Patent ID: 7000952

Claim:
A coupling apparatus for coupling the ends of a pair of ducts carrying a flowing fluid, said apparatus comprising: a circumferential clamp ring assembly having first and second clamp rings adapted to be secured in abutting contact; a catcher finger component adapted to be fixedly secured to a free edge of a first one of said ducts and fixedly to a first edge of a first one of said clamp rings, said catcher finger component including at least one catcher finger projecting away from said free edge of said first one of said ducts and generally co-axially with said first one of said ducts; and a catcher ring component adapted to be fixedly secured to a free edge of a second one of said ducts and to a first edge of a said second one of said clamp rings, said catcher ring component including a portion spaced apart from said catcher finger by a predetermined distance when said coupling apparatus is assembled to said ducts and being adapted to engage with said catcher finger in the event of a failure of a joint formed between said first and second clamp rings, to allow only a controlled degree of separation of said first and second ducts from one another in accordance with said predetermined distance, which separation is sufficient to allow detection of said fluid flowing within said ducts by an external sensor.