Patents by Inventor Brent Keil
Brent Keil has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
-
Patent number: 12215817Abstract: A pipe joint has a first pipe having an end portion and a first pipe wall thickness, and a second pipe having an end portion. The end portion of the first pipe is welded to the end portion of the second pipe to seal the joint between the first pipe and the second pipe. The first pipe has an outwardly-extending, buckle-inducing deformation that is spaced apart from the pipe joint. A crest height of the deformation is 500% or less of the first pipe wall thickness.Type: GrantFiled: May 1, 2020Date of Patent: February 4, 2025Assignee: Northwest Pipe CompanyInventors: Brent Keil, Spyridon Karamanos
-
Publication number: 20210041053Abstract: A pipe joint has a first pipe having an end portion and a first pipe wall thickness, and a second pipe having an end portion. The end portion of the first pipe is welded to the end portion of the second pipe to seal the joint between the first pipe and the second pipe. The first pipe has an outwardly-extending, buckle-inducing deformation that is spaced apart from the pipe joint. A crest height of the deformation is 500% or less of the first pipe wall thickness.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 1, 2020Publication date: February 11, 2021Applicant: Northwest Pipe CompanyInventors: Brent Keil, Spyridon Karamanos
-
Patent number: 10823320Abstract: A pipe joint has male and female couplers with interfitting features that join pipe sections together when the male coupler is positioned within the female coupler. The couplers can be separate rings or formed in the ends of lengths of pipe. Typically, a male coupler is at one end of a length of pipe and a female coupler is at the opposite end of the pipe. The interfitting features can include three or more ridges or teeth of a first coupler (a male coupler) and the same number of ridges or teeth of a second coupler (a female coupler) each tooth being positioned in a respective transition region of the coupler. Ramp surfaces of the couplers are positioned at opposite sides of each tooth. The ramp surfaces have respective slopes, and the interfitting features are designed to reduce the forces required to push the couplers together into a locked engagement.Type: GrantFiled: February 8, 2018Date of Patent: November 3, 2020Assignee: Northwest Pipe CompanyInventor: Brent Keil
-
Patent number: 10619778Abstract: A pipe ram joint includes first and second couplers that can comprise rings for mounting to the ends of respective pipes or formed in the ends of these pipes. The first coupler can comprise a female ring with a first tooth adjacent to a distal end thereof and a first groove spaced from the distal end. The second coupler can comprise a male ring with a respect second tooth and second groove. When the pipes are rammed together, the first tooth is positioned in the second groove and the second tooth is positioned in the first groove. The couplers have features that reduce the force required to ram the pipe sections together.Type: GrantFiled: May 8, 2017Date of Patent: April 14, 2020Assignee: Northwest Pipe CompanyInventors: Brent Keil, Frederick Gobler
-
Patent number: 10359137Abstract: A pipe gasket is positioned within a pocket in a socket portion of a first end of a first pipe and the end of a spigot pipe is inserted into the socket with the gasket sealing the gap between the pipes. The gasket in one form comprises a blunt rounded nose portion, a central body portion with an insert embedded therein and a rear sealing portion comprising first and second projections, such as fins, that diverge and respectively engage the first pipe and the second pipe.Type: GrantFiled: May 6, 2016Date of Patent: July 23, 2019Assignee: Northwest Pipe CompanyInventors: Brent Keil, Bruce VanderPloeg, Guido Quesada
-
Publication number: 20170321834Abstract: A pipe ram joint includes first and second couplers that can comprise rings for mounting to the ends of respective pipes or formed in the ends of these pipes. The first coupler can comprise a female ring with a first tooth adjacent to a distal end thereof and a first groove spaced from the distal end. The second coupler can comprise a male ring with a respect second tooth and second groove. When the pipes are rammed together, the first tooth is positioned in the second groove and the second tooth is positioned in the first groove. The couplers have features that reduce the force required to ram the pipe sections together.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 8, 2017Publication date: November 9, 2017Applicant: Northwest Pipe CompanyInventors: Brent Keil, Fritz Gobler
-
Patent number: RE50368Abstract: A pipe joint has male and female couplers with interfitting features that join pipe sections together when the male coupler is positioned within the female coupler. The couplers can be separate rings or formed in the ends of lengths of pipe. Typically, a male coupler is at one end of a length of pipe and a female coupler is at the opposite end of the pipe. The interfitting features can include three or more ridges or teeth of a first coupler (a male coupler) and the same number of ridges or teeth of a second coupler (a female coupler) each tooth being positioned in a respective transition region of the coupler. Ramp surfaces of the couplers are positioned at opposite sides of each tooth. The ramp surfaces have respective slopes, and the interfitting features are designed to reduce the forces required to push the couplers together into a locked engagement.Type: GrantFiled: May 17, 2022Date of Patent: April 8, 2025Assignee: Northwest Pipe CompanyInventor: Brent Keil