WO2002013587A2

WO2002013587A2 - 2-part housing with cable through joining surfaces

Info

Publication number: WO2002013587A2
Application number: PCT/AU2001/000973
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lance Robert Scriven
Original assignee: Schefenacker Vision Systems Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: SMR Automotive Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2000-08-09
Filing date: 2001-08-09
Publication date: 2002-02-14
Anticipated expiration: 2003-02-09
Also published as: AUPQ926100A0; WO2002013587A3

Abstract

This invention relates to a container (10) having a conduit (12) located in and extending out to the container (10) where the container comprises a first part (14) and a second part (13) that are assembled to form the container (10), a joining surface (15) on each of the container parts (14), (13) that abut and are joined to form the container (10) and a conduit (12) located between the joining surfaces (15) so that the conduit (12) extends from within to outside the container (10) across the joining surfaces (15) where the conduit (12) is held captive when the joining surfaces (15) are joined. The advantage of the invention is that the conduit (12) is secured with respect to the container when the two part (14) and (13) are joined.

Description

A CONTAINER WITH CONDUITS EXTENDING OUT OF THE CONTAINER AND A METHOD OF FORMING SUCH A CONTAINER

This invention relates to a container and in particular to a container having at least one conduit that extends out of the container with an end of the conduit located in the container.

There are numerous examples of containers that require conduits to extend into the container. For example, plastic light fittings that contain globes requiring electrical leads to locate in the container to power the globe. Another example is in the case of hermetically sealed compressor containers used in refrigeration units that require both electrical leads and gas lines to extend into and out of the container.

In the case of some light fittings and hermetically sealed containers, it is important to ensure that such containers are both waterproof and airtight. Accordingly, the designs of some containers are complex in order to provide a means of a conduit entering a container while at the same time ensuring sealing of the container at the point where the conduits enter.

Accordingly, it is an aim of this invention to overcome the abovementioned problem and to provide a means in which conduits can easily extend into containers.

In its broadest form, the invention comprises a container having a conduit located in and extending out of said container comprising: a first part of a container; a second part of a container that is assembled with said first part to form said container; a joining surface on each said first and second container parts that abut and are joined to form said container; and a conduit located between said joining surfaces so that said conduit extends from within to outside said container across said joining surfaces where said conduit is held captive when said joining surfaces are joined.

In this invention, a reference to conduit should be taken to include metal conductors such as copper or steel wire, any other form of metal conductor, plastic coated wires, and metal and plastic tubes for conveying fluids such as air, oil or water.

The term container will be understood to include any form of hollow container, but would also include other devices such as a container for an electronic module which would require passage of electrical conductors to the module.

The joining of the container parts may comprise a number of methods of fixing the joining surfaces together. These may include adhesives, interlocking formations or ultrasonic welding.

Preferably, one or both of the joining surfaces may be relieved to form a recess or channel to allow the conduits to locate across the joining surfaces. The extent of relief may vary to result in the conduits being held between the joining surfaces or movement of the conduit with respect to the joining surfaces. In addition, there may be clearance between the conduit and the relieved portions to allow ventilation of the container.

In another aspect, the invention comprises a container having a conduit located in and extending out of said container comprising: a first part of a container, a second part of a container that is assembled with said first part to form said container, a joining surface on each said first and second container parts that abut and are joined to form said container, a recess on at least one of said joining surfaces, a conduit located within said recess so that it extends across said joining surfaces so that an end of said conduit extends from within to outside said container across said joining surfaces where said conduit is held captive when said joining surfaces are joined.

Preferably, in relation to both aspects of the invention, the container parts may comprise plastic moulded components which adjoin to one another using ultrasonic welding. As is conventional in the art of ultrasonic welding, a join is formed between two adjacent plastic components along a predetermined pathway.

In the case of plastic coated electrical wires, the use of ultrasonic welding has the additional advantage that the plastic coating of the wire will also fuse to the adjacent joining surfaces. This fusion with result in a water and airtight seal being formed between the container and the conduits passing into the container.

In this instance, the conduits, in addition to forming an air and watertight seal, will be physically attached to the container thereby allowing the conduits to support the weight or in some other way hold the container.

In another aspect, the invention is a method of making a container having a conduit located in and extending out of said container in accordance with the above described aspects of the invention wherein said conduit is positioned over said joining surface of a first part of the container, said second part of the container is assembled in relation to said first part of said container and joining means is used between said joining surfaces to hold said first and second container parts together. In order to fully understand the invention, a preferred embodiment will now be described. However, it should be realised that the scope of the invention is not to be restricted to the precise details of the preferred embodiment.

This embodiment is described in relation to a container used to house a light fitting. However, it will be realised that there will be other applications to which the invention is equally suited, some of which will be described below.

The preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a light fitting with electrical conduits extending from the fitting,

Figure 2 shows a part perspective view of two joining edges between the first and second part of a housing shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the light fitting shown in Figure 1 along section line 3-3, and

Figure 4 shows a part cross-sectional view along section line 4-4 of the joining surfaces with electrical conduits extending across the joining surfaces.

Figure 1 shows a light fitting 10 that houses a light globe 11 with electrical leads 12 extending out of the fitting 10 to provide power to the light globe 11. In this embodiment, the first part of the container comprises a body 13 and the second part of the container comprises the lid or lens 14. The conduits comprise the electrical leads 12 which extend across the join between the body 13 and lens 14.

In this embodiment, the body 13 and lens 14 are secured to one another by ultrasonic welding. The joining surfaces 15 on the body 13 and lens 14 are illustrated in Figure 2. A ridge 16 extends around the periphery of the joining surface 15 on the body 13. The joining surface 15 on the lens 14 abuts against the ridge 16. During the process of ultrasonic welding, the ridge 16 melts and compresses as it bonds to the lens 14. In accordance with this embodiment, the joining means comprises the ridge 16 in combination with the ultrasonic welding process.

As seen in Figure 2, recesses or channels 17 are formed across the joining surfaces 15 of the body 13 and the lens 14. An electrical wire 12 locates within the recesses 17 prior to the ultrasonic welding process.

The depth of the recesses 17 can be adjusted so that, during the ultrasonic welding process, the plastic coating of the electrical leads 12 are fused to the channels 17. This results in a water and airtight seal and also enables the electrical leads 12 to support the weight of the light fitting 10.

In other aspect of this embodiment, the channels 17 could be made larger in diameter so that there is no fusing of conduits such as the electrical leads 12 to the channels 17, this will allow sliding movement of the conduits with respect to the container or allow some movement of air into or out of the container.

As will be seen from the above description, the embodiment provides a simple means of securing electrical leads 12 to a light fitting 10 so as to form a water and air tight seal between the electrical leads 12 and the light fitting 10. The ends of the electrical leads 18 can then be connected to the light globe 11.

Other applications for this invention include electrical modules or circuitry that may be housed within containers that require the passage of electrical power or signal leads from outside to inside the container. The wires could be installed to allow them to move freely into and out of the container and to allow some venting of the container through and around the wires. Alternatively, the wires can form a sealed joint. In addition to providing power to a lamp inside a container, other conduits could extend into the container. These could include wires to and from a thermocouple used to monitor heat of the lamp inside the container.

Other applications include hermetically sealed containers within which equipment such as vacuum or pressure pumps are operated with electrical leads and fluid conduits passing into and out of the hermetically sealed container.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENΗON ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A container having a conduit located in and extending out of said container comprising; a first part of a container; a second part of a container that is assembled with said first part to form said container; a joining surface on each said first and second container parts that abut and are joined to form said container; and a conduit located between said joining surfaces so that said conduit extends from within to outside said container across said joining surfaces where said conduit is held captive when said joining surfaces are joined.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein said conduit comprises a plastic coated electric wire.

3. A container according to claim 2 further comprising a pair of plastic coated electric wires extending from within to outside said container.

4. A container according to claim 3 wherein said electric wires are spaced apart on said joining surfaces.

5. A container according to either claim 3 or 4 wherein said container comprises a light fitting containing a globe, said electric wires providing electrical connection to said globe and wherein either said first or second part comprises a lens of said light fitting.

6. A container according to claim 1 wherein said joining surfaces are joined by ultrasonic welding.

7. A container according to claim 6 wherein said joining surfaces each have a recess extending across said surfaces within which said conduit locates prior to joining of said surfaces.

8. A container according to claim 6 wherein said conduit comprises a plastic coated electric wire.

9. A container according to claim 8 further comprising a pair of plastic coated electric wires extending from within to outside said container.

10. A container according to claim 9 wherein said electric wires are spaced apart on said joining surfaces.

11. A container according to claim 9 wherein said container comprises a light fitting containing a globe, said electric wires providing electrical connection to said globe and wherein either said first or second part comprises a lens of said light fitting.

12. A container according to any one of claims 8 to 11 wherein said joining surfaces have a recess extending across said surfaces within which said conduit locates prior to joining of said surfaces.

13. A light fitting substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.