Device for closing a manhole

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure device (1) intended to equip a manhole (2) and comprising a frame (3) and a closure plate (11) with an orifice (12) provided through the frame (3). A seal (13) is interposed between the closure plate (11) and the frame (3). The closure plate (11) is equipped with at least one latch (14) for holding the closure plate (11) opposite a bottom (4) of the frame (3). Each holding latch (14) comprises an axis (15) carrying an arm (16) comprising a tab (18), the axis (15) being movable between a locking position in which the tab (18) is in contact with a lower surface (4b) of the bottom (4) of the frame (3) and an unlocking position in which the tab (18) is free from contact with the lower surface (4b) of the bottom (4) of the frame (3). Figure 3

Description

Title of the invention: Device for closing a manhole

[0001] The invention relates to a device for closing a manhole, such as a manhole fitted to a sanitation network.

[0002] A community sanitation network is commonly arranged under a community roadway and near residential areas to collect their wastewater in sanitation network pipes and convey them to a treatment plant. The sanitation network is equipped with manholes, often made of concrete, to allow maintenance personnel to access the network pipes and carry out the necessary inspection and / or maintenance operations. Each manhole is provided with a cover, often made of cast iron, which acts as an access cover to the manhole, the cover being movable between an open position in which the manhole is accessible to maintenance personnel and a closed position in which the cover is flush with the roadway and tends to block the manhole.

[0003] Wastewater contains waste that may release unpleasant, even nauseating, odorous substances. During periods of high heat, these odorous substances tend to spread throughout the sewerage system, circulating inside the manholes to the covers, then spreading between homes and causing significant olfactory nuisances for local residents. Indeed, it is impossible to achieve perfect sealing between a cast iron cover and a concrete manhole, which has a rough and uneven appearance, so that gaps are regularly present between the cover and the manhole. In addition, the road surface is often covered with gravel that tends to get between the manhole and the cover, and further prevents any sealing between these elements.Furthermore, the roadway and the buffer are subjected to high stresses when vehicles pass over the roadway, which tends to deform them, making the desired waterproofing even more uncertain.

[0004] There is therefore a need to have a watertight sealing device fitted to the inspection chamber which is capable of keeping these olfactory substances in the sanitation network, for the olfactory comfort and safety of local residents, such a device being however easy to operate to allow not only easy and repeated access to the inspection chamber and to the pipes of the sanitation network but also reinstallation to make the inspection chamber watertight again, this sealing device being desired to be durable by offering a substantial lifespan, if possible as long as the sanitation network itself, to avoid replacement operations which are costly and lengthy, this sealing device being furthermore adaptable to inspection chambers and buffers equipping the sanitation pipes which are likely to be of varied conformation and dimensions.

[0005] The present invention falls within this context and proposes a closure device intended to equip a manhole. The closure device comprises a frame and a plate for closing an orifice provided through the frame. A seal is interposed between the closure plate and the frame. The closure plate is equipped with at least one, advantageously at least two, even more advantageously at least three latches for holding the closure plate opposite a bottom of the frame. Each holding latch comprises an axis carrying an arm comprising a tab. The axis is movable between a locking position in which the tab is in contact with a lower surface of the bottom of the frame and an unlocking position in which the tab is free of contact with the lower surface of the bottom of the frame.

[0006] These arrangements are such that in the locking position, the sealing gasket is compressed between the closure plate and the frame, to ensure that the closure device is sealed against the passage of unpleasant olfactory substances through it.

[0007] The closure device advantageously comprises at least one of the following technical characteristics, taken alone or in combination:

[0008] - the frame is arranged in a bowl comprising the bottom and a rim,

[0009] - the frame comprises at least two frame portions,

[0010] - the axis is movable in rotation around an axis of rotation which is orthogonal to a plane blanking plate extension,

[0011] - the arm comprises a first end comprising a sleeve for fixing the arm on the axis and a second end comprising the leg,

[0012] - the axis is equipped with a gripping means flush with an upper face of the blanking plate.

[0013] The present invention also relates to a manhole equipped with such a closing device.

[0014] The inspection chamber is in particular equipped with a buffer delimiting with the inspection chamber an enclosure housing the closure device.

[0015] The inspection chamber is preferably a inspection chamber of a sanitation network.

[0016] The invention and the advantages resulting therefrom will be better understood upon reading the description and the non-limiting embodiments which follow, with regard to the appended figures in which:

[0017] [Fig-1] represents a first variant embodiment of a closure device of a look according to the present invention.

[0018] [Fig.2] represents a second variant embodiment of a closure device of a look according to the present invention.

[0019] [Fig.3] represents a sectional view of the closure device illustrated in Figures 1 or 2.

[0020] [Fig.4] represents a top view of the shutter device illustrated in [Fig.l].

[0021] [Fig.5] represents a top view of the shutter device illustrated in [Fig.2].

[0022] In Figures 1 and 2, a sealing device 1 of the present invention is provided for equipping a manhole 2 with which a pipe of a sewerage network is provided. The sealing device 1 aims to seal the manhole 2 that the sealing device 1 equips, to keep unpleasant, even nauseating, olfactory substances inside the pipes of the sewerage network, the evacuation of which from the manhole 2 would cause certain or even toxic olfactory nuisances for residents living near the manhole 2. In its generality, the sealing device 1 is suitable for equipping a manhole 2 of a relatively arbitrary installation, such as an oil, gas, chemical or similar installation.

[0023] In [Fig. 1], the manhole 2 is a vertical manhole with a polygonal cross-section, in particular square or rectangular. In [Fig. 2], the manhole 2 is a manhole with a circular cross-section. The closure device 1 of the present invention can be adapted to a manhole 2 having any geometry.

[0024] For this purpose, the sealing device 1 comprises a frame 3 which is configured to be embedded inside the manhole 2. It is possible to adapt a geometric conformation of the frame 3 to any conformation of the manhole 2. To do this, the frame 3 is arranged in a bowl comprising a bottom 4 and a rim 5 and the rim 5 has a conformation homothetic to the conformation of the manhole 2. Thus, the frame 3 is easily housed inside the manhole 2, the dimensions of the frame 3 being slightly smaller than those of the manhole 2 to allow the frame 3 to be kept in close contact inside the manhole 2. A bead of mortar 100 is for example interposed between the rim 5 and the manhole 2 to seal the frame 3 inside the manhole 2.

[0025] To facilitate the installation of the frame 3 inside the manhole 2, the frame 3 is for example formed of at least two frame portions 6, such as two identical frame portions 6, which are joined along one of their respective edges 7, to form the frame 3. The frame 3 is for example made of stainless steel and can be adjusted on site.

[0026] In [Fig. 3], the manhole 2 is equipped with a cover 8, for example made of cast iron, and which is flush with the roadway 9. The cover 8 acts as a cover to allow access to the manhole 2, in particular for maintenance personnel. The cover 8 and the manhole 2 at least partially delimit an enclosure 10 which houses the closure device 1. These arrangements are such that the closure device 1 is protected from the stresses exerted by vehicles traveling on the roadway 9 and the cover 8, which reinforces its structural integrity and its durability.

[0027] The closure device 1 comprises a closure plate 11 which is arranged directly above an orifice 12 formed through the bottom 4 of the frame 3. The closure device 1 also comprises a seal 13 which is interposed between the closure plate 11 and the bottom 4 of the frame 3. Preferably, the seal 13 is integral with a lower face 11a of the closure plate 11 which is placed opposite an upper surface 4a of the bottom 4 of the frame 3. The seal 13 is for example arranged in a strand which surrounds the orifice 12 formed through the bottom 4 of the frame 3. The seal 13 is for example made of an elastic material, in particular nitrile.It is understood that the sealing of the frame 3 inside the manhole 2 and the interposition of the seal 13 between the closure plate 11 and the bottom 4 of the frame 3 gives the closure device a perfect seal, which allows unpleasant olfactory substances to be kept inside the manhole 2, and prevents them from accessing the buffer 8. This results in olfactory comfort for residents living nearby.

[0028] The closure plate 11 is equipped with a plurality of retaining latches 14 for holding the closure plate 11 on the frame 3. More particularly, the closure plate 11 is equipped with three retaining latches 14 which are radially equally distributed around a center of the closure plate 11, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. Each retaining latch 14 has the role of compressing the seal 13 interposed between the closure plate 11 and the frame 3. For this purpose, each retaining latch 14 comprises an axis 15 which extends along an axis of rotation A1 which is orthogonal to an extension plane P1 of the closure plate 11. The axis 15 is mounted so as to be able to rotate on itself on the closure plate 11. The axis 15 is provided with an arm 16 which is mounted to be movable in rotation around the axis 15. The arm 16 comprises a first end 16a which is arranged in a sleeve 17 fixedly mounted on the axis 15 and a second end 16b which is arranged in a tab 18.These arrangements allow the arm 16 to rotate around the axis 15 until the tab 18 comes into contact with a lower surface 4b of the bottom 4 of the frame 3, which tends to compress the seal 13. It is noted that the arm 16 is of a length adapted so that the tab 18 comes into contact with the lower surface 4b of the bottom 4 of the frame 3, when the axis 15 is rotated. It is understood that the holding latch 14 is movable between a locking position in which the tab 16 is in contact with the lower surface 4b of the bottom 4 of the frame 3, to compress the seal 13 and close the orifice 12, and an unlocking position in which the tab 16 is free from contact with the lower surface 4b of the bottom 4 of the frame 3, to make it possible to separate the closure plate 11 and the frame 3 and thus provide access to the orifice 12. It is also understood that such a movement between the locking position. and the unlocking position is obtained from a simple rotation of the axis 15 of the holding latch 14.

[0029] In Figures 4 and 5, it is noted that each holding latch 14 is equipped with a gripping means 19 which is flush with an upper face 11b of the closure plate 11 to facilitate rotational maneuvering of the holding latch 14 and thus make it easy to lock or unlock the closure plate 11 on the frame 3. The gripping means 19 is for example arranged in a handle pivotally mounted on the axis 15 of the holding latch 14.

Claims

Claims

1. A closure device (1) intended to equip a manhole (2), and comprising a frame (3) and a closure plate (11) with an orifice (12) provided through the frame (3), a seal (13) being interposed between the closure plate (11) and the frame (3), the closure plate (11) being equipped with at least one latch (14) for holding the closure plate (11) opposite a bottom (4) of the frame (3), said holding latch (14) comprising an axis (15) carrying an arm (16) comprising a tab (18), the axis (15) being movable between a locking position in which the tab (18) is in contact with a lower surface (4b) of the bottom (4) of the frame (3) and an unlocking position in which the tab (18) is free from contact with the lower surface (4b) of the bottom (4) of the frame (3), characterized in that the frame (3) comprises at least two identical frame portions (6),which are joined along one of their respective edges (7) to form the frame (3).,

2. Closure device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least two holding latches (14), preferably at least three holding latches (14).

3. Closure device (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the frame (3) is arranged in a bowl comprising the bottom (4) and a rim (5).

4. A closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the axis (15) is rotatable about an axis of rotation (Al) which is orthogonal to an extension plane (PI) of the closure plate (11).

5. Closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the arm (16) comprises a first end (16a) comprising a sleeve (17) for fixing the arm (16) on the axis (15) and a second end (16b) comprising the tab (18).

6. Closure device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the axis (15) is equipped with a gripping means (19) flush with an upper face (11b) of the closure plate (11).

7. Manhole (2), characterized in that it is equipped with a closing device (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

8. Manhole (2) according to claim 7, characterized in that it is equipped

9. of a buffer (8) delimiting with the sight glass (2) an enclosure (10) housing the sealing device (1). Use of the inspection chamber according to one of claims 7 or 8 for a sanitation network.

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