WO2010090580A1

WO2010090580A1 - A pipe or cable lead-through having modules with a dimensioning function

Info

Publication number: WO2010090580A1
Application number: PCT/SE2010/050110
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jens Andersson; Mats Ericson; Jenny Filipsen; Ulf Hildingsson; Christer Lundborg; Stefan Milton; Ronnie Pettersson; Jörgen ÅKESSON
Original assignee: Roxtec Ab
Priority date: 2009-02-04
Filing date: 2010-02-02
Publication date: 2010-08-12
Also published as: SE534046C2; SE0950052A1; CN202817646U

Abstract

A compressible module (100, 200, 300, 400) for cable entries or pipe penetrations receiving one or more compressible modules, which modules comprise base parts (102, 104, 202, 204, 302, 304, 402, 404) surrounding each cable or pipe. The cable entries or pipe penetrations are placed either directly in an opening through a wall or other structural partition forming the wall or other partition or in a frame (114), whereby a barrier is formed of the one or more modules and at least one compression unit (116) in either the opening or the frame. The compressible module has at least two peelable layers (106, 108, 306, 406) for adapting to the diameter of a cable or pipe. The peelable layers are placed in a groove of each base part. A peelable layer closer to the compressible base part has a greater extension in an axial direction than a peelable layer farther away from the compressible base part.

Description

A PIPE OR CABLE LEAD-THROUGH HAVING MODULES WITH A DIMENSIONING FUNCTION

Technical Field

The present invention concerns a seal, lead-through or transit for cables or pipes. The invention especially concerns parts of the seal or transition, having peelable sheets for adaptation to diameters of a cable or pipe to be received.

Prior Art

In the prior art there are cable transitions or the like having a frame, inside which a number of modules to receive cables, wires or pipes are placed. The modules are made of an elastic material e.g. rubber or plastics and are thus compressible. Inside the frame normally a number of modules are received side by side in one or more rows together with some kind of compression unit. The compression unit is placed between the frame and the modules in such a way that when the compression unit is expanded the compressible modules will be compressed around the cables, wires or pipes. For ease of description the expression "cable" is mainly used in this description, but it should be construed broadly and a person skilled in the art realises that it normally also covers pipes or wires.

Another type of seal, cable transition, pipe penetration etc. has a general cylindrical form and is to be received in a sleeve in a wall or an opening in a wall. To func- tion in the desired way the seal should fit snugly into the sleeve or the opening of the wall in which it is received and the seal should be adaptable to the actual mounting dimension. The mounting dimension is dictated by the inner diameter of the sleeve or the opening. The seal has a cylindrical compressible body, which is compressed axially between fittings at the opposite ends of the compressible body. By the axial compres- sion the cylindrical body will expand radially both inwards and outwards.

Furthermore, the pipes, wires or cables received may have different outer diameters, and, thus, the module should be adaptable to cables or pipes having different outer diameters.

Seals or transitions of both the above kinds are used for sealing in many differ- ent environments, such as for cabinets, technical shelters, junction boxes and machines. They are used in different industrial environments, such as automotive, telecom, power generation and distribution, as well as marine and offshore. The seals or transitions may have to seal against fluid, gas, fire, rodents, termites, dust, moisture etc., and may receive cables or wires for electricity, communication, computers etc., pipes for different gases or liquids such as water, compressed air, hydraulic fluid and cooking gas or wires for load retention. The parts receiving a single cable etc. of both the types discussed above often have a pack of peelable layers or sheets on the inside. The layers or sheets are peeled off until the inner diameter of the part is adapted to the outer diameter of the cable received in said part. The sheets adhere strong enough to each other to stay together and at the same time loose enough to enable the sheets to be peeled off from the stack, either one- by-one or a number of sheets together. In some embodiments there are also peelable layers or sheets on the outside, making it possible to adapt the outer dimensions of for instance a circular seal to a specific opening or sleeve.

A person skilled in the art realises that the exact shape and form of the different parts, including the layers, may vary without departing from the gist of the present in- vention. For example the pack of layers may have another cross sectional form than circular.

It has been noted that even though the method of peeling off sheets is a versatile and flexible solution, it is still a time consuming part of the mounting process. The present invention offers an inventive solution reducing the time required for the mounting process, as well as offering a secure method for determining the number of sheets that need to be peeled off.

Summary

The present invention achieves the above goals by the provision of a com- pressible module according to claim 1, a method according to claim 6, and a sealing system according to claim 8. Specific embodiments are defined by the dependent claims.

To that end the present invention provides a compressible module for cable entries or pipe penetrations receiving one or more compressible modules surrounding each cable or pipe, which cable entries or pipe penetrations are placed either directly in an opening through a wall or other structural partition forming the wall or other partition or in a frame, whereby a barrier is formed of the one or more modules and at least one compression unit in either the opening or the frame, wherein the compressible module has at least one of: at least one peelable layer for adapting to the diameter of a cable or pipe, which at least one peelable layer is placed in a groove, and at least one peelable layer arranged on the outside of the module for adaptation to the dimension of the opening. The compressible module is characterized in that a peelable layer closer to the compressible module has a greater extension in an axial direction than a peelable layer farther away from the compressible module. The inventive concept is to use the peelable sheets elaborately for dimensioning purposes; either to conform to the dimensions of a cable or pipe or other service to be sealed or to adapt the outer dimensions of the compressible module to a opening into which it is to be inserted. The inventive solution makes such an adaptation readily conductible, accurate, and repeatable.

According to one or more embodiments at least one peelable layer is flush with the compressible module at one axial end of the latter. Generally it may suffice that the inventive dimensioning function is provided in one end of the compressible module.

According to one or more embodiments a portion of a layer extending beyond a superimposed layer is provided with identification or dimensioning marking. The identification or dimensioning marking may facilitate both installation and the control thereof. Installation may be simplified in that once one adaptation has been performed, identical installations may be adapted to the same dimension, without the need of repeating the entire dimensioning procedure.

The present invention also relates to a method for arranging a cable or pipe in a compressible sealing module and dimensioning the sealing module to the diameter of the cable or pipe, said sealing module having a through hole in which peelable layers of material are arranged for adapting the diameter of the through hole to the diameter of the cable or pipe, wherein a radially outer peelable layer has a greater extension in an axial direction than a radially inner peelable layer, comprising the steps of: inserting a cable or pipe into the through hole of the compressible module until it contacts a peelable layer, removing the peelable layer contacting the cable or pipe and any layers radially inside of this. This corresponds to a method of using the above device according to the first alternative.

According to another inventive concept a method for arranging a sealing mod- ule assembly in an opening of a structure, said sealing module comprising peelable sheets on its outer circumference, wherein an radially inner layer has a greater extension in an axial direction than a radially outer peelable layer, comprising the steps of: inserting the module assembly in the opening until obstructed by a peelable sheet, removing the peelable sheet obstructing the insertion and any peelable sheets radially outside of this. This corresponds to a method of using the above device according to the second alternative.

The present invention also relates to a sealing system comprising cable entries or pipe penetrations receiving one or more compressible modules surrounding each cable or pipe, which cable entries or pipe penetrations are placed either directly in an opening through a wall or other structural partition forming the wall, wherein said compressible module is a module according the general description above or the detailed description to follow.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Fig. 1 is a cross section along the axial direction of a compressible module according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section similar to Fig. 1, with a cable partly inserted into the module.

Fig. 3 is a cross section similar to Fig. 1 and 2, with peelable layers partly removed.

Fig. 4 is a cross section similar to previous figures, with the cable mounted in the compressible module. Fig. 5 is a front view of an inventive system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of an inventive method according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a cross section of a compressible module in accordance with a second aspect of the invention. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a module according to the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one part of the module of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of yet a module or seal according to the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a part of the module of Fig. 10.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

The compressible module 100 of Figs. 1-4 comprises two base parts 102 and 104 both having semicircular grooves, which together define a circular through opening. In the through hole peelable layers 106, 108 of material are arranged. In the center of the circular through opening a blind 110 is arranged. One reason for using a blind is that there is no point in stacking peelable layers in a volume, which will be completely occupied by a cable at a later stage. In Fig. 1 the peelable layers 106, 108 are shown having an air slit between adjacent layers, but this is for illustrative purposes only. In a practical case adjacent layers are in contact, and in most cases joined by adhesion. The sheets may be arranged in many different ways and with different features as reflected in the simultaneously filed applications entitled "A Pipe or Cable Lead- Through having Interconnected Layers", "A Pipe or Cable Lead-Through having Layers of Different Thickness", "A Pipe or Cable Lead-Through having a Part Indicating Compression", "Cohering Between Layers of a Pipe or Cable Lead-Through" and "Identifi- cation of Layers of a Pipe or Cable Lead-Through", filed by the applicant of the present application. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

In this first embodiment each radially outer layer has a greater extension in an axial direction than a radially inner layer, and all layers are flush at one lateral end there of. This results in the generation of a step like appearance, as clearly shown in Figs 1-4. In other embodiments the step like appearance may be present at both lateral ends of the layers. "Radially outer" refers to a relative position in relation to the centre of the compressible module in an assembled state.

In use the compressible module 100 of Fig. 1 will be assembled, after which a cable 112 is inserted, concentrical with the mass of peelable sheets of material, as illus- trated in Fig. 2. For obvious reasons it will only be possible to insert the cable 112 a limited amount before it will be obstructed by a pair of layers 106, 108. At this stage the two base parts may be disassembled and the correct number of layers is readily removed, as illustrated in Fig. 3. By not removing the cable 112 when disassembling the base parts it is readily determined how many layers that have to be removed, simply by observing how far the cable extends into the sub part.

In Fig. 4 the cable 112 has been positioned in the compressible module, and the compressible module has been compressed in order to achieve an adequate sealing.

Alternative embodiments of the modules are given in the simultaneously filed applications entitled "Eccentric Part of a Pipe or Cable Lead-Through", "A Module of a Pipe or Cable Lead-Through having Grooves on Opposite Sides", "Pipe or Cable Lead- Through Blocks", "A Pipe or Cable Lead-Through having Modularized Modules" and "A Pipe or Cable Lead-Through having Layers of Alternating Geometry", filed by the applicant of the present application. In one embodiment the modules are separated from a stack of module halves sticking together, as described in the simultaneously filed ap- plication named "Modules of Pipe or Cable Lead-Through Sticking Together", filed by the applicant of the present application. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

If a number of identical cables 112 are to be arranged it is very simple to remove the correct number of layers by simply knowing how far the cable extended into the module. It is apparent from Figs. 1-4 that a portion of each layer may be visible, extending beyond superimposed layers. In one or more embodiments these portions may be provided with an identification marking; relating to the cable diameter, consecutive numbers, color codes, etc, which will make it even easier for the user to remove the correct number of layers. In another embodiment (not shown) only the peelable layers of one module half have a step shape. In this embodiment the sub parts should obviously not be assembled before the determination of how many layers that should be removed is performed.

Fig. 5 illustrates a sealing system where a number of compressible modules have been positioned in a frame 114, and a compression unit 116 has been used to com- press the modules. In this context it should be noted that there are several various types (shape, design, function) of compression units and frames, and the present invention should not be limited to any specific type of compression unit or frame.

An alternative system including a frame is described in the simultaneously filed application entitled "Sealing System", filed by the applicant of the present appli- cation. This application is hereby incorporated by reference.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of the inventive method of adjusting the inner diameter of a compressible module having peelable sheets, which has been described earlier referring to Figs. 1-4.

Fig. 7 illustrates another aspect of the invention. When adapting the dimen- sions of a compressible module, or a system comprising compressible modules, to the dimensions of an opening in a partition 220 this may be accomplished by having peelable layers 206, 208 arranged on the outer diameter of the compressible module, or the system comprising compressible modules 200. The shown module 200 comprises two base parts 202, 204, a blind 210 and peelable layers on both the inside and the out- side of each base part. The functionality is easily understandable; by peeling of layers 206, 208 the diameter of the assembly may be altered. The inventive aspect of Fig. 7 is that any trial-and-error may be avoided by simply inserting the assembly into the opening, and pulling away the layers that does not enter the opening. The assembly according to this second aspect of the invention may or may not be provided with peelable sheets according to the first aspect of the invention. When compressing the compressi- ble module 200 it will expand in all directions, and thereby compress any cables or additional modules arranged in its central opening and also secure itself in the opening of the partition 220 by expanding outwards. It should be noted that the cross section of the assembly may have any suitable shape designed for the shape of the opening. A circular or rectangular cross section may be the most common type. The basis for this type of system has been described earlier in the application.

The module 300 of the embodiment of Figs. 8 and 9 comprises two base parts 302, 304. On the inside of each base part 302, 304 a number of peelable layers or sheets 306 is placed in a half-cylindrical groove. The layers 306 are flush at one end of the base part 302, 304, while at the other end the layer adjacent to the base part 302, 304 has the greater extension in the axial direction. Each subsequent layer is somewhat shorter than the layer below, giving a step like appearance.

The module 400 of Figs. 10 and 11 is a cylindrical seal that often is placed in an opening of a wall or other partition. The module 400 comprises two base parts 402, 404. On the inside of each base part 402, 404 a number of peelable layers or sheets 406 is placed in a half-cylindrical groove. Also here the layers 406 have a step like appearance at one end, with the longest layer closest to the base part 404. Even though not shown here a person skilled in the art realises that the module may have a number of peelable layers or sheets on the outside, in the same way as shown in Fig. 7. The layers on the outside are peeled off to adapt the module to an opening to receive the module.

The two branches of embodiments form part of the same inventive idea, yet in one branch the radially inner layers have an extension in an axial radiation, which exceeds the extension of the radially outer layers, and in the other branch this relationship is reversed. However, for both branches a peelable layer closer to the compressible module will have a greater extension in an axial direction than a peelable layer further away from the compressible module.

In further alternative embodiments the seal, lead-through or transit of the present invention is furnished with means for lubrication as shown in the simultaneously filed application entitled "Lubrication of a Pipe or Cable Lead-Through", filed by the applicant of the present application. This application is hereby incorporated by reference.

Claims

1. A compressible module (100, 200, 300, 400) for cable entries or pipe penetrations receiving one or more compressible modules, which modules comprises com- pressible base parts (102, 104, 202, 204, 302, 304, 402, 404) surrounding each cable or pipe, which cable entries or pipe penetrations are placed either directly in an opening through a wall or other structural partition forming the wall or other partition or in a frame (114), whereby a barrier is formed of the one or more modules and at least one compression unit (116) in either the opening or the frame (114), wherein each com- pressible base part has at least two peelable layers (106, 108, 306, 406) for adapting to the diameter of a cable or pipe, which peelable layers are placed in a groove of each base part, characterized in that a peelable layer closer to the compressible base part has a greater extension in an axial direction than a peelable layer farther away from the compressible base part.

2. The compressible module of claim 1, wherein at least one peelable layer is flush with the compressible base part at one axial end of the latter.

3. The compressible module of claim 1 or 2, wherein all the peelable layers are flush with the compressible base part (102, 104, 202, 204, 302, 304, 402, 404) at one axial end of the latter.

4. The compressible module of any preceding claim, wherein the module (200, 400) has peelable layers (206, 208) on the outside.

5. The compressible module of any preceding claim, wherein a portion of a layer extending beyond a superimposed layer is provided with identification or dimensioning marking.

6. A method for arranging a cable or pipe in a compressible sealing module and dimensioning the sealing module to the diameter of the cable or pipe, said sealing module having a through hole in which peelable layers of material are arranged for adapting the diameter of the through hole to the diameter of the cable or pipe, wherein a radially outer peelable layer has a greater extension in an axial direction than a radially inner peelable layer, comprising the steps of: inserting a cable or pipe into the through hole of the compressible module until it contacts a peelable layer, removing the peelable layer contacting the cable or pipe and any layers radially inside of this.

7. A method for arranging a sealing module assembly in an opening of a structure, said sealing module comprising peelable sheets on its outer circumference, wherein an radially inner layer has a greater extension in an axial direction than a radially outer peelable layer, comprising the steps of: inserting the module assembly in the opening until obstructed by a peelable sheet, removing the peelable sheet obstructing the insertion and any peelable sheets radially outside of this.

8. A sealing system comprising cable entries or pipe penetrations receiving one or more compressible modules surrounding each cable or pipe, which cable entries or pipe penetrations are placed either directly in an opening through a wall or other structural partition forming the wall, wherein said compressible module is a module according to any one of claims 1 to 5.