Patent ID: 6044539
Filing Date: 2000-04-04
Classification: B23P,B25B,F16L,Y10T

Abstract:
A method for installing a gasket within a gasket receiving groove provided within the bell end of a pipe section, the bell end having a mouth opening which is engageable with a spigot end of a mating pipe section to form a pipe joint, the method comprising the steps of:providing a pipe section having a bell end opening;orienting the pipe section having the bell end along a horizontal work axis;mounting an annular gasket formed at least in part of a flexible material on an elliptically shaped loader plate, the gasket being temporarily transformed from a generally cylindrical shape to a generally elliptical shape;inserting the gasket within the mouth opening of the bell end, the annular gasket being oriented at an oblique angle with respect to the horizontal work axis such that a trailing edge of the gasket engages the annular groove, and a leading edge of the annular gasket is moved past the annular groove provided in the bell end;exerting a retracting force on the annular gasket by pulling the leading edge thereof backwards in the direction of the mouth opening of the bell end until the gasket again assumes a generally cylindrical shape and snaps into a locked-in position within the annular groove.