MXPA98000226A - Apparatus to lock part of an alarg object - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for enclosing part of an elongate object (31), comprising: (a) an enclosure (19, 21) for enclosing part of the elongated object (31), (b) a sealing member (1) comprising sealing material to form a seal between the casing (19, 21) and the elongated object (31), and (C) a compression member (25) to compress the sealing member (1) in the direction (25) to compress the fastening member. sealing (1) in the longitudinal direction with respect to the elongate object (31), causing the same as moving at least some of the material to seal in a lateral direction with respect to the elongate object (31) to form the seal; in use, longitudinal compression of the sealing member is caused by moving the sealing member and / or the compression member (25) relative to the shell (19, 21) in a lateral direction with respect to the elongated object (3).

Description

APPARATUS FOR CLOSING PART OF A LENGTHED OBJECT The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for enclosing part of an elongate object. The apparatus may be a cable splice closure or other cable closure, the elongate object comprising a cable. Alternatively, the apparatus may be a duct seal for attaching to, and sealing, one end of a duct, the elongate object preferably comprising a cable or a tube. By cable is meant a telecommunications cable (either conductive or fiber optic), an electric cable or other conductive cable, a wire or an optical fiber. There are many different types of cable splice closures, and other devices for enclosing cables or tubes. Some of these apparatuses have sealing members which form a seal between an envelope and an elongate object which extends within the envelope by means of longitudinally compressing (with respect to the elongated object) by means of longitudinal bolts or the like, which force something of the sealing member to move laterally within the sealing engagement with the elongate object and the interior of the envelope. For example, International Patent Application WO 90/05401 (Raychem) discloses a closure assembly having a seal for cable formed from a substantially rigid portion and a sealing material, eg, gel, retained by the rigid portion. . The rigid portion comprises two end portions that can be moved towards each other thereby providing a compressive force in the material to be sealed. The two end portions can be moved towards each other by means of a bolt, or two or more bolts, which extend through the end portions and the sealing material. A spring or other resilient material (e.g., over the bolt (s)) may be provided to keep the material to seal under compression. International Patent Application WO 92/22114 (Raychem) discloses a sealing device which is similar to that of WO 90/05401, but which has the inventive feature of stop elements for limiting the inclination of the resilient member in a configuration in which the inclination can be increased by the movement of the sealing material. This has the advantage that the installer can tighten the resilient member until it feels a stop, knowing that the correct degree of tightening has been applied. Subsequently, it will be possible for the displacement of the sealing material to be accommodated, for example, because the material slips under the applied inclination, or because the material expands because of an increase in temperature. These seals perform extremely well, but it would be desirable to have a seal which could work equally well, but which would be cheaper to manufacture and as simple, or easier, to install. One purpose of the present invention is to provide the apparatus having this seal. In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for enclosing part of an elongate object, comprising: (a) an enclosure for enclosing part of an elongate object; (b) a sealing member comprising the material for sealing to form a seal between the envelope and the elongate object; and (c) a compression member for compressing the sealing member in a longitudinal direction with respect to the elongated object causing it to be the same as when at least part of the sealing material moves in a lateral direction with respect to the elongated object to form a seal; wherein, in use, the longitudinal compression of the sealing member is caused by moving the sealing member and / or the compression member relative to the housing, preferably inside the housing, in a lateral direction relative to the housing. elongated object. According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for enclosing part of an elongate object, comprising: (a) inserting the elongate object into a sealing member comprising material for sealing, and inserting the sealing member and the elongated object within a shell to close part of the elongated object; and (b) moving the sealing member and / or a compression member relative to the housing, preferably inside the housing, in a lateral direction with respect to the elongate object, thereby compressing the sealing member in a direction longitudinal with respect to the elongated object and consequently causing that at least some of the material to be sealed is displaced in a lateral direction with respect to the elongate object, thereby forming a seal between the envelope and the elongate object. Preferably, step (b) is performed after step (a). The apparatus and method according to the invention have the advantage that because longitudinal compression of the sealing member is caused by moving the sealing member and / or the compression member relative to the wrapping in one direction lateral with respect to the elongate object, a simple method is provided, and a simple and preferably inexpensive apparatus design is possible, as will be seen from the following description and drawings. Preferably, the sealing member, in use, is compressed between the compression member and part of the envelope. The lateral movement of the compression member (in embodiments in which the compression member moves like this), can conveniently comprise the insertion of the compression member between the sealing member and part of the shell or other part of the apparatus, which is preferably fixed (at least in the longitudinal direction) with respect to the envelope. Additionally or alternatively, in embodiments in which the sealing member moves in a lateral direction with respect to the elongated object, this lateral movement of the sealing member can conveniently comprise inserting the sealing member between the compression member and part of the sealing member. of the envelope or other part of the apparatus which is preferably fixed (at least in the longitudinal direction) with respect to the envelope. In each case, the other part of the apparatus can conveniently comprise a holding device for holding the elongated object with the envelope. The lateral movement of the sealing member and / or the compression member in relation to the envelope preferably comprises -1: lifting the member (s) into one or more grooves in. i wrap or between other parts of the appliance. The wrap can, for example, have internal ribs, flanges or other projections between which the sealing member and / or the compression member can be grooved. The slot (s) may, however, be between part of the envelope and another part of the apparatus (for example, a holding device for holding the elongated object to the envelope), or it may be between two or more others. parts of the device. For example, the compression member may be grooved between the sealing member and a clamping device, or the sealing member may be grooved between the compression member and a clamping device. Normally, the insertion, for example grooving, of the sealing member and / or the compression member into the wrapping is a simple and quick way to apply longitudinal compression to the sealing material and thus form the desired seal. Normally eliminating the need to tighten one or more bolts in order to achieve this compression, as necessary with the known sealing systems, and this is advantageous because tightening the bolts can, in unfavorable circumstances, for example where access is restricted , it consumes time and is difficult. It is particularly preferred that the compression member have a generally planar shape, that is, a shape that is generally in a plane. (The compression member may, however, generally have a wedge shape). Preferably, the plane of the compression member is oriented transversely, more preferably, substantially perpendicularly, with respect to the elongated object. An advantage of this is that a compact design is normally provided. Preferably, the compression member is resilient, at least so that, in use, it applies biased compression to the sealing member. This has the advantage that changes in the volume of the sealing material (eg, due to temperature changes) and / or slippage, exudation, etc. of the sealing material, are normally automatically accommodated by the compression member due to its resilience while maintaining compression of the sealing material. Put simply, due to the resilience of the compression member, it automatically expands or contracts preferably as appropriate, in the relevant direction in response to expansion, contraction, or loss of sealing material, and This way it keeps its compression on the material to seal. The compression member preferably comprises a spring, for example, a leaf spring or a spring made of metal wire. A particularly preferred form of compression member (e.g., metal wire) is formed in a generally smooth, that is, generally flat, shape, but which has one or more resilient parts outside the plane, which applies resilient compression to the sealing member. The compression member, for example, grooving, can conveniently be inserted near the sealing member (or vice versa) so that the resilient part (s) which are outside the plane of the compression member, compress the sealing member. Instead of the compression member being a separate part of the apparatus that can be inserted within the envelope separately from the other components, it can, in some embodiments of the invention, be an integral part of the envelope and / or of the sealing member. By this is meant that the compression member can be integrally formed with the wrapping or the sealing member or that it can be attached to the wrapping or the sealing member so that together the wrapping and the compression member, or the sealing member and the compression member comprise a single component of the apparatus. The wrapping (which is preferably formed from plastics materials) preferably comprises a base and a cover which can be put together to close the wrapping. Conveniently, attaching the base and the cover, in use, can cause, or at least complete, the lateral movement of the sealing member and / or the compression member in relation to the base or cover of the envelope. For example, the sealing member and / or the compression member may be partially inserted into the envelope (eg, into the base of the envelope) and the subsequent closure of the envelope by means of holding together the base and the cover. cover, may cause additional lateral movement of the sealing member and / or the compression member within the final working position. The sealing member preferably includes at least one plate or the like near the sealing material, which, in use, is forced by the compression member against the sealing material, thereby applying compression thereto. More preferably, the sealing member comprises at least two plates (preferably only two plates) between which is the material to be sealed, the longitudinal compression of the sealing member in use, causing the plates to be forced towards each other, or causing one of the plates to be forced towards the other plate, applying the same compression to the material to seal and causing its lateral displacement. The or each plate can be substantially rigid or can be flexible. The plate (s) can (for example) be formed from a plastic material, for example polypropylene, or an elastomeric material, for example natural or synthetic rubber. Although the apparatus of the invention has been described as enclosing the part of an elongated object, it should be understood that this includes enclosing two or more elongated objects. The sealing member can, therefore, form a seal around one, and preferably two or more, elongated objects. For this purpose, the sealing member has, at least in use, one or more ports (ie, openings) through which the elongate object (s) extends. When a port is not in use, it is preferably blocked, for example, by a shutter. Alternatively, the ports may be provided only as and when needed, for example, by means of trimming, or otherwise removing, portions of the sealing member. The sealing material can generally comprise any suitable sealing material. A particularly preferred sealing material is the gel. The gel may, for example, comprise silicone gel, urea gel, urethane gel, thermoplastic gel, or any suitable gel or geloid sealing material. Preferred gels comprise an oil-extended polymer composition. Preferably the gel has a hardness at room temperature as determined using a Stevens-Voland Texture Analyzer, greater than 45 grams, particularly greater than 50 grams, especially greater than 55 grams, for example, between 55 grams and 60 grams . This preferably has an effort-relaxation of less than 12 per -: - >especially, less than 10 percent, and specifying: less than 8 percent. The maximum elongation, also at room temperature, is preferably greater than 100 percent, more preferably higher-600 percent, especially greater than 1000 percent, particularly greater than 1400 percent, as determined in accordance with ASTM D638 The tensile modulus at an effort of 100 percent is preferably at least 1.8 MPa, more preferably at least 2.2 MPa. In general, the compression adjustment is preferably less than 35 percent, more preferably less than 25 percent, especially less than 15 percent. Preferably, the gel has a cone penetration as measured by ASTM D217, of at least 50 (10"1 millimeter), more preferably at least 100 (10" 1 millimeter), even more preferably at least 200 ( 10"1 millimeter) and preferably not greater than 400 (10" 1 millimeter), especially not greater than 350 (10"1 millimeter) The polymer composition of the gel may for example comprise an elastomer, or a block copolymer which have relatively hard blocks and relatively elastomeric blocks Examples of these copolymers include styrene-diene block copolymers, for example diblock or triblock copolymers of styrene-butadiene or styrene-isopropene, for example, as described in the patent publication No. WO 88/00603, preferably, however, the polymer composition comprises one or more styrene-ethylene-prcp-styrene block copolymers, for example, as sold under the same name. Registered Trade Mark 'Septon' by Kuraray of Japan. The extender liquids used in the gel, preferably comprise oils. The oils may be hydrocarbon oils, for example paraffinic or naphthenic oils, synthetic oils for example, polybutene or polypropylene oils, and mixtures thereof. The preferred oils are mixtures of non-aromatic paraffins and naphthenic hydrocarbon oils. The gel may contain additives, for example, such as moisture scavengers (e.g., benzoyl chloride), antioxidants, pigments and fungicides. Other sealing materials that can be used include polymeric foam materials (eg silicone), elastomeric materials, for example natural or synthetic rubber, mastics, or fats, for example silicone grease. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a sealing member of an apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a clamping device of an apparatus according to the invention; Figure 3 shows a wrapping of an apparatus according to the invention; Figure 4 shows an apparatus according to the invention being closed around some cables; Figure 5 shows a sealing member, compression member, and fastening device of an apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figure 6 shows another sealing member, compression member, and fastening device of an apparatus in accordance with the invention. Figure 1 (a and b) shows a sealing member 1 of an apparatus according to the invention, comprising two plates 3 between which is the sealing material 5 of the sealing member. In use, the plates 3 are forced relatively close to each other (for example, by moving one plate towards the other plate), causing the same to move laterally some of the material to be sealed, in sealing contact with the interior of a surrounding envelope (not shown) and with cables or other elongated objects that extend through ports or openings 7 that extend through the sealing member. The sealing member 1 is divided into three separate parts, as shown in Figure Ib, to allow lateral entry of the cables or other elongated objects into the openings 7. Figure 2 (a and b) shows a device for securing an apparatus according to the invention, to hold cables or other objects elongated with respect to the envelope. The clamping device 9 has openings 11 extending therethrough, which correspond to the openings 7 in the sealing member. In use, a bolt, a screw, or the like, extends through the hole 13, and therefore the separated parts 15 of the device can be tightened around the elongated objects extending through the openings 11. The Figure 3 shows a casing 17 of an apparatus according to the invention, comprising a base 19 and a cover 21 which can be put together to close the casing. The base 19 of the wrapper has slits 23 at each end, for grooving the sealing members and securing the devices therein. Figure 4 schematically illustrates an apparatus according to the invention in the form of a cable splice closure, comprising the sealing member 1, the clamping device 9, the casing 17 of Figures 1 to 3 respectively, and further comprising a compression member 25 and an O-ring seal, 27 (to form a seal between the base 19 and the cover 21 of the shell 17). Figure 4a shows the compression member 25 being inserted into the casing 17 between the sealing member 1 and the holding device 9. The compression member 25 is generally smooth, but has resilient portions 29 which extend out of the plane of the rest of the member. The compression member is conveniently formed from metal, for example, metal wire. The insertion of the compression member 25 between the sealing member 1 and the clamping device 9, presses the resilient parts 29 of the compression member against the sealing member, and because the clamping device is fixed to the casing, of so that it can not be moved, the sealing member is compressed. The compression of the sealing member causes its plates to come together, thereby displacing some of the material to seal laterally. The direction of insertion of the compression member 25 is substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the cables 31 extend within the envelope. Each of Figures 5 and 6, shows a sealing member 1, a compression member 25, and a fastening device 9, in greater detail. Those shown in Figure 5 are for receiving a single cable 31, while those shown in Figure 6 are for receiving up to four cables 31, and according to the above, the sealing members and the devices clamping, have the appropriate number of cable entry openings. Each of the openings of the sealing member 1 shown in Figure 6 has a series of concentric removal portions 33, which can be removed selectively, for example, by cutting, dep * >; r.Jiendo of the diameters of the cables. In addition to this aesthetic character, the sealing members 1 and the fastening devices 9 are substantially the same as those shown in Figures 1 and 2 respectively. The bolts 35 are illustrated, which hold the separated parts 15 of the fastening devices around the cables 31. Each of the compression members 25 comprises a single piece of metal wire bent so as to form three sides of a square, and having crimps 29 bent out of the plane of the square to press against the sealing member 1, thereby forcing the closest plate 3 near the farthest plate and thereby displacing some of the sealing material in one direction side.

Claims (15)

1. The apparatus for enclosing part of an elongate object, comprising: (a) a casing for enclosing part of an elongate object; (b) a sealing member comprising sealing material to form a seal between the housing and the elongate object; and (c) a compression member for compressing the sealing member in a longitudinal direction with respect to the elongate object, thereby causing at least some of the sealing material to move in a lateral direction with respect to the elongate object, to form the stamp; wherein, in use, longitudinal compression of the sealing member is caused by moving the sealing member and / or the compression member relative to the housing in a lateral direction with respect to the elongate object. The apparatus, according to claim 1, characterized in that the sealing member is compressed between the compression member and part of the envelope. The apparatus, according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the lateral movement of the compression member, comprises the insertion of the compression member between the sealing member and part of the envelope or other part of the apparatus, the which is fixed with respect to the envelope. The apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lateral movement of the sealing member, comprises the insertion of the sealing member between the compression member and part of the envelope or other part of the apparatus, which is fixed with respect to the envelope. The apparatus, according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterized in that the other part of the apparatus comprises a holding device for holding the elongate object with respect to the envelope. The apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compression member has a shape that lies generally in a plane, where, in use, its plane is oriented transversely, preferably substantially perpendicularly. , with respect to the elongated object. The apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lateral movement of the sealing member and / or the compression member in relation to the envelope, comprises the grooving of the member (s) within a or more slot (s) in the envelope or between other parts of the apparatus. The apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compression member is resilient, preferably comprising a spring. The apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the compression member is an integral part of the envelope and / or of the sealing member. The apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the casing comprises a base and a cover, which can be put together to close the casing, and by joining the base and the cover in use, preferably causes the lateral movement of the sealing member and / or of the compression member in relation to the base or cover of the envelope. The apparatus, according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sealing member comprises at least two plates between which is the material to be sealed, the longitudinal compression of the sealing member in use causing the plates to be forced towards the other. 1

2. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a cable splice closure, the elongate object comprising a spliced cable. 1

3. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it comprises a duct seal to which is attached and sealed, one end of a duct, the elongate object preferably comprising a cable or a tube. 1

4. A method for enclosing part of a detached object, comprising: (a) inserting the elongate object into a sealing member comprising sealing material, and inserting the sealing member and the elongate object into an enclosing enclosure part of the elongated object; and (b) moving the sealing member and / or the compression member relative to the shell in a lateral direction with respect to the elongate object, thereby compressing the sealing member in a longitudinal direction with respect to the elongate object and in result causing at least some of the material to seal to move in a lateral direction with respect to the elongate object, thereby forming a seal between the envelope and the elongated object. 1

5. A - :: or in accordance with claim 14 which is made -filar the apparatus according to any of the: • vindications 1 to 13.