Electrical lead retainer with compression seal
First Claim
1. An electrical lead retainer with compression seal comprising:
- a terminal receptacle post having an opening defined by an annular collar and an inner cylindrical sidewall and having an exterior sidewall with snap-lock receiving means;
an insulated electrical wire inserted into said opening in said post;
a compressible annular grommet around said wire and engaging said annular collar; and
a cap around said wire and having releasable snap-lock means engaging said snap-lock receiving means to hold said cap on said post and compressing said grommet, and having an internal annular recess of substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of said grommet and receiving said grommet to restrict expansion of the outer diameter of said grommet upon compression of the latter by said cap against said annular collar and instead cause expansion of said grommet inwardly against said wire to provide a seal which prevents moisture from creeping along said wire within said post and also to tightly grip said wire and prevent said wire from being pulled out of said post.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical lead retainer (2) with compression seal (4) is provided for a terminal receptacle post (6) of an ignition coil tower for gasoline engines in corrosive environments, including the high tension lead in marine applications. An insulated electrical wire (16) is inserted into the post, and an annular grommet (20) around the wire is compressed against the post and against the wire to prevent moisture from creeping across the post opening and from creeping along the wire into the post opening. An end cap (22) has an aperture (28) through which the wire extends and has a pair of flexible outer locking tabs (24, 26) engaging the backside of a flange (14) on the post in snap-lock manner to hold the cap on the post and compress the grommet. The cap has an internal annular recess (34) forming a step shoulder (56) with the aperture (28) and compressing the grommet against an annular collar (10) on the post. The internal annular recess (34) has substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter (42) of the grommet to restrict expansion of the outer diameter of the grommet upon compression of the latter by the step shoulder (56) and instead cause expansion of the grommet inwardly against the wire.
149 Citations
7 Claims
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1. An electrical lead retainer with compression seal comprising:
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a terminal receptacle post having an opening defined by an annular collar and an inner cylindrical sidewall and having an exterior sidewall with snap-lock receiving means; an insulated electrical wire inserted into said opening in said post; a compressible annular grommet around said wire and engaging said annular collar; and a cap around said wire and having releasable snap-lock means engaging said snap-lock receiving means to hold said cap on said post and compressing said grommet, and having an internal annular recess of substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of said grommet and receiving said grommet to restrict expansion of the outer diameter of said grommet upon compression of the latter by said cap against said annular collar and instead cause expansion of said grommet inwardly against said wire to provide a seal which prevents moisture from creeping along said wire within said post and also to tightly grip said wire and prevent said wire from being pulled out of said post. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An electrical lead retainer with compression seal comprising:
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a terminal receptacle post having an opening defined by an annular collar and an inner cylindrical sidewall and having an annular flange around its perimeter; an insulated electrical wire inserted into said opening in said post; a compressible annular grommet around said wire and engaging said annular collar; and an end cap having an aperture therethrough through said wire extends and having a pair of flexible outer locking tabs engaging the backside of said flange to hold said cap on said post and compressing said grommet, said cap having an internal annular recess forming a step shoulder with said aperture which step shoulder engages and compresses said grommet against said annular collar, said internal annular recess having substantially the same diameter as the outer diameter of said grommet to restrict expansion of the outer diameter of said grommet upon compression of the latter by said step shoulder and instead cause expansion of said grommet inwardly against said wire to provide a seal which prevents moisture from creeping along said wire within said post and also to tightly grip said wire and prevent said wire from being pulled out of said post, and to provide a seal against said annular collar to prevent moisture from creeping thereacross into said opening.
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Specification