Patent Publication Number: US-2022235885-A1

Title: Fittings for sealing a wire within a tube and related methods

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/141,243, filed Jan. 25, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to devices, assemblies, and methods for sealing a wire within a tube with a fitting. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     In some embodiments, a fitting assembly may be configured to seal a wire within a tube to inhibit ingress of fluid outside the tube into the tube and into contact with the wire. 
     In further embodiments, methods for sealing a wire within a tube with a fitting assembly may comprise inhibiting ingress of fluid outside the tube into the tube and into contact with the wire with the fitting assembly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a fitting assembly that seals a wire within a tube to inhibit ingress of fluid outside the tube into the tube and into contact with the wire according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the fitting assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Drawings presented herein are for illustrative purposes only, and are not meant to be actual views of any particular material, component, structure, device, or system. Variations from the shapes depicted in the drawings as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments described herein are not to be construed as being limited to the particular shapes or regions as illustrated, but include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. Moreover, sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded, and vice versa. The drawings are not necessarily to scale. 
     As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. 
     As used herein, spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “bottom,” “above,” “upper,” “top,” “front,” “rear,” “left,” “right,” and the like, may be used for ease of description to describe one element&#39;s or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Unless otherwise specified, the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the materials in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if materials in the figures are inverted, elements described as “below” or “beneath” or “under” or “on bottom of” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” or “on top of” the other elements or features. Thus, the term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below, depending on the context in which the term is used, which will be evident to one of ordinary skill in the art. The materials may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees, inverted, flipped) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a fitting assembly  1  may include a nut  2  and a body  3 . A part of the nut  2  may be received within a cavity  11  of the body  3 . The body  3  includes a bore  12 . A tube  4  extends through the fitting assembly  1 , including through the body  3  and partially within the nut  2 . Part of a wire  5  extends through the tube  4 . The exterior of the tube  4  can be exposed to liquid, such as part of a liquid pumping system. Ideally, the wire  5  is not exposed to liquid. In this way, the tube  4  seals the wire  5  within its lumen from the liquid which is on the outside of the tube  4 . The fitting assembly  1  transitions the wire  5  from being outside the tube  4  to being inside of the tube  4  without ingress of the liquid at the end of the tube  4 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the fitting assembly  1  includes an insert  6 . The insert  6  is located within the nut  2 . The insert  6  includes a bulge  8 . An end of the tube  4  is flared over the bulge  8  such that the tube  4  transitions from narrow (nominal inner diameter along its main-center length) to widened over the bulge  8  and then narrowed past the bulge  8  (but even if narrowed, still having a larger inner diameter than the nominal inner diameter along the main-center length of the tube  4 ). In this way, part of the insert  6  is inserted into the lumen of the tube  4 . 
     Threading  7  between the nut  2  and the body  3  can tighten or loosen the connection with the tube  4  and can help seal at the end of the tube  4  to prevent ingress of liquid. Various features are provided to support multiple seals. 
     A seal  13  is provided by a ring extension  10  of the nut  2  extending into a ring cavity  17  within the body  3 . Additionally or alternatively, a seal  14  is provided by a ring extension  9  extending into a ring cavity  18  within the nut  2 . The ring extension  9  can fit tightly within the ring cavity  18  and elongate the engagement surfaces to provide a seal along a torturous and bent pathway to inhibit the passage of liquid there along. 
     The nut  2  includes a transition  19 , which can be understood as a narrowing inner diameter along an angled section of the cavity  11  of the nut  2 . Part of the tube  4  is pinched between the back end of the bulge  8  of the insert  6  and the angled surface of the transition  19  of the nut to create seal  15  to inhibit the passage of liquid there along. 
     The body  3  includes an inner corner  20 , which in this embodiment defines an end of the bore  12 . A part of the tube  4  is pinched between a front end of the bulge  8  of the insert  6  and the inner corner  20  of the body  3  to provide a seal  16  to inhibit the passage of liquid there along. 
     The wire  5  may carry a signal, such as a sensor signal, a command signal, or a power signal, amongst other options. The signal may be electrical. For example, the wire  5  may support a heater. 
     Except for the wire  5 , some or all components may be formed from polymer. For example, the nut  2 , the body  3 , the insert  6 , and the tube  4  may be formed from a polymer. 
     The fitting assembly  1  may be used for high purity material handling, such as for processor fabrication. 
     Accordingly, a method for sealing the wire  5  within the tube  4  with the fitting assembly  1  may comprise inhibiting ingress of fluid outside the tube  4  into the tube  4  and into contact with the wire  5  with the fitting assembly  1 . The method may include positioning the tube  4  within the body  3  and at least a portion of the nut  2 , a part of the nut  2  received within the body  3 . The nut  2  may be threadedly connected to the body  3  while translating the part of the nut  2  within the body  3 . The ring extension  10  of the nut  2  may be positioned into the ring cavity  17  of the body  3  to create the seal  13 . 
     The method may further include positioning a portion of the tube  4  over the bulge  8  of the insert  6 , the insert  6  at least partially located within the cavity  11  of the nut  2  and radially inside of each of the nut  2  and the body  3 . The portion of the tube  4  may be squeezed between the narrowing inner diameter of the nut  2  and the bulge  8  of the insert  6  to form the seal  16 . Additionally, a portion of the tube may be squeezed between the transition  19  of the nut  2  and the back end of the bulge  8  of the insert  6  to create the seal  15 . 
     The method may include positioning the ring extension  9  of the insert  6  within the ring cavity  18  of the nut  2  to form the seal  14 . 
     While certain illustrative embodiments have been described in connection with the figures, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize and appreciate that embodiments encompassed by the disclosure are not limited to those embodiments explicitly shown and described herein. Rather, many additions, deletions, and modifications to the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the scope of embodiments encompassed by the disclosure, such as those hereinafter claimed, including legal equivalents. The present disclosure is made using an embodiment to highlight various inventive aspects. Modifications can be made to the embodiment presented herein without departing from the scope of the invention. As such, the scope of the invention is not limited to the embodiment disclosed herein.