Expansion ring assembly

In combination:

• a structure having an annular wall;
• a flexible, substantially annular gasket received within said annular wall;
• and
• an expansion ring assembly received within said gasket, said expansion ring assembly comprising:
• a ring defining a pair of end portions;
• and
• a drive mechanism disposed substantially within said ring, said drive mechanism including a pair of block members each having a threaded bore therethrough, said block members respectively removably engaging said end portions of said ring, and a bolt including oppositely-threaded ends respectively threaded within said bores of said block members, wherein rotation of said bolt in a first direction causes said block members to be simultaneously driven away from one another to thereby expand said ring and compress said gasket into sealing engagement with said annular wall.

An expansion ring assembly in combination with a gasket for outwardly radially compressing said gasket into sealing engagement with an annular wall, comprising:

• a ring defined by at least two segments, each segment having pair of opposite end portions;
• and
• at least two drive mechanisms, each said drive mechanism disposed substantially within said ring and including a pair of block members each having a threaded bore therethrough, said block members respectively adjacent end portions of said ring segments;
• and a bolt including oppositely-threaded ends respectively removably engaging threaded within said bores of said block members, wherein rotation of said bolt in a first direction causes said block members to be driven away from one another to thereby expand said ring.

A method of sealingly engaging a gasket with an annular wall, comprising the steps of:

• placing a gasket within the annular wall;
• fitting an expansion ring against an interior surface of the gasket;
• engaging a tool with a bolt of a drive mechanism disposed substantially within the ring, the bolt including oppositely-threaded ends threadably engaged with lock members removably connected to opposing ends of the expansion ring;
• and
• rotating the bolt with the tool to simultaneously drive the block members apart from one another to expand the expansion ring and sealingly compress the gasket between the expansion ring and the annular wall.