Protective pad and method of using

Claim 2

A protective patch assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein said sheet is extended beyond said other end line and is provided with a transverse sixth slit (19) at said end line, and wherein the extended portion is cut to provide a longitudinal seventh slit (20) extending from said end line to the outer end of said extended portion and at about one-fourth the width of said patch.

Claim 3

A protective patch assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein said slits extend through both said film and said slipsheet and wherein said mastic is cohered at adjacent cut edges over less than all of the cut edge area.

Claim 4

Method of protecting a gas main service line T-connection by covering said connection with a protective patch assembly comprising a rectangularly shaped sheet being cut to provide the following straight slits: a first slit (19) extending transversely from one side edge of said sheet across the width thereof to define a main body and an extended portion of said sheet; a second slit (16) extending from said edge toward one end of said main body at an angle of about 70-75 degrees with said edge and across about one-third the width of said sheet; a corresponding third slit (17) extending from the other side edge and opposite said first slit; a fourth slit (18) on said main body extending from said first slit along the centerline a distance equal to about two-thirds of said width; a fifth slit (14) between said second slit and said one end extending transversely from said one edge about two-thirds across the width of said main body; a sixth slit (15) extending along the centerline of said main body and bisected by said fifth slit, the length of said main body between said fifth and sixth slits and said second and third slits being just sufficient to extend from a gas main to the stem of a said T-conNection affixed thereto; a seventh slit (20) extending across said extended portion and at about one-fourth the width thereof, said method comprising the steps of: pressing the narrower segment of the extended portion over and along the crossmember of said T; pressing and wrapping the main body of said patch around said crossmember, with the stem of said T protruding between the opposing edges of said fifth and sixth slits, and around said gas main with the ends as defined by said first and fourth slits overlapping and covering the exposed edges of said second and third slits; and pressing and wrapping the wider segment of the extended portion around the stem of said T and covering the exposed edges of said fifth and sixth slits.