Hinged pipe structure

Claim 1

A pipe adapted to be laid in relatively inaccessible locations from a station remote from the location where the pipe is to be laid, comprising: a plurality of pipe sections in pivotal end-to-end relationship to one another; a plurality of hinge means, each one of said hinge means being mounted on adjacent ends of a pair of said pipe sections to permit adjacent ones of said pipe sections to pivot relative to one another about an axis which is substantially perpendicular to a plane containing the longitudinal axes of said pipe sections, one of said hinge means being attached to each end of each of said pipe sections, each of said hinge means being positioned on said pipe sections near the outer diameter of said pipe sections to permit the adjacent ends of said pipe sections to pivot between an open position in which said adjacent ends are out of alignment and a closed position in which said adjacent ends abut so that adjacent pipe sections are in alignment, each of said hinge means being positioned on said pipe sections such that said axis of rotation associated with any one pair of adjacent pipe sections will be parallel to said axis of rotation associated with any other pair of adjacent pipe sections, and locking means mounted on said pipe sections between the adjacent ends of adjacent ones of said pipe sections, said locking means being set to remain in an unactuated state when adjacent ones of said pipe sections are pivoted out of alignment, and said locking means being automatically actuated to lock when adjacent ones of said pipe sections are pivoted into alignment, whereby actuation of said locking means secures said pipe sections together in substantially coAxial longitudinal alignment.