JP3417152B2 - Spherical joint assembly and method of attaching the same to a manifold of an engine exhaust system of an automobile to form a spherical joint mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spherical joint assembly used in an automobile engine exhaust system and a method of mounting the spherical joint assembly on a manifold of an automobile engine exhaust system to form a spherical joint mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an engine exhaust system of an automobile, an exhaust pipe connected to each engine, a manifold collecting the exhaust pipes, an exhaust pipe connected to the exhaust manifold to send exhaust gas to a muffler side, etc. Is used. A joint is provided in the middle of each exhaust pipe, between the exhaust pipe and the manifold, and the joint prevents transmission of vibration and the like between the exhaust pipes and between the manifold and the exhaust pipe. As the joint, one using a bellows or one using a spherical seal body is known.

[0003]

By the way, in the case where the spherical band seal body is used between the outlet of the manifold and the exhaust pipe on the muffler side connected thereto, conventionally, the spherical band seal body is directly connected to the manifold. Since it is installed, the spherical band-shaped seal body is also heated by the heat transfer from the manifold heated by the exhaust gas of high temperature (about 600 ° C), so that the spherical band-shaped seal body is rapidly deteriorated by this high temperature heating, Unless you replace this with
Exhaust gas may leak from here. Even if a gas guide tube is attached to the inner surface of the spherical seal body so that the spherical seal body is not directly exposed to the hot exhaust gas, the manifold is usually made of cast metal, so the gas guide tube to the manifold is Is difficult to be welded, and therefore a gas guide tube equivalent must be machined to form the manifold, resulting in increased man-hours.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its object is to be easily attached to a manifold of an engine exhaust system of an automobile and to reduce deterioration due to heat even after the attachment. Possible,
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a spherical joint assembly capable of preventing leakage of exhaust gas due to deterioration for a long period of time and a method of attaching the spherical joint assembly to a manifold to form a spherical joint mechanism.

[0005]

According to the present invention, the above object is to provide a first flange means having a through hole in the center and at least a pair of insertion holes around the through hole, and a first flange means in the through hole. The inner cylinder attached to the one flange means, the spherical band-shaped seal body having the convex spherical outer peripheral surface attached to the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder, and the insertion hole of the first flange means. Second flange means having an insertion hole and having a concave spherical inner peripheral surface that abuts the convex spherical outer peripheral surface of the spherical band-shaped seal body, and an enlarged portion at one end. A connecting member extending through each insertion hole of the second flange means, an elastic means arranged between the enlarged portion of the connecting member and the second flange means, and a first flange means in each connecting member. It is fitted to the part protruding from the insertion hole of the It is accomplished by wood and the first and second flange means and spherical joint assembly; and a temporary fixing member for holding the mutual positional relationship of the resilient means.

Further, according to the present invention, the above object is a spherical joint mechanism using the above spherical joint assembly, wherein the portion of the connecting member projecting from the insertion hole of the first flange means is an engine exhaust of an automobile. Achieved by a spherical joint mechanism that is attached to the manifold of the system and has a heat resistant gasket disposed between the manifold and the spherical joint assembly.

In the above-mentioned spherical joint assembly, in a preferred example, each connecting member has a shaft portion, a threaded threaded portion, and an annular protrusion that demarcates the shaft portion and the threaded portion. The annular protrusion abuts on the peripheral edge of the insertion hole of the first flange means, and the temporary fixing member is fitted to the screw portion protruding from the insertion hole of the first flange means. A gas guide cylinder is installed in the cylinder. The gasket may be made of a heat resistant material, and is preferably made of ceramic fiber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide the above spherical joint assembly, and attach an exhaust pipe on the exhaust side to the second flange means of the spherical joint assembly, and to mount the spherical joint assembly and an engine exhaust of an automobile. A heat-resistant gasket is arranged between the manifold and the system manifold, and the portion of each connecting member that protrudes from the insertion hole of the first flange means is fixed to the hole formed in the manifold, whereby the space between the manifold and the manifold is fixed. It is also achieved by a method of attaching a spherical joint assembly to a manifold of an automobile engine exhaust system through a gasket to form a spherical joint mechanism.

In this method, a gasket formed of the above-mentioned ceramic fiber may be used as the gasket, and a portion of each connecting member protruding from the insertion hole of the first flange means is formed in the manifold. It may be screwed into the hole and the part may be fixed to the hole.

[0010]

In the spherical joint assembly of the present invention, the exhaust pipe on the exhaust side (muffler side) is first attached to the second flange means in advance by welding or the like. Next, in each connecting member, the portion projecting from the insertion hole of the first flange means is press-fitted or screwed into the hole formed in the manifold, and thus the spherical joint assembly having the exhaust pipe on the exhaust side is attached to the manifold. To be At this time, a gasket is arranged between the spherical joint assembly and the manifold, and the gasket is appropriately compressed by press fitting or screwing each connecting member into the hole of the manifold. The spherical joint assembly attached to the manifold damps the vibration of the manifold by sliding between the convex spherical outer peripheral surface and the concave spherical inner peripheral surface and the expansion and contraction of the elastic means, so that the exhaust side exhaust pipe is protected. introduce.

The present invention will now be described in more detail based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings. The present invention is not limited to these specific examples.

[0012]

SPECIFIC EXAMPLE In FIG. 1, the spherical joint assembly 1 of this example is
A first flange means 4 having a through hole 2 in the center and at least a pair, in this example, a pair of insertion holes 3 around the through hole 2, and an inner cylinder 5 attached to the flange means 4 in the through hole 2. And a spherical band-shaped seal body 8 attached to the outer peripheral surface 6 of the inner cylinder 5 and having a convex spherical outer peripheral surface 7, and an insertion hole 9 corresponding to the insertion hole 3 of the flange means 4. Second flange means 11 having a concave spherical inner peripheral surface 10 that abuts the convex spherical outer peripheral surface 7 of the spherical seal member 8,
Between the enlarged member 13 of the connecting member 12 and the flange means 11, the connecting member 12 has a hexagonal enlarged portion 13 at one end and extends through the insertion holes 3 and 9 of the flange means 4 and 11, respectively. Elastic means 14 disposed on the respective connecting members 1
2 is fitted in a portion 15 of the flange means 4 projecting from the insertion hole 3, and temporarily holds the mutual positional relationship between each connecting member 12, the first and second flange means 4 and 11, and the elastic means 14. And a stop member 16.

The metal flange means 4 comprises a cylindrical base portion 2
1 and an annular plate-shaped flange portion 22 formed integrally with the tubular base portion 21.
The inner surface 23 of the flange defines the through hole 2, and the flange portion 22
Are formed into a substantially elliptical shape, and the insertion holes 3 are symmetrically formed in the flange portion 22. The metal inner cylinder 5 is attached to the inner surface 23 of the cylindrical base portion 21 by welding or press fitting.

As the sphere-shaped seal body 8, for example, an expanded graphite sheet and a wire mesh sheet obtained by knitting or weaving fine metal wires are superposed on each other and wound into a cylindrical shape to form a cylindrical body. Then, this cylinder is compression-molded so that the expanded graphite is filled in the mesh of the wire mesh sheet. The spherical band-shaped seal body 8 has one annular end surface 2
5 comes into contact with one annular end surface 26 of the tubular base portion 21,
It is press-fitted onto the outer peripheral surface 6 of the inner cylinder 5.

The metal flange means 11 has a cylindrical portion 31.
And is formed integrally with the cylindrical portion 31,
A cylindrical seal receiving portion 32 whose diameter is gradually expanded from the seal receiving portion 32, and an annular elliptical flange portion 33 formed integrally with the seal receiving portion 32 and extending radially outward from the seal receiving portion 32,
The flange portion 33 is integrally formed with the short cylindrical portion 34, and the inner surface of the seal receiving portion 32 is a concave spherical inner peripheral surface 10.
The insertion hole 9 is formed in the flange portion 33 so as to correspond to the insertion hole 3.

Each connecting member 12 includes a shaft portion 41 and a screw 42.
Has a threaded portion 43 that is cut, and an annular protrusion 44 that bounds the shaft portion 41 and the screw portion 43.
Is in contact with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole 3 of the flange means 4, and the temporary fixing member 16 is fitted to the screw portion 43 protruding from the insertion hole 3 of the flange means 4. As the temporary fixing member 16,
For example, a push nut or the like can be used.

The spherical joint assembly 1 of this embodiment further includes a gas guide cylinder 51, which is formed integrally with the large diameter cylindrical portion 52 and the large diameter cylindrical portion 52. The small-diameter cylindrical portion 53 is provided, and the large-diameter cylindrical portion 52 is fitted to the inner surface 54 of the inner cylinder 5 and fixed by welding or the like.
The gas guide cylinder 51 has the other end surface 55 of the spherical belt-shaped seal body 8.
And extends to the exhaust side longer than the inner cylinder 5, so that the other end surface 55 of the spherical seal member 8 is not directly exposed to the exhaust gas from the manifold 56 (see FIG. 2).

The elastic means 14 has a flange portion 3 at one end 61.
3 is abutted and received, and the other end 62 is abutted and received on the enlarged portion 13 of the connecting member 12, and is composed of a conical coil spring arranged so as to surround the connecting member 12. The elastic means 14
The elastic member is not limited to the conical coil spring, and another elastic body may be used, and a buffer member (damper) that buffers the elasticity of the elastic means 14 may be used together with the elastic means 14.

The spherical joint assembly 1 assembled and formed as described above is attached to the manifold 56 of the engine exhaust system of an automobile as shown in FIG.
Formed as. That is, after the exhaust pipe 82 on the exhaust side is newly attached to the cylindrical portion 31 by welding or the like, the portion 1 of the connecting member 12 that protrudes from the insertion hole 3 of the flange means 4.
5, the threaded portion 43 with the thread 42 is screwed into the female threaded hole 83 formed in the manifold 56, the threaded portion 43 is screwed into the hole 83, and the spherical joint assembly 1 is attached to the manifold 56. Before screwing, a pair of small-diameter through-holes 85 formed symmetrically between the wall surface 84 of the manifold 56 and the spherical joint assembly 1 as shown in FIG. And a heat-resistant gasket 87 having a large-diameter through hole 86 formed in the center and a metal reinforcing material 88 for reinforcing the through hole 86 and its periphery, and appropriately compressing the gasket 87 by screwing, The leakage of exhaust gas from between the wall surface 84 of the manifold 56 and the spherical joint assembly 1 is prevented.

In this way, the spherical joint mechanism 81 composed of the manifold 56 and the spherical joint assembly 1 attached to the manifold 56 has the exhaust hole 90 of the manifold 56.
The exhaust gas A from is guided by the gas guide cylinder 51, the cylindrical portion 31, and the exhaust pipe 82 to be guided to the muffler side, and in addition, between the convex spherical outer peripheral surface 7 and the concave spherical inner peripheral surface 10. Due to the sliding and the expansion and contraction of the elastic means 14, the manifold 56
Vibrations are attenuated and transmitted to the exhaust pipe 82 on the exhaust side.

The spherical joint assembly 1 includes the temporary fixing member 1
Since it is temporarily fixed by 6 and made into a unit, the spherical joint mechanism 81 can be formed only by attaching it to the manifold 56 by the connecting member 12, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of steps. Further, since the heat-resistant gasket 87 is interposed between the manifold 56 and the spherical joint assembly 1, the spherical band-shaped seal body 8 is not directly heated by the manifold 56 and the spherical band-shaped seal body 8 is not heated. Deterioration can be prevented, and conversely, heat resistance of the spherical band-shaped seal body 8 need not be considered so much, and the spherical band-shaped seal body 8 made of an inexpensive material can be used.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, it can be easily attached to a manifold of an engine exhaust system of an automobile, and deterioration due to heat can be reduced even after the installation, so that leakage of exhaust gas due to deterioration can be prevented. It can be lost for a long time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a spherical joint mechanism in which the specific example shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a manifold.

3 is a plan view of a gasket used in the spherical joint mechanism shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Spherical joint assembly 2 through holes 3 insertion holes 4 First flange means 5 inner cylinder 7 Convex spherical outer peripheral surface 8 Ball-shaped seal body 9 insertion holes 10 concave spherical inner surface 11 Second flange means 12 Connection member 14 Elastic means 16 Temporary fixing member

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References: Kaihei 6-67821 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F01N 7/08 F16L 23/02

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first flange means having a through hole in the center and at least a pair of insertion holes around the through hole, an inner cylinder attached to the first flange means at the through hole, and It is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder,
A spherical band-shaped seal body having a convex spherical outer peripheral surface and an insertion hole corresponding to the insertion hole of the first flange means, and a concave spherical surface contacting the convex spherical outer peripheral surface of the spherical band-shaped seal body. A second flange means having an inner peripheral surface, a connecting member having an enlarged portion at one end and extending through respective insertion holes of the first and second flange means, and an enlarged portion of the connecting member. And elastic means arranged between the second flange means and the connecting member, which is fitted to a portion of each connecting member protruding from the insertion hole of the first flange means. A spherical joint assembly comprising a temporary fixing member for holding the mutual positional relationship between the flange means and the elastic means. 2. Each connecting member has a shaft portion, a threaded threaded portion, and an annular protrusion that demarcates the shaft portion and the screw portion. 2. The temporary fixing member, which is in contact with the peripheral edge of the insertion hole of the flange means, is fitted to the screw portion protruding from the insertion hole of the first flange means.
The spherical joint assembly described in. 3. The spherical joint assembly according to claim 1, wherein a gas guide cylinder is attached inside the inner cylinder. 4. A spherical joint mechanism using the spherical joint assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the portion of the connecting member protruding from the insertion hole of the first flange means is of an automobile. A spherical joint mechanism that is attached to the manifold of the engine exhaust system and has a heat-resistant gasket between the manifold and the spherical joint assembly. 5. The spherical joint mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the gasket is formed of a ceramic fiber. 6. A spherical joint assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is prepared, and an exhaust pipe on an exhaust side is attached to a second flange means of the spherical joint assembly to form a spherical joint assembly. A heat-resistant gasket is arranged between the engine exhaust system manifold and the automobile engine exhaust system, and the portion of each connecting member projecting from the insertion hole of the first flange means is fixed to the hole formed in the manifold. A method for forming a spherical joint mechanism by mounting a spherical joint assembly on a manifold of an automobile engine exhaust system with a gasket interposed between the spherical joint assembly and the manifold. 7. A method for forming a spherical joint mechanism by mounting the spherical joint assembly according to claim 6 on a manifold of an automobile engine exhaust system, wherein a gasket made of ceramic fiber is used as the gasket. 8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a portion of each connecting member protruding from the insertion hole of the first flange means is screwed into a hole formed in the manifold to fix the portion in the hole. A method of attaching a spherical joint assembly to a manifold of an automobile engine exhaust system to form a spherical joint mechanism.