Sealing grommet assembly for wiring harness

A sealing grommet assembly comprises a support plate having a seal well in which an elastomeric cable seal is disposed. The grommet assembly is made in conjunction with a wiring harness having an electrical end connector which also has an elastomeric cable seal. The grommet assembly and electrical end connector are processed in a juxtaposed relationship for inserting the electrical conductors of the wiring harness through the juxtaposed parts simultaneously prior to termination of the electrical conductors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to a grommet assembly for a wiring 
harness, and more particularly, to a sealing grommet assembly for passing 
a plurality of electrical conductors or the like through a hole in a panel 
and sealing off the hole through the panel; a wiring harness having the 
grommet assembly and a method of making the wiring harness which has the 
grommet assembly. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of this invention is to provide an improved sealing grommet 
assembly which is versatile, relativeley inexpensive to manufacture and 
reliable. 
A feature of the invnetion is that the sealing grommet assembly includes a 
separate elastomeric cable seal which is interchangeable for different 
numbers or sizes of electrical conductors to provide versatility. 
Another feature of the invention is that the sealing grommet assembly is 
designed for processing in a juxtaposed position with an electrical end 
connector of a wiring harness to reduce manufacturing and assembly cost 
and improve reliability. 
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those 
skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following detailed 
description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in 
the accompanying sheets of drawing in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a sealing grommet assembly 10 
for passing a plurality of electrical conductors 12 of a wiring harness 14 
through a hole 16 in a panel 18 (floor pan) of an automobile 20 in a 
sealed fashion. The wiring harness 14 includes an electrical end connector 
22 which is connected to a mating electrical end connector 24 of a second 
wiring harness 26 for an electrical fuel pump (not shown) in a fuel tank 
28. 
The sealing grommet assembly 10 comprises a diamond-shaped support plate 
32, of nylon or other suitable thermoplastic material, which attaches the 
sealing grommet assembly 10 to the panel 18 so that it covers the hole 16 
which extends through the panel 18 as shown in FIG. 3. The support plate 
32 has a central rectangularly-shaped seal well 34 which includes a 
peripheral wall 36 which projects perpendicularly from the support plate 
32 and a annular base ledge 38 at the remote end of the peripheral wall 
36. The annular base ledge 38 is spaced from the support plate 32 in a 
parallel fashion by the peripheral wall 36. 
The support plate 32 also includes an annular pilot wall 4 which projects 
perpendicularly from the support plate 32 in the same direction and for 
substantially the same distance as the peripheral wall 36 of the seal well 
34. The pilot wall 40 surrounds the seal well 34 in a spaced relationship 
as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and it is sized so that it passes through the 
hole 16 in the panel 18 as shown in FIG. 3. 
The grommet assembly 10 further comprises an elastomeric cable seal 42 
which is disposed in the seal well 34. The elastomeric cable seal 42 has a 
plurality of peripheral lips 44 which sealing engage the inside surface of 
the peripheral wall 36 of the seal well 34 and a plurality of apertures 46 
which extend through the elastomeric cable seal 42. The apertures 46 
slidably and sealingly engage individual electrical conductors 12 of the 
bundle of electrical conductors which form the wiring harness 14 which 
extends through the hole 16 in the floor pan 18. 
The grommet assembly 10 further comprises an annular, diamond-shaped gasket 
48 of sealing material which is piloted on the pilot wall 40 and located 
by a pair of diametrically opposed corner flanges 52 depending from the 
apexes of the diamond-shaped support plate 32. The diamond-shaped gasket 
48 forms a face seal between the surface 50 of the support plate 32 and 
the surface of the panel 18 around the hole 16 when the support plate is 
attached to the panel by nuts and bolts or other suitable fastening means 
as shown in FIG. 3. 
The grommet assembly 10 may also include a diamond-shaped sheet metal cover 
54 which is mounted on the support plate 32 on the opposite side of the 
seal well 34 and the pilot wall 40. The sheet metal cover 54 has a 
peripheral lip 56 which fits around the periphery of the support plate 32 
as best shown in FIG. 2 and it is retained on the support plate 32 by 
plastic lock arms 58 of the support plate 32 which extend through slots in 
the sheet metal cover 54 and engage bent-up ears 60 of the sheet metal 
cover 54. The sheet metal cover 54 also includes a channel portion 62 
which covers the seal well 34 and extends to an edge of the sheet metal 
cover 54 which is between the corner flanges 52. The channel portion 62 
directs the electrical conductors 12 extending through the elastomeric 
cable seal 42 at a right angle and parallel to the upper surface of the 
support plate 32. 
The sealing grommet assembly 10 is designed for processing in a juxtaposed 
position with the electrical end connector 22 for the wiring harness 14 as 
shown in FIG. 5. In this juxtaposed position, the seal well 34 of support 
plate 32 is abutted against the cable end of the thermoplastic connector 
body 64 of electrical end connector 22. The elastomeric cable seal 42 may 
be preinstalled or installed in the seal well 34 at this time. The 
electrical end connector 22 may also have a cable seal 66 as shown in FIG. 
5, in which case the cable seal 66 is installed before the sealing grommet 
assembly 10 is juxtaposed the cable end of the connector body 64. It is 
also advantageous to use cable seals 42 and 66 of identical design as 
shown in FIG. 4. In any event, the aperture patterns of the cable seals 42 
and 46 must match. 
After elastomeric cable seals 42 and 66 are installed, the juxtaposed 
support plate 32 and connector body 64 are then processed as one part. 
The individual electrical conductors 12 are inserted through the respective 
apertures 46 of the elastomeric cable seal 42 and the corresponding 
apertures of the elastomeric cable seal 66 until the electrical conductors 
12 extend out the connector end of the connector body 64 as shown in 
phantom in FIG. 5. Terminals 68 are then attached to the ends of the 
electrical conductors 12 in a conventional manner. The electrical 
conductors 12 are then pulled back through the cable seals 42 and 66 until 
the attached terminals 68 are pull-to-seat in a latched position in the 
connector body 66 as shown in solid lines in FIG. 5. The cover plate 54 is 
then attached and the gasket 48 installed if it has not been preinstalled. 
The wiring harness 14 is then shipped and handled with the sealing grommet 
assembly 10 juxtaposed the electrical end connector 22 until the sealing 
grommet assembly is attached to the panel 18 as shown in FIG. 3. 
After the grommet assembly 10 is attached, the electrical end connector 22 
is simply pulled away from the attached grommet assembly 10 and mated to 
the electrical end connector 24 of the wiring harness 26 as shown in FIG. 
1. 
The sealing grommet assembly 10 is shown as passing six electrical 
conductors 12 of a particular size through the hole 16 in the panel 18. 
However, different numbers and sizes of electrical conductors 12 and other 
like items such as fiber optic cables and pneumatic hoses can be 
accommodated simply by interchanging the elastomeric cable seal 42 to one 
having the appropriate numbers and size of apertures. 
Thus the sealing grommet assembly 10 is very versatile particularly when 
used in combination with an electrical end connector, such as end 
connector 22, which has an identical cable seal 66. 
The processing of the grommet assembly 10 simultaneously with the end 
electrical connector 22 reduces manufacturing and assembly costs because 
the electrical conductors 12 are inserted through the elastomeric cable 
seal 42 and the connector body 64 at the same time. This simultaneous 
processing also improves reliability because the proper seating of an 
attached terminal 68 in the connector body 64 for each electrical 
conductor 12 which passes through the grommet assembly 10 is assured. 
Manufacturing costs are also reduced because a variety of assemblies can be 
made simply by changing the configuration of the cable seals. 
I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact 
details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications 
will occur to a person skilled in the art.