Patent ID: 6351985
Filing Date: 2002-03-05
Classification: G01M

Abstract:
Apparatus for detecting a leak in a pipe, comprising:a closure member for sealing an opening in the pipe, the closure member having an aperture therethrough and a seal arrangement provided around said aperture; a flexible fluid supply hose having a free end and extending through said seal arrangement around the aperture in the closure member; an inflatable seal member disposed at or adjacent said free end of the hose which seal member is inflatable by fluid supplied under pressure to the hose, the flexible hose being slidable through the seal arrangement prior to the supply of fluid under pressure to the hose but the hose expanding radially to permit a seal to be formed with the seal arrangement on fluid under pressure being supplied to the hose; means to supply fluid under pressure to the interior of the pipe after the hose has been passed into the pipe through the aperture in the closure member and the seal member has been inflated; and pressure-sensing apparatus to sense the fluid pressure within the pipe between the closure member and the inflated seal member.