Transition joint

Claim 1

A SEALING RING ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN FORMING A SEAL BETWEEN TWO CONDUIT PARTS HAVING END SURFACES PRESENTED TOWARD ONE ANOTHER AND FLARED SEALING SURFACES ADJACENT THE END SURFACES, EACH OF SAID CONDUIT PARTS HAVING DIFFERENT THERMAL EXPANSION CHARACTERISTICS, SAID SEALING RING ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: FIRST AND SECOND SEALING RING MEMBERS EACH HAVING AN INNER ANNULAR FLANGE PORTION DEFINING A CENTRAL BORE AND AN INTEGRAL EXTERNAL BODY PORTION, THE BODY PORTIONS OF SAID RING MEMBERS BEING IN ABUTTING ENGAGEMENT AND THE FLANGE PORTIONS BEING DEFLECTABLE RADIALLY INWARDLY AND EXTENDING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AND BEING TAPERED AWAY FROM THEIR BODY PORTIONS SO AS TO BE ENGAGEABLE WITH THE FLARED SEALING SURFACES ON THE CONDUIT PART, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID FLANGE PORTIONS SEALINGLY ENGAGING ONE OF SAID FLARED SEALING SURFACES SAID RING MEMBERS BEING CONSTRUCTED OF MATERIALS HAVING DIFFERENT THERMAL EXPANSION CHARACTERISTICS; AND A THIN FLEXIBLE SLEEVE DISPOSED WITHIN AND ENGAGING THE WALLS OF THE BORES OF SAID RING MEMBERS, SAID SLEEVE BEING CONSTRUCTED OF A MATERIAL HAVING THE SAME THERMAL EXPANSION CHARACTERISTICS AS ONE OF SAID RING MEMBERS, A CIRCUMFERENTIAL PORTION OF SAID SLEEVE BEING INTEGRALLY SECURED TO SAID ONE RING MEMBER IN LEAK-PROOF RELATIONSHIP, SAID SLEEVE EXTENDING THROUGH THE BORE OF SAID OTHER RING MEMBER AND THEN IN A GENERALLY OPPOSITE DIRECTION SO AS TO OVERLIE A PORTION OF THE TAPERED SURFACE OF THE FLANGE PORTION OF SAID OTHER RING MEMBER SO AS TO BECOME SEALINGLY CLAMPED BETWEEN SAID LAST-NAMED FLANGE AND A FLARED SEALING SURFACE OF ONE OF THE CONDUIT PARTS WHEN SAID RING ASSEMBLY IS PLACED IN ITS OPERATIVE POSITION.