GB2463317A

GB2463317A - A device for guiding elongate bendable members through an aperture

Info

Publication number: GB2463317A
Application number: GB0816751A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew Beever
Original assignee: Polypipe Building Products Ltd
Current assignee: Polypipe Building Products Ltd
Priority date: 2008-09-12
Filing date: 2008-09-12
Publication date: 2010-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 2028-09-12
Also published as: GB0816751D0; GB2463317B

Abstract

A device 1 for guiding an elongate bendable member (not shown) through an aperture in a wall (not shown), the device having a passage means for receiving the elongate member from the aperture and directing it away from it, the device concealing the aperture in use, and being securable to the wall. A particular embodiment relates to a device for supporting and guiding flexible piping / tubing through an aperture in a plasterboard drywall, the piping passing through the back of the device, through holes 2 on its circumferential wall 6, and subsequently connected to a radiator of a central heating system. Curved guide means 8 preferably support the pipes. The device may be circular, with a concentric flange for securing to the wall. Locator clips 9 are ideally provided so that the plug / insert guide device securely engages the opening when pushed in. The opening may be an electrical junction pattress box. The device also seals against draughts.

Description

A GUIDING DEVICE

The invention relates to a guiding device, particularly to a device for guiding an elongate flexible member such as a pipe for central heating through an aperture.

In modem plumbing systems, whether new build' or retro-fit radiators are usually fed with hot or warm water from a central boiler via hot water pipes. For aesthetic, and practical, purposes these pipes usually pass behind a substrate such as a wall on which the radiator is mounted, and then pass through the substrate to the face thereof on which the radiator is mounted. There is an aperture in the substrate to allow for this, the aperture, and the pipes passing through it, being hidden behind the radiator once it is connected to the pipes and mounted in place on the substrate.

In such situations the pipe(s) need to be positively mounted and guided, and the aperture effectively sealed against draughts to comply with building regulations.

It is an object of the invention to seek to provide a device which fulfils these requirements.

According to the invention there is provided a device for guiding an elongate bendable member through an aperture, comprising a body adapted to conceal the aperture in use, passage means for receiving the elongate member in use from the aperture and guiding it away from the body, and means of the device for securing to a substrate around the aperture.

Using the invention is possible to provide a device which guides a pipe or pipes and assists in sealing the aperture against draughts.

The device may be substantially circular in plan, and the body may be substantially circular and inboard of the means which may suitably comprise a substantially planar flange, This provides for a relatively simple one piece moulded construction particularly when the body and flange are concentric.

The body may comprise a substantially circular boundary wall supporting an end spaced from the flange, and for simplicity the passage means may be located in the said wall.

The passage means may comprise a through hole in the wall. This provides a relatively simple yet effective means for providing passage of a pipe, the passage means suitably comprising two through holes spaced circumferentially on the wall when two pipes are to be fed through the aperture and device to a radiator.

The device may comprise means to guide a flexible member internally of the body towards the passage means. The construction provides for guidance without bending of a pipe or pipes.

The means may therefore comprise a curved wall means depending from the end of the body.

The free end of the wall means may extend beyond the flange. This provides for guidance from one side of the substrate to the other through the aperture in use.

There may be two spaced wall means each respectively for guiding a flexible member such as a water pipe to an associated passage means in the wall.

There may also be a plurality of spaced locator means depending from the end of the body, in a preferred embodiment there being three locator means, and each may comprise a flat plate means adapted to locate the device in a square aperture. This provides for the device to be located in a square hole cut in the substrate to provide the aperture and being the same size as a standard electrical junction box such as a Pattress box.

The plate means may each extend to a plane beyond the plane of the flange. This construction provides for ease of location.

It will be understood that the invention extends to an assembly of a substrate, flexible member or members and a device as hereinbefore described.

A device for guiding an elongate bendable member through an aperture is hereinafter described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings.

Fig. I is a plan view from above of a device according to the invention; Fig. 2 is an underneath plan view of the device of Fig. 1; and Figs. 3 to 5 are respectively front, rear and side elevational views of the device of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a device 1, moulded in one piece from plastics material, for guiding a bendable member or members, such as a flexible plastic water pipe or pipes (not shown) used in plumbing, particularly for central heating systems, through an aperture in a substrate such as a plasterboard dry-liner which is used to "face" a wall such as a block-work wall, there being a space between the wall arid the plasterboard through which central heating pipes are passed to and through the aperture (not shown) in the plasterboard (not shown) so that it can run down the face of the plasterboard to a radiator to be mounted on that face. To that end, the device 1 has passage means 2 for receiving the elongate member(s) in use from the aperture and guiding it or them away from a body 3 there being means 4 of the body for securing the device 1 to a substrate around the aperture.

The device 1 as shown is of generally circular configuration in plan, the body 3 defining a hollow interior 5 and being integral with and inboard of the periphery of a flange which provides the means 4 for securing the device 1 to the substrate in use. The body 3 has a circular peripheral wall 6 closed by an end 7 spaced from the flange 4. The passage means 2 is in the form of two circumferentially spaced holes through the wall 6, each for receiving with a push fit a respective hot water pipe (not shown). Interiorly of the body 3 and depending from the end 7 adjacent the holes 2 are two curved guide means 8 such as plates, one for each pipe. There are also locator means 9 in the form of three circumferentially spaced flat plates which serve to locate the device 1 in a square aperture or hole cut in the substrate.

The curved guide plates 8 and flat locator plates 9 are moulded integrally with the device 1, and each has a length in a direction away from the end 7 which is longer than that of the circular boundary wall 6 of the body 3.

In use, an aperture is cut in say plasterboard and, usually, two water pipes for a central heating system are passed down behind the plasterboard and are then passed through the aperture. The device 1 is offered up to the substrate, flange 4 first, and the pipes are passed into the hollow interior of the body 3, and then guided respectively by a guide plate 8 to a respective hole 2. The pipes are passed through the holes 2 and drawn down to a radiator to be fitted thereto. The device 1 is then secured to the plasterboard by adhesive applied to the flange 4 or plasterboard, or both, the guide plates 8 entering the aperture or hole in the plasterboard. If a square aperture or hole is cut in the plasterboard, the device 1 is located therein by the three locator plates 9. (The square hole is preferably cut to the same size as a standard electrical Pattress box).

The device 1 can thus be used with a round aperture, square aperture or indeed any shape of aperture providing it is big enough to take the pipes and so as to be covered by the device 1. The device 1 is hidden behind the radiator, as are the pipes, after installation.

The device 1 can be secured to the substrate by any means other than or in addition to adhesive for example by securing means inserted through mountings 10.

A device 1 described herein with reference to the drawings not only acts to guide pipes but also can seal the aperture against draughts.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A device for guiding an elongate bendable member through an aperture, comprising a body adapted to conceal the aperture in use, passage means for receiving the elongate member in use from the aperture and guiding it away from the body, and means of the device for securing to a substrate around the aperture.
2. A device according to Claim 1, which is substantially circular in plan, the body being substantially circular and inboard of the means which comprises a substantially planar flange.
3. A device according to Claim 2, the body and flange being concentric.
4. A device according to Claim 3, the body comprising a substantially circular boundary wall supporting an end spaced from the flange, the passage means being located in the said wall.
5. A device according to Claim 4, the passage means comprising a through hole in the wall.
6. A device according to Claim 5, the passage means comprising two through holes spaced circumferentially on the wall.
7. A device according to any preceding claim, comprising means to guide a flexible member internally of the body towards the passage means.
8. A device according to Claim 7, the means comprising a curved wall means depending from the end of the body.
9. A device according to Claim 8, the free end of the wall means extending beyond the flange.
10. A device according to Claim 9, there being two spaced wall means each respectively for guiding a flexible member to an associated passage means in the wall.
11. A device according to any of Claims 6 to 10, comprising a plurality of spaced locator means depending from the end of the body.
12. A device according to Claim 11, there being three locator means, and each comprising a flat plate means adapted to locate the device in a square.
13. A device according to Claim 13, the plate means each extending to a plane beyond the plane of the flange.
14. A device according to any of Claims 2 to 13, comprising means of the flange to mount the device on a substrate.
15. A device for guiding an elongate flexible member through an aperture, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
16. An assembly of a substrate, flexible member or members and a device according to any preceding claim.