Seal and housing having a seal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022018438-A1
Application number	US-202117374791-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 13, 2021
Priority date	Jul 14, 2020
Publication date	Jan 20, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a seal, such as a gasket, for sealing a gap in a housing, said gap extending around an inner chamber of the housing, and thus for sealing the inner chamber from an exterior of the housing, comprising at least one sealing layer. The present disclosure further relates to a frame seal that provides sealing between at least two components of the housing, for example a bottom part and a top part of the housing, for example of a motor vehicle battery housing or motor vehicle battery box housing.

First claim

1 . A seal for sealing an inner chamber of a housing from an exterior of the housing, the housing for a motor vehicle battery or a motor vehicle battery box, the seal comprising at least one sealing layer comprising:
at least two rigid sealing layer portions, which are interconnected by a flexible sealing layer portion; and at least one sealing contour, which extends continuously over the different sealing layer portions; wherein the flexible sealing layer portion has at least two support elements in the region of which a thickness of the flexible sealing layer portion, measured perpendicularly to a main extension plane of the seal is greater than in a respective area around the support elements, and the support elements are arranged such that, when the seal is used as intended, the at least one sealing contour in the flexible sealing layer portion is arranged between the support elements and the inner chamber and/or between the support elements and the exterior.

2 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein the rigid sealing layer portions are foldably interconnected by the flexible sealing layer portion.

3 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein at least two sealing contours are present, and at least one of the at least two support elements is assigned to each of the sealing contours.

4 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein the support elements and/or the at least one sealing contour in the region of the flexible sealing layer portion are formed in one piece with at least part of the flexible sealing layer portion, from an elastomer.

5 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein a height of the support elements, measured perpendicularly to the main extension plane of the seal, is at least 45% of the height of the sealing contour.

6 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein the support elements are arranged in at least one row, which extends adjacent to or parallel to at least one sealing contour.

7 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein the support elements are configured to be one or more of: stiffer than the sealing contour in a direction perpendicular to the course of the sealing contour, and the width of the sealing contour being greater than a width of the support elements, measured perpendicularly to the thickness and the course of the sealing contour.

8 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein the support elements each have an inhomogeneous distribution of one or more of: the height, measured perpendicularly to the main extension plane of the seal, the width, measured in the main extension plane of the seal transversely to the course of the sealing contour, a length, measured in the main extension plane of the seal along the course of the sealing contour, or a distance from the respective closely adjacent support element, measured in the main extension plane of the seal along the course of the sealing contour.

9 . The seal according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible sealing layer portion in the region of the support element comprises at least two different components, and/or
a core of the support element has a component that is firmer than the rest of the support element.

10 . A housing for a motor vehicle battery or motor vehicle battery box, having a seal according to claim 1 .

11 . A method of manufacturing a seal according to claim 1 , comprising:
the respective rigid sealing layer portions being manufactured independently of each other in a first manufacturing step, and in one or more second manufacturing steps, each two rigid sealing layer portions being joined by at least one connecting flexible sealing layer portion.

12 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein, in the second manufacturing step, two rigid sealing layer portions, which in the first manufacturing step were each provided at least in part with at least one sealing contour of their own by injection molding, are joined by injection molding of the flexible sealing layer portion with simultaneous formation of at least one sealing contour and at least two support elements.

13 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein, in the first manufacturing step, at least two rigid sealing layer portions are manufactured by injection molding both with at least one own sealing contour and with a section of the flexible sealing layer portion as respective connector section, and
in the second manufacturing step, the two rigid sealing layer portions provided with the connector sections are then connected by injection molding to the edges of the connector sections facing each other with simultaneous formation of a connecting portion, at least one sealing contour and at least one supporting element.

14 . The method according to claim 13 , wherein, before joining the two rigid sealing layer portions provided with the connector sections by gating, at least one edge of each connecting portion is trimmed.

15 . The method according to claim 11 , wherein, in the second manufacturing step, at least one sealing contour of the rigid sealing layer portions is molded to the rigid sealing layer portions together with the at least one flexible sealing layer portion and continuous with respective sealing contours belonging to the different flexible sealing layer portions and with at least two supporting elements.

Assignees

• Reinz Dichtungs Gmbh

Inventors

• Blersch Robert
• Kamm Manuel
• Michalke Andreas
• Salzmann Jochen
• Vovcuk Maxim

Classifications

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title

• H01M50/26 Primary

  Assemblies sealed to each other in a non-detachable manner · CPC title

• H01M50/249

  specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains (constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64) · CPC title

• H01M50/24

  adapted for protecting batteries from their environment, e.g. from corrosion (thermal insulation H01M10/658) · CPC title

• F16J15/121 Primary

  with metal reinforcement · CPC title