Seal for a joint or juncture – Seal between fixed parts or static contact against... – Contact seal between parts of internal combustion engine
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-08
2001-02-20
Knight, Anthony (Department: 3626)
Seal for a joint or juncture
Seal between fixed parts or static contact against...
Contact seal between parts of internal combustion engine
C277S598000, C277S931000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189895
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The present invention relates to a metal gasket with sealing and connecting sections, which is especially useful for a manifold gasket of an internal combustion engine.
In an internal combustion engine, a plurality of exhaust holes communicating with combustion chambers is situated at one side of a cylinder head and is connected to branch portions of a manifold pipe through manifold gaskets. The manifold gasket is installed between one exhaust hole and one branch portion, but since the exhaust holes are arranged at one side of the engine, in order to easily install the manifold gaskets to the required portions, one manifold gasket with a plurality of sealing sections connected by connecting sections is often used. Each sealing section is located between one exhaust hole and one branch portion to securely seal therebetween.
This gasket can be installed easily to the engine. However, since an exhaust gas with high temperature flows through the exhaust holes, the gasket attaching portions of the cylinder head and the exhaust pipe deform by the high temperature exhaust gas. Accordingly, the sealing sections connected by the connecting sections are subjected to lateral forces, i.e. pulled or pushed through the connecting sections whenever the engine is actuated. As a result, the sealing sections connected by bolts may be moved between the gasket attaching portion of the cylinder head and the branch portion of the exhaust pipe to cause mis-alignment therebetween, or the sealing sections may have cracks or damages. Thus, the sealing ability is reduced or damaged.
In view of the above problems, a manifold gasket
10
as shown in
FIG. 1
, generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,110, had been made. The manifold gasket
10
includes sealing sections
11
and connecting sections
12
between the sealing sections
11
. Each sealing section
11
has an exhaust hole
13
, two bolt holes
14
and a bead
15
around the exhaust hole
13
, while each connecting section
12
includes a buffer or pressure absorbing portion
16
in a U-shape in section. The absorbing portion
16
expands or contracts according to expansion or contraction of the engine to absorb changes in length between the exhaust holes
13
.
The above gasket
10
can properly absorb the change in length between the exhaust holes when the gasket is used. However, when the gasket is prepared, it is difficult to precisely set the length between the exhaust holes because of the buffer. Thus, the exhaust holes and the bolt holes may not be precisely located on the predetermined places or the bead
15
on a plate may be dislocated relative to the other plate. As a result, the exhaust holes in the engine can not be properly sealed by the gasket.
Also, since the buffer has a flexibility, the gasket may be damaged in handling the gasket, or the gasket can not be easily installed on the engine. Further, since the relatively large buffer is formed in the connecting section, when the gasket is formed, an additional step for forming the buffer is required, resulting in increasing the manufacturing cost.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the conventional gasket, and an object of the invention is to provide a metal gasket with sealing and absorbing sections, which can securely seal around the holes to be sealed even if the gasket is subjected to expansion and contraction forces repeatedly.
Another object of the invention is to provide a metal gasket as stated above, wherein the sealing sections of the gasket can be formed easily and precisely while the absorbing section can absorb deformation of the engine.
A further object of the invention is to provide a metal gasket as stated above, which can be installed relatively easily on the engine without deformation.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A metal gasket of the invention is used for an internal combustion engine, and is especially suitable for a manifold gasket. The gasket is formed of a plurality of metal gasket sections, each having a sealing hole to be sealed and sealing means situated around the sealing hole to seal therearound; at least one metal connecting section situated between two gasket sections adjacent to each other to connect the same; and at least one through hole disposed in the connecting section. The through hole allows the connecting section to easily deform to absorb deformation of the gasket due to expansion and contraction of the engine.
In the invention, since the through hole is formed in the connecting section, the connecting section can be deformed relatively easily to absorb pressure applied to the gasket when the engine is actuated. Since the connecting section is deformed easily, the gasket section is not substantially affected by expansion and contraction of the engine and can securely seal around the hole to be sealed. Also, the gasket section is not damaged.
Preferably, the gasket sections and the at least one connecting section are formed on one metal plate and arranged side by side as one unit. As a result, when the gasket is prepared, the sealing holes and the at least one through hole can be formed at the same time to easily form the gasket. Each gasket section may have one or more plates to increase sealing ability at the gasket section.
The connecting section may have a shape similar to a diamond shape with two sharp points orienting opposite to each other. A line connecting the two sharp points orients substantially perpendicular to a line connecting the centers of the sealing holes. In this case, the through hole may have a diamond shape arranged similarly in a middle of the connecting section. In this configuration, the connecting section can be easily deformed when lateral force is applied to the gasket sections. Also, the gasket can be formed easily.
If a bead is formed along the edge of the connecting section, the rigidity of the connecting section is increased, though the through hole is formed in the connecting section. Thus, when the gasket is handled, the gasket is not bent easily to improve the handling of the gasket. The gasket can be handled easily in installing the gasket.
The connecting section may have a plurality of small through holes. Also, the through hole may have an elongated shape perpendicular to a line connecting the centers of the sealing holes, or oval shape. When the through hole or holes is formed, the material to be used in the gasket is reduced. Thus, the manufacturing cost and the weight of the gasket are also reduced.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1839336 (1932-05-01), Oven
patent: 1844052 (1932-02-01), Bailey
patent: 1913736 (1933-02-01), Victor
patent: 4813687 (1989-03-01), Nakayama et al.
patent: 5022661 (1991-06-01), Nakasone
patent: 5232229 (1993-08-01), Udagawa
patent: 5281464 (1994-01-01), Sekioka et al.
patent: 5330200 (1994-07-01), Unseth
patent: 5544900 (1996-08-01), Aoki
patent: 5590888 (1997-01-01), Brummer et al.
patent: 5725223 (1998-03-01), Yamada et al.
Ishikawa Gasket Co. Ltd.
Kanesaka & Takeuchi
Knight Anthony
Patel Vishal
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