Pressure compensator for meter housing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10175068-B2
Application number	US-201514937946-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 11, 2015
Priority date	Jul 9, 2015
Publication date	Jan 8, 2019
Grant date	Jan 8, 2019

Abstract

Disclosed is a pressure compensator for a housing compartment that includes a housing wall that has an opening between an interior zone that is inside of the compartment and an exterior zone that is outside of the compartment. The housing wall also includes an annulus that defines one portion of the opening. A seal engages the annulus and is seated in the opening to seal the opening, the seal including a flexible diaphragm having a normally closed slit therethrough. The seal is configured so that the diaphragm is normally compressed in a first direction that urges the slit closed when the seal is engaged with the annulus. The diaphragm is arranged so that a pressure difference between the interior zone and exterior zone urges the diaphragm to flex in a direction for opening a slit thus creates a pathway between the interior zone and the exterior zone, thereby reducing the pressure difference.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A pressure compensator apparatus for a housing compartment configured for a motorized vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
a housing wall that has an opening between an interior zone that is inside of the compartment and an exterior zone that is outside of the compartment, the housing wall including an annulus that defines a portion of the opening, and being configured to be supported on the vehicle; and
a seal engaging the annulus and seated in the opening to seal the opening, the seal including a flexible diaphragm having a normally closed slit therethrough, the diaphragm having a perimeter portion and an internal portion, the perimeter portion surrounding the internal portion, the slit being within the internal portion;
wherein the seal is configured so that the diaphragm is compressed in a first direction that urges the slit closed when the seal is engaged with the annulus;
wherein the diaphragm is arranged so that a pressure difference between the interior zone and the exterior zone urges the diaphragm to flex in a direction for opening the slit, thereby to provide a pathway for air movement between the interior and exterior zones,
wherein the seal has a first end and an opposing second end, wherein when the seal is sealing the opening and the slit is closed, the first end is substantially parallel to a first plane and substantially faces the interior zone, the second end is substantially parallel to a second plane and substantially faces the exterior zone, and the diaphragm is substantially parallel to a third plane that is intermediate of the first and second planes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further including a hydrophobic filter for filtering air that moves through the pathway.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the seal includes a peripheral groove for receiving the annulus, the groove being sized so that the annulus compresses the diaphragm in the first direction when the seal is engaged with the annulus.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the opening of the housing also has a counterbored portion adjacent to the annulus, and wherein the diaphragm includes a peripheral rib for engaging the housing in the counterbored portion of the opening, the rib being sized to compress the diaphragm in the first direction when the seal is engaged with the annulus.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the diaphragm is formed so that the diaphragm does not flex and the slit is normally closed in the absence of a pressure difference between the interior zone and exterior zone.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the seal is radially compressed at the annulus to seal the opening of the housing wall.

7. A pressure compensating method for a housing that has a compartment configured to be supported on a motorized vehicle, the method comprising:
forming part of the housing to define an opening between an interior zone that is inside of the compartment and an exterior zone that is outside of the compartment, the housing being configured to be supported on the vehicle;
sealing the opening with a seal that includes a flexible diaphragm having a normally closed slit therethrough, the diaphragm having a perimeter portion and an internal portion, the perimeter portion surrounding the internal portion, the slit being within the internal portion;
compressing the diaphragm in a first direction that urges the slit closed; and
configuring the diaphragm so that a pressure difference between the interior zone and exterior zone urges the diaphragm to flex in a direction for opening the slit thereby to provide a pathway for air movement between the interior and exterior zones,
wherein the seal has a first end and an opposing second end, wherein when the seal is sealing the opening and the slit is closed, the first end is substantially parallel to a first plane and substantially faces the interior zone, the second end is substantially parallel to a second plane and substantially faces the exterior zone, and the diaphragm is substantially parallel to a third plane that is intermediate of the first and second planes.

8. The method of claim 7 , further including filtering air that moves through the pathway.

9. The method of claim 7 , further including forming the seal to include a peripheral groove for receiving an annulus part of the housing that defines a portion of the opening, and sizing the groove so that the diaphragm is compressed in the first direction when the seal is engaged with the annulus part of the housing.

10. The method of claim 7 , further including:
counterboring a portion of the opening adjacent to an annulus part of the housing that defines a portion of the opening;
forming on the seal a peripheral rib for engaging the housing in the counterbored portion of the opening, and
configuring the engaged rib to compress the diaphragm in the first direction when the seal is engaged with the annulus part of the housing.

11. The method of claim 7 , further including forming the diaphragm so that the diaphragm does not flex and the slit is normally closed in the absence of a pressure difference between the interior zone and exterior zone.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising radially compressing the seal at an annulus of the housing to seal the opening of the housing.

13. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
providing a peripheral rib on the seal for engaging the housing; and
compressing, by the rib, the diaphragm in the first direction when the seal is engaged with an annulus part of the housing that defines a portion of the opening.

Assignees

• Polaris Inc

Inventors

• Chambers Benjamin T
• Wotton Geoffrey
• Larson Justin

Classifications

• B60K2350/2073

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• G01D11/245 Primary

  Housings for sensors · CPC title

• B65D25/20

  External fittings (of containers made by folding or erecting blanks made of paper B65D5/44) · CPC title

• G01D11/24

  Housings {; Casings for instruments} · CPC title

• B60K37/02

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic