Tapping fitting

A tapping fitting for application to a pipe in order to tap a fluid conducted therethrough to an ancillary device, comprising:

• a housing including a main section, an attaching section in axial alignment with the housing main section for attaching the fitting to a pipe, and an outlet section for directing the fluid from the pipe to the ancillary device;
• a rotatable blade assembly formed at one end, constituting its outer end, with external threads threadedly received within said housing main section and including a cylindrical cutting blade at its opposite, inner end such that a key may be used to rotate the blade assembly and to move it axially from an initial retracted position within the housing main section, to a projected position through said housing attaching section to cut a cylindrical slug from the pipe when attached thereto, and then to a final retracted position within the housing main section to thereby effect a fluid connection between the pipe and the ancillary device;
• a stem having an inner end secured to the rotatable blade assembly, and an outer end for receiving said key to rotate the stem and the blade assembly from its initial retracted position to its projected position and then to its final retracted position;
• and a seal between the outer surface of the stem and the housing main section effective to seal the interior of the pipe from the external side of the housing both during and after the cutting of said cylindrical slug from the pipe;
• said rotatable blade assembly including an annular shoulder at its inner end engageable with the outer surface of the attached pipe to define said projected position of the rotatable blade assembly.

A tapping fitting for application to a pipe in order to tap a fluid conducted therethrough to an ancillary device, comprising:

• a housing including a main section, an attaching section in axial alignment with the housing main section for attaching the fitting to a pipe, and an outlet section for directing the fluid from the pipe to the ancillary device;
• a rotatable blade assembly formed at one end, constituting its outer end, with external threads threadedly received within said housing main section and including a cylindrical cutting blade at its opposite, inner end such that a key may be used to rotate the blade assembly and to move it axially from an initial retracted position within the housing main section, to a projected position through said housing attaching section to cut a cylindrical slug from the pipe when attached thereto, and then to a final retracted position within the housing main section to thereby effect a fluid connection between the pipe and the ancillary device;
• a stem having an inner end secured to the rotatable blade assembly, and an outer end for receiving said key to rotate the stem and the blade assembly from its initial retracted position to its projected position and then to its final retracted position;
• and a seal between the outer surface of the stem and the housing main section effective to seal the interior of the pipe from the external side of the housing both during and after the cutting of said cylindrical slug from the pipe;
• said rotatable blade assembly being formed with a blind bore at its outer end receiving the inner end of the stem which is removably attached thereto;
• said end of the stem being removably attached to said rotatable blade assembly by a plurality of axially-extending fingers at said inner end of the stem having tips receivable within an annular recess formed in said blind bore in the rotatable blade assembly;
• said stem being hollow, and said axially-extending fingers of the hollow stem being elastic such that the key, when within the hollow stem, prevents radial displacement of the fingers to lock their tips within said annular recess of the rotatable blade assembly to thereby secure the stem to the rotatable blade assembly, but when the key is removed from said hollow stem, said fingers are radially displaceable to thereby permit removal of the stem from the rotatable blade assembly.