Controller Chamber Connection Assembly With Cable-Integrated Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connection assemblies between dry and wet chambers in control units are costly and inefficient, requiring complex sealing frames to prevent moisture penetration while establishing electrical connections.
Innovation Solution
A connection assembly with a sheathed electrical line that includes a single or multi-layer sheathing at the break-through point, combined with a stop element and optional fixing elements, to ensure media-tight sealing and flexible electrical connection between housing chambers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate circumferential sealing frame is used to seal the wet chamber and enable cable routing, then moisture protection is improved, but manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sealing function with the electrical line itself by adding a sheathing layer directly to the cable. This integration eliminates the need for a separate circumferential sealing frame, reducing component count and manufacturing cost while maintaining moisture protection. The sheathing acts as both the electrical conductor's insulation and the sealing element that prevents moisture ingress through the break-through in the partition wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the sealing function from the housing structure and relocates it to the electrical line. Instead of having the housing provide sealing through a separate frame, the sealing capability is taken out and embodied in the sheathing layer applied to the electrical line at the break-through point, simplifying the overall structure.
2Reliability
If a separate circumferential sealing frame is used to seal the wet chamber, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is merged with the electrical line by applying a sheathing layer directly to the cable at the break-through point. This integration reduces structural complexity by eliminating the separate circumferential sealing frame while maintaining effective sealing against moisture ingress.
3Reliability
If a sheathing is applied to the electrical line at the break-through point, then sealing is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a sheathing layer with specific material properties (flexibility, sealability) to the electrical line at the break-through point. This parameter change in the electrical line's structure enables it to provide sealing functionality without requiring complex manufacturing processes, as the sheathing can be applied through standard cable manufacturing techniques.
4Ease of operation
If the electrical line is made flexible for easy routing, then ease of operation is improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing the sheathing layer only at the break-through point where sealing is critical, while the rest of the electrical line remains flexible for easy routing. This localized enhancement maintains overall flexibility while providing targeted sealing where moisture protection is most needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flexible sheathing layer (thin film) that conforms to the electrical line while providing sealing. This flexible shell maintains the electrical line's routing flexibility while creating a moisture barrier at the break-through point in the partition wall.
Data Source
AI summary
A connection assembly (11, 11a) between two housing chambers (1, 2) of a control unit, includes a housing having at least two housing chambers (1, 2) and a housing partition wall (3) for separating the two housing chambers (1, 2) and defines a break-through (7). The first housing chamber (1) is configured as a dry chamber and comprises at least one first contact partner. The second housing chamber (2) is configured as a wet chamber and comprises at least one second contact partner. An electrical line (5) electrically connects at least the first contact partner to the second contact partner. The electrical line (5) is guided through the break-through (7) and includes, locally in the region of the break-through (7), a single-layer or multi-layer sheathing (8) for sealing the break-through (7). An electronics module utilizing the connection assembly is also disclosed.