Abstract:
A hydraulic device is disclosed for operating a sliding selecter shaft, in particular a gearbox for motor vehicles, with a bore made in a wall of a gearbox housing for accommodating a plastic piston, which is actively connected to the sliding selecter shaft and which delimits a pressure chamber and, under hydraulic pressure, radially guides and axially displaces the sliding selector shaft. The piston has a body and a guide section consisting of plastic, via which the piston is guided directly at the bore, designed as a non-reinforced and unlined cylinder bore, in the wall of the gearbox housing, consisting of a light metal alloy. This creates control device, which is of a much simpler, and more compact design compared with prior art.

Description:
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a hydraulic control device for operating a sliding selector shaft. In particular, the invention concerns a hydraulic control device for operating a sliding selector shaft of a gearbox for motor vehicles.  
           [0002]    According to prior art, hydraulic control devices for motor vehicle gearboxes are known which have a control cylinder which serves to operate and position a selector fork attached to a sliding selector shaft of the gearbox for a gear shift. Traditionally, these control cylinders have a metal cylinder housing, which is bolted to the gearbox housing, today usually made from a light metal alloy, via a flange. At least one metal piston is disposed in the cylinder bore of the cylinder housing so that it can move axially and is actively connected to the sliding selector shaft to displace it when the control cylinder is supplied with hydraulic fluid.  
           [0003]    In order to simplify this design, DE-A-34 10 802 suggests a control device for change gears of commercial vehicles where the ends of a sliding selector shaft which, for reasons of mechanical strength, is metal, and which carries a shift fork, are mounted in two guides in the form of a pressure medium cylinder, which can form part of the gearbox housing. In this case, the two ends of the sliding selector shaft serve as piston surfaces of equal size via which the sliding selector shaft can be exposed to the pressure medium in order to displace the sliding selector shaft, i.e. with this prior art, the sliding selector shaft itself is designed as a piston whose surfaces of equal size can be exposed to a pressure medium from opposite sides. One disadvantage of this prior construction is that the guides formed in opposite walls of the gearbox housing have to align with each other exactly, which involves a complicated manufacturing process, so that the singe piece sliding selector shaft in the form of a piston cannot jam in the guides when it makes its longitudinal movement.  
           [0004]    In addition, bearing and guide systems for supporting the longitudinal movement of sliding selector shafts for vehicle gearboxes are known (Looman, Johannes: Toothed Gearing: Basic Principles, Designs, Applications in Vehicles; 3rd edition; Springer-Verlag 1996; Page 154, FIG. 6-10), which have bearing units disposed on both sides of the selector shaft and fork. These bearing units are two-part units and consist of a thin-walled sleeve with mounting trough and also an inside race sleeve with ball. The first sleeve, drawn from steel strip and case hardened, is used to line a corresponding bore in a wall of the gearbox housing, whereas the resilient internal race sleeve is allocated to the end of the selector shaft and fork. With a radial, essentially play-free guide, the bearing units do bring about a slight axial displaceability of the selector shaft and fork, but this requires considerable expense in terms of the fixture used.  
           [0005]    Finally, the generic DE-A-197 25 226 discloses a piston-cylinder arrangement for the selector shaft and fork of a gearbox where pistons, which can consist of plastic, are disposed on the right and left end of the selector shaft and fork. Each piston is inserted into a cylinder pot which has an outside threaded section. The outside threaded section of the cylinder pot is screwed into an inside threaded section of a through or blind hole of the gearbox or clutch housing wall and has an element for damping the piston stop on the bottom. With this prior construction, the piston stop can be adjusted by turning the cylinder pot in the threaded hole of the gearbox or coupling housing wall. However, the design of the threaded sections demands in particular considerable production expense which increases the manufacturing in an undesirable way for the mass production of gearboxes for motor vehicles.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    An object of the invention is to create a simpler and more compact hydraulic control device for operating a sliding selector shaft compared with prior art.  
           [0007]    According to the present invention, there is provided a hydraulic control device for operating a sliding selector shaft, in particular of a gearbox for motor vehicles, with a bore made in a wall of a gearbox housing to accommodate a plastic piston actively connected to the sliding selector shaft, which delimits a pressure chamber and which, under hydraulic pressure, radially guides and axially displaces the sliding selector shaft, wherein the piston has a body and a plastic guide section via which the piston is guided directly on the bore, the bore being made as a non-reinforced cylinder bore in the wall of the gearbox and wherein the gearbox is made of a light metal alloy.  
           [0008]    Consequently, the piston is used advantageously both for the displacement and for the defined guiding or bearing of the sliding selector shaft without additional expensive bearing  
           [0009]    parts, like race sleeves with ball rings or similar being necessary. What is more, a space-consuming separate cylinder housing is no longer necessary, because the cylinder bore guiding the piston is made directly in a wall of a gearbox consisting of a light metal alloy, in particular an aluminum or magnesium alloy. Finally, expensive linings of the cylinder bore, possibly using steel sleeves or similar, can be omitted, because surprisingly, it has been found that under the given conditions, namely hydraulic system pressures of between 20 and 40 bar and ambient temperatures of more than 120° C. in the oil mist in some instances, the piston pair with guide section in plastic and cylinder bore in light metal alloy, with good wear behavior and also an adequate self-lubricating and venting property, guarantees the necessary guide properties. As a result, not inconsiderable space, weight and cost savings can be achieved with the embodiment of the control device according to the invention compared with traditional control device designs, which allows the use of such control devices in volume series.  
           [0010]    The guide section of the piston can be made as one piece with the body in an advantageous manner from the manufacturing point of view. However, it is also possible that the guide section of the piston is formed by a guide ring disposed on a guide seat of the body.  
           [0011]    The guide ring of the piston can be attached positively to the guide seat in an advantageously simple manner, i.e. without additional fastening means such as adhesive or similar. To do this, the piston can be provided with a collar formed on the piston body and at least one projection projecting slightly from the body in the radial direction, the guide ring being disposed between the collar and the projection on the guide seat of the body. To fit the sleeve shaped guide ring, this has to be pushed onto the body in a simple manner from the side of the body facing away from the collar and in the direction of the collar, with a slight partial expansion at the projection. A further positive connection can be made between the guide ring and the body which is favourable from the manufacturing point of view. According to this, the guide seat of the body is provided with a profile, possibly several radial grooves disposed next to each other, onto which the guide ring is rolled, the guide ring, in the form of an annular disc initially being transformed into a sleeve, the inside perimeter surface of which more or less presses into the profiling of the body.  
           [0012]    If the guide section of the piston is integral with the body, fiber-reinforced polyphthalamide (PPA) or polyphenyl sulphide (PPS) have proved advantageous as a material for the body of the piston, particularly from the point of view of good abrasion resistance. If the guide section of the piston is formed by a guide ring disposed on the guide seat of the body, the body of the piston should preferably consist of long fiber-reinforced polyamide (PA) in a cost-effective manner. With reference to the good guide properties and good wear behavior, it is advantageous if polyphthalamide (PPA) or polyphenyl sulphide (PPS) is used as the material for the guide ring.  
           [0013]    In the case of the piston embodiments described above in particular (integral body and guide section in PPA or PPS or body in PA and guide ring in PPA or PPS), the body preferably has a radial groove or a shoulder on the side of the guide section facing the pressure chamber in which or on which a known grooved ring is disposed whose dynamic sealing lip is facing away from the pressure chamber, i.e. which is disposed in a function position which is the reverse of the normal position. This has the advantage that the cylinder bore in the wall of the gearbox does not have to be tightly toleranced and therefore can be made cost effectively. Existing gap dimensions between the cylinder bore and the piston are then bridged by the dynamic sealing lip of the grooved ring. Consequently, in the non-actuated, pressureless state of the control device, the sealing ring prevents the hydraulic fluid from leaking out of the pressure chamber, while depending on the pre-tension of the dynamic sealing lip in the sump mode, when the gearbox oil also serves as the hydraulic medium for the control device and from there can drain off directly into the gearbox trough as leakage or recirculation fluid, it allows a defined leakage with an additional lubricating effect and permanent self-venting of the control device.  
           [0014]    The body of the piston can be made cost effectively from polyamide (PA), whereas the material used for the guide ring is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); investigations by the applicant have produced the surprising result that the effects as described above can also be achieved in an advantageous manner even without a grooved ring. In this case, the guide ring consisting of PTFE can take on both a guide and a sealing function in the generously toleranced cylinder bore, which is advantageous from the manufacturing point of view. When operating under hydraulic pressures of up to 40 bar and at operating temperatures of up to more than 120° C., the guide ring then automatically compensates for any excessive play between piston and cylinder bore by volume change or upsetting.  
           [0015]    The body can have a radial groove on one end into which a plastic ring is inserted, the outside perimeter of which is provided with several supporting projections interacting with the cylinder bore. The plastic ring serves advantageously as a fitting aid, which, when the gearbox is being installed, prevents the sliding selector shaft, actively connected to the piston inserted into the corresponding cylinder bore of a first gearbox housing part, and which, when the gearbox is being installed, is upright, i.e. extends in the vertical direction, from tilting out of the longitudinal axis of the cylinder bore in an undesirable manner because of its uneven form. Consequently, when joining a further gearbox housing part to the first gearbox housing part, the piston provided on the opposite end of the sliding selector shaft no longer has to be aligned by hand and inserted into the corresponding cylinder bore of the further gearbox housing part. Also, the plastic ring prevents an excessive one-sided loading of the guide section of the piston and of the grooved ring provided on the piston where appropriate. The above effects during installation or operation can be further supported if the body has a collar on the other end, the outside perimeter of which is provided with several supporting projections interacting with the cylinder bore. This embodiment of the control device also has the advantage that jamming, wedging or one-sided upsetting of the guide ring, consisting of PTFE in particular, is reliably avoided in the initial stage, until the guide ring has achieved the volume change or uniform upsetting in operation as mentioned above and therefore takes on a greater supporting function with improved sealing effect.  
           [0016]    The sliding selector shaft can be connected to the piston by means of a simple clip connection, which assists a cost-effective and easy installation of the control device. In this case, it is practical for the piston to be provided with a recess for accommodating one end of the sliding selector shaft and to have at the start of the recess at least one lug that is engaged in a corresponding depression of the sliding selector shaft.  
           [0017]    The body of the piston can be injection molded as a single plastic part, which guarantees cost-effective manufacture without the need for further processing. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    The invention is explained below in more detail on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawing, where:  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a truncated longitudinal section view of a control device according to the invention and according to a first example embodiment with a piston disposed in a cylinder bore which is not shown as a section,  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a truncated longitudinal section view of the control device according to FIG. 1, when the section plane is turned 90° around the longitudinal axis of the piston in relation to the section plane in FIG. 1,  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the piston of the control device according to FIG. 1 with grooved ring and guide ring disposed on the body,  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a side view of the piston according to FIG. 3,  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section view of the piston according to FIG. 4,  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a side view of the piston according to FIG. 3, which is turned 90° around its longitudinal axis compared with the view in FIG. 4,  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section view of the piston according to FIG. 6,  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is a perspective representation of the body of the piston according to FIG. 3 without grooved ring and without guide ring,  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a longitudinal section view of the body according to FIG. 8,  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section view of the body according to FIG. 8, when the section plane is turned 90° around the longitudinal axis of the body compared with the section plane in FIG. 9,  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of detail X in FIG. 10,  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 12 is a view of the body from the left in FIG. 10,  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 13 is a view of the body from the right in FIG. 10,  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 14 is a perspective representation of a piston of a control device according to the invention and according to the second embodiment example,  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 15 is a side view of the piston according to FIG. 14,  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 16 is a longitudinal section view of the piston according to FIG. 14,  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a plastic ring that can be clipped onto the piston according to FIG. 14. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]    [0036]FIGS. 1 and 2 show a hydraulic control device  10  for operating a sliding selector shaft  12  of a gearbox for motor vehicles, which has a gearbox housing  14  consisting of a light metal alloy such as an aluminum or magnesium alloy, of which only one wall  16  is illustrated. Wall  16  has a cylinder bore  18 , made by a cutting removing production process, e.g. drilling or milling, which is not reinforced, i.e. has no further reinforcement or lining in the form of a bush, sleeve or similar. A plastic piston  20 , described in more detail below, is disposed in the cylinder bore  18  and is actively connected to the sliding selector shaft  12 , in a manner also to be described, and which, radially guides and axially displaces the sliding selector shaft  12  under hydraulic pressure.  
         [0037]    The sliding selector shaft  12  is an easy to manufacture metal stamping, of which only one end is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The other end of the sliding selector shaft  12  that is not shown is also actively connected to a piston of an opposite-handed control device for engine braking. The sliding selector shaft  12  also has a selector fork (not illustrated) and can be moved to the left or to the right for a gear shift of the gearbox by means of the control devices at the end or from a middle position mechanically locked in a known way.  
         [0038]    The cylinder bore  18 , in the form of a cylindrical blind bore, delimits a pressure chamber for the hydraulic pressurizing of piston  20 , on the left-hand side of the piston in FIGS. 1 and 2. The pressure chamber  22  is connected to a pressure medium supply (not illustrated) at the left-hand end of the cylinder bore in FIG. 1 and  2  via a pressure medium connection  24  with the intermediate connection of a valve mechanism (not illustrated). The gearbox oil is preferably used as the pressure medium so that the control device  10  can operate in the sump mode, when the leakage or recirculation oil can drain from the control device  10  directly back to the gearbox trough again (not illustrated) both via the pressure medium connection  24  and via the outside perimeter of the piston  20 .  
         [0039]    Piston  20 , which brings about both the axial displacement of the sliding selector shaft  12  and the radial guiding or bearing of the sliding selector shaft  12 , i.e. also absorption of the transverse forces, is now accommodated with slight radial play in the cylinder bore  18 . The piston  20  illustrated in more detail in FIG. 3 to  13  has, in the embodiment illustrated, a one-piece injection molded plastic body  26  and a guide section  28 , whose diameter is slightly bigger than the diameter of body  26 , as FIGS. 4 through 7 illustrate in particular. The cylindrical guide section  28  on the outside perimeter can be made as an integral part of the body  26  as a shoulder projecting radially from the rest of the body  26 , but in the example embodiment illustrated, is formed by a closed, sleeve or tubular shaped guide ring  30  in plastic, which is disposed at or on a cylindrical guide seat  32  of the body  26  and secured there preferably positively in a manner to be described.  
         [0040]    On the side of the guide section  28  facing the pressure chamber  22  in the installed state of the piston  20 , the body  26  also has a radial groove  34  in which a conventional—and therefore not further detailed—grooved ring  36  is disposed. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 1 and  2 , which, for the sake of simplicity, illustrate the grooved ring  36  in the undeformed state, the dynamic sealing lip  38  of the grooved ring faces away from the pressure chamber  22 , i.e. the grooved ring  36  is disposed in the radial groove  34  in a function position which is the reverse of the normal position.  
         [0041]    In the example embodiment illustrated, for the purpose of the positive connection of the guide ring  30  to the guide seat  32  on the right-hand side of the guide ring  30  in FIGS. 1, 2,  4  through  7 ,  9  and  10 , an annular collar  40 , the diameter of which is smaller than the outside diameter of the guide ring  30 , is provided on body  26 , on which the guide ring  30  can support itself and which terminates the body  26  to the right. On the opposite side of the guide ring  30 , i.e. the left side in the drawings mentioned, the body  26  is provided with projections or lugs  42  projecting slightly from the body  26  in the radial direction. The two projections  42  disposed diametrically opposite in the embodiment example illustrated hold the guide ring  30  in contact with the annual collar  40  and are slightly beveled towards the radial groove  34  of the body  26  in order to facilitate the fitting or pushing on of the guide ring  30  on the guide seat  32 .  
         [0042]    In a positive fixing alternative not illustrated, the guide seat can also be provided with a profile, possibly a number of adjacent annular grooves, onto which the guide ring is rolled, instead of the annular collar and the projections. In this case, the guide ring is initially in the shape of a annular disc and receives its sleeve-type form by deformation during the rolling process, its inside perimeter surface being positively engaged with the profile of the guide seat as the result of the pressure applied and at a temperature above ambient temperature.  
         [0043]    In the embodiment example illustrated, the active connection between the sliding selector shaft  12  and the piston  20  is made with a clip connection. In this case, the body  26  of the piston  20  is provided with a recess  44  of rectangular cross-section on its side facing away from the pressure chamber  22  in which one end of the sliding selector shaft  12  is accommodated with slight play. At the beginning of the recess  44 , lugs  46  are formed integrally with the body  26  on both sides of the recess  44 , which project radially inwards from the body  26  and, according to FIG. 2, are engaged in a corresponding groove-type recess  48  of selector sliding shaft  12 . As FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate in particular, the lugs  46  on the sides facing each other are provided with a joining bevel  50  in order to facilitate the axial joining of sliding selector shaft  12  and piston  20 .  
         [0044]    Finally, it is pointed out with reference to body  26  of the piston  20 , that at the transitions of its individual areas, the body  26  is provided completely with chamfers and curves which are partly the result of the production process and facilitate handling of the piston  20 . The body  26  also has other recesses  52  starting from its ends which help to reduce the weight and, from the point of view of production engineering, prevent shrinkage, collapse and distortion of the body  26  by essentially forming the same wall thicknesses.  
         [0045]    It has already been mentioned at the beginning that the body  26  of the piston  20  can consist either of a preferably long fiber reinforced polyamide (PE) or a fiber reinforced, partly crystalline high performance polymer based on poly-phthalamide (PPA) or polyphenyl sulphide (PPS). In the case of piston variants where the body  26  and guide section  28  are integral, PPA or PPS are a suitable piston material. On the other hand, in the case of piston variants where the guide section  28  is formed by a guide ring  30 , the body  26  should preferably consist of PA mainly for cost reasons. The material of the guide ring  30  can then be either a polytetra-fluoroethylene (PTFE) base material or again PPA or PPS. If PTFE is used as the material for guide ring  30 , it is possible in principle to omit the grooved ring  36  described above. With the fastening variant referred to above, according to which the guide ring is rolled onto a profile of the guide seat on the body, the body finally should preferably consist of PPA or PPS, whereas PTFE is a suitable material for the guide ring. According to the functional requirements concerned, a sealing lip can also be formed on the PTFE guide ring by means of the rolling process.  
         [0046]    It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that other variations and modifications of the piston described in particular are possible. For example, with a suitable material, the body of the piston can also be provided with an integrally molded-on lip instead of with a radial groove and grooved ring, which faces away from the pressure chamber in order to prevent a leakage of hydraulic fluid when the piston is stationary. Although not shown in the illustrations, the piston can also be provided with an integrated sensor, which allows an electronically controlled approach to the required position of the sliding selector shaft. Finally, the control device is also conceivable in principle with a double-acting piston, i.e. which can be pressurized on the one side or the other or both sides, which is positioned on one end of the sliding selector shaft, whereas only a sliding bearing is provided on the other end of the sliding selector shaft. In that case, special measures to bridge gap dimensions between cylinder bore and piston would not have to be taken. However, it would have to be ensured that if both sides of the piston are pressurized, so that the piston is centered, a pressure-free drainage of the hydraulic fluid to the gearbox sump is guaranteed.  
         [0047]    Regarding the cylinder bore  18 /piston  20  running pair, it is pointed out here that the cylinder bore  18  can be made without further processing. For example, it is not necessary in principle to smooth the cylinder bore  18  after it has been made using a drill or milling cutter, for example. An average roughness depth Rz according to DIN 4768 of approximately 12 μm is adequate here. A surface hardness treatment of the running surface of the cylinder bore  18  is also unnecessary in principle, because in the application described, a slight leakage via the piston  20  is permitted (sump operation), i.e. there is no seal in the traditional sense by means of a sealing element, so that in this respect no surface measures are needed to prevent abrasion on the running surface of the cylinder bore  18 .  
         [0048]    With reference to the fit play between cylinder bore  18  and piston  20 , it is pointed out that in view of the permitted leakage, this must be formulated with adequate guide properties. In this case, the relevant characteristic values of the plastic for the piston  20  and the guide ring  30  must be taken into account and also the swelling values in the hydraulic medium, the absorption of water from the ambient air and thermal expansion at operating temperature. It has been found that taking these characteristic values into account, the initial outside diameter of the guide section  28  of the piston  20 , i.e. the outside diameter of the guide section  28  of the piston  20 , should be approximately 5% to 10% smaller than the nominal diameter of the cylinder bore  18  at the time when the control device  10  is fitted and at ambient temperature. This thereby pre-determined initial fit play will decrease even further in time with the operation of the hydraulic control device  10 , because, as already mentioned at the beginning, the guide section  28  of the piston  20  also undergoes plastic deformation (upsetting and expansion) under the prevailing operating pressures and temperatures, as a result of which the sealing effect here is also improved.  
         [0049]    [0049]FIG. 14 to  17  show details of piston  20  of a second embodiment of the hydraulic control device  10 , which will only be described below in respect of those features that differ from the first example embodiment.  
         [0050]    As can be seen from FIG. 16 in particular, in the case of this embodiment, the body  26  of the piston  20  has a shoulder  56  of smaller diameter following the guide seat  32  for the guide ring  30  via an annular shoulder  54 , on which the grooved ring  36  is disposed. The end of shoulder  56  of the body  26  which faces the pressure chamber  22  in the installed state of the piston  20  is provided with a radial groove  58  into which a preferably injection molded plastic ring, illustrated separately in FIG. 17, is inserted. In this way, the grooved ring  36  is held on the shoulder  56  of the piston body  26  between the plastic ring  60  and the annular shoulder  54 .  
         [0051]    As is best illustrated in FIG. 14, 15 and  17 , the outside perimeter of the plastic ring  60  is provided with a number of supporting projections  62 —in the embodiment illustrated, three supporting projections  62  uniformly distributed on the perimeter—the tips of which lie on a circle, whose diameter more or less corresponds to the initial outside diameter of the guide ring  30  or is slightly bigger than this. In the same way, the outside perimeter of the collar  40  on the other end of the body  26  is provided with a number of supporting projections  64 —in the embodiment illustrated, three supporting projections  64  uniformly distributed on the perimeter—whose tips also lie on a circle, whose diameter more or less corresponds to the initial outside diameter of the guide ring  30  or is slightly bigger than this. It can be seen that the supporting projections  62 ,  64  interacting with the cylinder bore  18  in the installed state of the piston  20  reliably prevent a tilting or jamming of the piston  20  and therefore also an excessive one-sided deformation of the guide ring  30  and of the grooved ring  36 . In addition, the supporting projections  62 ,  64  serve as a fitting aid, as already described at the beginning.  
         [0052]    According to FIG. 17 in particular, the plastic ring  60  has an inner circular section  66  and an outer circular section  68  that are inter-connected via web  70 . In the example embodiment illustrated, three webs  70 , uniformly distributed over the perimeter, are provided. Seen in the direction of the perimeter, between the webs  70 , three arc segment-shaped projections  72 , uniformly distributed over the perimeter, are formed on the inside perimeter of the inner circular section  66 . Projections  72  define a cylinder surface on the inside perimeter side, whose diameter more or less corresponds to the outside diameter at the base of the radial groove  58  in the shoulder  56  of the piston body  26 . It can be seen that if, for fitting on the body  26 , the plastic ring is pushed onto the shoulder  56  via a conical joining section  74  illustrated in FIG. 15 and  16 , the projections  72  can initially spring outwards radially in order to engage in the radial groove  58  in the shoulder  56  and to attach the plastic ring  60  to the body  26  in the manner of a clip connection.  
         [0053]    Although it has been described above that the plastic ring  60  is provided on the end of the piston body  26  facing the pressure chamber  22  in the installed state of the piston  20 , whereas the collar  40  is located on the end of the body  26  facing away from the pressure chamber  22 , the arrangement of the collar  40  and the plastic ring  60  can also be reversed. The same also applies to the guide ring  30  and the grooved ring  36 , i.e. the guide ring  30  can also be disposed on the end of the body  26  facing the pressure chamber  22 , whereas the grooved ring  36 , fitted in the opposite way to the normal function position, is located on the end of the body  26  facing away from the pressure chamber  22 .