Patent ID: 7497485

Claim:
A pipe joint, comprising: a body part provided by rolling a planar material to form a cylindrical structure, the body part having a pair of opposing circumferential edges and a pair of opposing axial edges, the axial edges of the body part defining a longitudinal slot, the body part defining a central longitudinal axis extending between the pair of opposing circumferential edges, the body part further defining an axis transverse to the central longitudinal axis that extends between the pair of opposing axial edges of the body part; a coupling part having a bent surface at opposing axial edges of the body part, with a plurality of locking holes provided in the bent surface of the coupling part; locking means tightened into the locking holes to couple the opposing axial edges of the body part to each other; a reinforcing unit comprising a separate curved plate, the reinforcing unit having a pair of opposing circumferential edges and a pair of opposing axial edges, the reinforcing unit defining a longitudinal axis extending between the pair of opposing circumferential edges, the reinforcing unit further defining an axis transverse to the longitudinal axis that extends between the pair of opposing axial edges of the reinforcing unit, the reinforcing unit being gradually reduced in thickness along a circumferential direction extending from the center of the reinforcing unit to both axial edges of the reinforcing unit to be in close contact with an inner surface of the body part; and a positioning means comprising a linear ridge defined by the reinforcing unit that extends between the circumferential edges of the body part in a longitudinal direction along at least a portion of an outer surface of the reinforcing unit, the linear ridge having a stepped shape that horizontally positions the reinforcing unit against the body part relative to the central longitudinal axis of body part, the stepped shape of the linear ridge extending outwardly from the interior of the body part and into at least a portion of the longitudinal slot of the body part to correspondingly engage the longitudinal slot; the reinforcing unit further comprising a stop means having a stepped shape, the stop means extending along at least a portion of one edge of a pair of opposing circumferential edges of the reinforcing unit; and wherein at least one edge of the pair of opposing circumferential edges of the body part and at least one edge of the pair of opposing circumferential edges of the reinforcing unit are coplanar with respect to one another.