ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 23 -- United States Patent no. 12,422,069, issued on Sept. 23, was assigned to VICTAULIC COMPANY (Easton, Pa.).
"Valve and coupling" was invented by Steven A. Wortmann (Slatington, Pa.) and Douglas R. Dole (Whitehouse Station, N.J.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A valve and coupling for joining pipe elements has a valve body captured in a central space defined by a plurality of coupling segments attached to one another end to end. The inner surface of the valve body defines a bore. A liner on the inner surface surrounds the bore and forms a seal with a valve closing member. Circumferentially arranged projections on the segments engage and center the valve body within th...