Seal for a joint or juncture – Seal between fixed parts or static contact against... – Contact seal for a pipe – conduit – or cable
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-22
2001-04-17
Dayoan, B. (Department: 3628)
Seal for a joint or juncture
Seal between fixed parts or static contact against...
Contact seal for a pipe, conduit, or cable
C277S616000, C174S068300, C174S15300A
Reexamination Certificate
active
06217032
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to sealing devices comprising several seals having different radii of curvature, which have to be placed next to one another to ensure the continuity of the external surface of a region that it is wished to protect against infiltration by liquids or dust.
The invention applies, in particular, to devices for connecting electric or optical cables in which the connection area is protected by a tight enclosure which can, when it is wished to change the way in which the cables are connected, be opened and then re-closed.
Such a cable connecting device is the object of a patent application filed by the same applicant as in the case of the present invention. It includes a box having at least two parts separated by a flat seal disposed on the periphery of the box, but interrupted in the area of the input/output ports, each of these ports taking the form of facing cut out portions on the said parts of the box and being filled by a through seal. The latter enclose each cable in a sleeve, preferably of elastomer and preferably essentially cylindrical in shape, pierced by a number of longitudinal through holes provided for an equal number of cables using the input/output port in question. For the sake of tightness, the through seal radially compresses the cables when the box is reclosed.
In such devices, it has been noted that sealing defects could occur in the area of the cross-over between each round through seal and the flat peripheral seal.
To solve this problem, it has been suggested to provide the round seal with longitudinal grooves, into which the edges of the flat seal would be inserted. As the round seal is compressed when the connecting box is closed, there was reason to hope that the compression of the flat seal edge in the groove would ensure satisfactory tightness. This was unfortunately found not to be the case, with infiltration occurring in the area of the edges of the groove.
It is perfectly clear that the problem in question is posed not only in the technical field of cable connections, but quite generally in any technical design necessitating contiguous seals with different radii of curvature.
The solution provided by the present invention to improve the tightness afforded by the said seals is to transfer their interface entirely into the plane of the planar seal. For this purpose, a flat lug, moulded in one piece with the planar seal, projects on either side of the round seal in the area of the planar seal. Each of these lugs fits into a cut out portion of matching shape provided in the planar seal, after the fashion of a jigsaw puzzle. As the adjoining edges are thus located entirely in the plane of the seal, the present invention has solved the problem of defective sealing owing to the cross-over between a round surface and a plane surface.
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patent: 4851611 (1989-07-01), De Concini et al.
patent: 4988831 (1991-01-01), Wilson et al.
patent: 5170017 (1992-12-01), Stanevich et al.
patent: 5245131 (1993-09-01), Golden et al.
patent: 6143983 (2000-11-01), Burton et al.
patent: 2758400 (1998-07-01), None
patent: 0695900 (1996-02-01), None
patent: WO 96/19024 (1996-06-01), None
Cables Pirelli
Dayoan B.
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Santos Robert G.
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