Waterproof construction of cable

Abstract

To provide a waterproof structure of a cable capable of ensuring waterproofness in a through hole of an object to be attached even when the cable has no roundness.SOLUTION: A waterproof structure of a cable capable includes: an attachment object 2 having a through hole 1; and a pair of clamp members 4 having an insertion hole 3. The pair of clamp members 4 is disposed on an arrangement surface 2A of the attachment object 2. An annular projection 5 surrounding the through hole 1 is formed on the arrangement surface 2A of the attachment object 2, and an annular groove portion 7 which is formed continuously around the insertion hole 3 and into which the annular projection 5 is inserted is formed on an opposing surface 4A of the clamp member 4. After a caulking agent 20 before curing is applied to the annular groove portion 7, the pair of clamp members 4 is arranged on the arrangement surface 2A of the attachment object 2 so that the annular projection 5 is inserted into the annular groove portion 7, whereby the caulking agent 20 overflows from the annular groove portion 7 and enters a gap between the through hole 1 and the insertion hole 3, and, a cable C.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a waterproof structure for a cable. [Background technology]

[0002] Through-holes (cable outlets) of various devices and structures through which cables are inserted are provided with a waterproof structure for the cable to prevent moisture from entering the inside of the device or structure. Conventionally, cable glands such as those shown in Patent Document 1 have often been used as this type of waterproof structure for cables.

[0003] The cable gland described in Patent Document 1 includes a cylindrical gland body having a male thread at a first axial end and a plurality of claws arranged in the circumferential direction, a cylindrical sealing rubber (sleeve) placed inside the first end of the gland body, and a cylindrical sealing nut (cap) screwed onto the male thread of the gland body.

[0004] In this cable gland, the cable is inserted through the gland body, sealing rubber, and sealing nut, and then the sealing nut is screwed onto the male thread of the gland body and tightened to press the sealing rubber against the cable, thereby ensuring waterproofing of the through-hole of the object through which the cable passes, such as equipment or a structure. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-37094 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, some cables are not perfectly round. If the above-mentioned cable gland is used for a cable that is not perfectly round, the sealing rubber will not adhere well to the cable that is not perfectly round, and there is a possibility that waterproofing of the through hole in the object to which the cable is attached will not be ensured.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a waterproof structure for a cable that can ensure waterproofing in a through hole of an object to which it is attached, even if the cable is not perfectly round. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve this problem, the waterproof structure for a cable of the present invention comprises an attachment object having a through hole through which the cable is inserted, and a pair of clamp members having an insertion hole through which the cable is inserted when combined and clamping the cable from a radial direction of the cable, the pair of clamp members being placed on the placement surface of the attachment object where the through hole opens, and an annular protrusion surrounding one of the through hole and the insertion hole is formed on one of the placement surface of the attachment object and the opposing surface of the pair of clamp members where the insertion hole opens and facing the placement surface, and an annular groove portion formed on the other of the placement surface and the opposing surface and extending around the other of the through hole and the insertion hole and into which the annular protrusion is inserted, and after pre-hardening caulking agent is applied to the annular groove portion, the pair of clamp members are placed on the placement surface of the attachment object so that the annular protrusion is inserted into the annular groove portion, whereby the caulking agent overflows from the annular groove portion and enters the gap between the through hole and the insertion hole and the cable. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] In the waterproof structure for cables of the present invention, the uncured caulking agent that overflows from the annular groove formed in one of the pair of clamping members and the object to be attached enters the gap between the cable and the inner periphery of the through hole of the object to be attached, and the gap between the cable and the inner periphery of the insertion hole of the pair of clamping members. Then, as the caulking agent hardens, these gaps are sealed with the hardened caulking agent. This allows the gap between the cable and the inner periphery of the through hole of the object to be attached and the gap between the cable and the inner periphery of the insertion hole of the clamping members to be sealed, even if the cable is not perfectly round.

[0010] Furthermore, in the waterproof cable structure of the present invention, the cable is clamped between the pair of clamp members, which restricts the cable from moving in the axial direction relative to the pair of clamp members, thereby preventing problems such as cracking of the hardened caulking agent even if the cable is pulled in the axial direction. As described above, the waterproof structure for a cable of the present invention can ensure waterproofing in the through-hole (cable outlet) of the object to which the cable is attached, even if the cable is not perfectly round. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a pair of clamp members that constitute a cable waterproofing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a cable clamped by the pair of clamp members. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the pair of clamp members in FIG. 1, disassembled and removed from the cable. [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view of an object to which the cable waterproofing structure according to one embodiment of the present invention is attached. [Figure 4] 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cable waterproofing structure, showing a state before a pair of clamp members are attached to an attachment object. [Figure 5] 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the cable waterproofing structure, showing the state after a pair of clamp members have been attached to an attachment object. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A waterproof cable structure 100 (waterproof cable structure) according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the axial direction of the cable C is indicated by the direction of arrow A1, and the radial direction of the cable C is indicated by the direction of arrow A2.

[0013] 1 to 3, the cable waterproofing structure 100 of this embodiment includes an attachment object 2 (see FIG. 3) having a through hole 1 through which a cable C is inserted, and a pair of clamp members 4 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) having an insertion hole 3 through which the cable C is inserted when combined. Here, the through hole 1 of the attachment object 2 and the insertion hole 3 of the pair of clamp members 4 are formed in a circular shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the cable C when viewed from the axial direction (the direction of arrow A1).

[0014] 3, the attachment object 2 has an arrangement surface 2A that forms its surface and on which a pair of clamp members 4 are arranged. The through hole 1 of the attachment object 2 penetrates a wall portion including the arrangement surface 2A and opens to the arrangement surface 2A. A cable C to be attached is inserted into the through hole 1. An annular protrusion 5 is formed at the opening 1A of the through hole 1 located on the arrangement surface 2A side. The annular protrusion 5 is arranged on the arrangement surface 2A so as to surround the opening 1A of the through hole 1. The annular protrusion 5 is formed in a ring or cylindrical shape that protrudes from the arrangement surface 2A. The attachment object 2 may be, for example, a housing that contains various devices, or may be various structures such as a wall of a room. The "various devices" may be, for example, a wireless charging device that supplies and receives power contactlessly, or any other electronic device.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a cable C is inserted through an insertion hole 3 formed when a pair of clamp members 4 are combined with each other. The pair of clamp members 4 clamp and hold the outer surface of the cable C from the outside in the radial direction (direction of arrow A2) with the inner circumferential surfaces 3A of the insertion hole 3. Furthermore, these clamp members 4 are joined together in a combined state with connecting members 6 consisting of screws, bolts, nuts, etc. The mounting axis of the connecting members 6 at this time is indicated by symbol b1.

[0016] These clamp members 4 are formed with an annular groove 7 into which the annular protrusion 5 of the attachment object 2 can be inserted when the clamp members 4 are combined with each other. This annular groove 7 is located at one end of the insertion hole 3 of the clamp members 4 (the side on which the annular protrusion 5 of the attachment object 2 is placed) so as to be continuous with the periphery of the insertion hole 3. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1 , this annular groove 7 is located on the opposing surface 4A of the clamp members 4 that faces the placement surface 2A of the attachment object 2. The annular groove 7 may be fitted to the attachment object 2, for example, by having the annular protrusion 5 of the attachment object 2 inserted into it.

[0017] These clamp members 4 are fixed to the placement surface 2A of the object to be attached 2 with the annular protrusion 5 of the object to be attached 2 inserted into the aforementioned annular groove portion 7 by connecting members (not shown) consisting of screws, bolts, etc. that are passed through the through holes 9a of the clamp members 4. As shown in Fig. 3, a mounting hole 8 having a female thread is formed on the placement surface 2A of the mounting object 2, and into which a connecting member is threadedly attached that is passed through the through hole 9a (see Fig. 1) of the clamp member 4. The mounting axis of the connecting member at this time (the axis of the through hole 9a and the mounting hole 8) is indicated by the symbol a1.

[0018] As shown in Figures 2, 4, and 5, an elastic member 10 is disposed inside the insertion hole 3 of these clamp members 4. The elastic member 10 is made of an elastically deformable material such as rubber, and is formed in a cylindrical shape that fits along the inner circumferential surface 3A of the insertion hole 3. A cable C passes inside the cylindrical elastic member 10. When the pair of clamp members 4 clamp the outer circumferential surface of the cable C from the outside in the radial direction (the direction of arrow A2), the elastic member 10 is interposed between the inner circumferential surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 of the clamp members 4 and the outer circumferential surface of the cable C. Furthermore, the elastic member 10 through which the cable C passes is clamped by the pair of clamp members 4 from the outside in the radial direction. The elastic member 10 is positioned at a distance from the annular groove 7 formed in communication with the insertion hole 3 in the axial direction of the insertion hole 3 (the direction of the arrow A1).

[0019] Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the caulking agent 20 disposed between the attachment object 2 and the clamp member 4 that constitute the cable waterproofing structure 100 will be described. As shown in Fig. 4, the caulking agent 20 is applied in a viscous paste state to the inside of the annular groove 7 of the clamping member 4. Then, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the clamping member 4 is placed on the placement surface 2A of the object 2 so that the annular protrusion 5 of the object 2 is inserted into the annular groove 7 of the clamping member 4. At this time, as shown in Fig. 5, the paste-like caulking agent 20 overflows from the annular groove 7 of the clamping member 4 and enters the gap between the through hole 1 of the object 2 and the cable C, and the gap between the insertion hole 3 of the clamping member 4 and the cable C.

[0020] The clamp members 4 are smaller in size than the object 2, and can be easily held by the worker. Therefore, the caulking agent 20 can be easily applied to the annular grooves 7 formed in the pair of clamp members 4.

[0021] As described above in detail, in the cable waterproofing structure 100 of this embodiment, the pre-hardened paste-like caulking agent 20 that overflows from the annular groove portion 7 of the pair of clamp members 4 enters the gap between the inner circumferential surface 1B of the through hole 1 in the attachment object 2 (the inner circumferential surface 1B of the through hole 1 including the annular protrusion 5; see FIGS. 3 to 5 ) and the cable C, and the gap between the inner circumferential surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 in the clamp members 4 and the cable C. Then, as the caulking agent 20 hardens, these gaps are sealed with the hardened caulking agent 20. As a result, even if the cable C is not out of round, the gap between the inner circumferential surface 1B of the through hole 1 in the attachment object 2 and the gap between the inner circumferential surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 in the clamp members 4 can be sealed.

[0022] Furthermore, in the cable waterproofing structure 100 of this embodiment, the cable C is clamped by the pair of clamp members 4, which restricts the cable C from moving in the axial direction (arrow A1 direction) of the cable C relative to the pair of clamp members 4. This prevents problems such as cracking of the hardened caulking agent 20 even if the cable C is pulled in the axial direction (arrow A1 direction). From the above, in the cable waterproofing structure 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to ensure waterproofing in the through hole 1 (particularly the opening 1A of the through hole 1) of the attachment object 2 even if the cable C is not perfectly round.

[0023] Furthermore, in the cable waterproofing structure 100, the pair of clamping members 4 are formed with annular grooves 7. Therefore, when the size of the attachment object 2 is larger than the pair of clamping members 4, it is easy to apply the caulking agent 20 to the annular grooves 7. This makes it possible to easily establish the cable waterproofing structure 100.

[0024] Furthermore, in the cable waterproofing structure 100, the cable C is clamped by the pair of clamp members 4 via the elastic member 10. In this state, the elastic force of the elastically deformed elastic member 10 can more effectively restrict movement of the cable C in the axial direction (arrow A1 direction) of the cable C relative to the pair of clamp members 4. This more reliably prevents problems such as cracking of the hardened caulking agent 20 even if the cable C is pulled in the axial direction (arrow A1 direction).

[0025] In the cable waterproofing structure 100, the elastic member 10 disposed on the inner periphery of the insertion hole 3 of the clamp member 4 and the annular groove 7 formed in the clamp member 4 are spaced apart in the axial direction (arrow A1 direction) of the insertion hole 3. Therefore, of the gap between the inner circumferential surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 of the clamp member 4 and the cable C inserted into the insertion hole 3, a gap region S (see FIGS. 4 and 5 ) located between the annular groove 7 and the elastic member 10 in the axial direction (arrow A1 direction) of the insertion hole 3 can be utilized as an insertion region into which the caulking agent 20 spilling from the annular groove 7 can enter. This allows the caulking agent 20 to sufficiently fill the gap between the inner circumferential surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 and the cable C. Therefore, the gap between the inner circumferential surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 and the cable C can be reliably sealed with the hardened caulking agent 20.

[0026] (Variation 1) In the above-mentioned cable waterproofing structure 100, the through hole 1 of the attachment object 2 and the insertion hole 3 of the clamp member 4 are formed in a circular shape when viewed from the axial direction (arrow A1 direction), but the shapes of these through hole 1 and insertion hole 3 can be changed as appropriate depending on the cross-sectional shape of the cable C (for example, a perfect circle, an ellipse, a square, a polygon, etc.).

[0027] (Variation 2) In the above-described cable waterproofing structure 100, the annular protrusion 5 is formed on the periphery of the opening of the through hole 1 in the attachment object 2, and the annular groove 7 is formed in the insertion hole 3 in the clamping member 4, but the reverse is also possible. That is, in a modified cable waterproofing structure, the annular groove may be formed in the through hole 1 in the attachment object 2, and the annular protrusion may be formed on the periphery of the opening of the insertion hole 3 in the clamping member 4.

[0028] Although the embodiments have been described above, various modifications can be made to the configurations and details thereof that would be understood by those skilled in the art. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate.

[0029] In the cable prevention structure of the present invention, the annular protrusion is inserted into the annular groove, and the caulking agent spilling out from and inside the annular protrusion is allowed to harden, thereby sealing the gap between the cable C and the inner surface 1B of the through hole 1 in the attachment object 2, and the gap between the cable C and the inner surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 in the clamp member 4. For this reason, it is preferable that the gap between the surface of the annular protrusion inserted into the annular groove and the inner surface of the annular groove or the surface of the cable, the gap between the cable C and the inner surface 1B of the through hole 1 in the attachment object 2, and the gap between the cable C and the inner surface 3A of the insertion hole 3 in the clamp member 4 are small. It is also more preferable that these gaps are constant. By reducing the gap, the caulking agent spilling over from the annular protrusion and into the annular protrusion can be cured in a shorter time. Furthermore, by keeping the gap constant, unevenness in the curing degree of the caulking agent can be suppressed or prevented, i.e., the caulking agent can be cured uniformly. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 through hole 1A opening 1B Inner surface 2. Mounting object 2A Placement surface 3 Insertion hole 3A Inner surface 4 Clamping member 4A Opposite surface 5 Annular protrusion 6 Connecting members 7 Annular groove 8 Mounting holes 9a through hole 10 Elastic member 20 Caulking agent 100 Cable waterproof structure C Cable S gap area A1 Axial direction A2 radial direction

Claims

1. an attachment object having a through hole through which the cable is inserted; a pair of clamp members having an insertion hole through which the cable is inserted when the clamp members are combined and clamping the cable from a radial direction of the cable, the pair of clamp members are disposed on a placement surface of the object where the through-hole opens, an annular protrusion surrounding one of the through hole and the insertion hole is formed on one of the placement surface of the attachment object and the opposing surface of the pair of clamp members, the opposing surface having the insertion hole open therein and facing the placement surface; an annular groove portion is formed on the other of the arrangement surface and the opposing surface, the annular groove portion being formed to surround the other of the through hole and the insertion hole, and into which the annular protrusion is inserted; A waterproof structure for a cable in which pre-hardened caulking agent is applied to the annular groove portion, and then the pair of clamp members are placed on the mounting surface of the object to be attached so that the annular protrusion is inserted into the annular groove portion, causing the caulking agent to overflow from the annular groove portion and enter the gap between the through hole and the insertion hole and the cable.

2. the annular protrusion is formed on the mounting surface of the mounting object and surrounds the through hole; 2. The waterproof structure for a cable according to claim 1, wherein the annular groove is formed on the opposing surfaces of the pair of clamp members and continues around the insertion hole.

3. a cylindrical elastic member made of an elastically deformable material and through which the cable passes; 3. The waterproof structure for a cable according to claim 1, wherein the pair of clamp members clamp the elastic member through which the cable passes from a radial direction of the cable.

4. a cylindrical elastic member made of an elastically deformable material and through which the cable passes; The pair of clamp members clamp the elastic member through which the cable passes from a radial direction of the cable, 3. The waterproof structure for a cable according to claim 2, wherein the annular groove and the elastic member disposed on the inner periphery of the insertion hole are positioned with a gap in the axial direction of the insertion hole.

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