Flexible, pressure-balanced cable assembly
AssigneeITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc.
InventorsRoger C. Williams, Stephen T. Lang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Some embodiments include a flexible, pressure-balanced cable assembly. The cable assembly has a tubular-shaped flexible outer sleeve that surrounds an electrical cable. A plurality of seals is positioned along the length of the flexible sleeve within the space formed between the inner surface of the flexible sleeve and the outer surface of the electrical cable. The seals partition the space into a plurality of individual chambers. Each chamber is filled with dielectric fluid. The seals are independently and bi-directionally movable in response to a pressure difference between the inside of the cable assembly and the external environment thereby balancing the pressure between the inside of the cable assembly and the external environment.
Claims21
A flexible, pressure-balanced sleeve assembly for a cable termination, the sleeve assembly comprising:
- a flexible outer sleeve surrounding an electrical cable;
- a plurality of seals positioned between the flexible outer sleeve and the electrical cable;
- a plurality of chambers defined between each of the plurality of seals;
- and
- dielectric fluid contained within each of the plurality of chambers,
- wherein each of the plurality of seals is configured to travel along a section of a length of the electrical cable in response to differences between a pressure within a respective chamber and a pressure outside of the respective chamber.
A flexible, pressure-balanced electrical cable assembly comprising:
- an electrical cable;
- a flexible tubing positioned over the electrical cable and defining a space between an inner surface of the flexible tubing and an outer surface of the electrical cable;
- a plurality of O-ring seals positioned between the inner surface of the flexible tubing and the outer surface of the electrical cable,
- wherein the plurality of O-ring seals, in combination with the inner surface of the flexible tubing and the outer surface of the electrical cable, delimit a plurality of individual chambers in the space;
- and
- dielectric fluid contained within each of the individual chambers,
- wherein each of the plurality of O-ring seals is independently movable along the outer surface of the electrical cable in response to differences between a pressure within the flexible, pressure-balanced electrical cable assembly and a pressure outside of the assembly.
A method of pressure-balancing a termination of an electrical cable, the method comprising:
- positioning the electrical cable within a flexible outer sleeve, wherein a space is defined between an outer surface of the electrical cable and an inner surface of the flexible outer sleeve;
- positioning a plurality of O-ring seals in the space, wherein positioning the plurality of O-ring seals comprises:
- spacing apart each O-ring seal of the plurality of O-ring seals along a length of the flexible outer sleeve;
- and
- distributing dielectric fluid between] each of the plurality of O-ring seals, wherein each adjacent pair of O-ring seals, in combination with the inner surface of the flexible outer sleeve and the outer surface of the electrical cable, delimits and seals an individual chamber containing the dielectric fluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.