Housing Cover Deformation Limiting Element for Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing housing cover designs require a groove for the sealing bead, limiting design freedom and making it difficult to position the sealing bead closely to the fastening means through-openings.
Innovation Solution
The housing cover incorporates a deformation limiting element with a fastening means through-opening portion that extends circumferentially around the fastening means through-openings, allowing for a more flexible design of the sealing bead and its proximity to the fastening means.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a groove is provided in the housing cover for the sealing bead, then the sealing bead can be positioned, but the design freedom of the housing cover is limited and the groove width must be greater than the sealing bead width
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the groove structure from the housing cover by using a deformation limiting element that projects over the seal support face. This eliminates the need for a groove in the housing cover itself, allowing the sealing bead to be positioned directly on the seal support face without being constrained by groove dimensions. The deformation limiting element is separated from the main housing cover body, enabling independent optimization of each component.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating a groove in the housing cover to accommodate the sealing bead, the invention inverts the approach by having the sealing bead sit directly on the seal support face and using a deformation limiting element to control its compression. This reverses the traditional groove-based containment approach and allows greater design flexibility in the housing cover geometry.
2Ease of manufacture
If the groove width in the non-pressed state is made greater than the sealing bead width, then the sealing bead can be accommodated, but the freedom in designing the housing cover is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The groove accommodation function is extracted from the housing cover and transferred to a separate deformation limiting element. This allows the housing cover to be designed with any geometry that is manufacturable from sheet-shaped starting material, while the deformation limiting element independently provides the necessary constraint for the sealing bead.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing system is segmented into three independent components: the housing cover, the sealing bead, and the deformation limiting element. Each component can be optimized independently - the housing cover for design freedom and manufacturability, the sealing bead for sealing performance, and the deformation limiting element for controlling compression.
3Reliability
If the sealing bead is pressed between the housing cover and housing, then sealing is achieved, but excessive deformation of the sealing bead may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The deformation limiting element is designed to prevent excessive compression of the sealing bead before the sealing process begins. By providing a mechanical stop at a predetermined height, the element counteracts the harmful effect of over-compression that would otherwise occur during assembly and operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The deformation limiting element acts as a cushioning mechanism by limiting the compression distance of the sealing bead to a safe maximum. This prevents the sealing bead from being compressed beyond its elastic limits, thereby protecting its integrity while still allowing sufficient compression for effective sealing.
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
This design allows for a secure and reliable sealing without excessive compression of the sealing bead, providing greater design flexibility and ease of production from sheet-shaped materials.
Implementation Method 1
the deformation limiting element is in the main force fit and the sealing bead is in the secondary force fit. This prevents an excessive deformation of the sealing bead
Implementation Method 2
the sealing bead is pressed between the housing cover and the housing to be closed by means of the housing cover
Implementation Method 3
At least one of the partial elements of the fastening means through-opening portion of the deformation limiting element, preferably all partial elements of the fastening means through-opening portion of the deformation limiting element, is/are preferably produced by means of an embossing operation or a deep-drawing operation on a base body of the housing cover
Implementation Method 4
At least one of the partial elements of the fastening means through-opening portion of the deformation limiting element, preferably all partial elements of the fastening means through-opening portion of the deformation limiting element, is/are preferably produced by means of an embossing operation or a deep-drawing operation on a base body of the housing cover
Data Source
AI summary
To create a housing cover for fixing to a housing, wherein the housing cover is provided with a plurality of fastening means through openings and with a sealing bead that comprises an elastomeric material, and wherein the sealing bead is arranged on a seal support face of the housing cover, in which housing cover the course of the sealing bead can be more freely designed and, in particular, laid closer to the fastening means through-openings of the housing cover and which, in particular, is producible from a sheet-shaped starting material, it is proposed that the housing cover comprises at least one deformation limiting element, which projects over the seal support face in the same direction as the sealing bead and limits a deformation of the sealing bead in the assembled state of the housing cover, wherein the deformation limiting element comprises at least one fastening means through-opening portion that extends along a circumferential direction of one of the fastening means through-openings over a circumferential angle α around the respective fastening means through-opening, and wherein the fastening means through-opening portion of the deformation limiting element comprises a plurality of partial element that are spaced at a distance from one another along the circumferential direction of the fastening means through-opening.