Abstract:
A seal of an annular shape comprising a top bead and a side bead that are tilted inwardly at predetermined angles. The top bead and side bead are integrally formed such that a force exerted on the side bead allows the side bead to cooperate with the top bead to properly seal an intake pipe within a cylinder head. This abstract submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0001]    The present invention relates to a sealing ring. In particular, the present invention relates to a sealing ring placed within an intake manifold of an internal combustion engine.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    It is known to utilize seals between the intake pipes of an intake manifold and the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine to prevent gas leakage from the intake pipes into the cylinder head. A conventional seal for an intake manifold is a loose seal, shaped similar to an O-ring seal, with a cross sectional “wedge” shape to seal against mating surfaces. However, conventional intake manifold seals have disadvantages associated with them. For instance, the intake manifold seal may become twisted after installation. The twisted seal can generate a gap between the intake pipe and the cylinder head allowing gas to escape into the cylinder head. In other instances, the seal may easily slip off the intake pipe resulting in gas escaping into the cylinder head. Even if the seal doesn&#39;t twist off or slip off the intake manifold, the “wedge” shape of the seal may become pinched between the two mating surfaces causing premature failure of the seal.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    To overcome the above identified problems and other problems associated with conventional intake manifold seals, the present invention is directed to a sealing ring for an intake manifold. The sealing ring has a generally annular shape and includes a top bead and a side bead. Both the top bead and the side bead each have predetermined angles and shapes. Further, the top bead and side bead are integrally formed such that a force exerted on the side bead allows the side bead to cooperate with the top bead to properly seal against the intake manifold.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0004]    The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sealing ring according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sealing ring in an unloaded condition in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention along line  2 - 2  in FIG. 1. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0008]    Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a sealing ring  10 , is illustrated according to one embodiment of the present invention. The sealing ring  10  is positioned between the cylinder head  12  of an internal combustion engine (not shown) and the intake pipe  14  of an intake manifold (not shown). FIGS. 1-3 illustrate one intake pipe  14 , however, it can be appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the number of intake pipes  14  or the arrangement of the intake pipes  14  within the intake manifold, and may be practiced with any number and arrangement of intake pipes  14 .  
         [0009]    The sealing ring  10  has a generally annular body that includes a top bead  16  and a side bead  18  and is preferably made of an elastomeric material. The top bead  16  has an outer surface  20  and an inner surface  22 . Side bead  18  has an inner surface  24 . The top bead  16  and the side bead  18  form a generally reverse L-shape, as best seen in FIG. 2. Top bead  16  and side bead  18  are integrally connected together by a radius  22 . The radius  22  maintains the shape of the top bead  16  and the side bead  18  in an unloaded condition. Additionally, the radius  22  assists the side bead  18  in applying the proper amount of force to the top bead  16  so that the top bead  16  will remain flush against the cylinder head  12  in loaded conditions. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention the radius  22  has a dimension of about 1 mm. However, it can be appreciated that the radius  22  may be of any dimension so long as the following two conditions are met: (1) the radius  22  provides the top bead  16  and the side bead  18  with enough stiffness in an unloaded condition and (2) the radius  22  cooperates with the side bead  18  to assist the top bead  16  in remaining flush against the cylinder head  12  under loaded conditions.  
         [0010]    Referring to FIG. 2, both the top bead  16  and the side bead  18  are tilted inwardly at predetermined angles in an unloaded condition. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the top bead  16  is tilted inwardly at an angle A of about twelve degrees and the side bead  18  is tilted inwardly at an angle B of about fifteen degrees. However, the present invention is not limited by the illustrated embodiment. It can be appreciated that the sealing ring  10  can be practiced with the top bead  16  being tilted inwardly at an angle A within a range of about ten to fourteen degrees and the side bead  18  can be tilted inwardly at an angle B within a range of about thirteen to seventeen degrees.  
         [0011]    During insertion of the intake pipe  14  into the cylinder head  12 , the intake pipe  14  asserts a force, as shown by arrow F in FIG. 2, onto the side bead  18 . The force F acts upon the outer surface  24  of the side bead  18 , causing the side bead  18  to compress substantially fifteen degrees. As the side bead  18  is being compressed, the side bead  18  works in conjunction with the radius  22 , to cause the top bead  16  to shift approximately twelve degrees to a substantially vertical position. When the intake pipe  14  is fully inserted into the cylinder head  12 , as best seen in FIG. 3, the top bead  16  and the side bead  18  are generally parallel with respect to each other. The top bead  16  is parallel with the surface  26  of the intake pipe  14 . The side bead  16  is parallel with the surface  28  of the cylinder head  12 . The inner surface  24  of the side bead  18  rests below the edge  30  of the intake pipe  14  when the intake pipe  14  is fully inserted into the cylinder head  12 .  
         [0012]    The sealing ring  10  of the present invention offers advantages over the commercially available intake manifold seals. The predetermined angle of the top bead  16  ensures that the top bead  16  remains substantially vertical and flush against the surface  28  of the cylinder head  12  under loaded conditions. The shape of the top bead  16  prevents the top bead  16  from being pinched between two mating surfaces within the internal combustion engine, thereby causing premature failure of the sealing ring  10 . The shape and the predetermined angle of the side bead  18  allows for easy insertion of the intake pipe  14  into the cylinder head  12  once the sealing ring  10  has been positioned within the cylinder head  12 . In addition, the shape of the side bead  18  ensures that the inner surface  24  of the side bead  18  remains parallel and flush against the surface  26  of the intake pipe  14  under loaded conditions. The location of the side bead  18  with respect to the edge  30  of the intake pipe  14  ensures that the side bead  18  does not twist or slip off the edge  30  of the intake pipe  14  as conventional seals may.  
         [0013]    While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation, and the scope of the appended claims should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.