Other

Richard N Hartley

David L Taylor

Francisco J Martinez

Wiley C Calhoun

Terrell M Keene

Edgar J Flemming

Eugene E Haggard

Wayne M Lucas

Rudy A Lopez

Harry E Sullivan

Arvil B Mason

John A Correa

An element removal tool for use with transmission lines for fluids (such as natural gas) under pressure which permits replacement of the element, in a specific case the axle box which is coupled between a metering chamber and the indexing mechanism in a gas meter, in a fluid transmission system, without shutting off downstream-customer service, the problem of properly seating the axle box in the undergear which drives it, despite slow rotation of the driving mechanism in the metering chamber, being overcome by dual concentric shafts relatively rotatable and slidable with respect to each other, the inner shaft carrying a socket which engages, firmly, the rotatable indexing shaft of the axle box, the outer shaft carrying a socket which is adapted to firmly engage the flange of the axle box for removal and replacement of the axle box, each shaft having at its end remote from its respective socket, a knob for rotating that shaft, the outer shaft passing through and hermetically engaging a stuffing box, connected to such stuffing box being a selectively operable valve for venting gas accumulated during the process of removing a defective axle box from the metering chamber, both inner and outer shafts being retractable into the stuffing box region of the tool so as to permit the closing of a gate valve between the stuffing box region and the base sealing unit of the tool, thus permitting removal of the shafts and the attached defective axle box from the tool and further permitting the replacement of a new axle box on the tool for a re-insertion in the metering chamber, the base sealing unit having transparent walls to assist in the process of orienting the shaft of a new axle box when it is being inserted in the metering chamber.

Element removal tool for system carrying fluid under pressure

To assist in locating an underground or otherwise hidden non-electrically-conducting plastic pipe carrying a fluid such as heating gas a tool is provided which comprises a reel of relatively stiff but flexible locator wire, a hermetically-sealing first bushing through which the locator wire passes and a coupler for engaging a pipe exposed to view but coupled to and communicating for fluid flow with the pipe to be located, such coupler being adapted to receive, in snug fashion, said first bushing and including a packing membrane through which said locator wire passes to further assure no loss of fluid from the pipe being located, said locator terminating at its extremity remote from the reel in a guide member having a shape which may be described as suggestive of an oblate spheroid; i.e., it is symmetrical about an axis aligned with the axis of the locator wire and has an equator from which it tapers downwardly in diameter towards two aligned ends; such guide member being inserted through the exposed pipe and into the pipe to be located, wherein it is pushed by means of the stiff locator wire until the terminus of pipe to be located is reached, whereupon appropriate signals are applied to such wire to permit the detection of the location of such wire and the plastic pipe, by appropriate signal sensing equipment. Alternatively, magnetometer detection equipment may be utilized to locate the locator wire.

Plastic-pipe locator tool

Growing community of inventors

La Mirada, CA, United States of America

Richard N Hartley