An electric support rod and its sealing structure

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the field of automobile technology, and discloses an electric support rod and its sealing structure, which is arranged between the ball socket of the electric support rod and the wiring harness tube connected to the ball socket, and the sealing structure of the electric support rod includes: an annular insert, whose outer wall is embedded and combined with the inner wall of the end of the wiring harness tube; an annular elastic member, which is arranged on the outer end face of the insert away from the wiring harness tube; and a wiring harness tube joint, which is arranged on the ball socket, and the wiring harness tube joint includes a joint body and a flange arranged around the outer periphery of the joint body, and the joint body can be placed in the insert and fixedly connected to the insert, so that a preset spacing smaller than the thickness of the elastic member is formed between the outer end face of the insert and the flange, so as to press the elastic member between the insert and the flange. The electric support rod and its sealing structure provided by the present invention can reduce or even avoid the risk of water entering the electric support rod at the connection between the wiring harness tube and the wiring harness tube joint.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of automobile technology, and in particular to an electric support rod and a sealing structure thereof. Background Art

[0002] The electric support rod is an important accessory of the car trunk tailgate, which generally includes a tube shell, a screw sleeve and a ball socket. The tube shell has a built-in motor and a screw, the telescopic tube is screwed to the screw, and the ball socket and the telescopic tube are fixed and connected to the car tailgate. When the screw is driven to rotate by the motor, the screw sleeve can reciprocate along the axis and extend into and out of the tube shell, converting the rotational motion of the screw into linear motion, and driving the car tailgate to open and close automatically.

[0003] The wiring harness used to supply power to the electric support and transmit control signals is introduced from the outside of the electric support through the wiring harness tube connector on the ball socket. The part of the wiring harness located outside the electric support is passed through the wiring harness tube. One end of the wiring harness tube is connected to the car cabin or tailgate, and the other end is connected to the wiring harness tube connector.

[0004] Since the tailgate is in the fully closed state for a long time and the electric support rod is arranged in the water flow trough, it is often impacted by water flow from top to bottom, so that the electric support rod is often faced with the risk of water entering the connection between the wiring harness tube and the wiring harness tube connector.

[0005] Therefore, the above problems need to be solved urgently. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an electric support rod and a sealing structure thereof, so as to reduce or even avoid the risk of water ingress into the electric support rod at the connection between the wiring harness tube and the wiring harness tube joint.

[0007] To achieve this object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] A sealing structure of an electric support rod is arranged between a ball socket of the electric support rod and a wiring harness tube connected to the ball socket, and the sealing structure of the electric support rod comprises:

[0009] An annular insert, the outer wall of which is embedded and combined with the inner wall of the end of the wiring harness tube;

[0010] an annular elastic member, disposed on the outer end surface of the insert away from the wiring harness tube; and

[0011] A wiring harness pipe joint is arranged in the ball socket, and the wiring harness pipe joint includes a joint body and a flange arranged around the outer periphery of the joint body. The joint body can be placed in the insert and fixedly connected to the insert, so that a preset distance less than the thickness of the elastic member is formed between the outer end surface of the insert and the flange, so that the elastic member is pressed between the insert and the flange.

[0012] Preferably, the wiring harness tube is made of an elastic material, and the insert is embedded in the inner side of the end surface of the wiring harness tube, and the portion of the wiring harness tube located outside the outer end surface of the insert is formed as the elastic member.

[0013] Preferably, the outer end surface of the insert is an inclined surface, and the inclined surface is inclined from the outside to the inside along the radial direction of the insert toward the other end of the insert.

[0014] Preferably, the elastic material is rubber.

[0015] Preferably, the elastic member is bonded to the outer end surface of the insert.

[0016] Preferably, the inner wall of the insert is provided with a snap-fitting portion, and the joint body can be snap-fitted with the snap-fitting portion.

[0017] Preferably, the number of the clamping parts is more than two.

[0018] Preferably, a coupling portion is concavely and / or convexly provided on an outer wall of the insert so as to increase the area of ​​the coupling surface between the insert and the wiring harness tube.

[0019] Preferably, the wiring harness tube and the insert are overmolded.

[0020] The present invention also adopts the following technical solutions:

[0021] An electric support rod comprises the sealing structure of the electric support rod as described above.

[0022] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0023] The electric support rod and its sealing structure provided by the present invention, when the wiring harness tube is installed in the ball socket, the elastic part is in an elastic deformation state of being pressed, so that it maintains an elastic potential energy with recovery deformation, so that it can press tightly against the insert and the flange on both sides in the opposite direction to form an annular sealing surface, effectively preventing external water, dust, etc. from entering the interior of the electric support rod from the connection between the wiring harness tube and the wiring harness tube joint. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an electric support pole in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the sealing structure of the electric support rod in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 The enlarged view of point A in the middle;

[0027] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a ball socket in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wiring harness tube and the insert in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the insert in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] In the figure:

[0031] 1. Tube shell; 2. Telescopic tube; 3. Ball socket; 4. Wire harness; 5. Wire harness tube;

[0032] 100, insert; 101, ratchet groove; 102, joint;

[0033] 200, elastic member;

[0034] 300, wiring harness connector; 301, connector body; 302, flange; 303, ratchet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, rather than to limit the present invention. It should also be noted that, for ease of description, only parts related to the present invention, rather than all structures, are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0036] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "connected", and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0037] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0038] In the description of this embodiment, the terms "upper", "lower", "right", etc., directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplification of operation, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish in the description and have no special meaning.

[0039] See also Figure 1 The present embodiment provides an electric support rod, which can be applied to automobiles, comprising a tube shell 1, a telescopic tube 2 telescopically arranged on the tube shell 1, and two ball sockets 3 respectively arranged at opposite ends of the tube shell 1 and the telescopic tube 2, the two ball sockets 3 are respectively rotatably connected to the automobile body and the tailgate, and the tube shell 1 has a built-in circuit board, a motor and a screw pair, so that when the electric support rod receives an external control signal, the telescopic tube 2 can be driven to telescope along the axial direction of the electric support rod, thereby automatically opening or closing the tailgate.

[0040] Among them, the wiring harness 4 used to supply power to the electric support pole and transmit control signals is introduced into the interior of the electric support pole through the wiring harness pipe joint 300 connected to the ball socket 3 at the end of the tube shell 1, and the part of the wiring harness 4 located outside the electric support pole is inserted into the wiring harness tube 5, one end of the wiring harness tube 5 is connected to the car cabin or the tailgate, and the other end is fixedly connected to the wiring harness pipe joint 300. In order to reduce or even avoid the risk of water entering the electric support pole at the connection between the wiring harness tube 5 and the wiring harness pipe joint 300, the electric support pole provided in this embodiment also includes a sealing structure between the ball socket 3 arranged at the end of the tube shell 1 of the electric support pole and the wiring harness tube 5 connected to the ball socket 3. The sealing structure is described in detail below.

[0041] See also Figures 2 to 6 The sealing structure includes an insert 100, an elastic member 200 and a harness pipe joint 300, both of which are annular. The insert 100 is arranged in the harness pipe 5, and its outer wall is embedded and combined with the inner wall of the end of the harness pipe 5; the elastic member 200 is arranged on the outer end face of the insert 100 facing away from the harness pipe 5; the harness pipe joint 300 is arranged on the ball socket 3 at the end of the tube shell 1, and has a through hole for introducing the wire harness 4 into the ball socket 3. The harness pipe joint 300 includes a joint body 301 and a flange 302 arranged around the outer periphery of the joint body 301. The joint body 301 can be inserted into the insert 100 and fixedly connected with the insert 100 when installed with the harness pipe 5, so that a preset spacing smaller than the thickness of the elastic member 200 is formed between the outer end face of the insert 100 and the flange 302, so that the elastic member 200 is pressed between the insert 100 and the flange 302.

[0042] By means of the above structure, after the wiring harness tube 5 is installed into the ball socket 3, the elastic part 200 is in a compressed elastic deformation state, so that it maintains an elastic potential energy with recovery deformation, so that it can press against the insert 100 and the flange 302 in the opposite directions to form an annular sealing surface, effectively preventing external water, dust, etc. from entering the interior of the electric support rod from the connection between the wiring harness tube 5 and the wiring harness tube connector 300.

[0043] In an optional embodiment, the insert 100 can be threadedly connected to the wiring harness pipe connector 300, that is, an internal thread is set on the inner wall of the insert 100, and an external thread matching the internal thread is set on the outer periphery of the connector body 301 of the wiring harness pipe connector 300. During installation, the wiring harness tube 5 can be tightened until the elastic member 200 and the flange 302 are tightly deformed.

[0044] However, since the wire harness 4 is arranged in the wire harness tube 5, when the wire harness tube 5 is rotated, the wire harness 4 will be twisted and entangled, and in the assembly process of the electric support rod, it is difficult to accurately control the degree of threading of the external thread and the internal thread, that is, it is difficult to control the size of the above-mentioned preset distance, and thus the pressure between the elastic member 200 and the flange 302 cannot be accurately set.

[0045] To this end, in this embodiment, the insert 100 and the harness pipe connector 300 are preferably connected by being inserted into each other and clamped together, see Figures 3 to 5 The inner wall of the insert 100 is provided with a clamping portion, and the connector body 301 can be adapted and clamped with the clamping portion, so that there is no need to rotate the wire harness tube 5 during the connection between the two, and the wire harness 4 will not be twisted. Moreover, since the clamping portion and the connector body 301 and another clamping structure adapted with the clamping portion have a determined position, after the insert 100 is connected to the connector body 301, the preset spacing formed between the outer end surface of the insert 100 and the flange 302 has a unique determined value, so that the abutment pressure between the elastic member 200 and the flange 302 can be determined by the setting position of the above-mentioned clamping portion, flange 302 and other structures and the thickness of the elastic member 200 and other parameters, thereby ensuring the sealing effect of the sealing structure.

[0046] Specifically, in this embodiment, the clamping part is an annular ratchet groove 101 recessed on the inner wall of the insert 100, and correspondingly, an annular ratchet 303 is provided on the outer periphery of the connector body 301. When the insert 100 and the connector body 301 are plugged into place, the ratchet groove 101 and the ratchet 303 are correspondingly engaged, and the insert 100 and the connector body 301 can be prevented from accidentally falling off. Preferably, the number of the clamping parts can be more than two to increase the pull-out resistance after the insert 100 and the connector body 301 are clamped. Of course, in other optional embodiments, the ratchet groove 101 and the ratchet 303 can be interchangeably provided on the connector body 301 and the insert 100, respectively, or the implementer can also choose other forms of clamping structures, which are not specifically limited here.

[0047] See also Figure 3 and Figure 5 In this embodiment, the wire harness tube 5 can be made of elastic materials such as rubber, and the insert 100 is embedded in the inner side of the end surface of the wire harness tube 5. The portion of the wire harness tube 5 located outside the outer end surface of the insert 100 is formed as an elastic member 200. Therefore, when the wire harness tube 5 is connected to the wire harness tube connector 300 by means of the insert 100, the portion of the wire harness tube 5 located outside the outer end surface of the insert 100 can be tightly pressed by the insert 100 and the flange 302 of the wire harness tube connector 300 to form a sealing structure, thereby eliminating the need for additional independent elastic members 200 such as gaskets.

[0048] Furthermore, the outer end face of the insert 100 is preferably an inclined surface, which is inclined from the outside to the inside along the radial direction of the insert 100 toward the other end of the insert 100 to form a conical annular surface, so that after the wiring harness tube 5 is connected to the wiring harness tube connector 300, the elastic member 200 (that is, the portion of the wiring harness tube 5 located outside the outer end face of the insert 100) is located at the outer edge of the above-mentioned outer end face and between the flange 302 is squeezed to a greater extent than the portion within the outer edge of the above-mentioned outer end face, so that during the deformation process, the portion of the elastic member 200 located within the outer edge of the above-mentioned outer end face is limited to remain in the original position, preventing the elastic member 200 from turning outward and ensuring the sealing effect.

[0049] It is understandable that in order to form a reliable snap-fit ​​structure, the insert 100 needs to be made of a plastic material. For example, in this embodiment, the insert 100 can be formed by injection molding of a nylon material mixed with glass fiber, and the wiring harness tube 5 is made of rubber. If the insert 100 is directly embedded in the wiring harness tube 5, the holding force between the two is only provided by the restoring elastic force of the wiring harness tube 5 that is stretched and deformed by the insert 100. This holding force is difficult to maintain the engaged state of the two when the wiring harness tube 5 is plugged in and out. For this reason, in this embodiment, the wiring harness tube 5 and the insert 100 can be molded by overmolding (also known as rubber overmolding).

[0050] Specifically, a mold for injection molding the wiring harness tube 5 can be configured, and an insert that can fix the insert 100 is set in the mold cavity. After the insert 100 is obtained by pre-injection molding, a vulcanized rubber suitable for combining nylon and rubber is coated on the outer peripheral surface of the insert 100, and then the insert 100 is fixed to the insert. During the process of the mold closing to mold the wiring harness tube 5, the high temperature environment in the mold can solidify the vulcanized rubber and firmly combine the obtained rubber wiring harness tube 5 with the insert 100.

[0051] Preferably, in the process of coating the vulcanized rubber on the insert 100, the vulcanized rubber can also be coated on the outer end surface of the insert 100, so that the portion of the wire harness tube 5 used to form the elastic member 200 can be bonded and attached to the outer end surface of the insert 100. Of course, in other embodiments where an independent elastic gasket is selected as the elastic member 200, the elastic gasket can be bonded to the outer end surface of the insert 100 after the insert 100 and the wire harness tube 5 are overmolded, which is not limited here.

[0052] like Figure 6 As shown, the outer wall of the insert 100 is concavely and / or convexly provided with a coupling portion 102 to increase the area of ​​the coupling surface between the insert 100 and the wiring harness tube 5. The coupling portion 102 can further adopt more than two combined structural forms. For example, the coupling portion 102 can be set to a regular or irregular cross-sectional shape such as a spherical convex, square, triangular and / or dovetail shape, so that the outer peripheral surface of the insert 100, that is, the coupling surface between the insert 100 and the wiring harness tube 5, obtains a larger surface area, thereby obtaining a better holding force between the insert 100 and the wiring harness tube 5.

[0053] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present invention are merely examples for clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions can be made without departing from the protection scope of the present invention. It is not necessary and impossible to list all the embodiments here. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A sealing structure of an electric support rod, arranged between a ball socket (3) of the electric support rod and a wiring harness tube (5) connected to the ball socket (3), characterized in that: The sealing structure of the electric support rod comprises: An annular insert (100) whose outer wall is embedded and combined with the inner wall of the end of the wiring harness tube (5); an annular elastic member (200) disposed on an outer end surface of the insert (100) facing away from the wiring harness tube (5); and A wiring harness pipe joint (300) is arranged on the ball socket (3), and comprises a joint body (301) and a flange (302) arranged around the outer periphery of the joint body (301). The joint body (301) can be placed in the insert (100) and fixedly connected to the insert (100), so that a preset spacing smaller than the thickness of the elastic member (200) is formed between the outer end surface of the insert (100) and the flange (302), so that the elastic member (200) is pressed between the insert (100) and the flange (302).

2. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wiring harness tube (5) is made of elastic material, and the insert (100) is embedded in the inner side of the end surface of the wiring harness tube (5), and the portion of the wiring harness tube (5) located outside the outer end surface of the insert (100) is formed as the elastic member (200).

3. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to claim 2, characterized in that: The outer end surface of the insert (100) is an inclined surface, and the inclined surface is arranged in an inclined manner from the outside to the inside along the radial direction of the insert (100) toward the other end of the insert (100).

4. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic material is rubber.

5. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The elastic member (200) is bonded and attached to the outer end surface of the insert (100).

6. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner wall of the insert (100) is provided with a clamping portion, and the joint body (301) can be adapted to be clamped with the clamping portion.

7. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to claim 6, characterized in that: The number of the clamping parts is more than two.

8. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer wall of the insert (100) is concavely and / or convexly provided with a joining portion (102) to increase the area of ​​the joining surface between the insert (100) and the wiring harness tube (5).

9. The sealing structure of the electric support rod according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wiring harness tube (5) and the insert (100) are overmolded.

10. An electric support pole, characterized in that: A sealing structure comprising an electric support rod as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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