GB2264987A

GB2264987A - A seal arrangement for a housing flange

Info

Publication number: GB2264987A
Application number: GB9304679A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Bendell; Gunter Matzeit
Original assignee: Behr GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Mahle Behr GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 1992-03-14
Filing date: 1993-03-08
Publication date: 1993-09-15
Anticipated expiration: 2013-03-08
Also published as: GB9304679D0; ES2070704R; FR2688566B1; ES2070704B1; ES2070704A2; DE4306395A1; GB2264987B; FR2688566A1; DE4306395C2; DE9203455U1

Abstract

A seal arrangement for a housing flange is composed of a strip 20 of elastic material which is fixed on a rib 15 extending along the length of the flange. The strip has a profile in which an essentially radial slit 21 is disposed, and the rib 15 is taken up in this said slit. The seal arrangement is particularly suited to housing elements of car ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems. The width of the slit is less than the width of the rib for at least a part of its radial extent The material of the strip is held under compression between the side elements of the U-shaped recess. <IMAGE>

Description

A seal arrangement for a housing flange The invention concerns a seal arrangement for a housing flange, particularly but not exclusively for housing elements of car ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems.

Seal arrangements are already known in which an elastic strip is attached along the length of the flange. These are normally hollow compartment seals on which a skirting is formed, which is required for fixing material to the flange.

In an arrangement known from FR-A-2 623 756, this skirting is formed in such a way that it is appropriate for sticking onto an intended surface. FR-A-2 480 892 shows a hollow compartment seal the skirting of which is designed U-shaped and is equipped with a reinforcing insert. This reinforcing insert is required in order to hold the strip, which is made of very soft material, on a corresponding projection.

The known hollow compartment seals have the disadvantage that an expensive design of the skirting or a cost intensive connection process is required for the attachment of material. In addition a good seal of the housing elements is only achieved if the hollow compartment seal is nearly completely compressed.

The present invention seeks to realize a seal arrangement of a kind that is simple to assemble and cheap to manufacture and which moreover guarantees a reliable seal.

According to the present invention there is provided a seal arrangement for a housing flange for housing elements of car ventilation, heating or air-conditioning systems, including a strip formed of an elastic material adapted to be located on a rib running along the length of the flange, wherein the strip has a cross-sectional profile in which a longitudinal slit is disposed, the slit being adapted to be located on the rib.

The essential advantages of the invention are to be seen as being that the sealing strip is highly simple in its design and is held on a projection extending along the length of the flange without additional reinforcing means.

The resilient profile makes it possible for a sure sealing of the surfaces to be already achieved after pressing together a little. The strip which is made of merely one material is easily recyclable, especially as it can be easily removed from the housing flange without the use of a tool.

A favoured further development of the invented object has a rib disposed in an essentially U-shaped recess of the flange. This measure has the advantage that when pressure is put on the foam in the direction of the slit it cannot shift sidewards and thereby lies securely on the rib. In order to achieve particularly good firmness of the seal on the housing it is expedient that the material of the strip is under compression between the side face elements of the U-shaped recess. The strip mainly has an essentially circular cross-section, however other totally different cross-sectional forms are conceivable.

A good and lasting attachment of the strip on the rib is helped in that the width of the slit in the strip is less than the width of the rib and the radial depth of the slit in the strip approximately corresponds to half the diameter of the strip. The rib can be either symmetrically or asymmetrically disposed in the recess, whereby it is expedient that the rib is more or less aligned in the direction of the main pressure on the strip, which can be significant particularly in the case of flanges with curved surfaces. Foam rubber which is resistant to mineral oil is regarded as being particularly well suited as material for the strip.

An embodiment of the seal arrangement in accordance with the invention is explained in greater detail below with the aid of the diagrams, in which: Fig. 1 shows the plan view of a housing flange, Fig. 2 a sectional view along the line II-II as shown in fig. 1, Fig. 3 a sectional view along the line III-III as shown in fig. 1, Fig. 4 an enlarged representation of the detail IV in fig. 2, Fig. 5 a sectional view of a first embodiment of the sealing strip, and Fig. 6 shows a variation on the embodiment of fig. 5.

The plan view of a housing flange 10, which is irregularly shaped in accordance with the outer contour of a housing 11 is shown in fig. 1. The housing 11 surrounds an air guide-channel 12 and is planned for attachment to a dashboard of a car for example. Four mounting holes 13 are provided in the flange area for attachment by means of screws. A recess 14 which is U-shaped in cross-section runs along the length of the border of the outer contour, whereby a rib 15 is provided roughly in the middle of said recess.

The side borders of the U-shaped recess 14 are marked 16' and 16''.

Fig. 2 shows a section across the line II-II, which shows that the flange 10 has a curved surface. The housing 11 surrounds an air guide-channel 12. The U-shaped recess 14 with its side elements 16' and 16'' and the rib 15 extending outwards from the base of the recess are located in the border area of the flange 10. The rib can be extended into the interior of the housing by means of an extension 15*, for reasons of stability and tensile strength.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged representation of the section across the line III-III in Fig. 1. The housing 11 surrounding the air guide-channel 12 has on its outer border a U-shaped recess 14 with the side elements 16' and 16''.

The rib 15 is disposed symmetrically in the recess 14, said rib extending to a height corresponding nearly to the upper border 17 of the U-shaped recess 14. Below the U-shaped recess 14 there is an extension 15* of the rib 15. The opening 13 is provided next to the side element 16'' of the U-shaped recess 14.

A strip 20 made of foam rubber and having an essentially circular cross-section, is provided with a radial slit 21 which enables the strip to be fixed to the rib 15. At the same time the strip 20 is inserted into the U-shaped recess 14 and is pressed onto the rib by means of the side elements 16' and 16" of the said U-shaped recess, such that a good compression results between the lower section 20' of the strip 20 and the side elements 16' and 16'' and also the rib 15. A bevel 18 is provided on the upper border 17 of the side elements in order to facilitate the insertion of the strip 20 into the U-shaped recess 14.

Fig. 4 shows an enlarged representation of the detail I in fig. 2. The U-shaped recess 14 is asymmetrically developed in this design, such that a significantly longer side element 16' on the outer border of the flange and a shorter side element 16'' of the inner side of the flange results. The direction of pressing onto this flange section and the pressing on of the seal to be introduced in the form of a strip 20 corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the rib 15, such that a sidewards shift of the strip 20 can be prevented by means of the extended execution of the side element 16'.

Cross-sectional forms of the strip 20 in its disassembled state are shown in figs. 5 and 6, whereby the strip 20 in fig. 5 has an essentially oval shape. The radial slit 21 extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the oval, said slit being very slightly cross-sectionally conical with its faces opening out towards the outer edge.

The lower sections 20' of the strip 20 have rounded ends 23 next to the slit 21. The strip 20 in fig. 6 has an essentially circular cross-section with a nearly triangular slit 22, the broadest width of which lies approximately in the circular centre and which comes to a point at the casing of the strip 20. The force with which the strip 20 is held on the rib 15 is thereby further increased.

Claims

1. A seal arrangement for a housing flange for housing elements of car ventilation, heating or air-conditioning systems, including a strip formed of an elastic material adapted to be located on a rib running along the length of the flange, wherein the strip has a cross-sectional profile in which a longitudinal slit is disposed, the slit being adapted to be located on the rib.

2. A seal arrangement in accordance with claim 1, wherein the rib is disposed in an essentially U-shaped recess of the flange.

3. A seal arrangement in accordance with claim 2, wherein the material of the strip is held under compression between the side elements of the U-shaped recess.

4. A seal arrangement in accordance with any one of the foregoing claims, wherein the strip has an essentially oval or circular cross-section.

5. A seal arrangement in accordance with any one of the foregoing claims, wherein the width of the slit in the strip is less than the width of the rib for at least part of its radial extension.

6. A seal arrangement in accordance with any one of the foregoing claims, wherein the depth of the slit in the strip corresponds to approximately half the width of the strip.

7. A seal arrangement in accordance with either of claims 5 or 6, wherein the slit has a conical widening towards the outer edge of the strip.

8. A seal arrangement in accordance with either of claims 5 or 6, wherein the slit has an essentially triangular cross-section, the greatest breadth of which lies on the inner side and which towards the outer profile of the strip.

9. A seal arrangement in accordance with claim 2, wherein the rib is adapted to be disposed asymmetrically in the recess.

10. A seal arrangement in accordance with claim 2, wherein the rib is disposed symmetrically in the recess.

11. A seal arrangement in accordance with any one of the foregoing claims, wherein the strip is made of a foam rubber which is resistant to mineral oil.

12. A seal arrangement for a housing flange, substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.