sealing device

Abstract

Provided is a sealing device capable of ensuring sealability between two members which are eccentrically connected.　This sealing device (4) seals a gap between a first tubular part (21) and a second tubular part (31) inserted into the first tubular part (21). The sealing device (4) comprises a tubular elastic body part (41) along the first tubular part (21) and the second tubular part (31). The elastic body part (41) has, on an inner circumferential surface (412A) which is in contact with the second tubular part (31), at least two lip sections (413, 414) each of which extends in the circumferential direction and which are arranged at a predetermined interval in the extension direction (Z direction) of the tube.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sealing device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a gasket used in a pipe connection structure for connecting a cooling pipe of a cooler that cools automotive electronic devices with a refrigerant to an external hose has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The gasket described in Patent Document 1 suppresses the influence on the seal surface pressure due to eccentricity by preventing the inner seal region provided with the inner lip portion and the outer seal region provided with the outer lip portion from overlapping.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the gasket described in Patent Document 1, in order to cope with eccentricity caused by vibration or the like between two connected members, the lip portion is arranged as described above. However, the cylindrical portions of the two members may be connected in an eccentric state in the first place. In such a structure, with the arrangement of the lip portion as described in Patent Document 1, there is a possibility that sufficient sealing performance cannot be ensured. That is, when a small-diameter cylindrical portion is inserted through a large-diameter cylindrical portion while being eccentric, and a sealing device that is not eccentric is arranged in these gaps, the compression amount of the elastic member is different between the portion where the distance between the cylindrical portions is small and the portion where the distance is large, and there is a possibility that a side where foreign matter is likely to invade is formed.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a sealing device capable of ensuring sealing performance between two members connected while being eccentric.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above objective, the sealing device according to the present invention is a sealing device for sealing between a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion inserted into the first cylindrical portion, comprising a cylindrical elastic body portion along the first cylindrical portion and the second cylindrical portion, wherein the elastic body portion has at least two lip portions on its inner circumferential surface in contact with the second cylindrical portion, each extending in the circumferential direction and arranged at a predetermined interval in the direction of extension of the cylinder.

[0007] In a sealing device according to one aspect of the present invention, a reinforcing member is embedded in the elastic body portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the sealing device of the present invention, it is possible to ensure airtightness between two members that are connected while being eccentric. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a cross-sectional view of a sealing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] These are cross-sectional views of the first and second members on which a sealing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view of a sealing device provided in a sealing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view showing how the elastic body portion is deformed in a sealing device provided in a sealing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first member 2 and the second member 3 on which the sealing structure 1 is formed, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a sealing device 4 provided in the sealing structure 1, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the deformation of the elastic body portion 41 in the sealing device 4 provided in the sealing structure 1.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the sealing device 4 provided in the sealing structure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention seals the space between the first cylindrical portion 21 and the second cylindrical portion 31 inserted into the first cylindrical portion 21. The sealing device 4 includes a cylindrical elastic body portion 41 along the first cylindrical portion 21 and the second cylindrical portion 31. The elastic body portion 41 has at least two lip portions 413, 414 on its inner circumferential surface 412A in contact with the second cylindrical portion 31, each extending in the circumferential direction and arranged at a predetermined distance apart in the direction of extension of the cylinder (Z direction).

[0012] The first member 2 and the second member 3 constitute a cooling device for cooling heat-generating parts such as inverters, which are mounted on a vehicle, for example. Specifically, the first member 2 and the second member 3 form fluid passages 2A and 3A through which cooling water, as a fluid, passes. In this embodiment, the second member 3 is provided inside the inverter and the first member 2 is provided outside the inverter to constitute the housing of the cooling device, but the configuration is not limited to this arrangement.

[0013] The first member 2 integrally comprises a first cylindrical portion 21 and a flow path forming portion 22. The first cylindrical portion 21 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is continuous with one end 221 of the flow path forming portion 22. The flow path forming portion 22 is formed in a cylindrical shape and extends perpendicularly to the first cylindrical portion 21. A fluid flow path 2A through which cooling water can pass is formed inside the first cylindrical portion 21 and the flow path forming portion 22.

[0014] For the sake of explanation, the extension direction of the first cylindrical portion 21 (the direction along the central axis) will be defined as the Z direction (up and down direction in Figure 1), the extension direction of the flow path forming portion 22 will be defined as the X direction (left and right direction in Figure 1), and the direction perpendicular to both the Z and X directions will be defined as the Y direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 1). Furthermore, in the first cylindrical portion 21, the direction toward the opposite side from the flow path forming portion 22 will be defined as the upper side in the Z direction, and the opposite direction will be defined as the lower side in the Z direction (these upper and lower directions do not necessarily coincide with the vertical up and down directions). Furthermore, in the flow path forming portion 22, the direction toward the first cylindrical portion 21 will be defined as one side in the X direction (left side in Figure 1), and the opposite direction will be defined as the other side in the X direction (right side in Figure 1).

[0015] The second member 3 integrally comprises a second cylindrical portion 31 and a flow path forming portion 32. The second cylindrical portion 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the Z direction and is connected to the intermediate portion of the flow path forming portion 32. The flow path forming portion 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape and extends in the X direction perpendicular to the second cylindrical portion 31. That is, the second cylindrical portion 31 extends so as to branch off from the flow path forming portion 32, and a T-shaped connection portion is formed. A fluid flow path 3A through which cooling water can pass is formed inside the second cylindrical portion 31 and the flow path forming portion 32.

[0016] The outer diameter of the second cylindrical portion 31 is smaller than the inner diameter of the first cylindrical portion 21, and the second cylindrical portion 31 is inserted into the first cylindrical portion 21. At this time, as shown in Figure 2, the central axis z2 of the second cylindrical portion 31 is located on the other side in the X direction relative to the central axis z1 of the first cylindrical portion 21. That is, the first cylindrical portion 21 and the second cylindrical portion 31 are eccentric. Note that in Figure 1, such eccentricity is omitted for illustrative purposes. The amount of eccentricity can be, for example, 2.5 mm TIR.

[0017] By inserting the second cylindrical portion 31 into the first cylindrical portion 21, the fluid passage 2A of the first member 2 and the fluid passage 3A of the second member 3 are connected. At this time, the first member 2 and the second member 3 are fixed in a manner that prevents relative movement (including linear and rotational motion).

[0018] The sealing device 4 is a gasket formed entirely in a cylindrical shape, and includes an elastic body portion 41 and a reinforcing member 42. The sealing device 4 is disposed in a cylindrical gap 5 formed between the first cylindrical portion 21 and the second cylindrical portion 31, and aims to seal this gap 5.

[0019] The elastic body constituting the elastic body portion 41 may be, for example, a synthetic rubber such as nitrile rubber (NBR), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (H-NBR), acrylic rubber (ACM), or fluororubber (FKM). The elastic body portion 41 is deformed as will be described later when the sealing device 4 is disposed in the gap 5. First, the shape before deformation will be described based on FIG. 3.

[0020] The elastic body portion 41 is formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and has an outer cylindrical portion 411 and an inner cylindrical portion 412. The outer cylindrical portion 411 is a fixing portion fixed to the inner peripheral surface 21A of the first cylindrical portion 21. The inner cylindrical portion 412 is continuous with the upper end portion of the outer cylindrical portion 411 in the Z direction, and extends so as to approach the center of the cylinder as it goes downward.

[0021] The inner cylindrical portion 412 has two lip portions 413 and 414 on its inner peripheral surface 412A. At this time, the inner peripheral surface 412A of the inner cylindrical portion 412 is also the inner peripheral surface of the entire elastic body portion 41. The lip portions 413 and 414 are formed in an annular shape by extending along the circumferential direction with respect to the axis along the Z direction. The upper lip portion 413 has a vertex portion 413A so as to linearly contact the outer peripheral surface 31A. The lower lip portion 414 has a contact surface portion 414A having a predetermined Z-direction dimension so as to contact the outer peripheral surface 31A in a planar manner. In the state before deformation before the sealing device 4 is attached to the gap 5, the vertex portion 413A and the upper end portion 414B of the contact surface portion 414A are arranged with a gap greater than or equal to the size of the assumed foreign matter in the Z direction. For example, when the length of the foreign matter is 1 mm, the gap between the vertex portion 413A and the upper end portion 414B is preferably 1 mm or more. When the length of the foreign matter is 2 mm, the gap between the vertex portion 413A and the upper end portion 414B is preferably 2 mm or more.

[0022] The reinforcing member 42 integrally has a cylindrical tube portion 421 extending in the Z direction and an annular flange portion 422 along the XY plane, and is formed in an L-shaped cross section. The tube portion 421 is embedded in the outer cylindrical portion 411 of the elastic body portion 41. The flange portion 422 is connected to the upper end portion of the tube portion 421 and extends toward the inner peripheral side, and is disposed at the connection portion between the outer cylindrical portion 411 and the inner cylindrical portion 412.

[0023] When arranging the sealing device 4 as described above in the gap 5 between the eccentric first cylindrical portion 21 and the second cylindrical portion 31, the outer cylindrical portion 411 of the sealing device 4 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface 21A of the first cylindrical portion 21. At this time, the lip portions 413 and 414 are in contact with the outer peripheral surface 31A of the second cylindrical portion 31 over the entire circumference. Further, due to the above eccentricity, as shown in FIG. 4, the closer the position is to the other side in the X direction where the first cylindrical portion 21 and the second cylindrical portion 31 are disposed in proximity, the easier the elastic body portion 41 of the sealing device 4 is compressed. As a result, the portion of the inner cylindrical portion 412, particularly the portion on the other side in the X direction, is deformed so as to approach the outer cylindrical portion 411, and the portion of the lip portions 413 and 414, particularly the portion on the other side in the X direction, is easily compressed. The lip portions 413 and 414 each have contact regions 6 and 7 that contact the outer peripheral surface 31A, and particularly the contact region 6 expands as it goes from the one side in the X direction to the other side.

[0024] The lip portion 413 has the minimum contact width (dimension in the Z direction) on the one side in the X direction, and the minimum contact width is, for example, 0.6 mm. The lip portion 414 has the minimum contact width (dimension in the Z direction) on the one side in the X direction, and the minimum contact width is, for example, 1.6 mm.

[0025] The lip portions 413 and 414 provide high contact pressure on the other side in the X direction, making it difficult for foreign matter to pass through. In contrast, on one side in the X direction, the contact pressure of the lip portions 413 and 414 is relatively low, but because the deformation of the lip portions 413 and 414 is small, a gap is easily formed between them. As described above, in the state before deformation, the distance between the apex portion 413A and the upper end portion 414B is greater than the size of the expected foreign matter, and because the deformation is small on one side in the X direction, such a gap is easily maintained. Therefore, even when foreign matter passes through one of the two lip portions 413 and 414 (especially the upper lip portion 413) on one side in the X direction, it is suppressed that the foreign matter is simultaneously caught in both lip portions 413 and 414. In other words, the other of the two lip portions 413 and 414 maintains contact with the outer peripheral surface 31A over its entire circumference, making it easier to maintain sealing performance.

[0026] Thus, according to the sealing device 4 provided in the sealing structure 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the elastic body portion 41 of the sealing device 4 has two lip portions 413 and 414 arranged at a predetermined distance apart in the Z direction, thereby ensuring airtightness between the first member 2 and the second member 3, which are two members connected eccentrically.

[0027] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes other configurations that can achieve the objectives of the present invention, including the following modifications. For example, in the above embodiment, the sealing device 4 has a reinforcing member 42, but depending on the material of the elastic body and the dimensions of each part, the reinforcing member may be omitted.

[0028] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the lip portion 413 has a linear contact with the outer peripheral surface 31A, and the lip portion 414 has a planar contact. However, the contact manner of the lip portions is not particularly limited; for example, both lip portions may contact linearly, or both may contact planarly.

[0029] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the elastic body portion 41 has two lip portions 413 and 414, but the elastic body portion may have three or more lip portions. In this case, it is sufficient that the three or more lip portions include two adjacent lip portions spaced apart by a predetermined interval (for example, 1.3 mm or more in the above embodiment).

[0030] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments of the present invention and includes all embodiments included in the concept and claims of the present invention. Furthermore, each component may be selectively combined as appropriate to achieve at least some of the above-described problems and effects. For example, the shape, material, arrangement, size, etc. of each component in the above embodiments may be appropriately changed depending on the specific use of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0031] 1...Sealing structure, 2...First member, 21...First cylindrical part, 21A...Inner circumferential surface, 22...Flow path forming part, 221...One end, 2A,3A...Fluid flow path, 3...Second member, 31...Second cylindrical part, 31A...Outer circumferential surface, 32...Flow path forming part, 4...Sealing device, 41...Elastic body part, 411...Outer cylindrical part, 412...Inner cylindrical part, 413,414...Lip part, 413A...Apex part, 414A...Contact surface part, 414B...Upper end part, 42...Reinforcement member, 421...Cylindrical part, 422...Flange part, 5...Gap, 6,7...Contact area

Claims

1. A sealing device for sealing the space between a first cylindrical portion and a second cylindrical portion inserted into the first cylindrical portion, It comprises a cylindrical elastic body portion along the first cylindrical portion and the second cylindrical portion, The elastic body portion has an outer cylindrical portion fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the first cylindrical portion, and an inner cylindrical portion that is continuous with one end of the outer cylindrical portion and extends toward the center of the cylinder toward the other end. A sealing device wherein the inner cylindrical portion has at least two lip portions on its inner circumferential surface in contact with the second cylindrical portion, each extending in the circumferential direction and arranged at a predetermined interval in the direction of extension of the cylinder.

2. The sealing device according to claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing member embedded in the elastic body portion.

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