Cord Grip Liquid Drain and Wire Seal Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical components in electronics housings, such as lighting fixtures, are susceptible to damage from water ingress, as conventional cord grips fail to provide a reliable liquid-tight seal and strain relief for electrical wiring.
Innovation Solution
A cord grip featuring a conduit hub with a bore and wire seal that forms a liquid-tight seal, combined with a channel for draining water from the conduit to the exterior, and an overmolded bond between the wire seal and electrical wiring for enhanced protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional cord grip is used to secure conduit and wiring to electronics housing, then the wiring is mechanically secured, but water ingress occurs because the seal is not liquid-tight
Solution Approach 1:
The cord grip is divided into distinct functional segments: a rigid hub providing structural support and threading, a flexible wire seal providing liquid-tight sealing, and an integrated strain relief channel. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function while working together to prevent water ingress completely.
Solution Approach 2:
The cord grip employs composite construction combining rigid plastic or metal hub material with flexible rubber or elastomer wire seal material. This composite approach enables the rigid portion to provide mechanical strength and threading while the flexible portion provides conformal sealing around wires, achieving liquid-tight protection.
2Reliability
If a tight seal is created around electrical wiring, then liquid-tight protection is achieved, but strain relief is insufficient allowing water accumulation
Solution Approach 1:
The cord grip merges three previously separate functions into a single integrated component: the sealing function (wire seal), the strain relief function (bonded channel), and the liquid drainage function (integrated channel). This merging ensures that the same structure providing tight sealing also provides strain relief and water drainage, eliminating water accumulation points.
Solution Approach 2:
The design converts the potential harm of trapped water into benefit by integrating drainage channels that actively route water away from sealed areas. The channel system transforms what would be a harmful accumulation point into a beneficial drainage pathway, exporting water to the exterior of the electronics housing.
3Reliability
If the wire seal is tightly bonded to the wiring, then strain relief is improved, but the complexity of achieving permanent bond increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire seal is pre-formed with an integrated bonding channel structure before installation. The channel is pre-configured with roughened surfaces, ribs, or other bonding features that will automatically engage with the wiring during the sealing process, eliminating the need for separate bonding operations and reducing overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bonding mechanism utilizes changes in material parameters during installation - the flexible wire seal material is compressed or deformed during assembly, changing its physical state to create permanent mechanical interlocking with the wiring. This parameter change approach provides strong strain relief through simple compression rather than complex chemical bonding processes.
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
Prevents water entry into electronics housings, providing effective strain relief and a permanent liquid-tight seal for electrical wiring, thus protecting sensitive components from moisture and environmental changes.
Implementation Method 1
An overmolded bond may be formed between the wire seal and the electrical wiring
Data Source
AI summary
A cord grip has a conduit hub configured to be connected to an electronics housing. A bore is formed in the conduit hub and has a first end communicating with the electronics housing and a second end configured to be connected to a conduit. A wire seal retains electrical wiring and is located in the hub forming a liquid-tight seal between the first end and the second end. A channel for transporting liquid from the conduit has an inlet communicating with the conduit and an outlet communicating with the exterior of the electronics housing. An overmolded bond may be formed between the wire seal and the electrical wiring.