GB993384A - Packing device and method of sealing pipe joint therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

993,384. Joint-making packing; pipe joints. WOODWARD IRON CO. Nov. 7, 1963 [July 29, 1963], No. 43959/63. Headings F2B and F2G. A packing device for pipe joints comprises a hollow ring 10 of inflatable material adapted to be filled with material F which is liquid when injected into the ring but solid under normal conditions of use, a normally closed inlet valve 20 and a vent control assembly 26 in the outer wall of the ring, including a normally closed pressure relief valve 29 responsive to a predetermined internal pressure in the ring. Suitable filling materials are epoxies, polyesters, phenolics, melamines, and polyurethane-epoxy foam. The deflated ring is slipped over a spigot 35 by stretching it over the end, which may have a rim, Fig. 4 (not shown), or may be plain, 37<SP>1</SP>, Fig. 6. The gasket ring and spigot are then inserted in the socket end 36 of the pipe. To facilitate this latter insertion the generally oval profile of the cross-section of the gasket ring is designed to provide tapering of the walls 13, 14 from the medial portion to the end wall 12, as at 16. The walls have ribs 15 to facilitate sealing engagement of the gasket when assembled. The opposite end wall 11 is slightly exposed through the opening 36<SP>1</SP> between the spigot and the end of the socket and from it projects the valves 20 and vent 26. The gasket ring is filled to the required pressure, as indicated by the relief valve, and inflated till it tightly seats in a groove 38 in the inner periphery of the socket. After the material has hardened a permanent packing results, locked in the socket.