Abstract:
A sealing device and method of making it for insulating and sealing a joint electrically connecting a wire or ribbon anode to an electrical cable. The cable is insulated except at an open region where the wire anode is connected to it. The sealing device comprises a body of an insulating material molded in situ about the electrical joint to completely cover it and bond to portions of the electrically insulating covering contiguous with the joint to thereby insulate the joint and prevent the ingress of water or other materials into the joint.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     “Not Applicable” 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     “Not Applicable” 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK 
     “Not Applicable” 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to cathodic protection systems and more particularly to devices for insulating and sealing electrical connections between a wire or strip anode and a cable or other structure to be protected. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     When wire type and rod type anodes are connected to the lead wire or conductor cable for the anode/anode assembly, the connection or joint must be both electrically sound and waterproof. If the connection is not waterproof, there is an almost certain risk of connection failure. To that end, various approaches have been taken to seal the electrical joint and isolate it from the ambient surroundings. Connection failures typically occur because the anode connection is almost always in some electrolyte, such as soil or water. As the DC current flows through the electrical joint and if it is exposed to the moisture or soil, it will corrode and fail. Where the structure to be protected comprises a cable, whose conductors are typically copper the anode used is generally made of a noble metal combination, such as mixed metal oxide (MMO) over titanium or platinum over niobium/copper. However other anode materials may be used. 
     Heretofore the electrical joint connecting a wire or ribbon anode to a cable or other elongated structure has been sealed and insulated using a series of steps of hand applied materials. In the simplest form, the electrical joint is covered by heat shrink sleeve that may or may not contain a mastic or sealant that melts when heated. The sleeve is slid over the connection and heated with a heat gun either electric or propane. The process is all done by hand. Matcor, Inc., a well known company in the field of cathodic protection systems, and which is the licensee of the subject invention, has typically taken the foregoing approach to sealing and insulating wire anode joints. In particular, the standard connection made by Matcor, Inc. consists of several steps including: brushing the connection (the electrical joint) with a sealant, such as 3M SKOTCHKOTE™ structural polyurea coating, sliding a heat shrinkable sleeve over the connection, partially heating the heat shrinkable sleeve and while it is still open at one end and then injecting an additional sealing material, e.g., a hot melt sealant, into the sleeve using a hot melt gun. After that is accomplished the heat shrinkable sleeve is heated further to finishing heating and shrinking it about the joint. 
     In some simple older forms of waterproofing, the electrical joint is covered with a brush-on sealer such as the 3M SKOTCHKOTE™ structural polyurea coating and then wrapped with two layers of tape. This connection is rarely used today. 
     As should be appreciated by those skilled in the art, all of the above prior art approaches to sealing the electrical joint rely on the workmanship of the person doing the work, so that in some cases a the joint may not be sealed and insulated properly. The subject invention addresses that problem. 
     All references cited and/or identified herein are specifically incorporated by reference herein. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a sealing device for insulating and sealing a joint electrically connecting an elongated anode (e.g., a wire or ribbon anode) to an elongated electrical conductor (e.g., a stranded cable). The elongated electrical conductor has an electrically insulating covering (e.g., KYNAR® polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) thereon except at an open region where the wire anode is connected to the elongated electrical conductor. The sealing device comprises a body of an insulating material (e.g., KYNAR® polyvinylidene fluoride, high molecular weight polyethylene, etc.) molded in situ about the joint to completely cover the joint and bond to portions of the electrically insulating covering contiguous with the open region to thereby insulate the joint and prevent the ingress of water or other materials into the joint. 
     In accordance with another aspect of this invention there is provided a joint electrically connecting an elongated anode to an elongated electrical conductor. The elongated electrical conductor has an electrically insulating covering thereon except at an open region where the elongated anode is connected to the elongated electrical conductor. The joint additionally comprises a sealing device comprising a body of an insulating material molded in situ about the joint to completely cover the joint and bond to portions of the electrically insulating covering contiguous with the open region to thereby insulate the joint and prevent the ingress of water or other materials into the joint. 
     In accordance with still another aspect of this invention there is provided a method for insulating and sealing a joint electrically connecting an elongated anode to an elongated electrical conductor. The elongated electrical conductor has an electrically insulating covering thereon except at an open region where the elongated anode is connected to the elongated electrical conductor. The method comprises molding a body of an insulating material in situ about the joint to completely cover the joint and bond to portions of the electrically insulating covering contiguous with the open region to thereby insulate the joint and prevent the ingress of water or other materials into the joint. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of a portion of a wire anode electrically connected to an electrical cable at an electrical joint, which has been insulated and rendered waterproof by use of a sealing device formed in accordance with one aspect of this invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side elevation view, similar to  FIG. 1 , but showing a portion of the sealing device broken away along a vertical section, to show the details of the electrical joint; 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged sectional view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a vertical sectional view, similar to  FIG. 3 , showing the formation of the sealing device shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown in  FIG. 1  a sealing device  20  for insulating and sealing a joint electrically connecting an elongated wire or ribbon anode  22  to an elongated electrical conductor, e.g., a cable  24 . Some details of the anode  22  and the cable  24  will be described later. Suffice it for now to state that the anode  22  is an elongated thin flexible member, e.g., a wire, a ribbon, a tube, etc., which can be any conventional construction and is formed of an electrically conductive material, e.g., a noble metal combination, such as a mixed metal oxide (MMO) over titanium or platinum over niobium/copper, or any other conventional anode materials. The cable  24  can also be of any conventional construction. In the embodiment shown the cable  24  comprises a plurality of electrically conductive, e.g., copper, strands or filaments  24 A having an electrically insulating covering or coating  24 B, e.g., KYNAR® polyvinylidene fluoride, thereon. 
     In accordance with one preferred aspect of this invention the sealing device  20  is molded in situ, e.g., injection molded (as will be described later with reference to  FIG. 4 ), about the electrical joint  26  connecting the anode  22  to the cable  24  to establish a waterproof/insulation covering for the anode-to-cable connection. In the exemplary embodiment shown the electrical connection between the anode  22  and the cable  24  at the joint  26  is effected by use of an electrically conductive crimp sleeve  28 . To that end, a portion of the insulation  24 A of the cable is removed at the point where the electrical connection is to be made. This creates an open region  30  exposing the electrical strands or filaments  24 A. A portion of the elongated anode  24  is disposed over the filaments  24 A in the region  30  and the crimp sleeve  28  is disposed thereabout. The sleeve is then crimped in place to result in tightly compressing the underlying portion of the wire anode  22  into engagement with the strands  24 A of the cable, as best seen in  FIG. 3 , thereby electrically connecting the anode to the cable&#39;s conductive filaments. It should be pointed out at this juncture that in lieu of using a crimp sleeve to effect the electrical interconnection of the anode to the cable, other means can be used. For example, the anode may be soldered, welded or brazed to the filaments of the cable at the open region  30 . 
     Irrespective of how the electrical joint  26  is produced, it must be insulated and sealed to protect it from the environment in which it will be disposed. That is the function of the sealing device  20 . The sealing device is  20  formed and applied to the joint  26  as best seen in  FIG. 4  by disposing a hollow injection mold  32  about the joint  26  and injection molding the device on the joint. The mold  32  includes a cylindrically shaped cavity having a tapered leading end and a tapered trailing end. The outside diameter of the cylindrical portion of the cavity is greater than the outside diameter of the joint  26  to create an annular space therebetween. The mold  32  includes an inlet port  34  into which a flowable insulating material is injected to fill the annular space with the insulating material. Moreover, the flowable insulating material fills up all of the voids in the joint which are contiguous with the annular space surrounding the joint, thereby totally encapsulating the joint. 
     In accordance with one preferred aspect of this invention the flowable insulating material comprises the same material as that making up the insulation  24 B on the cable  24  so that when it is injected into the mold and sets up (hardens) it chemically bonds to the insulation of the cable thereby forming a body which is bonded to the joint, e.g., is integral with the cable insulation on either sides of the joint. However, there will be other cases where the material injected into the mold to form the body of the sealing device  20  may be of different material than that found in the cable insulation in order to provide addition benefits. In any case the molding of the body of the sealing device in situ on the joint has the effect of bonding that body to the joint and to the insulation of the cable on either side of the joint. This results in a joint which is electrically insulated and waterproof. 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, in practice a plurality of electrical joints  26  will be made at sequentially spaced locations along a long cable. Each joint will be sealed and insulated as discussed above. 
     The following constitutes one exemplary embodiment of a typical electrical joint  26  sealed and insulated by a sealing device  20  constructed in accordance with this invention. The anode is a MMO wire anode which is either of 0.31″ or 0.62″ outside diameter. The cable  24  is composed of stranded and annealed copper wires  24 B which are covered by a high molecular weight polyethylene (HMWPE or HMPE) insulating cover or coating  24 B. The outside diameter of the cable  24  with the 0.31″ anode is 0.36″, and is 0.4″ with the 0.62″ anode. The length of the open region  30  is approximately 1.375″. The length of the crimp sleeve  28  is approximately 1.2″, with the outside diameter of the sleeve being 0.365″, but will vary with the crimp. The length of the body of the sealing device  20  is approximately 3.31″, with an outside diameter of 0.5″. The length of each of the tapered ends of the sealing device  20  is 0.5″. 
     While the subject invention has been disclosed for effecting the insulation and sealing of an electrical joint between a wire or ribbon anode and an insulated cable, this invention is not so limited. Thus, it is contemplated that the subject invention can be used in any suitable cathodic protection system making use of a thin, elongated anode. 
     As should be appreciated from the foregoing the subject invention offers various advantages over the prior art. For example, the sealing device and method of making it does not rely on the workmanship of the person applying it. Thus, the quality of the resulting sealed joint will be consistent. This very important on linear anodes where as many as one hundred forty (140) connections may exist for one assembly. The device of this invention is chemically bonded to the insulated conductor cable and can be of the same material as the insulation on the insulated cable to ensure a good bond. This means that it is not possible for the waterproofing/sealant to be pulled off, as is the case with the prior art usage heat shrink sleeves to effect insulation and sealing. Moreover, when the anode assembly of the prior art is pulled or placed under tension the conductor cable  24  can stretch, with the heat shrink sleeve remaining of the same length as when initially applied, thereby leaving the bare conductors (e.g., the copper strands) of the joint exposed. As mentioned above, the subject invention can make use of any material, such as KYNAR® polyvinylidene fluoride, which is commonly used as cable insulation for protection against chlorine. It is not easy to cover a KYNAR® polyvinylidene fluoride insulated cable-wire anode joint with a heat shrinkable sleeve, like used in the prior art. With the subject invention, that is not an issue. Further still, since the sealing device of the subject invention is molded in situ about the joint, the insulating material making up the body will fill all of the cavities and voids at the joint. This should be contrasted with the prior art where voids can and do frequently occur. In addition, the thickness of the insulation/sealing body formed over the joint with this invention will be more uniform than with the prior art. The uniform covering thickness offers better electrical protection to the connection. 
     Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully illustrate our invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, adopt the same for use under various conditions of service.