Hydraulic connector actuating apparatus

Claim 1

In a hydraulically actuatable pipe connector for making a connection to a pipe, the combination comprising: a housing arranged for positioning about the outside surface of said pipe to which connection is to be made; said housing having means for forming therein a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinally aligned cylinders; means supported by said housing and axially spaced from the ends of said cylinders for gripping said pipe upon actuation thereof in response to an axial force applied thereto; at least two individually discrete co-axially aligned and axially separable pistons slidably mounted in each of said cylinders, such that said two pistons have two axially proximate ends and two axially spaced apart ends, with at least one of each of said two pistions being positioned to provide axial actuation force to said gripping means; first pressurized fluid conduit means provided in said housing for communicating with that one end of said axially spaced apart ends of each of said two pistons which is spaced farthest from said gripping means; second pressurized conduit means communicating with said proximate ends of each of said two pistons; and means positioned between each of said pistions and the cylinder in which each is mounted for forming a pressure tight seal therewith; whereby initial application of pressurized fluid to one of said conduit means urges at least one of each of said two pistons axially to thereby provide said actuation force to said gripping means, and subsequent application of pressurized fluid to said other conduit means purges the initial actuating fluid from said cylinders while maintaining said gripping means in the actuated position.