Grooved Sealing Plug Structure for Low-Force Panel Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sealing plugs require high insertion and removal forces due to their stiffness, making them difficult to install and remove, and often have permanent or complex attachment methods, which complicates their use in automotive applications.
Innovation Solution
A sealing plug with a grooved surface profile and equidistantly spaced teeth members, allowing for reduced stiffness and increased flexibility, facilitating easier insertion and removal, and an annular sealing member that can melt to fill gaps for improved sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sealing plug is made with high stiffness to ensure structural strength, then the sealing reliability is improved, but the insertion force and removal force become excessively high
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing plug is divided into multiple functional segments: a rigid body member for structural strength, a collar portion for positioning, and a flexible engagement portion with grooved surface profile for easy insertion and removal. This segmentation allows each part to have optimized properties for its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the sealing plug have different stiffness characteristics. The body member maintains high stiffness for sealing reliability, while the engagement portion with the grooved surface profile has reduced stiffness to facilitate easy insertion and removal without requiring excessive force.
2Reliability
If the sealing plug is made with high stiffness to maintain structural integrity, then the sealing performance is improved, but the ease of operation during installation and removal deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement portion of the sealing plug is designed with dynamic flexibility through the grooved surface profile, allowing it to deform during insertion and removal. This dynamic characteristic enables easy operation while the overall sealing performance is maintained through the rigid body member.
Solution Approach 2:
The engagement portion incorporates a flexible grooved surface profile that can deform elastically during insertion and removal operations. This flexibility reduces the effort required for operation while the sealing function is maintained through the rigid body member and collar portion.
3Reliability
If traditional attachment methods such as fasteners or adhesive are used, then the sealing reliability is improved, but the device complexity and difficulty of access to inner portions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment mechanism is extracted from separate components (fasteners or adhesive) and integrated directly into the sealing plug structure itself. The collar portion and engagement portion provide inherent attachment functionality through their geometric design, eliminating the need for additional attachment components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function and attachment function are merged into a single integrated structure. The collar portion provides both sealing engagement with the panel body and attachment to the orifice, while the engagement portion provides both sealing contact and the mechanical interface for insertion and removal operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The grooved surface profile reduces the insertion force by up to 30% and enhances ease of assembly and removal, while the melting annular sealing member provides improved sealing properties by filling gaps, making the plug more versatile and efficient.
Implementation Method 1
The provision of a grooved surface profile allows the sealing plug to be made more flexible. This is particularly advantageous because the insertion force required to insert the sealing plug into an orifice or a hole is decreased.
Implementation Method 2
This provides the advantage of further reducing the stiffness of the sealing plug, allowing the annular sealing member to deform when the sealing plug is inserted into or removed from the panel body orifice.
Implementation Method 3
an optional melting feature to fill gaps for enhanced sealing
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a sealing plug (101) for engagement with an orifice of a panel body to seal against the passage of fluid therethrough, comprising a body member (150) having a central axis (151) extending therethrough, and having a collar portion (152) protruding radially outward from an outer surface of said body member with respect to said central axis; and an annular sealing member (120) fixedly attached to a lower surface of said collar portion coaxial with said central axis, having a base portion (120a), configured to fixedly engage with said lower surface of said collar portion, and an engagement portion (120b) facing away from said lower surface and adapted to sealingly engage with the panel body, during use, wherein said engagement portion is provided with a grooved surface profile.