FR2929987A1 - PROCESS FOR MANUFACTURING A FLAT AND FLANGE EXHAUST FLANGE REALIZED BY SUCH A METHOD - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves fabricating a coupling surface (11) and a heel of a flat exhaust flange from a base matrix whose spherical part (16) defines a part of the heel, where the matrix (15) is common to dimensions and different applications of the flange, and the thickness of the surface is comprised between 7-8 millimeters. The heel is bored using a boring tool for forming an orifice, where the diameter of the orifice is comprised between 40-60 millimeters. An independent claim is also included for a flat exhaust flange comprising a coupling surface.

Description

Method of manufacturing a flat exhaust flange and flange made by such a method Technical field of the invention

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a flat exhaust flange, which flange comprises a coupling face, associated with a first exhaust member and provided with a first orifice, and a heel, provided with a at least one second orifice intended to receive a second associated exhaust member, the method comprising at least: a step of producing the coupling face and the heel of the flange, and a step of piercing the heel, to form said second orifice.

The invention also relates to a flat exhaust flange made by such a manufacturing method. State of the art

In the field of the exhaust of a motor vehicle, a flat exhaust flange 25 is conventionally placed between two associated exhaust members, namely a manifold and, for example, a hose or decoupler, also called flexible. Indeed, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a conventional exhaust flange 10 has a coupling face 11, substantially flat, and a heel 12 formed on the face 30 of the coupling 11. The coupling face 11 comprises a first orifice 18, formed opposite the bead 12 and, for example, two fixing orifices 13 for attaching the flange 10 to said associated exhaust member. The heel 12 has a second orifice 14, intended to receive an associated exhaust member, of the hose or hose type, the dimensions of which, namely the diameter, the height, the orientation with respect to the coupling face 11 , are variable and depend in particular on the dimensions and the application variants of the flange 10.

Moreover, a method of manufacturing such an exhaust flange, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, comprises the production, in a first step, of the coupling face 11 and of the heel 12, and then, in a second step, drilling the heel 12 to form the second orifice 14. Thus, according to the diameter and the orientation of the welded part in the hole 14 of the heel 12, vis-à-vis this flange, it is necessary systematically designing a new heel 12, which is linked to a single orientation and a single diameter of said welded part, taking care to respect the flange struts and respect the seal bearing diameter (not shown) associated with the flange.

Indeed, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, illustrating two embodiments of an exhaust flange 10 according to the prior art, the heel 12 is different depending on the size and the application of the flange 10, the height heel 12 is larger or smaller and the hole 14 pierced in the heel 12 has a larger or smaller diameter, and an orientation relative to the coupling face 11 more or less pronounced. Thus, for orifices 14 and 18 of the flange 10 of different diameters and different orientations, it is mandatory to create a different striking tooling flange, the interfaces are not common and the associated fasteners having never the same. same dimensions.

Thus, the architecture of the vehicles being very different depending on the model, it is currently difficult to take a flange of a model of vehicle to another. It is most of the time necessary to recreate a flange for each model, as well as the associated tool for the realization of the flange, thus generating significant additional costs in terms of tools and manufacturing process of the flange.

Object of the invention

The object of the invention is to remedy all of the aforementioned drawbacks and to provide a method of manufacturing a flat exhaust flange, which can be applied for a number of different dimensions and application variants. a flange, without having the particular obligation to create or change the tools associated with such a manufacturing process.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the appended claims and, more particularly, by the fact that said step of producing the coupling face and the heel of the flange is made from a base matrix comprising a substantially spherical shape defining a portion of the heel of the flange, before said piercing step, said base matrix being common to several dimensions and variants of application of the flange.

Other advantages and features of the invention may be considered singly or in combination: Said base matrix is produced, for example by stamping, by means of a striking tool, common to several dimensions and application variants of FIG. the flange. Said bead piercing step, to form said second orifice, is carried out by means of a piercing tool comprising a tip with a variable diameter, according to the dimensions of the second orifice to be pierced in the heel. - The second hole made during said bead piercing step has a diameter and an orientation relative to the mating face of the predetermined flange, according to the dimensions and application variants of the flange.

The invention also relates to the production of a flat exhaust flange made by such a method, which is simple to manufacture and can be applied to different types of vehicles, while avoiding creations or changes of difficult and expensive tools for the manufacturing process.

This object of the invention is characterized by the appended claims and, more particularly, by the fact that a portion of said heel is of substantially spherical shape, constructed from a reference sphere of center and height with respect to the predetermined coupling face, only the diameter of said second orifice and said height of the center of said sphere relative to the mating face of the flange being variable, according to the dimensions and application variants of the flange.

Other advantages and features of the invention can be considered in isolation or in combination: The maximum orientation of said second orifice of the heel with respect to the coupling face of the flange depends on the diameter of said second orifice and the height of the center of said sphere. - The diameter of said second hole of the heel is between 40mm and 65mm. - The height of the center of said sphere relative to the mating face of the flange is between 0mm and 75mm, depending on the diameter of said second hole of the heel. - The thickness of the coupling face of the flange is between 7mm and 8mm.

Other advantages and features will emerge more clearly from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention given by way of nonlimiting example and represented in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figures 1 and 2 each show an alternative embodiment of a flat exhaust flange according to the prior art.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show, respectively in perspective and in section along the axis AA, a basic matrix used for the manufacture of a flat exhaust flange according to the invention, according to a particular embodiment of a method of manufacture according to the invention.

Figure 5 schematically shows a sectional view of a flat exhaust flange made by the manufacturing method according to Figures 3 and 4, positioned between associated exhaust members.

FIGS. 6 and 7 each represent an alternative embodiment of a flat exhaust flange according to the invention, produced by a manufacturing method according to the invention from the common base matrix according to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 8 represents an alternative embodiment of a flat exhaust flange according to the invention, produced by a manufacturing method according to the invention from a different base matrix. Description of particular embodiments

With reference to FIGS. 3 to 8, the manufacturing method according to the invention of a flat exhaust flange 10 according to the invention consists in producing the coupling face 30 and the heel 12 of the flange 10 in a single operation, from a base matrix 15 (FIGS. 3 and 4), common for different types, different dimensions and different applications of the flange 10. In FIGS. 3 and 4, the base matrix 15 comprises the face in the particular embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, provided with two attachment points 13, and a portion 16 of substantially spherical shape, defining a portion of the heel 12 before drilling. By way of example, the substantially spherical portion 16 of the base matrix 15 may be of substantially semispherical shape or in the form of a portion of a sphere, as described hereinafter.

As shown in FIG. 5, the dimensions and the shape of the substantially spherical portion 16 of the base matrix 15 are determined and constructed from a reference sphere 17, defined by its center C and by the height H of the center C of the sphere 17 with respect to the coupling face 11 of the flange 10. More particularly, the reference sphere 17 is defined by its radius R, which is a resultant of the diameter to be respected of a sealing zone 19 associated, located between the coupling face 11 and the exhaust member adjoining the flange 10, namely an exhaust manifold 20.

By way of example, the diameter of the sealing zone 19 to be respected is of the order of 70 mm and the seal (not shown) placed between the coupling face 11 and the manifold 20 is made of stainless steel, with a thickness of the order of 0.3mm to 0.5mm.

Furthermore, the base matrix 15 is made, for example, by a hot stamping process or advantageously by stamping, so as to form a single piece of constant thickness E (Figure 4), defining the coupling face 11 and the heel 12 before drilling. For example, the base matrix 15 is formed from a striking tool (not shown), common to several dimensions and application variants of the flange 10, in particular in order to be able to achieve an infinite cost different versions of the flange 10. The life of the stamping tool is thus greater than the lifetime, for example, of hot stamping tooling.

In FIGS. 5 to 7, after the production of the base matrix 15, the method of manufacturing the flange 10 also comprises a step of drilling the orifice 14 in the spherical shape 16 of the base matrix 15, by means of a piercing tool (not shown) having a variable diameter tip, according to the predetermined dimensions of the orifice 14 to be pierced. As shown in particular in FIGS. 5 to 7, only the diameter D1 of the orifice 14 and its orientation, namely the angle X in FIG. 5, with respect to the coupling face 11 of the flange 10 are variable according to the desired dimensions and application variants of the flange 10.

More particularly, the angle X of orientation of the orifice 14 of the heel 12 corresponds to the orientation of the axis of a hose 21, inserted and welded in the orifice 14, with respect to the reference axis BB perpendicular to the coupling face 11 of the flange 10 and passing substantially through the center of the first orifice 18 associated with the coupling face 11. Moreover, as shown more particularly in Figures 5 and 8, the orientation of the orifice 14 is made opposite to the fixing points 13, pierced in the coupling face 11, so that nuts 22, associated with studs 23, inserted in the attachment points 13 and intended for the fixing the flange 10 on the manifold 20, be accessible for clamping tools necessary for fixing the flange 10 on the manifold 20.

The piercing step of the orifice 14 in the heel 12 and the calculation of the dimensions of the base matrix 15 for the realization of the heel 12 of the flange 10 will be described in more detail with regard to FIG. 5, illustrating the particular use of the exhaust flange 10 according to the invention, between a manifold 20 and a decoupler or a hose 21.

Tables 1 to 6 below illustrate the combinations of possible values between the height H of the center C of the sphere 17 and the maximum possible angle X of orientation that can take the orifice 14 with respect to the mating face 11, to obtain a plurality of different flange variants 10 from the same base matrix 15, of which only the shape of the sphere 17 varies, as a function of the diameter D1 of the orifice 14 to be pierced, namely corresponding substantially at the diameter of the piece fixed in the orifice 14.

Tables 1 to 6 give, respectively for a diameter of the orifice 14 of the order of 40 mm (Table 1), 45 mm (Table 2), 50 mm (Table 3), 55 mm (Table 4), 60 mm (Table 5) and 65mm (Table 6), the approximate maximum angle X of orientation of the orifice 14 with respect to the coupling face 11 as a function of the height H of the center C of the sphere 17.

By way of example, with reference to Table 1, by making a base matrix 15 whose center C of the sphere 17 is positioned at a height H of 10 mm below the mating face 11, the angle maximum orientation X of the orifice 14 can rise up to 32 °, for a diameter Dl of the orifice 14 to drill 40mm. Referring to Table 5, by fabricating a base matrix 15 whose center C of the sphere 17 is positioned at a height H of 20mm below the mating face 11, the maximum orientation angle X of the orifice 14 can rise up to 3 °, for a diameter D1 of the orifice 14 to drill 60mm.

More particularly, as shown in Figure 5, considering that the diameter of the hose 21 to be fixed in the orifice 14 is of the order of 55mm and considering that the height H of the center C of the sphere 17 relative to the coupling face 11 is of the order of 20mm, the maximum orientation angle X that can take the orifice 14 is 8 °. 10 15 20 25 30 9 Fixed Part Diameter 040 Height H of Angle X Center C of Maxi Sphere 17 Approximate 0 47 39 32 26 21 17 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 1 0 Table 1 Part Diameter Set 045 Height H of Angle X center C of Maxi sphere 17 Approximate 0 41 5 34 10 27 15 22 20 17 25 14 30 11 35 9 40 7 45 5 50 4 55 3 60 1 65 0 Table 2 10 15 20 25 10 Fixed part diameter 050 Height H Angle X Maxi Center C of the Approximate Sphere 17 0 36 28 22 17 13 10 7 5 4 2 1 0 Table 3 Fixed Part Diameter 055 Height H of Angle X Center C of Maxi Sphere 17 Approximate 0 30 5 22 10 16 15 12 20 8 25 6 30 4 35 2 40 1 45 0 Table 4 30 Fixed Part Diameter 060 Height H of Angle X Center C of Maxi Sphere 17 Approximate 0 15 10 6 3 1 0 Table 5 Fixed Part Diameter 065 Height H Angle X Approximately C from the sphere Approximate C of the sphere 17 0 13 5 6 10 2 Table 6 25 In all cases, regardless of the combined values of Tables 1 to 6 above, to make the mat 15, the drilling step to form the orifice 14 in the heel 12 must take into account the fact that the welding zones 24 of the hose 21 must not be in contact with the coupling face 11 ( Figure 5). It is therefore necessary to leave a minimum clearance J of the order of 5 mm between the welding zones 24 and the coupling face 11. Moreover, for example, the exhaust flange 10 according to the invention is preferably produced in a thick stainless steel sheet, with a thickness E (FIG. 4) of between 7 mm and 8 mm. The diameter D1 of the orifice 14 pierced in the heel 12 is therefore between 40mm and 65mm, preferably 45mm to 55mm, depending on the dimensions and the variations of application of the flange 10. The diameter D2 of the orifice 18 of the mating face 11 is variable (Figure 4).

The manufacturing method according to the invention, as described above, therefore allows from a single base matrix 15, to create different variants of the exhaust flange 10, in particular without heavy modifications of the tools. In general, it is possible to achieve by the method according to the invention, for example two or three positions of the center C of the sphere 17, according to Tables 1 to 6, to achieve two or three flanges 10 of different heights according to the possibilities of implantation of the flange 10 and its adjoining room.

Indeed, as shown in FIG. 6, the exhaust flange 10 has a coupling face 11 provided with two attachment points 13 and the orifice 14 of the heel 12 has a relatively small diameter D1 and an X orientation relative to at the mating face 11, such that the heel 12 has a large height, defining a substantially spherical shape quite pronounced.

In FIG. 7, the alternative embodiment of the exhaust flange 10 differs from the previous one, in particular by the diameter D1 of the larger orifice 14 and by the orientation X of the orifice 14, so that the heel 12 of the flange 10 has a lower height and a spherical shape less pronounced, compared to the embodiment of the flange 10 shown in Figure 6.

In FIG. 8, the alternative embodiment of the exhaust flange 10 differs from the preceding embodiments, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, by the coupling face 11, which has three attachment points 13 and by the diameter and orientation of the orifice 14, so that the flange 10 has a substantially intermediate height between the flange 10 shown in Figure 6 and the flange 10 shown in Figure 7.

The basic matrix 15 used to make the exhaust flange 10 shown in FIG. 8 is therefore different from the base matrix 15 used to make the exhaust flange 10 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In FIG. the base die 15 always has the spherical portion 16 to form the heel 12, the above-described Tables 1 to 6 being applicable in the same way to a three-point-of-attachment flange (FIG. 8) or more.

Thus, whatever the embodiment of the exhaust flange 10 as described above, it has the main advantage of having a very high rigidity, especially thanks to the heel 12 and the mating face 11 made during the same step, to respect the seal and significantly improve the flow of gas, in particular thanks to the heel 12 of substantially spherical shape. Moreover, the mating face 11 of the flange 10 no longer needs to be machined and the base matrix 15 used for the manufacture of the flange 10 does not have a demolding problem or fixing problem.

Furthermore, such a method of manufacturing a flange 10, as described above, makes it possible to reduce the number of tools to be manufactured, for example by limiting itself to two or three heel height versions 12 per type of flange. 10, namely two, three, four attachment points 13, etc., and makes it possible to control and communicate the sealing and fixing zones of the flange 10. Such a method also makes it possible to improve the time and the cost of development of an exhaust flange 10 according to the invention, the improvement of the time of manufacture of a tool, and the use of existing tools for a different flange (no need to recreate a new plan or a new digitization in full).

The invention is not limited to the various embodiments described above. In particular, the shapes and dimensions of the bead 12 and the mating face 11 of the exhaust flange 10 are non-limiting and depend on the dimensions and variants of application of the flange 10, as long as the method allows the creation of different flanges from a base matrix 15 common to different exhaust flange variants (Tables 1 to 6).

In addition, the values in Tables 1 to 6 were taken to simplify the calculations. In general, the diameter D1 of the orifice 14 considered varies most of the time according to intermediate values, for example of the order of 42.1 mm or 54.9 mm. In other embodiments, the diameter D1 of the orifice 14 may be of a lower value, for example of the order of 15 mm to 30 mm.

In another embodiment not shown, the bead 12 of the exhaust flange 10 may comprise a plurality of orifices 14, each associated with an exhaust member, for example of the hose or hose type, the diameter D1 of each orifice 14 being for example, of the order of 10 to 40mm.

The invention can be applied to any type of exhaust line requiring the manufacture of an exhaust flange at lower costs.

Claims (10)

Revendications1. A method of manufacturing a flat exhaust flange (10), which flange (10) has a coupling face (11) associated with a first exhaust member (20) and having a first port (18) ), and a bead (12), provided with at least a second orifice (14) for receiving a second associated exhaust member (21), the method comprising at least: a step of producing the face of coupling (11) and heel (12) of the flange (10), and a step of piercing the heel (12), to form said second orifice (14), characterized in that said step of producing the face coupling (11) and heel (12) of the flange (10) is made from a base die (15) having a substantially spherical shape (16) defining a portion of the heel (12) of the flange (10), before said drilling step, said base matrix (15) being common to several dimensions and application variants of the flange (10). 2. Method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said base matrix (15) is formed by means of a striking tool, common to several dimensions and application variants of the flange (10). 3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said base matrix (15) is made by stamping. 4. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said bead piercing step (12), to form said second orifice (14), is performed by means of a drilling tool comprising a diameter tip variable, according to the dimensions of the second orifice (14) to be pierced in the heel (12). 15 5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second orifice (14) formed during said bead piercing step (12) has a diameter (Dl) and an orientation (X) with respect to the face coupling (11) of the flange (10) predetermined, according to the dimensions and application variants of the flange (10). 6. Flat exhaust flange (10) made by a manufacturing method according to any one of the preceding claims, said flange (10) having a coupling face (11) associated with a first exhaust member (20). ) and having a first orifice (18), and a bead (12), provided with at least a second orifice (14) for receiving a second associated exhaust member (21), characterized in that a portion of said heel (12) is of substantially spherical shape, constructed from a sphere (17) of center reference (C) and height (H) with respect to the predetermined coupling face (11), only the diameter (D1) of said second orifice (14) and said height (H) of the center (C) of said sphere (17) with respect to the coupling face (11) of the flange (10) being variable, according to the dimensions and application variants of the flange (10). 7. Flange according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the maximum orientation (X) of said second orifice (14) of the heel (12) relative to the coupling face (11) of the flange (10) depends on the diameter (D1) of said second orifice (14) and the height (H) of the center (C) of said sphere (17). 8. Flange according to one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the diameter (Dl) of said second orifice (14) of the heel (12) is between 40mm and 65mm. 9. Flange according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the height (H) of the center (C) of said sphere (17) relative to the coupling surface (11) of the flange (10) is between 0mm and 75mm, depending on the diameter (D1) of said second orifice (14) of the heel (12). 10. Flange according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the thickness (E) of the coupling face (11) of the flange (10) is between 7mm and 8mm.