METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SEALING A TEST SPACE IN A WORKPIECE

Abstract

For sealing a test space in a workpiece having at least one open end face having a flat surface with one or more indentations in the workpiece, a sealing mat having a planar basic body and one or more arcuate sealing elements can be used. The sealing mat is placed onto the surface of the open workpiece end face such that the arcuate sealing elements of the sealing mat protrude into the indentations in the workpiece to then press the basic body of the sealing mat against the surface of the open workpiece end face with a pressing force in a direction perpendicular to the flat surface and press the arcuate sealing elements into the indentations with pressing forces in several directions radial to the arcuate shape of the sealing elements.

Claims

1. A method for sealing a test space in a workpiece, the workpiece having at least one open end face, via which the test space is open to an environment of the workpiece, the open end face having a flat surface with one or more indentations in the workpiece, the method comprising: providing a sealing mat having a planar basic body for sealing the flat surface of the open end face of the workpiece, wherein one or more arcuate sealing elements are provided on the side of the sealing mat facing the workpiece for sealing the one or more indentations in the flat surface of the open workpiece end face; placing the sealing mat onto the flat surface of the open end face of the workpiece such that the one or more arcuate sealing elements of the sealing mat protrude into the one or more indentations in the flat surface of the open workpiece end face; pressing the planar basic body of the sealing mat against the flat surface of the open workpiece end face with a pressing force in a direction perpendicular to the flat surface; and pressing the one or more arcuate sealing elements into the one or more indentations with pressing forces in several directions radial to the arcuate shape of the sealing elements.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the outer dimensions of the one or more arcuate sealing elements in their initial state are smaller than the inner dimensions of the respective indentations in the surface of the open workpiece end face.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the arcuate sealing element is charged with the radial pressing forces against the curved surface of the indentation first in the area of a summit of the sealing element and then along the arc shape further and further towards the planar basic body of the sealing mat.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in each of the areas of the sealing elements in the basic body of the sealing mat, there is provided a recess; and through each of these recesses, a pressing shell is inserted into the sealing element, via which the radial pressing forces are exerted onto the arcuate sealing elements against the respective curved surfaces of the indentations.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein a pressing mechanism comprising a holder and a plurality of coupling elements between the holder and the pressure shell is inserted into the recess of the sealing mat; and the pressing mechanism is pressed into the indentation using a pressure force on the holder, so that the coupling elements press in radial directions against the pressing shell to generate the radial pressing forces onto the arcuate sealing element against the curved surface of the indentation.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein a pressing mechanism comprising a holder and a rotation element between the holder and the pressing shell is inserted into the recess of the sealing mat; and the pressing mechanism is pressed into the indentation using a pressure force on the holder, and then the rotation element is rotated about a rotation axis perpendicular or parallel to the surface of the open workpiece end face to generate the radial pressing forces onto the arcuate sealing element against the curved surface of the indentation.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the pressing shell is an elastic pressing shell whose outer dimensions in the initial state are smaller than the inner dimensions of the recess of the sealing mat and smaller than the inner dimensions of the arcuate sealing element in its initial state.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, if the workpiece has an open lateral edge at the indentation, the sealing element is connected outside the indentation via a side wall to the basic body of the sealing mat at this open lateral edge.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sealing mat is at least partially provided with a sealing contour in contact areas to the workpiece on its side facing the workpiece.

10. An apparatus for sealing a test space in a workpiece, the workpiece having at least one open end face, via which the test space is open to the environment of the workpiece, and the open end face having a flat surface with one or more indentations in the workpiece, using a sealing mat having a planar basic body for sealing the flat surface of the open end face of the workpiece, wherein one or more arcuate sealing elements are provided on the side of the sealing mat facing the workpiece for sealing the one or more indentations in the flat surface of the open workpiece end face, the apparatus comprising: one or more pressing mechanisms for pressing the one or more arcuate sealing elements into the one or more indentations with pressing forces in several directions radial to the arcuate shape of the sealing elements.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the pressing mechanism comprises a pressing shell being insertable into the sealing element through a recess in the basic body of the sealing mat in the area of the sealing element to exert the radial pressing forces onto the arcuate sealing element against the curved surface of the indentation via this pressure shell.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pressing mechanism comprises a holder and a pressure spring between the holder and a summit of the pressing shell.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pressing mechanism comprises a holder and a plurality of pressing elements between the holder and the pressing shell, the pressing elements being connected movable to at least one of the holder and the pressing shell by way of connecting joints.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pressing mechanism comprises a holder and a rotation element between the holder and the pressing shell, the rotation element being rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular or parallel to the surface of the open workpiece end face to generate the radial pressing forces onto the arcuate sealing element against the curved surface of the indentation.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pressing shell of the pressing mechanism is an elastic pressing shell whose outer dimensions in the initial state are smaller than the inner dimensions of the recess of the sealing mat and smaller than the inner dimensions of the arcuate sealing element in an initial state thereof.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The above and further features and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following description of preferred, non-limiting example embodiments on the basis of the accompanying drawings, in which, for the most part schematically:

[0031] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a workpiece, for which the method according to the invention is applicable;

[0032] FIG. 2A is a sectional view of the workpiece of FIG. 1 with a provided conventional sealing mat;

[0033] FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the workpiece of FIG. 1 with the attached conventional sealing mat of FIG. 2A;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the workpiece of FIG. 1 with a sealing mat according to an example embodiment of the invention attached thereto;

[0035] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the workpiece with pressed on sealing mat of FIG. 3 as per intersection line A-A in FIG. 3;

[0036] FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the workpiece with pressed on sealing mat of FIG. 3 as per intersection line B-B in FIG. 3;

[0037] FIG. 6A is a sectional view of the workpiece with sealing mat of FIG. 3 as per intersection line A-A in FIG. 3 in a first attachment stage of the sealing mat and with a pressing mechanism for the sealing element according to an example embodiment of the invention;

[0038] FIG. 6B is a sectional view of the workpiece with sealing mat of FIG. 3 as per intersection line A-A in FIG. 3 in a second attachment stage of the sealing mat and with the pressing mechanism of FIG. 6A; and

[0039] FIG. 7 a bottom view of a sealing mat according to an example embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates, for the sake of simplicity in a highly simplified form, a workpiece for which the sealing system according to the invention is applicable. The workpiece may be, for example, a cylinder crankcase for a motor vehicle whose low-pressure oil chamber for lubricating the crankshaft has several interconnected or separated chambers or crank chambers which form test spaces that must be sealed for leakage testing.

[0041] Exemplarily, the workpiece 10 is shown as a type of box in which there is a test space 14 for which, for example, a leakage test is to be performed. The workpiece 10 comprises an open end face 16 having an opening via which the test space 14 is open to the environment of the workpiece 10. As indicated in FIG. 1, this open end face 16 has a substantially flat surface 17 with a plurality of arcuate indentations 18 in the workpiece 10.

[0042] Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, an example embodiment of a sealing of the test space 14 in this workpiece 10 of FIG. 1 will now be explained exemplarily in more detail.

[0043] For sealing the test space 14 in the workpiece 10, a sealing mat 20 is placed on the open workpiece end face 16 and pressed against the workpiece 10. The sealing mat 20 is formed, for example, of an elastomer or a plastic material, and comprises a substantially planar basic body 21, which in this example embodiment extends over the entire open workpiece end face 16. On the side facing the workpiece 10, in the region of the indentations 18 in the workpiece 10, there are provided corresponding sealing elements 22 in arc-shape on the basic body 21. The outer profile shape of the sealing elements 22 essentially corresponds to the inner profile shape of the indentations 18 in the workpiece 10. As illustrated in FIG. 7, in addition, the sealing mat 20 can be provided with a sealing contour 25 on its side facing the workpiece in the contact regions with the workpiece 10 in order to reinforce the sealing effect. This sealing contour 25 preferably also extends over the arcuate sealing elements 22 of the sealing mat 20.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 4, the planar basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 lies on the flat surface 17 of the open workpiece end face 16 and is pressed against this with pressing forces 27 in the direction perpendicular to the flat surface 17 of the open workpiece end face 16, and the sealing element 22 of the sealing mat 20 lies in the indentation 18 in the workpiece 10 and is pressed against the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18 with pressing forces 28 in several directions radial to the arc shape of the sealing element 22. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the arcuate sealing element 22 projects in arc-shape from the basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 in the direction towards the workpiece 10 or the indentation 18 and has a hollow space on the side of the basic body 21.

[0045] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the region of the sealing element 22, in the basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 there is further provided a recess 24 through which the inner side of the sealing element 22 is accessible from the upper side of the sealing mat 20. Through this recess 24 in the basic body 21, a pressing shell 26 can be inserted into the sealing element 22, via which the radial pressing forces 28 can be exerted on the arcuate sealing element 22 against the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18 in the workpiece 10. In this example embodiment, the pressure shell 26 is formed substantially half cylindrically, its outer profile matching with the inner profile of the sealing element 22.

[0046] In its initial state, i.e. before being pressed against the curved surface 19 of the indentation 17, the sealing element 22 of the sealing mat 20 preferably has outer dimensions smaller than the inner dimensions of the respective indentation 18. The pressing shell 26 preferably is an elastic pressing shell whose outer dimensions in its initial state, i.e. before pressing the sealing element 22 of the sealing mat 20 against the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18 via the pressure shell 26, preferably are smaller than the inner dimensions of the recess 24 of the sealing mat 20 and also smaller than the inner dimensions of the arcuate sealing element 22 in its initial state.

[0047] In the example embodiment of FIG. 1, the workpiece 10 has open lateral edges at each indentations 18. As illustrated in FIG. 5, in such a case, the sealing mat 20 preferably has corresponding side walls 23 which connect the sealing elements 22 at these open lateral edges outside the indentations 18 to the basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20. Depending on the number and position of the open lateral edges at the indentation 18, the sealing mat 20 comprises one or more side walls 23 on one or both sides of the indentation 18 in the workpiece 10.

[0048] Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, now example embodiments of a method and an apparatus for sealing the test space 14 in the workpiece 10 of FIG. 1 with the sealing mat 20 of FIGS. 3 to 5 described above will now be explained exemplarily in more detail.

[0049] First, there is provided the above described sealing mat 20 having the planar basic body 21 and the arcuate sealing elements 22. Then, the sealing mat 20 is placed on the flat surface 17 of the open workpiece end face 16. As can be seen in FIG. 6A, the basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 is thereby in (large-) area contact with the flat surface 17 of the workpiece 10, while the sealing elements 22 of the sealing mat 20 protrude into the indentation 18 in the workpiece 10 with a slight distance 40 to the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18 due to their smaller outer dimensions in its initial state. Due to the gap 40, in particular in the region of the critical corner regions 108 (cf. FIG. 2B) and in the region of the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18, cracking and wear of the sealing mat 20 can be avoided in this method step.

[0050] Thereafter, the planar basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 is pressed against the flat workpiece surface 17 by a (not shown, basically arbitrary) pressing mechanism with pressing forces 27 in the direction substantially perpendicular to the flat workpiece surface 17. Even during this method step, the sealing elements 22 at least partially still maintain a bit distance to the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18, as shown in FIG. 6A, so that cracking and wear of the sealing mat 20 can be avoided.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 6B, then the arcuate sealing elements 22 are pressed in the indentations 18 with pressing forces 28 in several directions each substantially radially with respect to the arc-shape of the sealing element 22 against the curved surfaces 19 of the indentations 18, so that the sealing element 22 is pressed against the curved surface 19 at all points perpendicular to it. After this pressing, there is no longer any distance 40 between the sealing element 22 and the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18.

[0052] In this example embodiment, the pressing of the sealing elements 22 against the indentations 18 in the workpiece 10 is performed by special pressing mechanisms 30. The pressing mechanisms are inserted through the recesses 24 in the basic body 21 into the sealing elements 22 of the sealing mat 20 before or after the pressing of the basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 against the workpiece 10.

[0053] The pressing mechanism 30 comprises a pressing shell 26, as already been roughly explained with reference to FIG. 3. In this example embodiment, the pressing shell 26 is composed of two half-shells 26a and 26b which are movably connected to one another in the region of the summit 38 via a joint connector 37, so that the two half-shells 26a, 26b can be pivoted outwards about the joint connector 37. In this way, the pressing shell 26 is an elastic pressing shell.

[0054] In this example embodiment, the pressing mechanism 30 for the sealing element 22 further has a holder 32 and a pressure spring 39 between a summit 38 of the pressure shell 26 in the arcuate sealing element 22 and the holder 32. In principle, any type of spring can be used within the scope of the invention, but preferably a pressure spring 39 is used in order to achieve the pressing sequence described below. In addition, the pressing mechanism 30 has in each case at least one pressing element 34 which connects the holder 32 to the respective one of the two half-shells 26a, 26b of the pressing shell 26, wherein the pressure elements 34 are attached to the holder 32 via a connecting joint 35 and are attached to the half-shells 26a, 26b also via connecting joints 36. The pressure spring 39 and the pressing elements 34 are coupling elements in the meaning of the invention.

[0055] After pressing the basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 against the surface 27 of the open workpiece end face 16, the sealing element 22 of the sealing mat 20 is still substantially in its initial state having a distance 40 from the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18 in the workpiece 10, as illustrated in FIG. 6A. To press the sealing element 22 against the indentation 18, a pressure force 42 is exerted in the direction perpendicular to the surface 16 of the open workpiece end face 16 onto the holder 32 of the pressing mechanism 30, so that the holder 32 is pressed in the direction into the indentation 18. Due to the described construction of the pressing mechanism having the pressure spring 39 between the summit 38 of the pressing shell 26 and the holder 32, thus, the sealing element 22 is first pressed in the region of the summit 38 against the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18. When the holder 32 is pressed further into the indentation 18 by the pressure force 42, then the pressure elements 34 press against the half-shells 26a, 26b and pivot them gradually outwards, so that the sealing element 22 is pressed by the pressing shell 26 against the curved surface 19 of the indentation, starting from the summit 38, further and further along the arc-shape towards the basic body 21. Thereby, the pressing forces 28 of the pressing mechanism 30 against the sealing element 22 are in each case substantially radial to the arc-shape of the sealing element 22 so as to press the sealing element 22 everywhere substantially perpendicularly against the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18.

[0056] After performing of the leakage test, then the sealing of the test space 14 can be removed again in the reverse manner. For this purpose, the holder 32 of the pressing mechanism 30 is pulled out again from the indentation 18 in the workpiece 10, so that the coupling elements 34 retract the half-shells 26a, 26b of the pressing shell 26 back inwards and then the pressing shell 26 is also removed from the indentation 18 at the summit 38. Starting from near the basic body 21 up to the summit 38, the sealing element 22 springs further and further elastically away from the curved surface 19 of the indentation. Subsequently, the other pressing mechanism for the basic body 21 of the sealing mat 20 is then also lifted, so that the entire sealing mat 20 is removed from the surface 17 of the open workpiece end face 16 and thus the sealing of the test space 14 in the workpiece 10 can be cancelled.

[0057] The sealing of the test space 14 in the workpiece 10 according to the invention is not limited to the example embodiments described above in connection with FIGS. 3 to 7. After studying the explanations, a person skilled in the art will recognize further implementations which are within the scope of the invention defined by the claims.

[0058] While in the example embodiment of FIG. 6 the pressing mechanism 30 for the sealing element 22 of the sealing mat 20 comprises a plurality of pressing elements 34 between the holder 32 and the pressing shell 26, it is also possible to achieve the pressing of the sealing element 22 against the indentation 18 by rotation. For example, in an alternative example embodiment of the invention, the pressing mechanism 30 may comprise a holder 32 and a rotation element between the holder 32 and the pressing shell 26, wherein the rotation element is rotatable about a rotation axis substantially perpendicular or parallel to the surface 17 of the open workpiece end face 16 to generate the radial pressing forces on the arcuate sealing element 22 against the curved surface 19 of the indentation 18.

[0059] The following is a summary list of reference numerals and the corresponding structure used in the above description of the invention: [0060] 10 workpiece [0061] 14 test space in workpiece [0062] 16 open end face of workpiece [0063] 17 (substantially flat) surface of open end face [0064] 18 indentation in surface [0065] 19 curved surface of indentation [0066] 20 sealing mat [0067] 21 (substantially planar) basic body of sealing mat [0068] 22 arcuate sealing element (connected to basic body) [0069] 23 side walls for sealing element [0070] 24 recess in basic body [0071] 25 sealing contour [0072] 26 pressing shell [0073] 26a,b half-shells of pressure shell [0074] 27 normal pressing force [0075] 28 radial pressing forces [0076] 30 pressing mechanism [0077] 32 holder [0078] 34 pressing elements between holder and pressure shell [0079] 35 connecting joint [0080] 36 connecting joints [0081] 37 joint connector [0082] 38 summit of sealing element or pressure shell [0083] 39 pressure spring [0084] 40 gap/distance between sealing element and indentation [0085] 42 pressure force [0086] 100 conventional sealing mat [0087] 101 basic body of conventional sealing mat [0088] 102 crescent-shaped sealing element (molded on basic body) [0089] 105 pressing force [0090] 108 critical corner regions