Optical waveguides – Accessories – Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-09
2001-03-13
Lee, John D. (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
Accessories
Splice box and surplus fiber storage/trays/organizers/ carriers
C439S271000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06201922
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to sealed equipment boxes to which cables are connected, in particular electrical and/or optical telecommunications cables, and more particularly it relates to splice boxes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a commonly-used form, such boxes are made up of at least two portions, one of which is, for example, a hollow body which receives at least one cable, optionally in through manner, and which houses equipment. A second portion, e.g. constituting a lid, is positioned over an access opening provided in the first portion so as to close off said opening in sealed manner. It is known that a gasket of linear appearance, optionally an endless gasket, e.g. a gasket made of an elastomer material, can be placed in the zone in which the second portion comes into abutment against the first portion, at the edge of the opening. In a conventional form, a peripheral groove for receiving a linear gasket extends around the edge of the opening of the first portion, a complementary rib provided on the second portion coming into position facing the groove so as to compress the gasket when the second portion is put in place. The second portion compressing the gasket guarantees that the box is sealed at the zone of the first portion that surrounds the opening. Naturally, the positions of the groove and of the rib may be inverted, and grooves and ribs may be combined as a function of particular needs for the purpose of obtaining good sealing.
A cable penetrating into a sealed box, as described above, involves implementing special means if the sealing of the box is to be preserved. It is known that stuffing-type means can be used in an orifice through which a cable passes and which is provided in a wall of one portion of the box, e.g. in the form of a circular hole. Unfortunately, that involves threading the cable through the orifice, which is sometimes impractical, in particular when the cable passes through the box. To avoid that drawback, it is known that provision can be made to pass a cable through a slot which opens out at the edge of an opening.
Document EP-A-695 600 discloses a cable access provided in a gasket zone between two portions that are recessed in complementary manner for this purpose. The sealing means relating to that access essentially comprise a cable clamp surrounding the cable, a gasket of cylindrical appearance through which the cable passes, and a gasket-pressing member, of the washer type. The washer is placed on the other side of the gasket from the cable clamp, and it presses the gasket against a complementary wall of a neck provided at the facing recesses in the two box portions when those portions are suitably assembled together, and when the presser member exerts pressure parallel to the axis of the cable from the cable clamp.
The means proposed in that document suffer from the drawback of requiring a relatively large number of separate parts, and of involving a relatively difficult fitting stage. In addition, the required sealing can be difficult to obtain, in particular when fins are present on the cylindrical gasket, and in particular when it is necessary to fit the sealing means on a box already installed in situ.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention thus provides a sealed equipment box, in particular a splice box, including a first portion having an opening which is closed off in sealed manner by a second portion with which at least one linear gasket is associated, which linear gasket is positioned between the portions in a zone of the first portion against which the second portion abuts at the edge of the opening, and also at least one insertion slot for receiving an electrical and/or optical cable, opening out in the first portion at said edge in the abutment zone against which the second portion abuts, through which zone the linear gasket passes, the slot enabling the cable to be inserted transversely, without any threading being necessary, into the first portion of the box when said box is open.
According to a characteristic of the invention, the first portion of the box carries a sealing neck positioned at an insertion slot so that the neck surrounds said slot except in the direction in which the slot opens out at the edge of the opening, and where said neck is provided with a longitudinal slot enabling the cable to be inserted into it transversely. The neck receives a sealing member, referred to as the “neck gasket”, formed by a sleeve, one end of which is provided with a laterally projecting element that is placed at the edge of the opening and in an insertion slot so as to guarantee that the box is sealed at this level by providing continuity for the abutment zone for the linear gasket, when the sleeve as positioned around the cable is pushed into the neck, against the inside wall of which the sleeve abuts in sealed manner under the action of a presser device which is mounted at the end of the neck so as to compress simultaneously the sleeve in the neck and a cable gasket in an axial cavity in the sleeve, said cable gasket being mounted and compressed around the cable inside the axial cavity of the sleeve against which it is pressed in sealed manner.
The box further includes at least one of the following main additional characteristics:
a projecting element of a sealing member, which element is provided with a groove organized to provide continuity for a gasket abutment zone by co-operating with a groove determining an abutment path for a linear gasket at the edge of the opening, the continuity being provided when the sleeve of the sealing member is positioned at the inner end of the sealing neck, the groove carried by the member then being placed between the two groove ends that flank the slot into which the member penetrates;
a linear gasket groove provided on a projecting element of a sealing member and provided with at least one rib projecting from the bottom of the groove, which bottom is situated below the level of the bottom of the continued linear gasket groove, the rib projecting to above said level of the bottom of the continued linear gasket groove between the ends of which the groove in the projecting element is positioned when the sealing member is pressed to the inner end of the sealing neck, so as to enable the linear gasket to abut against two linear zones on either side of the rib, when the second portion is in place on the first portion, and when it presses against said linear gasket;
alternatively, a linear gasket groove provided in a projecting element of a sealing member is provided with at least one channel whose banks slope towards the bottom of the channel, and whose bottom is below the level of the bottom of the groove in the first portion, between the ends of which groove the channel is positioned when the sealing member is pressed to the inner end of the sealing neck, so as to enable the linear gasket to abut against a linear zone on each bank of the channel, when the second portion is in place on the first portion and when it presses on the linear gasket; and
a sealing member whose sleeve is at least approximately cylindrical in appearance is provided with sealing beads at that end of the sealing member which penetrates to the inner end of the neck, so as to abut via the beads against the inside sidewall of said neck.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5313546 (1994-05-01), Toffetti
patent: 5633973 (1997-05-01), Vincent et al.
patent: 5689607 (1997-11-01), Vincent et al.
patent: 5884002 (1999-03-01), Cloud et al.
patent: 0 695 900 A1 (1996-02-01), None
Lepeuve Alain
Milanowski Michel
Vincent Alain
Alcatel
Lee John D.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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