Abstract:
A method and a device for preventing seeping liquid from entering equipment along a connecting line such as an electrical line or a pipe line are disclosed. The method is performed by using a liquid-insulating device surrounding a section of the connecting line to stop the liquid from crossing thereover to reach the equipment. The liquid-insulating device is made of a liquid-proof material, and preferably includes a guiding member to guide the liquid stopped thereby to flow away from the connecting line.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is related to insulating means for preventing liquid from seeping into equipment, and more particularly to a liquid-insulating device used for protecting electrical apparatus from damage by corrosion of seeping liquid. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For automation in industries, it is general to locate various liquid pipes around electrical equipment to directly apply liquid to the process. Especially for the fabrication of semiconductor devices, the piping and the machine are even combined as a whole. Under the circumstances, it is possible for the liquid carried by the pipes to seep through the pipe walls, drop onto the surface of a cable, and flow into an electronic part of the equipment, e.g. a connector, along the cable. Therefore, the electronic part may become short-circuit owing to the presence of the liquid. In particular, the liquid used in the semiconductor manufacturing process is generally corrosive to electronic elements so as to enlarge the problem, and even to render the machine down. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid-insulating device which can be mounted to a connecting line of equipment to protect the equipment from the contamination of the seeping liquid so as to avoid malfunction of the equipment resulting from the presence of the seeping liquid 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for protecting equipment from the damage of the seeping liquid by providing a liquid-proof sleeve therefor. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for protecting equipment from the damage of the seeping liquid, which includes a plurality of liquid-proof sleeves and a liquid-proof wrapper. 
     A further object of the present invention is to further guide the liquid away in addition to stopping the liquid from entering the equipment. 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, a liquid-insulating device is provided to be mounted around an electrical line of equipment to avoid liquid entering the equipment along the electrical line. The liquid-insulating device includes a surrounding portion and a guiding portion. The surrounding portion is made of a liquid-proof material, e.g. rubber, to be mounted around a wire wrapper of the electrical line to stop the liquid from flowing to the equipment therethrough. The guiding portion is arranged on the surrounding portion to guide the liquid stopped by the surrounding portion to flow away from the electrical line. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the guiding portion includes a plurality of tooth members of pyramid shapes, and the surrounding portion includes a flexible belt and engaging means connected to the flexible belt. The guiding portion is arranged on a first side of the flexible belt. The engaging means holds a first and a second ends of the flexible belt together to make a second side of the flexible belt opposite to the first side in close contact with the wire wrapper after the flexible belt is mounted around the wire wrapper to become a sleeve. In order to achieve this purpose, the engaging means preferably includes an engaging ring connected to the first end of the flexible belt, and an engaging bump connected to the second end of the flexible belt. The engaging bump is made of a flexible material. It penetrates through the engaging ring and sustains against a surface of the engaging ring to maintain the flexible belt as the sleeve. Preferably, the engaging bump consists of a series of tooth members, and one of the tooth members is selected to sustain against the surface of the engaging ring according to the circumference of the wire wrapper. Each of the tooth members is preferably a triangular cubic. In other words, a side view of each of the tooth members has a shape of a right-angled triangle. 
     Preferably, the surrounding portion further includes a filling bump which has a surface complying with a curve of the wire wrapper, and is arranged on the second side of the flexible belt at the first end in order to fill up a space between the flexible belt and the wire wrapper after the flexible belt is mounted around the wire wrapper. 
     The liquid-insulating device consisting of the above elements can be integrally formed. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for preventing liquid from entering an equipment to be protected along a connecting line. The method includes a step of surrounding a section of the connecting line with at least one liquid-proof sleeve, wherein the liquid-proof sleeve has an inner surface surrounding an outer surface of the connecting line relatively tightly, and a side area relatively large enough to stop the liquid from crossing thereover. 
     Preferably, the method further includes a step of guiding the liquid stopped by the side area of the liquid-proof sleeve to flow away from the connecting line. 
     More preferably, the method further includes a step of enclosing the equipment with a liquid-proof wrapper to further protect the equipment. In this case, two liquid-proofing sleeves located by two sides of the connector are used to tighten two ends of the liquid-proofing wrapper to be in close contact with the connecting line, respectively. 
     The liquid-proof sleeve used in the method according to the present invention can be detached from the connecting line or formed as a part of the connecting line. On the other hand, the liquid-proof sleeve can be integrally formed. 
     In a preferred embodiment where the liquid-proof sleeve is detachable from the connecting line, the guiding portion includes a plurality of tooth members having relatively sharp peaks, and the surrounding portion includes a flexible belt, an engaging ring, an engaging bump, and a filling bump. The guiding portion is arranged on the flexible belt. The flexible belt is made of a liquid-proof material, and includes the inner surface and the side area having functions mentioned above. The engaging ring is connected to a first end of the flexible belt. The engaging bump is made of a flexible material and connected to a second end of the flexible belt. After the flexible belt surrounds the connecting line, the engaging bump penetrates through the engaging ring and sustains against a surface of the engaging ring to maintain the flexible belt as a sleeve, and tightens the flexible belt to be in close contact with the connecting line. The filling bump is arranged on the flexible belt and has a surface complying with a curve of the connecting line in order to fill up a space between the flexible belt and the connecting line after the flexible belt surrounds the connecting line. Preferably, the engaging bump consists of a series of tooth members, and one of the tooth members is selected to sustain against the surface of the engaging ring according to the circumference of the connecting line. Each of the tooth members is preferably a triangular cubic. In other words, a side view of each of the tooth members has a shape of a right-angled triangle. 
     In another embodiment where the liquid-proof sleeve is formed as a part of the connecting line, the liquid-proof sleeve includes a surrounding sleeve and a plurality of tooth members. The surrounding sleeve is made of a liquid-proof material, and includes the inner surface and the side area having functions mentioned above. The plurality of tooth members are arranged on the surrounding sleeve and have relatively sharp peaks for guiding the liquid stopped by the side area to flow toward the peaks and further flow away from the connecting line. 
     According to the method of the present invention, the liquid-proof sleeve for example can be applied to a section of an electrical line adjacent to a connector to protect the connector. In this case, it is preferred to arrange at least two liquid-proofing sleeves respectively located by two sides of the connector. 
     On the other hand, the liquid-proof sleeve for example can also be applied to a section of a pipe line adjacent to a machine to protect the machine. 
     Of course, a plurality of the liquid-proof sleeves can be used to multiply the protecting effect. 
     According to a third aspect of the present invention, a device is provided for preventing liquid from entering a connector to be protected along an electrical line. The device includes a liquid-proof wrapper and four liquid-proof sleeves. The liquid-proof wrapper encloses the connector for protecting the connector. Two of the liquid-proof sleeves are mounted around the electrical line by two sides of the connector for tightening two ends of the liquid-proofing wrapper, respectively. The other two liquid-proof sleeves are mounted around the electrical line by two sides of the liquid-proof wrapper for stopping liquid from flowing into the liquid-proof wrapper. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention may best be understood through the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1A is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of a liquid-insulating device according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 1B is a top plane view of the liquid-insulating device of FIG. 1A; 
     FIG. 1C is a bottom plane view of the liquid-insulating device of FIG. 1A; 
     FIG. 1D is a front view of the liquid-insulating device of FIG. 1A; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the utilization of the liquid-insulating device of FIG. 1A to protect a connector; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the mounting of the liquid-insulating device of FIG. 1A around an electrical line of the connector; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an integrated sleeve type of liquid-insulating device according to the present invention, which is mounted around an electrical line of the connector; and 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the combination of liquid-insulating devices with a liquid-proof wrapper to provide a device for preventing liquid from entering a connector to be protected along an electrical line. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
     Please refer to FIGS.  1 A˜ 1 D in which a preferred embodiment of a liquid-insulating device according to the present invention is schematically shown. The liquid-insulating device in the embodiment is integrally formed and distinguished as a surrounding portion  1  and a guiding portion  2 . The surrounding portion  1  has structures of a flexible belt  11 , an engaging ring  12  connected to one end  111  of the belt  11 , a series of engaging teeth  13  arranged on the other end  112  of the belt  11 , and a filling bump  14  located at the end  111  of the belt  11 . The engaging teeth  13  and the filling bump  14  are both arranged on the bottom surface  113  of the belt  11 . The guiding portion  2  consists of a plurality of tooth members  21  of pyramid shapes located on the top surface  114  of the belt  11 . The application of the liquid-insulating device as mentioned above will be illustrated as follows with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. 
     FIG. 2 schematically shows that the liquid-insulating device  20  is applied to an electrical line  3  of a connector  10  to stop liquid from entering the connector  10  along the electrical line  3 . The liquid flowing in the direction F 1  is stopped by the side surface  201  of the liquid-insulating device  20 , and then guided away by the tooth members  21  from the peaks  211 . Thereby, the connector  10  can be protected from the contamination of the liquid. It is to be noted that the area of the side surface  115  which is proportional to the thickness of the belt  11  is not particularly limited as long as it is large enough to stop the liquid from crossing over the present liquid-insulating device  20  to reach the connector  10 . On the other hand, in order to further stop liquid which may flow into the connector along the electrical line  3  in the direction F 2 , another liquid-insulating device can be provided by the other side of the connector  10  opposite to the one as shown. If desired, a plurality of the liquid-insulating devices can be applied to the electrical line at any proper positions to improve the liquid insulation effect. 
     FIG. 3 schematically shows the mounting details of the liquid-insulating device  20  of FIG. 2 around the electrical line  3 . The flexible belt  11  surrounds the electrical line  3  to form a sleeve, and then the end  112  of the belt  11  is inserted into and penetrates through the engaging ring  12 . One of the engaging teeth  13  is selected to sustain against the upper surface of the ring  12  according to the circumference of the electrical line  3  to keep the sleeve stable and assure of the close contact of the inner surface (i.e. the bottom surface  113  in FIG. 1) of the flexible belt  11  with the outer surface of the wire wrapper  31  of the electrical line  3 . The presence of the filling bump  14  is for exempting from the undesired vacant space between the belt  11  and the electrical line  3  at the junction of the two ends of the belt  11 . Therefore, the filling bump  14  preferably has a surface complying with the curve of the electrical line to assure of the filling effect. 
     While the engaging teeth  13  are arranged on the bottom surface  113  of the belt  11  in the embodiment illustrated above, they can also be arranged on the top surface  114  of the belt  11 , or both, as long as the purpose for holding the sleeve can be achieved. Although the number, clearances, shapes and positions of the guiding teeth  21  are not particularly limited, a relatively large density is good and a relatively sharp peak is preferred for liquid guiding. If the liquid-guiding teeth  21  are designed to be similar to the engaging teeth  13 , a part of the liquid-guiding teeth  21  can serve as the engaging teeth  13 . 
     Another preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 4 in which a surrounding sleeve  41  having guiding teeth  42  thereon is directly sleeved around the electrical instead of mounting through engaging means to connect two ends of the belt as described above. Preferably, the surrounding sleeve is formed as a part of the electrical line  43  for example by injection molding. 
     An additional use of a liquid-insulating device according to the present invention is to cooperate with a liquid-proof wrapper to further protect equipment from seeping liquid, especially when the electrical line is relatively slant, and the seeping liquid drops to the electrical line at various locations. Please refer to FIG. 5 which schematically shows the combination of four liquid-insulating devices  50 ,  51  and a liquid-proof wrapper  52  to provide a device for preventing liquid from entering a connector  10  to be protected along an electrical line  53 . The liquid-proof wrapper  52  encloses the connector  10  for protecting the connector  10 . Two liquid-proof sleeves  51  are mounted around the electrical line  53  beside the connector  10  for tightening two ends of the liquid-proofing wrapper  52 , respectively, in addition to stopping liquid. The other two liquid-proof sleeves  50  are mounted around the electrical line  53  beside the liquid-proof wrapper  52  for stopping liquid from flowing into the liquid-proof wrapper. The liquid-proof sleeve  50  can be any one of the embodiments described above or alternatives, and is preferably arranged thereon guiding teeth as mentioned above for liquid guiding. The liquid-proof sleeve  51 , however, should be separable from the electrical line  53  in order to secure the two ends of the wrapper  52  on the electrical line  53 . Furthermore, it is to be understood that the number and positions of the liquid-proof sleeves  50  are not particularly limited, but depend on the liquid-seeping situations. 
     In addition to connectors or other electronic devices, the liquid-insulating device according to the present invention can be applied to any electrical apparatus, the connecting line of which extends from outdoors such as a cable line of television and a telephone line. 
     In addition to an electrical line, seeping liquid may flow toward the equipment along another type of medium such as a pipe line. Therefore, the liquid-insulating device according to the present invention can also be mounted around a pipe line connected to the equipment to be protected. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention need not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similarstructures.