The invention relates to a casting frame for use to seal conduits. Particularly the invention relates to a casting frame to seal conduits running essentially vertically in a building and where there in the conduit is a lengthy body.

In building, apart from private small houses, a load-bearing floor deck constituted by concrete is generally used. This concrete deck may be so-called in situ molded concrete, or it may be constituted by so-called precast concrete slabs being formed in a suitable place before being brought to the site of use. The concrete slabs may be constituted of massive concrete or of so-called hollow core slabs.

In planning the building also the technical installations in the building are positioned, and these are marked on the drawings. It is thus drawn where conduits between floors for water piping, wastewater piping, ventilation ducts,

electrical cables and others shall be. This is taken into consideration when a floor structure is cast and also when a vault is cast. Necessary bodies are put in before casting. The bodies are removed after casting and through conduits are formed for the technical installations. The same method is used for forming of conduits in production of precast

concrete slabs. Within the art it is known that such conduits may be formed by special moulds facilitating installation of water piping, waste water piping, ventilation ducts, electrical cables and others, and subsequent sealing with a sealing medium. Patent document NO 157264 describes

concreting in a form plate under a body. When the concrete is rigid, the body is removed and the form plate is left cast in the concrete. The form plate is constituted by a thin

material wherein a hole may easily be formed with a hand- cutting tool such as a knife. After electrical cables and others are installed, the conduit is filled with packing such as concrete. It is also known to concrete in permanent bodies forming conduits in a concrete deck. The permanent body will then constitute a lining in the conduit. Patent document DE 29922263 describes a split concreting body forming a conduit in a concrete deck. The body may be regulated telescopically in height to be able to be adapted to concrete decks having different thickness. The concreting body is in its bottom portion, that may be flush with the underside of the concrete deck, provided with part perforations having crack initiators for running pipes and cables through. After electrical cables and others are installed, the conduit is filled with sealing medium such as concrete, where the bottom portion acts as a form plate. Patent document JP 4 05 0161723 describes a split concreting body forming a conduit in a concrete deck. The concreting body may be regulated telescopically in height to be able to be adapted to concrete decks having different thickness. Screws hold the two parts of the concreting body together. After an electrical cable or other is installed in the conduit, a packer resting on a flange in the lower portion of the upper concreting body and sealing against the cable surface may be inserted. A sealing medium may be filled into the annulus formed between the cable surface and the inner wall of the concreting body. Patent document SE 227054 describes a concreting body wherein the lower part of the body is formed an internal shoulder. The upper opening of the concreting body is larger than the lower opening in the concreting body. A sleeve is treaded onto a pipe or a cable from the upper side of the concrete deck when the pipe or cable is installed in the conduit. The sleeve is provided with a flange in its lower portion such that the flange in its usage position rests on the shoulder of the concreting body. A space is thereby formed between the outside wall of the sleeve and the inner wall of the concreting body that may be filled with a filling compound.

Patent document DE 1609115 describes forming of at roof drain in a concrete vault. In a formed unlined conduit is placed a lining pipe that in its upper portion rests on the surface of the vault with radially outward projection lips. The lining pipe is clamped to the vault by means of an attachment ring disk resting against the underside of the concrete deck. The lining pipe and the attachment ring disk are interconnected by a threaded bolt and a wing nut where the wing nut is on the underside of the attachment ring disk. The lining pipe is forced down against the vault and the attachment ring disk is forced up against the underside of the vault when the wing nut is tightened. This must be performed from the underside of the concrete deck, i.e. from the ceiling in the level below. Fill medium such as concrete may be filled between the conduit wall and the lining pipe wall to form a watertight seal . A drainpipe is led through an opening in the attachment ring disk and the lower portion of the lining pipe.

On remodeling of existing buildings it is less appropriate to form conduits by casting in bodies to be removed after the concrete has cured or that forms a lining in the conduit. It is known to use diamond cutting and so-called core drilling to form unlined conduits when the floor structure is

constituted by concrete. It has turned out that it is practical to form conduits by diamond cutting or core drilling also in buildings being constructed. As an example room layouts may be changed during construction necessitating moving of technical installations. It has also turned out that it may be more efficient to produce uniform precast slabs and to form conduits in these when the elements are placed in the building. Within the art a need for about five conduits per 100 m ² floor space is envisaged. It is also known to form conduits in walls and vaults in the same manner .

It is customary to form the conduits by core drilling. This forms an unlined bore wherein such as a water pipe having an outside diameter less than the conduit diameter may be inserted later. After the water pipe has been placed a seal between the pipe and the conduit sidewall is formed. This seal may be constituted by a fire resistant seal. The seal may be constituted by a gypsum mix or by a cement based mixture being spread in the annulus between the pipe outside wall and the conduit sidewall. In floor conduits a casting frame need to be formed on the floor deck underside so that the sealing medium is kept in place until it has set. This is achieved for example by drilling a hole having a diameter corresponding to the pipe outside diameter in a suitable plate material. A split running through the formed hole cuts the plate. Thereafter the two plate halves are attached to the underside of the concrete deck one on each side of the pipe. That means that the casting frame is attached to the ceiling of the level below. This requires a ladder such as a stepladder. If the ceiling height is above 2.5 m, the working environment legislation of some countries require that the work is to be carried out from a scaffolding or from an alternative safety device such as a so-called lift. In some cases the casting frame is to be removed after the sealing medium has set. This requires a further work operation. It is known from patent document US 4704840 that a conduit may be sealed in that a casting frame in the form of a collar is attached to a body being inserted through the conduit. The collar is attached to the body at the underside of a concrete deck and a fill medium may be poured into the formed annulus between the body surface and the conduit wall. Patent

document SE 303406 describes a casting frame for a conduit formed close to a wall on the underside of the concrete deck. The casting frame is attached to the wall by a bracket. A fill medium may be poured into the formed annulus between the body surface and the conduit wall.

Within the art it is known that fire sealing may be done by providing the conduit with a material that expands when exposed to the heat from a fire. Such sealing media are among others known by the trade name Envirograf* . In a variant the sealing medium may be placed in a metal collar attached around a PVC pipe in a conduit. The material will expand in a fire. The surrounding metal collar causes the expansion to be directed inward toward the PVC pipe being crushed thereby. The sealing medium will fill a portion of the conduit

including the space constituted by the pipe. There is also known a casing-in body, which on its inner wall is provided with a fire retardant, expanding material. The casing-in body is provided with a through opening in the material for running through of cables and/or pipes when the casing-in body is cast in a wall or a concrete deck.

There is thus a need for a more efficient forming of a seal between for example a pipe and the sidewalls of a conduit.

The object of the invention is to remedy or reduce at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the prior art. The object is achieved by the features disclosed in the below description and in the subsequent claims.

In a first aspect the invention relates to a casting frame for a sealing medium arranged to seal an unlined conduit in a concrete deck or vault; where the casting frame body of the casting frame is provided with a through opening arranged to be able to enclose a portion of an in the conduit placed through, lengthy body and where the casting frame body is placed in the conduit. The casting frame is provided with at least one holding means arranged to be able to hold the casting frame element releasably in the unlined conduit.

By releasably is here meant that the casting frame in the usage position and until it is sealed with a sealing medium, may be turned about the conduit longitudinal axis and that the casting frame after having been placed in the conduit, may be removed from the conduit.

The holding means may be constituted by a lengthy arm. The arm may be lengthwise adjustable. The arm may be provided with means for attaching the free end portion of the arm on the topside of the floor deck or the vault. The casting frame body may be provided with means for fixing the attachment end of the arm. The arm may be attached to the casting frame body by a weld seam.

The casting frame body may be provided with at least one sealing body constituted by a non-combustible , heat -expanding material .

In a second aspect the invention relates to a method in forming of a conduit for a lengthy body in a floor deck or vault where the annulus between the unlined wall of the conduit and the outside of the lengthy body is filled with a sealing medium, comprising the steps of: a) forming the conduit by core drilling or concrete sawing; b) adapting a casting frame as described above to the

thickness of the floor deck or the vault;

c) placing the casting frame of step b) in the conduit;

d) inserting a lengthy body through a casting frame body and through the conduit; and

e) pouring a sealing medium into the annulus between the conduit sidewall and the outside of the lengthy body.

The method of step b) may in addition comprise assembling the casting frame from a selection of casting frame bodies and a selection of holding means. The method of step c) may in addition comprise placing the casting frame in the conduit from the topside of the floor deck.

In the following is described an example of a preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a casting frame in a conduit in a deck and a pipe inserted through the conduit ;

Fig. 2 shows to a larger scale a side view of the casting frame ,-

Fig. 3 shows to the same scale as Fig. 2 a side view of the casting frame rotated 90° relative to Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 shows to the same scale as Fig. 2 a view of the

casting frame viewed from above in a usage position;

Fig. 5 shows an alternative embodiment relative to Figure

4;

Fig. 6 shows to the same scale as Fig. 2 a side view like

Fig. 2 of the casting frame individual components; Fig. 7 shows to the same scale as Fig. 2 a side view of the casting frame in an alternative embodiment relative to Figure 6;

Fig. 8 shows to a smaller scale a side view of the casting frame in a usage position in a conduit in a deck having a lengthy body inserted through the casting frame ;

Fig. 9 shows to the same scale as Figure 8 the casting

frame provided with a sealing body attached to a side of the casting frame body facing away from an arm;

Fig. 10 shows to the same scale as Figure 8 an alternative embodiment relative to Figure 9, where the casting frame mould is provided with a sealing body

attached to the side of the casting frame facing the arm;

Fig. 11 shows to the same scale as Figure 8 an alternative embodiment relative to Figure 10, where the casting frame mould is provided with a sealing body

attached to the side of the casting frame facing the arm and an additional sealing body attached to the upper portion of the casting frame in a usage position; and

Fig. 12 shows to the same scale as Figure 8 and an enlarged detail A, an alternative embodiment of the casting frame attachment arm.

In the drawings the reference numeral 1 indicates a casting frame according to the invention. The casting frame 1

comprises a casting frame body 10 provided with a holding means 12 shown in the drawings as a lengthy arm 12. The arm 12 is in the Figures shown as a lengthwise adjustable arm 12 constituted by a fixed part 122 and a length adjustable part 124. The length adjustable part 124 is releasably attached to the fixed part 122 with a screw 126. The length adjustable part 124 is in its free end portion 128 provided with an attachment piece 129 for attaching the casting frame 1 to a base. The attachment piece 129 is for this purpose provided with a through opening 127 (see Figure 4) . The length

adjustable part 124 is in a portion provided with a

longitudinal through slot 125. The fixed part is provided with a first threaded bore 123 complementary to the thread of the screw 126.

The casting frame body 10 as shown in Figure 4 is designed with a circular shape as viewed from above in the usage position. The casting frame body 10 is adapted to a

circularly shaped conduit 22 formed in a deck 2, for example a floor deck made of concrete, see Figures 1; 8-11, such that the casting frame body 10 has an outside diameter that may be slightly less than the conduit 22 diameter, for example 2 mm smaller. A first slit is thereby formed between the

circumference 100 of the casting frame body 10 and the sidewall 24 of the conduit 22. The conduit 22 may be formed by core drilling in the floor deck 2. The casting frame body is provided with a through cut out 102, which may for example be a circular cut out 102. The cut out 102 is arranged to enclose a portion of a lengthy body 3 extending through the conduit 22 and projecting past the topside 20 and the

underside 21 of the floor deck 2. The lengthy body 3 may be constituted by such as an electric cable, a water pipe, a drainpipe or a ventilation duct. In the drawings this is shown as a pipe 3. The diameter of the cut out 102 is adapted such that the diameter may be slightly less than the outside diameter of the lengthy body 3, for example 2 mm smaller. A second slit 28 is thereby formed between the cut out 102 in the casting frame body 10 and the outside 32 of the lengthy body 3.

The fixed part 122 of the arm 12 may in one embodiment be attached to the casting frame body 10 by a weld seam (not shown) . In an alternative embodiment shown in Figure 7 the fixed part 122 of the arm 12 is releasably attached to the casting frame body 10. The attachment end 120 of the fixed part 122 is provided with a second threaded bore (not shown) being complementary to an attachment screw 130. The

releasable connection between the casting frame body 10 and the fixed part 122 may also be formed by a screw and nut connection (not shown) .

In the Figures the casting frame 1 is shown having two arms 12. The person versed in the art will know that one arm 12 may be sufficient, particularly if this is attached to the topside 20 of the deck 2 by means of the arm 12 attachment piece 129. It is also possible to provide the casting frame 1 with three or more arms 12.

The casting frame body 10 may thus be manufactured in several sizes having different outside diameters. Such casting frame bodies may be combined with cut outs 102 having different diameters . This makes it possible to place lengthy bodies 3 having different outside diameters in conduits 22 having the same diameter, or place lengthy bodies 3 having the same outside diameter in conduits 22 having different diameters. The length adjustment part 124 may be manufactured in several different lengths. It is thereby achieved that the casting frame 1 may be used in decks 2 of different thickness. In an alternative embodiment the arm 12 may be constituted of one piece and be manufactured in different lengths where the lengths are adapted to decks 2 of different thickness. It may be advantageous to manufacture the casting frame 1 in several separate pieces that may be assembled on the usage site.

Great flexibility is thereby achieved.

It requires accuracy from a craftsman to place a stiff, lengthy body 3, such as a pipe, in the conduit 22 such that the centerline of the body 3 and the centerline of the conduit 22 coincide. It may therefore be an advantage if the cut out 102 is formed eccentrically in the casting frame body 10 as shown in Figure 5.

The objective of the casting frame 1 is to form a seal, particularly a fireproof seal between the lengthy body 3 and the sidewall 24 of the conduit 22. The casting frame 1 may therefore be constituted of a non-combustible material such as a metal such as steel . For the purpose of forming a fireproof seal it is also known to use sealing bodies 4 constituted of a non-combustible material, more particularly of a non-combustible material which expands under the

influence of heat from a fire. A material known by the trade name Envirograf* is an example of such a material. In an alternative embodiment the casting frame body 10 may provided with a sealing element 4 as shown in Figures 9 and 10. In Figure 9 is shown that the sealing element 4 is attached to the casting frame body 10 on the lateral surface of the casting frame body 10 facing away from the arm 12. In Figure 10 is shown that the sealing element 4 is attached to the casting frame body 10 on the lateral surface of the casting frame body 10 facing the arm 12.

In an alternative embodiment as shown in Figure 11, the casting frame 1 is provided with two casting frame bodies 10, 10'. In the usage position the casting frame body 10 is placed in the lower portion of the conduit 22, and casting frame body 10' is placed in the upper portion of the conduit 22. The casting frame 1 is provided with two sealing elements 4, 4' attached to the facing surfaces of the casing frame bodies 10, 10' respectively. The upper formed annulus may be filled with a sealing medium. The casing frame body 10' will alternatively constitute a backer rod for a joint formed between the outside 32 of the lengthy body and the topside of the floor deck 20.

In a deck 2 there is formed an unlined conduit in the desired place by means of a core drill of a per se known type. After the conduit 22 is made ready, a casting frame 1 with a casting frame body 10 having an outside diameter slightly less, for example 2 mm less than the diameter of the conduit 22 is selected. The lengths of the arms 12 are adapted to the thickness of the floor deck 2 such that the casting frame body 10 in its usage position lies flush with the underside 21 of the floor deck 2, or alternatively pulled a little into the conduit 22, when the casting frame 1 is placed in the conduit 22. The casting frame 1 may be inserted into the conduit 22 from the topside 20 of the deck 2. Alternatively the casting frame 1 may be inserted into the conduit from the underside 21 of the deck 2 by the free end portion of the arm 12 being squeezed or tightened a little in for the attachment pieces 129 to be accommodated in the conduit 22. When the free end portion 128 projects above the topside 20 the strain in the arm 12 will cause the attachment piece 129 to be positioned on the topside 20 of the deck 12. The casting frame 1 is resting on the topside 20 of the deck 12 by the attachment pieces 129. If necessary one or more attachment pieces 129 may be attached to the deck 2.

The lengthy body 3 constituting a pipe is used as an example. A plumber will insert the pipe 3 from the underside 21 of the deck 2 through the cut out 102 of the casting frame body 10 and further up above the topside 20 of the deck 2. If the casting frame body 10 is provided with an eccentric cut out 102, the casting frame form 1 in the conduit 22 is turned to the best position. This presupposes that the casting frame form 1 is not attached to the deck 2.

When the pipe 3 is finally placed in the conduit 22, a fireproof sealing medium such as a gypsum mixture or a cement mixture is poured down into the conduit 22 filling the formed annulus between the wall 24 and the outside 32 of the lengthy body 3. The slits 26 and 28 are so narrow that the surface tension of the sealing medium will prevent the sealing medium from running past the casting frame body 10 before the sealing medium has stiffened.

In an alternative embodiment the casting frame 1 is provided with a sealing body 4 constituted by a non-combustible, expanding material, and the sealing body 4 may be attached to the side of the casting frame body 10 facing away from the arms 12 or on the side facing the arms 12. The casting frame 1 is placed in the conduit 22 and a lengthy body 3 is

inserted through the conduit 22 as described above. The formed annulus may be filled with cement or gypsum.

Alternatively there may be formed a joint constituted for example by acrylic, between the outside 32 of the lengthy body 3 and the topside 20 of the floor to seal the formed annulus .

After the casting frame 1 is placed in the conduit 22 and before a lengthy body 3 is placed in the conduit, there may for safety reasons be placed an adapted (not shown) lid over the conduit 22.

The person versed in the art will know that the casting frame body 10 may be attached to the arm 12 in more ways than what is shown in the example. As examples of alternative attaching manners are mentioned, without being limiting, a Velcro connection, a cam connection, a keyhole connection and a threaded connection. The person versed in the art will also know that the length of the arm 12 may be adapted in other ways than with the screw connection shown. As examples of alternative length adaptation ways are mentioned, without being limiting, a rivet connection, a telescopic connection and a hook connection. As sealing where a fireproof seal is not required, some or all of the parts of the casting frame may be constituted by plastic.

For fire prevention reasons it may be desirable that the casting frame 1 does not reach through the conduit 22 such that heat may not be conducted from the underside 21 of the deck and to the topside 20 of the deck or from the topside 20 of the deck to the underside 21 of the deck. This may be achieved in several ways. In Figure 12 is shown one possible embodiment. A length adjustment part 224 is in its free end provided with an attachment piece 229. The attachment piece 229 is by means of a screw 5 releasably attached to a holding piece 6. In the usage position the holding piece 6 is resting on the topside 20 of the deck. As described earlier a

fireproof sealing medium, such as a gypsum mixture or a cement mixture is poured down into the conduit 22 filling the formed annulus between the wall 24 and the outside 32 of the lengthy body 3. The sealing medium is poured in until the upper edge of the sealing medium is somewhat below the free end 228. When the sealing medium has stiffened and possibly cured, the screw 5 is loosened and the holding piece 6 is removed from the conduit 22. Thereafter the remaining portion of the annulus is filled up with a sealing medium.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown) the holding means 12 may be constituted by one or more bodies attached to the casting frame body 10 with a spring connection. The spring connection holds the holding means 12 under tension against the sidewall 24 in the conduit 22. In this embodiment the holding means 12 does not project above the topside 20 of the deck 2.