Pnc, Inc.

Caterpillar Inc.

Clarence Keith Palmer

Kenneth Marvin Roat

Thomas R Springer

The sealing mechanism comprises a cap and a grommet for sealing an electrical lead extended from a coil overmold or a closed cavity. The grommet provides a first seal against the electrical lead and a second seal against a mounting section around the electrical lead. The cap is snap-fit onto the mounting portion for the lead through engagement between corresponding snap structures on the cap and mounting portion. The grommet comprises a skirt section and a cover section. The skirt section forms a radial seal against the mounting portion while the cover section seals against the leads.

Sealing a lead from a confined cavity of an apparatus such as a solenoid

A sealing mechanism is provided to seal a lead from a closed cavity of an apparatus. The sealing mechanism includes a mounting portion sealingly connected to the apparatus, a cap member having a recess defined therein with an elastomeric grommet compressively disposed in the recess. The elastomeric grommet has a passageway defined therethrough for the lead from the closed cavity to past through. The compressive forces induced into the elastomeric grommet applies a compressive force on the lead to provide a seal. The cap member is sealingly connected to the mounting portion. Consequently, the closed cavity in the apparatus is effectively sealed from the atmosphere and contaminants cannot enter the closed cavity and create premature failure of the component therein, such as, for example, an electrical coil.

Sealing a lead from a confined cavity of an apparatus

A method of making an integrated circuit package comprising an integrated 'chip' within an hermetically sealed housing with external electrical leads extending from the chip terminals, and the product formed by such method. The method involves injection molding of a thermoplastic rim on and in sealed relation to a lead frame prior to locating the chip in the central region of the frame and installing fine wire connections from the chip terminals to the lead fingers. The housing is completed by a solid bottom wall insert sealed in the lower mouth of the rim and a solid top wall cap sealed to the upper mouth of the rim by procedures which involve no flowing of plastic material over or into contact with either (i) the upper surfaces of the lead fingers prior to making the wire connections to such fingers, or (ii) the chip and the wire connectors after they have been associated with the lead frame.

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Rockford, IL, United States of America

Clarence Keith Palmer