Abstract
The invention relates to a housing of a gas generator module for an airbag system of a motor vehicle, wherein the housing is of substantially tubular design and has a tube portion in which a plurality of stamped formations pointing into the interior of the housing are introduced over an external circumference of the housing, wherein the stamped formations in the interior of the tube portion have a stop for an internal component.
Claims
1. A housing of a gas generator module for an airbag system of a motor vehicle, wherein the housing is of substantially tubular design and has a tube portion in which a plurality of stamped formations pointing into the interior of the housing are introduced over an external circumference of the housing, wherein the stamped formations in the interior of the tube portion have a stop for an internal component.
2. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stop is designed as a supporting surface for an internal component.
3. The housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the stop is designed in the form of a step, wherein the supporting surface lies perpendicularly on the wall of the tube portion.
4. The housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the stop is designed in the form of a step, wherein the supporting surface forms an obtuse angle with the wall of the tube portion in the region which is provided for the internal component.
5. The housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supporting surface is adapted to the surface of the internal component which is to be supported.
6. The housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein the supporting surface is designed for forming an axially parallel supporting action on the internal component in the longitudinal direction.
7. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing is composed of a metal, in particular a steel or a steel alloy.
8. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stamped formations are designed as ellipsoidal, in particular semi-ellipsoidal, or polygonal stamped formations.
9. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stamped formations are arranged in a cross-sectional plane which extends in particular perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the tube portion.
10. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein each stamped formation is formed rotationally non-symmetrically with respect to an axis running through the center point of the respective ellipsoid and at an inclination with respect to the center longitudinal axis of the tubular housing.
11. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least three stamped formations, in particular four or eight stamped formations are arranged over the external circumference of the tubular housing.
12. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tube portion with the stamped formations is designed to be tempered, in particular hardened and annealed.
13. The housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said housing has a tensile strength Rm of greater than 800 MPa, preferably greater than 950 MPa.
14. A method for producing a housing as claimed in claim 1, with the following method steps: a) Providing a tubular housing made of a metal, a steel or a steel alloy, b) Positioning at least one stamping mandrel over an external circumference in a tube portion of the housing, c) Introducing stamped formations over the external circumference into the tube portion of the housing by means of the at least one stamping mandrel, and e) Removing the housing with stamped formations for further processing.
15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein, before stamped formations are introduced by means of the at least one stamping mandrel over the external circumference of the housing, an internal tool, in particular a supporting mandrel, is placed in the interior of the housing opposite the external circumference.
16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the housing or the tube portion is tempered, in particular hardened and annealed, wherein the tempering takes place in particular before the stamping.
17. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein stamped formations are introduced by means of cold stamping or semi-hot stamping.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein tempering takes place before or after cold stamping or semi-hot stamping.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] In the drawings:
[0034] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional illustration of an exemplary embodiment of a housing according to the invention in the region of a tube portion with ellipsoidal stamped portions,
[0035] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional illustration of a first production step of a method according to the invention for producing a housing according to the invention,
[0036] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional illustration of a first exemplary embodiment of a housing according to the invention,
[0037] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional illustration of the housing according to the invention according to FIG. 3 with an inserted internal part,
[0038] FIG. 5 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a housing according to the invention,
[0039] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional illustration of a production step of a method according to the invention for producing a housing according to the invention in detail, and
[0040] FIGS. 7 to 9 show cross-sectional illustrations of further exemplary embodiments of housings according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0041] FIG. 1 shows, partly in a cross-sectional illustration, a first exemplary embodiment of a housing 1 according to the invention of a gas generator for an airbag system of a motor vehicle. In particular, it can already be seen here that the housing 1 is of tubular design and has a tube portion 2 in which a plurality of stamped formations 4 pointing into the interior 3 of the housing 1 are introduced over the external circumference of the housing.
[0042] The stamped formations 4 are introduced here in the wall 15 of the housing 1 on the outer side thereof. It cannot yet be seen in the illustration of FIG. 1 that the stamped formations 4 are designed as ellipsoidal stamped formations 4 which are of semi-ellipsoidal shape in this exemplary embodiment. In this connection, semi-ellipsoid is intended to be understood as meaning an ellipsoid which is divided precisely centrally. In the interior 3 of the housing 1, the stamped formations 4 form a stop 7 in the tube portion 2 for an internal component 8 which is to be positioned or fixed in the interior 3 of the housing 1, for example in the form of a sieve disk 9, which is not, however, shown here.
[0043] Furthermore, the center longitudinal axis 5 of the tubular housing 1 is also shown in FIG. 1. The stamped formations 4 can be arranged rotationally symmetrically here about said central longitudinal axis 5. However, it is also possible to arrange the orientations of the semi-ellipsoidal stamped formations 4 on the external circumference on the wall 15 of the tube portion 2 of the housing 1 in such a manner that they do not have any rotational symmetry with respect to the center longitudinal axis 5 of the tubular housing 1.
[0044] FIG. 2 now illustrates, in a cross-sectional illustration, a first method step for producing a housing 1 according to the invention. An internal tool 12 in the form of a supporting mandrel 13 is introduced here into the interior 3 of the tubular housing 1 as far as the tube portion 2 in which the stamped formations 4 are intended to be introduced. The present supporting mandrel 13 here has a gradation 14. Said gradation 14 serves, in the stamped formations 4 to be produced on the inner side of the wall 15 of the housing 1, to introduce a step 10 with a supporting surface 18 which serves as a stop 7 for an internal component 8, in particular a sieve disk 9. In the present exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, the supporting surface 18 here lies perpendicularly to the wall 15 of the tube portion 2.
[0045] In order to introduce the stamped portions 4 into the wall 15 or the external circumference in the tube portion 2 of the housing 1, a stamping mandrel 11 is now provided which has a semi-ellipsoidally shaped end 17. By means of a force K, which is illustrated in FIG. 2 as a fat black arrow, the wall 15 over the external circumference of the housing 1 is now deformed in the tube portion 2, as a result of which the semi-ellipsoidal stamped portion 4 in the wall 15 on the external circumference of the housing 1 is formed in the region of the tube portion 2. In the interior, the wall 15 is pressed here against the internal tool 12 in the form of the supporting mandrel 13, wherein, by means of the gradation 14 of the supporting mandrel 13, a step 10 with a supporting surface 18 is introduced into the stamped formation 4 on the inner side of the wall 15 of the housing 1, said step serving as a stop 7 for an internal component 8, in particular a sieve disk 9. In the present exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 the supporting surface 18 lies perpendicularly here to the wall of the tube portion 2.
[0046] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional illustration of a housing 1 according to the invention after production with a method step illustrated in FIG. 2. Two introduced semi-ellipsoidal stamped formations 4 which lie opposite in the tube portion 2 on the circumference of the housing 1 and are formed in the interior 3 of the housing 1 with a step 10, which serves as a stop 7 and has a supporting surface 18, can now be clearly seen. An internal component 8, for example a sieve disk 9, can be supported on said supporting surface 18 of the stop 7, which is designed as a step 10.
[0047] Such an internal component 8 which is designed in the form of a sieve disk 9 is now shown in FIG. 4 in a cross-sectional illustration in which said sieve disk 9 is supported on the supporting surface 18 of the step 10, designed as a stop 7, of the stamped formations 4 in the wall 15 in the tube portion 2 of the housing 1 on the inner side thereof.
[0048] Finally, FIG. 5 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a housing 1 according to the invention in a perspective illustration. The housing 1 there has a tapering end 16 while the opposite end of the housing 1 has the original diameter of the housing. Furthermore, said housing 1 now has a tube portion 2 in which semi-ellipsoidal stamped formations 4 are introduced.
[0049] Three such stamped formations 4 can be seen in the illustration of FIG. 5. Overall, the housing 1 of FIG. 5 has six stamped formations 4 distributed equidistantly in the tube portion 2 over its circumference, wherein in each case two stamped formations 4 are arranged opposite each other. The orientation of the stamped formations 4 is always identical here, with the stamped formations 4 being designed in such a manner that they are formed rotationally non-symmetrically with respect to an axis 6 running through the center point of the respective ellipsoid and at an inclination with respect to the center longitudinal axis 5 of the tubular housing 1.
[0050] However, the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 5 illustrates such an axis 6 only for the central semi-ellipsoidal stamped formation 4. The axes 6 existing for the further stamped formations 4 are distributed in a rotationally symmetrical manner about the center longitudinal axis 5 of the housing 1 in each case by an angle of rotation of 30.
[0051] FIG. 6 now illustrates, in a cross-sectional illustration, a method step for producing a further housing 1 according to the invention. An internal tool 12 in the form of a supporting mandrel 13 is introduced here into the interior of the tubular housing 1 as far as the tube portion 2 in which the stamped formations 4 are intended to be introduced. The present supporting mandrel 13 here has a gradation 14. Said gradation serves to introduce a step 10 having a supporting surface 18 in the stamped formations 4 to be produced on the inner side of the wall 15 of the housing 1, said step serving as a stop 7 for an internal component 8, in particular a sieve disk 9. In contrast to the illustration of FIG. 2, in the present exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6, the supporting surface 18 does not lie perpendicularly to the wall 15 of the tube portion 2, but rather forms an obtuse angle with the wall 15 of the tube portion 2 in the direction of the housing 1, from which direction the supporting mandrel 13 is introduced. The effect achieved in this exemplary embodiment is that the stop 7 or the supporting surface 18 not only permits or exemplifies axial positioning of an internal component 8. Furthermore, by means of the supporting surface 18 which now runs obliquely radial positioning of an internal component 8 is also made possible if the latter has a contour which is adapted to the contour of the stop 7, in particular of the supporting surface 18. This makes it possible for radial fixing of the internal component 8 with respect to the tube longitudinal axis 5 to be permitted in addition to the axial supporting of the internal component 8 or instead.
[0052] FIGS. 7 and 8 now illustrate two exemplary embodiments of housings according to the invention in cross section in the region of the tube portion 2 in which the stamped formations 4 are introduced. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7, the housing 1 is provided here with four stamped formations 4 while the exemplary embodiment of the housing 1 of FIG. 8 has eight stamped formations 4. In the two exemplary embodiments, the stamped formations 4 are arranged circularly here over a circumference of the housing 1.
[0053] By contrast thereto, FIG. 9 shows an exemplary embodiment of a housing according to the invention in a cross-sectional illustration along the longitudinal axis 5 of the housing 1, wherein the stamped formations 4 are now not arranged circularly over a circumference of the housing 1, but rather on an ellipse 19 over the circumference of the housing 1.
[0054] However, it is of course also possible to arrange the stamped formations 4 not only circularly or on an ellipse 19 over the circumference of the housing 1. Stamped formations 4 which are arranged in a spiral or the like over the circumference of the housing 1 are also conceivable.
LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS
[0055] 1Housing
[0056] 2 Tube portion
[0057] 3 Interior
[0058] 4 Stamped formation
[0059] 5 Center longitudinal axis
[0060] 6 Axis
[0061] 7 Stop
[0062] 8 Internal component
[0063] 9 Sieve disk
[0064] 10 Step
[0065] 11 Stamping mandrel
[0066] 12 Internal tool
[0067] 13 Supporting mandrel
[0068] 14 Gradation
[0069] 15 Wall
[0070] 16 End
[0071] 17 End
[0072] 18 Supporting surface
[0073] 19 Ellipse
[0074] K Force
