Toolless, self closing floor grommet closure for cable openings and the like in raised floors of data centers office buildings and other air conditioned structures
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
H02G-003/18
H05K-005/00
출원번호
US-0616627
(2009-11-11)
등록번호
US-RE43175
(2012-02-14)
발명자
/ 주소
Sempliner, Arthur T.
Brill, Jonathan
Brill, Kenneth
Sullivan, Robert
Turner, IV, William Pitt
출원인 / 주소
Upsite Technologies, Inc.
대리인 / 주소
St. Onge Steward Johnston & Reens LLC
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
1인용 특허 :
38
초록▼
A floor grommet for use in building and office structures supplied with air conditioning via under floor plenum. Directed flow of conditioned air is optimized by limiting the escape of air from the plenum into the space above the floor by leakage through floor openings provided for power cables, dat
A floor grommet for use in building and office structures supplied with air conditioning via under floor plenum. Directed flow of conditioned air is optimized by limiting the escape of air from the plenum into the space above the floor by leakage through floor openings provided for power cables, data cables and the like. Specialized floor grommets installed in the cable openings are comprised of a surrounding frame mounting sealing elements comprised of thin, flexible elements which are anchored at one end in the grommet frame and extend toward the center of the opening, from each side, to effectively close the opening against significant flow of conditioned air from the plenum below. Cables passing through the grommet opening cause minimal deflection of the flexible elements to limit the escape of conditioned air. Preferably, the resilient, flexible elements are filamentary in nature. To particular advantage, the filamentary sealing elements may be installed in multiple stages, with stages underneath being in contact with stages above, in outer portions thereof. Additionally, solid, van-like sealing elements may be provided to assist in centering of the cable elements, when cables are installed, and to provide a substantially complete seal, for those openings in which no cables are installed. The floor grommet of the invention is designed for initial or retrofit installation. Significant economies in the usage of conditioned air are realized when the floor grommets are employed.
대표청구항▼
1. In combination with a floor structure, where the floor structure comprises an elevated floor surface providing under-floor space for wiring and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and where said elevated floor surface is provided with first openings for directing conditioned air in
1. In combination with a floor structure, where the floor structure comprises an elevated floor surface providing under-floor space for wiring and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and where said elevated floor surface is provided with first openings for directing conditioned air into the space above the floor surface and with cable openings for passing cabling from the under floor space to the space above, a floor grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in a cable opening in said floor surface,(b) said frame forming a lining for guiding and protecting cabling passing through said cable opening,(c) at least one sealing member mounted in said frame,(d) said sealing member comprising a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored in cantilever fashion at inner ends thereof in said frame and extending into said frame opening to form a substantial air seal to resist the flow of conditioned air through said frame opening, and(e) said filamentary elements being individually flexibly displaceable at outer ends thereof to accommodate the presence of cabling passing through said frame opening. 2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein (a) said frame has first and second opposing sides spaced apart from each other and defines a frame opening of closed configuration;(b) said at least one sealing member and a second sealing members are mounted in said opposing sides of said frame and extend toward each other,(c) outer end portions of the respective sealing members meeting between said opposing sides and defining a sealing line, and(d) said cabling passing through said opening adjacent said sealing line. 3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein (a) said sealing members are both comprised of a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored at one end thereof and with respective free ends thereof extending toward and substantially into contact with each other to form said sealing line. 4. In combination with a floor structure, where the floor structure comprises an elevated floor surface providing under-floor space for wiring and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and where the said elevated floor surface is provided with first openings for directing conditioned air into the space above the floor surface and with cable openings for passing cabling from the under floor space to the space above, a floor grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in a cable opening in said floor surface,(b) said frame forming a lining for guiding and protecting cabling passing through said cable opening,(c) upper and lower sealing members mounted in said frame,(d) one of said sealing members being easily displaceable by a cable passing through said opening,(e) the other of said sealing members serving to position said cable to assist in limiting displacement of said one sealing member by said cable. 5. A combination according to claim 4, wherein (a) said frame is formed with a recess in an upper, inner portion thereof, and(b) a cover plate is receivable in said recess to fully close said floor opening. 6. In combination with a floor structure, where the floor structure comprises an elevated floor surface providing under-floor space for wiring and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and where the floor surface is provided with first openings for directing conditioned air into the space above the floor surfaces and with cable openings for passing cabling from the under floor space to the space above, a floor grommet adapted particularly for retrofit installation, comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in a cable opening in said floor surface,(b) said frame being formed in two parts which, when joined, define an opening of substantially closed configuration substantially lining edges of said cable opening,(c) each of said frame parts mounting a large plurality of thin, flexible, filamentary sealing elements, anchored at one end thereof in the frame part and extending in a direction toward similar filamentary sealing elements mounted in the other frame part,(d) said filamentary sealing elements, when said frame parts are joined, closing the opening defined by said frame parts while accommodating the passage of cables or the like through said opening. 7. A floor grommet for data centers, air conditioned offices, and like structures, where the structures comprise elevated floor surfaces providing under floor space for wiring and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and where the floor surfaces are provided with openings for directing conditioned air into the space above the floor surfaces and with openings for passing cabling from the under floor space to the space above, said floor grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in a cable opening in said floor surface,(b) said frame forming a lining for guiding and protecting cabling passing through said floor opening,(c) at least one sealing member mounted in said frame,(d) said sealing member comprising a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored in cantilever fashion at inner ends thereof in said frame and extending into said frame opening to form a substantial air seal to resist the flow of conditioned air through said frame opening,(e) said filamentary elements being individually flexibly displaceable at outer ends thereof to accommodate the presence of cabling passing through said frame opening,(f) said frame having first and second opposing sides spaced apart from each other and defining a frame opening of closed configuration,(g) first and second sealing members mounted in said opposing sides of said frame and extending toward each other,(h) outer end portions of the respective first and second sealing members meeting between said opposing sides and defining a sealing line,(i) said cabling passing through said opening adjacent said sealing line, and(k) said first and second sealing members comprising a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored at one end thereof and with respective free ends thereof extending toward and substantially into contact with each other to form said sealing line, and(l) third and fourth sealing members mounted in said opposing frame sides, substantially directly underneath said first and second sealing members,(b) said third and fourth sealing members being mounted at one side thereof in said respective frame sides and being formed of flexible material. 8. A floor grommet according to claim 7, wherein (a) said third and fourth sealing members are formed of flexible filamentary elements anchored at an inner end thereof in said frame and extending toward said sealing line. 9. A floor grommet according to claim 8, wherein (a) outer ends of the filamentary elements of said third and fourth sealing members terminate in spaced relation to each other and spaced from said sealing line whereby a cable passing between said floor grommet will tend to displace filamentary elements of said third and fourth sealing members a lesser amount than filamentary elements of said first and second sealing members. 10. A floor grommet according to claim 7, wherein (a) said third and fourth sealing members are formed of non-filamentary flexible material. 11. A floor grommet according to claim 7, wherein (a) said third and fourth sealing members are disposed at a convergent angle to said first and second sealing members, and(b) outer end portions of said third and fourth sealing members contact lower portions of said first and second sealing members. 12. A floor grommet for data centers, air conditioned offices, and like structures, where the structures comprise elevated floor surfaces providing under floor space for wiring and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and where the floor surfaces are provided with openings for directing conditioned air into the space above the floor surfaces and with openings for passing cabling from the under floor space to the space above, said floor grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in a cable opening in said floor surface,(b) said frame forming a lining for guiding and protecting cabling passing through said floor opening,(c) upper and lower sealing members mounted in said frame,(d) one of said sealing members being easily displaceable by a cable passing through said opening,(e) the other of said sealing members serving to position said cable to assist in limiting displacement of said one sealing member by said cable,(f) said upper and lower sealing members each comprising an opposed pair of sealing elements, and(g) at least one of said opposed pairs, comprising said at least one of said sealing members, is comprised of a plurality of thin flexible elements. 13. A floor grommet according to claim 12, wherein (a) the other of said opposed pair of sealing elements, comprising said other sealing member, is formed of vanes of plastic or rubber material. 14. A floor grommet according to claim 12, wherein (a) the other of said opposed pair of sealing elements, comprising said other sealing member, is formed of a plurality of thin flexible elements. 15. A floor grommet according to claim 14, wherein (a) wherein said thin flexible elements, of at least one of said opposed pairs of sealing elements, comprises thin, flexible filamentary elements. 16. A floor grommet adapted particularly for retrofit installation in data centers, air conditioned offices, and like structures, where the structures comprise elevated floor surfaces providing under floor space for wiring and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and where the floor surfaces are provided with openings for directing conditioned air into the space above the floor surfaces and with openings for passing cabling from the under floor space to the space above, said floor grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in a cable opening in said floor surface,(b) said frame being formed in two parts which, when joined, define an opening of substantially closed configuration substantially lining edges of said cable opening,(c) each of said frame parts mounting a plurality of thin flexible sealing elements, anchored at one end thereof in the frame part and extending in a direction toward similar sealing elements mounted in the other frame part,(d) said sealing elements, when said frame parts are joined, closing the opening defined by said frame parts while accommodating the passage of cables or the like through said opening, and(e) each of said frame parts mounting two sets of said thin flexible sealing elements, one above the other and having contact with each other in outer portions of said elements. 17. The combination of an enclosure defining in part a space for service elements and defining a plenum confining and controlling a flow of conditioned air under elevated pressure, said enclosure including at least one first opening directing a flow of conditioned air into a space outside of said enclosure, and including at least one second opening, separate from said first opening, passing at least one service element, and a grommet associated with said second opening, where the grommet comprises (a) a frame defining a frame opening and of a size and shape to be received in said second opening in said enclosure,(b) said frame being positioned in said second opening and forming a lining guiding and protecting a service element passing through said second opening,(c) at least one first sealing member mounted in said frame,(d) said first sealing member comprising a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored in cantilever fashion at inner ends thereof in said frame and extending into said frame opening to resist a flow of conditioned air through said frame opening, and(e) said filamentary elements being individually flexibly displaceable at outer ends thereof to accommodate the presence of said service element passing through said frame opening. 18. The combination according to claim 17, wherein (a) said frame has first and second opposing sides spaced apart from each other and defines a frame opening of closed configuration,(b) said first sealing member and a second sealing member are mounted in said opposing sides of said frame and extend toward each other,(c) outer end portions of said first and second sealing members meet between said opposing sides and define a sealing line, and(d) said service element passes through said frame opening at or adjacent said sealing line. 19. The combination of an enclosure defining in part a space for service elements and serving as a plenum for confining and controlling a flow of conditioned air under elevated pressure, said enclosure including at least one first opening for the directed flow of conditioned air, and including at least one second opening, separate from said first opening, for passing at least one service element, and a grommet, where the grommet comprises (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in said second opening,(b) said frame being positioned in said second opening and forming a lining for guiding and protecting a service element passing through said second opening,(c) upper and lower sealing members mounted in said frame,(d) one of the upper and lower sealing members serving to resist a flow of conditioned air through said second opening and being easily displaceable by a service element passing through said frame opening,(e) an other of the upper and lower sealing members serving to position said service element to assist in limiting displacement of said one of the upper and lower sealing members by said service element. 20. The combination of an enclosure defining in part a space for service elements and defining a plenum confining and controlling a flow of conditioned air under elevated pressure, said enclosure including at least one first opening directing a flow of conditioned air, and including at least one second opening, separate from said first opening, passing at least one service element, and a grommet, where the grommet comprises (a) a frame of a size and shape to seal said second opening in said enclosure, and said frame being disposed in sealed relation to said second opening,(b) said frame being formed in a plurality of frame parts which, when joined, define a frame opening,(c) a first one of said frame parts mounting a large plurality of thin, flexible, filamentary sealing elements, anchored at one end thereof in the first one of said frame parts and extending in a direction toward similar filamentary sealing elements mounted in a second one of said frame parts,(d) said filamentary sealing elements, when said first and second frame parts are joined, closing the frame opening defined by said frame parts to resist a flow of conditioned air through said frame opening while accommodating the passage of said service element through said frame opening. 21. A grommet adapted particularly for retrofit installation in data centers, air conditioned offices, and like structures, where the structures include an enclosure defining a space for service elements and serving as a plenum for confining and controlling a flow of conditioned air, and wherein said enclosure includes at least one first opening for directing the flow of conditioned air and at least one second opening for passing at least one service element, said grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in sealed relation with the second opening in said enclosure,(b) said frame being formed in a plurality of frame parts which, when joined, define a frame opening of closed configuration,(c) an opposed pair of said frame parts mounting a large plurality of thin, flexible, filamentary sealing elements, anchored at one end thereof in a frame part and extending in a direction toward similar filamentary sealing elements mounted in an opposed frame part,(d) said filamentary sealing elements, when said frame parts are joined, closing the frame opening defined by said frame parts to resist a flow of conditioned air through said frame opening while accommodating the passage of a service element through said frame opening, and(e) each of said opposed frame parts mounting an upper set and a lower set of said thin flexible sealing elements convergently disposed one above the other such that said lower set has contact with the upper set mounted in the same frame part in outer portions of said sealing elements. 22. A grommet for data centers, air conditioned offices, and like structures, where the structures comprise an enclosure providing space for service elements and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and wherein said enclosure is provided with at least one opening for directing conditioned air and at least a second opening for passing at least one service element, said grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in the second opening in said enclosure,(b) said frame forming a lining for guiding and protecting service elements passing through said second opening,(c) said frame having first and second opposing sides spaced apart from each other and defining a frame opening of closed configuration,(d) first and second sealing members mounted in said opposing sides of said frame and extending toward each other,(e) outer end portions of the respective first and second sealing members meeting between said opposing sides and defining a sealing line,(f) a service element passing through said frame opening at or adjacent said sealing line, and(g) said first and second sealing members comprising a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored at one end thereof and with respective free ends thereof extending toward and substantially into contact with each other to form said sealing line to resist a flow of conditioned air through said second opening, and(h) third and fourth sealing members mounted in said opposing frame sides, underneath said first and second sealing members,(i) said third and fourth sealing members being mounted at one side thereof in said respective frame sides and being formed of flexible material. 23. A grommet according to claim 22, wherein (a) said third and fourth sealing members are formed of flexible filamentary elements anchored at an inner end thereof in said frame and extending toward said sealing line. 24. A grommet according to claim 23, wherein (a) outer ends of the filamentary elements of said third and fourth sealing members terminate in spaced relation to each other and spaced from said sealing line whereby a service element passing through said grommet will tend to displace filamentary elements of said third and fourth sealing members a lesser amount than filamentary elements of said first and second sealing members. 25. A grommet according to claim 22, wherein (a) said third and fourth sealing members are formed of non-filamentary flexible material. 26. A grommet according to claim 22, wherein (a) said third and fourth sealing members are disposed at a convergent angle to said first and second sealing members, and(b) outer end portions of said third and fourth sealing members contact lower portions of said first and second sealing members. 27. A grommet for data centers, air conditioned offices, and like structures, where the structures comprise an enclosure providing space for service elements and serving as a plenum for supplying conditioned air, and wherein said enclosure is provided with at least one first opening for directing conditioned air and with at least one a second opening for passing at least one service element, said grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size and shape to be received in the second opening,(b) said frame forming a lining for guiding and protecting service elements passing through said second opening,(c) upper and lower sealing members mounted in said frame,(d) one of said sealing members serving to resist a flow of conditioned air through said second opening and being easily displaceable by a service element passing through said second opening,(e) the other of said sealing members serving to position said service element to assist in limiting displacement of said one sealing member by said service element,(f) said upper and lower sealing members each comprising an opposed pair of sealing elements, and(g) at least one of said opposed pairs, comprising said one of said sealing members, is comprised of a plurality of thin flexible elements. 28. A grommet according to claim 27, wherein (a) the other of said opposed pair of sealing elements, comprising said other sealing member, is formed of vanes of plastic or rubber material. 29. A grommet according to claim 27, wherein (a) the other of said opposed pair of sealing elements, comprising said other sealing member, is formed of a plurality of thin flexible elements. 30. A grommet according to claim 29, wherein (a) said thin flexible elements, of at least one of said opposed pairs of sealing elements, comprises thin, flexible filamentary elements. 31. The combination of an enclosure defining in part a space for service elements and defining a plenum confining and controlling a flow of conditioned air under elevated pressure, said enclosure including at least one first opening for the directed flow of conditioned air, and including at least one second opening, separate from said first opening, for passing at least one service element, and a grommet comprising (a) a frame of a size, shape and arrangement to be positioned in generally sealed relation to said second opening,(b) said frame defining a frame opening,(c) a first sealing member mounted in said frame,(d) said first sealing member comprising a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored in cantilever fashion at inner ends thereof in said frame and extending into said frame opening to resist a flow of conditioned air through said frame opening,(e) said filamentary elements being individually flexibly displaceable at outer ends thereof to accommodate the presence of a service element passing through said frame opening, and(f) said grommet being positioned in generally sealed relation to said second opening. 32. The combination according to claim 31, wherein (a) said frame is formed with a recess in an outer surface portion thereof surrounding said frame opening, and(b) a cover plate is receivable in said recess to fully close said frame opening in the absence of service elements passing through said frame opening. 33. The combination according to claim 31, wherein (a) said frame has first and second opposing sides spaced apart from each other and defines a frame opening of closed configuration,(b) said first sealing member and a second sealing member are mounted in said opposing sides of said frame and extend toward each other,(c) outer end portions of the respective sealing members meet between said opposing sides and define a sealing region, and(d) said service element passes through said frame opening at or adjacent said sealing region. 34. The combination according to claim 33, wherein (a) said first and second sealing members are both comprised of a large plurality of filamentary elements anchored at one end thereof and with respective free ends thereof extending toward and substantially into abutting contact with each other to form said sealing region. 35. The combination according to claim 31, wherein said service element is a cable.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (38)
Boyd, Michael David; White, Iain Kilburn, Access panel.
Rodrigues Julio F. (Somerville NJ) Fischer ; Jr. Adam (Basking Ridge NJ), Enclosure for an electrical terminal block including barrier means for a cable entry opening.
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