Interlocking teeth for strengthening pinned connection between knuckle-jointed lance segments

A Knuckle Jointed Lance (KJL), comprising:

• a segmented lance, the lance including a plurality of elongate and hollow KJL segments in a concatenated string thereof;
• wherein each KJL segment has a longitudinal axis, and has first and second segment ends;
• wherein, for each neighboring pair of KJL segments in the concatenated string:
• (1) the first segment end of one KJL segment in the pair is rotatably connected to the second segment end of the other KJL segment in the pair via a pinned connection such that when the pair of KJL segments is in longitudinal axis alignment, the KJL segments are restrained from relative rotation about the pinned connection except in a first rotational direction only;
• and
• (2) the first segment end of the one KJL segment in the pair provides a first sloped portion, the first sloped portion facing a second sloped portion provided on the second segment end of the other KJL segment in the pair, such that contact between the first and second sloped portions limits relative rotation of the KJL segments about the pinned connection in the first rotational direction;
• and
• wherein, for at least one neighboring pair of KJL segments, in addition to the pinned connection therebetween, the first segment end on the one KJL segment and the second segment end on the other KJL segment together further provide an interlocking toothed connection, wherein the interlocking toothed connection comprises interlocking teeth, wherein the interlocking toothed connection is fully interlocked between the first segment end on the one KJL segment and the second segment end on the other KJL segment when the at least one neighboring pair of KJL segments is in longitudinal axis alignment, such that the interlocking toothed connection restrains relative torsional displacement between the at least one neighboring pair of KJL segments about the longitudinal axes of the KJL segments through a range of enmeshments;
• wherein rotation of the at least one neighboring pair of KJL segments about the pinned connection in the first rotational direction decreases enmeshment of the interlocking toothed connection;
• wherein the KJL segments each provide a spooling notch such that when the KJL segments are stacked in concentric radial layers, the spooling notches on a first radial layer are disposed to receive interlocking teeth from interlocking toothed connections in partial interlocking enmeshment on a second radial layer, wherein the second radial layer is stacked immediately adjacent to and concentrically inside the first radial layer.