Releasable fastener for pipe couplings

A manually releasable, toggle-type fastener is provided for use, in place of the conventional bolt and nut fastener, used to secure together the adjacent bolt lugs formed on the ends of curved segments which form a circular pipe coupling. The fastener includes a pin of a shape and size to fit into the aligned bolt holes of the lugs, in place of a conventional bolt, and a lever pivotally connected to one end of the pin for swinging into a locked position adjacent its segment and into an unlocked position away from its segment. The lever has a hook-like formation on its end to which a wire-like loop is secured. The loop extends around the sides of the pin and the sides of the bolt lugs to be fastened together and has an opposite end engaging both the pin and the adjacent surface of the segment for securing the lugs together and for being restrained from release by the pin itself. The fastener may be made in different sizes to fit different size bolt lugs on different size couplings and the loop may be exchanged with different size loops for utilizing the same fastener, but with different size loops for different size coupling lugs.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
This invention relates to a manually releasable fastener which may be 
substituted for conventional bolt and nut fasteners that are used for 
securing together the adjacent ends of conventional segment type pipe 
couplings. 
A conventional type of pipe coupling comprises two or more curved segments 
which are assembled together end to end to encircle and couple the 
adjacent ends of a pair of aligned pipes. Typically, such couplings are 
provided with integral, radially outwardly extending lugs on the ends of 
the curved segments. These lugs are provided with bolt holes through which 
bolts are extended and fastened by nuts for securing the segments together 
to form the circular or ring-like coupling. In such couplings, both ends 
of each segment may be formed with bolt receiving lugs. Adjacent lugs are 
secured together with conventional bolts and nuts. Optionally, some of the 
segments may be provided with hinge components for hingedly connecting 
that segment to the end of its adjacent segment. These bolts and nuts may 
be used to fasten the lugs on the opposite sides of segments. Examples of 
such couplings are described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,418 to 
Josef Palatchy on Apr. 10, 1990 for a "Hinged Pipe Coupling", U.S. Pat. 
No. 4,966,395 issued to Thomas R. Hendrickson on Oct. 30, 1990 for a 
"Rigid or Flexible Coupling for Pipes", and U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,768 issued 
to Josef Palatchy on May 28, 1992 for a "Pipe Coupling Hinge". 
Such pipe couplings generally comprise curved segments that are U-shaped in 
cross-section with side walls or legs that extend radially inwardly from a 
band-like base. The inner free edges of the legs form keys or tenons which 
fit into grooves cut in the pipes, near the ends of the pipes. 
A rubber-like gasket is arranged within the space or channel formed by 
U-shaped coupling segments. The gasket encircles and seals the adjacent 
ends of the pipes when the keys are placed within the pipe grooves. Such 
couplings are typically used for water lines or pipe lines for conducting 
other fluid or gases. By way of example, water lines may be formed of a 
number of pipe sections coupled end to end. Each pipe section is provided 
with grooves near its ends and the pairs of pipe ends are arranged closely 
adjacent to each other. The coupling is then positioned around a pair of 
adjacent pipe ends and is secured in place to form a coupled joint. 
Whether the segments are fastened together at one end by a hinge 
arrangement and at the opposite end by bolt and nut fasteners or whether 
the segments are fastened together entirely by bolt and nut fasteners, the 
segments must be manually positioned around the pipe ends. Then 
considerable time is involved in manipulating and fastening the bolt and 
nut fasteners. Although the time is not great for any one bolt and nut 
fastener, in the aggregate where numerous couplings are used, as for 
example, in a water line in a building, a considerable amount of time is 
required on the part of the plumbing installer. Hence, it is desirable to 
have a coupling system in which the segments of a coupling can be manually 
assembled rapidly, without the need of wrenches or other tools. To meet 
that need, prior couplings that are commercially available are provided 
with toggle or lever types of fasteners for interlocking adjacent ends of 
coupling segments. Examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,123,095 issued to Theodore A. Stehlin on Oct. 31, 1978 for a "Pipe Clamp 
Having An Overcenter Toggle", U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,678 issued to Donald R. 
Kunsman on Dec. 31, 1985 for a "Pipe Coupling" and Swiss Pat. No. 390,637 
granted to Societe de Constructions d'Appareils Mecaniques Inoxydables on 
Apr. 15, 1965. 
Segmented pipe couplings that use bolt fasteners are relatively inexpensive 
to manufacture. In contrast, pipe couplings that use toggle fasteners, 
particularly where made with sufficient strength and rigidity for coupling 
relatively large pipes, are considerably more expensive to produce. Thus, 
it would be desirable to have available, on a plumbing contracting job 
site, relatively inexpensive bolt-type fastened couplings with the 
toggle-type fasteners and without the required expense for a toggle type 
coupling. 
The invention herein relates to a fastener, similar to a toggle-type 
locking fastener, which may be manufactured and stored as an independent 
unit, and which may be substituted for the typical bolt and nut fastener 
in a conventional bolt type coupling so as to provide the low cost benefit 
of the bolt-type coupling with the high speed, manual assembly ability of 
the toggle-type coupling. 
SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
This invention contemplates a releasable fastener which is formed of a pin 
member of a size and shape to be used in place of a conventional bolt 
fastener in the fastener lugs formed on the ends of pipe coupling 
segments. The pin, like a bolt, is provided with a head that engages the 
exterior surface of a lug through which the pin is inserted. The head is 
provided with an extension which is fastened, by a pivotal connection, to 
the end of a toggle-type lever. The lever has a hook-like forward portion 
which receives and is engaged with an elongated, roughly rectangular 
shaped wire loop whose sides extend along the sides of the pin. The lower 
end of the loop may be engaged against the lower surface of the bolt lug 
or adjacent segment surface so that the loop, when the toggle lever is 
swung into locking position, engages and fastens the two adjacent bolt 
lugs together. Preferably, the loop is of a size and shape to fit between 
a section of the pin that extends beneath the bolt lugs so that the loop 
is restrained by the pin in its lug engaging and locking position. 
The fastener construction is simple and inexpensive to produce. It may be 
formed as a separate unit which is available to plumbing contractors to 
use, when desired, in place of the bolt and nut fasteners which otherwise 
would be used with couplings of the type described. Thus, it is 
contemplated to form such fasteners in several different sizes, each size 
of which can accommodate a number of different size couplings so that the 
number of fasteners may be limited, as for example, to three different 
sizes, to accommodate a wide range of couplings, as for example, nine 
different sizes. Thus, the plumbing installer has the option of either 
using the removable fastener of this invention when desired and, 
particularly, in places where it is desirable to provide a quick 
connection and disconnection. An example of this would occur where a water 
line is arranged in an agricultural environment for delivering water from 
one place in a field to another and then the line must be disassembled and 
reassembled in another location. Although the fasteners herein are much 
more expensive than bolts and nuts, the speed of application and removal 
is so much greater that a water line can be laid in place and removed and 
replaced elsewhere so quickly that the additional expense of the fastener 
is made up by the substantial reduction in labor costs. 
A similar utility for the fastener herein could be in mines where water 
pipes or pipes carrying other liquids or gases must be installed and then 
removed and replaced periodically. Again, the increase in expense for the 
fasteners, which are used in place of the less expensive bolt and nut 
fasteners, is off-set by the substantial reduction in labor. Other 
environments and uses of the fastener herein will be apparent to those 
involved in installing and removing piping of various kinds. 
One object of this invention is to provide a fastener which can be readily 
used in place of the bolt and nut fasteners that are normally used with 
segment type couplings. The construction of the improved fastener herein 
is such that it is relatively inexpensive, relatively lightweight and 
small in size so that it can be easily carried to, and made available at 
job sites by contractors, and can be readily applied and removed manually 
without the use of any tools. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a fastener which can be used 
with typical, readily available and conventional couplings of various 
sizes whenever an installer chooses to use such a fastener in place of the 
commonly used bolt and nut fasteners. This arrangement would substantially 
reduce the cost of using a toggle-type of coupling since the costs of the 
fastener herein plus a conventional bolt type coupling would be less than 
the cost of a typical toggle-type coupling. 
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become 
apparent upon reading the following description, of which the attached 
drawings form a part. Referring now to the drawings:

DETAIL DESCRIPTION 
Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an hinge-segment type of pipe 
coupling 10 which is used to couple the adjacent ends of aligned pipes 11 
and 12 as shown in FIG. 2. The pipes are provided with grooves 13 near 
their ends. 
The pipe coupling is formed, in this illustration, of an upper, 
semi-circular curved segment 15 and a lower, semi-circular curved segment 
16 which are arranged in end to end alignment to form a circular coupling 
that surrounds the pipe ends. Each of the segments are U-shaped in 
cross-section to provide an exterior base 17 with radially inwardly 
directed sidewalls 18. The free edges of the sidewalls form keys or tenons 
19 which fit into the grooves 13 in the pipes. (See FIG. 2). A rubber-like 
gasket 21 is arranged within the space provided by the U-shaped 
configuration of the segments. The gasket surrounds the pipes and is 
sealed to the surfaces of the pipes. Such gaskets are conventional and 
comes in various shapes and sizes. 
The adjacent ends of the aligned coupling segments may be fastened together 
by bolts and nuts as is conventional or, in another form of such 
couplings, may have one pair of adjacent ends fastened together by means 
of a hinge formation and the opposite ends fastened together by a bolt and 
nut. The coupling illustrated in the drawings is provided with a hinge 
fastening arrangements as illustrated. Thus, the segments 15 and 16 may be 
provided with a hinge connection 24 which comprises a U-shaped lug 25 
formed integrally on the upper segment 15. The lug provides an axial 26 
arranged transversely of the coupling base, that is, parallel to the axis 
of the coupling. The axial is integral with shaped apart sidewalls 27 
which, in turn, are integral with the segment body. The lower segment 16 
is formed with an integral hook-shaped lug 29 which fits into the shape 
between the axial 26 and the sidewalls 27 and engages around the axial for 
hinging operation. This is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The particular 
shape and arrangement of the hinge connection is not material to the 
invention of this application. 
Normally, the coupling illustrated in the drawings would be arranged with 
their segments pivoted or hinged apart, as shown in FIG. 4, to fit around 
a pair of aligned pipe ends. The installer typically would arrange the 
pipe ends in alignment and arrange the gasket 21 around the adjacent ends. 
Then, he would hinge the two segments towards each other, to form the 
circular coupling surrounding the pipe ends and positioning the keys or 
tenons of the segments in the pipe grooves 13. Next, the application of a 
bolt and nut would be used to fasten the opposite ends of the segments 
together. 
In order to fasten the segment ends together, the upper segment 15 is 
provided with an integral, radially outwardly extending bolt lug 32 which, 
for example, may be U-shaped in cross-section. The base of the U-shaped 
lug is provided with a generally radially extending slot 33 for receiving 
a bolt. The lower curve segment 16 is provided with an integral, U-shaped 
in cross-section, bolt lug 34 which may be provided with a bolt hole 35 
through which the bolt may extend. The foregoing arrangement is known. 
Rather than utilizing a conventional bolt extending through the slot 33 and 
bolt hole 35 in the bolt lugs 32 and 34, the piping installer may use the 
fastener, generally designated as 40, the construction of the fastener is 
illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. 
The fastener comprises an elongated pin 41 which is approximately of the 
same diameter and roughly the same length, or perhaps slightly longer, 
than a typical bolt which would have otherwise been used with the 
illustrated coupling. The upper end of the pin is slightly enlarged to 
provide a flat surface 42 on opposite sides for snug engagement against 
the walls defining the slot 33 in the upper bolt lug. The lower end 43 of 
the pin is preferable tapered to guide the pin as it is inserted through 
the slot and bolt hole. 
The pin is provided with a head 44 of suitable size and shape to engage 
against the exposed surface of the upper lug. In addition, the head is 
provided with an integral head extension 45 which extends upperwardly from 
the head. A hole 46, to receive a pivot pin, is formed in the head 
extension. 
The fastener includes a toggle type handle or lever 50. A pair of hook-like 
end portions 51 are formed on the lever and are spaced apart a sufficient 
distance to receive the head extension 45 of the pin. Pivot pin holes 52 
are formed in the end portions for receiving a pivot pin 53 which 
pivotally connects the lever to the head extension. 
A rigid, wire-like loop 55, which is roughly rectangular in shape, is 
provided with an upper portion 56 that is engaged with the lever. The loop 
has side parts 57 which extend downwardly on opposite sides of the pin, 
and includes a lower part 58 for engagement with the lower surface of the 
lower-most lug. The upper part of the loop fits tightly into the hook 
forming slots 59 in the hook end portions 51 of the lever, as illustrated 
in FIG. 11. 
In operation, when the piping installer decides to use the fastener 40, in 
place of the usual bolt and nut, he follows the same procedure for 
applying the coupling around the pipe ends, as he would have used for the 
bolt and nut fastener. However, to fasten the adjacent bolt lugs together, 
the installer positions the pin 41 within the slot 33 of the upper bolt 
lug 32 and the bolt hole 35 of the lower bolt lug 34. The lever handle 
would be in the position generally shown in FIG. 9 with the loop dangling 
downwardly, adjacent the pin. Next, the loop is swung around the pin so 
that it is between the pin and the adjacent surface of the segment and its 
lug, at which point the lever is swung manually into the position shown, 
for example, in Figs. I and 3, to pull the wire loop lower part into tight 
engagement with the lower segment for locking the bolt lugs together. 
FIGS. 6-9 show the sequence of removing the fastener which, of course, 
could be reversed for installing the fastener. Thus, FIG. 6 shows the pin 
arranged within the aligned bolt lugs and the toggle-handle or lever in a 
locked position. As can be seen, the lower portion of the loop is snugly 
and tightly fitted in the space between the lower part of the pin and the 
segment surface adjacent the pin. Next, the toggle lever is manually swung 
into the position shown in FIG. 7 to loosen or release the wire loop which 
is illustrated as still having its lower portion arranged between the pin 
and the segment. 
Further movement of the toggle lever, shown in FIG. 8, permits the lower 
part 58 of the loop to swing clear of and forwardly of the pin. At that 
point, the fastener may be manually pulled upwardly to pull the pin out of 
the aligned lugs and, thereby, release the coupling from the pipes. 
The shape and sizes of the lugs may be varied. For example, the lugs may be 
solid rather than U-shaped in cross-section. Also, different size loops, 
that is, different size widths and heights of the loops may be used to fit 
different size lugs which would be found on different size couplings. In 
that situation, a pin may be used for a wide variety of lugs by utilizing 
a pin whose diameter and length is similar to the bolts otherwise used on 
a particular line of couplings of different sizes. That is, by simply 
changing loops, for use with different size lugs, the remaining 
construction of the fastener may be used on a wide variety of couplings of 
different sizes. 
This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following 
claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoing description be read 
as being merely illustrative of an operative embodiment of this invention 
and not in a strictly limited sense. Having fully described one operative 
embodiment of this invention, I know claim: