Abstract:
The present invention is an improvement in conventional street elbow pipe design that allows for the street elbow pipe to be easily installed, removed, maintained, adjusted and handled without damage to the street elbow pipe itself or injury to a person performing work on the street elbow pipe. The street elbow pipe includes male and female fitting portions and a nut section disposed around at least one of the male and female fitting portions with a graspable surface area formed on the nut section.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Not applicable. 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY-SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The present invention relates generally to a pipe fitting apparatus. Specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement to conventional street elbow pipe design having an elongated portion and a nut section allowing a user to easily install, remove, maintain, adjust, and otherwise handle the street elbow pipe. 
         [0004]    Street elbow pipes are sections of pipe configured to fit or join other pieces of piping together. Existing, prior art street elbow pipes are difficult to install, remove, maintain, adjust, and otherwise handle because of a small, smooth surface area between pipe ends and because of the angled nature of the conventional street elbow pipe. This small, smooth surface area prevents a user from grasping the street elbow pipe around the tubular pipe portion between ends to either hold or rotate the street elbow in place relative to a piece of pipe to which it is to be joined. 
         [0005]    Users typically use a pipe wrench or similar tool to install, remove, maintain and adjust existing street elbow pipes, and must therefore grasp the street elbow pipe with a tool around the outside of one of the two open ends or with one portion on the inside of, and the other portion on the outside of, one of the two open ends. The force needed to manipulate the street elbow pipe results in damage to the open end of the street elbow pipe in the form of distortion of the shape of the pipe. Additionally, the threads on the open ends of the pipe are often stripped. Damaged pipes with either a distorted shape of the pipe or stripped threads are no longer useable, and therefore it is common to waste several street elbow pipes in industrial applications until it is properly installed, resulting in wasted parts and lost time. The tool used also often slips off of the open end, and users frequently suffer serious injury to the hands and arms as the skin comes in quick, sliding contact with the threaded portion of the open end of the street elbow pipe. 
         [0006]    There is consequently a need in the art for a street elbow pipe, and generally a pipe fitting apparatus, that includes a way to easily grasp the pipe fitting apparatus for installation, removal, maintenance, and adjustment and to minimize the risk of damage to the pipe fitting apparatus or injury to the user. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments, taken together with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. 
         [0008]    The present invention includes a street elbow pipe comprising a hollow tubular body having a male fitting portion and a female fitting portion, a bend disposed between the male fitting portion and the female fitting portion, and a substantially annular nut section elongating the hollow tubular body between the bend and an open threaded end of the male fitting portion and having a graspable surface formed thereon, the graspable surface having a width at least wide enough to accommodate grasping the hollow tubular body to handle the hollow tubular body relative to a first piece of pipe to be engaged with the open threaded end of the male portion and to hold the tubular body secure relative to a second piece of pipe to be engaged with an open threaded end of the female portion. 
         [0009]    The present invention further includes a pipe fitting apparatus comprising a hollow tubular body having a female fitting portion and a male fitting portion elongated so as to be longer than the female fitting portion and angularly situated relative to the female portion along a point in the hollow tubular body, and a nut section disposed on the hollow tubular body on at least one of the male fitting portion and female fitting portion and having a surface formed thereon to accommodate grasping the hollow tubular body to join one piece of pipe with a second piece of pipe. 
         [0010]    The present invention also includes a method of manufacturing a street elbow pipe comprising elongating a hollow tubular body having a male fitting portion, a female fitting portion, and a bend disposed between the male fitting portion and the female fitting portion along at least one of the male fitting portion and female fitting portion to create an area at least wide enough to accommodate a use of a tool to grasp the hollow tubular body, and machining a nut section along the elongated portion of the hollow tubular body and a surface suitable for grasping the hollow tubular body with the tool to handle the hollow tubular body so as to engage a first piece of pipe with an open threaded end of the male portion and to hold the hollow tubular body secure relative to a second piece of pipe to be engaged with an open threaded end of the female portion. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 1B  is a side view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2A  is another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2B  is a side view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3B  is another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 3A ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4B  is a side view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 4A ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5B  is another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 5A ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6B  is another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 6A ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is another side view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is another side view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  is another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 10  is yet another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 11  is yet another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2   a ; and 
           [0028]      FIG. 12  is still another perspective view of a street elbow pipe according to the embodiment of the present invention of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]    In the following description of the present invention reference is made to the accompanying figures which form a part thereof, and in which is shown, by way of illustration, exemplary embodiments illustrating the principles of the present invention and how it may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized to practice the present invention and structural and functional changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
         [0030]      FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A  are each a perspective view of a street elbow pipe  110  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The street elbow pipe  110  is a pipe fitting apparatus for use in various industrial applications, including for example movement of gas, water, air, oil and other liquids or gases through piping systems. The street elbow pipe  110  of the present invention includes a hollow, tubular body  120  that has a male fitting portion  130  and a female fitting portion  140 . The male fitting portion  130  and the female fitting portion  140  are angularly situated relative to each other via a bend  150  that creates an angled configuration in the hollow, tubular body  120 .  FIG. 1B  and  FIG. 2B  are each a side view of the street elbow pipe  110  according to this embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0031]    The street elbow pipe  110  includes a nut section  160 . The nut section  160  is machined so that it is disposed on the hollow, tubular body  120  so as to be circularly or annularly formed thereon, either in a complete, partial, or substantial manner, so that it can take many different shapes and configurations as discussed herein. The nut section  160  includes a surface  170  that is configured so that the street elbow pipe  110  can be grasped by a tool  180  to install, remove, turn, and otherwise handle the hollow tubular body  120  and the street elbow pipe  110 , as shown for example in  FIG. 12 . The surface  170  of the nut section  160  includes, in one embodiment, a plurality of sides  190  that form a poly-sided configuration so that the nut section  160  can be grasped by the tool  180 , such as a standard wrench or a pipe wrench, as shown in  FIG. 12 . The present invention contemplates that any number of shapes can be therefore be formed, and that the surface  170  of the nut section  160  may be hexagonal (as shown in  FIGS. 1-8 ) or any other polygonal shape, including but not limited to triangular, tetragonal, pentagonal, septagonal, octogonal, nonagonal, etc. 
         [0032]    The nut section  160  is formed on the male fitting portion  130  as shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A , at some point between the bend  150  in the hollow, tubular body  120  and an open, threaded end  200  of the male fitting portion  130 . The male fitting portion  130  includes a plurality of male threads  210  disposed on an outside  220  of the hollow, tubular body  120  for engagement with threads of a separate female pipe portion. The female fitting portion  140  includes an open threaded end  230  that has a plurality of female threads  240  for accepting threads of a separate male pipe portion, the plurality of female threads  240  disposed on an inside  250  of the hollow, tubular body  120 . 
         [0033]    The nut section  160  may be formed on the male fitting portion  130 , the female fitting portion  140 , or on both. In one embodiment of the present invention, the nut section  160  is formed on the male fitting portion  130  as shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A , at any point between the bend  150  in the hollow, tubular body  120  and the open, threaded end  200  of the male fitting portion  130 . In this embodiment, the hollow, tubular body  120  is elongated by the presence of the nut section  160 . The plurality of male threads  210  of the male fitting portion  130  may also include additional male threads  210  to make engagement with a separate female pipe portion easier for a user. 
         [0034]    In another embodiment of the present invention, the nut section  160  is formed on the female fitting portion  140  as shown in  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B , at any point between the bend  150  in the hollow, tubular body  120  and the open, threaded end  230  of the female fitting portion  140 . In this embodiment, the hollow, tubular body  120  is also elongated by the presence of the nut section  160 . The plurality of female threads  240  of the female fitting portion  140  may also include additional female threads  240  to make acceptance with a separate male pipe portion easier for a user. 
         [0035]    In still another embodiment of the present invention, the nut section  160  is formed on the female fitting portion  140  as shown in  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B , around the open, threaded end  230  of the female fitting portion  140 . In this embodiment, the hollow, tubular body  120  is elongated by the presence of the nut section  160  around the open, threaded end  230  of the female fitting portion  140 , and nut section  160  may be formed with a surface area of any size, as with all embodiments of the present invention. Similarly with the embodiment of  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B , the plurality of female threads  240  of the female fitting portion  140  may also include additional female threads  240  when the hollow, tubular body  120  is elongated to make acceptance with a separate male pipe portion easier for a user. 
         [0036]    In yet another embodiment of the present invention, one nut section  160  is formed on the male fitting portion  130 , and another nut section  160  is formed on the female fitting portion  140 , as shown in  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B . The nut section  160  on the male fitting portion  130  may be formed at any point between the bend  150  and open, threaded end  200  of the male fitting portion  130 , and the nut section  160  on the female fitting portion  140  may be formed at any point between the bend  150  and the open, threaded end  230  of the female fitting portion  140 . In this embodiment, the hollow, tubular body  120  of the male fitting portion  130  and the hollow, tubular body  120  of the female fitting portion  140  are elongated respectively between the bend  150  and open threaded end  200 , and the bend  150  and open, threaded end  230 . It is understood that because the nut section  160  may be formed at any point, and may be formed at different points on the male fitting portion  130  and the female fitting portion  140 , that the hollow, tubular body  120  may have the same or different lengths between the bend  150  and open, threaded end  200 , and the bend  150  and open, threaded end  230 . 
         [0037]    In another embodiment of the present invention, one nut section  160  is formed on the male fitting portion  130 , and another nut section  160  is formed around the female fitting portion  140 , as shown in  FIG. 6A  and  FIG. 6B . The nut section  160  on the male fitting portion  130  may be formed at any point between the bend  150  and open, threaded end  200  of the male fitting portion  130 , and the nut section  160  on the female fitting portion  140  is formed around the open, threaded end  230  of the female fitting portion  140 . In this embodiment, the hollow, tubular body  120  of the male fitting portion  130  and the hollow, tubular body  120  of the female fitting portion  140  are elongated respectively between the bend  150  and open threaded end  200 , and the bend  150  and open, threaded end  230 . It is understood that because the nut section  160  may be formed at any point, and may be formed at different points on the male fitting portion  130 , that the hollow, tubular body  120  may have the same or different lengths between the bend  150  and open, threaded end  200 , and the bend  150  and open, threaded end  230 . 
         [0038]    It is further understood, and contemplated within the scope of the present invention, that the nut section  160  is machined so that it is disposed on the hollow, tubular body  120  independent of any consideration as to its placement. Accordingly, as with the embodiments of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A , the nut section  160  may be machined so as to be circularly or annularly formed on the hollow, tubular body  120 , regardless of whether it is machined on the male fitting portion  130 , on the female fitting portion  140 , or both, or formed around the open, threaded end  230  of the female fitting portion  140 . The nut section  160  may be formed circularly or annularly either in a complete, partial, or substantial manner, so that it can take many different shapes and configurations as discussed herein. 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8  are side views of a street elbow pipe  110  according to the embodiment of  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 2A . Street elbow pipes  110  are commonly machined in a 90° angled configuration, but may also be commonly machined in 45°, 37°, and 22.5° angles, or any other angle, and therefore the present invention contemplates that the bend  150  in the hollow, tubular body  120 , regardless of the embodiment disclosed herein, may form any angle between the male fitting portion  130  and the female fitting portion  140 .  FIG. 7  is a street elbow pipe  110  shown with an angled configuration of 22.5°, and  FIG. 8  is a street elbow pipe  110  shown with an angled configuration of 37°. It is therefore understood that different angles are applicable to all embodiments of the Figures in this application. 
         [0040]    Regardless of the configuration of formation of the nut section  160  and the angle, the street elbow pipe  110  of the present invention is configured so that a person using the tool  180  can easily grasp the hollow, tubular body  120  along the surface  170  of the nut section  160  to either hold the street elbow pipe  110  secure while connecting the open, threaded end  200  of the male fitting portion  130  to a separate female pipe portion, or to hold the street elbow pipe  110  secure while connecting the open, threaded end  230  of the female fitting portion  140  to a separate male pipe portion, or both. The person using the tool  180  may also grasp the hollow, tubular body  120  along the surface  170  of the nut section  160  to install, remove, maintain, adjust, tighten, or loosen the street elbow pipe  110  relative to any other piece of equipment on which the street elbow pipe  110  is to be applied. Therefore, the street elbow pipe  110  according to the present invention prevents deformation of the open, threaded ends  200  and  230  in conventional, prior art street elbow pipes by obviating the need to grasp the street elbow pipe  110  around the open threaded ends, around the bend  150 , or around the hollow, tubular body  120 . By providing a place on the hollow, tubular body  120  of the street elbow pipe  110  to grasp it, the present invention enhances safety to the user when handling a street elbow pipe  110  by minimizing the risk of slippage and consequently injury to one&#39;s arms or hands. 
         [0041]      FIG. 9  is another perspective view of the street elbow pipe  110  of  FIG. 1 . As noted above, the present invention contemplates in one embodiment that the surface  170  of the nut section  160  may be multi-sided, and further that any number of sides may be present. Different shapes can be therefore be formed on the surface  170 , so that the surface  170  may be hexagonal or any other polygonal shape, including but not limited to triangular, tetragonal, pentagonal, septagonal, octogonal, nonagonal, etc. Accordingly,  FIG. 9  is a view of the street elbow pipe  110  where the surface  170  of the nut section  160  is square in shape.  FIG. 10  is yet another view of the street elbow pipe  110  according to this embodiment, in which the surface  170  of the nut section  160  is formed with at least one flat or substantially flat side and two rounded sides. Such embodiments demonstrate that a user can utilize any type of wrench to easily handle the hollow, tubular body  120  of the street elbow pipe  110 , including but not limited to both standard wrenches and pipe wrenches, as shown in  FIG. 12 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 10 , the multi-sided surface  170  may be further machined to include a slight depression in the at least one substantially flat side to allow for further security in using a wrench in tight spaces by minimizing the risk of slippage and stripping of the surface  170  of the nut section  160 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 11  is a further perspective view of the street elbow pipe  110  of  FIG. 1  in an embodiment in which the multi-sided surface  170  of the nut section  160  is shown having many different facets so as to take the shape of small peaks and valleys, such as diamonds, in a knurled configuration. As with other views of the multi-sided surface  170  herein, the knurled configuration of  FIG. 11  indicates a user has enhanced ability to grasp and safely handle the street elbow pipe  110  with a rough surface area. 
         [0043]      FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the street elbow pipe  110  according the present invention in which a tool  180 , in this instance a standard wrench, is being applied to the surface  170  of the street elbow pipe  110  to handle the street elbow pipe  110 . 
         [0044]    It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the present invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, the knurled surface shown in  FIG. 11  may be multi-sided with any number of sides as with other embodiments of the present invention, and may further include a slight depression in at least one of the sides as shown in the embodiment of  FIG. 10 . It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description.