Sealing element and vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit

Abstract

A sealing element (10) of a deformable material for sealing an opening in a wall (16), which separates two different chambers, comprises at least one aperture (12) which is arranged in a sealing first region (20) and is designed to receive a tube (14), and a yielding second region (24) which is designed to be pressed against the wall (16), wherein the second region (24) is differentiated from the first region (20) at least in part by an indentation (22).

Claims

1. A sealing element (10) of a deformable material for sealing an opening in a wall (16), which separates two different chambers, the sealing element (10) comprising: at least one aperture (12) which is formed in a sealing first region (20) and is designed to receive a tube (14), and a yielding second region (24), the second region (24) surrounding the sealing first region (20) on a periphery and which is designed wherein an upper flat surface (32) of the second region (24) is adapted to be pressed against the wall (16), wherein the second region (24) is differentiated from the first region (20) at least in part by an indentation (22) in the form of a cutting or a groove in the deformable material of the sealing element (10) starting from the upper flat surface (32) and extending between the periphery of the first region (20) and the second region (24) in an axial direction parallel to the direction of the passage of the tube (14) and to a depth relative to the upper flat surface (32), and wherein the indentation (22) is designed in such a way that because of the indentation (22), the two regions (20) and (22) are adapted to be deformed in a manner independent of each other, wherein the first region (20) is adapted to be deformed in a radial direction relative to the direction of the passage of the tube (14) such that the first region (20) rests in a sealed manner against the tube (14), and wherein the second region (24) is adapted to be deformed in the axial direction to the depth of the indentation (22) when the upper flat surface (32) of the second region (24) is pressed in the axial direction by the abutting wall (16).

2. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the indentation (22) is designed in the form of an indentation (22) which is not continuous in the direction of the passage of the tube (14).

3. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the indentation (22) differentiates the first region (20) completely from the second region (24).

4. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the deformable material is a monolithic material.

5. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the material of the sealing element (10) is watertight and/or airtight and/or sound-proofing.

6. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, which is in the form of a plate.

7. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the second region (24) surrounds the first region (20) on the periphery completely, and the indentation (22) runs around the first region (20) in the form of a ring.

8. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein a third region (28) is provided which surrounds the second region (24) and which is bounded by a second indentation (30).

9. A sealing element (10) according to claim 8, wherein the second region (24) is a ring bounded by a second continuous indentation (30), and wherein the second indentation (30) extends in a direction parallel to the direction of the first indentation (22).

10. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the indentation (22) is a cutting in the deformable material.

11. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the cutting or the groove amounts to between 10% and 90% of the thickness of the sealing element (10).

12. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein the cutting or the groove amounts to between 40% and 60% of the thickness of the sealing element (10).

13. A sealing element (10) according to claim 9, wherein all the indentations (22, 30) start from only one flat side (32) of the sealing element (10).

14. A sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein a holding opening (26) is provided outside the first region (20).

15. A vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit (100), with a sealing element (10) according to claim 1, wherein a housing (102) with a tube (104) passing out of the housing (102) is provided and the sealing element (10) is mounted on the tube (104).

16. A vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit (100) according to claim 15 wherein a holding opening (26) is provided outside the first region (20) in the sealing element (10).

17. A vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit (100) comprising: a housing (102); at least one tube (104) passing out of the housing (102); a wall (106) having an opening; a sealing element (10) having a first region (20) and a second region (24) and an upper flat surface (32) and formed of a deformable material; the first region (20) including at least one aperture (12) that receives a respective one of the at least one tube (14), and the second region (24) surrounding a periphery of the first region (20), the second region (24) having an upper flat surface (32), wherein the second region (24) is differentiated from the first region (20) at least in part by an indentation (22) in the form of a cutting or a groove in the deformable material of the sealing element (10) starting from the upper flat surface (32) and extending between the periphery of the first region (20) and the second region (24) in an axial direction parallel to the direction of the passage of the tube (14) and to a depth relative to the upper flat surface (32), wherein the tube (14) deforms the first region (20) in a radial direction relative to the direction of the passage of the tube (14) such that the first region (20) rests in a sealed manner against the tube (14), wherein the wall (16) is pressed against the upper flat surface (32) and deforms the second region (24) in the axial direction relative to the direction of the passage of the tube (14) to seal the opening in the wall (16), and wherein the deformation of the first region (20) in the radial direction is independent of the deformation of the second region (24) in the axial direction.

18. The vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit (100) according to claim 17, wherein the sealing element (10) further comprises: a third region (28) which surrounds the second region (24) and which is bounded by a second indentation (30), the second indentation (30) extending between the second region (24) and the third region (28) in a direction parallel to the direction of the indentation (22), wherein the deformation of the second region (24) in the axial direction is independent of the first region (20) and the third region (28).

19. The vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit (100) according to claim 17, wherein the depth of the cutting or the groove amounts to between 10% and 90% of the thickness of the sealing element (10).

20. The vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit (100) according to claim 19, wherein the deformation of the second region (24) can be pressed as far as the depth of the indentation (22) while the first region (20) rests in the sealed manner against the tube (14).

Description

(1) Further features and advantages of the invention may be seen in the following description and in the accompanying drawings, to which reference is made. In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 is a sectional drawing of a sealing elementnot assembledaccording to the prior art on a tube;

(3) FIG. 2 shows the sealing element according to FIG. 1, which is fastened to a wall;

(4) FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sealing element according to FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sealing element according to the invention in accordance with a first embodiment;

(6) FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the sealing element according to FIG. 4 on a tube;

(7) FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the sealing element according to FIG. 5 in the non-mounted state;

(8) FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the sealing element according to FIG. 5, fastened to a wall;

(9) FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the sealing element according to FIG. 7 in the mounted state;

(10) FIG. 9 is a detailed view of a sealing element in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;

(11) FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the sealing element according to FIG. 9 in the non-mounted state;

(12) FIG. 11 is a detailed view of the sealing element according to FIG. 9, which is fastened to a wall, and

(13) FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the sealing element according to FIG. 11.

(14) FIG. 1 shows a sealing element 10 according to the prior art in a sectional view, which is designed in the form of a plate and which has an aperture 12 in which a tube 14 is received. The sealing element 10 is produced from a deformable material which rests against the tube 14 in a sealed manner.

(15) The sealing element 10 from FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2, in which a wall 16 provided with an opening 15 rests against the sealing element 10. The sealing element 10 is compressed between a flange 17 and the wall 16, as a result of which the resilient material of the sealing element 10 is deformed. As a result of the deformation 18 in the region of the wall 16 tensile forces occur, in particular in the region of the surface of the sealing element 10 towards the wall, which have the result that the material of the sealing element 10 is also deformed in the region 19 of the tube 14, as a result of which the sealing element 10 is detached at least in part from the tube 14 projecting through the opening 15. In this way, the sealing function of the sealing element 10 can be reduced.

(16) FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sealing element 10 in accordance with the section plane III-III in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sealing element 10 according to the invention in accordance with a first embodiment. The sealing element 10 designed in the form of a plate has a plurality of apertures 12 for receiving tubes 14, in which case a large oval aperture 12 and two small circular apertures 12 are provided.

(17) The three apertures 12 are arranged in a first region 20. The first region 20 is bounded by an indentation 22 in the form of a cutting in the deformable material of the sealing element 10.

(18) The indentation 22 can be designed for example, as shown, in the form of a cutting in the material of the sealing element 10, in the form of a groove of any desired cross-section or in the form of a slot.

(19) The indentation 22 runs around the first region 20 in a closed manner in the form of a ring.

(20) A second, preferably annular region 24 completely surrounds the first region 20 on the periphery. The second region 24 runs around the indentation 22 in a closed manner and is separated by the latter from the region 20.

(21) On the left-hand side of the sealing element 10 a holding opening 26 is provided in the sealing element 10 in the region of the second region 24.

(22) In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 a single first region 20 is provided, which surrounds all three apertures 12. Alternatively, it is also possible for an individual aperture 12 to have a separate first region 20 associated with it.

(23) As is clearly evident from FIG. 6, the cutting formed by the indentation 22 extends as far as approximately half the thickness of the sealing element 10. The indentation 22 can alternatively also be designed in the form of a groove in the deformable material of the sealing element 10.

(24) The sealing element 10 rests against a vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit 100, the housing 102 of which is shown diagrammatically. The tube 14 corresponds to a tube 104 conveying liquid passing out of the housing 102.

(25) The sealing element 10 in the form of a plate rests flat against the housing 102 of the vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit 100.

(26) The deformable material of the sealing element 10 is a monolithic material, as a result of which a simple production of the sealing element 10 is made possible. In the embodiment shown the deformable material is a foam which is airtight and watertight, in particular a foam with closed pores.

(27) It is preferable for the sealing element 10 to be produced from a foam plate by stamping, the foam plate being completely severed in the region of the outer edge of the sealing element 10 and in the region of the apertures 12 or the holding opening 26 during the stamping, whereas the indentation 22 is produced in the same procedure by only partial cutting of the foam plate.

(28) Alternatively, the indentation can also be provided in a further treatment step in the sealing element 10, or the sealing element 10 is produced in the form of moulded foam.

(29) In FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 the sealing element 10 rests in a sealed manner against an opening in a wall 16. The wall 16 with the opening 15 thereof is for example the bulkhead of a vehicle through which a plurality of tubes of the air-conditioning unit which convey cooling fluid pass. The sealing element 10 is clamped between the wall 16 and the housing 102, so that the sealing element 10 is deformed.

(30) As is clearly evident from FIG. 8, the second region against which the wall 16 rests is deformed by the wall 16. As a result of the indentation 22 the second region 24 can be pressed as far as the depth of the indentation 22, without the deformation 18 of the second region 24 influencing the first region 20. The sealing element 10 thus rests with the first region 20 completely against the tubular tube 14. A notch as in region 19 as shown in FIG. 2 does not occur. In this way an optimum sealing function of the sealing element 10 in the two regions 20, 24 is made possible. The indentation 22 permits an independent deformation of the two sealing regions 20, 24.

(31) In the first region 20 the sealing element 10 is deformed in the radial direction, so that the first region 20 rests in a sealed manner against the tube 14. In contrast, the second region 24 is deformed in the axial direction by the abutting wall 16. The function of the first region 20 and the second region 24 thus differs in the direction of the deformation.

(32) The material and/or the geometry of the sealing element 10 can be designed in such a way that the deformation properties of the sealing element 10 are different in the axial and radial directions, so that the sealing properties of the first region 20 and the second region 24 are also different.

(33) A second embodiment of a sealing element 10 according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 9 to 12. The second embodiment is changed with respect to the first embodiment in that a second indentation 30 is provided. The second indentation 30 is made similar to the first indentation 22 in terms of its depth and extent. The second indentation 30 extends substantially parallel to the first indentation 22, as a result of which the second region 24 is bounded on one side by the first indentation 22 and on the other side by the second indentation 30. In addition, a third, outer region 28 which surrounds the second region 24 is bounded by the second indentation 30.

(34) As is clearly evident from FIGS. 11 and 12, the second region 24 is substantially restricted to the edgedesigned in the form of a flangeof the opening in the wall 16, i.e. the sealing element 10 abuts only in the second region 24. As may be seen in FIG. 12, the wall 16 can deform the second region 24 independently of the first region 20 and of the third region 28.

(35) The third region 28 can be provided in such a way that cavities between the wall 16 and the sealing element 10 are minimized in order to improve the sealing of the wall opening or in order to optimize the sound-proofing.

(36) It is also possible for a third region 28 to be provided which surrounds the holding opening 26 in the sealing element 10.

(37) It is preferable for the material of the sealing element 10 to be made sound-proofing.

(38) In the two embodiments shown, all the indentations 22, 30 start in each case from the upper flat side 32 of the sealing element 10.

(39) The housing 102 of the vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit 100 rests flat against the opposite flat side of the sealing element 10. A possible deformation of the sealing element 10 on the part of the vehicle heating/air-conditioning unit 100 is thus uniformly distributed over the entire sealing element 10, as a result of which no tensile forces occur in the plane of the sealing element 10 and so no different regions are required.

(40) It is also of course possible for indentations 22, 30 to be provided on the two flat sides of the sealing element if this is advantageous from the technical point of view.