Segmented Grommet for Cable Sealing Without Header Removal
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cable bushing sealing technologies require users to remove the cable header, ensure proper orientation, and often need specialized tools, making them difficult to install and prone to damage from water exposure.
Innovation Solution
A reusable grommet with a sleeve body featuring multiple inner and outer sealing lips, formed by detachable and foldable body parts connected via hinges, allowing for easy installation without removing the cable header and using an insert tool, ensuring effective sealing against water and dust.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional cable bushing sealing is used, then sealing against water and dust is achieved, but the cable header must be removed and crimped, increasing installation complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The grommet is divided into multiple detachable body parts (first body part, second body part, etc.) that can be assembled around the cable after installation, eliminating the need to remove the cable header beforehand. This segmentation allows the sealing structure to be put on like a sleeve without requiring pre-removal of cable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The grommet body parts are designed to be movable and adjustable relative to each other during installation, allowing the structure to adapt to the cable and its header. The detachable nature enables dynamic assembly around the existing cable configuration rather than requiring static pre-assembly.
2Ease of operation
If an insert tool is used to pass the header through the sealing, then the cable can be installed, but the device complexity increases and the header may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of forcing the cable header through the sealing from one end (traditional approach), the grommet is inverted in its assembly method: the body parts are opened up and placed over the cable and header, then closed around them. This reverses the installation sequence, eliminating the need for specialized insert tools and reducing the risk of header damage.
3Reliability
If the sealing area faces outwards in traditional bushings, then sealing is effective, but the user must ensure correct orientation, increasing operational complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The grommet body parts are designed with asymmetric features including indication elements that clearly show the correct orientation during installation. This asymmetry provides visual or tactile cues to users, eliminating the need to remember or verify orientation through complex procedures - the correct positioning is self-evident through the asymmetric design cues.
4Device complexity
If a single-piece grommet is used, then the structure is simple, but it is very sensitive to direct water spray and difficult to install without damaging the header
Solution Approach 1:
The grommet is segmented into multiple body parts that create overlapping sealing zones. This segmentation allows each part to independently conform to the cable and provide sealing, creating a more robust multi-layer defense against water spray compared to a single-piece design, while still maintaining relative structural simplicity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Sealing cables in cable bushings against water and dust is a ubiquitous task. The invention concerns a grommet 2 for sealing a cable 4 in a cable bushing 3. The grommet comprises a sleeve body 6, wherein the sleeve body 6 has an inner sealing lip 14 for sealing the cable 4 in the sleeve body 6 and an outer sealing lip 12 for sealing the sleeve body 6 in the cable bushing 3, wherein the sleeve body 6 comprises at least two body parts 7, 7a, 7b, wherein the sleeve body 6 has a detached state and an aligned state, whereby in the detached sate the at least two body parts 7, 7a, 7b are detached to insert the cable 4, whereby in the aligned state the at least two body parts 7, 7a, 7b are aligned to form the inner sealing lip 14 and the outer sealing lip 12.