Pipe coupling

A pipe coupling for connecting the ends of a pair of pipes, comprising:

• a ring-shaped gasket for mounting on said pipe ends to bridge the space between them;
• and
• a clamp having a body mountable around said gasket;
• said gasket having a gasket body and a pair of axially-spaced gasket portions on its radially outer surface for sealing against said clamp while leaving a grease reservoir between said axially-spaced portions and between the clamp and gasket body;
• said clamp having a grease fitting communicating with the grease reservoir, said fitting including a filler end on the outside of said clamp;
• and
• said gasket including a radially inner side and a radially outer side, and also including a pair of thick axially spaced gasket flanges on one side and a pair of thinner axially spaced gasket flanges on the other side, one of said pair of flanges forming said axially-spaced gasket portions, whereby to enable installation of said gasket either with said thick flanges on the outer side to provide a large volume grease reservoir, or on the inner side to facilitate installation on pipe flanges.

A coupled concrete-carrying pipe assembly comprising:

• a pair of abutting pipes having ends that lie adjacent to one another, said pipes having outwardly extending pipe flanges, said pipe flanges having peripheral surfaces;
• a ring-shaped gasket fitting over said peripheral surface of said flanges;
• and
• a clamp locking around said gasket and said pipe flanges.
• said gasket having a sleeve-like main body portion, a pair of radially inwardly extending gasket flanges bearing against the peripheral surfaces of said pipe flanges, and a pair of radially outwardly extending gasket flanges bearing against the inside of said clamp and lying directly radially inside said outer gasket flanges, so that the outer gasket flanges are firmly held against the clamp;
• said clamp including a grease fitting with an inner end communicating with the space which lies between said sleeve-like main body portion and said clamp and between said outer gasket flanges;
• and
• said sleeve-like main body portion of said gasket having an axial length at least twice its radial thickness, whereby grease can be installed in said space and thereafter the pressure of concrete pumped through the pipes can readily deflect the sleeve-like portion to pump out small amounts of grease past the radially outwardly extending flanges.