Seal for a joint or juncture – Seal between fixed parts or static contact against... – Contact seal for a pipe – conduit – or cable
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-02
2002-05-28
Knight, Anthony (Department: 3626)
Seal for a joint or juncture
Seal between fixed parts or static contact against...
Contact seal for a pipe, conduit, or cable
C277S623000, C277S609000, C277S622000, C277S627000, C174S068300, C285S154300, C285S323000, C285S343000, C403S312000, C403S371000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06394464
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a sealing device to establish a seal between a partition and at least one cable or a conduit passing through a hole in said partition. The invention more particularly concerns a sealing device of the type comprising two half-shells adapted to be placed on the cable or conduit and assembled with each other to form together a cylindrical body which completely surrounds said cable or conduit and can be secured to said partition through the hole in the latter, a sealing joint adapted to be disposed between the cylindrical body and said partition, and sealing means to fill the space between said cable or conduit and said cylindrical body and to immobilize these relative to each other.
There is already known a sealing device of the type described above, adapted to establish a seal between a partition and a bundle of cables passing through a hole in said partition. In service, to establish a seal with said known sealing device, the two half-shells are placed about the bundle of cables and secured to each other by adhesive strips. Then, two conical cups, slotted longitudinally on one side and made of a flexible material, are disposed about the bundle, each on one side of the cylindrical body formed by the two half-shells, so as to cover the open ends. Once emplaced, each conical cap is maintained closed and assembled to the cylindrical body also by the adhesive strip. There is thus obtained a “mold” into which can be injected a filling product which polymerizes at ambient temperature and which serves as the sealing means to fill the space between the bundle of cables and the cylindrical body. At least one injection opening is provided in at least one of the half-shells of the cylindrical body for the injection of the filling product. After polymerization and drying, the two conical cups are removed.
This known sealing device has a certain number of drawbacks. The quality of the sealing obtained is haphazard. It thus depends largely on the care with which the “mold” is filled and on the quality of the filling product to fill the spaces between the various cables of the bundle of cables. Moreover, the preparation time of the sealing device is relatively long, particularly because of the time necessary for polymerization of the filling product. Still further, the filling product is generally toxic and requires precautions during its use. Finally, the sealing device cannot be repaired in case of a leak.
The present invention therefore has for its object to provide a sealing device of the type indicated above, whose preparation will be easier and more rapid than that of the known sealing device, whilst obtaining a good seal, without the use of a toxic filling product, and which permits repairs if needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To this end, the sealing device according to the invention is characterized in that the sealing means comprise:
a) at least one sealing gasket of an elastomeric material capable of flowing, and adapted to be disposed about said cable or conduit;
b) a radial gripping device, in the form of a resiliently deformable split ring, which is so dimensioned as to be able to fit about said sealing gasket and to engage in said cylindrical body, and which comprises a skirt structured or configured to be radially retractable at least substantially uniformly about its entire circumference under the action of an axial gripping force; and
c) an axial gripping device which interacts with said cylindrical body and said skirt to require the latter to retract so as to compress and cause said sealing gasket to flow to fill said space between the cable or conduit, and the cylindrical body.
Preferably, the sealing device according to the invention can also have the following characteristics:
the radially retractable skirt of the radial gripping device is defined by a circular series of flexible fingers, which are formed from a single piece with said split ring and extend from a surface of the latter in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of said split ring;
the flexible fingers have their lateral surfaces, two by two facing each other, which are inclined so as to overlap in the circumferential direction of the split ring;
the cylindrical body is provided with a screwthread at one of its ends and, in a region located at a distance from said screwthread, an annular internal shoulder serving as an axial bearing for the split ring of said radial gripping device;
the axial gripping device comprises at least two pieces assembable together, which define, after their assembly, a conical surface and a screwthreaded element adapted to coact with the screwthread of said cylindrical body to press axially said conical surface against the free ends of the flexible fingers of said radial gripping device, so as to require said free ends of the flexible fingers to retract radially;
the screwthread of said cylindrical body is a female thread and said axial gripping device comprises three pieces, namely a split collar of resiliently deformable material, which can slide axially in said cylindrical body and whose central hole has, as a cylindrical surface, a conical bevel turned toward the flexible fingers of said radial gripping device, and two half-nuts assembled together to form together an externally screwthreaded sleeve-nut, which surrounds said cable or conduit, is screwed in the female screwthread of said cylindrical body and presses axially said split collar and its conical bevel against the free ends of the flexible fingers of said radial gripping device to make them retract radially;
the split collar comprises, in its region diametrically opposed to its slot, a groove which is parallel to said slot and which defines in said region a zone of lesser wall thickness facilitating resilient deformation of said split collar for its emplacement about said cable or conduit;
the two half-nuts are assembled to each other by surfaces that are mutually in contact, which have respectively male and female positioning elements receivable in each other and clip retaining means;
said sleeve-nut comprises on its peripheral surface a mark which is indicative of insufficient gripping of said sleeve-nut when the latter is screwed into the female screwthread of said cylindrical body and said mark is still visible;
the mark is constituted by a colored ring which has a color different from that of the rest of the sleeve-nut;
the sleeve-nut and the cylindrical body comprise, by way of anti-unscrewing means, at least one protuberance and at least one recess which engage in each other when said sleeve-nut has reached a predefined degree of screwing;
the cylindrical body and the split ring of the radial gripping device comprise at least one protuberance and at least one recess engaging in each other as an anti-rotation device;
the two half-shells forming said cylindrical body are assembled to each other by mutually contacting surfaces which have male and female positioning elements, and are maintained assembled with each other by bolt-nut assemblies;
the bolts and the nuts of the bolt-nut assemblies are disposed in recesses respectively provided in the two half-shells and are maintained there by retaining elements which are formed in said recesses, of a single piece with said half-shells;
as the sealing gasket, there is provided a sleeve of elastomeric material which is longitudinally slotted and which covers the internal surface of the split ring of said radial gripping device, including its flexible fingers, said elastomeric sleeve comprising, at one of its ends, a small collar which covers the surface of said split ring oriented toward the annular internal shoulder of said cylindrical body and an adjacent portion of the external peripheral surface of said split ring;
as a sealing gasket, there is provided in addition to said sleeve of elastomeric material, at least one pair of strips of elastomeric material which are disposed as a sandwich and pressed on each side of a layer comprised by at least one portion of said cables forming said bundle
Connecteurs Electriques Deutsch
Knight Anthony
Pickard Alison K.
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