ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,496,645, issued on Dec. 16, was assigned to The Charles Machines Works Inc. (Perry, Okla.).
"Pipe slitter" was invented by Walter George Thompson (Janesville, Wis.) and Mark D. Randa (Oconomowoc, Wis.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A pipe slitter assembly for lead pipe. The slitter assembly is configured to be pulled by a cable which is disposed through several of the various components of the assembly. At the lead of the assembly is a slitter, having one and only one blade. The blade has an edge which is oriented at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the cable. The edge is created by two adjoining walls meeting at an included ang...