Resilient Conduit Plug Assembly for Moisture and Critter Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions fail to effectively prevent critters and moisture from entering electrical control boxes, particularly those used in railroad crossings, leading to damage of sensitive equipment.
Innovation Solution
A conduit plug with a resilient, frustoconical body that includes critter repellent chemicals and a bore for electrical wires, featuring a slot for manual insertion of wires and an elastomer sealant to prevent moisture and critter ingress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional rigid conduit plugs are used, then installation is simple, but they cannot effectively seal around wires or prevent critter ingress
Solution Approach 1:
The conduit plug uses a resilient frustoconical body that can flex and deform to conform to the conduit interior and seal around wires. This flexibility allows the plug to create effective seals without complex gasket systems or multiple components, resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The plug incorporates critter repellent chemicals within the resilient body material, creating a composite structure that combines mechanical sealing properties with chemical deterrent properties. This integrated approach enhances protection reliability without adding separate chemical delivery systems or increasing overall device complexity.
2Strength
If the plug body is made rigid for structural stability, then manufacturing is easier, but it cannot wedge into conduit walls effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The plug utilizes elastic modulus parameter changes through its resilient material properties, allowing it to deform under insertion force to wedge into the conduit, then maintain structural stability once installed. This resolves the contradiction between strength and force by using time-dependent material behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The frustoconical resilient body dynamically adapts its shape during installation, transitioning from a compressed state during insertion to an expanded stable state when installed. This dynamic behavior allows the plug to generate wedging force while maintaining structural integrity, resolving the strength-force contradiction.
3Ease of operation
If a slot is added to the plug body for wire insertion, then wire installation is easier, but the slot may remain open allowing critter access
Solution Approach 1:
The slot is designed to be closed during normal operation, with wires inserted beforehand through the open slot. The resilient body naturally closes the slot after wire insertion, preliminarily preventing critter access while maintaining ease of wire installation. This resolves the contradiction between operational ease and harmful factor prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient frustoconical body acts as an intermediary that allows wire passage through the slot during installation, then seals the slot to prevent critter access. The body mediates between the need for easy wire insertion and the need to close the slot, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and harmful factor prevention.
4Reliability
If elastomer sealant is added around wires, then moisture sealing is improved, but installation process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The elastomer sealant is combined with the resilient plug body and wire assembly into an integrated sealing system. The sealant is applied directly at the wire-conduit interface during plug installation, merging multiple sealing functions into a single installation step rather than requiring separate sealing operations, thus improving moisture sealing without proportionally increasing installation complexity.
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 plug effectively prevents critters and moisture from accessing electrical wires and control boxes, protecting sensitive equipment and ensuring reliable operation of railroad crossing systems.
Implementation Method 1
the body of the plug is not rigid but has some give to it
Implementation Method 2
When the plug engages the conduit, it can wedge into the end and up against the inner walls of the conduit
Implementation Method 3
the elastomer sealant at least partly seals off a space between and around the electrical wires and the inner walls of the bore
Implementation Method 4
the frustoconical body having in some embodiments, critter repellent chemicals therein
Data Source
AI summary
A sealant assembly for sealing a conduit, the conduit carrying electrical wires, between inside and outside of an enclosure such as a railroad control box. The sealant assembly may include a plug dimensioned for an interference fit with the conduit and with a bore in a body thereof. The body of the plug may have a slot allowing one to open the bore for inserting electrical wires thereinto. A sealant such as a cure-in-place polymer mix or a cured tape may be used to fill the conduit around the electrical wires. Such a sealant assembly will help keep moisture and harmful critters such as mice, from getting into the enclosure.