Pipe line laying apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR REELING AND UNREELING RELATIVELY INFLEXIBLE METAL PIPE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL REEL ROTATABLE ABOUT ITS AXIS, AND HAVING AN OUTER SURFACE ON WHICH PIPE MAY BE WOUND, MEANS FOR ROTATING THE REEL TO WIND PIPE ON SAID OUTER SURFACE THEREOF, MEANS MOUNTED NEAR THE REEL HAVING A PIPE PASSAGE THERETHROUGH WHEREIN THE OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF SAID PASSAGE ARE SO ALIGNED THAT A STRAIGHT LINE THROUGH THE END PORTION IS SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENT TO THE SURFACE OF THE REEL, SAID MEANS BEING OPERATIVE TO BEND THE PIPE AS IT PASSES THROUGH SAID PASSAGE AND BEFORE IT IS WOUND ON THE REEL IN A DIRECTION SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO ITS LENGTH AND PARALLEL TO A RADIUS DRAWN FROM THE REEL CENTER PERPENDICULAR TO SAID STRAIGHT LINE, WHEREBY PIPE FED THROUGH SAID BENDING MEANS MAY BE PRE-BENT INTO A CURVILINEAR SHAPE PRIOR TO WINDING ON THE REEL, AND SAID BENDING MEANS ALSO BEING OPERATIVE TO BEND THE PIPE OPPOSITELY TO SAID DIRECT DURING THE UNREELING OPERATION TO REMOVE SAID CURVILINEAR SHAPE THEREFROM AND TO PROJECT SAID PIPE IN A RECTILINEAR CONFIGURATION ALIGNED WITH SAID STRAIGHT LINE.