Electricity: conductors and insulators – Conduits – cables or conductors – Combined
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-02
2003-09-30
Mayo, III, William H. (Department: 2831)
Electricity: conductors and insulators
Conduits, cables or conductors
Combined
C174S068300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06627817
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and a method for holding and guiding elongated objects, for example, multiple wire bundles, multiple sheathed wires, multiple flat ribbon or flat cable bundles. In particular, the present invention relates to a device and method for holding and guiding wire bundles that are used in automobiles.
2. Background of the Invention
Wire bundles, or wire harnesses, are used in automobiles to form electrical connections between a battery and various electric components. Frequently, such harnesses have been used to connect parts located in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle with parts that are located in a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. In order for the harnesses to extend between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment, the harnesses typically pass through a perforation formed in a partition between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment. Standardly, the engine compartment of a motor vehicle is open to the road surface and, therefore, moisture from the road surface may reach the outer surfaces of the wire harness or the individual wires forming the wire harness. This moisture, for example, drops of water, tends to migrate on insulated surfaces of the individual wire or on the surface of the entire wire harness. If the water droplets migrate to a portion on the wires that is not insulated, typically the ends of the wires, there is a likelihood that the vehicle's electric system will be compromised.
A device for holding and guiding elongated objects, such as multiple wire bundles, is disclosed in DE 196 40 816 A1. The DE 196 40 816 A1 device is divided along a center plane and comprises two arcuate press elements, which during use, are brought into engagement in ring-like fashion around the elongated object, e.g., wire bundle or the like. With the aid of suitable fastening devices, the two arcuate press elements may be interconnected and apply the desired contact pressure to the elongated object, which is surrounded by the elements.
Because this known device from DE 196 40 816 A1 is bipartite, wire bundles or multiple wire bundles may be produced in an automatic manner. In the initial industrial production of multiple wire bundles, e.g., when cable harnesses were first introduced in automobile applications, wire bundles were made by hand on so-called shaping boards. The individual wires of a multiple wire bundle needed to be hand threaded through annularly closed or ring like structures, such as rubber sleeves or boots, heat-shrinkable tubes, insulating tubes, or the like. The DE 196 40 816 A1 device obviates the need for hand-threading.
DE 196 40 816 A1 also discloses sheathing the outer circumferences of each of the two parts of the dividable devices with a soft rubber sleeve, so that the device may be used as a wall passage, with the outer edge of the rubber sleeve being brought into sealing engagement with the inner circumference of an opening extending through the wall. The parting surfaces of the rubber sleeve are not as dimensionally stable as opposed to material-saving types, with the effect being that upon the introduction of outer forces, a local opening is likely to be presented in the area of the parting surfaces. In turn, this local opening jeopardizes the required fluid tightness in the area of the parting surfaces.
DE 196 40 816 A1 further teaches that the passage of liquids and gases through the wire spaces or gores is effectively prevented in the area of the bipartite device with the help of butyl. For the purpose of simplicity, this phenomenon, referred to as “water tightness in the longitudinal direction”, and occurs because the individual wires are glued in parallel with one another onto a butyl layer of an adhesive tape. In addition, the individual wires connected to the adhesive type are arranged layerwise in a part of the divided device, so that the individual wires are sandwiched between butyl layers. The passage opening, which is formed between the two arcuate press elements, is undersized with respect to the wire system provided with the butyl adhesive. Therefore, a uniform pressure is exerted on the wire bundles when the two press elements are joined; likewise, the wire bundles in their entirety are firmly pressed against the inner wall of the passage opening. This arrangement purports to prevent liquids and/or gases from passing between the individual wires and from passing between the outer circumference of the wire bundles and the inner surface of the bipartite device.
Thus, conventionally, water tightness or water blocking is achieved by providing a sealing compound or sheath around an individual wire or, in the case of a wire harness, around each individual wire and around the outer surface of the wire harness. Additionally, external pressure is exerted on the surface of the sheathed area of the wire or wire bundle such that no voids are left open between individual wires and between externally located wires and the surrounding sheath, the sheath preferably being a heat shrinkable hose which, under the influence of heat, tightly shrinks about an individual cable or a cable bundle at a desired position. The sheath acts as a moisture block where provided along with the outer shirking hose permanently exposing an inwardly directed force onto the sheath, thereby achieving the desired water tightness.
If a wire harness provided as described above is positioned, for example, in a partition between the engine compartment and th passenger compartment of a motor vehicle such that the treated portion of the wire harness is located within a hole provided in the partition, water migration is prevented. Specifically, water, and other fluids, that may enter the engine compartment and migrate on the insulation coating of individual wires or of the wires forming the wire harness, maynot migrate beyond the fluid blocking sealing compounds and maynot enter the passenger compartment. Thus, fluid maynot reach the non-insulated exposed ends of the wires which provide electric connection to various components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved divided device for holding, guiding, and, leading elongated objects, for example, multiple wire bundles, there through. In particular, the present invention provides a grommet comprised of two half shells, each half shell being comprised of a press element and a connecting section element.
The grommet of the present invention comprises two interlocking half shells, each of which contains a press element and a connecting element. By interlocking the two half shells, elongated objects such as multiple wire bundles or the like may be retained in a desired position in a fluid-tight fashion. The grommet may be used for electrical wires, as well as for media-carrying conduits, whereby, the conduits may be guided, held, and led as well. Media-carrying conduits are, for instance, thin hollow bodies which carry liquids, e.g., washing liquids, cooling liquids or braking liquids, to their place of use.
The grommet is comprised of at lea,t one press element and at least one connecting section element that is linked to the press element in the direction of extension of the elongated objects. The sealing and dimensionally stable parting surfaces of the grommet allow it to replace ring-like or tubular soft rubber boots, which had been used previously in the art to hold or guide cable bundles and are produced by hand in a time-consuming manner.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sealing and dimensional stability in the parting surfaces of the connecting section are ensured by the connection section consisting of an elastic material, such as EPDM or TPE, on its exterior, and a stiffening insert, such as PA, in its interior. Because of its structure, the connecting section is dimensionally stable so as to withstand external forces encountered during operation and allow no leakage in the area of the parting surfaces of the two connecting section parts, e.g., halves
DSG-Canusa GmbH & Co. KG
Fredrikson & Byron , P.A.
Mayo III William H.
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