Multi-cable conduit for floors and walls

A multi-cable conduit comprising

• a housing havng openings at opposite ends thereof,
• a plurality of partitions dividing the interior of said housing into a plurality of compartments extending between said openings and communicating therewith, each of said compartments being sized to receive a multiplicity of cables extending through the compartment and the open ends of the housing, said compartments also being elongated in a direction transverse to the axes of said cables,
• a lining of intumescent material on the walls of each of said compartments for expanding into and sealing each of said compartments in response to a fire, and
• means for slidably supporting said partitions within said housing so that each partition can be separately inserted into, and removed from, said housing.

A multi-cable conduit comprising

• a housing having openings at opposite ends thereof,
• a plurality of partitions dividing the interior of said housing into a plurality of compartments extending between said openings and communicating therewith, each of said compartments being sized to receive a multiplicity of cables extending through the compartment and the open ends of the housing, said compartments also being elongated in a direction transverse to the axes of said cables,
• means for supporting said partitions within said housing,
• a lining of intumescent material on the walls of each of said compartments for expanding into and sealing each of said compartments in response to a fire, and
• directing means at the open ends of said compartments for focusing the expansion of said intumescent material into said compartments.

A multi-cable conduit comprising

• a housing having openings at opposite ends thereof,
• a plurality of partitions dividing the interior of said housing into a plurality of compartments extending between said openings and communicating therewith, each of said compartments being sized to receive a multiplicity of cables extending through the compartment and the open ends of the housing, said compartments also being elongated in a direction transverse to the axes of said cables,
• means for supporting said partitions within said housing,
• a lining of intumescent material on the walls of each of said compartments for expanding into and sealing each of said compartments in response to a fire, and
• sealing means including a plurality of elongated resilient blinds each of which covers an open end of one of said compartments, means for pressing the ends of said blinds against said housing, and means for slidably supporting the longitudinal edges of said blinds to permit said blinds to be separately removed for the insertion of cables in the corresponding compartments, said supporting means also interconnecting the longitudinal edges of said blinds to form a smoke seal across one open end of said housing.

A multi-cable conduit comprising

• a housing having openings at opposite ends thereof,
• said housing having an outwardly extending flange at one open end thereof for overlapping and supportingly engaging the surface of a floor or wall on which said conduit will be mounted,
• gasket means disposed adjacent said flange for positioning between said flange and the floor or wall surface,
• a plurality of separately removable partitions dividing the interior of said housing into a plurality of compartments extending between said openings and communicating therewith, each of said compartments being sized to receive a multiplicity of cables extending through the compartment and the open ends of the housing, said compartments also being elongated in a direction transverse to the axes of said cables, each of said partitions including a main body portion forming the partition and a pair of flanges along opposite edges thereof for engaging the opposed internal walls of said housing,
• means for supporting said partitions within said housing,
• a lining of intumescent material on the walls of each of said compartments for expanding into and sealing each of said compartments in response to a fire, a portion of said intumescent material being located on the inner surfaces of said flanges of said partitions, the ends of said flanges adjacent at least one of the open ends of said housing being turned inwardly to form directing means for focusing the expansion of said intumescent material into said compartments,
• a non-flammable insert for filling any of said compartments, or portions thereof, that are not filled with cables, and
• sealing means forming a seal between the walls of each compartment and any cables or inserts therein, at one or both of the open ends of each compartment, to limit the transmission of smoke through said compartments prior to expansion of said intumescent material.

A method of installing cables which pass through one or more floors or walls of a buliding, said method comprising

• inserting a conduit housing into a hole passing through the floor or wall, said housing being open on both sides of the floor or wall and having a plurality of partitions dividing the interior of said housing into a plurality of compartments extending between said openings and communicating therewith, each of said compartments being sized to receive a multiplicity of cables extending through the compartment and the open ends of the housing, said compartments also being elongated in a direction transverse to the axes of said cables, and a lining of intumescent material on the walls of each of said compartments for expanding into and sealing each of said compartments in response to a fire,
• passing a multiplicity of cables through the floor or wall via said compartments,
• providing a non-flammable insert in each of said compartments or portions thereof that are not occupied by cable, and
• sealing any spaces between the walls of said compartments and the cables or inserts therein to limit the transmission of smoke through said compartments prior to expansion of said intumescent material.