Tap and saddle for forming a hinged coupon

摘要

A tap consists of a cutting tube having a first end connected to the drum and a second end extending outwardly from the drum. The second end of the tube has a first cutting tooth extending partially around the end of the tube and projecting outward from the second end of the tube. A tap includes a drum, a handgrip extending from the drum to enable a person to grasp and rotate the drum; and a cutting tube (13) having a first end connected to the drum and a second end extending outwardly from the drum. The second end of the tube has an inlet for passage of a fluid through the tube. The second end of the tube also has a first cutting tooth extending partially around the end of the tube. The first cutting tooth projects outwardly from the second end of the tube so that when the second end of the tube is rotationally driven through a sidewall of a pipe the first cutting tooth partially severs a coupon from the first cutting tooth with the coupon maintained in a hinged out-of-the-way condition. An independent claim is also included for a method of attaching a branch tubing to a main tubing, involving a) cutting a hole partially through a resilient tubing to leave a coupon partially attached to the resilient tubing; and b) extending a cutting tube through the partially cut hole to bend the coupon to an out-of-the-way condition with the partial attachment of the coupon to the resilient tubing forming a living hinge to retain the coupon within the resilient tubing.