Abstract: A pipe sealing gasket is shown which is designed to be received within a raceway provided within the female, belled end of a section of plastic pipe which is assembled with a mating male pipe end to form a plastic pipe joint. The gasket is a two-component gasket having a softer, elastomeric portion and a harder, plastic ring portion. A splicing technique is used to form the softer, elastomeric portion with the harder, plastic portion being injection molded over the previously formed elastomeric portion.

Abstract: A pipe belling process where a heated thermoplastic pipe end is forced over a sealing gasket on a forming mandrel, with the pipe being subsequently cooled to retain the gasket in an internal groove simultaneously formed in the pipe end. The sealing gasket is a two-component gasket with an elastic component and a plastic component. The elastic component is stretched over a portion of the plastic component during assembly with the plastic component acting as a belling ramp for the gasket during the subsequent pipe belling operation.

Abstract: A pipe sealing gasket is shown which is designed to be received within a raceway provided within the female, belled end of a section of plastic pipe which is assembled with a mating male pipe end to form a plastic pipe joint. The gasket is a two-component gasket having a softer, elastomeric portion and a harder, plastic ring portion. A splicing technique is used to form the softer, elastomeric portion with the harder, plastic portion being injection molded over the previously formed elastomeric portion.

Abstract: A cap assembly is shown for a right of way line marker which includes a cap body with a conical exterior and an end opening. A mounting assembly including a lower, stationary disk and an upper, sliding disk are received within the end opening of the cap body. The lower disk has a T-shaped aperture therein for receiving an upper exposed end of a T-shaped vertical support member. The upper sliding disk is positionable within the cap open interior upon contact with the upper end of the support member to thereby securely mount the cap assembly about the right of way line marker.

Abstract: A pipeline sphere is shown which houses an electronics package. The sphere is formed as a hollow elastomeric body having a predetermined wall thickness and an initially void interior. A carrier tube is positioned within the initially void interior of the sphere and is supported by oppositely arranged carrier plates which are themselves embedded within oppositely arranged end openings of the sphere. A removable inflation valve is contained in one of the valve plates at a first end of the carrier tube. The carrier tube has a plurality of apertures formed through its wall to enable inflating or deflating the sphere. One electronics package that can be used is an electrical tracking device.

Abstract: A cap assembly is shown for a right of way line marker which includes a cap body with a conical exterior and an end opening. A mounting assembly including a lower, stationary disk and an upper, sliding disk are received within the end opening of the cap body. The lower disk has a T-shaped aperture therein for receiving an upper exposed end of a T-shaped vertical support member. The upper sliding disk is positionable within the cap open interior upon contact with the upper end of the support member to thereby securely mount the cap assembly about the right of way line marker.

Abstract: A method is shown for manufacturing a hardened gripping element for a sealing and restraint system used for forming a pipe joint in a fluid pipeline. Instead of machining the gripping elements used in the system from a metal stock, a special series of metal injection molding steps are utilized. A metal polymer composite mix is first formed having a metal particulate phase and a polymer phase. A green metal composite article is formed by either extruding the composite mix or molding the composite mix into a metal polymer composite article having at least one gripping surface having a plurality of gripping teeth. The composite article is subjected to thermal debinding and sintering to produce a finished or near finished hardened gripping element.

Abstract: A pipe sealing gasket is shown which is designed to be received within a raceway provided within the female, belled end of a section of plastic pipe which is assembled with a mating male pipe end to form a plastic pipe joint. The gasket is a two-component gasket having a softer, elastomeric portion and a harder, plastic ring portion. A splicing technique is used to form the softer, elastomeric portion with the harder, plastic portion being injection molded over the previously formed elastomeric portion.

Abstract: A pipeline sphere is shown which houses an electronics package. The sphere is formed as a hollow elastomeric body having a predetermined wall thickness and an initially void interior. A carrier tube is positioned within the initially void interior of the sphere and is supported by oppositely arranged carrier plates which are themselves embedded within oppositely arranged end openings of the sphere. A removable inflation valve is contained in one of the valve plates at a first end of the carrier tube. The carrier tube has a plurality of apertures formed through its wall to enable inflating or deflating the sphere. One electronics package that can be used is an electrical tracking device.

Abstract: A pipe joining system and pipe joint are shown m which two sections of molecularly oriented pipe are joined using heat shrinking techniques. A first section of pipe is provided having a straight, pre-formed socket with an internal diameter and with an end opening having enough clearance to allow a mating spigot section having a given external diameter to be inserted into the socket end opening. After the spigot end is inserted to a given depth, the socket is heated sufficiently so that the internal diameter of the socket end comes into contact with the external diameter of the spigot end, the molecularly oriented pipe being in a rubbery state and exhibiting a low elastic modulus which allows the socket end to conform tightly to the spigot end external diameter without deforming the spigot end.

Abstract: A sealing gasket is shown which is used to seal the belled end opening of a female ductile iron pipe to a mating male pipe having an interior surface and an exterior surface. The sealing gasket has an annular gasket body made of a resilient elastomeric material which is bonded to a hard plastic reinforcing band. The annular gasket body is installed within a raceway provided in the mouth region of the female ductile iron pipe so that an outer circumferential region forms a seal with the female pipe mouth region and an inner circumferential region forms a sealing surface for the exterior surface of the mating male pipe. The reinforcing band has a circumferential body which is made of a synthetic polymer which has a greater hardness than the elastomeric material of the remainder of the gasket body.

Abstract: A pipe joining system and pipe joint are shown in which two sections of plastic pipe, particularly molecularly oriented pipe, are joined. A ring-shaped elastomeric body is installed within a mating groove provided in a mouth region of female pipe section. The ring-shaped body is formed of an injection molded elastomeric material which is joined to a series of arcuate gripping segments which have teeth on an inner surface thereof which are designed to engage an outer surface of a mating male pipe section to restrain movement of the male pipe after assembly of a pipe joint. The gripping segments are separated by a gap which is open prior to assembly, but which closes during assembly. Each of the segments also has a positive stop feature to prevent over travel of the male pipe section relative to the female pipe section.

Abstract: A pipeline sphere is shown which houses an electronics package. The sphere is formed as a hollow elastomeric body having a predetermined wall thickness and an initially void interior. A carrier tube is positioned within the initially void interior of the sphere and is supported by oppositely arranged carrier plates which are themselves embedded within oppositely arranged end openings of the sphere. A removable inflation valve is contained in one of the valve plates at a first end of the carrier tube. The carrier tube has a plurality of apertures formed through its wall to enable inflating or deflating the sphere. One electronics package that can be used is an electrical tracking device.

Abstract: A pipe sealing gasket is shown which is designed to be received within a raceway provided within the female, belled end of a section of plastic pipe which is assembled with a mating male pipe end to form a plastic pipe joint. The gasket is made up of a hard plastic band having an outer circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface, and two separated elastomer portions. A first of the separated elastomer portions forms an outer ring which circumscribes the outer circumferential surface of the hard plastic band. The second of the separated elastomer portions forms an inner lip which circumscribes the inner circumferential surface of the hard plastic band. The two separate elastomer portions are connected during the gasket molding operation by a series of spaced ribs which form a continuous body of elastomer connecting the first and second separated elastomer portions at spaced intervals.

Abstract: A pipe sealing gasket is shown which is designed to be received within a raceway provided within the female, belled end of a section of plastic pipe which is assembled with a mating male pipe end to form a plastic pipe joint. The gasket is made up of a hard plastic band having an outer circumferential surface and an inner circumferential surface, and two separated elastomer portions. A first of the separated elastomer portions forms an outer ring which circumscribes the outer circumferential surface of the hard plastic band. The second of the separated elastomer portions forms an inner lip which circumscribes the inner circumferential surface of the hard plastic band. The two separate elastomer portions are connected during the gasket molding operation by a series of spaced ribs which form a continuous body of elastomer connecting the first and second separated elastomer portions at spaced intervals.

Abstract: A method and sealing gasket are shown for providing a sealing joint between a spigot section and a socket section of low pressure plastic pipe, such as drain waste vent pipe that require a minimum of tools and operational steps to complete. The sealing gasket is installed in one of the sections to be joined and the spigot section is inserted within a mouth opening of the socket section with the sections being pressed together in a single operation, thereby forming both the joint and the seal. The sealing gasket is a composite gasket made with one section of a hard plastic material and one section of a thermoplastic elastomer material. No glue or adhesive is required.

Abstract: A pipeline sphere is shown which houses an electronics package. The sphere is formed as a hollow elastomeric body having a predetermined wall thickness and an initially void interior. A carrier tube is positioned within the initially void interior of the sphere and is supported by oppositely arranged carrier plates which are themselves embedded within oppositely arranged end openings of the sphere. A removable inflation valve is contained in one of the valve plates at a first end of the carrier tube. The carrier tube has a plurality of apertures formed through its wall to enable inflating or deflating the sphere. One electronics package that can be used is an electrical tracking device.

Abstract: A pipe sealing gasket is shown which is designed to be received within a raceway provided within a socket end of a female bell plastic pipe end which is assembled with a mating male pipe end to form a plastic pipe joint. The raceway in the female bell plastic pipe end is preformed during manufacture and the gasket is installed thereafter. The gasket has a rubber body portion which is reinforced by a hard plastic band formed as a series of integral, spaced wedges which are interconnected by a flexible ribbon. The gasket is flexible enough to be flexed and placed in the pipe raceway and yet the hard plastic band acts to prevent extrusion of the gasket during a variety of pressure conditions as well as preventing displacement during field assembly.

Abstract: A pipe joining system and pipe joint are shown in which two sections of plastic pipe, particularly molecularly oriented pipe, are joined. A ring-shaped elastomeric body is installed within a mating groove provided in a mouth region of female pipe section. The ring-shaped body is formed of an injection molded elastomeric material which is joined to a series of arcuate gripping segments which have teeth on an inner surface thereof which are designed to engage an outer surface of a mating male pipe section to restrain movement of the male pipe after assembly of a pipe joint. The gripping segments are separated by a gap which is open prior to assembly, but which closes during assembly. Each of the segments also has a positive stop feature to prevent over travel of the male pipe section relative to the female pipe section.