Pipes and tubular conduits – Combined – With end structure
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-01
2001-09-04
Hook, James (Department: 3752)
Pipes and tubular conduits
Combined
With end structure
C138S171000, C285S416000, C285S148250, C285S148280, C285S289100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283157
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of plumbing and heating and, in particular, to a flange for connection to a water circulator or pump and to a piping system utilizing the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Flanges are typically used to connect pumps or flow controlling devices to a pipe, or to connect a pipe to another pipe directly. Connections of this type are used extensively in the plumbing and heating industry, especially with steel, brass or copper pipes.
A typical piping system includes a copper pipe, a copper adapter having a threaded portion, a pipe flange dimensioned to mate with the threaded portion of the copper adapter, and a circulator having a flange dimensioned to mate with pipe flange. The typical system is assembled together by first soldering the adapter to the copper pipe and allowing the pipe and adapter to cool. The pipe flange is subsequently threaded onto the threaded portion of the copper adapter by rotating the body of the flange using a large wrench. The circulator is disposed such that the flange is adjacent to the base portion of pipe flange and is secured to the pipe flange with bolts.
The current system poses significant problems. First, the force required to attach the flange to the pipe is substantial and a typical flange will not have a shoulder that is designed to serve as a gripping surface for tightening the flange. The absence of this shoulder necessitates the use of a large pipe wrench to attach the flange to the exterior pipe threads of the copper adapter. As the surrounding free space is usually obstructed and quite small, it is often difficult for a user to maneuver the wrench. In addition, the size and shape of the gripping surface may also vary as the flange is turned onto the pipe, thus necessitating the use of more than one wrench. For these reasons, typical pipe flanges are well known as fittings that present a fastening problem.
One particularly common problem is encountered when attaching pipe flanges to pipe ends for connection to circulators, such as those utilized in home heating systems. These flanges are typically elliptical in shape and do not readily accommodate a standard pipe wrench or other tightening device. In addition, when the elliptical ends of the flange have turned within the 180 degrees tightening arc, the wrench must be readjusted, necessitating many fatiguing and time consuming iterations to complete the task. Moreover, as the size of a pipe wrench increases, the length of the handle increases proportionally. As pipe flanges must often be attached to a circulator that is extremely close to a wall, other pipes or, even worse, a corner, the use of a long handled pipe wrench or a pry-bar and long stove bolts to attach the flange to the pipe makes this job a tiring and time consuming one.
One solution to this problem is disclosed in the inventor's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/897,741, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,331, titled FLANGE TIGHTENING TOOL. This application discloses a flange-tightening tool for use in securing a standard flange to a pipe. The tool has a base plate, a tightening hexagonal shoulder, two attachment openings, and a rotating handle perpendicular to the tightening base plate. The base plate and openings are dimensioned to mate with the flange to be tightened and the rotatable handle is attached to hexagonal shoulder and can be used to position the tool against the flange. In operation, the user positions the tool against the flange, attaches the tool to the flange by inserting bolts through the openings in the base plate, and attaches the flange to the pipe by gripping and rotating the hexagonal shoulder with an appropriately sized box or adjustable type wrench.
The inventor's co-pending application has many advantages over the current flange tightening methods. It eliminates the gripping problems associated with standard pipe flanges by gripping the flange at the mating surface rather than the shoulder. In addition, box or adjustable wrenches having appropriately sized handles may be utilized rather than the long handles associated with larger sized pipe wrenches. Despite these advantages, this solution has not gained acceptance due to the cost of the tool and the reluctance of installers to adapt their methods to new technologies.
Another problem inherent in prior art systems is the need to attach a separate threaded connector to the copper pipe in order to accommodate the threaded pipe flange. The use of such a connector adds to the material cost of the job, increases the time taken to assemble the system by adding a step to the process, and poses some danger to the copper piping system to which it is connected due to the rotational forces exerted upon the pipes through the attachment of the threaded flange. Although it is recognized that a copper adapter is not necessary in prior art systems utilizing steel or brass pipes, the predominant use of copper piping in new heating systems necessitates the use of such a connector in an increasing number of heating applications.
Therefore, there is a need for a means for attaching a flange to a copper pipe that may be utilized to install the flange adjacent to an existing circulator or other flanged device, that may be assembled in close quarters without a large pipe wrench, and that eliminates the need for a threaded copper adapter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a sweat flange, a piping system utilizing the same, and a method of installing a circulator to a copper pipe. In its most basic form the sweat flange includes a base portion having a predetermined shape and at least two bolt openings dimensioned to accept at least two mounting bolts. A shoulder portion extends from the base portion and includes a substantially circular pipe opening that extends through the base portion and the shoulder portion. The pipe opening includes a first portion dimensioned to accept the pipe and a second portion of decreased diameter in order to limit the travel of the pipe through the opening. The sweat flange is attached to the pipe by inserting the pipe into the pipe opening of the flange and soldering the two together using art recognized soldering techniques. The preferred sweat flange is elliptical in shape and can be made of materials whose choice is determined by the nature of the piping system and the ability to solder the pipe and the flange. The preferred flange includes a thinned area around and between the shoulder portion and the openings in the base portion of the sweat flange for reducing the weight of the flange. In some embodiments, the base portion includes a recessed portion for accepting a circular gasket, while in other embodiments, the base portion includes a substantially flat bottom without any recess.
In its most basic form, the piping system of the present invention includes at least one pipe, a sweat flange as described above, a pair of mounting bolts, and a circulator or other pump. The circulator is made up of a pump portion and a volute portion through which the fluid is pumped. The volute portion includes at least one volute flange that is dimensioned to mate with the sweat flange. In some embodiments, the volute flange includes a substantially flat mounting surface, while in others the mounting surface includes a recessed portion that is dimensioned to accept a gasket. The piping system is assembled by inserting the pipe within the pipe opening in the sweat flange and soldering the pipe to the sweat flange. The pipe and the sweat flange are allowed to cool and the bolt openings of the sweat flange are aligned with the bolt openings of the volute flange. The mounting bolts are disposed through the bolt openings in pipe flange and the volute flange and are secured such that the sweat flange and the pump are secured together. In the preferred system, a gasket is disposed be sweat flange and the volute flange.
Therefore, it is an aspect of the invention to provide a sweat flange that may be utilized to install a flange adjacent to an existing circulator or other device.
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Becca Tools, Inc.
Hook James
Lawson, Philpot & Persson P.C.
Persson Michael J.
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