US Patent 9566653 Pipe slitter

A pipe expander assembly for replacing an existing pipe with a new pipe. The expander assembly has a slitter disposed about a wire rope and abutting an expander at a spherical joint. The expander comprises a cone to expand a slit pipe and is internally connected to the wire rope by jaws that expand and contract about the wire rope due to threading of a jam nut into the cone. A pipe puller is connected to the back of the expander at a clevis and is adapted for connection to a new pipe, either through a jaw system, an adaptor, or fusion to the pipe.