Underwater Optical Mounting Assembly With Radial Stem-Bore Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing underwater lighting for swimming pools faces challenges in cost reduction and increased robustness, with issues related to mechanical and electrical robustness, serviceability, manufacturability, water tightness, and design complexity, particularly in the use of high-power LEDs and cameras.
Innovation Solution
An underwater optical assembly featuring a tubular wall mount, housing, and seal, with a cylindrical bore and stem configuration that provides a radial sealing mechanism, eliminating the need for traditional axial clamping seals, and includes a housing with a chamber for optical devices like LEDs and cameras, allowing for reduced size, complexity, and cost, while ensuring watertightness and robust construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional axial clamping seals with screws are used, then sealing reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sealing function from the complex axial clamping mechanism with screws and isolates it to a simple radial seal element that engages with a groove in the stem, eliminating the need for multiple fasteners and complex assembly steps while maintaining sealing reliability
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using axial clamping force to compress the seal against the wall mount bore, the patent inverts the approach by using radial sealing where the seal extends substantially radially between the stem portion and bore portion, creating a simpler sealing interface that does not require axial compression hardware
2Reliability
If traditional axial clamping seals with multiple fasteners are used, then sealing reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the expensive axial clamping hardware (screws, nuts, washers) and replaces it with a simple radial seal element that can be molded as part of the housing or stem assembly, significantly reducing component count and manufacturing cost while maintaining the sealing function
Solution Approach 2:
The seal is integrated with the housing or stem structure, where the seal groove is formed directly in the molded plastic components, eliminating separate sealing grooves and reducing assembly steps, thereby lowering manufacturing cost and improving ease of production
3Temperature
If larger housing size is used, then thermal management is improved, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating thermal management features at the stem-bore interface and rearward portions of the housing where heat dissipation is most needed, while keeping the forward optical housing compact to maintain small overall device size
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the axial dimension along the stem length and the radial dimension of the bore portion for heat dissipation pathways, allowing effective thermal management without increasing the forward-facing optical housing size, thus managing heat in directions that do not compromise compactness
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 assembly achieves a compact, cost-effective, and robust underwater lighting solution suitable for high-power applications, with improved sealing, reduced size, and enhanced thermal management, facilitating easy installation and maintenance, and reducing water compatibility requirements for cables.
Implementation Method 1
the seal extending substantially radially between the stem portion and the bore portion sealing the assembly circumferentially watertight
Data Source
AI summary
An assembly, in particular an underwater optical assembly is provided. The assembly comprises a tubular wall mount, a housing and a seal. The wall mount has a cylindrical bore portion and the housing comprises a head and a stem rearwardly protruding from the head along an axis. The head defines a chamber with a window for dry housing an optical device in the chamber and the stem comprising an enclosed channel in fluid communication with the chamber. The stem has a cylindrical stem portion mated to the bore portion.The assembly is configured such that in an assembled configuration the stem portion fits the bore portion in an axial direction, the head is located in front of at least the bore portion of the wall mount, the housing being attached to the wall mount and plugging the wall mount with the seal extending substantially radially between the stem portion and the bore portion sealing the assembly circumferentially watertight. The head has a radial head size and the stem has a radial stem size, wherein the head size is larger than the stem size. The head has one or more circumferential walls forwardly protruding from a substantially radial rear wall, the stem rearwardly protruding from the rear wall. The stem and the one or more circumferential walls each have a thickness in radial direction, defining a rear wall area between a radial outside of the stem and a radial inside of the one or more circumferential walls, wherein the rear wall has, for at least half the radial area a thickness in axial direction that is less than a thickness in radial direction of the circumferential wall, and preferably less than a thickness in radial direction of the stem.