Patent Specification
Cylinder head gasket, in particular cylinder head gasket and method for its manufacture
The invention relates to a gasket, in particular to a cylinder head gasket, with an essentially plate-shaped gasket body, which comprises at least one metal sheet coat¬ ed on both sides with at least one elastomer layer, and at least one opening formed into the gasket body, the marginal portion of which provides for a metallic sealing area. Fur¬ thermore, the invention relates to a method for manufactur¬ ing such a gasket.
A known gasket of the above-mentioned type is designed as a cylinder head gasket. Several combustion chamber openings are provided in a plate-shaped gasket body which is arrang¬ ed on a elastomer-coated spring steel sheet. The marginal portion of the combustion chamber openings is provided with a metal ring so that the sealing area facing the combustion chamber consists of metal only and is free from elastomer. Due to the separate construction of the metallic sealing ring the manufacture of such a cylinder head gasket is re¬ latively complicated.
In view of this fact, the object of the invention is to propose a gasket which has a simplified arrangement and hence can easily be manufactured, and which additionally offers application advantages.
To solve this object, it is proposed for a gasket of the initially mentioned type that the metallic sealing area consists of the sheet metal of the gasket body which folds around the marginal portion of the opening in a U-shaped manner, with one of the elastomer layers being sandwiched, and that the sheet metal folded around the marginal portion has a smaller thickness than the gasket body area without fold.
By using the metal sheet for obtaining the metallic sealing area, a separate sealing ring in the marginal portion of the opening can be omitted. This simplifies the structure of the gasket .
Several measures contribute to good sealing properties of the gasket in accordance with the invention. Since the thickness of the sheet metal is reduced in the folded marginal portion, a uniform sealing action is achieved over the entire installed surface of the gasket.
Another factor contributing to the good sealing properties is that the folded marginal portion is formed as a resili¬ ent steel part. Thus a particularly good adaptation to the
sealing surface is obtained in that area where no elastomer coating exists. A contributing factor to this is that an elastomer layer is provided between the folded portions of the sheet metal.
Moreover, the gasket in accordance with the invention is characterized by its long life and low permanent deforma¬ tion properties. In addition, the proposed gasket enables an automatic assembly.
The sheet metal in the folded marginal portion is advant¬ ageously of a reduced thickness in such a manner that in the installed condition of the gasket the installation height of the folded marginal portion is essentially the same as the installation height of the area without fold.
The metal sheet can consist of steel sheet, in particular stainless steel, or of aluminium.
The elastomer layer can be made from different caoutchouc types, preferably NBR or EPDM.
The present invention further proposes a method for manu¬ facturing a gasket, in particular a cylinder head gasket with an essentially plate-shaped gasket body, which uses a metal sheet coated on both sides with an elastomer layer as the basic material for the gasket body. A basic material of this type is generally known.
The method in accordance with the invention is character¬ ized by the following process steps:
a) Forming of at least one hole opening into the basic material;
b) drawing of a marginal portion in the hole opening area to form a collar;
c) separating the elastomer layer and part of the metal sheet at the collar-shaped marginal portion,- and
d) forming a metallic sealing area from the metal sheet by folding the marginal portion in such a manner that one of the elastomer layers is sandwiched between the U-shaped folded around sections of the metal sheet.
The method in accordance with the invention enables a simple and economic manufacture of the gasket in accordance with the invention. In particular, the manufacture can be accomplished by using the basic material only, without the addition of any further parts . The claimed manufacturing method comprises only a few steps, which ultimately result in a finished part. No rework or post-treatment is required so that any risk of material corrosion is precluded.
With the manufacturing method in accordance with the inven¬ tion it is also possible to meet the high tolerance re-
quirements for cylinder head gaskets. The prevailing small land widths between the cylinders can also easily be main¬ tained.
The separation of the elastomer layer and part of the metal sheet is preferably done to such an extent that in the installed condition of the gasket the installation height of the folded marginal portion is the same as the installa¬ tion height of the gasket body area without fold.
The separation at the collar-shaped marginal portion can be carried out mechanically by means of a cutting tool, in particular a broach, and/or chemically and/or thermally.
The invention will be described more detailed below by way of an embodiment which is shown schematically in the draw¬ ing, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a partial area of a gasket in accordance with the invention;
Fig. 2 shows a sectional view along line II-II in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 - Fig. 6 show sectional views similar to Fig. 2, by means of which the manufacturing method in accordance with the invention is explained.
A gasket 10 shown in Fig. 1 is designed as a cylinder head gasket for a combustion engine . The gasket 10 comprises an
essentially plate-shaped gasket body 11 into which several circular opening 12, 13 are formed. In the installed con¬ dition of the gasket 10 the openings 12, 13 are located at the combustion chamber of the combustion engine.
The gasket body 11 further includes a plurality of addi¬ tional hole openings 14, 15, the arrangement and size of which depend on the respective requirements .
In the following, the detailed structure of the gasket 10 will be described by means of Fig. 2, which shows a section along line II-II in Fig. 1. The gasket 10 consists of a metal sheet 17 which in the present case is made of steel .
The metal sheet 17 is provided on both sides with an elas¬ tomer layer 18, 19. In the area of the openings 12, 13 a metallic sealing area 16 is provided. Thus no elastomer coating is present in the area of the openings 12, 13 or in the combustion chamber area, respectively.
The metallic sealing area 16 is formed by a folded around marginal portion 20. Within this marginal portion 20 the metal sheet 17 is on the one hand of reduced thickness and on the other hand not coated with an elastomer layer on its outer surface. The folded marginal portion 20 is formed by sections 17a, 17b of the metal sheet 17, with the elastomer layer 18 being arranged in between.
The gasket 10 as shown in Fig. 2 is already in its install¬ ed condition. As is evident therefrom, the installation height in an area 21 without fold is essentially the same as the installation height of the folded marginal portion 20. This results in a uniform sealing action over the en¬ tire surface of the gasket 10.
In the vicinity of the area 21 without fold the gasket 10 is provided with elastomer layers 18, 19 on both sides, which again results in a good sealing action. On the other hand, the metallic sealing area 16, which in the installed condition is arranged at the combustion chamber side, has no elastomer coating.
The embodiment in accordance with the invention results in a resilient arrangement of the metallic sealing area so that good sealing properties are also achieved in this area. These are still further improved by the sandwiched elastomer layer 18.
With reference to Figs. 3 to 6 a possible manufacturing method of the gasket 10, which has been described in detail above, will be explained in the following.
A basic material 22, of which Fig. 3 is a sectional view and which as such is available ready for use, consists of a metal sheet 17 with elastomer layers 18, 19 provided on both sides. First, hole openings not shown in the drawings
are formed into the basic material 22 in the vicinity of openings 12, 13. This can be done e.g. by punching.
As shown in Fig. 4, the marginal portion 20 in the vicinity of the formed hole openings is then shaped to a collar 23. The collar 23 is drawn in such a manner that it projects vertically from the upper surface of the gasket body 11.
As shown in Fig. 5, the elastomer layer 19 and part of the metal sheet 17 are removed in the area of the collar-shaped marginal portion 23. This is accomplished by means of a cutting tool 24, e.g. a broach. The cutting tool 24 is guided coaxially with the collar 23. The thickness reduc¬ tion of the metal sheet 17 in the vicinity of the collar 23 serves to achieve an essentially uniform installation height in the installed condition of the gasket 10 over its entire surface.
In a last process step which will be explained with refer¬ ence to Fig. 6, the U-shaped folded marginal portion 20 is formed. In this step the thickness-reduced area of the metal sheet 17 is folded so that the elastomer layer 18 is arranged in between. During shaping, a shoulder 25 is form¬ ed between the folded portion 20 and the area 21 with no fold.
As described above, the metallic sealing area 16 of the gasket 10 is manufactured from the basic material 22 only.
Separate parts for forming the metallic sealing area 16 can thus be omitted.
The manufacture of the gasket 10 is accomplished in a few steps, at the end of which a gasket 10 ready for installa¬ tion is provided.