WO2023234880A1

WO2023234880A1 - Cable connection components

Info

Publication number: WO2023234880A1
Application number: PCT/TR2022/050498
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yilmaz Albukrek
Original assignee: Bi̇med Tekni̇k Aletler Sanayi̇ Ve Ti̇caret Anoni̇m Şi̇rketi̇
Priority date: 2022-05-30
Filing date: 2022-05-30
Publication date: 2023-12-07

Abstract

The invention is related to a cable gland (A) that is used for the assembly of cables. The cable gland (A) comprises a gland body (10) that can be connected to a housing, a gland nut (20) that is connected to the gland body (10) and allows the cable to be fastened to the gland body (10) and at least one sealing element (30) that is inserted into the gland body (10) and ensures sealing. The main feature of the cable gland (A) is that comprises at least one storage room (36) that is located on the said sealing element (30) and provides ready-to-be-used storage for the sealant material (40) and at least one ridge (32) that is placed on at least one end of said sealing element (30) and prevents the sealant material (40) from going out from the said storage room (36).

Description

CABLE CONNECTION COMPONENTS

Technical Field

The invention is related to cable glands that enable the cables to mounted into the opening of the housing.

In particular, the invention relates to cable glands that enable the assembly of cable harnesses to a housing and sealing elements used in these cable glands.

State of the Art

Cable glands are used to mount cables in a housing. Cable glands provide sealing and mechanical and/or electrical connection between cable and housing. Cable glands provide their sealing property by means of sealing elements. Sealing elements also help to provide mechanical properties such as strain relief for cable glands. Cables with diameters suitable for the hole diameter are passed through the holes on the sealing element. While the cable gland nut is mounted, it compresses the sealing element. Thus, the sealing element grips the cables tightly and provides sealing and strain relief. In present applications, sealing elements can be both single-hole and multi-hole. Only a single cable is passed through the sealing elements with single hole. On the other hand, cables can be passed through sealing elements with multiple holes as many as the number of holes available on the gasket.

Sealing elements with multiple holes are disclosed in the documents numbered GB1507027, DE10356386, W02006114587. Only one cable passes through each hole available on the sealing element. Each hole of multi-hole sealing elements compresses only one particular diameter of cable. When it is desired to compress a cable with a smaller diameter than the hole diameter of the multi-hole sealing element, the sealing element fails to provide the desired sealing and strain relief properties.

When it is desired to mount a cable harness using a multi-hole sealing element, the cables in the cable harness are separated one by one, and then each of them is passed through a sealing element hole. Even though this ensures the preservation of the sealing feature, it leads to an increase in the time spend for the assembly. Furthermore, in some applications, it may not be possible to separate the cable harnesses from each other or the cables may be damaged in the process of separating the cables. In case the diameter of the corresponding cable is smaller than the diameter of the sealing element’s hole, more than one cable can be passed through the hole of the sealing element. However, in this case, the sealing element will not be able to fully grasp around the cables and water, dust and other similar substances may enter the housing through the gaps between the cables.

The gap between the cable and the housing can be a source of danger to the surrounding environment, adjacent housings and/or operators. Dust and/or moisture entering the housing through said gaps increases the potential for the formation of undesired sparks that may trigger adverse situations such as fire or explosion.

In order to prevent such undesirable situations from emerging, sealant material is used in cable glands. Cable glands using sealant material and a method for filling sealant material are disclosed in the document numbered GB2501329B. In cable glands using sealant material, the sealant material is used to fill the gaps between the cable and the cable gland. The sealant material generally consists of the resin material with two- components. While assembling the cable gland, the two components are mixed in certain proportions and thus cured. During this application, the operator must work cleanly and meticulously. The resin material needs to be cured over a certain period of time. When the curing process is completed, the resin material solidifies, preventing the cable gland from permeating liquid and gas. However, in this method, it is not possible to check whether the cable gland assembly is carried out properly or not. When the cable gland is removed in order to be checked, it cannot be used again. In the present technique, one-component or formable sealant materials are also used as an alternative to two-component sealant materials.

Traditional methods are labour intensive and require high expertise in installation.

As a result, it has become necessary to make an improvement in the relevant technical field due to the above-mentioned negativities and the inadequacy of the existing solutions in solving the problem.

Purpose of the Invention The invention has been inspired by the present situations and aims to solve the aforementioned disadvantages.

The main purpose of the invention is to provide a cable gland which is pre-filled with the sealant material. The sealing element ensures that the sealant material is stored in the cable gland. Thus, the operator does not need to fill the sealant material into the cable gland during the assembly of the cable gland. Furthermore, the assembly time is shortened and contamination of the assembly area is prevented. In addition, installation expertise is not required for the sealant material.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a cable gland that enables the assembly of cable harnesses to contain more than one cable. The cable gland, which is the subject of the invention, is preferably used for the assembly of unshielded and unsheathed cable harnesses. The sealing element of the cable gland is compatible with the cable harness and can fully grasp the cable harness. There are slots on the sealing element where the outer surfaces of the cable are placed. Thanks to these features, there is no need to separate the cables in the cable harness one by one and the cable harness can be mounted as a whole. Also, it is not necessary to provide access to the ends of the cable for the assembly.

Another purpose of the invention is to ensure that the sealant material is distributed between the cable harness in such a way that it closes all the gaps. The separation ring provided on the cable gland allows the sealant material to enter and settle in the gaps between the cable harness. In addition, when the gland nut is pressed into the gland body, the ridges located at both ends of the sealing element prevent the sealant material from coming out of the sealing element, and thus, allow it to be distributed evenly among the cable harness. Moreover, an inclined first inner surface and a second inner surface that contact the ridges in the sealing element are provided both on the gland nut and the gland body. Inclined inner surfaces prevent the sealant material from leaking out by enabling the compression process to start from the ridges and ensure that a large part of the sealant material remains in the sealing element. Thus, the sealant material is assisted in the evenly dispersion of the gaps between the cable harnesses.

Another purpose of the invention is to ensure that the cable gland with sealant material can be reused after its assembly is disassembled for inspection and other similar purposes. The sealant material stored in the sealing element should preferably be a formable and non-hardening paste. Thus, the cable gland can be reused after being disassembled for inspection and other similar purposes.

In order to fulfil the above-described purposes, the invention is a cable gland to be used in the assembly of cables, comprising;

- a gland body that can be connected to a housing,

- gland nut, that is connected to the gland body and ensures that the cable is fastened to the gland body,

- at least one sealing element that is placed into the gland body and provides sealing,

- at least one storage room that is located on the sealing element and provides ready- to-use storage for the sealant material

- at least one ridge that is placed on at least one end of the sealing element and prevents the sealant material from going out from the storage room.

The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all its advantages will be understood more clearly thanks to the figures provided below and the detailed explanations given by reference to these figures. For this reason, the evaluation should be made by taking these figures and detailed explanations into account.

Brief Description of Figures

Figure 1 : It is an exploded view of the cable gland.

Figure 2: It is a quarter section view of the assembled cable gland.

Description of Part References

A. Cable gland

10. Gland body

12. First inner surface

20. Gland nut

22. Second inner surface 30. Sealing element

32. Ridge

34. Cavity

36. Storage room

38. First split

40. Sealant material

50. Separation ring

52. Rib

54. Second split

60. Friction ring

62. Third split

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, preferred embodiments of the cable gland (A) subject to the invention are explained only for a better understanding of the subject.

With reference to the Figure 1 , the cable gland (A) comprises a gland body (10) that is connected to a housing, a gland nut (20) that is connected to the gland body (10) and allows the cable to be fixed to the gland body (10) and at least one sealing element (30) that is inserted into the gland body (10). The cable gland (A) is used for mounting cables in a housing. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the cable gland (A) is used in the assembly of unshielded and unsheathed cable harnesses.

The gland body (10) ensures that the cables are fixed in a housing. The gland body (10) is made of materials including but not limited to, metal, plastic, or their combinations. The sealing element (30) is placed inside the gland body (10). The first inner surface (12) that the ridge (32) of the sealing element (30) contacts is equipped in the gland body (10). The first inner surface (12) preferably has an inclined structure. In this way, the sealant material (40) which is stored in the sealing element (30) is retarded to come out of the sealing element (30). During installation of the cable gland (A), the first inner surface (12) helps the sealant material (40) to remain in the sealing element (30) for a longer period of time before it protrudes beyond the sealing element (30). Thus, the sealant material (40) only protrudes out of the sealing element (30) after filling the gaps between the cables.

The gland nut (20) is connected to the gland body (10). When the gland nut (20) is compressed, the volume of the storage room (36) of the sealing element (30) is reduced. Thus, the sealant material (40) stored in the sealing element (30) fills the existing gaps. The gland nut (20) is made of materials including but not limited to, metal, plastic, or their combinations. The second inner surface (22) that the ridge (32) of the sealing element (30) contacts is equipped on the gland nut (20). The second inner surface (22) preferably has an inclined structure. In this way, the sealant material (40) which is stored in the sealing element (30) is retarded to come out of the sealing element (30). During installation of the cable gland (A), the second inner surface (22) helps the sealant material (40) to remain in the sealing element (30) for a longer period of time before it protrudes beyond the sealing element (30) and to wrap the cables. Thus, the sealant material (40) only protrudes out of the sealing element (30) after filling the gaps between the cables.

With reference to the Figure 2, the sealing element (30) is placed into the gland body (10). In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the sealing element (30) is made of materials including but not limited to, elastomer, silicone or their combinations. Sealant materials (40) are also used in the cable glands (A) in order to increase sealing protection. The sealant material (40) fills all the gaps inside the cable gland (A), and thus ensures that the cable gland (A) becomes a dust, liquid and gas impermeable structure. In preferred embodiments of the invention, formable sealant is used as the sealant material (40). The sealing element (30) has at least one storage room (36) which allows the sealant material (40) to be stored. The sealant material (40) stored in the storage room (36) is ready to be used. Thus, there is no need for performing filling when the cable gland (A) is mounted. At least one end of the sealing element (30) has at least one ridge (32) that prevents the sealant material (40) from going out of the storage room (36). In the preferred embodiments of the invention, a ridge (32) at both ends of the sealing element (30) is provided. When the gland nut (20) is compressed, the ridges (32) that are started to be compressed between the first inner surface (12) and the second inner surface allow (22) the sealant material (40) to fill the gaps inside the sealing element (30) first. The ridge (32) has at least one cavity (34) that mates to the outer surface of the cables. Thus, the sealing element (30) can fully grasp the cable harness. During the cable assembly, the cables are inserted into the cavities (34). In this way, there is no need to separate the cables in the cable harness one by one. The cable harness is assembled as a whole. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the first split (38) is equipped in the sealing element (30). The first split (38) allows the cables to be mounted to the sealing element (30). It allows the sealing element (30) to be mounted from a point close to the connection point, especially for very long cables or cables where the cable end ends with a terminal.

The cable gland (A) comprises at least one separation ring (50) which is inserted between the cable harnesses containing more than one cable. The separation ring (50) has at least one protrusion (52) that creates gaps between the cables. Thus, it is ensured that the filling material (40) is evenly dispersed into said gaps. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, a second slit (54) is provided in the separation ring (50). The second split (54) allows the cables to be mounted on the separation ring (50). It allows the separation ring (50) to be mounted from a point close to the connection point, especially for very long cables or cables where the cable end ends with a terminal. The separation ring (50) is preferably made of an insulating material.

The cable gland (A) comprises at least one friction ring (60) which is inserted between the gland nut (20) and the sealing element (30). The friction ring (60) prevents the sealing element (30) from being damaged when the gland nut (20) is compressed. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, a third split (62) is provided in the friction ring (60). The third split (64) allows the cables to be mounted on the friction ring (60). It allows the friction ring (60) to be mounted from a point close to the connection point, especially for very long cables or cables where the cable end ends with a terminal. The friction ring (60) is made of materials including but not limited to, metal, plastic, or their combinations.

Claims

CLAIMS A cable gland (A) for using in the assembly of cables, comprising;

- a gland body (10) that can be connected to a housing,

- a gland nut (20) that is connected to the gland body (10) and ensures that the cable is fastened to the gland body (10),

- at least one sealing element (30) that is placed in the gland body (10) and provides sealing, characterized by comprising:

- at least one storage room (36) that is located on the sealing element (30) and provides ready-to-be-used storage for the sealant material (40),

- at least one ridge (32) that is placed on at least one end of the sealing element (30) and prevents the sealant material (40) from going out from the storage room (36). The cable gland (A) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the ridge (32) comprises at least one cavity (34) which mates to the outer surface of the cables. The cable gland (A) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising an inclined first inner surface (12) that contacts the ridge (32) in the gland body (10) and assists the sealant material (40) to be distributed into the gaps by retarding the sealant material (40) to go out of the sealing element (30) when the gland nut (20) is compressed. The cable gland (A) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising an inclined second inner surface (22) that contacts the ridge (32) in the gland nut (20) and assists the sealant material (40) to be distributed into the gaps by retarding the sealant material (40) to go out of the sealing element (30) when the gland nut (20) is compressed. The cable gland (A) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the sealing element (30) comprises a first split (38) that provides the cable to be mounted to the sealing element (30). The cable gland (A) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising at least one separation ring (50) that is inserted between the cable harnesses having more than one cable and that has at least one rib (52) creating gaps between the cables wherein ensures that the sealant material (40) is dispersed into said gaps. The cable gland (A) according to claim 6, characterized in that the separation ring (50) comprises a second split (54) that provides the cable to be mounted to the separation ring (50). The cable gland (A) according to claim 1 , characterized by comprising at least one friction ring (60) that is placed between the gland nut (20) and the sealing element (30) and prevents the sealing element (30) from being damaged when the gland nut (20) is compressed. The cable gland (A) according to claim 8, characterized in that the friction ring (60) comprises a third split (62) that provides the cable to be mounted to the friction ring (60).