JPS616462A - Seal ring and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a seal structure and a method for manufacturing the same.

In particular, the present invention relates to a seal ring used to maintain the performance of an exhaust connection, such as between an exhaust manifold and an exhaust header in an internal combustion engine, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[Conventional technology]

In the engines installed in recent cars.

Free movement is required within the sealed connection between the header and the exhaust manifold to act on the muffler and tailpipe of the exhaust path. Attempts have also been made to provide a ring that can effectively prevent leakage of exhaust gas in the region of free movement. Currently known 7-wheel devices have a relatively short lifespan, are wear resistant, heat sensitive, and squeak sensitive.

There is no totally satisfactory solution to the problem, such as the use of expensive and environmentally hazardous materials, and may involve relatively expensive manufacturing techniques.

US Pat. No. 4,209,177 as prior art.

Illustrating some of the issues mentioned above. Hall (Ha] ]
), a cylindrical woven steel wire or mesh is filled with a cylindrical fill of asbestos or bonded mica sheets. The so-filled composition is axially compressed to create a ring shape with a defined contour for free movement in a position between the mating part of the exhaust manifold and the head. The commercial form of the device by Hall is flattened prior to axial compression to a basic ring shape.

Contains asbestos yarn made of steel wires twisted together to form a spirally wound network of lengths. However, the use of asbestos is environmentally undesirable and the product is susceptible to squeaks.

A variety of other mesh structures based on stainless steel, but essentially sheet graphite (trade name °
``Graph Oil'''' (Union Carbide). However, these rings have a short or unpredictable lifespan, as well as poor performance due to loss of filler material at high temperatures. Inadequate sex.

Furthermore, U.S. Patent No. 441 by Usher
No. 7733 was provided prior to applying compression for contouring. This improves the effectiveness of the seal by inserting sheet mica into a flattened tube of braided stainless steel wire.

The Asher patent product includes graph oil as an external element of the filler.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

All of the above structures have the above-mentioned unfavorable drawbacks.
It is known to exhibit one or more symptoms.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an improved seal ring with superior characteristics and a method of manufacturing the same.

A particular object of the present invention is to achieve the above objects with a structure which exhibits a more effective sealing action than usual with essentially low abrasion even in extreme temperature conditions and inclement weather conditions.

Another particular object of the invention is to achieve the above objects with cheap materials and low manufacturing costs.

[Failure to solve the problem]

The present invention combines 9 woven stainless steel wire mesh KII: It is something that achieves a purpose. Specifically, vermiculite grains are filled into the knitted tube during the knitting process, and the vermiculite grains are pressed into the knitted tube by winding the filled knitting tube onto a take-up reel to flatten and accumulate. In order to provide it as a seal ring.

Cut to length, a helical wrap is then formed axially around the ring profile, and the compressed ring is heated to an elevated temperature to at least partially straighten the vermiculite. A final molding compaction to the basic profile takes care of some small expansions that occur during the straightening process, and the completed seal ring is ready for inventory or installed use.

〔Example〕

Seal ring 10 in FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment made in accordance with the present invention, and different automotive manufacturers may exhibit different dimensions, profiles, and shapes. Here it is. The tip is cut so that one end in the axial direction is a narrow end face 13 and the other end is a wide end face. The seal ring 10 is
A cylindrical annular body 14 (Fig. 3) made of a spirally wound stainless steel wire mesh with a granular filling holding the vermiculite in a compressed state is axially It is molded. It is clear that the shaping is done with a compression gouge (not shown) to match the user's required dimensions.

FIG. 2 illustrates the presently preferred technique for creating stock that is cut to length and filled and flattened for spiral winding into the winding configuration of FIG. The present technique uses a conventional set-up head 15 to knit with a tube 16 of stainless steel wire mesh, and the orientation direction is such that the set-up advances peripherally in the upper horizontal drawer so that one knitted tube is used for the set-up head. It is pulled out downward by a pair of drawer rollers via a reduction gear 18 that is synchronized with the drive unit 19.

As shown, the annular insert 20 in the set-up head 15 is characterized by a downwardly converging hole to ensure that the drawn-out set-up tube is reduced to a predetermined diameter; When flattened by action, its width will correspond to the dimension W shown in FIG. The set-out action proceeds along a peripheral path of diameter larger than the chip diameter directed to the roller 17.

In addition, the insert 20 has an upwardly open area in the shape of a morning glory and functions to position and control the tube material so that it gradually increases in length while decreasing in diameter.

In this region that is open upwards (hollow members that are successively knitted and move downwards are still necessarily open upwards).

The granular filling, in particular vermiculite, is fed by gravity through a suitable feeding means or outlet pipe 2 of the hopper 22. What is the point at which the granules are discharged into the opening of the progressive part of the hollow material?

The granules are positioned in a position that allows gravity to cause a continuous settling of the granules beyond the relatively large diameter section limited by the circumferential path of the arranging action. In the downward movement of the braided material through the insert 20, the granules delivered by one gravity are engaged by the irregularities of the inner surface of the braided tube and the braided loops, and the granules are reliably drawn downwards and removed from the insert 20. The tubes are compressed so as to tightly engage with each other at the tubes [6] while narrowing the passage through the tubes. The granules in the tube 16 are compressed in a further intermeshing relationship in the path of the action of the squeezer 9 on rollers 17 to produce a more flat intermediate material 9 driven through suitable slip couplings as shown. It is accumulated on the winding reel 24.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the sequence of steps for carrying out the manufacturing method according to the present invention. Initially, of course, a cystineless steel mesh tube 16 is knitted using the technique described in FIG. The unfilled tube may be cut and then filled, but this requires additional runs, so the continuous filling technique of FIG. 2 is preferred. This continuous technique inherently allows for greater percentage adjustment of the weight of the filler material and reduces the profile of the tube 16.
The interlocking action of the granules is strengthened because the compression is performed from the wide, morning glory-shaped entrance of the new weaving path relative to the diameter of the granules. The flattened and filled intermediate body (width W) is then cut and helically wrapped at least twice around a mandrel (not shown) with a diameter matching the profile diameter of the hole 11 into a profile shape. On the other hand, compression molding in the axial direction is performed in one press operation.

The finished product shown in FIG. 1 is obtained by heating for straightening and, if necessary, recompressing for molding. The humidification step may be added as a preferred additional step before the straightening step, preferably as close as possible to the straightening step, as shown by solid line 30. Broken line 31-32-33
As shown in , humidification can be performed three times: before the cutting process, before the two winding processes, and before the axial compression molding process.

Humidification can be done by immersing it in water, spraying it with water, or exposing it to steam.

The structural and manufacturing configuration of a particular seal ring 10 will now be described in detail to embody the present invention.

The particular ring has a 5.0 crn (2 inch) diameter hole 11
It has an outer diameter of 667L:tn (2" inches) on the ° side. This is 50 grams, of which 35% or 17
5 grams is vermiculite and 325 grams is steel. The set-up tube 16 has a single feed (meaning one set-up path per rotation) and is made of 20 needles.

A diameter of 0.5 mm is used to obtain a stitch density of 600, which means 60 stitches per 254 square centimeters (1 square inch).
Three strands of 0.3 crn (0.011 inch) stainless steel wire were used and the minimum dimension of the second stitch was less than 0.25 (0.10 inch). Vermicy Lightho, trade name ZONOLTE
) is marketed by the manufacturing division of the W.
This means that the main component is present to retain substantially all of the fill within one braided tube 16 in the range of 32 to 0.95 tyn (1/8 to 3/8 inch). The flatness achieved with the squeeze roller is approximately 0.16 cm (1/1
6 inches) to a flat thickness of 1, and the coil windings were reduced to a length of twice the circumference to create the intermediate of FIG.
The cut was made by adding 95 crn (3/8 inch) of opalanozo Δ. Humidification is done by putting a compressed ring in and out of water for a short time (indicated by 30 in Figure 4), and heat straightening is done when the ring temperature is 315°C (600°F
) It is known to be resistant to damage in heavy rain, has a remarkable gas sealing effect, and is characterized by no squeaks or wear unlike conventional products.

It is clear that the invention described above achieves all the objectives set out in highly economical materials and manufacturing methods. - Gumi keylite is available in abundance and cheaply, and its inclusion in the intermediate requires that it not be changed during the knitting process.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred products and methods, it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Dissimilar inserts in the knitting head.

It has been discovered that it is possible to manufacture the set-up tube 16 with different diameters, depending on the diameter of the hole in the downstream hl of the insert and the gear J8 that drives the draw roller 17.
determined by appropriate selection of gear ratios. The roller 17 may be the last stage of a series of roller stages, which includes, for example, an upper stage] 7'-17,' for stable and partial squeezing of the filling and braided tube.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a remarkable gas sealing effect can be achieved using an inexpensive and simple method.

It is possible to provide an inexpensive sealing sill free from scratches and wear.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seal ring according to the present invention. FIG. 2 schematically shows several steps in the manufacturing process of the seal ring of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an intermediate obtained during the manufacturing method according to the invention, and FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the manufacturing method of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a seal ring, 15 is a set-up head, 1
7 is a roller, 18 is a reduction gear, 19 is a drive unit, 20 is an insert, and 22 is a hopper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A seal for an automobile engine exhaust consisting of a coil formed axially from a flat woven tube of stainless steel wire mesh with a granular filling of vermiculite filled in a compressed state. ring. 2. The seal ring according to claim 1, wherein the filler is exfoliated vermiculite. 3. A seal ring according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the filler to the stainless steel is in the range of 25 to 50% by weight. 4. A seal ring according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the filler to the stainless steel is in the range of 35 to 45% by weight. 5. A seal ring according to claim 1, characterized in that the ratio of said filler to said stainless steel is at least substantially 35%. 6. In the seal ring according to claim 1, (1) the mesh density is substantially 60, (2) the minimum dimension of the mesh in the mesh is substantially less than 0.25 cm,
(3) Most of the granular filling is 0.32~0.95c
A seal ring characterized in that the seal ring is comprised within a dimension range of m. 7. In the seal ring according to claim 1, the steel wire of the mesh has a diameter of 0.10 to 0.20.
Seal ring characterized by being of multiple strands in the range of. 8. A method for manufacturing a seal ring for an exhaust connection part of an automobile engine, including (1) weaving a tube of stainless steel wire mesh, (2) filling the tube with granular vermiculite, and (
3) flattening the tube to compress the granules while holding them in adjacent mesh; (4) winding the flattened tube into a helical coil; and (5) A method of manufacturing a seal ring comprising the steps of axially compressing the coil into a ring shape with a predetermined profile; and (6) straightening the filling within the compressed coil at an elevated temperature. 9. The method of manufacturing a seal ring according to claim 8, wherein the filling step is performed during the setting step. 10. In the seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 9, the drawing-out step, the filling step, and the flattening step are continued continuously, and the flattened and filled tube has at least two turns. A method for manufacturing a seal ring, characterized in that the seal ring is periodically cut to a predetermined length sufficient to form a helical coil. 11. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 8, further comprising a step of humidifying the filling material after the filling step and before the straightening step. 12. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the humidification step is performed by immersing the seal ring in water. 13. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the humidification step is performed by spraying water. 14. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 11, wherein the humidification step is performed by exposing the seal ring to water vapor. 15. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 8, characterized by including a final dimensioning step of compressing the corrected ring in the axial direction to form a ring shape with a predetermined contour. Seal ring manufacturing method. 16. In the method for manufacturing a seal ring according to claim 8, the knitting step includes an initial forming step of making a tube in a first region having a relatively large diameter, and knitting through a second region having a smaller diameter. drawing out the braided tube in the region of relatively large diameter, said filling step being carried out in said region of relatively large diameter so that the initial compressive action of the granular filling occurs during drawing of the braided tube in said region of reduced diameter. A seal ring manufacturing method characterized by: 17. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein the straightening step is performed by furnace heating. 18. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein the straightening step is performed by induction heating. 19. The seal ring manufacturing method according to claim 17, wherein the straightening step is carried out in a furnace at about 870° C. for at least substantially 2 minutes. 20. The method for manufacturing a seal ring according to claim 8, wherein the temperature is increased to at least substantially 315° C. in order to increase the temperature of the compressed coil. .