Valve for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine

Abstract

A valve for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine includes a housing which contains a passage for conducting exhaust gases. In the passage is arranged a closing body with which the passage can be closed. The closing body is fastened in a rotationally fixed manner to a shaft, which is mounted rotatably in the housing, and can be pivoted together with the shaft about the rotation axis of the shaft. The closing body has a partition, which runs perpendicularly to the rotation axis of the shaft, and has a circular outer contour which is sealed off from the housing and divides the passage into a first duct and a second duct. When the closing body is in the closed position both the first and second ducts are closed. When the closing body is in an open position the exhaust gasses can pass through the first and second ducts.

Claims

1. A valve for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, the valve comprising: a housing which contains a passage for conducting exhaust gases; in the passage is arranged a closing body, with which the passage can be closed; the closing body is fastened in a rotationally fixed manner to a shaft, which is mounted rotatably in the housing, where the closing body can be pivoted together with the shaft about the rotation axis of the shaft; wherein the closing body has a partition which runs perpendicularly to the rotation axis of the shaft and has a circular outer contour, wherein the partition is sealed off from the housing and divides the passage into a first duct and a second duct separate from the first duct; wherein the closing body has a closed position, in which both ducts are closed.

2. The valve according to claim 1, wherein at least one suitable sealing element is arranged between the circular outer contour of the partition of the closing body and the housing, in order to seal off the first duct from the second duct.

3. The valve according to claim 2, wherein a sealing ring is arranged on the circular outer contour of the partition of the closing body.

4. The valve according to claim 3, wherein the sealing ring has a greater outer diameter than the closing body.

5. The valve according to claim 2, wherein a sealing element has a curved surface on its side facing the closing body, which surface interacts with the circular outer contour of the partition or a sealing ring arranged thereon.

6. The valve according to claim 5, wherein the curved surface has the shape of a circumferential surface of a circular cylinder or of a segment thereof.

7. The valve according to claim 5, wherein the sealing element is planar, at least on an outer side opposite the curved surface.

8. The valve according to claim 5, wherein the sealing element is arranged in the housing such that it can be displaced along the passage.

9. The valve according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a length, measured in the flow direction of the exhaust gas, that is smaller than the diameter of the circular outer contour of the partition of the closing body.

10. The valve according to claim 1, wherein the housing is connected to an inflow flange and/or an outflow flange, of which at least one flange has two ducts, which are separated by a second partition.

11. The valve according to claim 10, wherein the distance of the second partition of the flange, measured along the rotation axis of the shaft, from one end of the shaft corresponds to the distance of the partition of the closing body from the same end of the shaft.

12. The valve according to claim 10, wherein the second partition of the flange has the shape of a segment of a circumferential surface of a circular cylinder on the side of the second partition that faces the closing body.

13. A valve for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, the valve comprising: a housing which contains a passage for conducting exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine; a closing body disposed in the passage where the closing body is pivotable between an open position and a closed position, wherein in the open position the exhaust gases can pass through the passage and wherein in the closed position the exhaust gases cannot pass through the passage; a shaft pivotably mounted in the housing and through the closing body, where the closing body is fastened in a rotationally fixed manner to the shaft, and wherein the closing body and shaft can be pivoted together about a rotation axis of the shaft; wherein the closing body has a partition which runs perpendicularly to the rotation axis of the shaft and has a circular outer contour, wherein the partition divides the passage into a first duct and a second duct, where the first duct is separate from the second duct; wherein when the closing body is in the closed position both the first and second ducts are closed, and wherein when the closing body is in the open position the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine can pass through the first and second ducts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages and features of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments when taken in conjunction with the figures. In the figures:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a front view of an assembly having a valve according to the invention for an exhaust system,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a side view from the right of the assembly of FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a side view from the left of the assembly of FIG. 1,

(5) FIG. 4 shows a view from above of the assembly of FIG. 1,

(6) FIG. 5 shows the assembly in a section along sectional plane V-V of FIG. 1,

(7) FIG. 6 shows the assembly in a section along sectional plane VI-VI of FIG. 5,

(8) FIG. 7 shows the assembly in a section along sectional plane VII-VII of FIG. 5,

(9) FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 1,

(10) FIG. 9 shows another perspective view of the assembly of FIG. 1,

(11) FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of part of the assembly of FIG. 1 with the valve closed,

(12) FIG. 11 shows a view corresponding to FIG. 10, in which the valve is open,

(13) FIG. 12 shows a perspective exploded view of the assembly of FIG. 1,

(14) FIG. 13 shows a view corresponding to FIG. 7 of an assembly having a variant of a valve according to the invention,

(15) FIG. 14 shows a perspective exploded view of the assembly of FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(16) FIGS. 1 to 12 show an assembly for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, which contains a valve 1, a drive device 2, an inflow flange 4 and an outflow flange 6. The inflow flange 4 contains two ducts 8, 9, which are separated in the inflow flange 4 by a partition 10; see in particular FIG. 5. A pipe can be welded to the inflow flange 4 at each of the ducts 8, 9 in a manner not shown in detail. The internal combustion engine (not shown) can have for example six cylinders. The exhaust gases of a first group of cylinders, for example cylinders 1 to 3, can be supplied to the first duct 8 of the inflow flange 4. The exhaust gases of a second group containing for example cylinders 4 to 6 can be supplied to the second duct 9 of the inflow flange 4.

(17) The valve 1 is a flap-type exhaust gas recirculation valve and contains a housing 12 having a passage 14, through which exhaust gases can flow in flow direction A;

(18) see in particular FIG. 12. In the passage 14 is arranged a closing body 16, with which the passage 14 can be closed. A shaft 18 extends transversely through the passage 14 and is mounted such that it can rotate about a rotation axis 19 in the housing 12 by means of two bearings 20, 21; see in particular FIG. 5. The closing body 16 has a bore 22, in which the shaft 18 sits; see in particular FIGS. 6 and 7. The closing body 16 is connected to the shaft 18 in a rotationally fixed manner by means of a pin 24.

(19) The closing body 16 has a partition 26, which runs perpendicularly to the rotation axis 19. The partition 26 continues the partition 10 and divides the passage 14 into a first duct 28 and a second duct 29; see in particular FIG. 5.

(20) The closing body 16 has a closed positionsee in particular FIGS. 2, 5, 6 and 10in which it closes both ducts 28 and 29. The closing body 16 can be pivoted into an open position, shown in FIG. 11, in which exhaust gas supplied via the duct 8 can flow through the duct 28. Exhaust gas supplied via the duct 9 can flow through the duct 29. In the closed position, the closing body 16 separates an upstream section 30 of the duct 28 from a downstream section 32 of the duct 28 and an upstream section 31 of the duct 29 from a downstream section 33 of the duct 29. To this end, the closing body 16 has a plurality of side faces 34, 35, 36, 37, which extend substantially along the rotation axis 19. The two side faces 34 and 36 are arranged in the duct 28, the side face 34 facing the upstream section 30 and the side face 36 facing the downstream section 32 when the closing body 16 is in the closed position. The side faces 35 and 37 of the closing body 16 are arranged in the duct 29, the side face 35 facing the upstream section 31 and the side face 37 facing the downstream section 33 in the closed position. When the valve 1 is completely opensee FIG. 11the side faces 34, 35, 36, 37 extend in the flow direction A of the exhaust gas. Viewed transversely to the rotation axis 19, the closing body 16 has a circular outer contour; see in particular FIG. 6. The closing body 16 is formed in one part with an integrated partition 26; see in particular FIG. 5. However, the closing body 16 can also be formed in several parts in a manner not shown, in which a first part of the partition 26 can be attached to the side faces 34, 35 and a second part of the partition 26 can be attached to the side faces 36, 37.

(21) Viewed along the rotation axis 19, the partition 26 has a circular outer contour; see in particular FIG. 7. On the circular outer contour of the partition 26 is arranged a sealing element in the form of a sealing ring 40, which is arranged in a groove running around the circular outer contour of the partition 26. The sealing ring 40 runs all the way round in the circumferential direction of the partition 26 except for its separation point, has a greater outer diameter than the closing body 16see in particular FIGS. 5 and 6and is in the form of a piston ring.

(22) The housing 12 contains two grooves 42, 43 running transversely to the rotation axis 19 and along the flow direction A; see in particular FIGS. 6 and 12. Two sealing elements 44, 45 in the form of sealing bars are provided, which are arranged displaceably in the grooves 42, 43.

(23) Each of the sealing bars 44, 45 has a curved surface 46, which interacts with the sealing ring 40; see in particular FIG. 7. The curved surfaces 46 have the shape of a segment of a circumferential face of a circular cylinder. Each sealing strip 44, 45 is planar on its other outer sides, in particular the outer side 48 opposite the curved surface 46.

(24) When the valve 1 is assembledsee in particular FIG. 12the two bearings 20, 21 are inserted into the housing 12 first. The sealing ring 40 is placed onto the closing body 16. Then the sealing bars 44, 45 are placed with their curved surfaces 46 onto the outer circumferential face of the sealing ring 40. The closing body 16 is then pushed into the passage 14 together with the sealing bars 44, 45 along the flow direction A, the sealing bar 44 being introduced into the groove 42 and the sealing bar 45 being introduced into the groove 43. Then the shaft 18 is pushed through the bearing 20 and through the bore 22 in the closing body 16 and into the bearing 21. Then the closing body 16 is fixed to the shaft 18 with the pin 24.

(25) The partition 26 is sealed off from the housing 12 at its circular outer contour by means of the sealing ring 40 and the sealing bars 44, 45. At the same time, the first duct 28 is sealed off from the second duct 29 in the housing 12. The two exhaust gas flows supplied separately into the ducts 8 and 9 can thus also be conducted further through the ducts 28 and 29 separately from each other in the valve 1.

(26) The outflow flange 6 is screw-fastened to the downstream side of the housing 12, is part of an exhaust gas cooler (not shown) and has two ducts 50 and 51, which are separated by a partition 52. The exhaust gas flows are further conducted separately through the exhaust gas cooler, the exhaust gas flow conducted through the duct 28 of the valve 1 in the duct 50 of the outflow flange 6 and the exhaust gas flow conducted in the duct 29 of the valve 1 through the duct 51 of the outflow flange 6. To allow the least possible disruption to the flow of the exhaust gas, the distance of the partitions 10 and 52measured along the rotation axis 19from one end 54 of the shaft 18 correspond to the distance of the partition 26 of the closing body 16 from the same end 54 of the shaft 18. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the partition 10 is thereby continued by the partition 26 aligned therewith, which is then continued in turn by the partition 52.

(27) The housing 12 has a length L, measured in the flow direction A of the exhaust gas, that is smaller than the diameter of the circular outer contour of the partition 26 of the closing body 16; see in particular FIG. 7. The partition 26 therefore projects both into the inflow flange 4 and into the outflow flange 6; see also FIG. 5. To ensure that the first duct 8, 28, 50 is sealed off from the second duct 9, 29, 51 even in the regions of the sections of the partition 26 that project into the flanges 4, 6, the partitions 10 and 52 of the flanges 4 and 6 each have, on their side facing the closing body 16, the shape of a segment of a circumferential surface of a circular cylinder, against which the sealing ring 40 bears in a sealing manner.

(28) A drive lever 60 is fastened in a rotationally fixed manner to the end 55 of the shaft 18 to pivot said shaft. The drive lever 60 is coupled via a coupling member 62 to the drive device 2, which can contain an electrical actuator in a manner that is not shown in detail but is known per se. Between the bearing 20 and the drive lever 60 is arranged a compression spring 64, by means of which the shaft 18 is drawn upwards in the view of FIG. 5, so that the closing body 16 bears tightly against the bearing bushing 20. This ensures a defined position of the closing body 16 in the passage 14. Between the housing 12 and the drive lever 60 is arranged a rotary spring 66, which surrounds the shaft 18 and exerts a torque on the shaft 18, in order to pivot the closing body 16 into its closed position in the event of a failure of the drive 2.

(29) FIGS. 13 and 14 show another embodiment of an assembly for an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine, in which the sealing off of the closing body 16 from the housing 12 and from the inflow flange 4 and outflow flange 6 differs from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 12. Otherwise the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 corresponds to the embodiment described above, and identical parts are referred to with the same reference symbols, so reference can be made to the above information in this respect.

(30) In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the housing likewise includes two grooves 42, 43 running in the flow direction A. However, instead of the two sealing bars 44 and 45, a sealing plate 70 having a rectangular outer contour is provided as the sealing element. Like the sealing bars 44, 45, the sealing plate 70 has a curved surface 46, which interacts with the sealing ring 40 and is formed by a circular-cylindrical opening 71 in the sealing plate 70. The diameter of the opening 71 is matched to the diameter of the sealing ring 40. The sealing plate 70 is planar on its other outer sides, in particular the outer sides 48 opposite the curved surface 46. To accommodate the sealing plate 70, the housing 12 has a length L, measured in the flow direction A, that is greater than the diameter of the circular outer contour of the partition 26 of the closing body 16. The length L corresponds to an edge length of the rectangular, in particular square, sealing plate 70. The partition 26 thus does not project into the inflow flange 4 and the outflow flange 6, so the partitions 10 and 52 thereof can each be planar on their side facing the closing body 16. The production of the flanges 4 and 6 is thus less complex. The closing body 16 and the sealing ring 40 arranged thereon only execute a sliding movement over the curved surface 46 of the opening 71 in the sealing plate 70 when the valve 1 opens and closes. There are no sliding movements between the outer faces 48 of the sealing plate 70 and the partitions 10 and 52 of the flanges 4 and 6.

(31) When the valve 1 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is assembled, the closing body 16 with the sealing ring 40 placed thereon is inserted into the opening 71 of the sealing plate 70 and then pushed into the passage 14 in the housing 12 in the flow direction A, the sealing plate 70 being introduced into the grooves 42 and 43.

(32) TABLE-US-00001 List of reference symbols 1 Exhaust gas recirculation valve 2 Drive device 4 Inflow flange 6 Outflow flange 8 Duct 9 Duct 10 Partition 12 Housing 14 Passage 16 Closing body 18 Shaft 19 Rotation axis 20 Bearing 21 Bearing 22 Bore 24 Pin 26 Partition 28 Duct 29 Duct 30 Upstream section 31 Upstream section 32 Downstream section 33 Downstream section 34 Side face 35 Side face 36 Side face 37 Side face 40 Sealing ring 42 Groove 43 Groove 44 Sealing bar 45 Sealing bar 46 Curved surface 48 Outer side 50 Duct 51 Duct 52 Partition 54 End of shaft 55 End of shaft 60 Drive lever 62 Coupling member 64 Compression spring 66 Rotary spring 70 Sealing plate 71 Opening A Flow direction L Length