Split coupling

Claim 1

A PIPE COUPLING FOR SPANNING A PIPE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY, SAID COUPLING BEING DIVIDED ALONG LONGITUDINAL EDGES INTO A PLURALITY OF COUPLING MEMBERS, MEANS FOR SECURING SAID COUPLING MEMBERS TOGETHER AT SAID LONGITUDINAL EDGES INTO A SINGLE UNIT SPANNING THE PIPE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY, SAID PIPE COUPLING HAVING A CENTRAL PORTION INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS WITH A CYLINDRICAL INNER WALL OF SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER DIAMETER THAN THE OUTER DIAMETER OF THE PIPE TO DEFINE AN ANNULAR CHAMBER WITHIN THE COUPLING AROUND THE PIPE, SAID COUPLING HAVING REDUCED PORTIONS AT EACH END HAVING A DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THAT OF SAID ANNULAR CHAMBER AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE PIPE THERETHROUGH, THE AXIALLY INNER ENDS OF SAID REDUCED PORTIONS ADJACENT SAID CHAMBER DEFINING AXIALLY SPACED INTERNAL CIRCUMFERENTIAL SHOULDERS, A PAIR OF AXIALLY SPACED DEFORMABLE ARCUATE GASKET ELEMENTS CARRIED BY EACH OF SAID COUPLING MEMBERS AT THE INSIDE THEREOF AT THE AXIALLY INWARD ENDS OF THE SHOULDERS, THE CORRESPONDING ARCUATE GASKET ELEMENTS ON THE COUPLING MEMBERS BEING ALIGNED END TO END WITH EACH OTHER AND FORMING TWO SPACED INTERNAL CIRCUMFERENTIAL GASKETS AT THE INSIDE OF THE COUPLING TO SEAL AGAINST THE SURFACE OF THE PIPE WHEN SAID COUPLING MEMBERS ARE SECURED TOGETHER, FLEXIBLE GIRDERING MEANS FOR EACH CIRCUMFERENTIAL GASKET, MEANS PERMANENTLY AND RIGIDLY SECURING SAID GIRDERING MEANS TO SAID COUPLING AXIALLY OUTWARD FROM THE RESPECTIVE CIRCUMFERENTIAL GASKET, SAID GIRDERING MEANS EXTENDING AXIALLY ONLY PARTIALLY ACROSS THE LATTER''S RADIALLY INWARD FACE AND TERMINATING SHORT OF THE LATTER''S AXIALLY INWARD EDGE AND EXTENDING RADIALLY INWARD BEYOND THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF THE PIPE TO BE COUPLED, EACH SHOULDER AND THE RESPECTIVE GIRDERING MEANS CONFINING THE RESPECTIVE CIRCUMFERENTIAL GASKET AT ITS AXIALLY OUTWARD END AND LEAVING THE AXIALLY INWARD EXTREMITY OF SAID GASKET EXPOSED AT ITS RADIALLY AND AXIALLY INWARD FACE, EACH OF SAID GIRDERING MEANS BEING SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED SO AS TO BE BENDABLE RADIALLY OUTWARD BY ENGAGEMENT OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE PIPE WHEN SAID COUPLING MEMBERS ARE SECURED TOGETHER THEREABOUT TO DEFORM THE EXPOSED EXTREMITY OF THE RESPECTIVE CIRCUMFERENTIAL GASKET INTO TIGHT SEALING ENGAGEMENT AGAINST THE PIPE AND TO TRAP SAID GASKET AGAINST OUTWARD EXTRUSION FROM FLUID PRESSURE IN THE PIPE, EACH OF SAID COUPLING MEMBERS HAVING A RECESS AT THE INSIDE ALONG EACH LONGITUDINAL EDGE BETWEEN SAID ARCUATE GASKET ELEMENTS RADIALLY OUTWARD OF SAID INNER CYLINDRICAL WALL, A DEFORMABLE LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT SEATED IN EACH RECESS AND EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID ARCUATE GASKET ELEMENTS, EACH OF SAID LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENTS HAVING A RADIALLY AND LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SEALING FACE WHICH NORMALLY PROJECTS BEYOND THE RESPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL GIRDERING MEANS RIGIDLY SECURED TO THE INSIDE OF EACH COUPLING MEMBER ADJACENT EACH OF SAID LONGITUDINAL RECESSES AND EXTENDING ONLY PARTIALLY ACROSS THE LATTER''S RADIALLY INWARD SIDE AND TERMINATING SHORT OF THE SEALING FACE OF THE LATTER, LEAVING THE RESPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT EXPOSED AT THE RADIALLY INWARD EXTREMITY OF SEALING FACE AND SPACED RADIALLY FROM THE PIPE WITHIN THE COUPLING, AND A RETAINER FOR EACH LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT AT THE LATTER''S SEALING FACE, EACH RETAINER HAVING A FIRST LEG EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF THE RESPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT FROM THE RADIALLY OUTWARD SIDE THEREOF ONLY PARTIALLY ACROSS THE LATTER''S SEALING FACE AND TERMINATING SHORT OF THE RADIALLY INWARD EXTREMITY OF SAID SEALING FACE, EACH RETAINER HAVING A SECOND LEG EXTENDING LENGTHWISE OF THE RESPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT TRANSVERSELY FROM SAID FIRST LEG ACROSS THE RADIALLY OUTWARD SIDE OF SAID LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT INSIDE THE RECESS WHICH RECEIVES SAID LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT, SAID SECOND LEG ON EACH RETAINER BEING SUBSTANTIALLY SHORTER CIRCUMFERENTIALLY THAN THE NORMAL CIRCUMFERENTIAL THICKNESS OF THE RESPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT AND TERMINATING SHORT OF THE BOTTOM OF THE RESPECTIVE RECESS TO PERMIT THE RETAINER TO MOVE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY INTO THE RECESS AND COMPRESS THE GASKET ELEMENT AS THE COUPLING MEMBERS ARE BROUGHT INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT ALONG THEIR LONGITUDINAL EDGES, SAID SECOND LEG ON EACH RETAINER MEMBER TERMINATING AT EACH LONGITUDINAL END IN INTURNED EXTREMITIES WHICH EXTEND SNUGLY AROUND THE ADJACENT ENDS OF THE RESPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL GASKET ELEMENT.