Fluid handling – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-03
2001-10-30
Rivell, John (Department: 3753)
Fluid handling
Combined
C137S588000, C123S509000, C029S868000, C174S02200R, C174S02300R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308732
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to electrical wires and more particularly to a connector and method of sealing electrical wires in a body to prevent fluid leakage through the wire.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In many applications, it is necessary to provide electrical wires from outside of a sealed fluid container to an interior of the fluid container. For example, in a fuel tank it may be necessary to provide electrical power to an electric motor fuel pump received within the fuel tank, and to provide electrical wires communicating various sensors within the fuel tank with components external to the fuel tank.
Particularly with gasoline and other fuels, it is important to limit the leakage of liquids and/or gases out of the fuel container. To do this, the electrical connections extending through the fuel tank must be sealed to prevent the escape to the atmosphere of hazardous hydrocarbon fuel vapors. Various so-called pass through electrical connectors are known and used to reduce the escape to the atmosphere of the hydrocarbon fuel vapors. However, even with a seal between the electrical wires and the connector, fluid may flow within the wire itself between the insulation and individual wire strands of the wires thereby providing a leak path out of the fuel tank.
As shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9
, one method to seal an electrical wire
1
and prevent fluid from passing through the wire out of a fuel tank or other liquid and/or gas container, has been to remove the insulation
2
from a desired segment of the wire
1
, to then untwist and separate the various wire strands
3
from each other, and to thereafter fill the space between the wire strands with solder
4
or another sealing material. While this process is effective at preventing the leakage of fluid through the wire, it is time consuming, labor intensive and hence costly to perform.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To seal an electrical wire and prevent fluid flow therethrough, individual strands of the wire are deformed and bonded together to provide a short segment of essentially solid wire without any gaps or flow paths through this segment. Desirably, the solid wire segment may be provided at the point in the wire where the wire passes through a wall of a sealed connector or a container, such as a resin fuel tank, to prevent fluid leakage out of the fuel tank through the wire. In the preferred embodiment, the individual strands of the wire are deformed and bonded together by ultrasonic welding of a section of the wire having its insulation removed. Other methods, such as coining, and laser or electron beam welding can be used to provide the essentially solid wire segment which prevents fluid leakage through the wire. Desirably, the method can be carried out by simply stripping the insulation from the desired wire segment and then performing the desired method of deforming and bonding the strands together to form the solid wire segment, without having to separate the individual strands of wire and provide solder between them, and is therefore less time consuming and less costly to perform. The solid wire segment may then be overmolded in a resin body or wall of the connector or container.
Objects, features and advantages of this invention include providing a method of sealing an electrical wire in a resin body to prevent fluid leakage therethrough which is ideally suited for use in fuel tanks, eliminates a source of fluid leakage from a fluid container, reduces the cost and complexity of electrical pass through connectors, eliminates the need to separate the individual strands of the wire and to provide solder between them, facilitates splicing two wire segments together, permits use of wires with different properties, is of relatively simple design and economical manufacture and assembly, is reliable, efficient, effective and has a long service life in use.
REFERENCES:
patent: 635960 (1899-10-01), Grush
patent: 3054844 (1962-09-01), Divers et al.
patent: 3458644 (1969-07-01), Wright
patent: 3639201 (1972-02-01), Humphries
patent: 3728466 (1973-04-01), Rocton et al.
patent: 4636581 (1987-01-01), Roche et al.
patent: 4659868 (1987-04-01), Sala
patent: 5536904 (1996-07-01), Kojima et al.
Reising Ethington, Barnes, Kisselle, Learman & McCulloch, P.C.
Rivell John
Walbro Corporation
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