Patent ID: 7371115

Claim:
A mat seal device for preventing water from entering an electrical connector through holes provided for cables to be inserted into the connector, the device comprising: a mat of elastic material shaped to fit within and across a correspondingly-shaped opening in one end of an electrical connector housing and configured to prevent moisture from entering the housing through the opening; an outer peripheral edge seal extending from the mat and configured to prevent moisture from passing between an outer periphery of the mat and a corresponding inner sealing surface of a connector housing; a cable-sealing cable insertion hole extending through the mat and configured to receive insertion of a cable into a connector and to prevent moisture from passing between an inner periphery of the cable insertion hole and an outer surface of a cable received in that hole, the cable insertion hole including a first radially inwardly-extending annular sealing rib having an aperture smaller in diameter than a cable to be received in the hole so that the first annular sealing rib will be elastically enlarged when receiving the cable and will constrict around and seal against an outer surface of the cable; and a plurality of front-side recesses formed in a front surface of the mat adjacent and spaced from the cable insertion hole and configured to relieve expansion of the adjacent annular seating rib wherein the plurality of front-side recesses are disposed in an array of disconnected front-side recesses surrounding and adjacent the cable insertion hole.