Wall Feedthrough Sealing via Overlapping Elastic Grommets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wall feedthroughs for elongated objects, such as cables and hoses, face challenges in achieving a reliable seal due to manufacturing tolerances and the use of harder intermediate webs, which can lead to gaps and dirt accumulation, especially in hygiene-critical applications like the food processing industry.
Innovation Solution
The design features two adjacent grommets that overlap an intermediate web on one side, creating a sealing contact between their elastic materials, eliminating the intermediate web's direct influence on the seal and forming a flat surface to reduce joints and improve hygiene. This configuration can include profiles like labyrinth seals, bevels, or tongue-and-groove designs to enhance sealing, and the grommets can also overlap the frame to ensure a tight seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If intermediate webs are used to divide chambers in the frame, then the structural integrity and cable management are improved, but sealing reliability deteriorates due to gaps and joints formed between components
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the sealing function from the intermediate web structure and transfers it to the grommets themselves. The grommets are designed to extend beyond the intermediate webs and make direct sealing contact with adjacent grommets, eliminating the intermediate web's direct influence on the seal and removing the harmful joint between the web and grommet.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the sealing functions by having adjacent grommets make direct contact with each other across the intermediate web. This creates a continuous sealing path where the elastic materials of adjacent grommets touch, forming a unified seal that spans across what would traditionally be a jointed interface.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional separate grommet and intermediate web structures are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but dirt accumulation occurs at joints reducing hygiene
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the potential harm of joints and gaps into a benefit by using the intermediate web as a positioning feature rather than a sealing element. The grommets are designed to overlap the intermediate web and contact each other, transforming the jointed structure into a continuous sealing surface that prevents dirt accumulation while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Strength
If harder intermediate web material is used for structural strength, then mechanical strength is improved, but sealing performance deteriorates due to inability to compensate for manufacturing tolerances
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by using different materials for different functions: the intermediate web maintains its harder material for structural strength and chamber division, while the grommets use elastic material specifically for sealing. The elastic grommets compensate for manufacturing tolerances locally at the sealing interface without compromising the overall structural integrity provided by the harder intermediate web.
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
This configuration achieves a superior seal by eliminating the need for joints, reducing dirt accumulation, and allowing for easy cleaning, while compensating for manufacturing tolerances and providing high mechanical strength, thus meeting stringent hygiene requirements.
Implementation Method 1
two adjacent grommets (or sockets), with an intermediate web between them, are designed so that they overlap the intermediate web on at least one side of the frame in the longitudinal direction of the elongated object over the height of one side edge of the grommet and make sealing contact with each other
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a wall feedthrough having a frame which is divided by at least one intermediate web into at least two chambers, wherein at least one grommet of elastic material is arranged in each of the chambers, and wherein the grommet has at least one passage opening for accommodating an elongated object to be passed through the wall.It is provided according to the invention that two adjacent grommets, having an intermediate web between them, are respectively designed in such a way that they overlap the intermediate web on at least one side of the frame in the longitudinal direction of the elongated objects over the entire height of one side edge of the grommet and make sealing contact with each other.