Raintight Fitting for Jacketed Metal Clad Cable Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Transition fittings for TECK/JMC cables to rigid conduits or enclosures are not raintight, failing to seal exposed conductors from rain or ambient liquids.
Innovation Solution
A raintight fitting design with a body featuring multiple cable passageways that converge into a single passageway, equipped with cable locks for securement and an elastic seal at both ends to form a raintight connection with the ambient atmosphere and a conduit, ensuring no water ingress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If transition fittings are used to connect TECK/JMC cables to rigid conduits, then cable transition is enabled, but the fittings fail to provide raintight sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting is divided into multiple sealing zones: individual cable entry seals at each cable passageway and a main seal at the conduit connection. This segmentation allows each zone to address specific sealing needs independently, ensuring comprehensive protection against water ingress while maintaining cable transition functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible sealing element acts as an intermediary between the rigid fitting body and the cables/conduits. This sealing element deforms to accommodate different cable sizes and shapes while maintaining a raintight barrier, enabling both cable transition and weather protection.
2Ease of operation
If conventional transition fittings are used, then installation simplicity is maintained, but protection against ambient liquids is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The raintight sealing components are pre-installed and pre-configured in the fitting during manufacturing. This preliminary action ensures that when the fitting is installed on-site, the sealing functionality is already in place, maintaining installation simplicity while guaranteeing protection against water ingress.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing elements are designed to change their physical parameters (shape, volume) in response to compression forces during installation. This allows the seals to adapt to different cable configurations automatically, maintaining ease of installation while ensuring reliable weather protection.
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 fitting provides a raintight seal at both ends, preventing water and liquid ingress, thus ensuring the internal cables remain dry and secure, addressing the existing issue of non-raintight transitions.
Implementation Method 1
The seal is elastic and defines a plurality of cable apertures. The seal is deformable by compression from a first shape wherein each aperture defines a first width or diameter that allows a respective cable to pass through the aperture and into the respective first cable passageway, to a second shape wherein each aperture defines a second width or diameter that is less than the first width or diameter
Data Source
AI summary
A raintight fitting has a fitting body including a plurality of first cable passageways configured to receive electrical cables. The first cable passageways converge into a second cable passageway, and the second cable passageway is configured to receive the conductors from plural cables received in the first cable passageways. A plurality of cable locks are each located at respective first cable passageways, are engageable with the cables received in the first cable passageways, and are configured to (i) secure the cables within the first cable passageways, and (ii) provide an electrically conductive path between the metallic covering of each cable and the fitting body. A raintight seal extends about the periphery of each first cable passageway, and is configured to form a raintight seal between (i) the fitting body and the electrical cables received within the first cable passageways and (ii) between the first cable passageways and ambient atmosphere. A raintight connector is connectable to a conduit for receiving conductors in the second cable passageway, and is configured to form a raintight seal between (i) the conduit and the fitting body and (ii) the second cable passageway and ambient atmosphere.