Irrigation-pipe dent-removal tool and method

#Drawing FIGS. 1 and 2 are side-elevational and sectional-elevational views, respectively, of a Prior Art irrigation-pipe 100 that lengthily longitudinally extends along a central-axis 100A and which includes an outside-surface 101 concentrically surrounding (at outside-radius R1) central-axis 100A and an inside-surface 102 concentrically surrounding (at inside-radius R2) central-axis 100A. Irrigation-pipe 100 is provided with a sideward water delivery-opening 100W that is controllably gateable (such as with a gate disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,901,211 (Epp-Aug. 25, 1959), or equivalent gating means). However, whenever such irrigation-pipe 100, adjacent to its sideward delivery-opening 100W, becomes physically dented (100D) during usage, such one or more dents (100D) inimicably interfere with the gating means thereat. Because each such irrigation-pipe inimical dent (100D) is exhibited as a bulge at the irrigation-pipe inside-surface, and there neither viewably discernible nor mechanically treatable at the irrigation-pipe outside-surface 101, the prior art workers have been frustrated from the quest to remove such irrigation-pipe inwardly-extending (102) inimicable dents 100D.

#In view of the foregoing, it is the general objective of the present invention to provide a tool and means method for removing one or more inimicable irrigation-pipe dents and which tool and method are easy to employ and adequate for the purpose of sufficiently removing the irrigation-pipe dents so that the irrigation-pipe can be controllably gated with a selectable conventional gate.

#With the above general objective in view, and together with other ancillary and specific objectives which will become more apparent as this description proceeds, the irrigation-pipe dent-removal tool and method of the present invention generally comprises: providing along the irrigation-pipe inside-surface and abuttably against said at least one dent, and in surrounding relationship to the water delivery-opening thereof, a rear-plate including a linearly-generated leadward-surface positionable at a constant leadward-radius from said central-axis, said rear-plate being centrally provided with a flexible cable extending outwardly through said water delivery-opening; providing along the irrigation-pipe outside-surface and alongside said at least one dent and in surrounding relationship to said water delivery-opening, a front-plate including a linearly-generated concave trailward-surface positionable at a constant trailward-radius from said central-axis and which trailward-radius exceeds said leadward-radius, and said front-plate slidably surrounding said elongate flexible cable; and, extending through said irrigation-pipe water delivery-opening, threaded fasteners (or equivalent means) for controllably drawing together said rear-plate and front-plate, whereby said drawn-together rear-plate and front-plate pressurably remove at least one inimicable dent from said dented irrigation-pipe.

#In the drawing, wherein like characters refer to like parts in the several views, and in which:

#Drawing FIGS. 1 and 2, aforedescribed, refer to a prior art irrigation-pipe (100) having a sideward water delivery-opening (100W) and inflicted with one or more inimicable dents (100D);

#Drawing FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a representative embodiment (9) of the irrigation-pipe dent-removal tool of the present invention, the bottom plan view (not shown) being a mirror image thereof;

#Representative embodiment 9 of the irrigation-pipe dent-removal tool of the present invention generally comprises: a rear-plate 10 having a linearly-generated convex leadward-surface 11 abuttable against the irrigation-pipe dent-inflicted (100D) inside-surface 102 and being centrally provided with a flexible cable 15 outwardly extendable through the irrigation-pipe sideward water delivery-opening 100W; a front-plate 20 slidably (23) surrounding said cable 15 and including a linearly-generated concave trailward-surface 22 abuttable against the irrigation-pipe dent inflicted (100D) outside-surface 101; and, extendable through the irrigation-pipe delivery-opening 100W, inter-plates drawing means (e.g. threaded bolts 30A, 30B) for drawing rear-plate 10 toward front-plate 20 and the plates'-intervening irrigation-pipe 100, whereby the drawn-together rear-plate and front-plate squeeze the intervening dent-inflicted irrigation-pipe to pressurably remove said at least one inimicable dent (100D) from the irrigation-pipe.

#Preferred embodiments for the synergistically inter-related rear-plate, front-plate, and inter-plates drawing means for the irrigation-pipe dent-removal tool are treated in the ensuing paragraphs, namely, as follows:

#Metallic rear-plate 10 has a linearly-generated convex leadward-surface 11 located a constant leadward-radius that dimensionally approximates irrigation-pipe inside-radius R2, and a trail-surface 12. Trail-surface 12 is preferably of linearly-generated concave configuration and arcuately paralel to its arcuate leadward-surface 11. Rear-plate 10 is forwardly pullable (i.e. toward its leadward-surface 11 and irrigation-pipe inside-surface 102) with a rear-plate centrally-associated elongate flexible cable 15. Herein, flexible cable 15 is slidably surrounded (at 13) by rear-plate 10, and has a cable trail-enlargement 16 abuttable against rear-plate trail-surface 12.