Elastic Seal Member Thinned Groove Wire Insertion Resistance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional elastic seal members for connectors in wire harnesses face issues where the expansion of wire insertion holes during terminal insertion leads to increased insertion resistance and compromised sealing performance, as the distortion of adjacent holes affects contact pressure.
Innovation Solution
The elastic seal member incorporates a thinned groove adjacent to the wire insertion hole, which contracts to absorb pressure and maintain contact pressure, preventing distortion and reducing insertion resistance while ensuring a constant thickness around the hole to preserve sealing performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the wire insertion hole is formed large in anticipation of distortion, then insertion is facilitated, but the contact pressure between the inner surface and terminal-equipped wire decreases, lowering sealing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic seal member utilizes dynamic deformation of the thinned groove regions to accommodate wire insertion. The grooves elastically deform during insertion and then recover, maintaining constant thickness regions that ensure consistent contact pressure and sealing performance throughout the operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The thinned grooves are pre-formed as cushioning structures that absorb the expansion forces generated during wire insertion. This beforehand cushioning prevents excessive force from being transmitted to adjacent holes, eliminating the need to pre-enlarge insertion holes while maintaining both insertion ease and sealing performance.
2Ease of operation
If the thinned groove is made large to suppress distortion, then insertion resistance decreases, but the wall thickness around the wire insertion hole decreases, compromising sealing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic seal member is segmented into thinned groove regions for distortion absorption and constant thickness regions for sealing. This segmentation ensures that the wall thickness is reduced only where needed for flexibility, while maintaining sufficient thickness in regions critical for sealing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Different wall thickness characteristics are assigned to different regions: thinned grooves have reduced thickness to provide flexibility and absorb distortion, while constant thickness regions maintain adequate wall thickness for sealing. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between distortion suppression and sealing performance.
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
This design effectively suppresses the deterioration of sealing properties while minimizing insertion resistance by maintaining contact pressure and securing a sufficient wall thickness around the wire insertion holes.
Implementation Method 1
the thinned groove provided adjacent to the wire insertion hole makes distortion of the electric wire insertion hole adjacent to the electric wire insertion hole through which the electric wire has been inserted suppressed
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
Provided is an elastic seal member and a connector which can suppress deterioration of a sealing property while suppressing an insertion resistance to a wire insertion hole. A plurality of seal insertion holes (121) (electric wire insertion holes) through which terminal-equipped electric wires are inserted in the thickness direction (D1) is arranged and provided, and on at least one of the front and back surfaces a thinned groove (122) is provided adjacent to the seal insertion hole (121) (electric wire insertion hole), and the thinned groove (122) is formed into a shape that does not overlap with a circular range centered on the seal insertion hole (121) (electric wire insertion hole) in a plan view when viewing the one surface, the circular range of the electric wire insertion holes (121) (electric wire insertion hole) adjacent to each other interposing the thinned groove being not overlapping with each other.