Apparatus for everting a tube
US5358359A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 30, 1993 |
| Grant date | Oct 25, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16L55/18
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
In a tube eversion apparatus having a chamber in which eversion pressure is produced, that pressure is controllably sealed by providing curtain means communicating with the chamber through which the eversion tube slides and by providing inflatable means, preferably one on each side of the curtain means, which when inflated is caused to press against the curtain means, thereby to press the curtain means against the eversion tube sliding therethrough so as to produce the seal which maintains the eversion pressure in the chamber. A pair of sets of such inflatable means may be mounted on the apparatus one above the other with the individual sets of inflatable means being individually controlled, thus producing not only redundancy of the sealing means but also permitting enlarged or discontinuous portions of the eversion tube assembly to pass through the sealing means without interfering with the seal produced thereby. The inflatable means are mounted on the apparatus in an exposed position, facilitating repair and replacement.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.