Patent ID: 7686087

Claim:
A connector for connecting sections of riser pipe, the connector comprising: a pin with an external profile on one end of a first riser pipe; a housing assembly on a second end of the first riser pipe, the housing assembly being adapted to receive the pin of an adjacent riser pipe, the housing assembly having a window extending through the housing assembly from the exterior of the connector to the interior of the housing assembly; an internal split pivoting latch segment assembly carried by the housing assembly and having a profile adapted to engage the profile on the pin of the adjacent riser pipe to connect the housing assembly to the pin of the adjacent riser pipe, the latch segment assembly having a support end that is pivotally supported on a shoulder of the housing assembly; an actuation member disposed within the housing assembly for axial movement in a first direction relative to the latch segment assembly to pivot the latch segment assembly from an unlatched position to a latched position to force the grooved profile of the latch segment assembly into engagement with the profile of the pin of the adjacent riser pipe; and a drive assembly extending from a location external to the housing assembly though the window of the housing assembly to the actuation member within the housing, the drive assembly being adapted to enable a device external to the housing assembly to engage the drive assembly mechanically to move the actuation member axially in the first direction.