Pipe joints or couplings – With means blocking release of holding means
Patent
1993-03-19
1995-04-25
Arola, Dave W.
Pipe joints or couplings
With means blocking release of holding means
285319, 285320, 285381, 285423, 29447, F16L 3500
Patent
active
054092680
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a coupler for joining elongate substrates, especially pipes, more especially polymeric pipes.
There are a number of different methods for joining polymeric pipes known in the field. These fall into various categories, for example mechanical couplers, adhesive couplings, direct welding or fusion of the pipes eg by mirror welding or butt fusion, and the use of heat-recoverable polymeric and metallic coupling sleeves.
A recoverable coupling sleeve is a coupling sleeve whose dimensional configuration may be made to change when subjected to an appropriate treatment. Usually these coupling sleeves recover towards an original shape from which they have previously been deformed, but the term "recoverable" also includes an article which adopts a new configuration even if it has not been previously deformed. The coupler is typically heat recoverable, so that its dimensional configuration may be made to change when subjected to heat treatment. Usually the coupler is radially heat shrinkable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,576 to Lupke is an example of a patent which describes a heat shrinkable polymeric coupling sleeve. In that patent the sleeve is shrunk into frictional engagement with two pipe ends. U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,694 to Stewing is similar describing a heat shrinkable resin sleeve used in conjunction with adhesive to join two pipes.
GB 1327442 describes a heat-shrinkable memory metal coupler sleeve. Memory metals exhibit useful dimensional changes during phase transformations, and hence can be used to make recoverable articles. The coupler exemplified has teeth on its inner surface which preferably partially deform the tubes to be joined to make the coupling.
Particular problems are encountered with couplers for elongate substrates for particular applications where a slim outer profile is desirable. For example where a hollow feedthrough is to be provided, eg for a duct in a wall, it is often desirable to provide the feedthrough from joined tubular lengths, rather than from one long tubular member. The outer diameter of the feedthrough is typically only slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the duct, so this means that bulky couplers can not be used. Also for feedthrough applications the joined tubular lengths will be subject to a tensile stress as the feedthrough is pulled through the duct. Thus the coupler must not only be slim, but must also be capable of withstanding high tensile stresses.
We have discovered a new coupler and method of joining a polymeric elongate substrate to another substrate, particularly for joining lengths of a feedthrough to each other. The coupler provides a slim connection and is provided with a penetrating member which preferably with the addition of heat, penetrates the outer surface of the polymeric elongate substrate, to provide tensile strength.
According, a first aspect of the invention provides a coupler for joining a polymeric elonagate substrate to another substrate, comprising: can move from a rest position to a working position wherein, in the working position, a portion of the penetrating member passes through the aperture and penetrates the surface of the elongate substrate.
A second aspect of the invention provides a method of joining a polymeric elongate substrate to another substrate comprising end of the elongate substrate and position.
The portion of the penetrating member which penetrates the surface of the substrate is preferably, but not necessarily, an end portion.
Preferably the coupler of the invention is used to join two polymeric elongate substrates, for example two sections of a feedthrough, in an end to end configuration. In this case the tubular element preferably comprises at least two longitudinally spaced apertures which can be arranged in used to overlie respective elongate substrates. A penetrating member is therefore needed for each aperture stop. Thus either a single penetrating member is used having two end portions each of which is arranged to pass through respective apertures, and having an intermediate part of the penetra
REFERENCES:
patent: 442837 (1890-12-01), Ward
patent: 937437 (1909-10-01), Halstad et al.
patent: 2336656 (1943-12-01), Van Uum
patent: 4711472 (1987-12-01), Schnell
patent: 4743079 (1988-05-01), Bloch
patent: 4834423 (1989-05-01), DeLand
patent: 4944537 (1990-07-01), Usui et al.
Arola Dave W.
Burkard Herbert G.
N.V. Raychem S.A.
Zahrt II William D.
Zavell A. Stephen
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