GB2525748A

GB2525748A - Sealing device, system and method

Info

Publication number: GB2525748A
Application number: GB1505340.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Harvey
Original assignee: Timloc Building Products Ltd
Current assignee: Timloc Building Products Ltd
Priority date: 2015-03-27
Filing date: 2015-03-27
Publication date: 2015-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 2035-03-27
Also published as: GB201505340D0; GB2525748B

Abstract

A sealing device 10 for sealing an aperture flush or near-flush to a building member. The sealing device 10 comprises a, preferably planar and circular, building-member mounting portion 12 having front 14 and rear faces, and a fluid-conduit receiving portion 20, which can have a circular segmented profile, projecting out of the plane of the rear face. The fluid-conduit receiving portion 20 has a seal-carrying wall 30, preferably formed from a pliantly flexible membrane such as an elastomeric material, positioned at an oblique angle, such as in the range ten to eighty degrees, to the plane of the building-member mounting portion 12, at least one sealing aperture 32 being located through the seal-carrying wall 30. A building member locating element and a separate gripping portion can be provided on the rear surface, to ensure a fit with the aperture in the building member. A system and method of using the sealing device 10 are also provided.

Description

Sealing Device, System and Method The present invention relates to a sealing device for sealing an aperture in a building member, particularly to be used as a feed-through for radiator pipework. The invention also rdates to a system for sealing an aperture through which a fluid conduit is to pass, and to a method of preserving or substantially preserving the planarity of the surface of a building member through which a fluid conduit must pass.

When installing a central heating system, the pipework is generally hidden within the walls of a building, so as not to he visible in an inhabited room. However, the piping is required to extend through the wall at or adjacent to components of the central heating system, such as radiators, which utilise the hot water flowing through the pipes.

In order to limit draughts flowing through the walls and into the room in which the radiator is located, there must be provided a seal which prevents the ingress of cold air and leakage of warm air therethrough, whilst permitting access of the piping. This has traditionally been achieved by providing a small housing which covers the aperture through the wall, itself having apertures through which the radiator pipes can extend.

Whilst such an arrangement is generally simple to install, the projection of the housing into the room can present a barrier to the proximity to the wall to which the radiator can he mounted or the radiator pipes to he positioned.

Furthermore, with limited space during installation, it is difficult to obtain a fully air tight seal around the pipework and also against the aperture in the wall through the pipework extends. This is particularly so following movement of the pipework dunng installation and then expansion and contraction of the pipework during use, along with potential slight settling of the house or building.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a readily-installable sealing device which is recessed into the wall, as well as to provide dynamically adaptable sealing to accommodate slight movement of the wall and/or pipework during and following installation, thereby overcoming the above-mentioned problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a sealing device for sealing an aperture having a heating-system fluid conduit extending therefrom flush or substantially flush to a building memher, the scaling device comprising: a building-member mounting portion having front and rear faces; and a fluid-conduit receiving portion projecting from the rear face of the building-member mounting portion, the fluid-conduit receiving portion having a seal-carrying wall positioned at an oblique angle to the rear face of the building-member mounting portion, and at least one sealing aperture on the seal-carrying wall for sealing against a fluid-conduit received therethrough.

The major problem with prior seating devices is that they are required to project into the room in which the sealing device is instafled, in order to accommodate the angle of approach of the fluid conduit passing thercthrough. The device projects into the room, inhibiting the optimal placement of the radiator. By providing a sealing device which can be recessed into the building member into which it is installed, and providing one or more sealing apertures through which the fluid conduit may pass which are positioned at an oblique angle to the planar front of the sealing device, the correct angle of approach of the fluid conduit can he maintained without the need for an outwardly projecting portion of the scaling device.

In a preferred embodiment, the recessed portion may have a circular segmented profile.

and furtheimore, the mounting portion may be circular in profile.

A generally circular profile of a sealing device will be appropriate for the majority of apertures which are formed in building members, since these are circularly drilled. A circularly segmented recessed portion retains this mostly circular profile, which also providing a fiat wall portion to readily maintain the oblique approach angle.

Prcferahly, the planar wall of the recessed portion may at least in part he formed from a pliaffily flexible membrane, which may be an elastomeric material.

By utilising a pliantly flexible portion at or adjacent to the sealing aperture or apertures, a tight seal against a fluid conduit passing through the sealing device can be formed.

This enables the sealing device to readily comply with regulations regarding permitted airflow through a sealing device once installed, particularly in the context of thermal retention.

The sealing device may further comprise a building member gripping portion located on a rear surface of the recessed portion, and additionally or alternatively may comprise a building member location element located on the rear face of the mounting portion.

It is beneficial to provide a means of engaging the sealing device with an aperture prior to securing it in place using a fastening device ol some description. Gripping portions and/or location elements therefore advantageously simplify the installation of such a sealing device.

Optionally, the angle of the planar wall relative to the plane of the rear face may be in the range 10 to 80 degrees. Said 2mgle may preferably be in the range 20 to 70 degrees, may more preferably be in the range 30 to 60 degrees, and may most preferably be in the range 40 to 50 degrees.

The approach angle of a Iluid conduit through the sealing device will, in most instances.

be close to 45 deees, particularly in the context of radiator installation. However, a wide range of oblique approach angles are possible, and this may he context-dependent.

A plurality of sealing apertures may be provided in the planar wall of the recessed portion, which may he mutually co-p'anar.

By providing co-planar apertures in the planar wall, fluid conduits passed therethrough will be parallel upon exit, which can make for a simplified installation to, for instance, a radiator, and may also be more aesthetically pleasing than pipework positioned at unorthodox angles.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for sealing an aperture through which a fluid conduit is to pass, the system comprising: a plumbed device including at least one fluid conduit; a buildthg member having a member aperture to be sealed therethrough and through which the or each fluid conduit is to pass; and a sealing device in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, the scaling device being receivable at the rncrnbcr aperture, the or each fluid conduit being receivable through the or each sealing aperture of the sealing device, such that the sealing device seals the aperture and the fluid-conduit receiving portion of the sealing device is received at least in part within the building member.

Preferably. the plumbed device may be a radiator of a central heating system, and may further have an inlet and outlet fluid conduit provided associated with the radiator, the sealing device having two said sealing apertures through which the inlet and outlet fluid conduits are receivable. The building member may he a wall of a building.

The scaling device has been designed primarily to permits pipework for a radiator connected to a central heating system. Generally. radiators are installed relatively closely to a wall to which they are mounted. This can be hampered if the sealing device covering the wall aperture projects from the wall, and therefore the present invention permits the radiator to be installed doser to the wall, increasing the space available within the room itself.

Optionally, the front face of the mounting portion of the sealing device may be, in use, flush or near-flush with an exposed surface of the building member.

By minimising the aesthetic impact of the sealing device, the visual appeal of the building member to which the sealing device is attached can he improved. In particular, providing a sealing device which sits flush to the wall greatly reduces the conspicuousness of the sealing device.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of preserving or substantially preserving the planarity of a surface of a building member through which a heating-system fluid conduit must pass, the method comprising the steps of: providing an aperture through thc building member, passing at least one heating-system fluid conduit through the aperture; and sealing the aperture using a recessahle sealing device in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

The act of providing a sealing device which can he recessed into a wall, for instance, reduces the impact of the sealing device on the room into which it is installed. This has both aesthetic and practical benefits, as mentioned above.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with relerence to the accompanying drawings. in which: Figure 1 shows a front perspective view ol one embodiment of a sealing device in accordance with the first aspect of the invention; Figure 2 shows a rear perspective view of the sealing device of Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a side view of the scaling device of Figure 1. including a fluid conduit passing therethrough; and Figure 4 shows a cross section through a wall having an aperture sealed by the sealing device of Figure 1, with a radiator in view, all iii accordance with a system according to the second aspect of the invention.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown a sealing device, indicated gthhally at 10, for sealing an aperture in a building member, such as a wall, to allow a fluid conduit, such as that of a central heating system, and specifically a radiator, to pass therethrough.

The sealing device 10 includes a building-member mounting portion 12 which is preferably planar or substantially planar, and, in the depicted embodiment, may be circular in profile. The mounting portion 12 has different front and rear faces 14, 16, since the front face 14 will be the visible face when installed. The rear face 16 may, as illustrated, include a lip portion 18 which abuts a building member in use.

The sealing device 10 also includes a recessed fluid-conduit receiving portion 20 which projects in a direction of the rear face 16 of the mounting portion 12, such that, in use, the front face 14 of the mounting portion 12 remains the outwardrnost, preferably planar, face of the sealing device 10. A plurality of mounting apertures 24, such as screw ports, is provided in the mounting portion 12 to enable installation of the sealing device 10; these could evidently be provided at the time of installation.

The recessed portion 20 is formed as a depression in the mounting portion 12, and thus has a back wall 22 which, preferably, remains parallel to the front face 14 of the mounting portion 12 and which is connected to the mounting portion 12 by a perimeter wall 26. The form of the back wall 22 is here chosen for ease of manufacturing, and it is not strictly necessary br it to he parallel to the front lace 14 of die mounting portion 12.

For example. it could slope inwardly towards the hack face 16.

The recessed portion 20 as a whole has a profile which shaped as a segmented circle, in this instance, the larger segment. The perimeter wall 26 therefore has two components: a curved wall portion 28 defining the majority of the circumference; and a seal-canying, preferably planar, wall portion 30 following the chord of segmentation of the recessed portion 20.

The curved wall portion 28 is or is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the front face 14 of the mounting portion 12. However, the planar wall portion 30 is positioned at an oblique angle to the plane of the front face 14 of the mounting portion 12.

In the depicted embodiment, there are two sealing apertures 32 provided which extend through the planar wall portion 30. through which an appropriate diameter of fluid conduit 34 may pass, in use. Any number of apertures may be provided; however, depending upon the number of conduits to be catered for.

The angle of the planar wall portion 30 could he anywhere in the range of 10 to 80 degrees. may preferably he in the range 20 to 70 degrees, preferably still in the range 30 to 60 degrees, and most preferably in the range 40 to 50 degrees. This angle therefore defines the angle of passage through the recessed portion 20 for the or each fluid conduit 34.

On a building-member-facing side 36 of the curved wall portion 28 of the recessed portion 20 are provided a plurality of building-member gripping portions 38 which are able to engage with an aperture in a building member into which they arc positioned. In the depicted embodiment, these gripping portions 38 are shown as circumferential barbs or ridges. It will he appreciated that other grips are available, and the quantity and form thereof could easily be changed. For example. spikes. teeth or dimples could be provided to engage with a bore surface of the installation aperture in the surrounding supporting wall.

On the rear lace 16 of the mounting portion 12 is provided a building-member location element 40, which is positioned so as to be on the circumference of the un-segmented circular profile of the recessed portion 20. The building-member location element 40 acts to scat the scaling device 10 in an aperture the size of the said un-segmented circular profile in, preferably, a reasonably tight-fit, which can then be secured hi place via the mounting apertures 24. The building-member location element 40 is a rearwardly projecting tongue, tab, shoulder or ledge which, in this case, may beneficially be integrally formed as one-piece with the rear face 16.

The sealing device 10 would typically be formed primarily of a rigid or semi-rigid material, such as a metal or moulded plastics, but with at least a portion of the planar wall portion 30 at or adjacent the sealing apertures 32 being formed from a pliantly flexible material, such as an elastomeric material. In the depicted embodiment, this is illustrated as a flexible grommet 42. This permits one or more fluid conduits 34 to be passed therethrough, with the grommet 42 flexing to form a tight seal about the or each fluid conduit 34 irrespective of expansion and contraction during use, or movement either of the fluid conduit 34 or the sealing device 10 during installation. The grommet 42 is shown so as to extend across the mounting and recessed portions 12, 20, but could he provided so as to cover as much or as litUe of the sealing device 10 as desired. This may he done so as to alter the aesthetic appearance of the sealing device 10, and also to provide a firmer and thus longer lasting retention of the grommet 42 with the remainder of the sealing device 10.

To form a tight seal between the sealing device 10 and the building member against which the sealing device 10 may be positioned, there is preferably provided a sealing ring 44 around an outer perimeter of the mounting member 12 at or adjacent the lip portion 18. Figure 2 shows the sealing ring 44 being integrally formed with the grommet 42, though this may not be strictly necessary. Indeed, any appropriate form of seal could he considered. In any event, the sealing ring preferably extends integrally from the grommet 42 and continuously at or adjacent to the perimeter edge of the back face 16 whilst moving inboard to accommodate the mounting apertures 24 Figure 4 shows a pictorial representation of the sealing device 10 in situ, illustrated as part of a system for recessing a fluid conduit of a plumbed device within a building, globally referred to as 100.

The system 100 comprises a plumbed device, illustrated here as a radiator 150, a building member, illustrated here as a wall 152 which is at least in part hoflow, and having a wall aperture 154 drilled into the wall 152, and a said sealing device 10 as described above.

It will be evident that the wall aperture 154 is illustrated as being circular in profile; were a different shape of sealing device to be used, a differently shaped wall aperture In the system. the fluid conduit 34 leading to, for example, an inlet 156 of the radiator is fed through the sealing aperture 32 of the sealing device 10, such that it passes through the wall aperture 154 at or close to the oblique angle defined by the planar wall portion 30 of the recessed portion 20 of the sealing device 10.

To install the sealing device 10. the or each fluid conduit 34 is passed through its respective sealing aperture 32 at the oblique angle specified. The seating device 10 can then be inserted into the wall aperture 154, such that the building-member gripping portions 38 contact with a lower portion of an inner surface 158 of the wall aperture 154. The building-member location element 40 contacts an upper portion of the inner surface 158 of thc wall apcrturc 154 to thereby locate thc scaling dcvicc 10, whcrcby the recessed portion 20 rests largely within the wall aperture 154.

Once the sealing device 10 has been accurately located within the wall aperture 154. the mounting portion 12 can then he connected to the wall 152 via the mounting apertures 24. To complete the system 100. the fluid conduit 34 can then he connected to the inlet 156 of the radiator 150.

As can bc sccn in Figure 4, the front face 14 of thc mounting portion 12 is facing into the room containing the radiator 150. and this lies flush or substantially flush with a suriace 160 of the wall 152. The recessed portion 20 therefore lies entirely or almost entirely within the wall aperture 154. This reduces the volume of the device 10 which projects into the room to almost nothing, enabling the pipework to be hidden or substantially hidden from view behind the radiator and the radiator to be flexibly mounted in a desired location or orientation.

Using the sealing device 10 as illustrated, this would result in two fluid conduits exiting through the front of the recessed portion 20 in parallel to one another, at the same angie relative to the wall 152. This reduces the complexity of installation of the device 10.

Whilst a sealing device as herebefore described would be primari'y of use when installed into a wall, it will be appreciated that it could be installed into any building member, such as ceilings or floors, through which it may be desirable to feed a pipe.

Similarly, whflst the description has hereto been cast in terms of a radiator as part of a central heating system, it will he appreciated that it may he desirable to feed many types of pipe through a building member. Typically, this would be a water pipe of the central heating system. but any plumbed fluid pipe could be used with the present invention, inclusive of gas-carrying pipes. subject to regulatory compliance.

It is therefore possible to provide a sealing device which is capable of being recessed into a building member, and to aflow passage of a fluid conduit therethrough at an oblique angle to a main plane of the device. Such a sealing device advantageously reduces or eliminates the projection associated with the feedthrough of the conduit into a room to a minimum.

The words comprises/comprising' and the words having/including' when used herein with reference to the present invention are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereol It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments. may a'so he provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely. various features of the invention which arc, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may a'so he provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

The embodiments described above are provided by way of examples offly, and various othcr modifications will be appardnt to pcrsons skilled in thc field without departing from the scope of the invention herein described and defined.

Claims

Claims 1. A sealing device for sealing an aperture having a heating-system fluid conduit extending therefrom flush or substantially flush to a building member, the sealing device comprising: a building-member mounting portion having front and rear faces; and a fluid-conduit receiving portion projecting from the rear face of the building-member mounting portion. the fluid-conduit receiving portion having a seal-carrying wall positioned at an oblique angle to the rear face of the building-member mounting portion, and at least one sealing aperture on the seal-carrying wall for sealing against a fluid-conduit received therethrough.
2. A sealing device as claimed in claim 1. wherein the fluid-conduit receiving portion has a circular segmented profile.
3. A sealing device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the building-member mounting portion is circular in profile.
4. A sealing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the seal-carrying wall of the fluid-conduit receiving portion is at least in part formed from a pliantly flexible membrane.
5. A sealing device as claimed in claim 4. wherein the pliantly flexible membrane is formed from an elastomcric material.
6. A sealing device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a building member gripping portion located on a rear surface of the fluid-conduit receiving portion.
7. A sealing device as claimed iii any one of the preceding claims. further comprising a building member location clement located on the rear face of the building-member mounting portion.
8. A scaling device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein an angle of the seal-carrying wall relative to the plane of the rear face is in the range 10 to 80 degrees.
9. A sealing device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the angle of the seal-carrying wall relative to the plane ol the rear lace is in the range 20 to 70 degrees.
10. A sealing device as claimed in claim 9. wherein the angle of the seal-carrying wall relative to the plane of the rear face is in the range 30 to 60 degrees.
11. A sealing device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the angle of the seal-carryrng wall relative to the plane of the rear face is in the range 40 to 50 degrees.
12. A sealing device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of sealing apertures are provided in the seal-carrying wall ci the fluid-conduit receiving portion. the sealing apertures being mutually co-planar.
13. A sealing device substantially as hercinbefore described, with reference to Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.
14. A system for sealing an aperture through which a fluid conduit is to pass, the system comprising: a plumbed device including at least one fluid conduit; a building member having a member aperture to be sealed therethrough and through which the or each fluid conduit is to pass; and a sealing device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, the sealing device being receivable at the member aperture, the or each fluid conduit being receivable through the or each sealing aperture of the scaling dcvicc, such that the scaling device seals the aperture and the fluid-conduit receiving portion of the sealing device is received at least in part within the building member.
15. A system as claimed in claim 14, wherein the plumbed device is a radiator of a central heating system.
16. A system as claimed in claim 15, wherein an inlet and outlet fluid conduit are provided associated with the radiator, the sealing device having two said sealing apertures through which the inlet and outlet fluid conduits are respectively receivable.
17. A system as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 16. wherein the building member is a wall of a building.
18. A system as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the front face of the building-member mounting portion of the sealing device is, in use, flush or substantially flush with an exposed surface of the building member.
19. A system substantially as hercinbcfore described, with reference to Figure 4 of the accompanying drawings.
20. A method of preserving or substantially preserving the planarity of a surface of a building member through which a heating-system fluid conduit must pass, the method comprising the steps of: providing an aperture through the building member, passing at least one heating-system fluid conduit through the aperture; and sealing the aperture using a recessable sealing device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13.