Search

EP-4239808-B1 - INTEGRATED WATERPROOF SEAL ASSEMBLY AND USE THEREOF

EP4239808B1EP 4239808 B1EP4239808 B1EP 4239808B1EP-4239808-B1

Inventors

  • SONG, BIN
  • ZHOU, DONG
  • ZHU, Dongdong

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210706

Claims (8)

  1. An integrated waterproof seal connector, comprising a rubber tube (30), a supporting tube member (40), a snap-fit member (10), and a plastic support member (20); the rubber tube (30) is of a hollow structure and comprises a first hollow structure portion (34), a second hollow structure portion (32), and a connecting portion (31) connecting the first hollow structure portion (34) with the second hollow structure portion (32), which are integrally formed; the supporting tube member (40) is detachably arranged in the first hollow structure portion (34) for supporting the first hollow structure portion (34), and can shrink and cling to a cable after the supporting tube member (40) is detached; the plastic support member (20) is arranged in the second hollow structure portion (32), a first end of the second hollow structure portion (32) is provided with a sealing structure which can seal a connecting port of a device; characterized in that the snap-fit member (10) is a metal snap-fit member (10), and the metal snap-fit member (10) is detachably arranged in the plastic support member (20), an end of the metal snap-fit member (10) is provided with a press type clamping structure portion (107) capable of being positioned within a wall of the plastic support member (20); and said positioning structure (12) connecting the plastic support member (20) and the metal snap-fit member (10) protrudes out of the first end of the second hollow structure portion (32).
  2. The integrated waterproof seal connector according to claim 1, wherein the metal snap-fit member (10) is provided with the elastic clamping structure portion, the elastic clamping structure portion can be elastically positioned on a wall of the plastic support member (20) after being pressed to pass through the plastic support member (20) and being rebounded then; and/or the metal snap-fit member (10) is formed by a first wall (101), a second wall (104), a third wall (102) and a fourth wall (103) in an enclosing manner, first ends of the four walls are of an integrally connected structure, the first wall (101) is arranged opposite to the third wall (102), and the second wall (104) is arranged opposite to the fourth wall (103); except the first ends, portions of the first wall (101) and two adjacent walls are arranged separately from each other; except the first ends, portions of the third wall (102) and two adjacent walls are arranged separately from each other; and second ends of the first wall (101) and the third wall (102) are provided with the clamping structure portion (107) protruding towards outside of the snap-fit member (10) respectively; and/or the first wall (101) of the metal snap-fit member (10) is higher than two adjacent walls, and the third wall (102) of the metal snap-fit member (10) is higher than two adjacent walls; and/or both the second wall (104) and fourth wall (103) of the metal snap-fit member (10) are provided with guide slots (108); the guide slot (108) is of a structure formed by the second/fourth wall (104/103) and a metal sheet (109) located on the wall, wherein only one side of the metal sheet (109) on each wall is connected with the wall, and a surface of the metal sheet (109) is separated from the wall and protrudes outwardly.
  3. The integrated waterproof seal connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plastic support member (20) is formed by a first surface (201), a second surface (203), a third surface (202) and a fourth surface (204) in an enclosing manner, with the first ends of the four surfaces being of an integrally connected structure, the first surface (201) being arranged opposite to the third surface (202), and the second surface (203) being arranged opposite to the fourth surface (204); the second surface (203) is higher than two adjacent surfaces and the fourth surface (204) higher than two adjacent surfaces, so that the integrally connected structure formed by second ends in an enclosing manner is provided with two opposite notches on the first surface (201) and the third surface (202), and the clamping structure portions (107) arranged on the metal snap-fit member (10) are stuck in the two notches of the plastic support member (20) respectively; and/or the first surface (201) and third surface (202) of the plastic support member (20) are provided with through holes (206) at positions close to the first ends, and the positions of through holes (206) are matched with convex blocks (106) arranged on the metal snap-fit member (10); and/or an inner wall of the plastic support member (20) is provided with guide grooves, and the guide grooves are matched with the metal sheets (109) on the second wall (104) and the fourth wall (103) of the metal snap-fit member (10).
  4. The integrated waterproof seal connector according to claim 1, wherein the first hollow structure portion (34) is a hollow round tube structure portion (34), a sealing structure layer is arranged at a combining portion of the hollow round tube structure portion (34) and the supporting tube member (40), and preferably, the material of the sealing structure layer is rubber or cement; and/or the connecting portion (31) is a hollow special-shaped connecting tube, preferably a hollow conical tube, a hollow externally threaded tube, or a hollow ellipsoidal tube, and an inner diameter of each section of the connecting portion (31) is greater than that of the hollow round tube structure portion (34); and/or the sealing structure of the first end of the second hollow structure portion (32) is of a threaded structure for sealing the connecting port of the device.
  5. The integrated waterproof seal connector according to claim 1, further comprising a plastic retainer which is arranged in the metal snap-fit member (10) for fixing a cable; the plastic retainer is provided with a hollow structure which is matched with the first hollow structure portion (34), second hollow structure portion (32) and connecting portion (31) of the rubber tube (30), the plastic support member (20), and the metal snap-fit member (10).
  6. The integrated waterproof seal connector according to claim 5, wherein the plastic retainer is formed by two separate symmetrical structures, the two separate symmetrical structures are correspondingly provided with fastening structures, and during use, the two symmetrical structures are closed into a whole by the fastening structures, forming a shape arranged in the metal snap-fit member (10); and/or the plastic retainer is provided with a first wall, a second wall, a third wall and a fourth wall after being enclosed into a whole, upper ends of the second wall and the fourth wall are provided with position-limiting lugs (56) at the center, and when the plastic retainer is arranged in the metal snap-fit member (10), the position-limiting lugs (56) are limited by guide convex-belts (203) arranged between the guide grooves in inner wall of the plastic support member (20); and/or both ends of the second wall and of the fourth wall of the plastic retainer extend outwardly to form four protrusions (57) which protrude from both ends of the first wall and of the third wall, and the size of the extended ends of the second wall and the fourth wall is less than or equal to that of the second wall (104) and the fourth wall (103) of the metal snap-fit member (10).
  7. The integrated waterproof seal connector according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of supporting tube members (40"), and the rubber tube is a conjoined rubber tube; wherein the conjoined rubber tube comprises a plurality of separate first hollow structure portions (34"), a plurality of connecting portions (31"), and a one-piece second hollow structure portion (32"), the numbers of the connecting portions (31") and the supporting tube members (40") are the same as that of the first hollow structure portions (34"), each of the first hollow structure portions (34") is connected to the one-piece second hollow structure portion (32") through one connecting portion (31") respectively, and the metal snap-fit member (10") and the plastic support member (20") are both of a one-piece structure matched with the second hollow structure portion (32").
  8. A method of using the integrated waterproof seal connector according to claim 6, comprising: step 1, integrating the rubber tube (30), the supporting tube member (40), the plastic support member (20) and the metal snap-fit member (10) into a one-piece part; step 2, fastening the hinge structures of the two symmetrical structures of the plastic retainer together; step 3, passing a cable through the one-piece part in step 1; step 4, placing the cable obtained in step 3 onto the plastic retainer obtained in step 2; step 5, fastening a socket and a fastener of the plastic retainer; step 6, arranging the plastic retainer into the one-piece part; preferably in step 1, the clamping structure portion (107) of the metal snap-fit member (10) is pressed inwardly, so that the metal snap-fit member (10) is inserted into the plastic support member (20) from an upper port or a lower port of the plastic support member (20); after fitting, the clamping structure portion (107) of the metal snap-fit member (10) is stuck in the two notches of the plastic support member (20) respectively, and each two metal sheets (109) on the second wall (104) and the fourth wall (103) of the metal snap-fit member (10) are inserted into the grooves of the second wall and the fourth wall of the inner wall of the plastic support member (20) respectively; subsequently, adhesive is applied on all or part of the areas of the outer surfaces of the plastic support member (20) and the metal snap-fit member (10) integrated as a whole as describe above, the plastic support member (20) and the metal snap-fit member (10) are placed into a mold, rubber is injected, and compression molding is performed, so that the plastic support member (20) and the metal snap-fit member (10) integrated as a whole are wrapped by the rubber tube (30); and finally, the supporting tube member (40) is arranged into the first hollow structure portion (34) and the connecting portion (31) of the rubber tube (30) by pre-expansion; preferably in step 6, the plastic retainer is inserted from the upper end of the one-piece part, so that the position-limiting lugs (56) on the second wall and the fourth wall of the plastic retainer are positioned to bottoms of the guide convex-belts (203) of the second wall and the fourth wall in the inner wall of the plastic support member (20).

Description

The present application claims the priority of the prior application No. 202011419281.6, entitled "INTEGRATED WATERPROOF SEAL SLEEVE AND USE THEREOF", filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 07, 2020. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention belongs to the field of seal connectors for electrical appliances or data transmission, and particularly relates to an integrated waterproof seal connector, a method of using the integrated waterproof seal connector, and use of the integrated waterproof seal connector in the waterproof sealing connection between a cable and a port of an optical/electrical signal transmission device. BACKGROUND When used to transmit electrical signals, data, Radio Frequency (RF) signals, optical signals or the like, an electronic, electrical or data device needs to be connected with a cable. Typically, the cable is inserted into a corresponding receiving recess of the device through a cable connector or joint. For the waterproof sealing protection of various cable connectors or joints, there are three main products in the prior art: cold-shrink tubes, waterproof rubber tubes, and cold-shrink waterproof devices. With the upgrading of communication, electrical power, etc. and the increase of the integration degree of devices, the irregularity of cable joints and cable connectors has become obvious, and joints and connectors are required to be detachable in order to facilitate the overhaul, maintenance and replacement of devices. However, the cold-shrink tubes, the waterproof rubber tubes and the cold-shrink waterproof devices cannot meet the requirements brought by the upgrading of integrated devices for communication, rail transit, electrical power, etc. due to the following defects. For example, after the cold-shrink tube disclosed in Patent CN201420832745.X is assembled, the joint or connector is protected by one-time sealing and cannot be detached, and the joint can only be detached by destroying the cold-shrink tube. As a result, it is inconvenient to detach and install the cable connector, bringing trouble to device overhaul and maintenance, and the cold-shrink tube cannot be reused. Although the waterproof rubber sleeves can be repeatedly assembled, the waterproof rubber sleeves cannot be compatible with the irregularity of cable joints or cable connectors, leading to the failure of waterproofing. For example, the cold-shrink waterproof device disclosed in Patent CN202020419263.7, which structurally includes a tube body, a snap-fit member, and a supporting member structure, can be permanently waterproof in a non-humid-and-hot environment (such as an indoor environment, etc.), but has the following defect: the snap-fit member is made of plastic, and can be assembled and unlocked through a plastic press member, but the fastening portion of the plastic snap-fit member is in a deformed state under force during use, so the plastic snap-fit member can be easily deformed in the process of outdoor aging, leading to the risk of failure of waterproofing of the product. Consequently, the application of this product in the highly humid and hot environment is limited. Some prior arts can be seen from the following documents: D1: CN 212012015 U (SHENZHEN COTRAN XINYUAN NEW MAT CO LTD; HUWEI TECH CO LTD) 24 November 2020 (2020-11-24);D2: US 7074070 B1 (HUANG MAO-JUNG [TW] ET AL) 11 July 2006 (2006-07-11). SUMMARY The invention is set out in the independent claims. In order to solve the aforementioned problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a series of products of integrated seal connectors (i.e. a connector assembly or a sleeve) based on a waterproof cold-shrink tube. The products are used as an integrated waterproof seal connector or a port sealing element to enable the sealed connection or protection of device ports and cables in communication, electrical power, the Internet of Things, rail transit, automobiles, meteorology, intelligent household appliances, etc. The seal connectors are suitable for various cables and device ports, and because the seal connectors can be detachably connected with cables and devices, the seal connectors can be reused. Moreover, the seal connectors are convenient to install, maintain and replace, has long-term stable product performance and good sealing effect, and are less affected by the environment. The technical solution of the present invention is described as follows: <Individual Integrated Waterproof Seal Connector> An integrated waterproof seal connector comprises a rubber tube, a supporting tube member, a metal snap-fit member, and a plastic support member; wherein the rubber tube is of a hollow structure and comprises a first hollow structure portion, second hollow structure portion, and a connecting portion connecting the first hollow structure portion with the second hollow structure portion, and the rubber tube are integrally formed; the supporting tube member is detachably arranged