Device for assembling in particular two sections of a blast downpipe of a blast furnace

In a device for assembling two pipe elements and in particular an upper element and a lower element of a blast downpipe supplying blast to a blast furnace, the device comprising two flanges respectively carried by said two elements, said flanges defining facing sealing surfaces and frustoconical surfaces, jaws arranged around the entire circumference of the flanges in spaced apart relation to each other and defining frustoconical surfaces which are complementary to and cooperative with the frustoconical surfaces of the flanges, links, means pivotally connecting the links to the jaws so that the links and jaws pivot about substantially vertical axes and constitute an articulated collar, clamping and unclamping means combined with the collar for selectively clamping and unclamping the collar, and support means supporting the collar relative to the upper pipe element;

• the improvement wherein said support means comprise a first support part fixed to the upper pipe element and a second support part having a first end portion and a second end portion which is opposed to the first end portion and is mounted on the first support part to pivot about an axis substantially parallel to said pivot axes, and means supportingly mounting the collar at a plurality of points on the combined first support part and second support part so that the collar is held substantially in a plane perpendicular to said axes while it is movable substantially in said plane for clamping purposes, said mounting points being located in a region of the collar corresponding to substantially three-quarters of the circumferential extent of the collar, and one of said mounting points being located in said first end portion of the second support part, and the second part representing substantially one quarter of the circumferential extent of the collar, said means supportingly mounting the collar comprising rods suspending the collar from the first support part and second support part, which rods also define pivot pins defining the pivot axes of the links and jaws of the collar, elongated apertures which are formed in the first support part and supportingly receive the rods and are substantially parallel to each other and an elongated aperture which is formed in the second support part and is oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to the apertures in the first support part when the device is in the closed clamping position.