WELDING COMPONENT, AND METHOD FOR WELDING THE WELDING COMPONENT TO A COMPONENT

Abstract

A welding component is provided for welding to a component via at least one welding region. The welding component includes: at least one welding indicator arrangement provided on the welding component; and, the at least one welding indicator arrangement includes a welding region minimum indicator to be covered by the at least one welding region and a welding region maximum indicator not to be covered by the at least one welding region.

Claims

1. A welding component for welding to a component via at least one welding region, the welding component comprising: at least one welding indicator arrangement being provided on said welding component; and, said at least one welding indicator arrangement including a welding region minimum indicator to be covered by said at least one welding region and a welding region maximum indicator not to be covered by said at least one welding region.

2. The welding component of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following applies: i) said welding region minimum indicator includes a contour modification of said welding component; and, ii) said welding region maximum indicator includes a contour modification of the welding component.

3. The welding component of claim 2, wherein said welding component defines an external contour; and, said at least one welding indicator arrangement includes at least one depression region with respect to said external contour of said welding component.

4. The welding component of claim 3, wherein said welding region minimum indicator includes a transition from said external contour to said depression region; and, said welding region maximum indicator includes a transition from said depression region to said external contour.

5. The welding component of claim 3, wherein said depression region is a first depression region; said at least one welding indicator arrangement includes a second depression region with respect to said external contour; and, said first and second depression regions are disposed in spaced relationship to each other.

6. The welding component of claim 3, wherein: said welding component defines a longitudinal axis (L); said external contour is an external circumferential contour of said welding component with respect to said longitudinal axis (L); and, said at least one depression region is configured, with respect to said longitudinal axis (L), as a fully encircling groove-type depression.

7. The welding component of claim 1, wherein: said welding component defines an external contour; said external contour includes a first external contour region and a second external contour region offset with respect to said first external contour region; said welding indicator arrangement includes a transition region disposed between said first and second external contour regions; said welding region minimum indicator includes a transition from said first external contour region to said transition region; and, said welding region maximum indicator includes a transition from said transition region to said second external contour region.

8. The welding component of claim 7, wherein: said welding component defines a longitudinal axis (L); said first external contour region is a first external circumferential contour region of said welding component with respect to said longitudinal axis (L); said second external contour region is a second external circumferential contour region of said welding component with respect to said longitudinal axis (L); said first external circumferential contour region has a first radial dimension with respect to said longitudinal axis (L); said second external circumferential contour region has a second radial dimension with respect to said longitudinal axis (L) different from said first radial dimension; and, a transition from said first radial dimension to said second radial dimension is provided by said transition region.

9. The welding component of claim 8, wherein said transition region is configured so as to be substantially frustoconical.

10. The welding component of claim 1, wherein said welding component has a support region for supporting said welding component on a further component to which said welding component is to be welded; and, said welding region minimum indicator has smaller spacing (d) from said support region than said welding region maximum indicator.

11. The welding component of claim 1, wherein: said welding component is a connecting piece having a receptacle opening; said welding component has a component support surface for supporting said connecting piece on a further component to be welded to said connecting piece; and, said at least one welding indicator arrangement is provided on an external circumferential region of said connecting piece.

12. The welding component of claim 11, wherein said connecting piece is a sensor receptacle connecting piece for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine.

13. A method for welding at least one welding component to a further component, the welding component including at least one welding indicator arrangement being provided on said welding component; and, said at least one welding indicator arrangement including a welding region minimum indicator to be covered by said at least one welding region and a welding region maximum indicator not to be covered by said at least one welding region; said method comprising the steps of: a) disposing the at least one welding component in a relative welding position with respect to the further component; and, b) generating at least one welding region for fixing the welding component to the further component in such a manner that the welding region minimum indicator of the at least one welding indicator arrangement is covered by at least one welding region, and the welding region maximum indicator of said welding indicator arrangement is not covered by said welding region.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said welding component has a support region for supporting said welding component on a further component to which said welding component is to be welded to; said welding region minimum indicator has smaller spacing (d) from said support region than said welding region maximum indicator; and, in step a), the welding component for attaining the relative welding position is positioned so as to bear on the further component by way of the support region.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said welding component is a connecting piece having a receptacle opening; said welding component has a component support surface for supporting said connecting piece on a further component to be welded to said connecting piece; said at least one welding indicator arrangement is provided on an external circumferential region of said connecting piece; in step a), the connecting piece is positioned so as to bear on the further component by way of the component support surface; and, the at least one welding region generated in step b) includes a fully encircling weld seam about the connecting piece.

16. An exhaust system for an internal combustion engine, comprising: at least one connecting piece, wherein said at least one connecting piece is a welding component for welding to an exhaust gas conducting component via at least one welding region; said welding component including at least one welding indicator arrangement provided on said welding component; said at least one welding indicator arrangement including a welding region minimum indicator to be covered by said at least one welding region and a welding region maximum indicator not to be covered by said at least one welding region; said welding component being a connecting piece having a receptacle opening; said welding component having a component support surface for supporting said connecting piece on said exhaust gas conducting component to be welded to said connecting piece; said at least one welding indicator arrangement being provided on an external circumferential region of said connecting piece said connecting piece being arranged on said exhaust gas conducting component; and, at least one welding region fixing said connecting component to said exhaust gas conducting component so as to cause said welding region minimum indicator of said at least one welding indication arrangement to be covered by said at least one welding region and so as to cause said welding region maximum indicator of said welding indicator arrangement not to be covered by said at least one welding region.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view of a connecting piece which provides a welding component;

[0025] FIG. 2 shows the enlarged detail II in FIG. 1;

[0026] FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal sectional view, corresponding to that of FIG. 1, of an alternative type of embodiment of a connecting piece which provides a welding component;

[0027] FIG. 4 shows the enlarged detail IV in FIG. 3;

[0028] FIGS. 5A and 5B show enlargements of different embodiments of welding indicator assemblies; and,

[0029] FIG. 6 shows a portion of an exhaust system having a connecting piece which provides a welding component.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Before going into details of the present disclosure, the context in which the disclosure can be applied will be explained with reference to FIG. 6.

[0031] FIG. 6 shows a portion of an exhaust system, denoted in general by the reference numeral 10, of an internal combustion engine, for example in the vehicle. The exhaust system 10 includes an exhaust gas conducting component 12 which is configured as a pipe or a housing, for example, and in the interior of which an exhaust gas A flows to or from an exhaust gas treatment unit such as, for example, a catalytic converter, a particle filter, or the like, for example.

[0032] An opening 16 is configured in a wall 14 of the exhaust gas conducting component 12, a connecting piece 18, for example configured for receiving a sensor, being established in the region of the opening 16 on the wall 14. A receptacle opening 20 is configured in the connecting piece 18, a sensor to be established on the connecting piece 18 being able to interact with the exhaust gas A by way of the receptacle opening 20.

[0033] The connecting piece 18 which in the context of the present disclosure provides a welding component 22 constructed using a metallic material is elongate in the direction of a welding component longitudinal axis L, or is configured so as to be substantially rotationally symmetric in relation to the latter, respectively, and by way of a component support face 24 provides a support region 26 by way of which the connecting piece 18 can be positioned in a relative welding position on the exhaust gas conducting component 12, the latter in the context of the present disclosure to be considered to be a component 28 constructed using a metallic material.

[0034] Establishing the connecting piece 18 on the exhaust gas conducting component 12 takes place by way of a weld seam 32 which preferably completely encircles the welding component longitudinal axis L and provides a welding region 30. In this way, a stable and simultaneously also gas-tight bond between the connecting piece 18, or the welding component 22, respectively, and the exhaust gas conducting component 12, or the component 28, respectively, is achieved.

[0035] A first embodiment of a connecting piece 18 of this type is visualized in FIGS. 1, 2, 5A and in the left half of FIG. 6. Provided in this embodiment at an axial spacing from the component support face 24, on a substantially cylindrical external circumferential face 34 of the connecting piece 18 that provides or defines, respectively, an external contour 33, is a depression region 36 having a groove-type depression 38 that preferably fully encircles the welding component longitudinal axis L in the circumferential direction. The depression region 36, or the groove-type depression 38, respectively, in the direction of the welding component longitudinal axis L has a width B and generally provides a welding indicator assembly 40. A transition 42 from the groove-type depression 38 to a part 44 of the external circumferential face 34 that lies between the groove-type depression 38 and the component support face 24 forms a welding region minimum indicator 46 of the welding indicator assembly 40, and a transition 48 from the groove-type depression 38 to a part 50 of the external circumferential face 34 that is farther away from the component support face 24 forms a welding region maximum indicator 52.

[0036] The axial spacing between the welding region minimum indicator 46 and the welding region maximum indicator 52 corresponds to the width B of the groove-type depression 38. In the case of the component 28, or the exhaust gas conducting component 12, respectively, in the relative welding position, which is provided for welding and is illustrated in FIG. 6, the welding region minimum indicator 46 from the external surface 54 of the component 28, or of the exhaust gas conducting component 12, respectively, that serves for supporting the welding component 22, or the connecting piece 18, respectively, has a spacing d which is smaller by the width B than a spacing D between the welding region maximum indicator 52 and the external surface 54.

[0037] After positioning the connecting piece 18 on the exhaust gas conducting component 12 in the relative welding position according to FIG. 6, the weld seam 32 in the transition region from the external circumferential face 34 of the connecting piece 18 to the external surface 54 of the exhaust gas conducting component 12 is generated in such a manner that the weld seam 32 on the external circumferential face 34 in the direction of the welding component longitudinal axis L extends into the region of the welding indicator assembly 40. This means that the weld seam 32 is generated such that the latter covers the part 44 of the external circumferential face 34 into the region of the welding region minimum indicator 46, or beyond the welding region minimum indicator 46, respectively, so that the welding region minimum indicator 46, thus the transition 42 between the groove-type depression 38 and the part 44 of the external circumferential face 34 can longer be seen. However, the weld seam 32 does not extend so far that the weld seam 32 covers the entire groove-type depression 38 up to the welding region maximum indicator 52, thus the transition 48 to the part 50 of the external circumferential face 34 of the connecting piece 18.

[0038] The weld seam 32 is correctly sized or positioned, respectively, when the weld seam 32 extends along the welding component longitudinal axis L in such a manner. This can be verified by way of visual checking, for example via corresponding optical systems. If it is established that the welding region minimum indicator 46 is covered by the weld seam 32 while the welding region maximum indicator 52 can still be seen, the bond thus produced is considered to be correct. If it is established that, for example, the weld seam 32 does not cover the welding region minimum indicator 46, the latter thus still being visible during optical testing, it is considered that the weld seam 32 is not of the correct size. If it is established that not only the welding region minimum indicator 46 but also the welding region maximum indicator 52 is covered, the latter thus not being able to be identified during optical testing, the weld seam 32, or the welding region 30, respectively, is likewise considered as not being correctly performed. In cases in which the welding region 32 is considered as not being correctly performed, it can be examined in a subsequent operating step whether, or to what extent, a correction can or must be carried out so as to optionally perform rework on the welding region 30, or if the latter is not possible to reject the bond thus produced and exclude the latter from further processing.

[0039] An alternative embodiment is visualized in FIGS. 3, 4, 5B and in the right half of FIG. 6. In this type of embodiment, the welding indicator assembly 40 includes a transition region 56 between the parts 44 and 50 of the external circumferential face 34 of the connecting piece 18. This transition region 56 can also have the width B in the direction of the welding component longitudinal axis L. The transition 56 has a frustoconical structure, for example, so that the part 44 of the external circumferential face 34, which in this embodiment provides a first external contour region 58, from the welding component longitudinal axis L has a smaller radial spacing than the part 50 of the external circumferential face 34 that provides a second external contour region 60. A transition 62 from the part 44, or the first external contour region 58, respectively, to the transition region 56 in this embodiment provides the welding region minimum indicator 46. A transition 64 from the transition region 56 to the part 50 of the external circumferential face 34 that provides the second external contour region 60 provides the welding region maximum indicator 52.

[0040] When positioning the connecting piece 18 on the exhaust gas conducting component 12 in the relative welding position that can be seen in FIG. 6, the weld seam 32 is formed such that the latter along the welding component longitudinal axis L extends into the axial extent region of the transition region 56, such that the transition 62 is covered but not the transition 64. The weld seam 32 is considered as being correctly performed only in this instance. Otherwise, the weld seam 32 is considered as not being correctly performed, and it is decided whether or to what extent corrections are to be performed, or in what manner the corrections are to be performed, respectively.

[0041] As a result of the present disclosure it is possible with simple constructive measures to perform checking of a welding region in terms of whether the latter is of a correct size, or is embodied at the correct location, respectively. It is to be pointed out that welding indicator assemblies of this type can be provided on both components to be connected to one another by welding, thus on the welding component as well as on the component to be welded thereto. In the example illustrated, notches or groove-type depressions, respectively, could be formed as concentric rings, for example, on the wall 14 of the exhaust gas conducting component 12, so as to be on the external surface 54 thereof at a spacing from the opening 16, so as to by way of respective transitions to the external surface 54 provide a welding region minimum indicator and a welding region maximum indicator. Likewise, when the weld seam 32, which can be seen in FIG. 6, is to be carried out only in regions in the circumferential direction, a welding region minimum indicator and a welding region maximum indicator could be provided also on different circumferential positions of the connecting piece 18, on the external circumferential face 34 thereof, for example by way of a groove-type depression extending in the direction of the welding component longitudinal axis L in the external circumferential face 34.

[0042] In an alternative embodiment of a welding indicator assembly, the latter could have two depression regions, or groove-type depressions, respectively, which are spaced apart, wherein one of these depression regions forms the welding region minimum indicator and, in the case of correct welding, should be at least partially covered by a welding region, while the other depression region provides the welding region maximum indicator and, in the case of correct welding, should not, or at least not completely, be covered by a welding region.

[0043] It is understood that the foregoing description is that of the preferred embodiments of the invention and that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.