| 摘要 |
<p>A seal plug (10) for closing a aperture in a panel includes a cover cap (12), a set of seal plug retaining tabs (32, 34, 36, 38) extending from a bottom face (16) of the plug and a set of guide elements (60, 62, 64, 66) extending from the bottom face of the plug. The guide elements (60-66) disposed on the bottom face of the seal plug define a first axially orientated lead-in surface. The retaining tabs (32-38) disposed on the bottom face of the seal plug define a second axially orientated lead-in surface. The first and second lead-in surfaces cooperate making the seal plug easy to install. A thermoexpanding plastic sealing ring (30) adapted to soften and expand upon heating to a temperature of about 250 DEG F is disposed on the bottom face of the seal plug. The seal ring expands and softens in an oven enabling the seal plug to become firmly bonded to a surface defining an aperture. A preferred method of manufacturing the seal plug includes closely controlling the temperature of the die members (102, 104) in a two-shot injection molding apparatus (100) within a range of 135 DEG F-180 DEG F in order to inject the seal ring material in a flowable state. The first step in the two-shot molding process injects nylon into a first cavity forming the cover cap. The second step injects the heat responsive thermoexpanding material into a second cavity forming the sealing ring on the cover cap. <IMAGE></p> |
