Patent ID: 11959351
Assignee: FMC TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E | IPC E

Claim 15:
16. A connector, comprising:
a plurality of segments arranged in a tubular configuration having a first end and a second end;
a first jaw near the first end, the first jaw comprising at least one tooth formed on an inside of the plurality of segments and having a first locking profile; and
a second jaw near the second end, axially spaced apart from the first jaw, the second jaw comprising at least one tooth formed on the inside of the plurality of segments and having a second locking profile, the at least one tooth of the second jaw comprising:
a first tooth axially closer to an axial center of the connector than the remaining teeth of the second jaw; and
an end tooth axially farther from the axial center of the connector than the remaining teeth of the second jaw,
wherein, if the second jaw only has one tooth, the first tooth will also be the end tooth;
wherein the first tooth has a first altered surface formed at a leading side of the first tooth;
wherein, for each of the at least one tooth having an altered surface, a contact point is at an end of the altered surface farthest from the axial center; an edge point is at an end of the altered surface closest to the axial center; a contact distance is measured between the contact point and the axial center; an edge distance is measured between the edge point and the axial center; and an axial contact separation is equal to the contact distance minus the edge distance; and
wherein, for each of the at least one tooth lacking an altered surface, the axial contact separation is equal to zero,
wherein a second tooth of the second jaw has a second altered surface, and
wherein the altered surface of the first and the second teeth is an angled surface, and wherein a slope of the angled surface of the first tooth is greater than or equal to a slope of the angled surface of the second tooth.