Patent ID: 7661906

Claim:
A connector for engaging sections of a wood piling, comprising: a tubular body having an open upper end, an open lower end, an outer wall, an inner wall and a longitudinal axis; and a separating plate fixedly attached to the inner wall in a transverse relationship to the longitudinal axis, said separating wall dividing the tubular body into an upper portion and a lower portion, said upper portion being configured and adapted for inserting into a bottom end of a first piling section and said lower portion being configured and adapted for inserting into a top end of second piling section that is positioned below the first piling section, said separating plate being provided with at least one air-and-fluid bleed opening adjacent a junction of the separating plate and the tubular body, said at least one bleed opening being configured to allow escape of air and fluid from interior of the tubular body.