Method for overmolding at least one line

Abstract

A method for overmolding at least one line (40) comprises the steps: receiving the at least one line (40) in an opening (14) of a sealing element (10), wherein the opening (34) of the sealing element (10) is substantially complementary in shape to a peripheral geometry of the at least one line (40); mounting the sealing element (10) on a mold (30); overmolding the at least one line (40) received in the sealing element in a region (42) that is adjacent to the sealing element (10) and delimited by the sealing element (10); and removing from the mold (30) the sealing element (10) and the at least one line (40) received therein and overmolded in a region.

Claims

1. A method for overmolding at least one line, said line including at least one electrical conductor and an insulation jacket, said method comprising the steps: receiving the at least one line in an opening of a sealing element, wherein the opening of the sealing element is substantially complementary in shape to a peripheral geometry of the at least one line; mounting the sealing element on a mold; overmolding the at least one line received in the sealing element in a region that is adjacent to the sealing element and delimited by one side of the sealing element, said sealing element being removable from said at least one line after said one line is overmolded; removing from the mold the sealing element together with the at least one line received therein and overmolded in a region; and, removing the sealing element from the at least one line that has been overmolded in a region.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing element is broken in order to remove it from the at least one line that has been overmolded in a region.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing element is in plate form.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing element, for mounting on the mold, is introduced at least in part into a sealing element holder formed on the mold.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing element is a plastics component.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mold comprises a metallic material for dissipating heat during overmolding.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two lines are overmolded, wherein the opening of the sealing element comprises at least one opening portion, and wherein, in the receiving step, one of the at least two lines can be introduced into the at least one opening portion and thereby fixed in a designated position relative to the sealing element.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sealing element is intended for single use only and is removed from said at least one line by breaking it.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The present disclosure will be explained in greater detail by means of figures. The figures show schematically:

(2) FIG. 1 a side view of an embodiment of a sealing element;

(3) FIG. 2 a perspective view of the sealing element of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 a perspective view of an embodiment of a mold having a sealing element of FIG. 1 mounted thereon;

(5) FIG. 4 a top view of the mold of FIG. 3 with the sealing element of FIG. 1 mounted thereon;

(6) FIG. 5 a top view of the mold of FIG. 3 with the sealing element of FIG. 1 mounted thereon and a bundle of lines;

(7) FIG. 6 a perspective view of an embodimentof a bundle of lines attached to a connector element; and

(8) FIG. 7 a side view of the bundle of lines of FIG. 6 attached to a connector element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) In the following, specific details are explained, without being limited thereto, in order to provide a complete understanding of the present disclosure. However, it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the present disclosure can be used in other embodiments which may differ from the details set out hereinbelow.

(10) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a side view and a perspective view of an embodiment of a sealing element 10. The sealing element 10 shown can be used in a method for overmolding at least one line (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), for example a bundle of lines.

(11) In the embodiment shown, the sealing element 10 is a sealing plate having a base body 12 in plate form which has a substantially square outer periphery with rounded edges. The sealing element 10 comprises an opening 14 which extends through the entire base body 12 in the thickness direction of the sealing element 10. The opening 14 is arranged in the middle of the base body 12, that is to say a minimum distance between the contour of the opening and the outer contour of the sealing element 10 is approximately the same on each side.

(12) The opening 14 is complementary in shape to a bundle of lines having eight lines that is to be received therein. Accordingly, the geometry of the contour of the opening 14 shown in a top view in FIG. 1 corresponds to the geometry of the outer periphery of the cross-section of the bundle of lines that is to be received therein.

(13) The individual lines of the bundle of lines that are to be received each have a circular cross-sectional surface with the same diameter. In order to illustrate the arrangement of the lines of the bundle of lines, the mid-points M1 to M8 of the lines are indicated in FIG. 1, although the lines that are to be received are not shown for reasons of clarity.

(14) As is apparent from the shape of the complementary opening 14, the bundle of lines that is to be received here has an arrangement of lines, or is to have an arrangement of lines, in which two mutually adjacent and touching lines whose mid-points M1 and M2 lie on a first line L1 are arranged in the middle of the bundle of lines. These two lines are here referred to as inside lines.

(15) On the left side shown in FIG. 1 and on the right side shown in FIG. 1 of the first ine L1 of inside lines there are arranged in each case three lines whose mid-points M3 to M5 and M6 to M8 each lie on a further line L2, L3. The further lines L2, L3 are arranged parallel to the first line L1. The middle line of the three lines lying on a further line L2, L3 touches the two adjacent lines. Furthermore, those two middle lines touch each of the two inside lines, whereas the two outer lines of the three lines lying on a further line L2, L3 each touch only one of the two inside lines. Accordingly, the three lines to the right of the inside lines and the three lines to the left of the inside lines are arranged offset in respect of their mid-points both in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction. It will be appreciated that bundles of lines with different arrangements and/or numbers of lines are also possible in further embodiments.

(16) The opening 14 is always complementary in shape to the line or bundle of lines that is to be received. It should be noted that the gaps in the opening 14 of the sealing element 10 that form between the lines of the bundle of lines are not visible because the sealing element 10 comprises a single opening 14, the cross-section of which is congruent to the cross-section of the bundle of lines consisting of lines and gaps.

(17) The opening 14 of the sealing element 10 shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises four opening portions 16, 18, 20, 22, into each of which a line of the bundle of lines can be introduced and fixed in a designated position relative to the sealing element 10 by means of the associated opening portion 16, 18, 20, 22. If a line is introduced into the associated opening portion 16, 18, 20, 22, it is in contact in the region of the sealing element 10 with the inner periphery of the sealing element 10, more precisely of the respective opening portion 16, 18, 20, 22, over at least three quarters of its periphery. This line that has been introduced is thus held by the at least one opening portion 16, 18, 20, 22 and oriented and fixedly arranged relative to the sealing element 10. This facilitates the introduction or receiving of the further lines into/in the opening 14 of the sealing element 10.

(18) FIGS. 3 to 5 show the bottom part of a mold 30 with a sealing element 10 mounted thereon. The construction of the mold 30 corresponds substantially to the basic construction of known molds for the overmolding of lines and is therefore not described in detail here.

(19) In contrast to known molds, the mold 30 shown in FIG. 3 has a sealing element holder 32. This is in the form of a slit and is complementary in shape to the sealing element 10 or sealing plate. The sealing element 10 is received in the sealing element holder 32 in each of FIGS. 3 to 5. As a result of the interlocking connection of the sealing element 10 with the sealing element holder 32, the sealing element 10 is fixedly held in the designated position during operation. In other words, by being introduced into the sealing element holder 32 of the mold 30, the sealing element 10 is positioned relative to the mold 30 and thus also relative to a cavity 34 of the mold.

(20) Introducing the sealing element 10 into the sealing element holder 32 delimits the cavity 34, as can be seen in FIGS. 3 to 5. An injection-molding, casting or foaming material supplied to the cavity 34 for overmolding a region of a line, or here of a bundle of lines, arranged in the cavity 34 can accordingly spread in the cavity 34 only as far as the sealing element 10, more precisely as far as the face of the sealing element 10 facing the cavity 34. This is described in greater detail hereinbelow with reference to the associated method step.

(21) FIG. 5 likewise shows the bottom part of the mold 30. However, in contrast to FIGS. 3 and 4, a bundle of lines 40 of the above-described type comprising eight individual lines is shown, which bundle of lines is received in the opening of the sealing element 10 and extends through the cavity 34 of the mold 30. By fixing the bundle of lines 40 by means of the sealing element 10 mounted on the sealing element holder 32 of the mold 30, the bundle of lines 40 is oriented as intended relative to the cavity 34 of the mold 30. A region 42 of the bundle of lines 40 that is to be overmolded is thus arranged in the cavity 34. It will also be seen that the region 42 of the bundle of lines 40 that is to be overmolded is provided in conventional manner with further additional elements, such as, for example, a cable sheath 44 and a sleeve 46. These additional elements are likewise to be included in the overmolding.

(22) In FIG. 5, the opening of the sealing element 10 is completely filled by the bundle of lines 40, so that there is no void or gap between the sealing element 10 and the bundle of lines 40 in the region of the opening. The cavity 34 is accordingly delimited completely on one side by the sealing element 10 and the bundle of lines received therein. If injection-molding, casting or foaming material is injected into the cavity 34 for overmolding the region 42 of the bundle of lines 40, it is distributed evenly and optimally around the components that are to be overmolded. This is the case, despite the comparatively complex structure of the bundle of cables 40, also for the region of the bundle of cables 40 that is adjacent to the sealing element 10 inside the cavity 34, in which the bundle of cables, due to the described arrangement of the eight lines, has undercuts that are to be overmolded.

(23) Having regard to the above explanations of the described components, an embodiment of a method for overmolding the bundle of lines 40 is described hereinbelow.

(24) In this method, the sealing element 10 is provided in a first step.

(25) Then, in a second step, the bundle of lines 40 is received in the opening 14 of the sealing element 10. To that end, the eight individual lines are introduced one after the other into the opening (inter alia into opening portions 16, 18, 20, 22), which is complementary in shape to the peripheral geometry of the bundle of lines 40. The bundle of lines 40 is thereby arranged as intended so that, after introduction into the opening 14, the eight lines are fixed and arranged relative to one another and also fixedly positioned relative to the sealing element 10.

(26) In a subsequent third method step, the sealing element 10 together with the bundle of lines 40 received therein is inserted into the sealing element holder 32 of the mold 30, so that the sealing element 10 and the sealing element holder 32 are in engagement with one another (see FIG. 5). In this third step, the sealing element 10 and the bundle of lines 40 received therein is positioned relative to the mold 30. The bundle of lines 40 is thereby also oriented as desired, the region 42 that is to be overmolded being arranged, as is shown in FIG. 5, in the cavity 34.

(27) Between the second and third steps, the additional components such as the cable sheath 44 and the sleeve 46 can be arranged on the bundle of lines 40 in an intermediate step. Alternatively, this can also be carried out before the start of the method described herein. In the last-mentioned case, the lines are accordingly to be guided through the opening of the sealing element with an opposite end.

(28) It will further be appreciated that the order of steps two and three can be reversed. Thus, the sealing element can first be mounted on the mold, the bundle of lines only thereafter being received in the opening of the already mounted and thus positioned sealing element.

(29) In a fourth step, the mold 30 is closed, that is to say the top part of the mold 30 is placed on the bottom part shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The cavity 34 is thereby closed on all sides.

(30) In a fifth step, the cavity 34 is filled with plastics injection-molding, casting and/or foaming compound via a nozzle. This compound is distributed evenly in the cavity 34 around the components that are to be overmolded of the region 42 of the bundle of lines 40 that is adjacent to the sealing element 10 and delimited by the sealing element 10.

(31) After cooling, the mold 30 is opened and the sealing element 10, together with the bundle of lines 40 overmolded in a region, is removed from the mold 30 in a sixth step.

(32) In a subsequent seventh method step, the sealing element 10 is removed from the bundle of lines 40 overmolded in a region by breaking the sealing element 10. It is hereby to be ensured that the individual lines of the bundle of lines, or their respective cable jackets, are not damaged.

(33) A bundle of lines 40, comprising an overmolding 48, which has been produced by means of the above-described method is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In the representation shown, the bundle of lines 40 is attached in the region of the overmolding 48 to a connector element 50. As can be seen in FIG. 6, for example, the overmolding 48 has a flat end face 49 produced by means of the sealing element 10, from which flat end face the individual lines of the bundle of lines 40 emerge. The overmolding is distributed evenly around the individual lines of the bundle of lines 40 and encloses them in a sealed manner.

(34) Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, those skilled in the art can make various changes to it without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.