Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02323169 2000-10-13
HOUSING FOR RECEIVING ELECTRICAL ELEMENTS
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a closeable housing that is
provided with a cover and serves for receiving electrical elements,
wherein the' annular sealing member that is made of elastomeric
material and is disposed on the lower portion of the housing is
elastically deformable when the cover is placed thereon in order to
close the housing, and wherein the sealing member is provided with
one or more projecting ribs or beads
Within the context of the present application, electrical elements
include electromechanical and electronic components and switch
elements, including boards, which can be combined to form
subassemblies. Electrical elements are particularly sensitive, and in
particular especially with regard to moisture and very small foreign
objects. It is furthermore important that the sealing member of the
housing as such not only be effective, but also offer the assurance that
a satisfactory functioning is provided even if under any possible
operating condition the housing must be opened or closed, for example
even by an inexperienced person.
So that these requirements can be fulfilled, a sealing member
must be secured against undesired shifts in position. Pursuant to
heretofore known arrangements, this requirement is fulfilled by
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positioning the sealing member in a groove; however, such a groove
requires special structural precautions for the lower portion of the
housing.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to avoid the
aforementioned drawbacks and to provide a housing of the
aforementioned general type that satisfies the requirements with regard
to sealing function, operation, service life and construction.
Brief Description of the Drawings
This object, and other objects and advantages of the present
invention, will appear more clearly from the following specification in
conjunction with the accompanying schematic drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a rim portion of a
housing of one exemplary embodiment of the
present invention for receiving electronic
components;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sealing member
intended for the housing of Fig. 1, and in particular
in a non-deformed state, i.e. before the cover is
placed thereon; and
Fig.3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a modified
sealing member.
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Summary of the Invention
The housing of the present invention is characterized primarily in
that that sectional portion of the sealing member that is provided with
the ribs or beads is connected, preferably in a fixed manner, with a
sectional portion that is considerably harder than the other sectional
portion and is expediently disposed on a rim, and in particular
preferably that rim that faces the interior of the housing.
With this elastomeric sealing member, which has two different
hardnesses, the harder portion serves for stabilization and for holding
the softer portion, the ribs or beads of which are deformed when the
housing cover is closed and thereby bring about the sealing function.
A sealing member embodied in this fashion also provides a
possibility of entirely doing away with grooves for receiving the sealing
element. For example, where the harder portion is disposed on the
inner periphery of the sealing ring, a support surface for the sealing
member can extend linearly and in a planar manner toward the inside,
i.e. in the direction toward the interior of the housing, as a result of
which the housing can have a more straightforward construction and
the sealing member can also be installed more easily and can be more
easily exchanged.
Further specific features of the present invention will be
described in detail subsequently.
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Description of Preferred Embodiments
Referring now to the drawing in detail, the housing essentially
comprises a pan-shaped lower portion 1 having a base 2, side walls 3,
and an angled-off rim 4, prior to which, as viewed from the interior 8 of
the housing; there is disposed an annular, planar seat or seating
surface 5 that extends parallel to the base 2 and to the rim 4, and is
intended for the sealing member 6, which is shown in greater detail in
Fig. 2; a cover 20 is also provided. The seating surface 5 passes into
the rim 4 via a step or shoulder 7; however, in the direction of the
interior 8 of the lower housing portion 1, the planar seating surface 5
passes directly into the side walls 3 without a step.
The annularly endless sealing member 6 comprises a soft
sectional portion 9 (of rubber or rubber-like polymeric material) that is
disposed on the outer periphery of the sealing member, and a harder
portion 10 that is disposed on the inner periphery and has tough yet
resilient properties (is made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting
material, but can also be made of an appropriately rigid rubber). The
two sectional portions 9 and 10 are fixedly interconnected, e.g.
adhesively.
The sealing member 6, which has an overall practically flat and
rectangular cross-sectional configuration, is, however, still on the whole
deformable or flexible. The difference in hardness should be
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approximately 15 - 35 Shore grade A with the harder sectional portion
having a Shore hardness of about 70 - 90.
In order to enlarge the adhesion surface between the two
sectional portions 9 and 10, the sectional portion 9 overlaps the harder
5 sectional portion 10, for which purpose the portion 10 is stepped as
indicated by the reference numeral 11.
The upper side. of the soft portion 9 is provided with
circumferential beads 12, and the underside of the portion 9 is provided
with deflection spaces or recesses 13 formed by circumferential beads.
10 In this connection, the beads 12 extend beyond the plane 14'
determined by the upper side of the harder portion 10. If the housing 1
is now to be closed, the cover 20 contacts and stresses the beads 12
accompanied by a reduction in the size of the deflection recesses 13.
This action is indicated by the arrows 14.
During the closing movement, which can be induced, for
example, by the screw coupling 15, the sectional portion 9 cannot
deflect radially inwardly since the harder sectional portion 10 prevents
such a deformation. A flight movement in the direction of the arrow L is
therefore for all practical purposes not possible.
In the illustrated embodiment, the harder, tougher sectional
portion 10 is disposed on the inner periphery of the sealing member 6.
However, it would also be conceivable to place the harder portion on
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the outer periphery, or also on both the inner and the outer peripheries.
The important thing is that undesired lateral or deflection movements
are prevented or practically prevented due to the ring in the form of the
sectional portion 10, while at the same time not requiring special
grooves or similar recesses for receiving the sealing member
In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3, the sectional portion 9' is
provided ~ with a dovetailed circumferential rib 17 that widens
downwardly and engages in a correspondingly undercut groove 16 of
the sectional portion 10' in order in this. way, in addition to a fixed or
adhesive connection between the portions 9' and 10', to achieve a
positive, interlocking connection. It would also be possible with such
an interlocking connection to dispense with a fixed-adhesive
connection.
This specification incorporates by reference the disclosure of
German priority document 299 18 158.8 of 14 October 1999.
The present invention is, of course, in no way restricted to the
specific disclosure of the specification and drawing, but also
encompasses any modifications with the scope of the appended
claims.
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