The present invention relates to a hydraulic accumulator, in particular a piston accumulator, having an accumulator housing, and a separator piston movable in the longitudinal direction in the accumulator housing. The piston separates two working chambers from one another within the accumulator housing. The housing is closed on each end side by a cover part, at least one cover part on its one side being fixed by one free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing, which edge is advanced onto this cover part for this purpose.
Piston accumulators are in the broadest sense hydraulic accumulators used among other things to hold certain volumes of a pressurized liquid (hydraulic medium) of a hydraulic system and to return it if necessary to the system. Since the hydraulic medium is under pressure, hydraulic accumulators are treated like pressure vessels and must be designed for the maximum operating overpressure with consideration of the acceptance standards of diverse delivery countries. In most hydraulic systems at present hydropneumatic (gas-pressurized) accumulators with separating elements are used. For piston accumulators, the separating element is a piston within the piston accumulator housing, and separates a liquid chamber as the working chamber from the gas chamber as another working chamber. The working gas is generally nitrogen. The gas-tight piston largely permits decoupling from the gas chamber to the liquid chamber.
The liquid part is connected to the hydraulic circuit of the system so that when the pressure rises, the piston accumulator holds the hydraulic medium and the gas is compressed. When the pressure drops, the compressed gas expands and displaces the stored pressurized liquid back into the hydraulic circuit of the system. One advantage of a piston accumulator is that it can “work” in any position. A vertical configuration with the gas side up is preferred so that settling of dirt particles from the liquid on the seals of the piston part is avoided.
The important components of a piston accumulator are accordingly an external cylinder pipe as the accumulator housing, the piston as the separating element with its sealing system and the end-side sealing covers as cover parts containing a liquid port and a gas port, respectively. Generally the accumulator housing has two functions, first, storing the internal pressure, and second, guiding the piston within the accumulator housing. The cover parts close off the interior of the accumulator housing relative to the exterior on the end side are provided with an external thread on the outer peripheral side which can be screwed into a corresponding internal thread along the free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing over a definable distance. Producing this threaded connection is time-consuming, making the production costs for a piston accumulator accordingly higher. Furthermore, safety measures must be taken to lock the added cover part in its position in the accumulator housing.
DE 103 03 988 A1 (corresponding to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2006/0016074 A1) discloses avoiding the otherwise conventional threaded connections, and ensuring a reliable and secure connection of the cover part in the housing of the piston accumulator. For this purpose, in the disclosed solution on one side of the cover part it is fixed over the free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing, which free longitudinal edge for this purpose undergoes a feed motion onto the cover part during the production process of the hydraulic accumulator. While avoiding the otherwise conventional screw connection solution for the respective cover part, a type of clamp seat on the respective free end of the accumulator housing is achieved. The cover part is clamped fast at least over the free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing after its feed motion during production onto the cover part. In this connection, it is sufficient if part of the free longitudinal edge implements this clamping seat.
Although for the above-described hydraulic accumulator solution the cover part is provided with sealing means, especially in the form of gaskets, it cannot be precluded that especially at high pressures in the working chambers and/or for correspondingly long service lives the medium stored in the working chamber unintentionally travels to the exterior. Especially when using a working gas for the working chamber of the accumulator, it must be expected that portions of gas will travel to the exterior via the sealing means of the cover part. Viewed over the long-term, this gas escape degrades the operating reliability of the hydraulic accumulator. The degrading of the operating reliability occurs especially when the hydraulic accumulator with its sealing means is exposed to major temperature fluctuations of the magnitude of −40° C. to 130° C. This range of values causes the elastomer material of the sealing means generally to yield.
In the known hydraulic accumulator solutions, generally the possibility exists of adding working gas to the pertinent working chamber of the accumulator. This adding of has, however, is accompanied by the corresponding maintenance cost which is especially undesirable if the designed hydraulic accumulators are to be used in the form of a disposable solution on site within the hydraulic system only for a predetermined time. For the correspondingly designed hydraulic accumulator and depending on its application, it can be more economical to replace it terms of a disposable solution by a new one rather than maintain it on site.
An object of the present invention is to provide improved hydraulic accumulators that are largely media-tight on their gas sides so that they can also be designed as so-called disposables.
This object is basically achieved by a hydraulic accumulator with a gas-tight and/or fluid-tight sealing of at least one working chamber relative to the exterior. The associatable, advanced free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing is connected to the respective cover part by a peripheral weld. Reliable sealing is obtained by the weld. Moreover, the weld provides a reliable connection between the free longitudinal edge and the respective cover part so that failure is reliably prevented, even when correspondingly high pressure peaks are experienced. On the whole, the connection stability for the accumulator solution can be increased by the peripheral weld.
The placement of the cover part in the accumulator housing, the preparation of a clamping seat between the free longitudinal end of the accumulator housing and the cover part, and the formation of the peripheral weld in the described region can be easily and economically accomplished. The described solution can then be implemented as a disposable concept without having to maintain these cheap accumulator solutions, especially not to refill them on the gas side with the working gas, but to dispose of them in case of maintenance or failure and replace them by a new cheap accumulator.
In one preferred embodiment of the hydraulic accumulator of the present invention, at least one of the two cover parts is provided on its one side with a conically extending fixing bevel against which the free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing is advanced. Preferably, between the end of the free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing and the fixing bevel of the cover part, a preferably V-shaped fillet groove is formed which holds the weld. This fillet groove dictates a guide path for the peripheral weld to be formed, and facilitates the weld production process accordingly.
In another preferred embodiment, V-shaped fillet groove is not provided with a welding filler. For example, with an electron beam welding process or other welding process suitable for this purpose, the facing edges, especially of the free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing in addition to adjacent parts of the cover part, are welded on. These welded-on material parts then are able to fill the fillet groove accordingly. Generally, projection of the weld beyond the fillet groove should not then be expected. Depending on the materials used, welding on only the free longitudinal edge of the accumulator housing can be performed, leaving the material of the cover part essentially untouched.
In another especially preferred embodiment of the hydraulic accumulator of the present invention, the respective cover part which seals the working chamber with the working gas in the accumulator housing has a through opening at least for introducing the working gas. The trough opening can be sealed gas-tight by a terminating device. This terminating device can include a plug driven into the through opening. This terminating device leads to an especially economical solution. Alternatively, the terminating device can be formed from a detachable sealing cover allowing refilling processes for the hydraulic accumulator, especially on its side with the working gas. Regardless, hydraulic accumulators can be designed to be disposable at the site of their production or at central maintenance sites for re-use, and to refit them if failed parts can be replaced by new ones.
Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses preferred embodiments of the present invention.
Referring to the drawings which form a part of this disclosure and which are schematic and not to scale:
The piston accumulator 10 shown in
On each front end of the accumulator housing 10, there is one cover part 16, 18. First cover part 16 has a gas port 20 in the form of a through opening 22 extending along the longitudinal axis 24 of the hydraulic accumulator and penetrating the first cover part 16, and is the upper cover part, as viewed in
To refit the hydraulic accumulator shown in
For feed of each longitudinal edge 34 of the accumulator housing 10, a shaping tool (not detailed) is used. The shaping tool is provided with a corresponding feed bevel which places or forces the longitudinal edge 34 on the respective cover part 16, 18 such that it is fixed as a clamp seat in the accumulator housing 10 between the respective stop 30 and longitudinal edge 34. To prepare this clamp seat, one respective outer side 32 of the respective cover part 16, 18 is provided with a fixing bevel 36 tilted and tapering to the outside conically towards the longitudinal axis 24 of the accumulator housing 10. The tilt or angle of this fixing bevel 36 corresponds generally to the feed bevel of the forming tool. Other tilts or bevels are also useable.
To achieve better deflection of the respective free longitudinal edge 34 around an articulation 38, this longitudinal edge 34 has a reduced in wall thickness relative to the other wall parts of the accumulator housing 10 forming a main body portion between the free longitudinal edges. The transition site or articulation 38 between the different wall thicknesses forms the stop 30 for the respective cover part 16, 18. The longitudinal edge 34 on its side facing the respective cover part 16, 18 and oriented to the exterior can be provided with an insertion bevel (not shown) extending especially conically to facilitate insertion of the respective cover part 16, 18 into the interior of the accumulator housing 10.
In order not to endanger the secure position of the respective cover part 16, 18 in the accumulator housing 10, and in order to prevent damaging application of forces, the end 40 of the respective free longitudinal edge 34 is guided such that it ends with its outermost exterior end essentially in one plane with the exterior 32 of the cover part 16, 18 extending transversely to the longitudinal axis 24 of the hydraulic accumulator. The indicated forming processes for the respective free longitudinal edge 34 can however proceed cold, as well as in a hot forming process. Conversely the material for the accumulator housing 10 can have correspondingly good workability, for example in the form of a conventional steel material.
To apply the respective clamping forces optimally to the associatable cover part 16, 18, and to ensure good support in the accumulator housing 10, on the edge side for the cover parts 16, 18, the height of the respective cover part 16, 18 is matched to the conditions of use dictated by accumulator operation. Viewed in the direction of
In all cases, a gas-tight and/or fluid-tight sealing of at least one working chamber 12, 14 is provided relative to the exterior. The respective advanced free longitudinal edge 34 of the accumulator housing 10 is connected to the respective cover part 16, 18 by a peripheral weld 46. For positioning of the indicated weld 46, a V-shaped fillet groove 58 is provided that between the end 40 of the free longitudinal edge 34 of the accumulator housing 10 and the fixing bevel 36 of the cover part 16, 18. The weld 46 fills the fillet groove 48 with a projection, which viewed in cross section forms a convexly extending top 50 projecting over the top 32 of the respective cover part 16, 18 and the top of the free end 40 of the longitudinal edge 34. The top 50 of the weld 46 protects beyond the respective end regions of the accumulator housing 10 and cover part 16, 19, and visually enables checking to ensure a complete hermetic seal for a cleanly configured weld 46 in the fillet groove 48. In another embodiment of the hydraulic accumulator of the present invention (not detailed), the weld 46 need not protrude over or beyond the groove 48 with a projection, but can end flush vertically with the top 32 of the cover part or can even be set back to the inside toward the accumulator housing 10. A weld filling material can be placed in the V-shaped fillet groove 58. Via a suitable welding process, such as an electron beam welding process, filling material can also melt-on the free end of the longitudinal edge 34 of the accumulator housing 10 to form the weld 46 via the melt addition of this material portion in the fillet groove 48. Depending on the material selection, the respective cover part 16, 18 with its material portions can also contribute to formation of the weld.
With respect to the high volatility of the working gas in the working chamber 12, this hermetic cover seal acquires special importance, relative to the gas side of the hydraulic accumulator. For the purpose of an economical solution shown in
The cover part 16 sealing the working chamber with the working gas in the accumulator housing 10 is provided with a through opening 22 which can be sealed essentially gas-tight by a terminating means or terminator 52. As shown in
As seen in
The terminating means shown in
In
With the overall configuration in the region of the respective cover part 16, 18 including the end-side welds 46 and the sealing terminating means 52, the hydraulic accumulator can be economically produced and satisfy the highest requirements with respect to its tightness.
While various embodiments have been chosen to illustrate the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2004 043 352 | Sep 2004 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2005/006137 | 6/8/2005 | WO | 00 | 2/28/2007 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2006/027034 | 3/16/2006 | WO | A |
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41 15 342 | Nov 1992 | DE |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20080060711 A1 | Mar 2008 | US |