CHAMBER FOR PERFORMING REPAIR JOBS IN BOGS Russian patent published in 1999 - IPC

FIELD: repair of pipe lines laid in bogs and shallow waters. SUBSTANCE: hermetic chamber has detachable housing made in form of two jaws which are opened and closed by means of hydraulic cylinders. Jaws are connected by means of hinges whose axle are connected by means of rods and brackets. Upper ends of rods are fastened to cross-member; brackets hold uprights with mechanisms for motion of chamber relative to uprights, rods with stops, pipe catchers and rod motion mechanism. Longitudinal joint of chamber housing and its end walls are provided with cutting edges and sealing members. Bottoms of jaws are round-off at radius equal to distance between hinge of jaws and joint of bottom. Chamber is provided with sinking devices. Chamber is oriented relative to pipe line by means of catchers; uprights are lowered and chamber is raised relative to uprights. Jaws are opened by means of hydraulic cylinders and chamber is lowered till brackets get in contact with stops engageable with pipe line. Then jaws are closed and their cutting edges catch soil till their closing. Pipe line passes through holes in end walls of jaws whose sealing members ensure tightness of chamber. Soil is removed from chamber, thus giving access to pipe line for its repair. EFFECT: enhanced reliability of repair jobs. 2 cl, 9 dwg