Pipe joints or couplings – Ball and socket
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-13
2002-07-16
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3629)
Pipe joints or couplings
Ball and socket
C285S368000, C285S412000, C411S107000, C411S533000, C411S999000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06419279
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Not applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to mechanical joints that connect two pipe ends together. More particularly, the invention relates to threaded rings used to temporarily hold two or more components of any assembly together and then strip away once the components are tightened. Still more particularly, the invention relates to threaded rings used to temporally hold two or more flanges together and then strip away once the pipe ends are tightened.
2. Background of the Invention
In pipeline operations it is often necessary to connect two sections of pipe together that may be at an angle to one another. Pipes that are misaligned are connected together using a joint often referred to as a “misalignment joint” or “misalignment coupling.” A conventional misalignment coupling includes a ball welded or otherwise attached to the end of one of the misaligned pipes and a corresponding socket flange attached to the end of the other pipe. The ball, and the pipe to which the ball connects, is able to rotate and swivel with respect to the socket flange. Both the ball and the socket have bores through their longitudinal axis so that fluid can flow from one pipe through the coupling and into the other pipe. For obvious reasons, such a coupling is also referred to as a “ball joint.” This type of joint may also be termed a “swivel coupling.” The preferred embodiments of the present invention described below represent a substantial improvement to this type of joint regardless of name.
For underwater piping applications, misalignment couplings are used extensively as a result of the elevated costs and difficulties associated with the alignment and assembly of pipe sections under the surface of the sea. The use of misalignment couplings allows sections of pipe that are assembled underwater to have a slackened alignment tolerance with respect to one another.
To assemble underwater piping, specialized and expensive equipment and highly trained divers are utilized. Because of the expenses involved and the limited amount of time that the divers can remain underwater, it is important for sub-sea piping operations to be as fast and simple as possible. One way for valuable underwater time and costs to be saved would be to have misalignment couplings, or ball joints assembled on the surface and sent with the diver underwater as an assembled unit rather than have the diver assemble the components in the water. Assembly on the surface would minimize dive time and its associated expense.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,871 discloses one type of a ball joint that can be pre-assembled at the surface. As shown in
FIG. 1
, which depicts one embodiment of the joint from the patent, the joint connects pipe
12
to pipe
14
and includes a ball and socket swivel system
10
bolted to a standard flange
16
. Swivel system
10
includes a ball portion
18
, a socket flange
20
and a retaining flange
22
. Ball portion
18
is welded to the end of pipe
12
and held in place against socket flange
20
by retainer flange
22
. Standard flange
16
is welded to the end of pipe
14
. Seal components
24
,
26
and
28
help to prevent fluid flowing through the joint from leaking out.
Two separate sets of screws or threaded studs are used to assemble and install the prior art joint of
FIG. 1. A
short set of screws
30
(although not shown in the cutaway view of
FIG. 1
, there are multiple screws
30
) is used to connect socket and retainer flanges
20
and
22
together. Short screws
30
are used simply to hold the ball
18
, socket
20
, and retainer
22
components together with seal members
24
,
26
, and
28
thereby permitting the ball and socket assembly to be pre-assembled. A longer set of threaded studs
32
and corresponding nuts
34
are used to secure the pre-assembled ball and socket swivel system
10
to flange
16
. Accordingly, as an assembly, ball and socket system
10
can be lowered into the ocean and the ball portion
18
can be rotated and swiveled by the diver into the orientation that is necessary to connect the pipe
12
to pipe
14
. Once the orientation of the ball
18
is determined by the diver, the swivel system
10
is locked and secured to flange
16
by tightening studs
32
and nuts
34
.
Although the joint shown in
FIG. 1
may be satisfactory, there is considerable room and need for improvement. For instance, it is generally desirable to lower the complexity of a device which usually will reduce the burden on the manufacturing process, minimize the potential for errors to occur, and lower the manufacturing cost of the device. The joint shown in
FIG. 1
is a fairly complex type of joint. For instance, the joint requires two sets of studs or screws,
32
and
30
, and accordingly, two sets of holes to be drilled through flanges
20
and
22
. One set of holes receives long studs
32
while the other set receives short screws
30
. Anything that will result in a simpler, easier to manufacture joint would thus be highly desirable.
Accordingly, a ball joint is needed that addresses these concerns. Such a joint preferably would be simpler than conventional joints and could be manufactured at a lower cost. Despite the advantages such a joint would provide, to date no such joint is known to exist.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The issues noted above are addressed in large part by a swivel coupling that includes a ball, a socket flange, a retainer flange, one set of threaded studs and threaded retaining rings threaded about the studs. The threaded retaining rings function to maintain the ball between the socket and retainer flanges at least until the coupling is installed. The threaded retaining rings advantageously permit a second set of screws necessary in prior art joints and associated bores to be eliminated, reducing manufacturing costs and time.
A first embodiment of the threaded retaining ring includes a single piece construction made from a material that has a yield and shear strength lower than that of the threaded studs to which they are threaded. During final assembly in which the pre-assembled swivel coupling is bolted to a standard flange by tightening nuts on either end of the threaded studs, the threaded rings strip out and remain in the assembly without obstructing the function of the coupling. The threaded rings strip away at a load caused by the tightened nuts that is lower than the load on the threaded studs at final assembly. The material specifications and dimensions of the threaded rings can be adjusted to allow any specified amount of flange pre-load required for any given application.
An alternative embodiment of the threaded retaining rings includes a two-piece threaded ring having distinct inner threaded and hardened outer portions. The materials of the two piece construction preferably are selected so that once the inner threaded region strips, the outer portion can be used as a standard washer.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1057939 (1913-04-01), Cooper
patent: 1236816 (1917-08-01), Behan
patent: 1917742 (1933-07-01), Tinsley
patent: 2456744 (1948-12-01), Sjoberg
patent: 2519147 (1950-08-01), Miller
patent: 2564938 (1951-08-01), Warren
patent: 2833566 (1958-05-01), Meter et al.
patent: 3178207 (1965-04-01), Fox et al.
patent: 3477748 (1969-11-01), Tinsley
patent: 3746372 (1973-07-01), Hynes et al.
patent: 3860271 (1975-01-01), Rodgers
patent: 3874706 (1975-04-01), Arnold
patent: 4012060 (1977-03-01), Reneau
patent: 4068864 (1978-01-01), Herbert et al.
patent: 4082320 (1978-04-01), Weinhold
patent: 4129306 (1978-12-01), Konno et al.
patent: 4153281 (1979-05-01), Ahlstone
patent: 4180285 (1979-12-01), Reneau
patent: 4195865 (1980-04-01), Martin
patent: 4381871 (1983-05-01), Dopyera et al.
patent: 4486037 (1984-12-01), Shotbolt
patent: 4530526 (1985-07-01), Dopyera et al.
patent: 4640348 (1987-02-01), Roberts
patent: 5368342 (1994-11-01), Latham et al.
patent: 261434 (1912-07-01), None
patent
Browne Lynne H.
Conley & Rose & Tayon P.C.
Harris Jonathan M.
Thompson Kenn
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