Door assembly allowing improved installation on walls of enclosure, and enclosure including such door assembly

Abstract

To provide a door assembly that can be assembled simply, quickly and easily without altering the walls of the enclosure.SOLUTION: The current invention is a door assembly (1) for a sealed enclosure. The enclosure includes a wall having a wall part (20) defining at least one passage opening therein. The door assembly (1) includes a flange (3) that is intended to be fitted to the wall part (20). The flange (3) includes: two flange elements (3a, 3b) assembled together, one of the flange elements (3a) defining a ring inside the enclosure, and the other flange element (3b) defining a ring outside the enclosure; and means for clamping at least one of the two flange elements (3a, 3b) to the wall part (20).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a door assembly intended to equip a first enclosed volume and capable of allowing the sealed connection of a second enclosed volume onto the first enclosed volume for transferring products from one to the other without breaching containment, which may include, for example, the transfer of hazardous products such as certain biological, chemical, or radioactive products, the transfer of components such as stoppers, vials, plungers, syringes, etc., the transfer of environmental control devices such as media plates, particle counters, the transfer of cleaning systems, the transfer of liquids, powders, tools, the transfer of waste outside the enclosure, and / or the transfer of any element required for the production or maintenance of a production line.

[0002] In this application, "volume" means any product, device, or equipment that delimits a volume. Thus, it can be an enclosure, an insulator, a receptacle, a container, a bag, etc.

[0003] "Enclosed volume" is understood to mean a volume isolated from the external environment. This may in particular, but not exclusively, be a volume for preparing, storing and / or handling products that must not come into contact with the outside or the user.

[0004] The door assembly is particularly, but not exclusively, intended to be installed on an enclosure having a glass wall.

[0005] prior art Transferring product from one enclosed volume to another without breaching the containment of those volumes is a difficult problem to solve. To address this problem, double door sealed connecting devices have been developed, including, for example, those described in patent applications FR2777822 and FR3036054.

[0006] These double-door connection devices are formed by a first door / flange assembly and a second door / flange assembly, one of which is for one of the volumes and the other for the other volume. Traditionally, the connected enclosed volume is a portable container or pouch-type receptacle, while the other enclosed volume to which the receptacle is connected is typically a fixed processing enclosure. The receptacle is connected to the processing enclosure by connecting the door / flange assemblies together. This connection is generally made by engagement of what is called a bayonet system—male lugs on the flange and receptacle door engaging notches on the flange and door of the other enclosure, respectively—followed by rotation of the receptacle, which allows the receptacle flange to lock to the processing enclosure flange and the receptacle door to lock to the enclosure door, and the connected doors are unlocked by unlocking the door from their respective flanges.

[0007] In prior art devices, the door assembly is typically secured to the housing wall by screwing a flange directly into the housing wall. Patent application FR2834582 shows such an arrangement. However, such securing proves problematic when the housing wall is made of a relatively fragile material, such as glass or a wall made of a transparent plastic such as PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate), which can be damaged by being penetrated by the assembly screws and consequently have weakened areas, thus risking breaching the containment.

[0008] The present invention aims to remedy these problems by proposing a door assembly and an enclosure including such a door assembly, which can be assembled simply, quickly and easily without modifying the wall of the enclosure in which it is installed.

[0009] Subject of the Invention To this end, and according to a first aspect, the invention proposes a door assembly for a sealed enclosure, the enclosure comprising a wall having a wall portion defining at least one passage opening therein, the door assembly comprising a flange intended to be attached to the wall portion defining the passage opening, and a leaf attached so as to be movable relative to the flange between a closed position in which the leaf closes the passage opening and an open position, the flange comprising two flange elements assembled together, one of the flange elements defining an internal ring of the enclosure and having a support surface configured to bear against the internal surface of the wall portion, and the other flange element defining an external ring of the enclosure and having a support surface configured to bear against the external surface of the wall portion, the flange further comprising means for clamping at least one of the two flange elements to the wall portion.

[0010] The housing wall is thus "sandwiched" between the inner and outer rings and clamped between the latter by the clamping means, the clamping being carried out from ring to ring without the housing wall 2 being passed through.

[0011] The two flange elements are separate parts that are independent of each other. They can be reversibly assembled together.

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

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

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

[0015] Advantageously, the door assembly is configured to allow a sealed connection of the door assembly with the container by means of a bayonet system.

[0016] The invention also relates to a sealed enclosure including at least one access opening provided with a door assembly as described above. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a first embodiment of a door assembly installed in a single enclosure wall. [Figure 2] 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the door assembly of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 1 shows a second embodiment of a door assembly installed in a double enclosure wall. [Figure 4] 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the door assembly of FIG. 3.

[0018] For greater clarity, identical or similar elements of the various embodiments will be designated by the same reference numerals in all of the figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, the terms "outside" and "inside" are defined relative to the housing to which the door assembly is attached. Thus, the term "outside" refers to that which is located outside the interior space of the housing, that which is furthest from the interior space, or that which is oriented away from the interior of the housing, and "inside" refers to that which is located within the interior space, that which is closest to the interior space, or that which is oriented toward the interior of the housing.

[0020] 1 and 2, the door assembly 1 is described as being mounted on an enclosure comprising a glass wall 2 with at least one passage opening for the passage of a product from the outside of the enclosure to its inside and vice versa. As mentioned above, the door assembly 1 is configured to constitute a connection device allowing the connection of an enclosed volume, such as a container, bag or the like, with the door assembly, cooperating with the door assembly 1 according to the invention, without breaching the containment.

[0021] The door assembly 1 comprises a flange 3 intended to be mounted on a wall portion 20 defining a passage opening on the one hand, and a leaf 4 mounted for movement relative to the flange 3 between a closed position in which the leaf 4 closes the passage opening and an open position. In the example shown, the leaf 4 is movably mounted on the flange 3 by a hinge 5.

[0022] According to the present invention, the flange 3 of the door assembly 1 includes two distinct flange elements 3a, 3b, which are assembled together in the illustrated example by means of an assembly screw 6. Advantageously, the assembly screw 6 is hidden by a cover 12. In the described embodiment, the flange elements 3a, 3b are directly assembled together. The flange 3 is therefore mounted on a wall portion 20 of the housing, with one of the flange elements 3a located inside the housing and the other flange element 3b located outside the housing. The flange elements 3a, 3b therefore define an inner ring and an outer ring of the housing, respectively. The inner and outer rings are designated below with the same references as those of the flange elements 3a, 3b.

[0023] The rings 3a, 3b have surfaces 30a, 30b that are configured to bear directly or indirectly against the surface of the wall portion 20 against which they are positioned. Thus, in the example shown, the inner ring 3a has an outer bearing surface 30a that bears directly on the inner surface 20a of the wall portion 20, while the outer ring 3b has an inner bearing surface 30b that bears on the outer surface 20b of the wall portion 20. For the outer ring 3b, support is achieved by means of a set screw 11 that is received in a hole made in the outer ring 3b and protrudes from the inner bearing surface 30b.

[0024] To prevent damage to the glass wall of the housing during installation of the door assembly 1, two protective washers 7, 9, advantageously made of plastic material, are interposed between the inner ring 3a and the wall portion 20 on the one hand, and between the outer ring 3b and the wall portion 20 on the other hand. These protective washers will hereinafter be referred to as the inner 7 and outer 9 protective washers. In the illustrated embodiment, the annular-shaped inner protective washer 7 is housed in a groove defined by the periphery 31a of the inner ring and the outer circular collar 33a of the inner ring 3a. The outer washer 9, in turn, comprises an annular body with a heel 90 whose outer periphery extends first along the periphery 32b of the outer ring 3b and along the wall portion 20.

[0025] To ensure that the door assembly 1 is tightly sealed, the latter includes at least one annular seal, advantageously made from an elastomer, preferably silicone, interposed between the wall portion 20 and the support surface of at least one of the two rings 3 a, 3 b. In the example shown, the door assembly 1 includes a single seal 8 interposed between the periphery 31 a of the inner ring 3 a and the wall portion 20 of the housing. More specifically, the seal 8 is located in the gap defined by the periphery 31 a of the inner ring 3 a, the inner protective washer 7, and the inner surface 20 a of the wall portion 20. It also has a heel 80 extending along the outer periphery 32 a of the inner ring 3 a and along the inner surface 20 a of the wall portion 20 on the one hand.

[0026] Compression of the seal 8 is carried out using a set screw 11. The set screw 11, which is mounted through the outer ring 3b and extends beyond the inner support surface of the outer ring 3b, thus presses the outer protective washer 9 against the wall portion 20, jointly compressing the seal 8 and thereby pressing the latter against the inner protective washer 7.

[0027] As mentioned above, the assembly of the rings 3a, 3b is carried out by assembly means, in this example screws, without the latter passing through the wall. Accordingly, screw-receiving holes are provided on the rings 3a, 3b so that when the rings 3a, 3b are installed on the wall 2, they are radially offset from the ends of the wall section 20. In the example shown, the assembly screws 6 pass through the rings 3a, 3b close to the ends of the wall section 20, and the threaded holes made in the inner ring are located in the circular collar 33a.

[0028] 3 and 4 illustrate another example of the installation of a door assembly 10 according to the present invention. In this illustrated example, the door assembly 10 is installed in an enclosure wall formed by two wall elements 20, 21. This door assembly 10 incorporates all of the elements previously described, except that the inner ring 3a, inner protective washer 7, and seal 8 rest against the wall portion 20a of the inner wall element 20, while the outer ring 3b and outer protective washer 9 rest against the wall portion 21a of the outer wall element 21. Additionally, and advantageously, the door assembly 10 further includes a spacer 13 disposed 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 assembly screws 6, which pass through the entire spacer 13 without passing through the wall elements 20, 21, connecting the two flange elements 3a, 3b.

[0030] Two annular seals 14, 15 of substantially circular cross section are arranged between the spacer 13 and each of the wall portions 20a, 21a of the wall elements 20, 21. In the same way as the seal 8 ensures the tightness inside the flange 3, the tightness between the two wall elements 20, 21 is ensured by fracturing said seals 14, 15 via set screws.

[0031] In the examples described, the door assembly is explained in relation to single or double glass walls, although it is clear that the door assembly according to the invention is not limited to this type of enclosure and can contemplate enclosures having walls made of materials other than glass without departing from the field of the invention.

[0032] The present invention has been described above by way of example, and it will be understood that those skilled in the art will be in a position to produce various modified embodiments of the invention without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A door assembly (1, 10) for a sealed enclosure, the enclosure including a wall having a wall portion (20, 20a, 20b) defining at least one passage opening therein, the door assembly (1, 10) including a flange (3) intended to be attached to the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a) defining the passage opening, and a leaf attached to the flange (3) so as to be movable relative to the flange (3) between a closed position in which the leaf closes the passage opening and an open position, the flange (3) including two flange elements (3a, 3b) assembled together, the flange elements including 1. A door assembly (1, 10) comprising two flange elements (3a, 3b), one (3a) defining an internal ring of the housing and having a support surface (30a) configured to bear against the inner surface of the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a), and the other flange element (3b) defining an external ring of the housing and having a support surface (30b) configured to bear against the outer surface of the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a), characterized in that the flanges further comprise means for clamping at least one of the two flange elements (3a, 3b) to the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a).

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

3. 3. A door assembly (1, 10) for a housing according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it comprises at least one seal (8) intended to be inserted between the support surface (30a, 30b) of at least one of the flange elements (3a, 3b) and the wall portion (20, 20a, 21a).

4. 10. A door assembly (1, 10) for an enclosure according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a spacer (13) configured to be placed between two wall elements (20, 21) forming the wall of the enclosure.

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

6. 10. A sealed enclosure comprising at least one wall including at least one passage opening, provided with a door assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.

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