted into holes 68 in
handles 64 of gripper ring segments 60 and nuts 72 are
loosely threaded on bolts 68. Mechanical joint gland 30
with loosely installed ring segments 60 is slipped over

7 ~31(~6~
the spigot end 18 of pipe 12 such that extension 46 is
towards the end of spigot 18. Nuts 72 are tightened only
enough to allow the assembled gripper ring and gland to
move snuggly along the outer periphery of spigot 18.
Annular packing or gasket 22 is inserted into packing seat
24 of bell socket 29 of pipe 14. The spigot end 18 of
pipe 12 is pushed into socket 20 of pipe 14 until it is
seated in the conventional manner. The joint assembly is
sealed by pulling the mechanical joint gland 30 up to the
mechanical joint pipe bell 14 and gasket 22 by tightening
the nuts of the T-boits. The bolting action of the gland
compresses the gasket to effect the seal. The joint
assembly is then restrained by tightening the gripper ring
segments 54 with bolts 70 and nuts 72. The boltlng action
of the gripper ring segments provide an initial "bite" of
the insert teeth into the plpe spigot surface. The
wedging forces at the mating surfaces of the gripper ring
and the gland force the teeth of the inserts into the pipe
spigot to effect the restraint of the joint~
Obvious variations of certain elements of the inven-
tion can be made. For ex~mple, ~ shown ~ Fi~e 8, the
extension 46 which is shown as all integral part of mechanical joint gland
30 may be a separate annular ring 48 inteIposed between a surface of
mechanical joint gland 30 and annular packing 22 or the
e~tension 46 may be made part of the annular packing.
The mechanical joint gland 30 could be made in
segments so that it could be assembled on a previously
installed pipe which may be required when making taps or
repairs to existing pipe lines.
The gripping surfaces of the ring segments 54 could
be made with an abrasive media such as sand or silicon
carbide bonded to the inner surface of the casting.
~hereas the present invention has been described with
respect to specific embodiments thereof, it should be
understood that the invention is not limited thereto as
many modifications thereof may be made. It is, therefore,
contemplated to cover by the present application any and

131067,~




all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and
scope of the appended claims.

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date 1992-11-24
(22) Filed 1988-10-13
(45) Issued 1992-11-24
Deemed Expired 1998-11-24

Abandonment History

There is no abandonment history.

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $0.00 1988-10-13
Registration of a document - section 124 $0.00 1989-01-10
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 2 1994-11-24 $100.00 1994-10-14
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 3 1995-11-24 $100.00 1995-10-12
Maintenance Fee - Patent - Old Act 4 1996-11-25 $100.00 1996-10-22
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
UNITED STATES PIPE AND FOUNDRY COMPANY
Past Owners on Record
JONES, LAWRENCE S.
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
Documents

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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Drawings 1993-11-08 3 87
Claims 1993-11-08 3 143
Abstract 1993-11-08 1 8
Cover Page 1993-11-08 1 11
Description 1993-11-08 8 361
Representative Drawing 2001-07-30 1 18
Fees 1996-10-22 1 118
Fees 1995-10-12 1 32
Fees 1994-10-14 1 30