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 function 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 di- mension. 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 compression the cylindrical body will expand radially both inwards and outwards.

Furthermore, the pipes, wires or cables received may have different outer di- ameters, 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 different 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 re- ceive 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 invention. 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 removed in order to adapt to the diameter of a cable.

Summary

The above and further advantages are achieved with the inventive compressible sealing module and a method for arranging a cable or pipe in a compressible sealing module having several peelable sheets of material for adaptation to a particular cable or pipe diameter according the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are defined by the subclaims.

According to a first aspect the present invention thus concerns a compressible module for cable entries or pipe penetrations receiving one or more compressible mod- ules 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 through hole having at least one peelable layer for adapting to the diameter of a cable or pipe. The compressible module is characterized in that the adhesion between adjacent peelable layers or between the peelable layer and an inner circumference of the through hole are such that it allows for an individual layer to be removed axially from the compressible module by pushing with a cable or pipe or a device having the same diameter as the cable or pipe. Using a compressible module of the inventive type simplifies installation, in particular since it will be much more expedient and less time-consuming than what is the case for prior art modules. The peelable, slidable layers may be arranged inside a module, for adapting the module to the dimensions of a service, generally a cable or pipe, inserted therein. The peelable, slidable, layers may also be arranged on the outside of a module, for adaptation of the module dimensions to the dimensions of an opening in a partition, such as a wall, ceiling, floor or similar.

According to one or more embodiments the compressible module may be formed in one piece. According to prior art the compressible module has to be parted in some way in order to allow for the peelable sheets to be peeled off. The inventive com- pressible module, however may be formed in one piece, which reduces the number of sealing surfaces and consequently increases the sealing degree.

In one or more embodiments the compressible module may instead have a through going slit extending from the inner circumference of the through hole radially outwards to permit lateral insertion of a cable or pipe. And in yet another embodiment the compressible module may be divided in two separate base parts.

In one or more embodiments the peelable layers may have an axial extension, which increases with increasing radius. This feature makes it easy to centre the tool or cable used to push the peelable, slidable sheets in a correct fashion. For the situation where the peelable sheets are arranged on the outside of the compressible module their axial extension decreases with increasing radius. A general expression would be that the axial extension of the peelable, slidable sheets decreases inversely with the distance from the compressible module.

The present invention also allows for, in one or more embodiments, the layers to be continuously tubular and concentrically arranged in the through hole. Since the peelable, slidable layers are pushed out, rather than peeled off, this design may be beneficial from a users standpoint.

According to one or more embodiments the compressible module may also comprise more than one through hole provided with peelable layers.

The present invention also relates to a method for arranging a cable or pipe in a compressible sealing module having a through hole in which peelable layers of mate- rial are arranged for adapting the diameter of the through hole to the diameter of the cable or pipe, comprising the step of pushing a defined number of peelable layers out of position using the cable or pipe, or a device having the same diameter as the cable or pipe, and 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 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 peelable layer for adapting to the diameter of a cable or pipe, which at least one peelable layer is placed in a profile, wherein said compressible module is a module according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a cross section of a compressible module according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

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

Fig. 3 is a cross section of the compressible module of Figs. 1 and 2, wherein the cable has been fully inserted and the module compressed.

Fig. 4 is an end view of a compressible module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of a compressible module according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is an end view of a compressible module according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a front view of an inventive system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a further embodiment according to the present invention, illustrating insertion of a cable.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a discarded of the embodiment of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a base part of a cylindrical module, which may encompass the present invention.

Detailed Description of Embodiments The compressible module 100 of Fig. 1 comprises two base parts 102 and 104 both having semicircular grooves, which together define a circular through opening. In the through opening peelable layers 106, 108 of material are arranged. In the center of the circular through opening a blind 110 may be 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 as having an air slit between adjacent layers 106, 108, but this is for illustrative purposes. 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 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 "Identification 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 use the compressible module 100 will be assembled, after which a cable 112 in inserted, concentrical with the mass of peelable sheets of material. As the cable 112 is inserted the adhesion between the layers 106, 108 or sheets is such that it will be possi- ble to push out sheets with the cable 112. The blind 110 and the sheets affected by the cable will consequently be pushed out of the compressible module 100, which is illustrated in Fig. 2. By pure geometrical reasons the total retaining force created by adhesion, or friction, between adjacent layers will increase radially outwards from the center, simply because the contact area between adjacent layers increase. Consider three adja- cent layers; an inner layer, an intermediate layer and an outer layer. If a cable pushes onto the inner layer, the intermediate layer will experience two forces. One pulling force from the inner layer, and one retaining force from the outer layer. For the above reasons the pulling force will never exceed the retaining force, resulting in that the inner layer (and any layers inside of this) will be released, while the intermediate layer and any layers outside of this will remain in place. After this step the compressible module 100 may be compressed in order to achieve adequate sealing, which is illustrated in Fig. 3.

While it in prior art solutions is necessary to access the peelable sheets such that they may be peeled away, the present invention eliminates this need. In a second embodiment, shown in Fig. 4, the compressible module 400, with its through opening 414 is formed in one piece. Inside the opening, tubes 406 corresponding to the peelable layers 106, 108, are concentrically arranged. In this embodiment the adhesion between adjacent layers, and between the outmost layer and the inner circumference of the through opening 414 basically consists of friction. This embodiment has the advantage of reducing the number of sealing surfaces, such that the sealing may be improved. In an alternative to this embodiment the compressible module may comprise several through openings. In one extreme of the spectrum only one compressible module could be used for an entire sealing system, leaving only the sealing surfaces towards the compression unit and possible towards the frame and cables to be sealed. This system would only offer flexibility within the boundaries of the diameters of the openings, and is as such not as preferred, at least not for sealing systems having a larger number of transits. On a smaller scale the embodiment of having more than one through opening per compressible module may be attractive, since it is more space efficient too.

In a third embodiment, shown in the cross section of Fig. 5, the axial length (in the length direction of the cable or pipe once inserted) of the layers 506 increases ra- dially outwards. This design forms a step shaped stack of layers, which makes it easier to centre the inserted cable, such that the removal of the correct number of layers is simplified. As the cable is inserted it will readily be centred and the correct number of layers 506 may be pushed out. The step shaped appearance may be on one axial end of the module 500, as illustrated in Fig. 5, or both ends of the module 500. In the embodiments shown so far, the compressible module has either been parted in two base parts or formed in one piece, without any partition. It should be noted that it may also be provided with a slot, such that the two base parts of the embodiment of Fig. 1 are joined along one axial side, as is illustrated in Fig. 6. The compressible module 600 as well as the peelable layers 606 of this embodiment has a longitudinal partition 620 and 622 respectively, extending in the axial direction. In this, or other embodiments, the same solution may be applied to the peelable layers, so as to permit retrofitting of cables to existing sealing system.

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", "A Pipe or Cable Lead-Through having Modules with a Dimensioning Function" 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 appli- cation 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.

It should be noted that any inventive and possible combination of features taken from separate embodiments is foreseen, though not explicitly described.

Fig. 7 illustrates a sealing system where a number of compressible modules have been positioned in a frame 716, and a compression unit 718 has been used to compress 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. The numbering of component of this figure follows the logic of previous figures.

An alternative system including a frame is described in the simultaneously filed application entitled "Sealing System", filed by the applicant of the present application. This application is hereby incorporated by reference. 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. In the embodiment of Fig. 8 a compressible module 800 having several through openings for receiving cables, wires or pipes is shown. Also in this embodiment each opening has a blind 802 and a number of layers 804. When a cable 806 or the like is inserted in an opening of the module 800 it will push out the blind 802 and normally a number of layers 804. Thus, a discarded part 808 comprising a blind 802 and possible layers 804 is pushed out for each inserted cable 806.

The concept of pushing out layers may also be used in a cylindrical module or seal. In Fig. 10 one example of a cylindrical module half is shown. It comprises a base part 900, fittings 902, 906, screws 904, inner layers 908 and outer layers 910. In use two module halves are placed on top of each other forming a central through opening for receiving a cable, wire or pipe. The module is compressed by means of the fittings and the screws 904. The layers 910 on the outside are used to adapt the outer diameter of the formed module to the inner diameter of an opening receiving the module. Even though the module indicated in Fig. 10 is formed of two base part a person skilled in the art realizes that the module may have a cylindrical base part made in one piece. Generally, the cables or pipes will have a stiffness that is sufficient for pushing the layers out of position, yet in instances where the cables or pipes are to soft, or simply in situations where it is more convenient, it would be possible to use a tool having the same diameter as the cable or pipe, without departing from the scope of the inven- tion as defined by the claims.

The peelable layers, be them arranged on the outside or the inside of the compressible module, does not have to be of the same thickness. They may e.g. vary to account for different intervals of cable diameters, such that there are thinner layers in one or several size intervals and thicker layers in an interval in-between.