Pressure-Tight Line Feedthrough Sleeve Using an Integral Ring Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pressure and vacuum feedthrough solutions are complex, prone to faults, and unsuitable for high pressures and temperature fluctuations, as they require extensive manufacturing, large installation space, and are susceptible to mechanical expansion issues that compromise sealing integrity.
Innovation Solution
A device with a deformable sleeve that creates an integral annular seal by compressing the line's material through circumferential constrictions, simulating a sealing ring, which maintains pressure tightness across a wide temperature range without additional components, using a ductile metal sleeve matched to the wall's thermal expansion coefficient.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional pressure feedthroughs with cable glands and O-rings are used, then the line can be sealed through the wall, but the device becomes large-volume, heavy, and requires extensive installation space
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated sleeve component. The sleeve simultaneously provides structural support, creates the seal through integrated constrictions that compress the line jacket, and connects to the wall, eliminating the need for separate cable glands, O-rings, and mounting brackets that would otherwise be required
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the flexible deformable jacket of the line itself as the sealing element. By forming constrictions in the sleeve, the jacket material is compressed to create an integral annular seal, replacing traditional rigid sealing components like O-rings and gaskets with a flexible membrane-based solution
2Reliability
If conventional feedthroughs with multiple components are used, then sealing can be achieved, but the device complexity and number of parts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated sleeve component. The sleeve simultaneously provides structural support, creates the seal through integrated constrictions that compress the line jacket, and connects to the wall, eliminating the need for separate cable glands, O-rings, and mounting brackets that would otherwise be required
Solution Approach 2:
The deformable jacket of the line serves its own sealing function without requiring additional sealing components. The jacket material itself is compressed by the constrictions to form the seal, making the line self-sufficient for sealing purposes and eliminating the need for separate O-rings or gaskets
3Reliability
If O-ring seals are used in conventional feedthroughs, then pressure tightness can be maintained, but mechanical expansion at high temperatures reduces prestressing and compromises sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the sealing mechanism from relying on elastic prestress (O-rings) to relying on plastic deformation and friction. The constrictions permanently deform the sleeve material to create compression on the line jacket, and the friction between the compressed jacket and sleeve wall maintains the seal without requiring thermal prestress compensation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive, temperature-sensitive elastomeric O-rings with a simpler, more temperature-resistant solution using the line's own jacket material and a rigid or semi-rigid sleeve. This eliminates the need for specialized high-temperature O-rings and their associated prestress design complexities
4Reliability
If the line is separated and fed through bonded pins for vacuum applications, then vacuum tightness can be achieved, but the manufacturing and assembly process becomes extensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sleeve is pre-formed with the constrictions created by forming before the line is installed. This preliminary formation of the sealing structures eliminates the need for complex post-assembly bonding or encapsulation operations that would be required for vacuum feedthroughs with separated line components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated sleeve component. The sleeve simultaneously provides structural support, creates the seal through integrated constrictions that compress the line jacket, and connects to the wall, eliminating the need for separate cable glands, O-rings, and mounting brackets that would otherwise be required
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 provides a compact, reliable, and durable pressure-tight feedthrough capable of withstanding high pressures and temperature variations, ensuring long-term integrity and simplicity in design, applicable to both pressure and vacuum applications.
Implementation Method 1
adjacent notches compress the material of the jacket onto each other, creating a kind of integral sealing ring created through material elevation
Implementation Method 2
using a ductile metal sleeve matched to the wall's thermal expansion coefficient
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for the pressure-tight feedthrough of a line comprising a deformable jacket through a feedthrough in a wall which separates a first pressure area from a second pressure area with a sleeve surrounding the line in the area of the feedthrough, which has at least two spaced annular constrictions, notches, grooves or the like created by forming, between which the material of the jacket is compressed by forming into an integral ring seal acting between the jacket and the sleeve, where the sleeve is being pressure-tightly connected or being connectable to the wall around the feedthrough, at least from one side. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for the manufacture of a corresponding device.