Underfloor Cassette Sealing Structure for Controlled Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing underfloor cassette sealing arrangements face challenges in ensuring consistent fluid tightness, particularly when the cover and housing do not have a circumferential support surface, leading to potential damage from excessive force and difficulty in achieving a secure seal, especially during wet cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A multi-part sealing arrangement featuring a rigid support element and a flexible sealing element, where the rigid support element forms cavities for the flexible element, allowing for controlled compression and distribution of sealing force, ensuring a secure seal without damaging the flexible element, and accommodating various contours without requiring specific adaptations to the cover or housing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cover and housing are pressed tightly against each other to ensure sealing, then the sealing effect is improved, but the flexible sealing element may be damaged by excessive force
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing arrangement is divided into a rigid support element and a flexible sealing element. The rigid support element receives and distributes the compressive force, while the flexible sealing element remains protected from excessive force. This segmentation allows the force distribution function to be separated from the sealing function, resolving the contradiction between achieving sufficient sealing pressure and preventing sealing element damage.
2Reliability
If the cover and housing are pressed tightly to ensure sealing, then the sealing effect is improved, but the contact force distribution becomes difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid support element acts as an intermediary between the cover and the flexible sealing element. It receives the compressive force from the cover and distributes it uniformly to the flexible sealing element, controlling the force distribution without requiring high manufacturing precision in the cover-housing interface. This intermediary structure simplifies the manufacturing requirements while ensuring reliable sealing.
3Ease of manufacture
If the cover and housing have flat contact surfaces, then the manufacturing is simplified, but achieving a secure seal becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is segmented from the structural cover and housing components and integrated into the multi-part sealing arrangement. This allows the cover and housing to have simple flat contact surfaces for easy manufacturing, while the sealing arrangement (comprising rigid support element and flexible sealing element) provides the secure sealing function through controlled compression into cavities.
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 solution provides a reliable and durable seal that withstands compressive forces and wet cleaning conditions, ensuring the electrical installation remains functional while simplifying production and assembly by using flat contact surfaces and eliminating the need for precise tolerance specifications.
Implementation Method 1
at least parts of the flexible sealing element can be pressed or formed into the cavities by the cover being placed on the sealing arrangement
Data Source
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AI summary
Sealing arrangement of an underfloor cassette, preferably an underfloor cassette for accommodating electrical or electronic components or cables, wherein the sealing arrangement is provided between a cover and a box- or pot-shaped housing of the underfloor cassette and, after joining the cover and housing, seals against both, wherein the sealing arrangement is multi-part and comprises at least one rigid support element abutting the cover and/or housing and at least one flexible sealing element connected to the support element, wherein the at least one rigid support element is designed such that, when the cover rests on the housing, cavities for receiving the flexible sealing element are formed in the interaction of the support element, the cover, and the housing, and at least parts of the flexible sealing element can be pressed or formed into the cavities by placing the cover on the housing.