Pipe coupling

Claim 1

THE COMBINATION OF ELEMENTS AT AN INTERMEDIATE POSITION DURING THE ASSEMBLY OF A FLUID TIGHT SEAL BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE COMPONENTS OF A PIPE JOINT WHEREIN AN ANNULAR RESILIENT GASKET IS COMPRESSED BETWEEN SAID MALE AND FEMALE COMPONENTS IN FULLY ASSEMBLED RELATION TO FORM SAID FLUID TIGHT SEAL, COMPRISING, MALE AND FEMALE COMPONENTS FOR SAID PIPE JOINT, ONE OF SAID COMPONENTS HAVING A TAPERED CIRCUMFERENCE ADJACENT AN END THEREOF; AN ANNULAR RESILIENT GASKET CARRIED BY THE OTHER OF SAID COMPONENTS, SAID ANNULAR RESILIENT GASKET HAVING A FREE PERIPHERAL SURFACE ADAPTED TO CONTACT SAID TAPERED CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID ONE COMPONENT, SAID PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF SAID ANNULAR RESILIENT GASKET HAVING AT LEAST TWO DISTINCT ANNULAR RIDGES DEFINING AN IMAGINARY FRUSTOCONICAL SURFACE HAVING A TAPER WHEN IN POSITION ON SAID OTHER OF SAID COMPONENTS, SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDING WITH THE TAPER OF SAID TAPERED CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID ONE COMPONENT, SAID MALE AND FEMALE COMPONENTS AND SAID ANNULAR RESILIENT GASKET AT SAID INTERMEDIATE POSITION FORMING A STRUCTURE WHEREIN AT LEAST SAID TWO ANNULAR RIDGES ARE INITIALLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY CONTACTED BY SAID TAPERED CIRCUMFERENCE WHILE SAID PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF SAID ANNULAR RESILIENT GASKET IS SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF CONTACT WITH SAID TAPERED CIRCUMFERENCE, EXCEPT FOR SAID RIDGE CONTACT THEREWITH.