Tap and saddle for forming a hinged coupon
AssigneeKing Technolgy of Missouri, Inc.
InventorsLloyd Herbert King JR., Glenn M. Hoffman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hollow tap having an axially outward extending cutting tooth so that when the cutting tooth is brought into rotational pressure engagement with a resilient tubing the cutting tooth cuts a hole partially through the resilient tubing leaving a coupon hingedly but securely attached to the resilient tubing to maintain the coupon in an out-of-the-way condition within the resilient tubing. Continued rotation of the tap within a saddle brings a sealing surface on the cutting tube into fluid tight seal with the resilient tubing to provide a branch outlet to the resilient tubing though the tap.
Claims32
A tap for connection to a pipe line comprising:
- a drum;
- a handgrip extending from said drum to enable a person to grasp and rotate said drum;
- a cutting tube, said cutting tube having a first end connected to said drum and a second extending outwardly from said drum;
- said second end of said tube having an inlet for passage of a fluid through said cutting tube, said second end of said tube having a first cutting tooth extending partially around the end of said cutting tube, said first cutting tooth projecting outward from said second end so that when said second end of said tube is rotationally driven through a sidewall of a pipe said first cutting tooth partially severs a coupon therefrom with the coupon maintained in a hinged out-of-the-way condition.
A method of attaching a branch tubing to a main tubing comprising the steps of:
- cutting a hole partially through a resilient tubing to leave a coupon partially attached to the resilient tubing;
- and
- extending a cutting tube through the partially cut hole to bend the coupon to an out-of-the-way condition with the partially attachment of the coupon to the resilient tubing forming a living hinge to retain the coupon within the resilient tubing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.