Flat gasket, in particular, cylinder head gasket

Abstract

Flat gasket with a gasket plate comprising at least one sheet metal layer, at least one fluid through-opening to be sealed, and a plurality of screw through-openings, the sheet metal layer having at least one supporting element for receiving pressing forces, and the supporting element being in the form of a bead stamped into the sheet metal layer; in order to improve the durability of the supporting bead while in operation, the bead is designed so as to form with its bead crest, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, an endless continuous line closed within itself, so that the bead does not have any free bead ends.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a plan view of part of a sheet metal layer of a flat gasket according to the invention, designed as a cylinder head gasket, with supporting elements according to the invention shown schematically therein;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the left lower corner of the sheet metal layer shown in FIG. 1 and the supporting element according to the invention arranged there;

FIG. 3 shows a section taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2 and part of the stamping tool used for stamping the supporting element;

FIG. 4 shows a detail from FIG. 2 with an enlarged plan view of an area of the supporting element; and

FIG. 5 shows a section taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 4 and through part of the stamping tool.

Claims

1. Flat gasket with a gasket plate comprising at least one sheet metal layer and having at least one fluid through-opening to be sealed, and a plurality of screw through-openings for the passage of screws therethrough for clamping the flat gasket between sealing surfaces of components, said sheet metal layer having at least one supporting element for receiving pressing forces acting on the flat gasket when the flat gasket is installed, and said supporting element comprising at least one bead stamped into the sheet metal layer and having a bead crest forming a continuous line, said bead forming with its bead crest, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, an endless continuous line closed within itself, so that the bead does not have any free bead ends.

2. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 1, wherein the bead is a full bead.

3. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 1, wherein, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, the bead has a meander-like shape.

4. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 3, wherein, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, the bead comprises at least substantially straight-lined meander legs joined to one another by bead arcs.

5. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 4, wherein, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, the bead width in the area of the bead arcs is somewhat larger than in the area of the meander legs.

6. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 5, wherein, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, at least several meander legs extend approximately parallel to one another.

7. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 6, wherein, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, at least for several of the meander legs, the spacing between neighboring meander legs is at most as large as the bead width of the meander legs.

8. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 7, wherein, in a plan view of the sheet metal layer, at least for several of the meander legs, the spacing between neighboring meander legs corresponds approximately to half of the bead width of the meander legs.

9. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 4, wherein meander legs located at two supporting element ends remote from one another are joined to one another by an elongate bead section.

10. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 1, wherein the supporting element is arranged in the proximity of a screw through-opening.

11. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 1, which is designed as a cylinder head gasket for a multi-cylinder engine, and whose gasket plate with a plurality of combustion chamber through-openings has an elongate shape with two narrow sides and two longitudinal sides, wherein in the at least one sheet metal layer provided with several supporting elements, the supporting elements are arranged in at least one of the following areas of the gasket plate: in the end areas of the gasket plate in the proximity of the narrow sides of the gasket plate and in the edge areas of the gasket plate in the proximity of the longitudinal sides of the gasket plate.

12. Flat gasket in accordance with claim 1, whose gasket plate comprises at least two sheet metal layers arranged one on the other, wherein the bead formed in at least one sheet metal layer projects in the direction towards the other sheet metal layer.