Polymeric Cable Grommet With Flex Supports for Heavy Cable Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional grommets used for securing RF coaxial cables are inadequate for holding heavier and irregularly shaped fiber optic or hybrid fiber/power cables, as they lack sufficient strength and rigidity, leading to potential slippage and instability.
Innovation Solution
A polymeric grommet design featuring a cylindrical main body with a slot and flex retention members, enhanced by grip enhancement features that provide additional support when larger diameter cables are inserted, ensuring secure retention within a cable hanger.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If standard grommets are used to hold fiber optic or hybrid fiber cables, then the grommets can accommodate the cables, but the grommets are not strong or rigid enough to hold the heavier cables, causing slippage
Solution Approach 1:
The grommet is divided into multiple functional components: a main body for structural support, flex retention members for cable gripping, and grip enhancement features for additional support. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together to solve the contradiction between strength and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flex retention members are designed to be flexible and adaptable, allowing them to conform to different cable sizes and shapes. This dynamic flexibility enables the same grommet structure to accommodate various cable types while maintaining sufficient holding strength through the combined action of multiple retention members.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the grommet is designed to accommodate larger diameter cables, then cable compatibility improves, but the grommet structure becomes less rigid, reducing holding strength
Solution Approach 1:
The grommet employs a composite structure combining a rigid main body made from polymeric material with flexible retention members. This composite approach allows the main body to provide structural rigidity and strength while the flexible retention members adapt to different cable diameters, resolving the contradiction between structural rigidity and cable size accommodation.
Solution Approach 2:
The grip enhancement features extend radially outward from the main body in a third dimension, providing additional support points without increasing the axial length of the grommet. This dimensional approach allows the grommet to maintain compact size while accommodating larger cables and providing enhanced holding strength through multiple contact points.
3Strength
If multiple flex retention members are added to improve cable securing, then holding strength increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple flex retention members are merged into a single integrated grommet body, forming a unified component rather than separate parts. This merging approach increases cable retention capability through multiple contact points while avoiding the complexity of assembling multiple separate components, as the retention members are formed as an integral part of the grommet.
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 enhanced grommet effectively secures heavier and irregularly shaped cables by providing increased grip and stability, preventing slippage and ensuring reliable mounting even under excessive force.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of flex retention members extending into the interior cavity configured to grip and secure the cable within the interior cavity
Implementation Method 2
one or more grip enhancement features residing between an inner surface of the main body and the flex retention members. The grip enhancement features are configured to provide additional support to the flex retention members
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure describes a grommet formed of a polymeric material and adapted for securing a cable within a cable hanger. The grommet includes a main body having a generally cylindrical profile surrounding an interior cavity, the main body further having a length, a thickness, and a longitudinal axis, a slot extending the length of the main body which provides an entry point for the cable to be inserted into the interior cavity, a plurality of flex retention members extending into the interior cavity configured to grip and secure the cable within the interior cavity, and one or more grip enhancement features residing between an inner surface of the main body and the flex retention members. The grip enhancement features are configured to provide additional support to the flex retention members when a cable is inserted into the interior cavity.