CN1479847A - Fire blocking type pipe joint - Google Patents

Abstract

A pipe connector (1) for plastic pipes extending through a partition of a building has a plastic end region (5), which end region (5) is used for the superposed, precisely positioned sealing connection of the plastic pipes together to each end of the pipe connector. Each plastics end region is separated by an intermediate region (9), the intermediate region (9) being formed by walls of a plastics based intumescent material which define a fluid flow passage (7) through the coupling. The walls of the fluid flow passage have a sufficient thickness of intumescent material to cause complete blockage of the passage when the fitting is subjected to conditions which cause the material of the wall in the intermediate region to expand.

Description

Fire Stop Fittings

field of invention

The present invention relates to a plastic pipe joint with fire blocking capability.

Background of the invention

It is well known that conduits such as conduits, pipes and the like provide a convenient path for fire to travel from one area of a building to the next. Therefore, it is extremely important that these pipes include fire breaks.

A typical fire stop is a component that blocks the passage through a pipeline when the pipeline is subjected to excessive heat. Such components are often fabricated from expandable materials that, when heated, expand and expand in order to shut off fire through the pipe.

An example of a fire interrupt member disposed in a pipeline is described in US Patent 3,156,263 issued November 10, 1964 to Adelman. According to the Adelman patent, a steel pipe is provided with a foam liner which expands or expands inwardly when the heat in the pipe reaches excessive levels.

Another example of a fire blocking member is described in US Patent 4,424,867, issued January 10, 1984 to Mallow. According to the Mallow patent, a sleeve of intumescent material is fitted around the pipe or cable where the pipe passes through the bulkhead. In case of excessive heat, the sleeve is guided inwardly by the sleeve to sever the pipe. The expanded sleeve is surrounded by expanded wall filler which is all separate from the sleeve. This wall filling stiffens to prevent the spark from moving through the partitions surrounding the pipe.

The Mallow system is labor intensive to install, which involves fitting the casing over the pipe and filling the walls with expanding material around the casing. Furthermore, the Mallow system necessitates the formation of otherwise unnecessary large holes around the piping through the bulkhead in order to fit the entire system.

U.S. Patent by Olson issued March 13, 1970 shows a pipe fitting that simply shrinks inwards to provide a pipe shut-off in case excess heat passes along the pipe part.

In the Olson fitting there is no control as to the depth of penetration of the pipe into the fitting and therefore, there cannot be any precise fit of the fitting. Furthermore, Olson's fittings do not expand and cannot be used as bulkhead shutoffs, and may even be ineffective as pipe shutoffs if there is excessive collapse of the shutoffs.

U.S. Patent 4,267,853 to Yamaguchi, issued May 19, 1981, discloses a metal pipe fitting that includes a thermally expandable rubber inner tube that, in the event of excess Expands toward the inside of the fitting when heated. Yamaguchi fittings are of no benefit as wall cut-off parts.

Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a pipe fitting that penetrates a fire rated partition such as a wall, floor, etc. in a building to connect plastic pipes on either side of the partition. The pipe connection according to the invention has plastic end regions for a superimposed precise positioning sealing connection with the plastic pipe connection if those end regions are separated by an expansion region which is formed by a plastic-based expansion material wall. The plastic-based expandable material wall defines a fluid flow passageway through the fitting and has a sufficient thickness of the expanding material to completely block the passageway when the fitting is subjected to conditions that cause expansion of the fitting expansion region material forming the wall.

Brief introduction to the drawings

The above-mentioned and other advantages and characteristics of the present invention will be described in more detail according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a piping system for receiving a piping coupling according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through the pipe fitting of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is the pipeline system assembly diagram of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is the same view as Figure 3, showing the piping system when subjected to the effects of fire.

5-9 are cross-sectional views showing plastic pipe connections using pipe fittings according to various preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments of the Invention

FIG. 1 shows a piping system comprising a pair of pipes P1 and P2 connected by a pipe joint generally referenced 1 . The pipe joint 1 joins the aforementioned pair of pipes where they pass through a partition or wall W.

Figure 2 shows that the pipe fitting 1 comprises a pair of sockets 3 opening into opposite ends of the pipe fitting, bounded by a pipe wall region 5 .

Each of these sockets 3 terminates in a pipe end stop 6 in the form of a shoulder having an inner diameter smaller than that of each socket. Located between the two pipe end stops is a central passage 7 through the pipe joint. The channel 7 is bounded by a pipe wall region 9 of the pipe connection. As can be seen in the figure, the tube wall region 9 is thicker than the tube wall region 5 .

Figure 3 shows that the pipe joint is very close in diameter to the opening through the wall W.

The pipe pieces P1 and P2 have a standard plastic construction made of material such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is also a preferred component of the pipe joints. In pipe fittings, PVC provides a carrier for the graphite which imparts expansion properties to the pipe fittings.

The advantage of making the fittings out of the same material as the fittings, ie PVC, is that the fittings can be welded to the fittings with standard solvents. Also both the fittings and fittings have the same physical properties, so all elements of the system act in the same way on external forces to help keep the system together. Furthermore, there are no contamination problems as can occur when the parts of the plastic system are manufactured from different materials.

To assemble the fitting system, push both fittings into the socket until each fitting touches the end stop of the socket. As noted above, the fittings and fittings are welded together using known solvents to provide a very precise leakproof joint of the fitting system where it passes through the bulkhead. The bulkheads themselves are usually fire rated.

Figure 4 shows how the pipe fittings function when subjected to excess heat, such as that produced by a fire. More specifically, it can be seen that the intumescent material from which the sidewall regions 5 and 9 of the fitting, when subjected to such heat, rapidly expands from its original shape to a much larger material volume. The expansion of the expanding material to many times its original size, and in the direction of the heat source, will cut off the fire before it has a chance to propagate, as will be explained shortly.

Figure 4 shows that the expanded material 9a completely closes the passage through the fitting. The additionally expanded material 5a and 9a completely seals the passage through the wall W around the ductwork. Thus, the intumescent material effectively seals one room area from the next room along all areas inside and outside of the ductwork.

Obviously, eventually the walls and/or ductwork may fail under intense heat and fire conditions, and cutting off components is only a temporary measure to allow sufficient time to contain the situation.

In the above embodiments, the pipe joints are entirely made of a combination of PVC and graphite as mentioned above. When having this composition, the pipe fittings are made by molding rather than extrusion as is used to make actual pipe fittings. This molding method, such as injection molding or compression molding, aids in the shape of the fitting and also provides controlled static conditions so that the PVC-graphite combination is formed in such a way that it can withstand the normal impact the fitting may be subjected to .

Many features of this particular fitting become apparent from the above drawings and description. For example, it can be seen that not only are the walls defining the sockets thinner, they are also shorter in length than the walls defining the intermediate regions of the fittings between the sockets. Additionally, in this particular fitting design, the wall thickness of the spigot is about half the thickness of the wall defining the central fluid flow passage of the fitting. They are also approximately half the length of the central pipe wall region of the fitting. These ratios result in a very efficient use of expansion material, which is relatively expensive compared to cut-out parts PVC. With this efficient use of material, the spigot is long enough to provide a superimposed sealed connection with the two pipes sufficient to withstand the forces normally encountered by the system without excess expansion material at the connection. At the same time, the thicker and longer wall region of the central flow channel of the fitting includes sufficient expansion material to completely plug the channel as the material expands.

In contrast to the full expansion material construction of the fitting of Figs. 1-4, Figs. 5-7 illustrate a pipe fitting having a multi-material construction. In particular, such configurations include fluid flow channels defined by walls of intumescent material and connecting conduit sockets made of non-intumescent material.

More specifically, FIG. 5 shows a pipe fitting generally indicated at 11 connecting pipe pieces P3 and P4. Again, such connections are usually made where the piping system penetrates the building division, while the fittings themselves are located inside the division.

The pipe joint 11 comprises a tubular member 13 of expanded material, more preferably composed of PVC and graphite. The tubular piece 13 is identical in diameter, especially in the inner diameter, to the two pipe pieces, and as such it forms a ductwork extension through the penetration. Again, the amount of material provided in the tubular wall of the tubular member 13 is sufficient to cause a complete blockage of the fluid flow path in the event of expansion of the material forming the tubular member.

By way of example only, the inner diameter of the fluid flow channel may be between about 3-5 times the thickness of the wall surrounding the flow channel.

It should be noted here that the material when expanded expands both the inside and outside of the fitting, and that the outer expansion of the expanded material acts to seal the area around the fitting penetration, preventing smoke and/or fire hazards except inside the fitting The outside of the plug passes between the rooms around the fittings.

In the embodiment of Figure 5, a pair of annular members 15 and 17 are fitted over opposite ends of the tubular expansion member. They are then sealed into a tubular piece by solvent welding or the like to provide a permanent socket at each end of the fitting. In addition to overlapping the expansion material, the rings 15 and 17 leave enough space to overlap and seal against the two pipes P3 and P4. The ends of the two pipes will abut opposite ends of the expansion member 13 when pushed into the two sockets, so as to provide accurate positioning of the pipe joint relative to the two pipes.

Furthermore, the two sockets can be fitted with the two pipes since they can be made from the same pipe material, so as to create a very efficient pipe joint solvent welded to the two pipes.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 includes a fitting generally indicated at 21 . The coupling 21 comprises a non-expandable socket forming a member 25 longer than a tubular member 23 of intumescent material and sealed to this tubular member 23 . The expanded material thus becomes a shortened liner for forming the member of the socket.

As a result of its extra length, the member forming the spigot extends outside each end of the expansion member in order to effect a superimposed sealing connection with the two pipe pieces P9 and P10 at the opposite ends of the pipe joint.

In this particular embodiment, the expansion member 23 does not have to be sealed to the non-inflating outer cover since there is no fluid flow anywhere except centrally through the fitting. This is due to the socket being sealed to both fittings.

Fig. 7 shows a kind of pipe joint, and this pipe joint is generally represented by reference numeral 31, and pipe joint 31 is identical with the pipe joint 21 of Fig. 6 in design, but the outer cover 35 of pipe joint 31 is provided with some pipe wall openings 37 except. These pipe wall openings 37 facilitate the expansion of the expansion material of the pipe joint liner 33 towards the outside of the joint. However, they are also necessary to seal the termination of the liner 33 to the outer cover 35 . This prevents fluid passing through the fitting from escaping through the openings 37 in the outer cover sealed on the expansion liner.

Unlike the embodiment of Figures 1-4, the embodiment of Figures 5-7 does not necessarily have to be produced by molding to benefit. In these particular embodiments, both the member forming the tubular expansion passage and the member forming the spigot have a shape which readily enables them to be molded or extruded. Furthermore, since the sockets providing the connection of the fitting to the fitting have a non-expandable configuration, they can be readily manufactured by extrusion and have sufficient strength and impact resistance to properly secure the fitting to the joined fitting.

Figures 8 and 9 show further connected piping systems with precise fitting and fitting locations in accordance with the present invention.

More specifically, FIG. 8 shows a piping system comprising pipes P5 and P6 connected by an expansion pipe joint 41 . Such pipe fittings again connect pipes where they pass through a building division. It has the same expansion capabilities as the aforementioned.

In FIG. 8, the pipe joint 41 is in the form of a straight sleeve, and the pipe walls of the pipes P5 and P6 are provided with end stops 43 and 47 leading to opposite ends of the pipe joint. Each tube is provided with rings 45 and 49, respectively. These rings overlap the fitting and provide a fixed area between the fitting and the fitting that receives the solvent.

Fig. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pipe P7 is fixed by an expansion pipe joint 51 through the building division (not shown), the pipe P7 is the same as the pipes P5 and P6, and the pipe P8 is a straight Tube body, a fitting without an annular ring. In order to form a connection with the pipe P8, the pipe joint 51 is equipped at one end with a ring 55 surrounding the pipe P8. The body of the pipe P8 then ends against the pipe end stop inside the fitting 51 .

In the above illustration, the fittings are used to connect the pipe fittings that pass through the wall. It should be understood that the fittings may be used for any other type of duct passing through any other type of building fire and smoke divider.

While various preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (16)

1. the pipe joint that has the plastic end zone, described end regions is used for accurately locating each end that is sealably coupled to pipe joint with the plastic pipe overlapping, above-mentioned plastic end zone by a zone line separately, this zone line is formed by the wall of a plastic base expanding material, the fluid flowing passage of aforementioned tube joint is passed in qualification, above-mentioned tube wall has enough expanding material thickness, the obstruction fully that produces passage when being subjected to the condition that causes the material expansion with convenient pipe joint.

2. pipe joint as claimed in claim 1, wherein above-mentioned plastic end zone comprise that some internal diameters are greater than the socket of above-mentioned zone line to each end internal diameter of aforementioned tube joint zone line.

3. pipe joint as claimed in claim 2, wherein the aforementioned tube joint has a whole whole molding construction of being made by the plastic base expanding material.

4. pipe joint as claimed in claim 2, each all has a wall thickness wherein above-mentioned socket, and described wall thickness is about half of aforementioned tube joint zone line wall thickness.

5. pipe joint as claimed in claim 4, wherein the aforementioned tube joint has an external diameter, and described external diameter is the even longitudinal component of aforementioned tube joint.

6. pipe joint as claimed in claim 5, wherein the internal diameter of above-mentioned zone line is less than the wall thickness of about each plug of above-mentioned socket internal diameter.

7. pipe joint as claimed in claim 6, wherein above-mentioned each socket has equal lengths, and each socket has half length of aforementioned tube joint zone line.

8. pipe joint as claimed in claim 1, wherein above-mentioned each socket are with a kind of unexpansive plastic materials manufacturing, and above-mentioned plastic materials is consistent with the material of making plastic pipe.

9. pipe joint as claimed in claim 8, wherein above-mentioned socket comprises the member of a pair of formation socket, and above-mentioned member is enclosed within on each end of above-mentioned expanding material wall, and above-mentioned expanding material wall is separated from each other on the aforementioned tube joint.

10. pipe joint as claimed in claim 9, the member of wherein above-mentioned formation socket comprises some wall openings, so that the member that helps expanding material to pass above-mentioned formation socket expands.

11. pipe joint as claimed in claim 8 is formed by the single member that forms socket, the member of above-mentioned single formation socket is grown than the wall of above-mentioned expanding material and is enclosed within on this wall.

12. pipe-line system comprises first and second pipelines, described first and second pipelines connect by a pipe joint, the opening that described pipe joint separates by the building fire-protection rating, above-mentioned pipeline is with a kind of plastic materials manufacturing, and the aforementioned tube joint is with a kind of expanding material manufacturing, described expanding material comprises and makes the identical plastic materials of pipeline, above-mentioned pipe-line system comprises the annular end block that leads to aforementioned tube joint opposite end, described annular end block provides the accurate location of above-mentioned pipeline and pipe joint, and use the place of solvent welded mutually at aforementioned tube joint and pipeline, the expanding material of aforementioned tube joint does not expand in aforementioned tube joint inside to stop up above-mentioned pipe-line system and not have the outside of aforementioned tube joint to expand to stop up the opening in the partitioned portion.

13. pipe-line system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the aforementioned tube joint has a uniform outer dia, this outer dia is greater than the diameter of above-mentioned pipeline and near consistent with the opening in the partitioned portion, wherein the aforementioned tube joint has the reception socket in the opposite two ends of aforementioned tube joint, described socket ends at inner convex shoulder place, and described convex shoulder provides above-mentioned end stone.

14. pipe-line system as claimed in claim 13, wherein the aforementioned tube joint has an inner flow passage, and this inner flow passage is near the inner flow passage of above-mentioned pipeline.

15. pipe-line system as claimed in claim 12, wherein above-mentioned annular end block is arranged in the above-mentioned pipeline.

16. pipe-line system as claimed in claim 12, one of them of wherein above-mentioned annular end block is arranged on one of them of above-mentioned pipeline, and one of them of above-mentioned annular end block is arranged on the aforementioned tube joint.

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