Abstract:
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for repairing water and sewer lines. The apparatus is a universal slip and expand fitting which will permanently or semi-permanently repair leaks in such lines.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority benefit under Title 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of provisional application No. 61/171,808 filed on Apr. 22, 2009, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to repairing leaking pipe or pipe joints and, in particular, to repairing water and sewer lines. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Water and sewer mains periodically break due to ground shift, causing temporary flooding and water or sewer loss to customers. These breaks generally occur as a radial crack around the circumference of the main. 
         [0004]    The breaks generally require that the mains be shut off, which requires notification of the affected customers and many precautionary measures. After turning off the water or sewer, workers dig out the break, which may require digging up an entire portion of a street, and place a repair band, or mechanical joint sleeve, around the crack. The workers may then restore pressure to the line, flush out the line to remove contamination, and finally restore each customer&#39;s water or sewer services. The process is time consuming and does not provide a permanent repair since the repair bands generally only last about six months. 
         [0005]    Accordingly, a need exists for means to permanently or semi-permanently repair such breaks in a more efficient manner. It is the purpose of this invention to provide a means for repairing leaking joints or sections of pipe with breaks. 
         [0006]    The present invention has many additional functions. For example, a further purpose of this invention is to provide an improved means for installing a pipe tee on lines that cannot be tapped. Another purpose of this invention is to tie new water or sewer lines to existing lines after testing. Still another purpose of this invention is to provide the ability to replace existing valves and fire hydrants without the use of mechanical sleeves and extensive excavation. Other objects, purposes and functions will become evident to those skilled in the art from the information, figures and claims provided herein. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for permanently repairing a water or sewer line break with minimal excavation. The apparatus is an adjustable length pipe fitting which provides a watertight seal. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates a male-female configuration of the apparatus. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a side view of a male-female configuration of the apparatus. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the male-female configuration of the apparatus. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates a female-female configuration of the apparatus. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  depicts the apparatus as placed into a broken pipe. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus installed within a gasketed pipe. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    Referring initially to  FIGS. 1-3 , a fitting apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown generally at  10 . In this embodiment, fitting apparatus  10  comprises a female fitting  12  and male fitting  14 . Female fitting  12  has a bell end  30  and sliding end  32 . Male fitting  14  has a receiving end  34  and connecting end  36 . Bell end  30  and connecting end  36  are sized to connect to the pipes the fitting apparatus  10  is being used to repair. 
         [0015]    The sliding end  32  of female fitting  12  is inserted into receiving end  34  with a gasket  38  between the two. The female fitting  12  and male fitting  14  are of a length such that there is some overlap when sliding end  32  is fully inserted into male fitting  14 . In this embodiment, the overlap should be sufficient to allow female fitting  12  and male fitting  14  to be expanded at least one inch as compared to their completely collapsed position. The circumference of sliding end  32  is sized such that the connection of sliding end  32  with the gasket  38  in receiving end  34  creates a watertight seal but is still sufficiently loose so that female fitting  12  and male fitting  14  may slide to expand. 
         [0016]    Male fitting  14  further comprises a pair of support rings  26 ,  26 ′ attached to each side of fitting  14  near receiving end  34 . Female fitting  12  further comprises two retention brackets  22  attached to bell end  30 . Each retention arm  22  holds in place a rod  24 . Rod  24  is threaded and sized to fit through the openings of the support rings  26 ,  26 ′. Persons skilled in the art will understand that rod  24  may be a conventional rod, a bolt, or other connecting means suitable for performing the task herein described. When female fitting  12  and male fitting  14  are joined, each rod  24  is threaded first into support ring  26 , then through a nut  28 , then through the second support ring  26 ′, and finally through a second nut  28 ′. The nuts  28 ,  28 ′ on rods  24  may be tightened to support rings  26 ,  26 ′ such that they allow for the adjustment and locking of female fitting  12  and male fitting  14  in a fixed position at the desired amount of expansion. 
         [0017]    It should be noted that female fitting  12  and male fitting  14  may be comprised of cast iron, steel, aluminum, brass, copper, asbestos, plastic, or other suitable material. It should also be noted that support rings  26 ,  26 ′ may be permanent, molded portions of receiving end  34  of male fitting  14 . Likewise, retention arms  22  may be permanent, molded portions of the bell end  30  instead of separate components. 
         [0018]    The embodiment of the fitting apparatus  10  as shown in  FIGS. 1-3  is designed to repair a leak along a section of pipe where the leak is near a bell end of the pipe or the joint itself leaks. A worker must first cut and remove the leaking portion of the pipe, leaving an exposed pipe end and the pipe&#39;s bell end. Enough of the pipe must be removed so that the fully collapsed fitting apparatus  10  may be placed in the gap between the pipe end and bell end but not so much that the fitting apparatus  10  will not close the gap when fully expanded. The worker then positions fitting apparatus  10  between the pipe end and bell end such that the bell end  30  of the fitting apparatus  10  is in line with exposed pipe end and connecting end  36  of the fitting apparatus  10  is in line with the pipe&#39;s bell end. 
         [0019]    When fitting apparatus  10  has been positioned as desired, the worker should expand the fitting apparatus  10  so that pipe end fits snugly into female fitting  12  and the male fitting  14  fits snugly into the pipe&#39;s bell end. The expansion of fitting apparatus  10  is accomplished by twisting the nuts  28 ,  28 ′ along rods  24  until the pipe end and pipe&#39;s bell end communicate with the bell end  30  of female fitting  12  and the connecting end  36  of male fitting  14  sufficient to create a watertight seal. It is recommended that a gasket be placed between the male fitting  14  and the pipe&#39;s bell end to ensure a watertight seal. Preferably, bell end  30  is fitted with interior grooves which also assist in forming a watertight seal. The fitting apparatus  10  can be locked into a fixed position by tightening the nuts  28 ,  28 ′ to the support rings  26 ,  26 ′. The pipe is then repaired for as long as the materials last. 
         [0020]    Another embodiment of fitting apparatus  10  is depicted in  FIG. 4 . In this embodiment, fitting apparatus  10  comprises a female fitting  12  and a second female fitting  13 . Female fitting  12  has a bell end  30  and sliding end  32  (not shown in  FIG. 4 ). Female fitting  13  has a receiving end  35  and connecting bell end  37 . Bell end  30  and connecting bell end  37  are sized to connect to the pipes the fitting apparatus  10  is being used to repair. 
         [0021]    The sliding end  32  of female fitting  12  is inserted into receiving end  35  with a gasket  38  (not shown in  FIG. 4 ) between the two. The female fitting  12  and female fitting  13  are of a length such that there is some overlap when end  32  is fully inserted into female fitting  13 . In this embodiment, the overlap should be sufficient to allow female fitting  12  and female fitting  13  to be expanded at least one inch as compared to their completely collapsed position. The circumference of sliding end  32  is sized such that the connection of end  32  with the gasket  38  in end  35  creates a watertight seal but is still sufficiently loose so that female fitting  12  and female fitting  13  may slide to expand. 
         [0022]    Female fitting  13  further comprises a pair of support rings  26 ,  26 ′ attached to each side of fitting  13  near receiving end  34 . Female fitting  12  further comprises two retention brackets  22  attached to bell end  30 . Each retention arm  22  holds in place a rod  24 . Rod  24  is threaded and sized to fit through the openings of the support rings  26 ,  26 ′. When female fitting  12  and female fitting  13  are joined, each rod  24  is threaded first into support ring  26  closest to receiving end  34 , then through a nut  28 , then through the second support ring  26 ′, and finally through a second nut  28 ′. The nuts  28 ,  28 ′ on rods  24  may be tightened to support rings  26 ,  26 ′ such that they allow for the adjustment and locking of female fitting  12  and female fitting  13  in a fixed position at the desired amount of expansion. 
         [0023]    It should be noted that female fitting  12  and female fitting  13  may be comprised of cast iron, steel, aluminum, brass, copper, asbestos, plastic, or other suitable material. It should also be noted that support rings  26 ,  26 ′ may be permanent, molded portions of female fitting  13 . Likewise, retention arms  22  may be permanent, molded portions of the bell end  30  instead of separate components. 
         [0024]      FIGS. 5 and 6  depict how a fitting apparatus  10  of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 4  may be used to repair a broken pipe. A worker must first cut and remove the cracked portion of the pipe, leaving two exposed pipe ends,  40 ,  42 . Enough of the pipe must be removed so that the fully collapsed fitting apparatus  10  may be placed in the gap between pipe ends  40 ,  42  but not so much that the fitting apparatus  10  will not close the gap when fully expanded. The worker then positions fitting apparatus  10  between the pipe ends  40 ,  42  such that bell end  30  is in line with exposed pipe end  40  and connecting bell end  37  is in line with pipe end  42 . 
         [0025]    When fitting apparatus  10  has been positioned as desired, the worker should expand the fitting apparatus  10  so that pipe end  40  fits snugly into female fitting  12  and pipe end  42  fits snugly into female fitting  13 . The expansion is accomplished by twisting the nuts  28 ,  28 ′ along rods  24  until pipe ends  40 ,  42  communicate with the bell ends  30 ,  37  of female fittings  12 ,  13  sufficient to create a watertight seal. The fitting apparatus  10  can be locked into a fixed position by tightening the nuts  28 ,  28 ′ to the support rings  26 ,  26 ′. The pipe is then repaired for as long as the materials last. 
         [0026]    An alternative embodiment (not shown) of fitting apparatus  10  utilizes two male fittings instead of the female-male and female-female pairings described. In any embodiment containing a male fitting, a male fitting may comprise two retention brackets used to hold in place rods to be threaded through openings of support rings attached to the other fitting. 
         [0027]    A fitting apparatus  10  may also provide an improved means for installing a pipe tee on lines that cannot be tapped. In this embodiment, either of the fittings in a male-female, male-male, or male-female apparatus, hereinafter collectively referred to as the base fitting, may be specially constructed in a tee shape, having a tee fitting protruding therefrom. 
         [0028]    In order to utilize this embodiment of fitting apparatus  10 , a worker must first cut and remove the portion of the pipe where the tee junction is desired, leaving two exposed pipe ends. Enough of the pipe must be removed so that the fully collapsed fitting apparatus  10  may be placed in the gap between the exposed pipe ends but not so much that the fitting apparatus  10  will not close the gap when fully expanded. The worker then positions the base fitting of fitting apparatus  10  between the pipe ends and expands and tightens it as described hereinabove. A new pipe may then be connected to the available connecting end on the tee fitting, or the tee fitting may be capped off if it is not desired to immediately make use of the tee connection. 
         [0029]    Like using a tee fitting as part of a fitting apparatus  10 , other alternative embodiments (not shown) include coupling a male or female fitting with a bend fitting, corner fitting, elbow fitting, sweep fitting, wye fitting, or any other type of pipe fitting that may be necessary for the application. Additionally, in these or other embodiments, the second fitting may have any number of connections so that more than two pipes may be joined at fitting apparatus  10 . 
         [0030]    Another purpose of this invention is to tie new water or sewer lines to existing lines after testing. After a new pipeline has been tested and purified, a worker may remove the blocking and caps or plugs at the end of the new pipeline and use a fitting apparatus  10  to connect the new pipeline to existing lines. The fitting apparatus  10  used may be any of the embodiments described herein as may be appropriate to make the connection. 
         [0031]    A fitting apparatus  10  may further be used to repair fire hydrants without having to excavate and remove poured concrete blockings. A worker must first cut and remove a section of the existing pipe connected to the hydrant&#39;s flange or valve. Enough of the pipe must be removed so that the fully collapsed fitting apparatus  10  may be placed in the gap between the exposed pipe end and the flange or valve but not so much that the fitting apparatus  10  will not close the gap when fully expanded. This allows the worker to then remove the faulty flange or valve and install a new flange or valve. The worker then may position an appropriate fitting apparatus  10  of the embodiments described herein between the pipe end and the new flange or valve. 
         [0032]    The present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those that are inherent therein. The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the present invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. While numerous changes may be made by those skilled in the art, such changes are encompassed within the spirit of this invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular illustrative embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the present invention.