Sensor With Integral Seal
AssigneeTherm-O-Disc, Incorporated
InventorsJeffrey A. WEST, Richard Eugene GARRISON
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sensor includes a sensing element, a first pair of lead wires, a second pair of lead wires, a grommet, and a shell. The first pair of lead wires is fixed to the sensing element and configured to receive signals from the sensing element. The second pair of lead wires is electrically connected to the first pair of lead wires at a joint. The second pair of lead wires is configured to receive signals from the first pair of lead wires. The grommet houses the joint, a portion of the first pair of lead wires, and a portion of the second pair of lead wires. The shell houses the sensing element, the first pair of lead wires, and the grommet. The shell engages and deforms the grommet to seal an interior space defined by the shell.
Claims18
A temperature sensor comprising:
- a housing comprising a deformable tubular shell having a closed distal end, an open proximal end and a side wall, and defining an interior cavity;
- a temperature responsive sensing element comprising first and second sensing element lead wires;
- first and second sensor lead wires, each electrically connected in series to a respective one of the first and second sensing element lead wires at respective first and second connections;
- a grommet comprising a flexible and resilient dielectric material and having an outer annular surface;
- wherein the grommet, the sensing element, the first and second sensing element lead wires, and the first and second connections are disposed in the interior cavity of the housing;
- and
- wherein the side wall of the housing is mechanically interlocked to the grommet at the outer surface of the grommet to seal the sensing element and sensing element lead wires from an ambient environment outside the interior cavity of the housing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.