Water Seal Plug With Varying Inner Lip Heights
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing water seal plug design for connectors faces challenges in maintaining high water-tightness while being easily mountable around electric wires, as increased inner lip projecting height enhances sealing but increases insertion force and stress on the electric wire and terminal during fastening.
Innovation Solution
A water seal plug with a cylindrical main body featuring ring-shape outer and inner lips, where at least one inner lip has a lower projecting height than others, and an integral synthetic resin member to prevent excessive wire movement and deformation, ensuring easy mounting and high water-tightness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the projecting height of inner lips is increased to enhance water sealing, then water-tightness is improved, but insertion force becomes very large and mounting becomes troublesome
Solution Approach 1:
The inner lips are designed with different projecting heights at different locations. Specifically, the inner lips at positions corresponding to the terminal include a first inner lip with a first projecting height and a second inner lip with a second projecting height that is smaller than the first. This local differentiation allows the sealing function to be maintained where needed while reducing insertion force in critical areas.
2Reliability
If the projecting height of all inner lips is enlarged to ensure sealing, then water sealing is improved, but contact force becomes too large causing excessive stress on the electric wire and terminal
Solution Approach 1:
Different inner lips have different projecting heights to distribute contact force appropriately. The first inner lip has a larger projecting height for sealing, while the second inner lip has a smaller projecting height to reduce contact force and prevent excessive stress on the electric wire and terminal during fastening operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner lips are segmented into different groups with different functions: some inner lips (first inner lips) have larger projecting heights for sealing purposes, while others (second inner lips) have smaller projecting heights for reducing stress. This segmentation allows the water seal plug to simultaneously achieve both sealing and stress reduction.
3Reliability
If the projecting height of inner lips is increased to maintain sealing during terminal movement, then water-tightness is preserved, but insertion force increases making the process troublesome
Solution Approach 1:
The water seal plug incorporates inner lips with locally differentiated projecting heights. The first inner lips have larger heights for maintaining sealing during terminal movement, while the second inner lips have smaller heights to reduce insertion force. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between maintaining reliability and ease of manufacture.
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 design allows for easy mounting of the water seal plug with high water-tightness, reduces insertion force, and prevents excessive stress on the electric wire and terminal, while maintaining effective sealing through varying inner lip heights and the resin member's stiffness.
Implementation Method 1
a water seal member made of elastic material, having a ring-shape outer lip projecting from an outer surface of the main body and abutting on an inner surface of the terminal receiving section; and a plurality of ring-shape inner lips projecting from an inner surface of the main body and abutting on an outer surface of the electric wire
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A connector (10) includes a terminal (5) having an electric connecting portion (52) connected with a mating member (9) at one end of the terminal (5) so as to be placed on the mating member (9) and fastened by a bolt (11) and a nut (12) and a wire connecting portion (55) joined with a terminal end of the electric wire (6) at the other end of the terminal (5), and a connector housing (4) having a terminal receiving section (41), and a water seal plug (1) arranged around the electric wire (6) to seal watertightly the terminal receiving section (41). The water seal plug (1) includes integrally a rubber water seal member (3) and a resin member (2) made of synthetic resin. The water seal member (3) includes a cylindrical main body (30) and an outer lip (31) abutting on an inner surface of the terminal receiving section (41), and a plurality of inner lips (32a, 32b, 32c) abutting on an outer surface of the electric wire (6). A first inner lip (32a) at the nearest position to the terminal (5) is formed to have a lower projecting height then that of the second inner lip (32b) and the third inner lip (32c).