Seal for a joint or juncture – Seal between fixed parts or static contact against... – Contact seal for a pipe – conduit – or cable
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-10
2001-10-02
Sandy, Robert J. (Department: 3626)
Seal for a joint or juncture
Seal between fixed parts or static contact against...
Contact seal for a pipe, conduit, or cable
C277S910000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296256
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an airtight adapter to be set to airtight units (including a vessel, equipment, or structure) and its replacing method.
As the airtight unit requiring airtightness, there are a device for handling, for example, nuclear fuel substance, radiation substance, toxic substance, chemicals causing a violent reaction, or specific bacteria or cell and a device for isolating water or a vacuum portion.
Particularly, to perform various tests or gene manipulations by bringing a nuclear fuel substance or radiation substance, toxic substance, chemicals causing a violent reaction, or specific bacteria or cell into the airtight units, it is necessary to strictly prevent the substance, bacteria, or cell from leaking or splashing to the outside.
As an airtight unit meeting the above requirements, a glove box, for example, is well known.
FIG. 8
shows an example of the glove box.
In the case of the glove box
1
, an operator observes the inside through an inspection window while bringing a test object such as a nuclear fuel substance or radiation substance inside and illuminating the object with previously-equipped various illumination means
2
,
3
and
4
, and performs predetermined tests by putting his hand into a retractable glove which is kept in an airtight state from the inside or by operating various testing equipments
5
with a robot hand.
The illumination means
2
uses, for example, a conventional fluorescent lamp. In this case, electric power is supplied to the means
2
from an external power supply
6
through an external cable
9
a
(electrical wire), an airtight adapter
40
disposed in the wall surface la of the glove box
1
, and an internal cable
9
b
. Electric power is also supplied to the internal testing equipments
5
in the same manner. Moreover, control signals and data are transferred between the testing equipments
5
and an external unit
7
through an external cable
10
a
such as a signal line or optical cable and an internal cable
10
b
also provided through the airtight adapter
40
.
Moreover, the illumination means
3
and
4
are used to directly take illumination light into the glove box
1
from an external light source
8
through a light guide (light transmission means)
11
a
. The illumination means
3
directly illuminates an object from the bottom end of the airtight adapter
40
disposed in the wall surface la of the glove box
1
, while the illumination means
4
concentrically illuminates the hand of an operator by further connecting a light guide
11
b
constituted with a fiber bundle which can be freely moved to the bottom end of the airtight adapter
40
.
The glove box
1
uses an airtight adapter
40
shown below. For example, the airtight adapter
40
A shown in
FIG. 9
is constituted by directly fixing a cylindrical adapter body portion
12
to the wall surface
1
a
of the glove box
1
through welding or the like, putting a glass rod (a transparent resin rod may be also used)
15
a
in the cylinder as light transmission means and also setting annular grooves
13
and
13
to two places at the inner surface of the cylinder, putting O-rings
14
and
14
in the grooves to keep airtightness, and connecting light guides
11
a
and
11
b
to the both ends of the glass rod
15
a
. In the case of the illumination means
3
of directly illuminating an object from the bottom end of the airtight adapter
40
A, it is necessary to merely extend the glass rod
15
a
slightly into the glove box
1
.
Moreover, another type of airtight adapter keeps airtightness by directly fixing the cylindrical adapter body portion
12
to the wall surface la of the glove box
1
through welding or the like, passing a cable such as a power supply line or signal line through the cylinder instead of the glass rod serving as the light transmission means in
FIG. 9
, and filling the cylinder with a filler such as a resin.
Still another type of airtight adapter is constituted with a cylindrical adapter body having a collar-shaped flange, and fixed to the wall surface
1
a
of the glove box
1
by a fixture such as a screw through the flange and moreover, a connection port connecting with the light guides
11
a
and
11
b
is formed on the inside of the both ends of the cylinder. Furthermore, the glass rod
15
a
contacting with the ends of the light guides
11
a
and
11
b
is inserted into the cylinder in an airtight manner through two O-rings
14
and
14
set to two annular grooves formed at the inner surface of the cylinder. Furthermore, an O-ring for sealing is positioned between the wall surface
1
a
and the flange.
Still another type of airtight adapter is constituted with a cylindrical adapter body having a collar-shaped flange, and fixed to the wall surface
1
a
of the glove box
1
by a fixture such as a screw through the flange and moreover, a cable such as a power supply line or signal line is passed through the inside of the both ends of the cylinder, and the cylinder is filled with a filler such as a resin to keep airtightness.
Furthermore, even in the case of an inspection window formed when the glove box
1
is made of an opaque material such as a metal, the inspection window is constituted with a type of airtight adapter structure. In this case, a sealing member such as a packing is fitted to the margin of a transparent body serving as a window glass, the member is brought into contact with the wall surface la of the glove box
1
together with a pressing frame and fitted to the opening of an inspection window portion of the glove box wall surface and the pressing frame is fixed by a fixture such as a screw.
However, the above airtight adapters have a problem that the initial light transmission characteristic cannot be obtained if an end face of the glass rod
15
a
is scratched when the light guides
11
a
and
11
b
are set or chemicals or chemical products are attached to the internal end face due to a chemical reaction in a glove box or splash of chemicals or chemical products under operation, because replacement of these adapters are not originally intended. Moreover, there is a problem that a filler through which a cable is passed or the cable itself is deteriorated as time passes due to a chemical reaction or splash of chemicals or chemical products in a glove box.
Particularly when cables are used, it is necessary to increase the number of cables or number of cable cores and correspond to the increase of cables or cable cores. Moreover, a transparent inspection window has a problem that it is contaminated or damaged as time passes.
In this case, because the above conventional airtight adapters are fixed-type and replacement of them is not intended as described above, it is impossible to correspond to the problems, the glove box itself may be disused, and therefore, the adapters are wasteful.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made to solve the above-described problems and its object is to provide an airtight adapter that can be replaced by a relatively simple operation and its replacing method for an airtight unit requiring airtightness like a glove box.
According to the present invention, there is provided an airtight adapter to be set to an airtight unit requiring airtightness, comprising: an outer-cylinder adapter body fixed to an airtight boundary of the airtight unit in an airtight manner; an internal adapter body inserted into and fitted in the cylinder of the outer-cylinder adapter in an airtight replaceable manner; and an annular sealing member positioned between the outer periphery of the internal adapter body and the inner periphery of the outer-cylinder adapter body.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the airtight adapter is provided with at least two annular sealing members comprising an inside sealing member and an outside sealing member; the internal adapter body extends from the outside to the inside of the airtight unit; and a relation of a>b+c is accomplished assuming the length of the outer-cylinder adapter body as “a”, the clearanc
Endo Kazunobu
Kato Yoshiyuki
Kurita Tsutomu
Toriya Tomoaki
Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute
Sandy Robert J.
Schwing Karlena D.
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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