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US 4,727,223 AGranted
Electrical penetrator
AssigneeTRW Inc.
InventorsLawrence C. Lee, Francis T. Traylor
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTRW Inc.
InventorsLawrence C. Lee, Francis T. Traylor
Estimating the term…
An electrical penetrator employs metal-sheathed insulated conductors that extend completely through and are sealed within a tubular housing. A filler block is disposed centrally within the housing and is surrounded by elastomeric material of a sealing member. Plugs are inserted into opposite ends of the housing so as to compress the elastomeric material and are sealed within the housing. Hollow end caps threaded into the opposite ends of the housing urge the plugs toward the elastomeric material. The metal-sheathed conductors extend through the hollow end caps and through longitudinal passages in the plugs and the sealing member. The conductors are sealed in the sealing member by the elastomeric material, are sealed in the plugs by tube fitting assemblies threaded into the plugs about the conductors, and are sealed in the hollow end caps by potting material. Expansion or swelling of the elastomeric material is accommodated by a space in the housing but is resiliently restrained by a metal spring to prevent seal failure due to a compression set of the elastomeric material.
An electrical penetrator comprising a tubular housing having an insulated conductor extending longitudinally through the housing, means supporting said conductor in the housing, and sealing means for sealing said conductor in said supporting means and for sealing said supporting means in said housing, said sealing means including elastomeric material that is expandible into a space within said housing and that is capable of undergoing a compression set, and means for resiliently restraining expansion of said elastomeric material into said space and for exerting a force on said elastomeric material to compensate for any tendency of the elastomeric material to undergo a compression set.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.