Sealing system for sealing expansion joints and method for placing the same
View Patent ↗The present invention relates to a sealing system provided with a self-expanding seal for sealing expansion joints in buildings, said seal consisting of a first body 11 and a second body 12 which are elongated and arranged opposite one another, connected by means of a waterproof flexible body 30 and by means of expanders 20 that produce an elastic thrust for separating said first and second bodies which are thus trapped inside the expansion joint to be sealed. Said seal includes retainers 40 which keep it in a pre-compressed position, allowing easy placement within the joint to be sealed, and which may be released producing the instantaneous expansion of the self-expanding seal.
1. A self-expanding seal system for sealing expansion joints formed between two rigid opposite joint faces of two adjacent constructive bodies, said self-expanding seal system comprising:
a first body elongated in a longitudinal direction and having an inner face and an outer face; and
a second body elongated in a longitudinal direction and having an inner face opposite and spaced apart from the inner face of the first body, and an outer face;
said first and second bodies being configured for insertion into said expansion joint, with respective outer faces of said first and second bodies located opposite said joint faces;
elastic expanders, selected from springs, transverse strips under bending stress, and transverse rods under bending stress connected to said first and second bodies, causing an elastic spacing of the bodies in a transverse expansion direction;
a waterproof flexible body loosely connecting said first and second bodies;
wherein the mentioned self-expanding seal system further comprises:
a releasable retainer device which keeps said self-expanding seal system in a pre-compressed position, said elastic expanders being retained under elastic stress.
2. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 1 , wherein said outer faces of the first and second bodies include a covering made of an elastomer material between 0.5 and 3 mm thick.
3. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 1 , wherein said elastic expanders include a first set of expanders and a second set of expanders, the elastic expanders constitutive of the first set of expanders including a region articulated to the inner face of the first body and an opposite region supported in a movable manner on the inner face of the second body; the elastic expanders constitutive of the second set of expanders including a region articulated to the inner face of the second body and an opposite region supported in a movable manner on the inner face of the first body, the elastic expanders constitutive of the first set of expanders are interspersed between the elastic expanders constitutive of the second set of expanders.
4. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 3 , wherein said articulation between the region of the elastic expanders and one of the first and second bodies is carried out by means of arm anchors arranged in said first or second body.
5. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 3 , wherein the elastic expanders constitutive of the first set of expanders, connected in an articulated manner to the first body, are slidably connected to the elastic expanders constitutive of the second set of expanders, connected in an articulated manner to the second body, allowing a relative movement in the longitudinal direction of the elastic expanders constitutive of the first set of expanders, together with the first body, with respect to the elastic expanders constitutive of the second set of expanders, together with the second body.
6. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 5 , wherein the elastic expanders constitutive of the first set of expanders are slidably connected to an intermediate rod, permitting an slide in the longitudinal direction, and the elastic expanders constitutive of the second sets of expanders are slidably connected to the same intermediate rod, permitting an slide in the longitudinal direction.
7. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 1 , wherein the elastic expanders are sized and distributed to produce an expansive force equal to or greater than 20 kg or 30 kg for every linear meter of seal.
8. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 3 , wherein the elastic expanders are a plurality of torsion springs arranged at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction, each producing a force for separating the first body with respect to the second body in said transverse expansion direction.
9. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 8 , wherein each of said torsion springs is made up of a single continuous torsion rod bended forming
a first lever arm connected at one end to
a first coil spring, attached at a distal end to
a second lever arm which is in turn attached in continuity to
a third lever arm which is attached to
a second coil spring, which is connected to
a fourth lever arm,
said first and second coil springs being coaxial and said second and third lever arms being parallel to one another, forming as a whole an intermediate lever arm, and said first and fourth lever arms being parallel to one another.
10. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 9 , wherein the first and fourth lever arms include the region articulated with respect to the inner face of one of the first and second bodies, and wherein the intermediate lever arm is include the opposite region supported in a movable manner on the inner face of other of the first and second bodies.
11. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 9 , wherein all the coil springs of all the torsion springs are coaxial and are all coiled around the same intermediate rod-.
12. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 11 , wherein there is included a plurality of trim supports attached at regular intervals on said intermediate rod, said trim supports being provided for the anchoring of a trim cover to conceal the self-expanding seal system.
13. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 1 , wherein said retainer device consists of a plurality of first anchors arranged in said first body, a plurality of second anchors arranged in said second body, and connectors simultaneously attached to said first anchors and to said second anchors, fixing the relative position thereof.
14. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 13 , wherein said first and second anchors are eyelets configured for being aligned when the first and second bodies are arranged close to one another, and wherein said connectors consist of pins provided for being inserted through said eyelets in a transverse direction perpendicular to the transverse expansion direction.
15. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 1 , wherein the mentioned releasable retainer device is associated with a release mechanism, provided for causing the release of the mentioned releasable retainer device and the subsequent expansion of the elastic expanders, said release mechanism being integrated in a jig that can be separated from the rest of the self-expanding seal system after placement thereof.
16. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 15 , wherein said release mechanism causes the simultaneous release of the retainer device in the entire seal.
17. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 15 , wherein said release mechanism causes the movement of connectors in a transverse direction perpendicular to the transverse expansion direction, causing an extraction thereof from the first and second anchors arranged respectively in the first and second bodies, causing the release thereof.
18. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 15 , wherein the self-expanding seal system further comprises a centering mechanism which positions the rest of the self-expanding seal at a pre-defined depth, and in a centered position with respect to said two rigid opposite joint faces of two adjacent constructive bodies of the expansion joint.
19. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 18 , wherein said centering mechanism can be released from the rest of the self-expanding seal system and/or is integrated in said jig and/or can be adjusted.
20. The self-expanding seal system according to claim 19 , wherein said centering mechanism consists of at least two opposite stop bodies movable in a direction parallel to the transverse expansion direction in a simultaneous and symmetrical manner.