ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 29 -- United States Patent no. 12,209,690, issued on Jan. 28.
"Pipe pulling apparatus" was invented by David Roger Williams (Ripon, Wis.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present invention relates to a pipe puller having a face plate that can be positioned to avoid a sewer pipe when being used to remove pipe made of lead or other material. The pipe pulling apparatus can be used with a machine such as a mini excavator. The pipe pulling apparatus has a mount that attaches it to the machine. The apparatus further has a frame with a top and a bottom. The top is rotatably and lockably connected to the mount with a pin lock. Two legs can be independently secured to the bottom...