Gasket for telescoping joint

Claim 1

AN ANNULAR RESILIENT GASKET FOR A TELESCOPING TUBULAR JOINT ADAPTED TO FIT BETWEEN INNER AND OUTER MEMBERS OF SUCH JOINT TO SEAL AGAINST LEAKAGE THEREBETWEEN AND PROVIDE TWO AXIALLY SPACED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING ZONES OF CENTERING TENDING AT ALL TIMES TO AXIALLY ALIGN THE INNER AND OUTER MEMBERS OF SAID JOINT, BUT RESILIENTLY YIELDABLE THROUGH FLOW OF THE MATERIAL OF THE GASKET TO PERMIT LIMITED MISALIGNMENT WHEN MISALIGNING FORCE EXCEEDING THAT REQUIRED TO CAUSE SUCH FLOW OF GASKET MATERIAL IS APPLIED TO THE JOINT; SAID GASKET COMPRISING, A FLEXIBLE RESILIENT INTEGRAL SLEEVE HAVING ANCHORING MEANS ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID SLEEVE INCLUDING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL BEAD ADAPTED TO ENGAGE A GROOVE IN ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF SAID JOINT AND A RADIALLY PROJECTING CIRCUMFERENTIAL FLANGE ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AN END SURFACE OF SUCH JOINT MEMBER TO ANCHOR THE GASKET AGAINST AXIAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SUCH ONE MEMBER, SAID SLEEVE ALSO COMPRISING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING INTERMEDIATE PORTION BETWEEN SAID ANCHORING MEANS AND THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SLEEVE PROVIDING A ZONE OF A RADIAL THICKNESS LESS THAN THE MINIMUM CLEARANCE EXPECTED BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER MEMBERS OF SAID JOINT AND OF A DIAMETER TO FREELY RECEIVE THE OTHER JOINT MEMBER, AND A CENTERING MEMBER AT EACH OF THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION, EACH COMPRISING AN AXIALLY EXTENDING ZONE OF SUBSTANTIAL WIDTH THROUGHOUT WHICH THE MATERIAL OF THE SLEEVE HAS AN AGGREGATE RADIAL THICKNESS NORMAL TO THE AXIS EXCEEDING THE MAXIMUM EXPECTED CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE MEMBERS OF THE JOINT WITHIN SUCH ZONES, SO THAT WHEN SUCH JOINT IS ASSEMBLED SAID CENTERING MEMBERS WILL PROVIDE SPACED ZONES OF RADIALLY CONTINUOUS RESILIENT MATERIAL SUPPORT IN PLANES NORMAL TO SUCH AXIS BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER JOINT MEMBERS, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CENTERING MEMBERS BEING IMPERFORATE TO PROVIDE A SEAL BETWEEN THE JOINT MEMBERS AND ONE OF SAID CENTERING MEMBERS HAVING A PART IN SUBSTANTIALLY RADIAL ALIGNMENT WITH THE BEAD OF SAID ANCHORING MEANS, AND, WITH SAID SLEEVE AND BEAD, PROVIDING A RADIALLY CONTINUOUS RADIAL SUPPORT AND CLOSURE FOR BRIDGING BETWEEN THE INTERIOR OF SUCH GROOVE AND THE SURFACE OF SAID OTHER MEMBER AND THUS CENTER THE JOINT MEMBERS AND MAINTAIN THE BEAD WITHIN THE GROOVE, AND IS UNDERCUT PART OF THE WAY FROM ITS ENDS CLOSEST TO THE OTHER CENTERING MEMBER, SAID SLEEVE HAVING A TAPERED SURFACE LEADING TO EACH OF SAID CENTERING MEMBERS FROM THE DIRECTION OF THAT END OF THE SLEEVE CLOSEST TO THE ANCHORING MEANS TO FACILITATE THE ENGAGEMENT OF SAID OTHER JOINT MEMBER WITH THE GASKET.