JPS63180771A - Packing for sealing air conditioner for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve good air tightness and water proof of a packing by providing the packing with a longitudinally extending central hollow portion, coating the inner peripheral surface of the hollow portion and a longitudinally extending outer peripheral surface with smooth skin layers, and making a body between the two surfaces of a foamed rubber material. CONSTITUTION:As a seal packing is made of a rubber material, a skin layer formed on the surface during foaming is a smooth surface with no minute pores, so that its water proof can be improved. As the seal packing 10 is provided with a longitudinally extending central hollow portion 11, it has an improved resilience and rapid recovery after deformation in comparison with a prior art seal packing 10. During handling of a unit with such a seal packing 10 attached thereto, the seal packing 10 will not be readily separated, permitting improvement of handling operativity.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a sealing gasket used for joints between units in an automotive air conditioner.

(Prior Art) A general automobile air conditioner, as shown in Fig. 6,
There is an intake unit 1 that takes in and blows air from outside the vehicle interior, a cooler unit 2 that has a built-in evaporator that cools the air that passes through it, and a temperature control system for the air cooled by the cooler unit 2, which is then distributed into the vehicle interior. It consists of a heater unit 3 for blowing air. Each of such units 1, 2.
3 are molded separately and are connected to each other when attached to the vehicle body. Therefore, each of the 7 langes tS forming the joint portion is interposed with a sealing gasket 4 to prevent air leakage. The sealing gasket 4 is attached to one of the flange parts f (the cooler unit 2 side in Fig. 6).
The sealing gasket 4 is attached so as to extend in an annular manner along the circumferential direction, and by pressing the flanges f and f into contact with each other, the sealing gasket 4 is crushed and maintains the internal sealing property. .

As such a conventional sealing gasket 4, one having a cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 4 is used.

The sealing gasket 4 shown in FIG. 4 is made by cutting a foamed urethane material or the like into a rectangular cross section, stretching it into a string shape, and pasting one side of a double-sided tape 5 to the bottom of the string. The other side of the double-sided tape 5 is attached to the mating surface of the flange part f shown in FIG.
(See Publication No. 13).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a sealing gasket 4 made of an open-cell foamed urethane material, small holes formed by foam molding are evident on the cut surface 7 formed in the sealing gasket 4. If water is absorbed there, there is a risk that microorganisms and the like will breed in the water and cause a bad odor.

In addition, when the cooler unit 2 with such a sealing gasket 4 attached is attached to the lower part of the instrument panel 6 in the vehicle body as shown in FIG. 6, the intake unit 1 and the heater unit 3 are first There are cases where this has to be done after the vehicle has been installed on the vehicle body, but this has the following inconveniences. That is, when installing the cooler unit 2 to an automobile air conditioner that does not have the cooler unit 2, the cooler unit 2 is installed from below between the intake unit 1 and the heater unit 3 that are already installed on the vehicle body. It is installed by inserting it, but at that time, the sealing gasket 4 affixed to the flange f may be flipped up or misaligned, creating a gap at this joint and causing internal damage. There was a risk that the sealing performance could not be achieved.

In order to eliminate such inconveniences, a sealing gasket 4a having a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. 5(A) has been developed. In this sealing packing 4a, as shown in FIG. 5(B), a string body made of foamed urethane material or the like and having a rectangular cross section is bent into a semicircular cross section by a string 8 extending in the longitudinal direction. Then, use double-sided tape 9 to hold its shape.
After that, another double-sided tape 5 is attached to the bottom.

According to such a sealing gasket 4a, the cut surface 7 with small holes formed during foam molding is hidden by the double-sided tape 5,
Since only the relatively smooth skin layer 20 is exposed, waterproofness is improved. Moreover, since the cross-sectional shape is semicircular, as shown in FIG. The sealing gasket 4a is shaped so that it is difficult to peel off and is difficult to cause misalignment of the gasket.

However, since the sealing gasket 4a is made of open-cell foam, the skin layer 20
Even if the surface is smooth, there are microscopic pores through which moisture can enter, causing water leaks and bad odors. In addition, in order to manufacture such a sealing gasket 4a, a bending process is required to form the cross section into a semicircular shape, which is complicated and may lead to an increase in manufacturing costs. Ta.

The present invention was made in order to eliminate such inconveniences, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sealing gasket that has excellent airtightness and waterproofness, is difficult to peel off during handling, and is inexpensive to manufacture. do.

[Configuration of Note θC] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a hollow part extending in the longitudinal direction at the center, and an inner part in contact with the hollow part. A sealing gasket characterized in that a circumferential surface and an outer circumferential surface extending in the longitudinal direction are covered with a smooth skin layer, and the substance between the inner circumferential surface and the outer circumferential surface is composed of a foamed rubber material. present.

(Function) According to the sealing packing according to the present invention, since the material is made of a rubber material, the skin layer formed on the surface during foam molding becomes a smooth surface without minute holes. , its own waterproofness is improved. In addition, since a hollow part extending in the longitudinal direction is formed in the center of such a sealing packing, it has improved elasticity and can quickly recover from deformation compared to conventional sealing packings. Even when handling a unit equipped with a sealing gasket, the sealing gasket is difficult to peel off easily, and handling efficiency is improved.

Furthermore, when manufacturing such a sealing packing, the manufacturing cost does not increase because it can be formed in a simple process without requiring a bending process.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sealing packing according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the manufacturing process of the sealing packing according to the same embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the sealing packing according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view showing the installation process of the automobile air conditioner.

As shown in FIG. 1(C), the sealing packing 10 according to the present embodiment is composed of a hollow tube 12 having a hollow section 11 with a circular cross section extending along the longitudinal direction at the center, and a bottom section of the hollow tube 12. One side of the double-sided tape 13 is attached. The other side of the double-sided tape 13 is attached, for example, to the mating surface of seven flange f formed on the cooler unit 2 (not shown in FIG. 3).

The hollow tube 12 is made of foamed rubber material, and has gaps such as fine holes formed therein due to the foaming. However, its inner and outer circumferential surfaces 14,15 are covered with a smooth skin layer without holes or the like. Typical rubber materials used in this example include ethylene-propylene rubber (EP[)M), styrene rubber (SBR), butadiene rubber (BR), and nitrile rubber (NBR).

Next, a specific method for manufacturing such a sealing packing will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 2, first, the extrusion molding device 2
The raw materials for the rubber material are put into the container along with the foaming agent, vulcanizing agent, and other additives. Then, these materials are appropriately mixed in the extrusion molding device 20 and extruded from the mold 22 by the screw 21.

The material W extruded from the mold 22 is formed into a hollow tube shape by the mold 22, and is conveyed into the heating furnace 24 by the conveyor 23. The material W before being conveyed into the heating furnace 24 is shown in FIG. 1<A).

The inside of the heating furnace 24 is maintained at a high temperature of, for example, about 150°C,
It is designed to encourage foaming of the material W.

The temperature and humidity conditions inside this furnace affect the foaming ratio of the finished product and are significantly related to the elasticity and other properties of the product, so they must be determined appropriately depending on the properties of the product you are trying to obtain. be.

In the heating furnace 24, the surface of the material W is vulcanized to form a smooth skin layer, and the foaming agent contained therein is then decomposed to form fine cells in the material. The state is shown in FIG. 1(B).

At the same time, in the heating furnace 24, a skin layer is formed on the inner and outer circumferential surfaces 14 and 15, which are the portions where the material W comes into contact with air. This skin layer is a smooth surface without holes or the like. The reason why the skin layer is formed in this manner is that gas caused by decomposition of the foaming agent is extinguished on the surface of the material W that comes into contact with air, and the surface portion is vulcanized.

Next, the material W foamed in the heating furnace 24 is transferred to the conveyor 2
3, and a lubricant such as silicone is applied to the outer circumferential surface 15 by a coating device 25.

Thereafter, the double-sided tape 13 is pasted on the bottom of the material W by the tape pasting device 26.

□A Finally, the material W is cut into a predetermined length by the cutting device 27, and is stored in the storage case 28 as the sealing packing 10.

Seal packing 1 made into 'J435 in this way
0 is attached to the flange f of the cooler unit 2 as shown in FIG.
Even when the seal packing 10 is installed by being inserted between the intake unit 1 and the heater unit 3, it is almost impossible for the seal packing 10 to turn over or shift its position. This is because the elasticity of the sealing packing 10 is improved and recovery from deformation is quick, so that a large shearing force does not act on the contact surface between the packing 10 and the flange f. Seal packing 10
0 The reason for the improved elasticity is that the material of this sealing gasket 10 is a foamed rubber material, and the hollow portion 1 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the sealing gasket 10.
Also, the reason why the sealing gasket 10 quickly recovers from deformation is because it has a hollow portion 11 in the longitudinal direction of the sealing gasket 10.
In addition to forming a skin layer on the inner circumferential surface 14, this is the first 0□. In a solid foam rubber material that does not form a hollow part 11, deformation such as crushing is absorbed by deformation of fine pores formed in the foam rubber material, so it takes time to recover its shape. It turns out. On the contrary,
In the sealing packing 10 according to the present embodiment, deformation such as crushing is mainly absorbed by the deformation of the hollow portion 11 having a circular cross section, and the hollow portion 11 quickly tries to recover to the circular cross section. Recovery from deformation is much faster than with conventional methods.

Furthermore, this sealing gasket 10 is made by mixing a foaming agent into the rubber material, decomposing the foaming agent, and vulcanizing the surface when foaming the rubber material and then foaming the inside, so the skin layer has holes. The result is a smooth surface with no blemishes. Therefore, the water resistance of the sealing packing 10 itself is also improved.

Furthermore, when manufacturing such a sealing gasket, complicated processes such as a conventional bending process are not required, so that manufacturing costs do not increase.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified in various ways.

For example, the cross-sectional shape of the hollow portion formed in the longitudinal direction of the sealing gasket is not limited to a circular shape, but may be triangular, polygonal, or the like.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the airtightness and waterproofness of the sealing gasket are greatly improved, and when a unit equipped with this sealing gasket is installed in a narrow place, However, this sealing gasket does not come off easily, and the handling efficiency is greatly improved. Further, according to the present invention,
Such a sealing gasket can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a sealing packing according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the manufacturing process of the sealing packing according to the same embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the sealing packing according to the embodiment. A front view showing the installation process of an automotive air conditioner; FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of a sealing gasket according to a conventional example;
FIG. 6 is a front view showing the installation process of an automobile air conditioner equipped with a conventional sealing gasket. 10... Seal packing, 11... Hollow part, 12
...Hollow tube, 13...Double-sided tape, 14...Inner peripheral surface, 15...Outer peripheral surface. Patent applicant Nippon Radiator Co., Ltd. Nitto Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] It has a hollow part (11) extending in the longitudinal direction at the center, and an inner circumferential surface (14) in contact with this hollow part (11) and an outer circumferential surface (15) extending in the longitudinal direction are made of a smooth skin layer. 1. A gasket for a seal for an automotive air conditioner, characterized in that the material between the inner circumferential surface and the outer circumferential surface is made of a foamed rubber material.