Patent ID: 7410192

Claim:
A pipe clamp for connecting two pipe ends, comprising: a band having a body portion and a pair of opposed flanges extending radially from said body portion, said body portion extending circumferentially from a first one of said flanges to a second one of said flanges, said band including a first pair of radially outwardly protruding spaced ribs extending circumferentially at least part way along said body portion; a split sealing sleeve having first and second ends and extending circumferentially within said band from said first end to said second end, said sleeve including a second pair of spaced ribs extending at least part way between said first and second ends with each of said second pair of ribs protruding radially into one of said first pair of ribs, said first and second ends comprising mating ends having a tongue-and-groove sealing configuration in which said first end includes a pair of spaced tongues and said second end includes a pair of spaced grooves each axially aligned with one of said tongues, wherein each of said grooves have a pair of angled side edges and each of said tongues comprise a pair of spring members each having an outer side edge positioned to engage a corresponding one of the side edges of its associated groove, and wherein said outer side edge of at least one of said spring members of each tongue has a compound contour including a first portion at a midsection of said spring member and a second, recessed portion at a free end of said spring member; and a tightening mechanism connected to said band and comprising at least one fastener connected to said flanges to draw said flanges toward each other to thereby tighten said pipe clamp over the pipe ends and force said mating ends of said sleeve together into sealing engagement.