Inflatable sleeve and method of manufacturing same

An inflatable sleeve for inflation inside a constrained vessel, the inflatable sleeve including:

• a first zone that when inflated forms a first substantially tubular portion of the sleeve;
• and
• at least one further zone that when inflated forms at least one further substantially tubular portion of the sleeve,
• wherein the first and at least one further zone include a layer of rubber compound defining an internal cavity of the sleeve into which gas pressure is introduced to inflate the sleeve, the layer of rubber compound capable of elastic elongation in a radial direction during inflation;
• wherein the first and at least one further zone are configured such that the first zone has a different dimension and/or physical property as compared with the at least one further zone, thereby causing the zones to inflate in a predetermined sequence and/or require a different gas pressure to reach an inner wall of the constrained vessel;
• and
• wherein the zones are formed by at least two blanks of rubber compound shaped into substantially tubular form, where:
• a different dimension is achieved by:
• in a configuration where the at least one further zone is substantially co-axial with the first zone, causing the at least one further zone to have an increased thickness by including a second blank of rubber compound in the particular zone to form a second layer, or
• in a configuration where the at least one further zone extends along an axis that is different to an axis associated with the first zone, forming the at least one further zone using a second blank having a different diameter and/or thickness as compared with the blank used to form the first zone, and
• a different physical property is achieved by:
• forming the at least one further zone using a second blank made of a different rubber compound as compared with the blank used to form the first zone.

A pipe liner installation apparatus for installing a flexible liner into an internal connecting region between a main pipe and a target branch pipe, the apparatus deployable from within the main pipe and including:

• an elongate body;
• a lateral arm including a proximal end connected to the body and a distal end, an inflatable sleeve extending at least partially over the body and the lateral arm, the
• inflatable sleeve including:
• a first tubular portion of the sleeve extending at least partially over the body;
• and
• a second tubular portion of the sleeve extending at least partially over the lateral arm,
• each tubular portion including a layer of rubber compound defining an internal cavity of the sleeve into which gas pressure is introduced to inflate the sleeve, the layer of rubber compound capable of elastic elongation in a radial direction during inflation;
• each tubular portion including one or more zones configured such that one or more different zones have a different dimension and/or physical property, thereby causing the zones to inflate in a predetermined sequence and/or require a different gas pressure to reach an inner wall of the constrained vessel;
• the different zones formed by at least two blanks of rubber compound shaped into substantially tubular form, where:
• a different dimension is achieved by:
• in a configuration where the different zones are substantially coaxial zones, causing a particular zone to have an increased thickness by including a second blank of rubber compound in the particular zone to form a second layer, or
• in a configuration where the different zones extend along different axes, forming one zone using a first blank of rubber compound having a different diameter and/or thickness as compared with the blank used to form a further zone, and
• a different physical property is achieved by:
• in a configuration where the different zones are substantially co-axial zones, or extend along different axes, forming one zone using a first blank made of a different rubber compound as compared with the blank used to form a further zone.