Door arrangement for improved mounting on the walls of an enclosure and enclosure with such a door arrangement

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a door assembly designed to equip a first enclosed volume and capable of allowing a leak-proof connection of a second enclosed volume to the first enclosed volume for the transfer of products from one to the other without breaching containment. This may involve, for example, the transfer of hazardous products such as certain biological, chemical, or radioactive materials; the transfer of components such as stoppers, bottles, pistons, syringes, etc.; the transfer of environmental control devices such as culture media plates, particle counters, etc.; the transfer of cleaning systems; the transfer of liquids, powders, tools; the transfer of waste to the outside of the enclosure; and / or the transfer of any element necessary for the production or maintenance of the production line.

[0002] In this application, "volume" means any product, equipment, or installation that defines a volume. This could include an enclosure, an insulator, a container, a bag, etc.

[0003] An enclosed volume is defined as a volume isolated from the external environment. This may include, but is not limited to, a volume for the preparation, storage, and / or handling of products that must not come into contact with the outside or with a user.

[0004] The door assembly is intended, in particular but not exclusively, to be mounted on enclosures with a glass wall. STATE OF THE ART

[0005] Transferring products from one enclosed volume to another without breaking the containment of those volumes is a complex problem to solve. To address this, double-door, airtight sealing devices have been developed. Examples include those described in patent applications FR2777822 and FR3036054.

[0006] These double-door junction devices consist of a first and a second door / flange assembly. One of the door / flange assemblies belongs to one of the volumes, and the other to the other volume. Typically, the enclosed volume to be connected is a container such as a transportable bag or pouch, while the other enclosed volume to which the container is connected is generally a fixed handling chamber. The connection of the container to the handling chamber is achieved by joining the door / flange assemblies together.This connection is generally achieved by engaging a so-called bayonet system - the male lugs of the flange and the door of the container engaging respectively in notches of the flange and the door of the handling enclosure - followed by a rotation of the container allowing the flange of the container to be locked onto the flange of the handling enclosure as well as the door of the container to be locked onto the door of the enclosure, the unlocking of the doors connected to each other being achieved by unlocking the doors from their respective flanges.

[0007] In prior art equipment, door assemblies are generally fixed to the enclosure walls by screwing the flanges directly onto the walls. French patent application FR2834582 demonstrates such an arrangement. However, this type of fixing proves problematic when the enclosure walls are made of relatively fragile materials such as glass or transparent plastics like PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate). These materials can be damaged by the screws passing through them, creating areas of weakness and thus a risk of containment breach.

[0008] The invention aims to remedy these problems by proposing a door assembly, and an enclosure comprising such a door assembly, which can be assembled in a simple, quick, and easy manner without altering the walls of the enclosure on which it is mounted. SUBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0009] To this end, and according to a first aspect, the invention proposes an assembly forming a door for a sealed enclosure according to claim 1.

[0010] The enclosure wall is thus "sandwiched" between the inner and outer rings and clamped between the latter, the tightening being carried out from ring to ring without the enclosure wall being penetrated.

[0011] The two flange elements are separate and independent parts. They are assembled with each other in a reversible manner.

[0012] Advantageously, the door assembly includes at least one protective washer intended to be placed between the bearing surface of at least one of the flange elements and the portion of the wall.

[0013] Advantageously, the door assembly includes at least one sealing gasket intended to be inserted between the bearing surface of at least one of the flange elements and the portion of the wall.

[0014] Advantageously, the door assembly includes a spacer arranged to be positioned between two wall elements forming the wall of said enclosure.

[0015] Advantageously, the door assembly is arranged to allow the watertight connection of a door assembly equipping a container via a bayonet system.

[0016] The invention also relates to a sealed enclosure comprising at least one passage opening provided with a door assembly as described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0017] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows with reference to the attached figures, in which: There figure 1 represents an initial example of the realization of a door assembly mounted on a simple enclosure wall; The figure 2 represents a cross-sectional view of the assembly forming the door of the figure 1 ; There figure 3 represents a second example of the realization of a door assembly mounted on a double enclosure wall; The figure 4 represents a cross-sectional view of the assembly forming the door of the figure 3 .

[0018] For clarity, identical or similar elements of the different embodiments are identified by identical reference symbols across all figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] In what follows, the terms "exterior" and "interior" are defined in relation to the enclosure on which the door assembly is mounted. Thus, "exterior" refers to what is located outside the interior space of the enclosure, furthest from the interior space or directed away from the interior of the enclosure, and "interior" refers to what is located within the interior space, closest to the interior space or directed towards the interior of the enclosure.

[0020] In relation to figures 1 and 2A door assembly 1 is described, fitted to an enclosure comprising a glass wall 2 having at least one opening for the passage of products from outside the enclosure to inside it and vice versa. As previously stated, the door assembly 1 is arranged to constitute a connecting device allowing the connection of an enclosed volume, such as a container, bag, or similar, equipped with a door assembly cooperating with the door assembly 1 according to the invention, without breaking the containment.

[0021] The door assembly 1 comprises a flange 3 intended to be fixed to the portion of the wall 20 defining the passage opening, and a door leaf 4 mounted to move relative to the flange 3 between a closed position, in which the door leaf 4 blocks the passage opening, and an open position. In the illustrated example, the door leaf 4 is mounted to move on the flange 3 by means of a hinge 5.

[0022] According to the invention, the flange 3 of the door assembly 1 comprises two distinct flange elements 3a, 3b, joined together by means of assembly screws 6, as illustrated. Advantageously, the assembly screws 6 are concealed by covers 12. In the described embodiment, the flange elements 3a, 3b are directly joined to each other. Thus, the flange 3 is mounted on the wall portion 20 of the enclosure, with one flange element 3a located inside the enclosure and the other flange element 3b located outside the enclosure. The flange elements 3a, 3b thus define, respectively, an inner ring and an outer ring. The inner and outer rings are hereafter referred to with the same reference numerals as the flange elements 3a, 3b.

[0023] The rings 3a, 3b have a surface 30a, 30b arranged to bear directly or indirectly on the surface of the wall portion 20 opposite it. Thus, in the illustrated example, the inner ring 3a has an external bearing surface 30a bearing directly on the inner surface 20a of the wall portion 20, while the outer ring 3b has an internal bearing surface 30b bearing on the outer surface 20b of the wall portion 20. For the outer ring 3b, the bearing is achieved by pressure screws 11 housed in holes provided in the outer ring 3b and protruding from the internal bearing surface 30b.

[0024] To prevent damage to the glass wall of the enclosure during the assembly of the door assembly 1, two protective washers 7 and 9, advantageously made of plastic, are inserted respectively between the inner ring 3a and the wall portion 20, and between the outer ring 3b and the wall portion 20. These protective washers are hereafter referred to as inner protective washers 7 and outer protective washers 9. In the illustrated embodiment, the inner protective washer 7, which is annular in shape, is housed in a groove defined by the peripheral rim 31a of the inner ring and an outer circular collar 33a of the inner ring 3a. The outer washer 9 has an annular body whose outer periphery is provided with a lug 90 extending along the outer periphery 32b of the outer ring 3b and along the wall portion 20.

[0025] To ensure the sealing of the door assembly 1, the latter includes at least one annular sealing gasket, advantageously elastomeric, and preferably silicone, interposed between the wall portion 20 and the bearing surface of at least one of the two rings 3a, 3b. In the illustrated example, the door assembly 1 includes a single sealing gasket 8 interposed between the peripheral rim 31a of the inner ring 3a and the wall portion 20 of the enclosure. More specifically, the sealing gasket 8 is located in the gap delimited by the peripheral rim 31a of the inner ring 3a, the inner protective washer 7 and the inner surface 20a of the wall portion 20. It also has a heel 80 extending along the outer periphery 32a of the inner ring 3a on one side and along the inner surface 20a of the wall portion 20 on the other.

[0026] The compression of the sealing gasket 8 is carried out using the pressure screws 11. The pressure screws 11 mounted through the outer ring 3b and extending beyond the inner bearing surface of the outer ring 3b thus press the outer protective washer 9 against the wall portion 20, pressing the latter against the inner protective washer 7 and simultaneously crushing the sealing gasket 8.

[0027] As previously mentioned, the assembly of the rings 3a and 3b is achieved using fasteners, in this case screws, without these fasteners penetrating the wall. The screw holes are thus provided on the rings 3a and 3b so that they are radially offset from the edge of the wall section 20 when the rings 3a and 3b are mounted on the wall 2. In the illustrated example, the assembly screws 6 pass through the rings 3a and 3b near the edge of the wall section 20, the screw holes in the inner ring being located in the circular collar 33a.

[0028] THE figures 3 and 4illustrate another example of mounting a door assembly 10 according to the invention. In this illustrated example, the door assembly 10 is mounted on an enclosure wall formed of two wall elements 20, 21. This door assembly 10 incorporates all the elements previously described, except that the outer ring 3b and the outer protective washer 9 bear against the wall portion 21a of the outer wall element 21, while the inner ring 3a, the inner protective washer 7, and the sealing gasket 8 bear against the wall portion 20a of the inner wall element 20. Furthermore, and advantageously, the door assembly 10 also includes a spacer 13 positioned between the two wall elements 20, 21.

[0029] In this example, the spacer 13 is assembled with the flange elements 3a, 3b by means of the assembly screws 6, the latter passing through the spacer 13 to connect the two flange elements 3a, 3b, and this without passing through the wall elements 20, 21.

[0030] Two annular sealing gaskets 14, 15, of substantially circular cross-section, are placed between the spacer 13 and each of the wall portions 20a, 21a of the wall elements 20, 21. In the same way as to ensure the sealing on the internal side of the flange 3 with the sealing gasket 8, the sealing between the two wall elements 20, 21 is ensured by crushing said sealing gaskets 14, 15 via the pressure screws.

[0031] In the examples described, the door assemblies are described in relation to a single or double glass wall. It is clear that the door assembly according to the invention is not limited to this type of enclosure, and that it can be used for enclosures with walls made of a material other than glass without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0032] The invention is described above by way of example. It is understood that a person skilled in the art is able to carry out different embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims

1. Door assembly (1, 10) for a sealed enclosure, said enclosure comprising a wall having a wall portion (20, 20a, 21a) delimiting at least one passage opening therein, said door assembly (1, 10) comprising a flange (3) intended to be fixed to the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a) delimiting the passage opening and a leaf mounted movably on the flange (3) between a closed position in which the leaf seals the passage opening and an open position, the flange (3) comprising two flange elements (3a, 3b) which are separate from one another and assembled together by assembly screws (6), one of the flange elements (3a) defining a ring inside the enclosure, which inner ring has a bearing surface (30a) arranged to bear on the inner surface of the wall portion (20, 20a), the other flange element (3b) defining a ring outside the enclosure, which outer ring has a bearing surface (30b) arranged to bear on the outer surface of the wall portion (20, 21a), the bearing of the bearing surface (30b) of the outer ring with the wall portion (20, 21a) being achieved by means of pressure screws (11) which are housed in holes provided in the outer ring and protrude from the bearing surface (30b), the assembly screws (6) being placed to be radially offset from the edge of the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a) so as to connect the inner and outer rings together without passing through the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a) interposed between said rings, the assembly screws (6) and the pressure screws (11) further constituting means for clamping at least one of the two flange elements (3a, 3b) against the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a).

2. Door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it comprises at least one protective washer (7, 9) intended to be placed between the bearing surface (30a, 30b) of at least one of the flange elements (3a, 3b) and the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a).

3. Door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to claim 3, characterized in that the protective washer (9) intended to be placed between the bearing surface (30b) of the flange element (3b) defining an outer ring and the wall portion (20, 21a) comprises an annular body having an outer periphery provided with a heel (90) extending both along the outer periphery (32b) of the outer ring and along the wall portion (20, 21a).

4. Door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises at least one seal (8) intended to be inserted between the bearing surface (30a, 30b) of at least one of the flange elements (3a, 3b) and the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a).

5. Door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to claim 5 when dependent on claim 3, characterized in that the seal (8) is located in a gap delimited by the peripheral rim (31a) of the inner ring, the inner protective washer (7) and the inner surface of the wall portion (20, 20a).

6. Door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a spacer (13) arranged to be placed between two wall elements (20, 21) forming the wall of said enclosure.

7. Door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to claim 7, characterized in that the spacer is passed through by the assembly screws (6) assembling the inner and outer rings.

8. Door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is arranged to allow the sealed connection of a door assembly equipping a container by means of a bayonet system.

9. Sealed enclosure comprising at least one wall comprising at least one passage opening provided with a door assembly according to any of the preceding claims.