PROTECTION FOR USE IN PROTECTING AN ELONGATED MEMBER

Abstract: A protector (10, 30) for use in protecting an elongated member (14, 32) comprises a flexible wall portion (16, 34) which forms or is adapted to form a sleeve around the elongated member. The protector (10, 30) also comprises compressed resilient material (20, 40) adhered to at least part of that surface (16a, 38) of the flexible wall portion (16, 34) which forms the interior surface of the sleeve. The compressed resilient material (20, 40) is releasable to reduce the space between the wall portion (16, 34) and the elongated member (14, 32).

Description: PROTECTOR FOR USE IN PROTECTING AN ELONGATED MEMBER This invention is concerned with a protector which forms, or is adapted to form, a protective sleeve, in particular a flexible protective sleeve. Flexible protective sleeves are widely used, eg in the engine compartments of vehicles, to protect elongated members such as bundles of wires and flexible pipes from damage. Such sleeves extend around and along the elongated member to protect it from abrasion damage, heat etc. Since such sleeves have to conform to the path taken by the elongated member, the sleeves need to be flexible. A protector according to the invention may be in the form of a flat elongated strip which is adapted to be formed into a flexible protective sleeve by wrapping it into a tubular form around an elongated member to be protected. For example, the strip may be wound helically on to the member or may, alternatively, have its two opposite longitudinally-extending edges thereof brought together and joined, eg by adhesive tape. A protector according to the invention may, alternatively, be in the form of a pre-formed sleeve, eg in the form of a convoluted tube, which is threaded on to the elongated member, or into which the elongated member is passed through a longitudinal slit in the sleeve. Some conventional protectors which form, or are adapted to form, a sleeve comprise a flexible wall portion, formed from a plastics material, such as nylon, polypropylene or polyester, or glass fibre. In some protectors, said flexible wall portion is made from yarns or monofilaments, eg by braiding or weaving. In other protectors, the flexible wall portion is a continuous extrusion of plastics material, eg the extrusion may be in the form of a tube which is convoluted to increase flexibility. Many conventional protective sleeves are a relatively loose fit over the elongated member which they protect. This is an advantage when the sleeve is installed, as the sleeve can easily be fitted on the member, but has disadvantages in service. For example, a loose fit increases the possibility that the sleeve may become displaced from its intended position by sliding along the elongated member. Furthermore, the member may be off- centre in the sleeve which may be undesirable when thermal insulation is an issue. Furthermore, the sleeve may rattle on the member creating undesirable noise. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved protector which forms, or is adapted to form, a sleeve for use in protecting an elongated member which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages. The invention provides a protector for use in protecting an elongated member, the protector comprising a flexible wall portion which forms, or is adapted to form, a sleeve around the elongated member, characterised in that the protector also comprises compressed resilient material adhered to at least part of that surface of the flexible wall portion which forms the interior surface of the sleeve, the compressed resilient material being releasable to reduce the space between the wall portion and the elongated member. A protector according to the invention enables compressed resilient material to be released in situ so ' that the material does not hinder formation or fitting of the sleeve. The reduction of the space reduces the possibility of sleeve displacement along the member. Indeed, the released material may grip the member preventing displacement of the sleeve. The released material may also have improved thermal insulating properties. The released material provides noise-reducing cushioning between the sleeve and the member and may also centralise the sleeve on the member. Preferably, the compressed resilient material is held in its compressed state by material which is heat- activatable to release said compressed resilient material. The flexible wall portion may comprise heat and/or electrically conductive members, eg metal strips or wires, to assist in conducting heat and/or electricity (for heating) to the heat-activatable material. The resilient compressed material may also contain heat and/or electrically conductive fillers. Adhesive may be included on the inner surface of the resilient compressed material to adhere to the elongated member. The resilient compressed material may be a foam, a felt, a compressible fabric, or a plurality of monofilaments or fibres. For example, a foam may be compressed and held in its compressed state by hot melt adhesive or wax which, on the application of heat, releases the foam allowing it to "spring" back to its uncompressed state. Other possibilities for holding the material in a compressed state include meltable thermoplastic polymers, and stitching or other mechanical fastening means which can be melted, burnt, cut, dissolved or pulled out. In order to reduce resistance to expansion of the released resilient material inwardly of the sleeve, the resilient compressed material may be applied to discrete areas distributed over said surface of the flexible wall portion. For example, the material may be distributed as a regular pattern of patches. Alternatively, the material may extend as parallel bands across said surface. The bands may extend around the elongated member or extend longitudinally of the member. For example, the bands may extend helically. In each of these cases, the compressed resilient material preferably engages the elongated member around its surface. Where the protector is in strip form, it may also comprise closure means operable to hold the flexible wall portion in its tubular form. The protector may also comprise a flexible layer of infra-red reflective material adhered to the flexible wall portion to form an exterior surface of the sleeve. The invention also provides a method of forming a protective sleeve around an elongated member, characterised in that the method comprises presenting a protector according to the invention which is in strip form to an elongated member, bending the protector into a tubular form around the member, fixing the protector in its tubular form, and releasing at least some of the resilient compressed material of the protector so that the space between the flexible wall portion of the protector and the member is reduced. There now follows a detailed description, to be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, of two protectors which are illustrative of the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a partial plan view of the first illustrative protector which is in the form of a strip adapted to form a sleeve; Figure 2 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, of the first illustrative protector in use as a sleeve; Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the second illustrative protector which is a pre-formed sleeve; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IV-IV in Figure 3, showing resilient material in a compressed condition; and Figure 5 is a similar view to Figure 4 but shows the resilient material in an uncompressed condition. The first illustrative protector 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is adapted for use in forming a tubular protective sleeve 12 (Figure 2) around an elongated member, such as the flexible fuel pipe 14 (Figure 2) of an internal combustion engine. The protector 10 comprises a flexible wall portion 16 which is formed from heat resistant plastics material. Specifically, the wall portion 16 is formed as a fabric woven from polyester monofilaments. The wall portion 16 is in the form of an elongated rectangle and hence is adapted to form the sleeve 12 around the elongated member 14, by being bent into a tube until its two longer edges lie adjacent one another or overlap one another. In this condition, which is shown in Figure 2, the longer edges of the wall portion 16 meet at a joint 18. The process of bending the wall portion 16 into a tube results in a first surface 16a thereof becoming a generally-cylindrical interior surface of the sleeve 12 and an opposite surface 16b of the wall portion 16 becoming a convex generally- cylindrical outer surface. The first illustrative protector 10 also comprises compressed resilient material 20 adhered to part of the surface 16a of the flexible wall portion 16 which forms the interior surface of the sleeve 12. Specifically, the material 20 is a polyester foam which is compressed and held in its compressed condition by wax which impregnates the foam. The material 20 is applied to discrete areas distributed over the surface 16a. Specifically, the material 20 is arranged in parallel bands running parallel to the shorter edges of the wall portion 16, with a first band 20a positioned at one of the shorter edges and another band (not shown) being positioned at the other shorter edge of the wall portion 16. The compressed material 20 is heat-activatable by applying heat to cause the wax to melt and release the foam to form a resilient foam 22 between the wall portion 16 and the elongated member 14, thereby reducing the space between the wall portion 16 and the member 14. The first illustrative protector 10 also comprises a flexible layer 26 of infra-red reflective material adhered to the surface 16b of the flexible wall portion 16 to form an exterior surface of the sleeve 12. The layer 26 is provided by a thin sheet of aluminium foil which completely covers the surface 16b and overlaps one of the longer edges of the wall portion 16 to form a flap 28. The flap 28 has pressure-sensitive adhesive 29 thereon and provides closure means of the protector 10 operable to hold the flexible wall portion 16 in its tubular form. In the use of the first illustrative protector 10, the protector is presented to the member 14 so that the member 14 is engaged by the surface 16a of the wall portion 16. Then, the protector 10 is bent around the member 14 into a tubular form until the longer edges of the wall portion 16 meet. The foil 26 now encircles the wall portion 16. Next, to fix the protector 10 in its tubular form, the flap 28 is pressed down on to another portion of the foil 26 to which it sticks because of the adhesive 29 on the flap 28. Next, at least the end bands of the resilient compressed material 20 of the protector 10 is released by blowing hot air on to the protector 10 so that the wax is melted and the foam is released between the flexible wall portion 16 and the member 14. The bands of the foam 22 extend around the member 14 and engage it on all sides. The foam 22 acts to centralise the sleeve 12 on the member 14 and grips the member 14 , because of the pressure created by the resilience of the foam. The second illustrative protector 30 shown in Figures 3 to 5 is for use in protecting an elongated member 32 which is a bundle of wires (not shown in Figure 3) . The protector 32 comprises a flexible wall portion 34 which forms a sleeve around the elongated member 32. The wall portion 34 is a sheet-like extrusion of nylon which is extruded in tubular form, convoluted to give it flexibility, and has a longitudinal slit 36 therein to allow access to the interior thereof. Such convoluted sleeves are well-known in the protective sleeve art. The wall portion 34 has an external surface 35 which is formed from annular crests 35a separated by annular troughs 35b. The wall portion 34 is designed to be flexible and, when bent around a curve, the crests 35a on the outside of the curve move apart while the crests 35a on the inside of the curve move together so that the wall portion maintains a generally tubular form. The interior surface 38 of the wall portion 34 has crests where the exterior surface 35 has troughs, and troughs where the exterior surface 35 has crests. Thus, the protector 30 has a pre-set form to which it returns after the wall portion 34 is distorted to open the slit 36 to insert the member 32. The protector 30 also comprises compressed resilient material 40 adhered to at least part of the surface 38 of the flexible wall portion 34. The compressed resilient material 40 is releasable to reduce the space between the wall portion 34 and the elongated member 32. Specifically, the resilient material 40 comprises a plurality of plastics monofilaments adhered to the surface 38 so that, in an uncompressed state, they would extend normally of the surface. The material 40 also comprises hot-melt adhesive which holds the monofilaments in a compressed state in which they are bent into a direction which is generally circumferential of the wall portion 34. The material 40 is provided in discreet patches on the crests of the interior surface 38, there being four uniformly distributed patches on each crest. Figure 4 shows the protector 30 in an as-installed condition in which the resilient material 40 is in a compressed state. In this state, there is a substantial empty space between the wall portion 34 and the member 32 so that rattling is possible, displacement of the protector 30 along the member 32 is possible, and the member 32 rests against the wall portion 34 at one point reducing thermal insulation at that point. Figure 5 shows the protector 30 in a final condition in which the resilient material 40 has been released from its compression by applying heat which has melted the hot- melt adhesive. This has caused the monofilaments of the material 40 to spring into their normal condition in which they project normally from the surface 38. The release of the monofilaments reduces the space between the wall portion 34 and the member 32. In this state, the monofilaments engage the member 32, gripping it, centralising it in the protector 30, and preventing rattling.

Claims: Claims A protector (10; 30) for use in protecting an elongated member (14; 32), the protector comprising a flexible wall portion (16; 34) which forms or is adapted to form a sleeve around the elongated member, characterised in that the protector also comprises compressed resilient material (20; 40) adhered to at least part of that surface (16a; 38) of the flexible wall portion which forms the interior surface of the sleeve, the compressed resilient material being releasable to reduce the space between the wall portion and the elongated member. A protector according to claim 1, characterised in that the compressed resilient material (20; 40) is held in its compressed state by material which is heat-activatable to release said compressed resilient material. A protector according to either one of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the resilient compressed material (20) is a foam. A protector according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterised in that the resilient compressed material (20; 40) is applied to discrete areas distributed over said surface (16a; 38) of the flexible wall portion (16; 34). A protector according to claim 4, characterised in that the resilient compressed material (20) extends as parallel bands across said surface (16a) . A protector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the protector also comprises closure means (28) operable to hold the flexible wall portion (16) in a tubular form. A protector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the protector also comprises a flexible layer (26) of infra-red reflective material adhered to the flexible wall portion (16) to form an exterior surface of the sleeve. A method of forming a protective sleeve around an elongated member (14), characterised in that the method comprises presenting a protector (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 which is in the form of a strip to an elongated member, bending the protector into a tubular form around the member, fixing the protector in its tubular form, and releasing at least some of the resilient compressed material (20) of the protector so that the space between the flexible wall portion (16) of the protector and the member is reduced.

Inventors: ATKINSON ALAN WILLIAM, WALSH MELANIE JANE, WEST ADAM MARTIN, ATKINSON, ALAN, WILLIAM, WALSH, MELANIE, JANE, WEST, ADAM, MARTIN
Applicants: ATKINSON ALAN WILLIAM, FEDERAL MOGUL TECHNOLOGY LTD, WALSH MELANIE JANE, WEST ADAM MARTIN, ATKINSON, ALAN, WILLIAM, FEDERAL-MOGUL TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, WALSH, MELANIE, JANE, WEST, ADAM, MARTIN
Application year: 2000
Main classification: F16L7
IPC codes: H02G3