Current Feedthrough Seal Assembly for Climate Chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current current feedthrough seal assemblies for climate chambers face challenges in achieving electrical, thermal, and gas tightness while being space-efficient and user-friendly, particularly when dealing with high voltage and current requirements, and must accommodate varying wall thicknesses and sizes.
Innovation Solution
A current feedthrough seal assembly featuring a plastic core with a step-like shape, elongated power conducting members recessed within, and a press ring seal that seals between the wall opening and the plastic core, allowing for minimized sealing surface requirements and improved insulation and gas tightness, with radial protrusions for enhanced force absorption and a plastic plate for additional fixation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a current feedthrough seal assembly is designed to provide electrical insulation and thermal insulation, then the insulation performance is improved, but the diameter of the assembly increases due to the size of electrical leads and flashover protection components
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical leads are nested within a shared insulating housing structure, with multiple leads arranged in parallel within the same cylindrical space. This nesting approach allows multiple electrical connections to be accommodated without proportionally increasing the outer diameter, as the leads share the same insulating envelope rather than requiring separate insulation for each lead.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical insulation for all leads, thermal insulation for the climate chamber, mechanical support for the electrical connections, and flashover protection. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate components into a single integrated structure, maintaining insulation performance while minimizing diameter.
2Ease of operation
If multiple sealing inserts in a split hinged design are used, then the assembly can be disassembled for installation, but the design complexity and installation attention required increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a removable insulating housing containing the electrical leads, a press ring seal for gas tightness, and a flange for mounting. This segmentation allows the electrical connections to be assembled separately and then installed as a unit into the climate chamber wall, simplifying the overall installation process compared to multiple interlocking sealing inserts.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical lead insulation and the gas tight sealing function are merged into a single integrated press ring seal assembly. The press ring seal combines the electrical insulation housing with the gas tight sealing element, eliminating the need for separate sealing inserts and reducing installation complexity while maintaining both electrical and gas tightness.
3Reliability
If the plastic core is designed with a step-like shape and flange, then the assembly provides better wall opening sealing and structural support, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic core is pre-formed with the step-like shape and integrated flange during the molding process, rather than requiring post-manufacturing assembly operations. The flange and stepped sections are created as integral features of the molded part, providing structural support and sealing surfaces without requiring additional machining or assembly steps, thus maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving the desired structural properties.
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 achieves efficient electrical and thermal insulation, gas tightness, and space-saving design, capable of handling high currents and voltages, with improved usability and adaptability to different wall thicknesses and sizes, reducing heat transfer and deformation.
Implementation Method 1
a press ring seal interposed between an inner peripheral surface of the wall opening and an outer peripheral surface of the plastic core
Implementation Method 2
not only electrical insulation is provided, but also that necessary thermal insulation is maintained
Implementation Method 3
not only electrical insulation is provided, but also that necessary thermal insulation is maintained to allow efficient operation of the climate chamber
Implementation Method 4
a flange of the plastic core is formed at an axial end of the plastic core to protrude in a radial direction of the plastic core beyond the wall opening to abut against one of an internal wall and an external wall of the climate chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A current feedthrough seal assembly (1) for insertion into and sealing a wall opening (WO) of a climate chamber (KK) comprises a plastic core (10) formed in a step-like shape in an axial direction thereof so as to be inserted into the wall opening (WO) of the climate chamber (KK), so that, when inserted, substantially the whole of the plastic core (10) is located in the wall opening (WO), and a flange (11) is formed at an axial end of the plastic core (10) to protrude beyond the wall opening in the radial direction of the plastic core (10) to abut against one (I) of an internal or external wall (I, A) of the climate chamber (KK), at least two elongated power conducting members (20) accommodated in parallel to each other inside the plastic core (10) and extending through the plastic core (10) and a press ring seal (30) interposed between an inner peripheral surface of the wall opening (WO) and an outer peripheral surface of the plastic core (10) on an opposite axial side thereof with respect to the flange (11) of the plastic core (10).