Panel Mount Housing with Elastomeric Grommet for Front-Only Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional panel mounts require access to both sides of a panel for installation, are prone to wobble, and often lack a seal, making them difficult and costly to install, especially under vibration or extreme temperature conditions.
Innovation Solution
A panel mount system comprising a tubular, resiliently compressible elastomeric grommet and a tubular housing with an expander segment that expands radially inward upon full insertion, providing a secure seal and lock without the need for multiple parts or access to the panel's back side, using a pre-assembled design for easy installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional tubular housing with flange and threaded body is used, then the panel mount can be securely retained, but access to both front and back of the panel is required and multiple manipulative steps are needed for installation
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into a front portion and a rear portion that can be assembled separately and then joined together through the panel, eliminating the need for simultaneous access to both sides of the panel during installation
Solution Approach 2:
The front and rear portions of the housing are pre-assembled into a complete housing structure before installation, so that the entire housing can be installed in a single operation from one side of the panel
2Ease of operation
If resiliently bendable fingers are used for easy installation from one side, then installation is simplified, but the housing wobbles and lacks rigid retention
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function and the retention function are merged into a single integrated housing structure, where the housing itself provides both the seal against the panel and the rigid retention without wobble
Solution Approach 2:
The housing portions are designed with curved surfaces that mate together, providing rigid retention and eliminating wobble when assembled through the panel
3Reliability
If traditional panel mount with multiple parts is used, then secure retention is achieved, but sealing is not provided and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is integrated into the housing structure itself rather than being a separate component, eliminating the need for additional gaskets or sealing elements
Solution Approach 2:
The housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: structural support, sealing against the panel, and retention of the mounted device, eliminating the need for separate sealing components
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
Enables secure, vibration-resistant, and sealed panel mount installation from the outer side, reducing installation complexity and cost by using only two parts and ensuring the panel mount remains tightly held without wobble.
Implementation Method 1
a tubular, resiliently compressible, elastomeric grommet
Implementation Method 2
a tubular housing with an expander segment that expands radially inward upon full insertion
Data Source
AI summary
A panel mount for supporting an electronic device at a hole in a control panel and mountable with access to only the front of the panel. It has a housing that slides into a tubular elastomeric grommet. During installation, an expander segment of the housing slides within a bulging segment of the grommet to expand the grommet inward of the hole and for retaining the components within the hole. A tubular male pre-assembly segment on the exterior surface of the tubular housing permits the housing to be pre-inserted partially into the grommet without expanding any part of the grommet radially outward in preparation for inserting the assembled housing and grommet into the panel hole. A withdrawal lock prevents the housing from sliding axially out of the grommet after installation. The withdrawal lock includes a shoulder formed on the grommet and a shoulder formed on the housing.