Sealing plug

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11773975-B2
Application number	US-202017120725-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2020
Priority date	Dec 12, 2019
Publication date	Oct 3, 2023
Grant date	Oct 3, 2023

Abstract

A sealing plug that is configured to seal a hole in a panel. The sealing plug comprises a plug body, at least two holding arms and a sealing portion. The plug body has a central axis and a support portion arranged around the central axis. Each of the at least two holding arms extends downward from the bottom of the support portion of the plug body and has a holding portion. The holding portions extend obliquely downward in a direction away from the central axis. The sealing portion is arranged on an outer edge of the support portion of the plug body. The sealing body is made of a metal material, and the sealing portion is made of a material with a melting point lower than that of the metal material.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sealing plug, wherein the sealing plug comprises:
a plug body, the plug body having a central axis, an insertion portion, and a support portion that is arranged around the central axis and the insertion portion, such that the plug body defines a bowl-shape, wherein the support portion comprises a support body portion and has at least two outer edge portions that each define a bottom surface along a bottom of the support portion;
at least two holding arms, wherein each holding arm of the at least two holding arms extends downward from the bottom of the support portion of the plug body and has a vertical portion that is parallel with the central axis and extends perpendicularly from the bottom surface, and each holding arm has a holding portion, wherein each holding portion extends from the vertical portion obliquely downward relative to the bottom surface in a direction away from the central axis; and
a sealing portion, the sealing portion being arranged on an outer edge of the support portion of the plug body,
wherein the outer edge of the support portion includes at least two first outer edge portions that extend obliquely outward and downward from the support body portion, and
wherein the plug body comprises a metal material, and the sealing portion comprises a material with a melting point lower than a melting point of the metal material.

2. The sealing plug of claim 1 , wherein the sealing plug is configured to seal a hole in a panel, wherein the sealing plug is configured such that when the sealing plug is mounted in the hole in the panel, the holding portions of the at least two holding arms are located below the panel, the support portion and the sealing portion are located above the panel, and the sealing portion comes into contact with the panel such that the hole is sealed by the sealing plug.

3. The sealing plug of claim 2 , wherein the sealing portion comprises a flexible material.

4. The sealing plug of claim 3 , wherein the sealing portion comprises an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer.

5. The sealing plug of claim 2 , wherein the at least two holding arms respectively have root portions connected to the support portion, and a distance from the root portions to the central axis is less than a radius of the hole of the panel.

6. The sealing plug of claim 2 , wherein the outer edge of the support portion is configured such that when the sealing portion melts, a lower surface of the outer edge contacts the panel to seal the hole.

7. The sealing plug of claim 6 , wherein the outer edge is arranged around the support body portion; and
the outer edge comprises
at least two second outer edge portions, the at least two second outer edge portions being arranged to separate the at least two first outer edge portions and extending parallel with a plane of the support body portion, wherein the at least two holding arms are positioned adjacent to the at least two second outer edge portions.

8. The sealing plug of claim 7 , wherein a lowest position of a free end of each of the at least two first outer edge portions is coplanar with a lower surface of each of the at least two second outer edge portions.

9. The sealing plug of claim 8 , wherein the insertion portion extends downward from the support portion, wherein the at least two holding arms are arranged around the insertion portion, and wherein the insertion portion is configured to be insertable into the hole of the panel.

10. The sealing plug of claim 9 , wherein the plug body is integrally formed from sheet metal.

11. The sealing plug of claim 7 , wherein the at least two holding arms comprise two holding arms, which are symmetrically arranged with respect to the central axis of the plug body.

12. The sealing plug of claim 7 , wherein the at least two holding arms comprise four holding arms, which are uniformly arranged in a circumferential direction of the plug body.

Assignees

• Illinois Tool Works

Inventors

• He Jiahui
• Sun Mengli

Classifications

• F16J15/022 Primary

  characterised by structure or material · CPC title

• F16J15/121 Primary

  with metal reinforcement · CPC title

• B62D25/24

  Superstructure sub-units with access {or drainage} openings having movable or removable closures; {Sealing means therefor}(inlet covers for vehicle fuel tanks B60K15/05) · CPC title

• F16J15/061

  with positioning means (F16J15/0831 takes precedence) · CPC title