SEAL

Technical Field

The present invention concerns a fire protection seal and mounting of said fire protection seal at a pipe received in an opening of a partition.

Background

Intumescent material is a material that swells when expose to excessive heat, such as in case of fire. It is well known in this technical field to use intumescent material as a fire protection. It is previously known to placed different types of fire protection seals having an intumescent material around a plastic pipe, or pipes of other relatively soft material, going through some kind of partition. The main purpose of those previously known devices is to hinder or at least delay that a fire spreads across the partition via the pipe. The intumescent material is normally placed facing the pipe and in case of fire the intumescent material will swell and close off the pipe. It is especially important to close off the pipe if it is used for transport of an inflammable material.

The partition may be a deck or bulkhead of a ship, a wall of a cabinet, technical shelter, junction box or a machine.

In addition to fire protection it is sometimes of importance to seal off the transition of a pipe through a partition.

Summary

According to one aspect of the invention a fire protection seal is provided comprising a housing and an intumescent material. The housing has a cylindrical form with a through central opening and the intumescent material, having a cylindrical form, is placed on the inside of the housing. The housing and the intumescent material each has a split extending in an axial direction along the entire housing and intumescent material, respectively. A locking means is arranged on the outside of the housing on opposite sides of the split of the housing. The fire protection seal further comprises a rear sealing and a front sealing at opposite ends of the housing.

According to another aspect of the invention a method of mounting the fire protection seal at a pipe going through an opening of a partition is provided. The fire protection seal is further provided with a flange, by means of which the fire protection seal is fixed to the partition. The fire protection seal is placed on the pipe with the intumescent material facing the pipe.

The terms radial direction, axial direction and similar expressions as used in this description are in view of a pipe received inside the fire protection seal.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be obvious to a person skilled in the art when reading the detailed description below.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be explained further below by way of example and with reference to the enclosed drawings. In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of one embodiment of a fire protection seal according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fire protection seal of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a housing of the fire protection seal of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an intumescent material of the fire protection seal of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a rear sealing of the fire protection seal of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a flange of the fire protection seal of Figs. 1 and

2;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a front sealing of the fire protection seal of Figs.

1 and 2; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the fire protection seal of Figs. 1 and 2 mounted at a partition and receiving a pipe;

Fig. 9 is a cross section view showing the fire protection seal of Figs. 1 and 2 mounted around a pipe at a partition;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged part taken at the ring A of Fig. 9; and Fig. 11 is an enlarged part taken at the ring B of Fig. 9.

Detailed Description

A fire protection seal 1 according to the invention is to be placed around a pipe 7 going through an opening in a partition 16. The fire protection seal 1 is to be fixed to the partition 16 at said opening receiving the pipe 7. The fire protection seal 1 of the present invention comprises a number of different parts. One part is a housing 2 having a cylindrical form with a through central opening. A cylindrical intumescent material 3 is placed on the inside of the housing 2. The fire protection seal 1 further comprises a rear sealing 4, a flange 5, and a front sealing 6. In use the intumescent material 3 is placed facing the outer circumference of the pipe 7 to be received in an opening of the partition 16. In some embodiments the intumescent material 3 is placed in contact with the pipe 7.

The fire protection seal 1 may be opened in order to place it around the pipe 7. To hold the fire protection seal 1 together a locking means 8 is provided including a hook 9. The main part of the locking means 8 and the hook 9 of the locking means 8 are placed on opposite sides of a split 12 of the housing 2. The split 12 extends in an axial direction along the entire housing 2. By means of the split 12 the housing 2 may be opened, whereby the material of the housing 5 opposite the split 12 will act as a hinge. The housing 2 has a rear guide 10 at one end and a front guide 11 at the opposite end. The rear guide 10 extend in an axial direction and protrudes from the end of the housing 2. The front guide 11 is directed inwards and is about perpendicular to the rest of the housing 2. The rear guide 10 and front guide 11 have the form of a number of lugs placed with a distance between adjacent lugs.

The intumescent material 3 has a split 17. When the intumescent material 3 is placed inside the housing 2, the split 17 of the intumescent material 3 is placed at the split 12 of the housing 2. Thereby the housing 2 and the intumescent material 3 may be opened as one unit to be placed around the pipe 7.

The rear sealing 4 has the form of a ring having a groove 13, going all the way around the sealing. The groove 13 is placed perpendicular to the rest of the rear sealing 4. An outer diameter of the rear sealing ring 4 is larger than the opening of the partition

16 in which opening the pipe 7 is to be received. An inner diameter of the rear sealing 4 is slightly smaller than an outer diameter of the pipe 7, to give a tight fit between the rear sealing 4 and the pipe 7. The rear sealing 4 is normally made of a rubber material.

In the shown embodiment the rear sealing 4 has the form of a complete ring. In other embodiments the rear sealing is made openable.

The flange 5 is made of two semi rings and has a number of ears 14, which ears 14 indicates suitable welding spots. Each ear 14 has a through opening 15, which is adopted to receiving a fastening means such as a screw. In the shown embodiment the flange 5 has four ears 14, but the number of ears 14 may vary depending on for instance size, the type of pipe to be received and the partition at which the fire protection seal 1 is placed. The ears 14 are normally placed at equal spacing on the flange 5.

The front sealing 6 has the form of a ring. A groove 18 goes inwards from the outer circumference of the front sealing 6. Thus, said groove 18 extends in a radial direction. An outer diameter of the front sealing 6 corresponds with an inner diameter of the housing 2. An inner diameter of the front sealing 6 is slightly smaller than an outer diameter of the pipe 7, to give a tight fit between the front sealing 6 and the pipe 7. The front sealing 6 is normally made of a rubber material.

In the shown embodiment the front sealing 6 has the form of a complete ring. In other embodiments the front sealing is made openable.

In some embodiments a sealing strip is provided. Such a sealing strip has a length adapted to the axial length of the housing 2, with the intumescent material 3 and is to be placed in the splits 12, 17 of the housing 2 and the intumescent material 3, respectively. The sealing strip extends all the axial length of the housing 2. In the fire protection seal 1, the intumescent material 3 is placed inside the housing 2. The rear sealing 4 is placed at the end of the fire protection seal 1 that is to be placed closest to the partition 16. The fire protection seal 1 is placed around the pipe 7 going through an opening in the partition 16. The rear guide 10 of the housing 2 is received in the groove 13 of the rear sealing 4. The flange 5 is placed inside the rear sealing 4. Thus, the rear sealing 4 will be placed between the flange 5 and the partition 16. The front sealing 6 is placed at the end of the fire protection seal 1 that is to be furthest from the partition 16. The front guide 11 of the housing 2 are received in the groove 18 of the front sealing 6.

The fire protection seal 1 is either mounted around a pre-routed pipe 7 or is mounted at the partition 16 before any pipe 7 has been routed.

The flange 5 is fastened to the partition at the ears 14, either by welding or by fastening means received in the through openings 15 of the ears 14. By keeping the material of the ears 14 relatively thin, the transfer of heat to adjacent areas will be limited in case of welding. Each of the ears 14 of the flange means 5 is given a dimension to indicate where to place the welds, whereby further the width of each ear 14 indicates a suitable size of the weld.

By means of the locking means 8 and the hook 9 placed at opposite sides of the split 12 of the housing 2, the fire protection seal 1 is fastened around the pipe 7.

The rear and front sealings 4, 6 and the possible sealing strip 7 will give a sealing effect against splashing and cold smoke. By means of cooperation between the lugs of the rear guides 10 of the housing 2 and the grooves 13 of the rear sealing 4, the fire protection seal 1 is guided to a centred position in relation to the opening of the partition 16.