SEALING PLUG

Abstract

A sealing plug for sealing an opening in a component has a substantially annular or cylindrical shank, the shank is closed by a sealing surface, and a sealing lip is provided on the shank and having a cone-shaped configuration. The sealing lip locks in place on the rear side of the component and closes the opening. The free edge of the first sealing lip is in contact with the rear side of the component in the assembled condition. The sealing lip has at least one flexible folding zone provided thereon which is reversibly foldable such that in a folded condition of the folding zone the circumference of the sealing lip is reduced in the area of the folding zone at least one of the edge and the sealing lip.

Description

TECHNICAL FILED

The present invention relates to a sealing plug for sealing an opening in a component, in particular a vehicle body part, including a substantially annular or cylindrical shank which is closed by a sealing surface, and a sealing lip provided on the shank and having a cone-shaped configuration, the sealing lip locking in place on the rear side of the component and closing the opening, the free edge of the sealing lip being in contact, in particular in surface contact, with the rear side of the component in the assembled condition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such sealing plugs are shown for example in DE 10 2009 018 395 A1, DE 34 46 151 A1 or DE 10 2009 032 243 A1.

Such a sealing plug is mounted in that the cone-shaped sealing lip thereof is inserted into the opening until the free edge of the sealing lip snaps in place on the rear side of the component. When mounting has been completed, the sealing lip rests against the rear side of the component to as to surround the opening and seals the opening in this way. Since the sealing lip has a cone-shaped design and a larger diameter than the opening, the sealing lip is deformed during assembly. Depending on the stiffness of the material of the sealing lip and the difference between the diameter of the sealing lip and that of the opening, very high assembly forces are required for deforming the sealing lip and inserting the sealing plug into the opening. But it is not possible to interrupt the sealing lip in order to make it more flexible or to prevent a wave-shaped deformation because such interruptions would lead to the sealing lip being no longer able to be in continuous contact around the opening and therefore being no longer able to seal the opening.

The object of the invention is to provide a sealing plug which allows an assembly requiring a lower assembly force, but which still provides for the sealing plug to be securely held in place and for the opening to be reliably sealed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention, a sealing plug for sealing an opening in a component has a substantially annular or cylindrical shank, the shank is closed by a sealing surface, and a sealing lip is provided on the shank and having a cone-shaped configuration. The sealing lip locks in place on the rear side of the component and closes the opening. The free edge of the first sealing lip is in contact with the rear side of the component in the assembled condition. The sealing lip has at least one flexible folding zone provided thereon which is reversibly foldable such that in a folded condition of the folding zone the circumference of the sealing lip is reduced in the area of the folding zone at least one of the edge and the sealing lip.

The folding zone allows the circumference of the sealing lip to be reduced by applying a substantially lower force since it offers a lower resistance to the folding-up or deformation,

In the non-assembled and fully assembled conditions, the sealing lip is completely closed in the circumferential direction, so that a reliable sealing of the opening is possible. But in an intermediate assembly condition, the sealing lip is folded up in the folding zone, so that it has a smaller diameter and can be inserted into the opening with a lower assembly force. The folding zone causes this folding-up to occur automatically, as it were, during insertion of the sealing plug into the opening, by the sealing lip being displaced by the edge of the opening. That is, rather than an arbitrary deformation, a systematic deformation takes place at the folding zones, in this case a folding. The folding zone has bending edges, for example, which allow a deformation with significantly lower effort.

The folding-up gives the cone of the sealing lip a greater inclination, so that the free edge of the sealing lip has a small circumference. In an extreme case, the sealing lip can be reshaped by the folding zone to form a cylinder. The folding zones preferably allow the circumference to be reduced at least to such an extent that it is smaller than the circumference of the opening. In any event, owing to the folding zone the sealing lip can be pushed through the opening with a lower resistance since the folding zone is designed so as to allow the sealing lip to be folded up in a simple way involving small forces.

The folding zone can subsequently unfold again on the rear side of the opening, so that the sealing lip can rest against the rear side of the opening in the circumferential direction.

This allows a simple assembly of the sealing plug because the assembly force required is lower, and at the same time a reliable sealing of the sealing plug is ensured.

The folding zone can, for example, be folded inwards, in particular radially inwards, towards the longitudinal axis of the shank, so that in the folded condition it does not project beyond the outer circumference of the sealing lip.

Depending on the size of the folding zone, in the folded condition it extends inwards towards the shank to a greater or lesser extent. If the folding zone is made especially large or if the sealing lip is arranged very close to the shank, it may occur that when the folding zone is folded inwards, it rests against the shank, which makes a further folding of the folding zone more difficult. In order to rule this out, the shank may have recesses provided thereon into which the folding zone extends in the folded condition.

The shank seals the opening together with the sealing surface and the sealing lip. In order to completely seal the opening in the installed condition of the sealing plug, in particular in an embodiment with recesses provided on the shank, the shank has at least one second folding zone provided thereon in the region of the at least one folding zone of the sealing lip, in particular at the recesses. This second folding zone, in a way, closes the recess in the shank, so that the shank is completely closed in the circumferential direction and can seal the opening. The second folding zone can be folded inwards, in particular radially inwards, jointly with the first folding zone. In this way, the shank is closed in the circumferential direction, and the folding zone of the sealing lip can still extend into the shank in the folded condition.

Preferably, the first and second folding zones are connected with each other, so that both folding zones are folded inwards jointly. Also, this connection makes sure that the sealing plug is completely closed and can reliably seal the opening.

For example, the folding zones are each formed by two folding surfaces which are configured substantially triangular or trapezoidal. The two folding surfaces each have a first edge by which they are flexibly connected with each other, and a second edge by which they are flexibly connected with the sealing lip. In the folded condition, these folding surfaces can be in surface contact with each other, but are at least mutually folded towards each other by the shared edge.

In a non-assembled condition, the folding zones may be completely unfolded. But it is also possible that the folding zones, in a non-assembled condition, are pre-folded inwards, with only a slight pre-folding being required. This pre-folding simplifies the folding of the folding zone during insertion of the sealing plug into an opening.

In order to give the sealing surface more stability, the sealing surface has, for example, at least one stiffening rib provided thereon which more particularly is provided at the at least one recess or at the second folding zones on the shank. This stiffening rib, firstly, provides a support to the sealing surface, so that the latter can withstand a higher pressure. Secondly, the shank is reinforced in the area of the recesses or of the second folding zones. More particularly, the stiffening rib is U-shaped in cross-section, the legs of this “U” each being adapted to be connected with the shank at an edge of the recess.

In this embodiment, the folding zone folds into the stiffening rib. To this end, the stiffening rib includes a kind of receiving space in which the first and/or the second folding zone extend(s) in the folded condition.

To simplify assembly of the sealing plug, provision is made, for example, for a centrally arranged pressure surface, and at least one web extends from the shank as far as to the pressure surface. This pressure surface allows a greater assembly force to be applied to the sealing plug during assembly of the sealing plug. This web can also be constituted by a stiffening rib, for example.

The sealing surface may be curved convexly outwards, for example, in order to obtain a higher resistance to high assembly forces or an improved sealing in the case of high pressures.

To allow the sealing plug to be simply inserted into the opening, only one folding zone is required. Preferably, however, a plurality of first and second folding zones are provided which are more particularly arranged so as to be uniformly distributed on the circumference of the sealing plug, so that the sealing lip and the shank are, in a sense, subdivided into a plurality of sections which are each connected with each other by folding zones, so that the sealing lip and the shank are closed in the circumferential direction. A respective stiffening rib may be provided in the area of each folding zone, with the stiffening ribs in such an embodiment preferably extending from a centrally arranged pressure surface to the folding zones in a star shape.

In such a sealing plug, provision may also be made for a second sealing lip which, in the assembled condition of the sealing plug, rests against the front side of the component and seals the opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a sealing plug according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the underside of the sealing plug from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a cross-section of the sealing plug from FIG. 1 in the assembled condition;

FIG. 4 shows a first detailed view of the folding zone of the sealing lip of the sealing plug from FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows a second detailed view of the folding zone of the sealing lip of the sealing plug from FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the sealing plug from FIG. 1 in the area of the folding zones; and

FIG. 7 shows a second sectional view of the sealing plug from FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a sealing plug 10 by means of which an opening 12 in a component 14, for example a body part in a vehicle, can be sealed (see FIG. 3).

The sealing plug 10 includes a substantially annular shank 16 which is closed by a circular sealing surface 18. Provided on the outer circumference of the shank is a sealing lip 20 which can be in contact with the rear side 21 of the component 14 and seal the opening 12 in this way (see also FIG. 3). Provision is further made for a second sealing lip 22 which is oriented opposite to the first sealing lip 20 and can be in contact with the front side 23 of the component 14 and can additionally seal the opening 12 in this way. Both sealing lips 20, 22 have a cone-shaped configuration, the second sealing lip 22 being oriented opposite to the first sealing lip 20.

For assembly of the sealing plug 10, the shank 16 is inserted into the opening 12 in an insertion direction E, the sealing lip 20 being displaced by the edge 25 of the opening 12 and, in the process, being deformed such that the sealing plug 10 can be further inserted into the opening 12.

Once the sealing plug 10 has been fully inserted into the opening 12, the sealing lip 20 can unfold on the rear side 21 of the component 14 to assume its original shape again, and can circumferentially rest against the rear side 21 of the component 14 in a continuously surrounding manner and seal the opening 12. In this condition, the second sealing lip 22 rests against the front side 23 of the component 14, in particular in a pretensioned state, to form a second seal.

The sealing plugs known so far require a relatively high assembly force for deforming the sealing lip 20 during insertion into the opening 12. The sealing lip 20 is randomly deformed, for example in a wave shape, by the edge 25 of the opening 12; depending on the stiffness of the sealing lip 20 or the size of the opening 12, this may require very high assembly forces.

To reduce the assembly forces, the sealing plug 10 according to the invention includes a plurality of folding zones 24 on the sealing lip 20 which are uniformly distributed in the circumferential direction.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, each of these folding zones 24 is formed by two folding surfaces 26 which in the embodiment shown here are configured to be substantially trapezoidal. A first edge 28 forms a bending edge which extends substantially in the insertion direction E and about which the folding surfaces 26 can each be swiveled towards the sealing lip 20. The folding surfaces 26 are connected with each other by a second edge 30 opposite the first edge 28 and can be swiveled in relation to each other. The first and second edges 28, 30 are each arranged in a plane that runs substantially through the center axis M of the sealing plug 10.

As can be seen in particular in FIG. 2, the shank has recesses 32 provided thereon, each in the region of the folding zones 24, into which the folding zones 24 or the folding surfaces 26 can fold inwards, in particular radially inwards, in relation to the longitudinal axis of the shank.

The recesses 32 have second folding zones 34 provided thereon which also each consist of a pair of folding surfaces 36 each having a first edge 38 that is connected with the shank 16 in a hinged fashion and having an opposed, second edge 40 connecting them with each other in a hinged fashion.

The folding surfaces 26, 36 of the first folding zones 24 and of the second folding zones 34 are each connected with each other by their respective edge 42, 44 which is the front edge in the insertion direction E so that the recesses 32 are completely closed.

When the sealing plug 10 is inserted into the opening 12, the sealing lip 20 comes into contact with the edge of the opening 12 and is urged radially inwards by the edge. This causes the folding zones 24 to be folded radially inwards in relation to the center axis M, that is, the folding surfaces 26 to be swiveled towards each other and towards the sealing lip 20. The folding zones 26 thus cause the sealing lip 20 to be folded in a concertina-like fashion, as it were.

This reduces the circumference of the sealing lip 20 in the area of the folding zones 24 such that the sealing plug 10 can be inserted into the opening 12 with a lower resistance. In an extreme case, the sealing lip 20 can be deformed by the folding zones to such an extent that it has a cylindrical outer circumference or at least a smaller circumference than the opening 12.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, further provision is made for stiffening ribs 46 which each extend from the recesses 32 radially inwards as far as to a centrally arranged pressure surface 48. These stiffening ribs 46 serve to stabilize the sealing surface 18, so that the latter can withstand higher pressures or higher assembly forces.

The stiffening ribs 46 each have a U-shaped configuration, the stiffening ribs 46 each having a receiving space 50 formed therein for the folding zones 24, 34. As can be seen in particular in FIG. 2, the stiffening ribs 46 directly adjoin the recesses 32, so that the interruptions in the shank 16 that are formed by the recesses 32 are additionally stabilized and are sealed, where required.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the free edge 45 of the sealing lip 20 is not part of the folding zone 24. But since this free edge 45 is continuously connected with the folding zone 24, it is deformed together with the folding zone 24 when the latter is folded and, in the process, the free edge 45 is pretensioned.

Once the sealing lip 20 has been completely inserted into the opening 12, this pretension and/or a pretension produced by the swiveling of the folding surfaces 26 towards each other and in relation to the sealing lip 20 cause(s) the folding zones 24 to unfold again to assume the original shape, so that the diameter of the sealing lip 20 is again larger than the diameter of the opening 12. The sealing lip 20 can then rest against the rear side 21 of the component 14 so as to surround the opening 12 and seal the opening 12.

Since the free edge 45 of the sealing lip 20 is not part of the folding zones 24, a better contact of the sealing lip 20 with the component 14 and, hence, better sealing of the opening 12 is ensured. But it is also conceivable that the free edge 45 of the sealing lip 20 is part of the folding zones 24.

As can be seen in particular in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the embodiment shown here the folding zones 24, 34 are slightly pre-folded inwards, so that they can be more easily folded away inwards during assembly of the sealing plug 10.

Since, owing to the folding zones 24, the resistance to a folding up is considerably lower, the assembly force is considerably lower even with a continuous edge 45 of the sealing lip 20.

Depending on the desired assembly forces, the folding zones 24 may be arranged in any desired fashion on the outer circumference of the sealing lip 20. It should only be made sure that the circumference of the sealing lip 20 can be reduced by the folding zones 24 such that a simple insertion of the sealing plug 10 into an opening 12 is possible. Depending on the distance of the shank 16 from the sealing lip 20, a provision of recesses 32 or second folding zones 34 on the shank 16 is also not required. In particular, any stiffening ribs 46 are not required, either, if the sealing surface 18 has a sufficient inherent stability.

As can be seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the sealing surface 18 is convexly curved contrary to the insertion direction E, in order to provide it with an additional resistance to high pressures or high assembly forces.

Claims

1. A sealing plug for sealing an opening in a component, comprising a substantially annular or cylindrical shank, said shank is closed by a sealing surface, and a sealing lip provided on the shank and having a cone-shaped configuration, the sealing lip locking in place on the rear side of the component and closing the opening, the free edge of the first sealing lip being in contact with the rear side of the component in the assembled condition, wherein the sealing lip has at least one flexible folding zone provided thereon which is reversibly foldable such that in a folded condition of the folding zone the circumference of the sealing lip is reduced in the area of the folding zone at least one of the edge and the sealing lip.

2. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein the folding zone can be folded inwards, in particular radially inwards, towards the longitudinal axis of the shank.

3. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein the shank has at least one recess provided thereon into which the folding zone extends in the folded condition.

4. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein in the region of the at least one folding zone, in particular at the at least one recess, the shank has at least one second folding zone provided thereon which can be folded inwards, in particular radially inwards, with the first folding zone.

5. The sealing plug according to claim 4, wherein the first folding zone and the second folding zone are connected with each other, so that both folding zones are folded jointly.

6. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein the folding zones are each formed by two folding surfaces which are configured substantially triangular or trapezoidal, the two folding surfaces each having a first edge by which they are flexibly connected with each other, and a second edge by which they are flexibly connected with the sealing lip.

7. The sealing plug according to claim 6, wherein in a non-assembled condition the folding zones are pre-folded inwards.

8. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein the sealing surface has at least one stiffening rib provided thereon which more particularly is U-shaped in cross-section and which more particularly is provided at the at least one recess or the at least one folding zone on the shank.

9. The sealing plug according to claim 8, wherein the stiffening rib includes a receiving space into which the first folding zone and/or the second folding zone extend(s) in the folded condition.

10. The sealing plug according to claim 8, wherein a centrally arranged pressure surface is provided and the at least one stiffening rib extends from the shank to the pressure surface.

11. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein the sealing surface is convexly curved.

12. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of first folding zones and second folding zones are provided which more particularly are arranged so as to be uniformly distributed on the circumference of the sealing plug.

13. The sealing plug according to claim 1, wherein a second sealing lip is provided which, in the assembled condition of the sealing plug, rests against the front side of the component and seals the opening.