Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2134457
CLOSURE FOR CLOSING A PRESSURIZED MEDIUM FLOW
CHANNEL IN A PIPE SYSTEM UNDER PRESSURE
The invention relates to a closure for closing a media
duct of a pressure pipe system for a pressurized gaseous or
liquid medium at a closure region, in particular for closing a
media duct of a pipe system for a drinking supply at the
closure region.
It is known and customary to seal off or to close
pressure piping or media ducts of such piping, which are
currently not being used, by means of closures formed by
closure caps or closure stoppers.
For example (to prepare branch lines to a house), in
accordance with the Regulations on Drinking Water and the
associated DIN 1988 ("Drinking water pipe systems on building
plots - technical regulation for installation and operation"),
blank branch lines which are connected to a main supply line,
lead onto a building plot and are closed there are not
permissible. It has therefore previously been necessary, for
a new branch line, to expose the main supply line generally
laid below a road in order then 'to be able to linkup the
branch line. Complex breaking-open and excavation work is
necessary for this purpose, which is unavoidable according to
the present state of the art even in the case of new building
areas since, even in that case, 'the branch line to the house
or building is generally not linked up until after the main
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supply line has been laid.
The objection of the invention is to specify a closure
which allows a media duct of a pressure pipe system, in
particular a water supply system, to be closed permanently at
a closure region provided for this purpose and which, if
required, can be opened from a point located at a distance
away from said closure region without the closure region
having to be accessible for this purpose.
To achieve this object, a closure according to the
invention forms an axial support: for transmitting the media
pressure from the closure to the media duct at a radially
outer partial region relative to the closure axis, the closure
having at least two elements which absorb the media pressure,
extend radially away from a connection piece provided at least
partially on a pressureless side of the closure and, with
radially outer ends, form the axial support for transmitting
the media pressure from the closure to the media channel and
are connected to one another via the connection piece,
wherein, to form a closure which can be opened, the connection
piece can be moved relative to the elements which absorb the
media pressure and are supported against one or both of forces
and moments on the connection piece resulting from the media
pressure, in the direction of the closure axis in order to
cause the closure to open by removing the support of the
' elements absorbing the media pressure on the connection piece.
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In particular, the closure according to the invention
also fulfills the requirements of the Regulation on Drinking
Water and can thus be used in a particularly advantageous
manner in pressure pipe systems for drinking water supply
wherever a branch line is to be linked up to a main supply
line at a later date.
The media duct in which the closure according to the
invention is installed may be the duct of a tap valve or the
duct of a branch union piece. In the installed state, the
closure separates the water-conducting part or the pressure
side of the media duct from the non-water-conducting part or
from the pressureless side of said media duct, said
pressureless side being formed by a piece of pipe which leads
up to a region which is spatially remote from the closure
region, lies outside the road and is or can be made accessible
without difficulty.
The closure according to the invention is preferably used
in such a way that is placed directly after the
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connection point for the branch lime to the house (gate valve
for the branch line to the house), and the media pipe (e. g.
plastic pressure pipe) forming the branch line to the house
is laid to the length later required. The tightness of the
connection point (gate valve for tlhe branch line to the
house) with the main line can be tested without the branch
line to the house being put into operation.
If the branch line to the house is required at a later
date, the end of the media pipe foaming the branch line to
the house is exposed outside the road, a closure lid which
closes the media pipe is removed and, with the aid of the
pulling means extending up to said end and connected to the
connection piece of the closure, the connection piece is
moved relative to the other parts of the closure in such a
way that said closure opens by col:Lapsing under the water
pressure. The connection piece is pulled out of the media
pipe forming the branch line to the house. The other parts of
the closure are washed away by the water flowing through the
media pipe.
Further developments of the invention are the subject
matter of the subclaims. The invenl~ion is explained in
greater detail below by way of exemplary embodiments with
reference to the figures, in which.:
Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic illustration of a closure
arranged in a media duct of a pipe system according
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to the invention;
Figure 2 shows a front view of the closure or a view of the
pressure side of a disk-shaped closure element, in
the viewing direction of arrow A of Figure 1;
Figure 3 shows a perspective, exploded illustration of the
elements of the closure according to Figure 1;
Figures 4 - 7 show, in a similar illustration to that of
Figure 1, the closure in different states during
the opening of a closed closure region to explain
the functioning;
Figure 8 shows a similar illustration to that of Figure 1,
but with the closure integrated in a branch union
piece;
Figure 9 shows, in a diagrammatic illustration and in
section, various possible installation examples of
the closure, namely in a branch union piece
provided on a gate valve housing or on the gate
valve housing;
Figure 10 shows, in an enlarged partial illustration and in
section, a further preferred embodiment of the
closure according to the invention;
Figure 11 shows a plan view of the disk-shaped closure
element of the closure of Figure 10 in the viewing
direction of arrow B;
Figures 12 - 14 show, in partial section and in an
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illustration as in Figur~ss 6 and 7, further
possible embodiments.
In Figures 1 - 6, 1 generally denotes a media duct 1
formed in a pipe system for drinking water supply,
specifically in the region of a closure 2 which closes said
media duct, i.e. in a closure region 3. As is also shown in
the following description, the media duct 1 can be
implemented in many different ways.
The closure 2 is designed in :such a way that it seals
off the pressureless part 1' of the media duct 1, which does
not conduct drinking water and is chown on the right in
Figure 1, relative to the part 1" of the media duct which
conducts drinking water, has the meadia or water pressure and
is shown on the left in Figure 1, :specifically, in
particular, also relative to the meadia pressure prevailing in
the part 1" and indicated by the arrows P.
Furthermore, the closure 2 is designed in such a way
that it can be opened at a site which is spatially remote
from the closure region 3 by a pulling element 4 running in
the part 1' of the media duct 1, specifically, for example,
to make the connection of a branch line to the house to the
supply line of a drinking water supply network.
Specifically, the closure 2 consists of a circular disk-
shaped closure element 5 which extends with a circumference
into an annular groove-like widening 6 formed in the wall of
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the media duct 1 and is supported 'there at the edge by the
circumferential side facing away from the part 1" against an
annular seal 7 which is likewise provided in the widening 6
and concentrically surrounds the axis of the media duct 1.
Furthermore, the closure 2 consists of a plurality of
support elements 8, which are essentially of angular design
in each case and have a first, limb-like segment 9 and a
second segment 10. Each support element 8 is made integrally
with its two segments 9 and 10, fo:r example as a casting of
plastic or metal or of another suitable material. Each
segment 10 forms a part of a circular hollow cylinder and is
arranged in such a way that, with its concave side, it faces
the longitudinal axis or axis of symmetry S of the closure 2
lying equiaxially with the axis of the media duct 1, which
axis of symmetry S also forms the :mid-axis of the disk-shaped
closure element 5.
Relative to the axis S, each segment 9 projects radially
from the segment 10 and forms a contact and support surface
for the back 5 " of the closure element 5 facing away from
the front or pressure side 5'. With their radially outer
ends, the segments 9 extend into t:he widening 6 so that the
media pressure P is absorbed by the closure 2 via said ends.
The closure element 5 is thus relieved virtually completely
from compression loading by the water pressure P.
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Furthermore, the closure 2 comprises a holding or
connection piece 11 for the support elements 8 which are
provided there, distributed evenly around the axis S. The
connection piece 11, which is designed to be rotationally
symmetrical to the axis S in the embodiment illustrated, has,
in cross sectional planes perpendicular to said axis of
symmetry S, a maximum cross section which is considerably
smaller than the inner cross section of the media duct 1. The
connection piece 11, which is likewise produced as a moulding
or casting from a suitable material, for example from plastic
or metal, is essentially made integrally with a sleeve-like
section il' which extends with its. open end face up to the
back 5 " of the closure element 5, of a cylindrical section
11 " of solid construction adjoining the other end of the
section 11', and of a flange-shaped section 11" '. The
latter, at the transition between the sections 11' and 11 "
is formed approximately in the middle of the connection
piece, projects radially beyond th.e sections 11' and 11" and
is provided on its side facing away from the section 11 "
with a recess which is formed by an annular groove 12 which
is open in the axial direction, i.e. in the direction toward
the closure element 5. The segments 10 of all the support
elements 8 extend into said annular groove 12 with their ends
located at a distance from the respective segment 9. With the
outer surface of the section 11', the connection piece 11
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thus forms, for each support element 8 or for the segment 10
at that point, a first support surface for the inner surface
of the segment 10 facing away from the respective segment 9,
specifically, in particular, at the region adjacent to the
closure element 5, and, with the radially outer boundary
surface of the annular groove 12 surrounding the axis S,
forms a second support surface 14 for the outer surface of
the segment 10 facing away from the axis S. Despite the
releasable connection of the support elements 8 and the
common connection piece 11, all the forces and moments
resulting from the water pressure P and acting on the
segments are transmitted to the connection piece 11 by the
two contact or support surfaces 13 and 14, specifically
essentially in the form of forces acting radially inward on
the contact surfaces 13 and essentially in the form of forces
acting radially outward on the contact surfaces 14, in which
case, due to the distribution of a plurality of support
elements 8, the forces and moments transmitted by said
support elements to the connection piece 11 are mutually
compensated.
Seated in the sleeve-like section 11' is a bolt 15 which
is arranged with its axis equiaxial with the axis of symmetry
S, penetrates the closure element 5 in the region of a
central opening 16 and bears with a bolt head 15' against the
front 5' of the closure element 5. It is ensured by sealing
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means (not illustrated in detail) lthat the bolt 15 penetrates
the closure element 5 in a sealed manner. By means of an
elongate hole 17 which is provided in the bolt 15 and into
which a securing splint 18 engages, which is held at both
ends in the sleeve-like section 11', a relative movement
between the connection piece 11 and the bolt 15 by a given
amount is possible. By means of a compression spring 19,
provided in the bolt 15 and acting on the securing splint 18,
the bolt 15 is prestressed in such a way that it bears with
its head 15' resiliently against the front 5' of the closure
element 5, and the closure 2 and its parts are thus also held
together, in particular prior to installation in the media
duct 1.
Extending from the end of the connection piece 11 facing
away from the closure element 5 is a rod-like projection 20
which is arranged equiaxially with the axis S. Said
projection 20 forms a part of the pulling element 4 and has,
at its end, an eyelet 21 to which one end of a pull cord 22
is attached, which pull cord is laid in the part 1' of the
media duct 1 up to a suitable site located at a distance from
the closure region 3.
In the state illustrated, in particular, in Figures 1
and 3, the media duct 1 is closed permanently in the region
3. If the media duct 1 is to be opeaned, the connection piece
11 is moved, by pulling the pull cord 22, in the axial
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direction of the media duct 1; the: support elements 8 or
their segments 10, held at their radially outer ends in the
widening 6, finally becoming disengaged from the annular
groove 12, as is illustrated in Figure 5. As a result, the
mutual support of the support elements 8 on the connection
piece 11 is lost, such that the support elements 8 can no
longer bring about a support of the closure element 5 and the
latter is pressed in increasingly by the water pressure
(Figure 6). In accordance with Figure 7, the closure element
finally breaks up into single parts 23 which are washed
out, together with the loose support elements 8, by the water
flowing into the part 1~. The connection piece il and the
bolt 15 are removed from the media duct 1 by the pull cord
22.
The closure 2 described thus ;has the advantage that
connection lines or connections in a pipe system for drinking
water can be prepared for later connection of branch lines to
a house, said branch lines (even avoiding blank pipes) being
closed permanently in a manner which complies with the
Regulation on Drinking Water until the new branch line of the
relevant building is linked up. This closure can be opened,
in particular, from a spatially remote point such that
opening, for example, of a road or road surface below which
the supply line is laid is not required.
Figure 8 shows the arrangemeni= of the closure 2 in a
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branch union piece 26 between a housing 24, which may be the
housing of a gate valve, and a plastic pressure pipe 25. The
union piece 26 consists of two sleeve-like parts 26' and
26", of which the part 26' is screwed into the housing 24
and the part 26 " is held on the plastic pressure pipe 25.
The two parts 26' and 26" are connected to one another by
threads. At the end screwed into t:he part 26', the part 26 "
has, on the inside, a widening which, when the parts 26' and
26" are connected to one another, forms the widening 6 with
the annular seal 7.
Figure 9 shows a diagrammatic illustration of various
installation possibilities for the closure 2, specifically
with 2a the installation of said closure directly in a gate
valve 27 or in the outlet or outlet channel of said gate
valve and, with 2b, the installation of the closure in the
branch union piece 26 connected to the gate valve 27. In both
cases, the pull cord 22 is laid in the piece of pipe or
plastic pressure pipe 25, forming the part 1', of a prepared
branch line to a house up to an end of said piece of pipe 25
located at a distance from the gate valve 27 and is attached
there to the inside of a removable closure cap 28.
Figures 10 and 11 show, as a :further preferred
embodiment of the invention, a clo:pure 29 which differs from
the closure 2 described above essentially only by the details
described in greater detail below, but otherwise corresponds
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to the closure 2, such that the same reference numerals are
again selected in Figures 10 and :L1 for those elements which
correspond in terms of their function and design to the
elements of the closure 2.
One difference relative to tree closure 2 consists in the
fact that the support elements 8a corresponding to the
support elements 8 have a slightly different shape, in
particular the segments 9a form, on their back facing away
from the closure element 5, a sloping surface 30 which
encloses an angle of greater than 45° with the axis of
symmetry S, said angle opening toward the closure element 5.
With the sloping surfaces 30, the support elements 8a bear
against a sloping counter-surface 31 in the region of the
widening 6.
Furthermore, the segments 9a also have a slope 32 on
their side facing the closure element 5 in the region of the
free ends so that the free ends of the segments 9a are spaced
slightly apart from the back 5~~. By means of this design of
the support elements 9, despite a :high media pressure P
acting on the front of the closure element 5, release of the
support elements 8 from the media duct and from the
connection piece 11 when the closure is opened is improved
considerably.
In the closure 29 there is an annular seal 7a
corresponding to the annular seal '7 on the pressure side 1" .
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The closure element 5 as well as the head 15' of the bolt 15
are furthermore covered on the pre:asure side 1 " by a
lamellar sealing element 33 which extends up to the edge of
the closure element and is made of a rubber-like sealing
material. The closure element 5 and the seals 7a and 33
between the two parts 26' and 26" forming the branch union
piece 26 are tensioned over the ra<iially outer ends of the
segments 9a. In the closure 29, also, the closure element 5
is again designed with intended tearing points.
Figures 13 and 14 show an embodiment which differs from
the embodiment of Figures 1 - 9 only in the fact that a cord-
like or cable-like element 34 is provided, which connects all
the parts of the closure 2 or 29 to the connection piece 11.
As described above, the closure element 5 is provided
with intended tearing points in the. closures 2 and 29. Said
intended tearing points run at least partially radially
relative to the axis S and are located wherever the closure
element is supported on the segmenta 9 or 9a. On the back
5" , the closure element has protrusions 35 which are
indicated by dashed lines in Figurs: 10 and are arranged
between the segments 9a of the support elements 8a in such a
way that the closure element 5 cannot rotate relative to the
support elements 8a and is thus in the correct position.
Figure 12 shows, in a section along the line I-I, a
section through a closure element 5a which can be used
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instead of the closure element 5. The clo:~ure element 5a
consists of a plurality of segment-like p<~rts 36 which are
connected to one another by a layer 37 forming a seal on at
least one side, namely preferably on the front of the closure
element. The separation surfaces 38, which run radially
relative to the axis S and at which the parts 36 directly
adjoin one another, form the intended tearing points. These
separation surfaces 38 are inclined relative to the plane of
the closure element 5a. It is guaranteed by this inclination
or slope that the individual parts 36 cannot become jammed
against one another, but slide over one another, when the
closure is opened. The sloping separation surfaces or
intended tearing points can also be implemented in another
manner, in particular also in an integral closure element.
The support elements 8 and 8a were described above to be
of angular design. In fact, however, these' angular pieces can
also be of frustoconical design, at least on their outer
surface, i.e. corresponding to the outer :surface of a part of
a cone, so that, in this case, the support. elements can then
also be described as frustoconical or partially
frustoconical.
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List of reference numerals
1 Media duct
1' Pressureless side
1" Pressure side
2a, 2b Closure
3 Closed region
4 Pulling element
Closure element
5' Front
5" Back
6 Widening
7, 7a Seal
8, 8a Support element
9, 9a Segment
10, l0a Segment
11 Connection piece
11' , 11" 11"' Section
,
12 Annular groove
13, 14 Support surface
Bolt
15' Head
16 Opening
17 Elongate hole
18 Securing splint
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19 Spring
20 Projection
21 Sleeve
22 Pull cord
23 Closure element part
24 Housing
25 Plastic pressure pipe
26 Branch union piece
26', 26 " Part
27 Gate valve
28 Closure cap
29 Closure
30 Sloping surface
31 Counter-surface
32 Slope
33 Seal
34 Cord-like element
35 Projection
36 Part
37 Coating or layer
38 Separation surface
