Cable Entry Gasket Structure for Watertight Reentry Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sealed enclosures face issues with maintaining a watertight seal around cables due to movement of cables, as conventional butt-joint seals fail to prevent small movements, leading to potential water and debris ingress.
Innovation Solution
A seal mechanism using U or V-shaped housings with elastomeric gaskets that provide an interference fit and are constrained by receivers and restraints, forming a watertight seal around cables, allowing for easy reentry and accommodating varying cable diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a simple butt-joint seal is used around cables, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of the seal deteriorates when cables move
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is divided into multiple independent gasket segments (first gasket, second gasket, third gasket) that can move independently. Each gasket is constrained by its own receiver and restraint mechanism, allowing the seal to accommodate cable movement while maintaining reliability. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by enabling complex behavior through simple, independent components.
2Reliability
If a rigid seal structure is used to prevent water ingress, then the seal reliability is improved, but the ease of cable reentry deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The seal structure incorporates dynamic elements where gaskets can move within constrained ranges. The restraints allow controlled movement of gaskets to accommodate cable installation and removal, while the receivers maintain overall structural integrity for watertight sealing. This dynamic design resolves the contradiction by enabling both reliability and operational ease.
3Reliability
If strain relief is added to prevent cable movement, then the seal reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The strain relief function is merged with the existing gasket-receiver-restraint structure. The restraints that were originally designed to maintain seal integrity also serve as strain relief mechanisms by preventing excessive cable movement. This merging resolves the contradiction by achieving dual functionality without adding separate strain relief components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures a robust, watertight seal that prevents water and debris ingress while allowing for easy cable reentry, even with cable movement, and supports a range of cable diameters.
Implementation Method 1
The gasket interference 3 is an area where the bottom gasket 11 and the plurality of upper gaskets 21 touch one another. These are designed to have an interference fit in the axial direction such that when compressed radially they will press against one another to form a seal in the axial direction. The bottom gasket 11 and each of the plurality of upper gaskets 21 are designed elastomeric materials with a shore hardness between 20 to 70.
Data Source
AI summary
The sealed enclosure apparatus is a seal between an entering or exiting cable or wire and an enclosure. The seal has an upper gasket and bottom gasket that are typically U, C, or V shaped. The seal is held in-place and constrained by features on the upper housing and features on the bottom housing. The seal and the housing enclosure provide strain relief and superior sealing. The seal technique described can be used in other hardware to provide an environmental seal to tubes, rods, fiber cables, electrical cables and other such objects. The sealed enclosure apparatus has a bottom housing, an upper housing, a gasket interference, and wires.