The present disclosure relates to a sealed enclosure and in particular, relates to a dust-proof and water-proof sealed enclosure.

BACKGROUND

Sealing from water and dust particles is one of the prominent concerns while assembling any enclosure. Over a duration of usage, it is quite common to encounter accumulation of dust particles and sometimes ingression of water in the enclosure. While such accumulation does hamper an overall appearance of the enclosure, an overall operation of the enclosure may also be affected. Particularly, in case of water ingression, internal components of the enclosure are highly susceptible to damage. Consequently, maintenance of the enclosure also poses a concern and may incur significant cost and efforts as well. Usually, gaskets are used for providing such sealing from the contaminants. However, an overall cost of manufacturing and maintenance of the gaskets is significantly high.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention and nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment, a sealed enclosure is disclosed. The sealed disclosure includes a housing having a top surface, a front surface, and a slot formed on the front surface, a connector adapted to be partially inserted in the housing through the slot, and a lid disposed on the top surface of the housing. An interface between the lid and the housing is sealed by one of an ultrasonic welding technique and an adhesive sealing technique. The sealed enclosure also includes a sealing lip portion formed on a portion of the front surface of the housing that surrounds the connector disposed in the slot. The sealing lip portion is adapted to seal an interface between the housing, the connector, and the lid.

In an embodiment, a sealed enclosure is disclosed. The sealed enclosure includes a housing having a top surface, a front surface, and a slot formed on the front surface, a connector adapted to be partially inserted in the housing through the slot, a lid disposed on the top surface of the housing, and a sealing lip portion formed on a portion of the front surface of the housing that surrounds the connector disposed in the slot. The sealing lip portion is adapted to seal an interface between the housing, the connector, and the lid. An interface between homogeneous components is sealed by one of an ultrasonic technique and an adhesive sealing technique and an interface between non-homogeneous components is sealed by a spot epoxy potting technique.

To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a dust-proof and water-proof sealed enclosure, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of the sealed enclosure, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of a housing of the sealed enclosure, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of a sealing lip portion formed by solidification of epoxy used for potting, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of the sealed enclosure before potting, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 6 illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of the sealed enclosure after potting, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more...” or “one or more element is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, or in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a dust-proof and water-proof sealed enclosure is disclosed. The enclosure is sealed by using one of an ultrasonic welding technique and an adhesive sealing technique and a spot epoxy potting technique. The sealed enclosure may include sealing of joints between homogeneous parts and sealing of joints between non-homogeneous parts for assembling. The joints or interface between the homogeneous parts may be sealed by using the ultrasonic welding technique. Further, the joints or interface between the non-homogeneous parts may be sealed by using the spot epoxy potting technique. Owing to the sealing by the abovementioned operations, the enclosure is sealed to block the entry of dust, water, and other contaminants.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For the sake of clarity, the first digit of a reference numeral of each component of the present disclosure is indicative of the Figure number, in which the corresponding component is shown. For example, reference numerals starting with digit “1” are shown at least in Figure 1. Similarly, reference numerals starting with digit “2” are shown at least in Figure 2.

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a dust-proof and water-proof sealed enclosure 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the sake of readability, the dust-proof and water-proof sealed enclosure 100 is hereinafter referred to as the sealed enclosure 100. In an embodiment, the sealed enclosure 100 may be a connector assembly for a Telematics Control Unit (TCU) of a vehicle. Figure 2 illustrates an exploded view of the sealed enclosure 100, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2, the sealed enclosure 100 may include, but is not limited to, a housing 102, a connector 104 adapted to be disposed in the housing 102, a lid 106 disposed on the housing 102, and a sealing lip portion 202 formed on a front of the housing 102.

Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of the housing 102, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The housing 102 may include a top surface 302, a front surface 304, and a slot 306 formed on the front surface 304. The connector 104 may be adapted to be partially inserted in the housing 102 through the slot 306. The connector 104 may be inserted such that a front portion of the connector 104 extends out of the periphery of the housing 102.

Referring to Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3, the lid 106 may be disposed on the top surface 302 of the housing 102. An interface between the lid 106 and the housing 102 may be sealed by a sealing technique. In an embodiment, the interface between the lid 106 and the housing 102 may be sealed by an ultrasonic welding technique. Therefore, the top surface 302 of the housing 102 may indicate an ultrasonic welding area of the housing 102. The ultrasonic welding technique is performed for joining homogeneous materials, i.e., the material of the housing 102 and the lid 106 in the present embodiment.

In another embodiment, the interface between the lid 106 and the housing 102 may be sealed by an adhesive sealing technique. Therefore, the top surface 302 of the housing 102 may indicate an adhesive sealing area of the housing 102. The adhesive sealing technique is performed for joining homogeneous materials, i.e., the material of the housing 102 and the lid 106 in the present embodiment.

In an embodiment, the lid 106 may be disposed on the top surface 302 of the housing 102 through a plurality of screws 108. The screws 108 may individually be referred to as the screw 108. Also, in the illustrated embodiment, the screw 108 may individually be referred to as 108-1, 108-2, 108-3, 108-4.

In an embodiment, the sealed enclosure 100 may include a supporting portion 308 formed on the front surface 304 of the housing 102. The supporting portion 308 may be adapted to support the sealing lip portion 202 against the front surface 304 of the housing 102 for sealing the interface between the housing 102, the connector 104, and the lid 106. The supporting portion 308 may be understood as a lip formed on the front surface 304 to receive the sealing lip portion 202 to cover the potting on the front surface 304.

The sealing lip portion 202 may be formed on a portion of the front surface 304 of the housing 102. Figure 4 illustrates a perspective view of the sealing lip portion 202, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The portion of the front surface 304 surrounds the connector 104 disposed in the slot 306. The sealing lip portion 202 may be adapted to seal an interface between the housing 102, the connector 104, and the lid 106. In an embodiment, the sealing lip portion 106 is solidified epoxy layer. Further, the sealing lip portion 202 may be formed by a spot epoxy potting technique. The front surface 304 of the housing 102 may be indicative of an epoxy potting area for forming the sealing lip portion 202.

Figure 5 illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of the sealed enclosure 100 before potting, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Therefore, in the illustrated embodiment, the sealing lip portion 202 is not yet formed to seal the interface between the housing 102, the lid 106, and the connector 104. Figure 6 illustrates a perspective cross-sectional view of the sealed enclosure 100 after potting, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the presence of the sealing lip portion 202 formed due to the potting ensures comprehensive sealing to the interface between the housing 102, the connector 104, and the lid 106.

Therefore, the construction of the housing 102 and the lid 106 is such that the potting forms the sealing lip portion 202, which locks with the housing 102 and does not allow the solidified epoxy layer to dislodge from its position. This would ensure that the potting is not held in place on the outside of the sealed enclosure 100 just by adhesion.

As would be gathered, the sealed enclosure 100 of the present disclosure offers comprehensive sealing to block entry of any foreign material, for example, of dust and water. The sealed enclosure 100 is formed by sealing the interface between the housing 102 and the lid 106 by using the ultrasonic welding technique.

Further, another port of entry of dust and water is the area where the housing 102 has the slot 306 for the connector 104. The dust and water proofing between the connector 104, the housing 102, and the lid 106 may be achieved by means of the area specific potting. The potting is done on the front surface 304 of the housing 102 and not inside the sealed enclosure 100. Therefore, the interface between the housing 102, the connector 104, and the lid 106 is sealed by using the epoxy potting technique.

By sealing an interface between the homogeneous components by the ultrasonic welding technique and sealing an interface between the non-homogeneous components by the spot epoxy potting technique, the possibility of entry of the dust or water in the sealed enclosure 100 is eliminated.

Moreover, the potting process eliminates the requirement of any design-specific sealing component (gasket) for ingress protection. Considering that the gaskets are not required anymore, an overall cost associated with manufacturing and maintenance of design-specific gaskets is also reduced, leading to economic significance of the sealed enclosure 100. Therefore, the sealed enclosure 100 of the present disclosure is cost-effective, operation-effective, easy to manufacture and assemble, low maintenance, and offers protection from any sort of contaminants.

While specific language has been used to describe the present disclosure, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.

WE CLAIM

1.A sealed enclosure (100) comprising:
a housing (102) having a top surface (302), a front surface (304), and a slot (306) formed on the front surface (302);
a connector (104) adapted to be partially inserted in the housing (102) through the slot (306);
a lid (106) disposed on the top surface (302) of the housing (102), wherein the lid (106) and the housing (102) are sealed together by a sealing technique; and
a sealing lip portion (202) formed on a portion of the front surface (304) of the housing (102) that surrounds the connector (104) disposed in the slot (306), wherein the sealing lip portion (202) is adapted to seal an interface between the housing (102), the connector (104), and the lid (106).

2. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing lip portion (202) is solidified epoxy layer.

3. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing lip portion (202) is formed by a spot epoxy potting technique.

4. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a supporting portion (308) formed on the front surface (304) of the housing (102).

5. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the supporting portion (308) is adapted to support the sealing lip portion (202) against the front surface (304) of the housing (102) for sealing the interface between the housing (102), the connector (104), and the lid (106).

6. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lid (106) is disposed on the top surface (302) of the housing (102) through a plurality of screws (108).

7. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing technique comprising one of an adhesive sealing technique and an ultrasonic welding technique.

8. A sealed enclosure (100) comprising:
a housing (102) having a top surface (302), a front surface (304), and a slot (306) formed on the front surface (304);
a connector (104) adapted to be partially inserted in the housing (102) through the slot (306);
a lid (106) disposed on the top surface (302) of the housing (102); and
a sealing lip portion (202) formed on a portion of the front surface (304) of the housing (102) that surrounds the connector (104) disposed in the slot (306), wherein the sealing lip portion (202) is adapted to seal an interface between the housing (102), the connector (104), and the lid (106),
wherein an interface between homogeneous components is sealed by a sealing technique and an interface between non-homogeneous components is sealed by a spot epoxy potting technique.

9. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein an interface between the lid (106) and the housing (102) is sealed by an ultrasonic welding technique.

10. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein an interface between the lid (106) and the housing (102) is sealed by an adhesive sealing technique.
11. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the sealing lip portion (202) is formed by the spot epoxy potting technique.

12. The sealed enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 8, comprising a supporting portion (308) formed on the front surface (304) of the housing (102), wherein the supporting portion (308) is adapted to support the sealing lip portion (202) against the front surface (304) of the housing (102) for sealing the interface between the housing (102), the connector (104), and the lid (106).