Claims
- 1. A pipe supporting mandrel comprising:
- a plurality of generally tubular shaped housing assemblies connected in end-to-end relationship, each of said housing assemblies comprising a plurality of segments having a tapered interior surface;
- a plurality of members, each of said members positioned within one of said segmented housing assemblies to engage the tapered surface thereof;
- means for interconnecting said members to position each of said members in substantially the same relative position with respect to its respective segmented housing assembly; and
- means for simultaneously moving said members relative to their respective segmented housing assemblies between a first position wherein said members force said segments outwardly into a pipe supporting position and a second position wherein said members allow said segments to inwardly retract.
- 2. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 1, including
- means for controlling said moving means within a pipe from the exterior of the pipe.
- 3. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 1, including
- a plurality of resilient strips extending longitudinally and connecting to the segments of each of said segmented housing assemblies.
- 4. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 1, wherein
- said interconnecting means is a flexible elongate tension member, and
- said members are mounted in spaced relationship to each other along said elongate tension member.
- 5. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 1, wherein
- said moving means is an actuator including a piston movable within a cylinder and a control valve for alternately directing pressure to the ends of the cylinder and venting the opposite end,
- said piston being connected to said elongate tension member and said cylinder being connected to said segmented housing assemblies.
- 6. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 1, including
- means for urging the segments of each housing assembly inwardly to a retracted position from the pipe supporting position when said members are moved to said second position.
- 7. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 1, wherein said members are spherical.
- 8. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 1, wherein said members are arcuate.
- 9. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 8, wherein each of said arcuate members is a ring.
- 10. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 8, wherein each of said arcuate members comprises a tubular member having a plurality of uniformly dimensioned, radially extending projections mounted thereon.
- 11. A pipe supporting mandrel according to claim 6, wherein said urging means is a garter spring disposed around the exterior of each of said segmented housing assemblies.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part application of my prior copending application Ser. No. 699,666, filed June 25, 1976 and now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
288,498 |
Jan 1971 |
SU |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
699666 |
Jun 1976 |
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