Device for sealing a line passing through a pipe end

Abstract

Device for sealing a line (6) guided through a pipe end (5) by means of a heat-shrinkable tube encompassing the pipe end (5) and the line (6) at their respective outer diameters, wherein a centering aid is arranged between the line (6) and the inner diameter of the pipe end (5), characterized in that the centering aid is designed as an annular disc segment (8).

Description

[0001] The utility model relates to a device for sealing a line guided through a pipe end by means of a heat-shrinkable tube enclosing the pipe end and the line at their respective outer diameters, according to the type defined in more detail in the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Such devices for sealing by means of a heat shrink tube are known, for example, from the field of house entries for power lines, hose lines or the like.

[0003] Typically, at least one line is routed through a wall opening. A pipe section with a relatively large diameter is often arranged in this wall opening and is sealingly connected to the wall opening, for example, by being glued therein. This pipe section is then typically sealed to a cover on the outside of the building. If lines are to be routed through, this cover has one or more pipe ends which typically merge in a funnel shape into the outer diameter of the cover, which roughly corresponds to the diameter of the pipe section. This cover is then sealingly connected to the pipe section, for example, screwed to it via a flange with an inserted sealing element or the like. One of the pipe ends is now used for each line passed through.The cable is passed through this pipe end and a heat shrink tube is pulled over the cable and the pipe end and then shrunk by heating so that the cable is sealed to the pipe end.

[0004] Typically, the outer diameters of the cables are smaller or significantly smaller than the inner diameter of the respective pipe end. If the cable rests on the lower part of the pipe end due to gravity, the heat-shrink tubing shrinks unevenly during heating, as it barely needs to shrink on the underside to contact the cable, while it requires excessive shrinkage on the top side to contact the cable. In practice, this frequently leads to leaks.

[0005] To remedy this, it is common practice among those performing the installation to insert some kind of object between the pipe and the pipe end to at least temporarily center the pipe within the pipe end. Some suppliers of such system covers for heat-shrink technology have therefore switched to offering ribbed rubber bands, which can be cut to the appropriate length and folded several times to insert them between the inner wall of the pipe end and the outer diameter of the pipe. Purely as an example, reference can be made to the catalog of Hauff Technik in Herbrechtingen, which was current at the time of registration, which offers such components under the term "centering bands."

[0006] However, the use of such centering bands as centering aids is difficult in practice and often results in these loosely inserted bands not fulfilling the desired function, since they slip very easily when the cables are inserted and their arrangement requires a certain amount of experience from the person carrying out the installation in order to achieve a usable result.

[0007] The task behind the present utility model is therefore to improve such a structure with regard to the centering aid.

[0008] This object is achieved by a device having the features in claim 1, and in particular in the characterizing part of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of such a device emerge from the subclaims dependent on claim 1.

[0009] The device according to claim 1 thus comprises the elements described above for sealing a line routed through a pipe end using a heat-shrink tube, including a centering aid arranged between the line and the inner diameter of the pipe end. The centering aid is designed as a ring-disk segment. Such a centering aid in the form of a ring-disk segment allows for a very simple and stable construction, since the outer diameter of the ring-disk segment can simply be inserted into the interior of the pipe end, and the line can be placed on the inner diameter of the ring-disk segment.

[0010] In order to ensure a stable structure, it can be provided according to an advantageous further development that the ring disc segment in the circumferential direction represents 1 / 4 to 1 / 2 of a ring disc, preferably approximately 1 / 3 of a ring disc.

[0011] The annular disc segment itself can preferably be formed as a single piece from an elastic material, for example, from an elastic material with a hardness of 30 to 70 Shore A, particularly preferably with a hardness of approximately 50 Shore A. These can, for example, be the rubber discs commonly used in house leads, which are pressed together by pressing plates and are generally known for this purpose. They can then be easily divided into, for example, three to four parts to produce the annular segments.

[0012] The outer diameter of the ring disk segment can roughly correspond to the inner diameter of the pipe, more preferably it is slightly larger so that when the ring disk segment is inserted and pressed down into the pipe end it is held in the pipe end under slight pretension due to static friction. The ring disk segment is preferably arranged at the bottom in the direction of gravity so that the line comes to rest on the inner diameter of the ring disk segment from above in the direction of gravity and presses it downwards. The inner diameter of the ring disk segment can roughly correspond to the outer diameter of the line. In this case too the diameter can be slightly smaller than the diameter of the line so that when pressed down the line is held under pretension in the opening segment of the ring disk segment.

[0013] Now, in principle, it would be necessary to provide a separate annular disc segment for each diameter of the pipe end and, in particular, also for each diameter of the lines inserted therein. However, this is not necessary if, according to an advantageous embodiment, the annular disc segment has, in at least one section of its extension in the radial direction, several cylinder jacket-segment-shaped shells which are formed integrally with the annular disc segment and with one another and are connected to the annular disc segment and to one another via predetermined breaking points. This construction is also known in principle from the rubber discs already mentioned, which are modified via incisions to create individual shells. Those shells which are not required can then be broken out or torn out on site at the construction site.With a radial thickness of 1 to 5 mm per shell, the diameter can be easily adjusted to the desired pipeline with sufficient precision. In this case, this makes it possible to achieve sufficiently good centering of the pipe within the pipe end, which is definitely suitable for sealing with heat-shrink tubing.

[0014] The predetermined breaking points between the individual shells and the area of the ring disc segment not divided into shells can be created, for example, by leaving a residual material in the axial direction on one side, while a cut is made on the other side to, for example, 90% of the depth of the material of the ring disc segment. This design is common, for example, in the rubber discs mentioned above. In practice, it is therefore very efficient to divide already manufactured discs into three to four sub-segments and use them as a ring disc-segment-shaped centering aid.

[0015] The individual shells can be arranged at least on the side radially facing the inner diameter. This allows a suitable ring disk segment to be provided for each pipe end, which is typically only available in graduated diameters anyway. The inner diameter can then be easily adapted to different pipe diameters by tearing out the unneeded shells.

[0016] Of course, it would also be possible, alternatively or preferably in addition, to provide several shells on the side radially facing the outer diameter of the annular disc segment. The structure could then be flexibly adapted both in terms of the outer diameter, which should match the inner diameter of the pipe end, and the inner diameter, which should match the outer diameter of the line. Preferably, it could also be provided that the entire annular disc segment is constructed exclusively from such shells.

[0017] The pipe end can be designed as part of a cover for a wall opening, which has at least one pipe end, as already explained above. This cover can be directly connected to the wall opening, but more preferably and frequently in practice, it can be sealingly connected to a pipe section arranged in the wall opening.

[0018] Further details of the device also emerge from the embodiment, which is described in more detail below with reference to the figures.

[0019] Showing: Fig. 1 a seal using a heat shrink technique in a structure according to the prior art; Fig. 2 a plan view of a structure analogous to that in Fig. 1 with a centering aid according to the invention; and Fig. 3 an exemplary round blank with incisions to form concentric shells.

[0020] In the presentation of the Fig. 1 shows the structure from the prior art, which was already roughly explained at the beginning. A wall designated 1 has a wall opening designated 2, in which a pipe section 3 with a comparatively large diameter is arranged. This pipe section can, for example, be designed to be sealed by adhesive bonding to the surfaces of the wall opening 2. On a Fig. 1 On the right-hand side of the wall 1, the pipe section 3 is closed by a cover designated 4, which here, purely as an example, has a single pipe end designated 5. A cable 6 is passed through this pipe end 5. This structure can then be sealed by heating the heat shrink tube 7, which is pulled over both the pipe end 5 and the cable 6, and thus shrinking it. It is critical for the sealing if the cable 6, as shown in the illustration of the Fig. 1, is located at the bottom of the pipe end 5, and thus the heat-shrink tubing 7 does not shrink evenly around the diameter of the assembly. This can easily lead to leaks.

[0021] In the presentation of the Fig. 2, the structure is shown again in a view from the right, whereby the problem of uneven shrinkage of the heat shrink tubing 7 (not shown again here) is counteracted by the line 6 resting on a centering aid designated 8 within the pipe end 5. This centering aid is designed as a circular ring disk segment, which here takes up approximately 1 / 3 of a circular ring disk in terms of its circumference. The outer diameter of this ring disk segment 8 used as a centering aid corresponds approximately to the inner diameter of the pipe end 5. The inner diameter corresponds approximately to the outer diameter of the line 6. The outer diameter of the ring disk segment 8 is preferably somewhat larger so that it can be reliably clamped in the pipe end 5 by slight pressure from top to bottom and thus remains securely in place during the shrinking process.The inner diameter can be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the line 6 so that when pressed down into the opening segment of the ring disk segment 8, it too is slightly clamped against the latter and thus remains reliably in position. In order to be able to adapt the diameter, in particular the inner diameter of the ring disk segment 8, to the outer diameter of the line 6 easily and efficiently, the ring disk segment 8 can have several shells 9, at least in the direction of its inner diameter. Individual shells 9 can then be removed on site in order to adapt the inner diameter of the ring disk segment 8 to the outer diameter of the line 6. The individual shells 9 can have thicknesses in the order of magnitude of 1 to 5 mm in order to center different outer diameters of lines 6 with sufficient accuracy within the pipe end 5 so that the heat shrink tubing 7 reliably seals the structure.

[0022] The use of such shells 9 is known in principle from the field of house entries and is often used in so-called rubber discs or discs, which are pressed between rigid plates in the axial direction in order to, on the one hand, seal an inserted line and, on the other hand, to create a seal directly with a wall opening 2 or with a pipe section 3 inserted into it. An exemplary disc 10, as it is known in principle from the prior art, is shown in the illustration of Fig. 3 is shown schematically. The production of this round blank 10 with the shells 9 is carried out by creating individual incisions 11, which are introduced, for example, according to DE 10 2016 202 487 A1, into the rubber material of the round blank 10. Such a round blank 10 is now ideally suited for the production of the centering aid in the form of the ring disk segment 8. Such a round blank can, for example, simply be cut into three or four parts to produce the centering aid. The dotted possible cutting lines S are shown in Fig. 3. An inner part 12 can then be directly discarded after the round blank 10 has been divided along the cutting lines S, since, unlike the entire round blank 10, it has no stabilizing influence on the product during transport of the ring disc segments 8 and is not required on site.

[0023] This is correspondingly simple and efficient, as existing blanks 10 can be processed into multiple centering aids. In particular, it is also conceivable to process blanks 10 into centering aids if they have production-related or material-related defects in part of their circumference, as these can then simply be cut out and the remaining areas used as centering aids. Furthermore, the material quality requirements for the centering aid are not so high, so even sections of blanks with tears, holes, larger pores, or the like can still be used as centering aids without any problems. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2016 202 487 A1

[0022]

Claims

[1] Device for sealing a line (6) guided through a pipe end (5) by means of a heat-shrinkable tube encompassing the pipe end (5) and the line (6) at their respective outer diameters, wherein a centering aid is arranged between the line (6) and the inner diameter of the pipe end (5), characterized by that the centering aid is designed as a ring disc segment (8). [2] Device according to claim 1, characterized by that the ring disc segment (8) represents a quarter to half of a ring disc in the circumferential direction. [3] Device according to claim 2, characterized by that the ring disc segment (8) represents approximately one third of a ring disc in the circumferential direction. [4] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the annular disc segment (8) is formed in one piece from an elastic material. [5] Device according to claim 4, characterized bythat the elastic material has a hardness of 30 to 70 Shore A. [6] Device according to claim 5, characterized by that the material has a hardness of approx. 50 Shore A. [7] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the outer diameter of the ring disc segment (8) corresponds approximately to the inner diameter of the pipe end (5). [8] Device according to claim 7, characterized by that the outer diameter of the pipe disc segment (8) is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the pipe end (5). [9] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the inner diameter of the ring disc segment (8) corresponds approximately to the outer diameter of the line (6). [10] Device according to claim 9, characterized by that the inner diameter of the ring disc segment (8) is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the line (6). [11] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the annular disc segment (8) has, in at least one section of its extension in the radial direction, a plurality of cylinder jacket segment-shaped shells (9) which are formed in one piece with the annular disc segment (8) and with one another and are connected to the annular disc segment (8) and with one another via predetermined breaking points. [12] Device according to claim 11, characterized by that the predetermined breaking points are formed by a thin material layer on one side in the axial direction of the ring disc segment (8). [13] Device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized by that each of the shells (9) has a thickness of 1 to 5 mm in the radial direction of the annular disc segment (8). [14] Device according to claim 11, 12 or 13, characterized by that the shells (9) are arranged on the side radially facing the inner diameter of the annular disc segment (8). [15] Device according to one of claims 11 to 14, characterized by that the shells (9) are arranged at least on the side radially facing the outer diameter of the annular disc segment (8). [16] Device according to claims 14 and 15, characterized by that the ring disc segment (8) is constructed exclusively from shells (9). [17] Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the pipe end (5) is designed as part of a cover (4) having at least one pipe end (5) for a wall opening (2). [18] Device according to claim 17, characterized by that the cover (4) is designed as a closure of a pipe section (3) which is received in a sealed manner in the wall opening (2) and can be connected to the pipe section (3) in a sealing manner.

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