Seal structure

Abstract

To provide a seal structure capable of securing sealing performance by means of an elastic member, while suppressing difficulty in attachment or detachment caused, e.g., by deformation of the elastic member.SOLUTION: A seal structure 1 is provided, where one member 2 to which an elastic member 4 is attached is inserted into a through-hole 5 formed in another member 3, so that a gap between the through-hole 5 and the one member 2 is sealed with the elastic member 4. The one member 2 includes a protrusion 8 that projects in a direction orthogonal to the direction of insertion into the other member 3, and that has a flat surface facing the insertion direction. The elastic member 4 includes a recess 10 which is formed as a depression in the orthogonal direction and into which the protrusion 8 is fitted. The elastic member 4 is attached to the one member 2 such that the facing portions of the recess 10 and the flat surface of the protrusion 8 are in surface contact with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seal structure for sealing a gap between one member and another member when the one member is fitted into the other member. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a connection part and a connection unit configured to attach a terminal block to a mounting hole provided in a case. The terminal block has an insertion part protruding from the terminal block and an annular elastic member attached to the outer periphery of the insertion part, and the insertion part is inserted into the mounting hole, whereby the gap between the insertion part and the mounting hole is sealed by the elastic member. The mounting hole has a housing part formed by depressing the case in the lateral direction, and the elastic member is housed in the housing part. The dimensions of the elastic member are formed such that the dimension in the insertion direction is larger than the dimension of the housing part, and the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction is smaller than the dimension of the housing part. The elastic member thus formed is configured to be pressed by the lid part that closes the mounting hole, and displaced between the lid part and the bottom of the housing part, so that when the lid part is attached, it comes into contact with the entire inner surface of the housing part. Patent Document 1 states that such a configuration makes it easy to insert the insertion part into the mounting hole, and also ensures sealing by the elastic member by attaching the lid part. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-61228 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The connection part of Patent Document 1 is configured to displace the elastic member, so it is necessary to form the housing of the case according to the displacement of the pressed-in elastic member. In other words, it is necessary to form the shape of the case according to the size and displacement of the elastic member, and to ensure the thickness of the bottom of the housing in the insertion direction of the insertion part in order to support the state in which the elastic member is displaced. Therefore, there is a possibility that restrictions will be imposed on the shape of the case in addition to the elastic member, and that the size and weight of the case will increase.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned technical problems, and aims to provide a sealing structure that can ensure sealing properties provided by an elastic member while preventing the elastic member from becoming difficult to install or remove due to deformation, etc., of the elastic member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a sealing structure configured such that one member to which an elastic member is attached is inserted into a through hole formed in another member, thereby sealing a gap between the through hole and the one member with the elastic member, wherein the one member has a protruding portion that protrudes in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction into the other member and has a flat surface facing the insertion direction, the elastic member has a recess that is recessed in the perpendicular direction and into which the protruding portion is fitted, and the elastic member is attached to the one member with the opposing portions of the recess and the flat surface of the protruding portion in face-to-face contact. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the seal structure of the present invention, a recess is formed in an elastic member that seals a gap between one member and a through hole of the other member, and the elastic member is attached to one member with a protruding portion of the one member fitted into the recess. The protruding portion and the recess are in surface contact with each other at portions that face each other in the insertion direction of the one member, so that the protruding portion and the recess restrict the movement of the elastic member in the insertion direction. Therefore, when the elastic member is inserted into the through hole while elastically deforming, the frictional force generated between the elastic member and the through hole can be prevented or suppressed from shifting or rotating in the insertion direction. In addition, the same effect can be obtained when one member is removed from the other member, so that deterioration of the quality of the elastic member can be prevented or suppressed, and the elastic member can be reused. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a seal structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged view showing a portion where the housing part and the case are sealed in a state where the housing part is inserted into a through hole in the seal structure shown in FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are merely examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0010] Fig. 1 shows an example of a seal structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The seal structure 1 shown in Fig. 1 is configured to seal a gap that occurs between a terminal block 2 mounted on a vehicle and a transaxle case (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a case) 3, when the terminal block 2 and the case 3 are attached to the terminal block 2 by an elastic member 4. In the seal structure 1 shown in Fig. 1, the terminal block 2 is attached by being fitted into a through hole 5 provided in the case 3. The transaxle case 3 is a case that houses a transaxle in which a transmission and a differential gear are integrated and which is provided between a driving power source such as an engine or a motor and an output side member such as driving wheels on a power transmission path of the vehicle.

[0011] The terminal block 2 is a resin mechanism for holding a plurality of terminals for connecting, branching, or relaying electric wires. The terminal block 2 is for electrically connecting, for example, a motor generator mounted on a vehicle to a battery. The terminal block 2 has a housing part 6 inserted into a through hole 5 of a case 3, a cap part 7 formed to cover the through hole 5 of the case 3 from the insertion direction of the housing part 6, and an elastic member 4 attached to the outer periphery side of the housing part 6. The housing part 6 and the cap part 7 are an integrally molded resin housing. After the housing part 6 is fitted into the through hole 5, the cap part 7 is fixed to the case 3 by a screw or the like (not shown), so that the terminal block 2 is positioned in the vertical direction. In the following description, the direction in which the housing part 6 is inserted will be described as the vertical direction, and the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, i.e., the longitudinal direction of the terminal block 2 in FIG. 1, will be described as the horizontal direction.

[0012] The housing 6 houses, for example, a plurality of terminals for connecting the battery to an on-board inverter, a bus bar of a motor, etc., and distributing the battery power. As shown in Fig. 1, the housing 6 is generally rectangular, and is provided with a first protrusion 8 and a second protrusion 9 that protrude laterally from the side surface of the housing 6.

[0013] The first protrusion 8 is formed at a relatively upper position in the vertical direction on the side surface of the terminal block 2, with a small gap between it and the cap portion 7. Specifically, the first protrusion 8 has a rectangular cross section, and is formed so that its vertical length is longer than its horizontal length (thickness) as shown in Fig. 2. Although not shown in the figure, the first protrusion 8 is formed around the entire periphery of the side surface of the housing portion 6.

[0014] The second protrusion 9 is formed below the first protrusion 8 with a slight gap therebetween in the vertical direction on the side surface of the terminal block 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the second protrusion 9 has a rectangular cross section similar to the first protrusion 8. Furthermore, compared to the first protrusion 8, the second protrusion 9 protrudes in the lateral direction and is formed into a short rectangle in the vertical direction. Although not shown in the drawings, the second protrusion 9 is formed around the entire periphery of the side surface of the housing 6 similar to the first protrusion 8.

[0015] The elastic member 4 is made of rubber such as acrylic rubber, and is an axial seal for sealing the gap between the housing 6 and the through hole 5. For this reason, although illustration is omitted, the elastic member 4 is attached to the entire circumference of the side surface of the housing 6, similar to the first protruding portion 8 and the second protruding portion 9. Also, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the elastic member 4 is formed in a so-called U-shaped cross section, in which a recess 10 recessed outward in the horizontal direction is formed in the vertical center portion. The first protruding portion 8 of the housing 6 is fitted into the recess 10. Also, the surface of the elastic member 4 opposite the recess 10 in the horizontal direction, that is, the surface of the elastic member 4 facing the through hole 5 of the case 3, is formed to be gently curved so as to bulge outward in the horizontal direction. The curvature of the curved portion is set based on the size of the elastic member 4 and the distance between the housing part 6 or the first protrusion part 8 and the side of the through hole 5, and is set to a curvature that reduces the contact area between the elastic member 4 and the side of the through hole 5 and enables the gap between the housing part 6 and the through hole to be reliably sealed.

[0016] Also, the recess 10 of the elastic member 4 is in surface contact with the first protrusion 8. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the elastic member 4 has a first support portion 11 and a second support portion 12, which are in surface contact with the side surface of the housing portion 6 and the first protrusion 8 on both sides of the recess 10 in the vertical direction. The first support portion 11 and the second support portion 12 are in surface contact with the respective surfaces of the first protrusion 8, with the surfaces facing the housing portion 6 and the surfaces facing the first protrusion 8. On the other hand, in a state where the elastic member 4 is attached, the elastic member 4 is formed so that there is a slight gap between the cap portion 7 and the elastic member 4 and the second protrusion 9 in the vertical direction. In other words, the vertical length of the first support portion 11 is slightly shorter than the gap between the first protrusion 8 and the cap, and the vertical length of the second support portion 12 is formed so as to be slightly shorter than the gap between the first protrusion 8 and the second protrusion 9. Therefore, when a relatively large elastic deformation or rotation in the insertion direction occurs in the elastic member 4, the elastic member 4 and the cap portion 7 or the second protruding portion 9 come into contact with each other.

[0017] 1, the elastic member 4 is slightly longer than the horizontal length of the through hole 5 when the elastic member 4 is attached to the housing part 6. Therefore, when the housing part 6 is fitted into the case 3, the elastic member 4 is compressed in the horizontal direction toward the housing part 6, and the horizontal gap between the through hole 5 and the housing part 6 is sealed by the elastic member 4.

[0018] When the terminal block 2 configured in this way is fitted into the case 3, the housing part 6 of the terminal block 2 is inserted into the through hole 5 from above the case 3. At that time, since the horizontal length of the housing part 6 including the elastic member 4 is longer than the horizontal length of the through hole 5, the elastic member 4 is pushed in while being elastically deformed in the horizontal direction toward the housing part 6. At this time, an upward force and a counterclockwise rotation moment are applied to the elastic member 4 due to the frictional force acting between the side of the case 3 and the surface of the elastic member 4 facing the case 3. Such an action increases the insertion load such as the contact area and contact pressure of the elastic member 4 with respect to the case 3, and the elastic member 4 may be displaced or rotated in the vertical direction. In addition, the elastic member 4 is compressed downward in the vertical direction, which is the frictional direction, and the rubber of the elastic member 4 expands outward in the horizontal direction, which may further increase the frictional force between the elastic member 4 and the case 3, causing the elastic member 4 to be displaced.

[0019] On the other hand, in the seal structure 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the first protrusion 8 restricts the movement of the elastic member 4 in the vertical direction. That is, the force or rotational moment that moves the elastic member 4 is received at the portion where the vertically facing surface of the recess 10 of the elastic member 4 and the vertically facing surface of the first protrusion 8 are in surface contact with each other. Therefore, when inserting the housing part 6, it is possible to prevent or suppress an increase in the insertion load due to friction between the elastic member 4 and the case 3, or the occurrence of the elastic member 4 falling off. If the elastic member 4 moves or rotates in the vertical direction, the elastic member 4 comes into contact with the cap part 7 or the second protrusion 9, so that the movement or rotation can be restricted. In addition, since such an effect can be obtained only by changing the shapes of the terminal block 2 and the elastic member 4, it is possible to suppress the shape or structure of the case 3 from being restricted, or the size or weight from being increased. Furthermore, since the same effect can be obtained when the terminal block 2 is removed from the case 3, it is possible to prevent or suppress a decrease in the quality of the elastic member 4, and it is possible to reuse the elastic member 4, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 1. Sealing structure 2 Terminal block (one part) 3 Transaxle case (other component) 4 Elastic member 5 Through hole 6 Housing 8 First protrusion 10 Recess

Claims

[Claim 1] A seal structure configured such that one member to which an elastic member is attached is inserted into a through hole formed in another member, thereby sealing a gap between the through hole and the one member with the elastic member, the one member includes a protruding portion that protrudes in a direction perpendicular to a direction of insertion into the other member and has a flat surface facing the insertion direction, the elastic member has a recess formed in the perpendicular direction and into which the protrusion is fitted, The elastic member is attached to the one of the members in a state where the recess and the flat surface of the protrusion are in surface contact with each other. A seal structure characterized by:

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