Patent Application
20080073118
One embodiment of a cable feed-through according to the invention, illustrated in
In detail, the fixing member 12 comprises a clamping element which is designed as a cap nut 16 and can be screwed with an internal thread 18 onto an external thread 20 of the housing socket 10, wherein the clamping element must not only be a pure clamping element but, for example, can also be provided, in addition, with a kink protection for the cable, for example, an antikink spiral or a traction relief.
Furthermore, the housing socket 10 comprises, in an end area 22 engaged over by the cap nut 16 and adjoining the external thread 20, a fin basket which is designated as a whole as 24, encloses a sealing ring 26 and with which the sealing ring 26 can be acted upon in such a manner that it abuts, on the one hand, sealingly on a sealing edge 27 of the housing socket 10 and, on the other hand, sealingly on a casing 28 of the cable 14.
In order to act on the fin basket 24, the cap nut 16 is provided with a conical surface 30 which acts on the fin basket 24 in the direction of a central axis 32 of a central passage 34 of the housing socket 10 when the cap nut 16 is screwed with the internal thread 18 onto the external thread 20.
In order to mount the housing socket 10 on a wall area 40 of an appliance, the housing socket 10 is provided with an assembly device 41 which has an assembly section 42 which can be guided through an opening 44 of the wall area 40.
The assembly section 42, as illustrated in
Moreover, centering surfaces 64 are provided, in addition, on the tongue end 56 and these surfaces engage in the opening 44 and can abut on an inner surface 66 of the edge 62 of the opening facing the assembly section 42 in order to center the assembly section 42 and, therefore, the housing socket 10 in the opening 44.
At the same time, the centering surfaces 64 prevent any spreading of the tongues 52, which may occur with a strong tensile load on the assembly section 42, due to movement thereof away from the central axis 32.
In order to be able to secure the assembly section 42 relative to the edge 62 of the opening of the wall area 40, a pressure ring 70 enclosing the housing socket 10 is provided, as illustrated in
As a result, a flange surface 76 of a pressure flange 78 integrally formed on the pressure ring 70 may abut on the wall area 40 on a side located opposite the supporting surfaces 60 and, therefore, clamp the wall area 40 between the supporting surfaces 60 and the flange surface 76.
In order to make a secure assembly of the housing socket 10 on the wall area 40 possible, a thread turn 84 of the external thread 74 and a corresponding thread turn 82 of the internal thread 72 are provided with a pitch in relation to the central axis 32 which is less than an angle of the self-locking for the material pairing of internal thread 72 and external thread 74.
Furthermore, the internal thread 72 and the external thread 74 are so-called left-hand threads and so an abutment of the flange surface 76 on the wall area 40 requires a direction of rotation 85 corresponding to an anticlockwise rotation.
In contrast thereto, the external thread 18 on the housing socket 10 for screwing on the cap nut 16 is a right-hand thread and so the screwing on of the cap nut 16 requires a direction of rotation 89 corresponding to a clockwise direction, wherein thread turns 88 of the external thread 20 have a larger pitch than the thread turns 84 and need also not have a pitch which is less than the pitch required for the self-locking.
On the contrary, the cap nut 16 may be secured non-rotatably on the fin basket 24 in that the conical surface 30 has projections locking with the fin basket 24.
For example, the thread turns 88 of the external thread 20 are thread turns 88 of a double trapezoidal thread, configured as a right-hand thread, which, with a small rotation of the cap nut 16, allow a large movement of the cap nut 16 in the direction of the central axis 32 and, therefore, an appreciable movement of the fin basket 24 in the direction of the central axis 32 in order to be able to abut the sealing ring 26 securely on the casing 28 of the cable 14.
Furthermore, not only the external thread 20 but also the external thread 74 of the housing socket 10 preferably have a diameter which is approximately of the same size and so it is not possible to move the pressure ring 70 as a whole beyond the external thread 18 onto the external thread 74 from the side of the fin basket 24.
On the contrary, in the first embodiment it is possible to attach the pressure ring 70 only from the side of the assembly section 42, wherein the internal thread 72 must be moved beyond the snap elements 46 which is, however, possible due to the fact that the tongues 52 can deflect in an elastic manner with their supporting surfaces 60 radially inwards towards the central axis 32.
As a result of the fact that the thread 72, 74 provided for displacing the pressure ring 70 with the flange surface 76 in the direction of the wall area 40 is a left-hand thread, this will not come loose during tightening of the cap nut 16 with a right-hand thread but continue to tighten and so it is ensured that the cable feed-through once mounted on the wall area 40 by means of the assembly device does not come loose during the subsequent fixing of the cable 14 guided through the cable feed-through with the fixing member 12 due to tightening of the cap nut 16 but remains securely mounted on the wall area 40.
The securing of the assembly section 42 at the edge 62 of the opening of the wall area 40 can be improved further in that the assembly section 42 has in wall areas 91 between the tongues 52 additional ribs 90 which are integrally formed thereon and provide for an additional centering and, preferably, a force-locking, non-rotatable securing of the assembly section 42 in the opening 44.
The ribs 90 are designed such that they are deformed when the assembly section 42 is guided through the opening 44 or also that material is partially removed from them but they still abut in a frictional manner on the inner surface of the edge 62 of the opening.
In the first embodiment according to
The first embodiment of the cable feed-through according to the invention may, in principle, be produced from any optional materials as long as the flexible tongues in the assembly section 42 may be realized with them.
It is particularly favorable when the housing socket 10, the retaining nut 16 and the pressure ring 70 are all produced from a plastic material.
As a result, a flexible movability of the snap elements 46 may be realized in a simple manner.
In order to bring about a sealed connection between the housing socket 10 and the wall area 40, the pressure ring 70 is provided with a recess 96 which is formed by a pressing surface 98 running conically in relation to the central axis 32 and extending from the flange surface 76 as far as the internal thread 72.
A sealing ring 10 is located in the recess 96 and this, for its part, can abut on the edge 62 of the opening and a circumferential surface 101 of the housing socket 10 which directly adjoins the wall area 40 in order to bring about, as a result, a sealed connection between the circumferential surface 101 and the edge 62 of the opening.
In this respect, the conical pressing surface 98 of the pressure ring 70, during the tightening of the pressure ring 70 in order to abut its flange surface 76 on the wall area 40, causes the sealing ring 100 to abut not only on the edge 62 of the opening but also on the circumferential surface 101 at the same time in a manner acted upon with a force in order to bring about a sealed connection between the housing socket 10 and the wall area 40.
In a second embodiment of the cable feed-through according to the invention, the housing socket 10 of which is illustrated in
In contrast to the first embodiment, not only are the pairs 92, 94 of snap elements 46 located opposite one another with respect to the central axis 32 provided in the second embodiment but also, offset in relation to them at an angular distance of approximately 90°, additional pairs of snap elements 46 which are located opposite one another in relation to the central axis 32 and of which only the pair 102 of tongues 52 is visible in
In a third embodiment of a cable feed-through according to the invention, illustrated in
Moreover, the tongues 52 are provided in the area of their supporting surfaces 60 and their centering surfaces 64 with a coating 106 which increases friction at the edge 62 of the opening and improves the frictional securing of the assembly section 42 in the opening 44.
Alternatively to the provision of the coating 106, the tongues 52 of the pairs 92, 94, 102, 104 are provided in a fourth embodiment illustrated in
As for the rest, both the third and fourth embodiments are identical to the preceding embodiments and so reference is made to the explanations concerning these embodiments.
In a fifth embodiment, the pressure ring 70′ is preferably designed such that its internal thread 72 has recesses 110 and 112 which have in circumferential direction an angular extension corresponding to the pairs 92, 94 of tongues 52 and so the pressure ring 70′ can move over the tongues 52 of the pairs 92, 94 as in the first embodiment without the necessity of having to deform them, wherein the tongues 52 of the pairs 92, 94 may be moved through the respective recesses 110 and 112 in the internal thread 72 in the direction of the central axis 32.
With respect to the remaining features of the fifth embodiment, reference is therefore made to the explanations concerning the first embodiment.
In a sixth embodiment of a cable feed-through according to the invention, as illustrated in
As a result, it is not necessary for the pressure ring 70″ to have to be moved over and beyond the tongues 52, as is required, in particular, in the first, second, third and fourth embodiments.
On the contrary, the pressure ring 70″ can be placed directly on the external thread 74 of the housing socket 10 due to the fact that the pressure ring parts 120 and 122 are placed on the external thread 74 with the correct alignment relative to one another and are connected to one another by bringing the locking recesses 124 into engagement with the locking hooks 126 and so the complete pressure ring 70″ is not formed until it is on the external thread 74 and can then be rotated in the same way as the pressure ring 70 or the pressure ring 70′ already described and can be displaced in the direction of the central axis 32 as a result of rotation.
With respect to the remaining features, reference is therefore made to the explanations concerning the first to fourth embodiments.
In a seventh embodiment, illustrated in
The pretensioning elements 130 therefore lead to a frictional securing of the pressure ring 70′″ even if the pressure ring 70′″ is not tightened securely and, therefore, to an improvement in the permanency of the assembly of the housing socket 10 on the wall area 40.
In addition, the pretensioning elements 130 can act as barbs against any loosening of the pressure ring 70′″ on account of their end surfaces 134 and, as a result, contribute to a certain extent to the improvement in the securing of the pressure ring 70′″ on the wall area 40 in a form-locking manner.
In an eighth embodiment of a cable feed-through according to the invention, illustrated in
In addition, the elastic ring 144 is provided with an inner shell surface 150 which can abut on the circumferential surface 101 of the housing socket 10 in order to connect sealingly to it.
The elastic ring 144 is formed from a soft elastic material, for example, a rubber material or a porous elastic material which may be pressed together, on the one hand, in the direction of the central axis 32 in order to generate a pretensioning force which extends approximately parallel to the central axis 32 and with which a force may be generated parallel to the central axis 32 during the insertion of the housing socket 10 with the assembly section 42 into the opening 44 and abutment of the elastic ring 144 with the end surface 148 on the side 58 of the wall section 40, this force abutting the supporting surfaces 60 on the edge 62 of the opening 44 and, therefore, leading to a securing of the supporting surfaces 60 on the edge 62 of the opening acted upon with a force so that, as a result, the assembly section 42 can also be secured on the wall area 40, at least to a certain extent, in a force-locking manner and so as to be non-rotatable.
As a result of further rotation to secure the pressure ring 70″″, the force is increased parallel to the central axis 32 for such a time until the elastic ring 144 is deformed to such an extent that the flange surface 76 abuts on the side 58 of the wall area 40 and acts directly on it.
The deformation of the elastic ring 144 in a direction parallel to the central axis 32 leads to a broadening of its cross sectional shape in a radial direction in relation to the central axis 32 and, therefore, to a secure abutment of the inner shell surface 150 on the circumferential surface 101 so that the flexible element 144 serves, first of all, as a pretensioning element, on the one hand, during the insertion of the assembly section 42 into the opening 44 and, subsequently, during continued tightening of the pressure 70″″ as a sealing element which connects sealingly to the side 58, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to the circumferential surface 101 of the housing socket 10.
In a ninth embodiment of a cable feed-through according to the invention, illustrated in
In contrast to the preceding embodiments, the cap nut 16′ of the ninth embodiment is not simply designed as a mere cap nut but rather comprises a receiving means 160 for a protective tube 162 which is designed as an undulatory tube and within which the cable to be guided through the cable feed-through 10 extends.
However, the cap nut 16′ serves the purpose, in the same way as in the preceding embodiments, of acting upon the fin basket 24 which accommodates the sealing ring 26 so that the sealing ring 26 is pressed against the cable 14 to be guided through and, therefore, a sealed connection between the housing socket 10 and the cable 14 to be guided through is brought about in the same way as in the preceding embodiments.
In the tenth embodiment of an insert according to the invention, illustrated in
The closure member 170 is preferably provided with a tool engaging element 172, in the case illustrated in the drawing a multiple cornered member with flat sides 174, which allows the tool engaging element 172 to be engaged with a tool and, therefore, the housing socket 10 to be held non-rotatably while a rotation of the pressure ring 70 takes place at the same time in order to rotate this in the first direction of rotation 85 and, therefore, secure the housing socket in the opening 44 of the wall area 40.
With respect to the remaining elements, the insert according to the tenth embodiment is designed in the same way as the preceding embodiments and so the same reference numerals are used for the same elements and, as for the rest, reference is made in full to the explanations concerning the preceding embodiments.
