Assembly and method for sealing a bundle of wires

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11670437-B2
Application number	US-202217574261-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 12, 2022
Priority date	Jul 26, 2018
Publication date	Jun 6, 2023
Grant date	Jun 6, 2023

Abstract

A structure for creating a sealed wire bundle includes a first adhesive material in the form of a circular or semi-circular shape. The first adhesive material has a first outer wall with first spoke arms extending inward from the first outer wall. The first adhesive material has a first viscosity. First wire receiving spaces are provided between the first spoke arms. Wires are positioned in the first wire receiving spaces. As heat is applied to the adhesive structure, the adhesive structure flows to fill voids between the plurality of wires to thereby seal the wires.

First claim

We claim:

1. A structure for creating a sealed wire bundle comprising:
a first adhesive material in the form of a circular or semi-circular shape, the first adhesive material having a first outer wall, the first adhesive material having a first viscosity;
first wire receiving spaces;
first spoke arms extend inward from the first outer wall, the first wire receiving spaces are provided between the first spoke arms;
wherein wires are positioned in the first wire receiving spaces;
wherein as heat is applied to the structure, the first adhesive material flows to fill voids between the plurality of wires to thereby seal the wires.

2. The structure as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first adhesive material has a viscosity of less than about 300 Pa·s.

3. The structure as recited in claim 2 , wherein the first adhesive material is approximately 40% to approximately 95% ethylene-vinyl acetate or polyolefin or polyamide by weight.

4. The structure as recited in claim 2 , wherein the first adhesive material includes filler material and stabilizer material to improve thermal conductivity without compromising viscosity.

5. A structure for creating a sealed wire bundle comprising:
a first adhesive material in the form of a circular or semi-circular shape, the first adhesive material having a first outer wall, the first adhesive material having a first viscosity;
first wire receiving spaces;
the first outer wall includes at least one gap;
wherein wires are positioned in the first wire receiving spaces;
wherein the at least one gap facilitates insertion of wires through the first outer wall and into the first wire receiving spaces;
wherein as heat is applied to the structure, the first adhesive material flows to fill voids between the plurality of wires to thereby seal the wires.

6. The structure as recited in claim 5 , wherein the at least one gap is a plurality of gaps, with each gap of the plurality of gaps being disposed in line with each first wire receiving space of the first wire receiving spaces.

7. The structure as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first spoke arms have first ends which extend from the first outer wall and second ends which are spaced from the first outer wall, the first ends having a larger cross-sectional area than the second ends.

8. The structure as recited in claim 1 , wherein a second adhesive material in the form of a circular or semi-circular shape is positioned on a first side of the first adhesive material, the second adhesive material having a second viscosity.

9. The structure as recited in claim 8 , wherein:
the second adhesive material has a second outer wall with second spoke arms extending inward from the second outer wall;
second wire receiving spaces are provided between the second spoke arms;
wherein the wires are positioned in the second wire receiving spaces.

10. The structure as recited in claim 8 , wherein the viscosity of the second adhesive material is higher than the viscosity of the first adhesive material.

11. A structure for creating a sealed wire bundle comprising:
a first adhesive material in the form of a circular or semi-circular shape, the first adhesive material having a first outer wall, the first adhesive material having a first viscosity;
a second adhesive material in the form of a circular or semi-circular shape, the second adhesive positioned on a first side of the first adhesive material, the second adhesive material having a second viscosity;
a third adhesive material in the form of a circular or semi-circular shape, the third adhesive positioned on a second side of the first adhesive material, the third adhesive material having a third viscosity;
first wire receiving spaces;
wherein wires are positioned in the first wire receiving spaces;
wherein as heat is applied to the structure, the first adhesive material flows to fill voids between the plurality of wires to thereby seal the wires.

12. The structure as recited in claim 11 , wherein:
the third adhesive material has a third outer wall with third spoke arms extending inward from the third outer wall;
third wire receiving spaces are provided between the third spoke arms;
wherein the wires are positioned in the third wire receiving spaces.

13. The structure as recited in claim 11 , wherein the viscosity of the third adhesive material is higher than the viscosity of the first adhesive material.

14. The structure as recited in claim 13 , wherein the viscosity of the second adhesive material is approximately equal to the viscosity of the third adhesive material.

15. The structure as recited in claim 11 , wherein the thickness of the first adhesive material, the second adhesive material and the third adhesive material is between approximately 0.5 mm and 2.0 mm.

16. The structure as recited in claim 11 , wherein the second adhesive material and the third adhesive material include filler material and stabilizer material to improve thermal conductivity without compromising viscosity.

17. The structure as recited in claim 7 , wherein the first adhesive has a first center hub which is spaced from the first outer wall, the second ends of the first spoke arms extend to the first center hub.

18. The structure as recited in claim 17 , wherein the first outer wall has a plurality of gaps which facilitate insertion of wires through the first outer wall and into respective first wire receiving spaces of the first wire receiving spaces.

19. The structure as recited in claim 11 , wherein:
the first adhesive has a first center hub which is spaced from the first outer wall, first spoke arms of the first adhesive extend from the first outer wall to the first center hub;
the second adhesive has a second center hub which is spaced from the second outer wall, second spoke arms of the second adhesive extend from the second outer wall to the second center hub; and
the third adhesive has a third center hub which is spaced from the third outer wall, third spoke arms of the third adhesive extend from the third outer wall to the third center hub.

20. The structure as recited in claim 11 , wherein the first adhesive, the second adhesive and the third adhesive have a heat-shrinkable material which extends over the first outer wall, the second outer wall and the third outer wall.

Assignees

• TE Connectivity Services Gmbh
• Te Connectivity Solutions Gmbh

Inventors

• Sethi Sunny
• Daga Vijay
• Bharadwaj Kavitha
• Gao Ting

Classifications

• H01B3/446

  from vinylacetals · CPC title

• H01B13/0036

  Details · CPC title

• H01B13/0016 Primary

  for heat treatment · CPC title

• H01B7/285

  by completely or partially filling interstices in the cable · CPC title

• H01B3/441

  from alkenes · CPC title