阅读说明：本技术 通道壳体、流体技术的装置和制造方法 (Channel housing, fluidic device and production method ) 是由 C.巴奇 M.佐恩 于 2020-03-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：提出一种通道壳体(3)和一种装备有所述通道壳体的流体技术的装置,其中,所述通道壳体(3)具有由塑料构成的壳体基体(12),至少一个由金属构成的内螺纹套筒(16)置入到所述壳体基体中,所述内螺纹套筒限定穿过通道壳体(3)的流体通道组件(2)的外部的通道端部区段(7)。通过注塑引入的环形的密闭体(38)同轴地处于内螺纹套筒(16)与壳体基体(12)的包围内螺纹套筒(16)的包围区段(33)之间,所述密闭体同样由塑料构成并且固定地与壳体基体(12)连接。密闭体(38)包围内螺纹套筒(16)连同构造在其处的非圆形的抗转动区段(28),从而内螺纹套筒(16)被可靠地固定。此外,提出一种用于制造通道壳体(3)的方法。(A channel housing (3) and a fluidic device equipped with the channel housing are proposed, wherein the channel housing (3) has a housing base body (12) made of plastic, into which at least one internally threaded sleeve (16) made of metal is inserted, which sleeve delimits a channel end section (7) that passes through the exterior of a fluidic channel assembly (2) of the channel housing (3). An annular closing body (38) introduced by injection molding, which is likewise made of plastic and is fixedly connected to the housing base body (12), is located coaxially between the internally threaded sleeve (16) and a surrounding section (33) of the housing base body (12) which surrounds the internally threaded sleeve (16). The closing body (38) surrounds the internally threaded sleeve (16) with the non-circular anti-rotation section (28) formed thereon, so that the internally threaded sleeve (16) is securely fixed. Furthermore, a method for producing a channel housing (3) is proposed.)

1. Channel housing for a fluidic device, which is traversed by a fluid channel assembly (2) that exits at the outside (6) of the channel housing (3) with at least one outer channel end section (7) having an internal thread (24) through an outer channel opening (5), characterized in that the channel housing (3) has a housing base body (12) made of plastic, into which at least one metallic, internally threaded sleeve (16) is inserted that defines the internal thread (24) of the outer channel end section (7) of the fluid channel assembly (2), which sleeve has at least in part a non-circular external contour that defines an anti-rotation section (28), wherein a through-injection is arranged coaxially between the sleeve (16) and a surrounding section (33) of the housing base body (12) that surrounds the internally threaded sleeve (16) peripherally An annular closing body (38) made of plastic, which is introduced by molding and surrounds the internally threaded sleeve at its radial outer circumferential surface (25) with the anti-rotation section (28) in an inner form-fitting manner and is fixedly connected to the housing base body (12).

2. Channel housing according to claim 1, characterized in that the fluid channel assembly (2) has a plurality of outer channel end sections (7) each provided with an internal thread (24), which are each defined by an internally threaded sleeve (16) which is inserted into the housing base body (12) and is held by an annular closing body (38).

3. The channel housing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the internally threaded sleeve (16) has, at its radially outer circumferential surface (25), a plurality of anti-rotation segments (28) arranged axially spaced apart relative to one another.

4. The channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one anti-rotation section (28) of the internally threaded sleeve (16) is formed by alternating circumferential sections (44, 45) of different radial extensions of the internally threaded sleeve (16) which follow one another one after the other.

5. The channel housing according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one anti-rotation section (28) of the internally threaded sleeve (16) is constituted by a ring gear structure (28 a) coaxial with the longitudinal axis (22) of the internally threaded sleeve (16).

6. The channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the internally threaded sleeve (16) has at its radially outer circumferential surface (25) at least one coaxially oriented annular fixing projection (46) to which an annular retaining deepening (47, 48) filled by the closing body (38) is coupled in the direction of the outer channel opening (5).

7. The channel housing according to claim 6, characterised in that the at least one annular retaining deepening (47, 48) is configured as an annular groove (55) which is closed axially on both sides.

8. The channel housing according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that at least one anti-rotation section (28) of the internally threaded sleeve (16) simultaneously forms an annular fixing projection (46) of the internally threaded sleeve (16).

9. The channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the internally threaded sleeve (16) has an annular disc-shaped terminal flange (53) which is radially and externally circularly profiled in the region of the associated external channel opening (5) of the fluid channel arrangement (2).

10. The channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the surrounding section (33) of the housing base body (12) has, at its inner circumferential surface (32) facing the closing body (38), a plurality of anchoring recesses (42) distributed in the circumferential direction thereof, into which the closing body (38) engages in a form-fitting manner.

11. The channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that at least one obturator (38) ends flush with both the internally threaded sleeve (16) and with an outer face (13) of the base housing (12) in the region of the enclosing section (33) in the region of the outer channel opening (5).

12. The channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that at least one obturator (38) ends in the region of the outer passage opening (5) with an annular end face section which is set back both with respect to a front end face (26) of the internally threaded sleeve (16) and with respect to an outer face (13) of the housing base body (12), which end face section defines a base face (58) of an annular groove (55) provided for accommodating a sealing ring (56), wherein the annular groove (55) is expediently bounded radially on the outside directly by a surrounding section (33) of the housing base body (12) and radially on the inside by the internally threaded sleeve (16) or by an annular end section (57) of the obturator (38) which coaxially surrounds the internally threaded sleeve (16).

13. The channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the internally threaded sleeve (16) rests with its rear annular end face (27) with respect to the outer channel opening (5) flush on the circumference against an annular shoulder (35) of the housing base body (12) which surrounds the adjoining longitudinal section of the fluid channel arrangement (2).

14. Channel housing according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the housing base body (12) and the closing body (38) consist of the same plastic, which expediently relates to a fiber-reinforced plastic.

15. Fluidic device having a channel housing (3) which is penetrated by a fluid channel arrangement (2) which opens out at the outside (6) of the channel housing (3) with at least one outer channel end section (7) having an internal thread (24) through an outer channel opening (5), characterized in that the channel housing (3) is designed according to one of claims 1 to 14.

16. Method for producing a channel housing (3) for a fluidic device (1), wherein the channel housing (3) is penetrated by a fluid channel assembly (2) which exits at the outside (6) of the channel housing (3) with at least one outer channel end section (7) having an internal thread (24) through an outer channel opening (5), characterized by the following method steps:

providing at least one internally threaded sleeve (16) made of metal having an internal thread (24), said internally threaded sleeve having at least in part a non-circular outer contour defining an anti-rotation section (28),

- (b) providing a housing base body (12) made of plastic, which is penetrated by an inner channel structure (17) which opens out to an outer face (13) of the housing base body (12) via at least one channel structure end section (18) which is radially outwardly surrounded by a surrounding section (33) of the housing base body (12), wherein the inner cross section of the channel structure end section (18) is larger than the outer cross section of the internally threaded sleeve (16),

- (c) inserting the internally threaded sleeve (16) coaxially into the channel end section (18) of the inner channel structure (17) in such a way that an annular closed space (33) is formed coaxially between the internally threaded sleeve (16) and the associated surrounding section (33) of the housing base body (12), and

- (d) introducing plastic into the closed space (34) by injection molding, so that an annular closure body (38) is present in the closed space (34), which closure body surrounds the internally threaded sleeve (16) on its radial outer circumferential face with the anti-rotation section (28) in an inner form-fitting manner on the one hand and is fixedly connected to the surrounding section (33) of the housing base body (12) on the other hand.

17. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that the housing base body (12) is manufactured by injection molding for the provision of the housing base body.

18. Method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the internally threaded sleeve (16) is pressed with its annular end face (27) behind the outer passage opening (5) during injection molding of the closure body (18) with the aid of an injection mold (62) with sealing against an annular shoulder (35) of the housing base body (12) axially bounding an end section (18) of the passage structure (17) inside the inner passage structure (17).

19. Method according to one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that a fluidic device (1) and/or a channel housing (3) according to one of claims 1 to 15 is/are produced.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a channel housing for a fluidic device, which is penetrated by a fluid channel arrangement that exits at the outside of the channel housing with at least one external channel end section having an internal thread through an external channel opening. The invention further relates to a fluidic device equipped with such a channel housing. The invention further relates to a method for producing a channel housing for a fluidic device, wherein the channel housing is penetrated by a fluid channel arrangement which opens out at the outside of the channel housing with at least one external channel end section having an internal thread through an external channel opening.

Background

In EP 0862002B 1, a duct housing constructed in the aforementioned sense is described in terms of a fluidic device, which relates to a compressed air treatment device, which is also often referred to as a compressed air maintenance device. The compressed air maintenance device is used to process compressed air, which is to be supplied to one or more compressed air consumers starting from a compressed air source. Compressed air maintenance devices, which are designed as filter devices, are used, for example, for filtering the compressed air flowing through in order to remove foreign particles (fremdparatikeln). The compressed air maintenance device, which is designed as a condensate separator, is capable of separating liquid particles contained in the flowing compressed air. Compressed air maintenance devices designed for filtering compressed air are often implemented as combined devices, which additionally enable pressure regulation. In principle, the fluidic device can also have other functions, such as the operational (beta bsm ä beta ige) actuation of a fluid-actuated drive, in which case it is designed as a control valve, for example as a magnet valve, with a movable valve unit.

In all the aforementioned cases, the fluidic devices have a housing which is traversed by a fluid channel arrangement and can therefore be referred to as a channel housing, wherein the fluid channel arrangement can be traversed by a fluid pressure medium, such as, for example, compressed air, during operation of the fluidic device. For mechanical connection to further components, at least one channel end section of the fluid channel arrangement which opens out to the outside of the channel housing is provided with an internal thread. The internal thread functions as a coupling thread into which a coupling piece which allows coupling of a further (weiterfuhrenden) pressure medium line can be screwed according to the above-mentioned EP 0862002B 1. In order to ensure the required strength of the internal thread, the channel housing is usually made of metal.

DE 602004012516T 2 discloses a hydraulic unit for a vehicle brake system, which has a housing produced by injection molding, in which an opening is formed during injection molding, into which a component, such as a valve or a pump, is inserted after the housing is produced. After the component is inserted, an adhesive is inserted into the housing opening in order to fix the component to the housing. The inner face of the housing opening can be provided with uneven sections, whereby the adhesive filled in is reliably held fixed.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is based on the following tasks: provision is made for the channel housing and the fluidic device equipped with the channel housing to be produced in a simple and cost-effective manner while ensuring a high strength of the at least one internal thread.

In order to solve this object, in a channel housing of the type mentioned at the outset, it is provided that the channel housing has a housing base body made of plastic, into which at least one internally threaded sleeve made of metal is inserted, which defines an internal thread of an outer channel end section of the fluid channel arrangement, said internally threaded sleeve having at least in sections a non-circular outer contour defining an anti-rotation section, wherein an annular closing body made of plastic, which is introduced by injection molding, which on the one hand surrounds the internally threaded sleeve at its radial outer circumferential surface with the anti-rotation section in a form-fitting manner and on the other hand is fixedly connected to the housing base body, is arranged coaxially between the internally threaded sleeve and a surrounding section of the housing base body, which surrounds the internally threaded sleeve at its outer circumference (peripher).

In a fluidic device having a channel housing traversed by a fluid channel arrangement, which with at least one external channel end section with an internal thread exits at the outside of the channel housing through an external channel opening, the object on which the invention is based is achieved by: the channel housing is constructed in the aforementioned sense.

In a method of the type mentioned at the outset for producing a channel housing for a fluidic device, the object on which the invention is based is achieved by carrying out the following method steps:

providing at least one internally threaded sleeve of metal having an internal thread, said internally threaded sleeve having at least in part a non-circular outer contour defining an anti-rotation section,

- (b) providing a housing base body made of plastic, which housing base body is penetrated by an inner channel structure, which inner channel structure opens out to an outer face of the housing base body via at least one channel structure end section radially outwardly surrounded by a surrounding section of the housing base body, wherein the inner cross section of the channel structure end section is larger than the outer cross section of the internally threaded sleeve,

- (c) placing the internally threaded sleeve coaxially into the channel end section of the internal channel structure, so that an annular closed space is formed coaxially between the internally threaded sleeve and the associated surrounding section of the housing base body, and

- (d) introducing the plastic material into the closed space by injection molding, so that an annular closure body arises in the closed space, which closure body surrounds the internally threaded sleeve on its radial outer circumferential surface with the anti-rotation section in an inner form-fitting manner on the one hand and is fixedly connected to the surrounding section of the housing base body on the other hand.

According to the invention, the channel housing is partly made of plastic and partly of metal. Strength-less and possibly structurally complex components are integrated into a housing base body produced from plastic, wherein in particular a fluid channel arrangement is provided for conducting a fluid pressure medium, which is usually (sometimes also to be interpreted as largely) formed in the housing base body. The strength-dependent outer channel end section of the fluid channel arrangement with the internal thread for screw fastening (schraubbefasting) of the further component is realized by an internally threaded sleeve made of metal, which is inserted into the housing base body. The fastening of the internally threaded sleeve in the housing base body is achieved by an injection molding process in which an annular closing body made of plastic is formed, which surrounds the internally threaded sleeve radially on the outside and also (selbige) fastens the internally threaded sleeve to the housing base body. That is, the internally threaded sleeve is not directly surrounded by the housing base, but rather by a later produced obturator. The closure body made of plastic is tightly connected to the plastic of the housing base body, in particular by a material-fit connection, since it is introduced directly into the housing base body during injection molding. Furthermore, the internally threaded sleeve surrounded by the closing body is held fixed in the housing base body by the closing body, wherein an additional form-fitting anti-rotation is caused by the at least partially non-circular outer contour of the internally threaded sleeve, which ensures a secure holding of the internally threaded sleeve and thus the internal thread in the housing base body even at high screwing torques. Since the plastic material of the housing base is melted in the region of the surrounding section due to the high temperatures during the injection molding of the closure, a tight connection between the plastic of the housing base and the plastic of the closure occurs. In the injection molding production of the closure, it is also possible, if required, to produce functional geometries in the closure very simply by means of a corresponding mold design, such as (so) an annular sealing surface accessible from the outside and/or an annular groove suitable for receiving a sealing ring.

In the case of a housing base body which is preferably also produced by injection molding, a technically complex structure which is necessary in the finished channel housing can also be produced very simply by a corresponding design of the injection mold. The housing base body is produced, for example, by injection molding as a so-called pre-injection molding (vorsipitzling), into which at least one internally threaded sleeve is subsequently inserted before a final injection process (fertig spritzorgang) by producing at least one obturator. A particular advantage of the fixing of the internally threaded sleeve by means of the injection obturator after the separate production of the housing base body is also: during the previous production of the housing base body, a structure can be formed against which the internally threaded sleeve can be pressed in a sealing manner during the injection of the closure, so that the plastic of the closure does not undergo undesired diffusion into the fluid channel arrangement within the housing base body. That is, the housing base body can be shaped relatively simply in such a way that the annular closing space existing between the internally threaded sleeve and the surrounding section is sealed off towards the fluid channel arrangement before the closing body is produced.

Suitably, the housing base and the closure are formed from the same plastic. Preferably, a fiber-reinforced plastic, in particular a glass fiber-reinforced plastic, is used. For the housing base and/or for the closing body, it is alternatively also possible to use unreinforced plastics. Polyamide (Polyamid) is particularly recommended as plastic material.

Advantageous developments of the invention emerge from the dependent claims.

The fluid channel arrangement formed in the channel housing expediently has a plurality of outer channel end sections each provided with an internal thread, which are each defined by a separate, internal threaded sleeve which is inserted into the housing base body in the manner described above according to the invention and is held by an annular closing body. If the channel housing is produced by the method according to the invention, the fluid channel assembly is assembled from a plurality of fluid channel sections which merge into one another and which are formed on the one hand by the sleeve interior through the respective internally threaded sleeve and on the other hand by the (ausgekleideten) longitudinal sections of the internal channel structure formed in the housing base which are not lined by the internally threaded sleeve.

A particularly reliable rotationally fixed connection between the internally threaded sleeve and the housing base body is achieved if the internally threaded sleeve has, at its radial outer circumferential surface, a plurality of anti-rotation sections arranged axially spaced apart from one another, each having a non-circular outer contour. However, the internally threaded sleeve can in principle also have only one single anti-rotation section, the axial length of which can be selected at will.

Preferably, at least one anti-rotation section of the internally threaded sleeve is formed by peripheral sections of different radial extensions of the alternately successive (Aufeinanderfoil) internally threaded sleeve. The internally threaded sleeve can be designed to have a polygonal contour in the region of the anti-rotation section, for example, wherein the anti-rotation section is shaped in a quadrilateral or hexagonal manner, for example.

It is considered particularly advantageous for the anti-rotation section to be formed by a ring gear structure which is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the internally threaded sleeve. The teeth of the ring gear structure each expediently have a linear extension and are oriented such that their longitudinal axes run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the internally threaded sleeve.

A particularly high level of reliability against pulling out of the internally threaded sleeve from the housing base body is achieved when the internally threaded sleeve has at its radially outer circumferential surface at least one coaxially oriented annular fixing projection to which an annular retaining deepening filled by the closure is coupled in the direction of the passage opening towards the outside of the fluid passage assembly. In other words, the internally threaded sleeve expediently has an undercut (hinterschnitten) profile at its outer circumference such that the internally threaded sleeve experiences a form-fitting support in the axial direction thereof by the injection-molded obturator.

The internally threaded sleeve can have only one single fixing lug or can also have a plurality of fixing lugs arranged axially spaced apart from one another.

The at least one annular retaining deepening is expediently designed as an annular groove which is closed axially on both sides. Suitably, the annular groove is completely filled with the plastic of the obturator.

Expediently, the internally threaded sleeve has, in the region of the passage opening associated with its outer side, an annular disc-shaped terminal flange (abshlussbund) which is radially and externally circularly profiled. The terminal flange expediently defines a front end face of the internally threaded sleeve, which front end face preferably extends in a plane with an outer face of a surrounding section of the housing base body surrounding the closure.

The closure body and the housing base body are made of plastic and are produced in the housing base body by injection molding, so that the fixed hold together between the closure body and the housing base body occurs even without additional positive fixing measures. Nevertheless, a design which additionally facilitates a form-fitting anchoring of the closure in the housing base is advantageous. In this connection, it is advantageous if the surrounding section of the housing base body has, on its radially inner circumferential surface facing the closure body, a plurality of anchoring recesses (Verankerungstaschen) distributed in its circumferential direction, into which the closure body engages with a form-fitting fit with complementary anchoring projections. The radially inner circumferential surface of the surrounding portion delimits the annular sealing space in the still uninjected state of the sealing body.

The channel housing is preferably designed such that the at least one closing body ends flush with both the internally threaded sleeve and the adjacent outer surface of the housing base body in the region of the channel opening associated with its outer part. The axially outer end face of the closing body can be used as a sealing face, for example, in conjunction with a further component to be attached to the channel housing.

In an equally advantageous embodiment of the channel housing, it is provided that the at least one closing body ends in the region of the outer channel opening in an annular face section (zurtversetzen) that is set back both with respect to the front face of the internally threaded sleeve and with respect to the adjacent outer face of the housing base body, said face section defining a base face of the annular groove that surrounds the internally threaded sleeve. The annular groove can be used, for example, for inserting a sealing ring necessary for fastening a further component. Expediently, the annular groove is delimited radially on the outside directly by the surrounding section of the housing base body. Depending on the shape of the closure, the annular groove can be radially bounded internally either by the outer circumferential surface of the internally threaded sleeve, but (preferably) by an annular end section of the closure which coaxially surrounds the internally threaded sleeve. The latter has the following advantages: despite possible positional tolerances between the internally threaded sleeve and the housing base body, a precisely coaxial orientation between the two groove flanks of the annular groove is ensured.

For the injection molding production of the closure, it is particularly advantageous if the internally threaded sleeve with its annular end face at the rear with respect to the outer passage opening abuts peripherally flush against an annular shoulder of the housing base body surrounding the adjoining (sichmschlie) longitudinal section of the fluid passage component. During injection molding, the internally threaded sleeve can be pressed against the annular shoulder by means of an injection mold in such a way that an annular sealing region is present, which sealingly separates the annular closed space from the fluid channel arrangement to be produced. This effectively prevents liquid plastic from penetrating into the fluid channel arrangement during injection molding and causing flow blockage. In the embodiment according to the invention, the sealing measures required for injection molding are much simpler than when the housing base body can be injection molded directly onto an internally threaded sleeve previously inserted into the injection mold, for example.

As already mentioned, the housing base body and the closing body are preferably made of the same plastic, wherein, for strength reasons, fiber-reinforced plastics are particularly relevant.

In order to produce the channel housing according to the invention, the housing base is expediently likewise produced by injection molding. The injection-molded production of the closure body as well as the injection-molded production of the housing base opens up the following advantageous possibilities: the housing base body is retained in the same injection mold component for the installation of the internally threaded sleeve and for the injection molding of the closure. The injection mold has, for example, a base mold section which is combined with at least one cover mold section, wherein the cover mold section is placed in the region of an outer passage opening of the fluid passage assembly and is simply replaced by a further cover mold section, in order to initially form a passage end section to be equipped with an internally threaded sleeve in the housing base body during injection molding of the housing base body and subsequently to close off a closed space formed for the injection of the closure for the final injection process.

Drawings

The invention is explained in more detail below with the aid of the figures. Wherein:

fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the channel housing according to the invention in terms of a fluidic device which is only indicated in chain lines in its remaining components,

fig. 2 shows the assembly from fig. 1 with a view according to arrow II to the outside, the outer port of the inner fluid channel assembly being at the outer face,

fig. 3 shows the assembly from fig. 1 and 2 in a sectional view according to sectional line III-III from fig. 2, wherein the parts enclosed by a dashed line in the region of the two outer channel end sections of the inner fluid channel assembly are also individually depicted in an enlarged manner,

fig. 4 shows a section through the assembly of fig. 3 according to section line IV-IV, wherein only the surrounding section surrounding the internally threaded sleeve is shown in the housing base body,

fig. 5 shows an isometric representation of two internally threaded sleeves and the housing base of the channel housing of fig. 1 to 4 before insertion of the internally threaded sleeve and accordingly also before production of the closure by injection molding, an

Fig. 6 to 8 show a plurality of successive stages of the method for producing the channel housing of fig. 1 to 4, wherein a sectional plane according to sectional line IV-IV from fig. 3 can be seen in each case, and wherein the method stage illustrated in fig. 7 corresponds to the illustration according to fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 and 2 partially depict a fluidic device 1, which is exemplary of a filter device 1a that can be used for filtering flowing compressed air.

The fluidic device 1 has a housing which is penetrated by an internal fluid channel arrangement 2 and is therefore referred to as a channel housing 3 for better differentiation. The channel housing 3 itself (fur sich) is also shown in fig. 3 and 4 again on its own, and also in fig. 5 to 8 during the different stages of manufacture.

In order to form a fluidic device 1, the channel housing 3 is equipped with one or more functional units 4, which are only schematically illustrated. One of the functional units 4 is formed by a filter unit 4a, in which a filter insert (filtercompressor) is accommodated, which is suitable for filtering the compressed air flowing through. The filter unit 4a is fluidically connected to the fluid channel arrangement 2.

The filter device 1a represents a compressed air maintenance device in which the compressed air flowing through is treated by filtration. In this regard, the filter device 1a can be referred to as a compressed air maintenance device. Depending on the equipment concept of its function, the compressed air maintenance device can also be of another functional type and can represent, for example, a condensate separation device and/or a pressure regulating device.

In a manner not shown, the fluid-technical device 1 can also be, for example, a control valve or a fluid-operated working cylinder equipped with a movable valve unit.

The fluid-technical device 1 is flowed through by a fluid pressure medium, which preferably involves compressed air, in its use, but which can likewise be a liquid, which is expediently below the overpressure (Ü berdrive).

Since a relevant aspect of the fluidic device 1 is the design and production of the channel housing 3, further description is focused on the channel housing 3.

As already mentioned, the channel housing 3 is penetrated by the fluid channel assembly 2. The specific design of the fluid channel arrangement 2 is basically irrelevant, however, the fluid channel arrangement 2 exits at the outside 6 of the channel housing 3 via at least one outer channel opening 5. The number of external passage openings 5 depends on the functionality of the passage housing 3 or of the fluidic device 1 implemented using the passage housing 3. Exemplarily, the fluid channel arrangement 2 opens out with exactly two outer channel openings 5 to the outside of the channel housing 3.

The fluid channel arrangement 2 can be formed by only one single internal fluid channel of the channel housing 3. In contrast, the fluid channel arrangement can also be formed by a plurality of internal fluid channels which extend in the channel housing 3 independently of one another or at least partially intersect one another (vernetzt).

Each outer channel opening 5 forms an outer end (abshluss) of an outer channel end section 7 of the fluid channel arrangement 2. In the illustrated embodiment, the duct housing 3 therefore has two outer duct end sections 7.

In the illustrated embodiment, the fluid passage assembly 2 is constituted by a first fluid passage 2a and a second fluid passage 2 b. Each of the two fluid channels 2a, 2b has at the end one of the two outer channel end sections 7 and one of the two outer channel openings 5, with which the associated outer channel end section 7 ends. The two fluid channels 2a, 2b open out with their opposite end sections in a non-illustrated manner on the functional side 8 of the channel housing 3, which is located at the bottom in fig. 1 and 2, in order to be in fluid connection with the functional unit 4, for example the filter unit 4a, which is attached thereto.

In a typical mode of operation of the fluid-technical device 1, the fluid pressure medium enters at a channel end section 7 outside the first fluid channel 2a and exits again at a channel opening 5 outside the second fluid channel 2b after flowing through the first fluid channel 2a, the functional unit 4 and the second fluid channel 2b connected thereto. During the flow through the functional unit 4, a (fuktionspezifische) treatment, for example a filtration, of the pressure medium takes place for the specific function already mentioned.

The channel housing 3 has a housing base body 12 made of plastic. The housing base body 12 is designed at least substantially square, although the outer shape thereof is in principle arbitrary. The fluid passage assembly 2 passes through the housing base 12.

The housing base 12 has an exterior face 13. The outer face is assembled from a plurality of outer face sections which extend at an angle to one another, wherein, for this purpose, only the first outer face section 13a and the second outer face section 13b are labeled in greater detail. Exemplarily, the two outer surface sections 13a, 13b are spaced apart from one another in the axial direction of the main axis 11 of the channel housing 3, wherein the two outer surface sections are directed in opposite directions to one another. Preferably, each of the two outer face sections 13a, 13b extends in a plane at right angles to the main axis 11.

Each outer channel end section 7 has a longitudinal axis passing through the center of the associated outer channel opening 5, which is referred to below as the channel longitudinal axis 14. Preferably, but not necessarily, the channel longitudinal axes of the two outer channel end sections 7 are oriented coaxially to one another.

Each outer passage end section 7 is formed by an axially through sleeve interior 15 of an internally threaded sleeve 16, which sleeve 16 is inserted into the housing base body 12 and is held in the housing base body 12. The internally threaded sleeve 16 forms, together with the housing base body 12, a combination which can only be operated uniformly.

After the production of the housing base body and before the insertion of the internally threaded sleeve 16, an internal channel structure 17, which can be clearly seen in fig. 6 and 7, extends in the interior of the housing base body 12. The inner channel structure 17 is limited only by the components of the housing base body 12 and opens out to the outer face 13 with a number of channel structure end sections 18 corresponding to the number of the female sleeves 16 to be fastened. In accordance with the already explained arrangement of the internally threaded sleeve 16, each channel end section 18 of the inner channel structure 17 opens out into one of the two outer surface sections 13a, 13 b. After the assembly of the internally threaded sleeve 16, the fluid channel arrangement 2 is assembled from the sleeve interior 15, which delimits the outer channel end section 7, and the section of the inner channel structure 17, which is connected thereto and extends outside the sleeve interior 15 in the housing base body 12, the latter being formed directly by the structuring of the interior of the housing base body 12.

Each internally threaded sleeve 16 is constructed of metal. The internally threaded sleeve is produced, for example, from an aluminum material or steel and in this case, in particular, from stainless steel. Each internally threaded sleeve 16 has a longitudinal axis 22 which coincides with the passage longitudinal axis 14 of the outer passage end section 7 passing therethrough.

The internally threaded sleeve 16 has an inner circumferential surface 23 facing the longitudinal axis 22 and radially outwardly bounding the sleeve interior 15 therearound, in which inner circumferential surface an internal thread 24 is formed. The internal thread 24 is suitable for screwing a separate component having an external thread section provided with an external thread with its external thread section into the channel housing 3 and thereby fixing it.

At the outer side radially opposite the inner peripheral face 23, the internally threaded sleeve 16 has a radial outer peripheral face 25.

Each internally threaded sleeve 16 has a front end face 26 which is remote from the housing base body 12 in the assembled state (wegweisend) and an opposite end face 27 which is directed to the rear in the interior of the housing base body 12. The two end faces 26, 27 are of annular design.

The radially outer circumferential surface 25 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 has at least in sections a non-circular outer contour, that is to say an outer contour deviating from a circular shape. By virtue of the non-circular outer contour, at least one anti-rotation section 28 is formed, which ensures an anti-rotation fixing of the internally threaded sleeve 16 with respect to the housing base body 12 even if high torques are introduced into the internally threaded sleeve 16 during the screwing-in or unscrewing of the component having the external thread.

Exemplarily, the radial outer circumferential surface 25 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 is designed such that two anti-rotation segments 28 are produced, which are arranged axially (that is to say axially along the longitudinal axis 22) at a distance from one another. Each anti-rotation section 28 has an annular configuration coaxial with respect to the longitudinal axis 14. In contrast to the illustrated embodiment, the internally threaded sleeve 16 can also have only one single anti-rotation section 28 or more than two anti-rotation sections 28 axially spaced apart from one another.

The inner channel structure 17 is designed in such a way that the channel end section 18 has an inner diameter or an inner cross section, which is greater than the outer diameter or the outer cross section of the internally threaded sleeve 16, over its entire axial length occupied by the internally threaded sleeve 16. The inner cross section of the channel end portion 18 is defined by an inner circumferential surface 32 of a wall portion of the housing base body 12, which is referred to as a surrounding portion 33 of the housing base body 12, due to the fact that it surrounds the inserted internally threaded sleeve 16 radially on the outside.

An annular space, referred to as a closed space 34, is formed radially between the internal thread sleeve 16 and the surrounding section 33 of the housing base body 12. The annular closed space 34 is bounded radially on the inside by the radial outer circumferential surface 25 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 and radially on the outside by the inner circumferential surface 32 of the surrounding section 33.

The inner channel structure 17 is preferably designed such that the channel structure end section 18 merges into an adjoining channel section 36 via an annular shoulder 35 coaxial with the channel longitudinal axis 14, wherein the channel section 36 is also referred to as the outer channel section 36 in the following for better distinction. The outer channel section 36 has a smaller cross section in the transition region to the annular shoulder 35 than the adjoining channel structure end section 18. The annular shoulder 35 is an annular face facing axially into the closed space 34.

The rear end face 27 of the fitted internally threaded sleeve 16 bears axially against the annular shoulder 35. As a result, when the internally threaded sleeve is inserted coaxially from the outside during the production of the channel housing 3 according to the arrow 37 in fig. 7 and in particular is inserted into the associated channel structure end section 18, the fitting depth of the internally threaded sleeve with respect to the housing base body 12 is limited.

Preferably, the inner circumferential surface 32 of the surrounding section 33 is designed such that the annular cross section of the closed space 34 widens from the end associated with the interior of the annular shoulder 35 to the axial exterior. The annular cross section considered here is in a cross-sectional plane spanned by the longitudinal axis 16 and an axis radial thereto. The channel end section 18 opens out through an outer channel opening 19 to the outer face 13.

The channel end section 18 of the inner channel structure 17, which is provided for receiving the internally threaded sleeve 16, is preferably profiled (kontourniert) at its inner circumferential surface 32 in such a way that it has a conical inner longitudinal section 18a, which is coupled to the annular shoulder 35, and a cylindrical outer longitudinal section 18b, which is axially coupled to the conical inner longitudinal section on the outside. The conical inner longitudinal section 18a widens conically in the direction of the outer passage opening 19, wherein the conical inner longitudinal section 18a merges with an annular step into a cylindrical outer longitudinal section 18b, which has a larger diameter than the diameter of the conical inner longitudinal section 18a at its end facing the outer passage opening 19.

Preferably, the axial length and the installation depth of the internally threaded sleeve 16 are selected such that the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve and the outer face 13 of the housing base body 12 are configured in a plane at the face section at the surrounding section 33.

The annular closed space 34 is at least partially filled by a closure body 38 made of plastic, which has an annular outer shape and coaxially surrounds the internally threaded sleeve 16 at the radial outer periphery at least in the region in which the at least one anti-rotation section 28 is located, with direct contact.

The enclosure 38, which is suitably rigid, has been produced directly in the enclosed space 34 by an injection molding process. The closure body surrounds the internally threaded sleeve 16 in a form-fitting manner on its radially outer circumferential surface 25, wherein in any case each anti-rotation section 28 is surrounded in a form-fitting manner by the plastic of the injected closure body 38.

The positive fit produced here acts in particular in the circumferential direction of the longitudinal axis 22 of the internally threaded sleeve 16, so that a mechanical anti-rotation of the internally threaded sleeve 16 with respect to the obturator 38 is provided for this. In addition, however, the closing body 38 can also be fastened to the internally threaded sleeve 16 by adhesion effects and/or by the tension occurring in the ground (schrumpfungsbedingt) due to shrinkage.

During the shaping (Urformung) of the closure 38, a very tight material-fit connection is formed between the closure 38 and the surrounding section 33 of the housing base body 12. Due to the high temperature of the plastic of the closing body 38, which is injected into the housing base body 12 in the liquid state, the plastic surrounding the section 33 is melted in the region of the inner circumferential surface 32, so that the two plastics are mixed and fixedly connected to one another.

The preferably material-fit plastic connection between the closing body 38 and the surrounding portion 33 is sufficient to ensure a rotation resistance between the closing body 38 and the housing base body 12 even without additional positive-fit measures acting in the circumferential direction of the longitudinal axis 22 of the internally threaded sleeve 16, when a torque is introduced into the internally threaded sleeve 16 when a further component provided with an external thread is screwed into or out of the internally threaded sleeve 16.

Nevertheless, the rotation resistance can be increased by an additional anti-rotation positive fit between the closing body 38 and the surrounding section 33 of the housing base body 12.

Such an additional form-fitting anti-rotation measure is achieved in particular by: the surrounding section 33 has, at its inner circumferential surface 32, a plurality of anchoring recesses 42 distributed along its circumference, into which the closing body engages with a form fit with complementary anchoring projections 43.

The aforementioned circumferential direction of the enclosing section 33 is the direction around the channel longitudinal axis 14. The corresponding applies to the peripheral distribution of the anchoring projections 43 of the obturator 38.

In the injection molding production of the closing body 38, the liquid plastic can easily flow into the anchoring recesses 42 and form the anchoring projections 43 after hardening thereof.

Suitably, the plastic of the housing base 12 and the plastic of the closure 38 have thermoplastic properties. Preferably a fiber-reinforced plastic, for example consisting of a thermoplastic plastic material as matrix, into which finely divided reinforcing fibers, for example glass fibers or carbon fibers, are embedded. Polyamides are used in particular as plastic materials.

Preferably, the housing base 12 and the obturator 38 are constructed of the same plastic. However, different plastics can also be used in principle, as long as the desired tight connection is ensured during the injection molding to produce the closure 38.

Although the housing base body 12 can in principle also be produced in other ways, for example by machining a prefabricated plastic block, it is preferred to produce the housing base body 12 by injection molding. The injection-molding of the housing base body 12 is carried out here before the production of at least one closing body 38 belonging to the same channel housing 3.

Preferably, the at least one anti-rotation section 28 already mentioned is formed by alternating circumferential sections 44, 45 of the internally threaded sleeve 16, which are consecutive to one another and have different radial extensions with respect to the longitudinal axis 22. The peripheral sections 44, 45 are arranged alternately one after the other in the peripheral direction of the longitudinal axis 22.

According to a preferred design selected in this embodiment, at least one anti-rotation section 28 has a ring gear structure 28a coaxial with the longitudinal axis 22 of the internally threaded sleeve 16. Each ring gear structure 28a has, in the peripheral direction of the longitudinal axis 22, alternating teeth and tooth spaces which follow one another and which define peripheral sections 44, 45 of different radial extent.

The plastic of the liquid injected to produce the closing body 38 reaches the interdental spaces and, after hardening, forms an anti-rotation resistance which interacts with the teeth.

Preferably, the internally threaded sleeve 16 is also provided with an axial securing means which, in the longitudinal direction of the internally threaded sleeve 16, brings about a form-fitting-based anti-pullout protection (heraussziehcerung) with respect to the hardened obturator 38.

Such an axial securing measure is realized in the illustrated exemplary embodiment by: the internally threaded sleeve 16 has, at its radial outer circumferential surface 25, two annular fastening projections 46 which are coaxial with the longitudinal axis 22 and are arranged at an axial distance from one another. Each of the two fixing projections 46 is laterally surrounded (flankiert) on the side of the front-facing end face 26 by an annular retaining deepening 47, which is likewise coaxial with the longitudinal axis 22, and which is filled with the plastic of the closure body 38, which protrudes from the radially outer side into the associated retaining deepening 47. Each fixing projection 46 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 is therefore laterally surrounded at its end side facing the front end face 26 by an annular retaining projection 48 which is formed from the plastic of the closing body 38 engaging into the retaining deepening 47 and axially supports the respectively adjacent fixing projection 46, so that the internally threaded sleeve 16 cannot be pulled out even under high tensile forces.

Preferably, the at least one annular retaining deepening 48 is formed by an annular groove 52 which is closed axially on both sides, which in this embodiment applies to the two annular retaining projections 48. A rear annular groove 52 is located coaxially between the two annular fastening tabs 46, wherein each groove flank is formed by an end face of one of the two fastening tabs 46.

The front annular groove 52 is bounded on the rear by the front fastening projection 46 closest to the front end face 26 and on the opposite front by an annular, disk-shaped terminal flange 53 of the internally threaded sleeve 16, which projects radially beyond all other regions of the internally threaded sleeve 16. The front end face 26 is at the terminal flange 53. Preferably, the terminal flange 53 is circularly contoured radially on the outside.

Advantageously, each of the annular fastening projections 46 is formed in the structural unit together with one of the likewise annular anti-rotation sections 28. In other words, each anti-rotation section 28 is expediently designed such that it simultaneously forms one of the annular fastening projections 46, or vice versa. The design selected in the illustrated exemplary embodiment has the following advantages, among others: the internally threaded sleeve 16 can be implemented with a relatively short construction length.

The closing body 38 can completely fill the closing space 43, corresponding to the design illustrated in the upper image half of fig. 3. The closing body 38 is preferably shaped in such a way that it ends flush with both the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 and with the surface section of the outer face 13 at the surrounding section 33 in the region of the outer passage opening 5. The front end face 54 of the closing body 38 can be used as a sealing face, for example, in terms of the arrangement of further components.

According to the modified embodiment illustrated in the lower image half of fig. 3, the closing body 38 can also be designed in such a way that the front end face 54 of the closing body 38, which points in the same direction as the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve 16, is at least partially axially set back with respect to the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 and with respect to the surface section of the outer surface 13 of the housing base body 12 at the surrounding section 33. This results in an annular groove 55 which coaxially surrounds the front end region of the internally threaded sleeve 16 and can be used, in particular, to insert a sealing ring 56 indicated by a dashed line. Such a sealing ring 56 is used, for example, for fluid-tight sealing of a component screwed into the internally threaded sleeve 16 with respect to the channel housing 3. Such a component is, for example, a plug coupling designed for detachably coupling a fluid hose.

The annular groove 55 is illustratively designed such that it is radially bounded on the outside directly by the surrounding section 33 and radially bounded on the inside by an annular end section 57 of the closing body 38 which coaxially surrounds the internally threaded sleeve 16. The closing body 38 is therefore stepped on its front end face 54, wherein the annular section of the front end face 54 forms an axially forwardly directed base surface 58 of the annular groove 55, while the other annular end face section is formed at an annular end section 57 and preferably extends in one plane with the front end face 56 of the internally threaded sleeve 16.

The groove flank radially bounding the annular groove 55 acts in particular as a sealing surface with regard to the accommodation of the sealing ring 56. The outer groove flanks can be formed very precisely directly during the injection molding of the housing base body 12. By means of the stepped shape of the front side of the closing body 38, the inner groove flank can also be formed very precisely at the closing body 38 by means of an injection molding process, namely: independent of the possibly insufficiently precise coaxial orientation of the internally threaded sleeve 16 with respect to the longitudinal axis 14 of the passage.

The annular groove 55 is located in particular only in the cylindrical outer longitudinal section 18b of the channel end section 18.

In the illustrated embodiment, the base surface 58 of the annular groove 55 is formed by the closing body 38, whereas in the non-illustrated embodiment it is formed by a forwardly directed annular surface section which surrounds the inner circumferential surface 32 of the section 33.

In a preferred method for producing the channel housing 3, the housing base body 12 is first produced according to the method steps illustrated in fig. 6. This takes place independently of the at least one internally threaded sleeve 16 which is to be combined with the housing base body 12 only later on. The housing base body 12 is produced by injection molding in an injection mold 62, which is only indicated by dashed lines, wherein both the outer contour of the housing base body and the inner channel structure 17 are produced. It is obvious that other structures can also be formed in housing base body 12 during the injection molding process, which are required or desirable for the function of housing base body 12. Injection molding allows the construction of inherently complex structures in an extremely cost-effective manner. In fig. 6, the injection of plastic into the cavity of the injection mold 62 is indicated by an arrow 63, wherein the core structure (kernsthukturen) of the injection mold 62 for realizing the internal channel structure 17 is not illustrated for the sake of simplicity.

The production of the required number of metallic, internally threaded sleeves 16 takes place separately and separately from the production of the housing base body 12. The internally threaded sleeve 16 can be manufactured before or after the housing base body 12. The internally threaded sleeve is produced, for example, by cut metal machining and/or by die casting (Druckgie beta-en).

The inner diameter of the internally threaded sleeve 16 follows the desired thread size. For producing the channel housing 3, a large number of internally threaded sleeves 16 can be provided, which differ from one another in terms of the internal diameter or in terms of the size of the internal thread 24 and which are combined with the housing base body 12 according to the respective requirements.

After the production of the housing base body 12, the injection mold 62 is opened and the internally threaded sleeve 16 is inserted axially from the outside into the then accessible channel structure end section 18 of the produced internal channel structure 17 of the housing base body 12 according to the arrow 37 illustrated in fig. 7.

During the insertion process, the housing base body 12 can remain in the injection mold 62. However, this is not shown in fig. 7. With reference to fig. 6, the housing base body 12 is retained in particular in a base mold section 62a of the injection mold 62, and only one or more mold covers 62b of the injection mold 62 are removed, which cover the outer face section of the outer face 13, to which the channel structure end section 18 opens out, during the injection molding process.

Suitably, the insertion of the internally threaded sleeve 16 into the channel structure end section 18 is carried out mechanically by suitable mechanical operating means. Each internally threaded sleeve 16 is inserted in such a way that its rear end face 27 abuts against one of the annular shoulders 35.

Fig. 5 shows, in an isometric illustration, a stage of the production method illustrated in fig. 7.

After the insertion of the internally threaded sleeve 16 into the housing base body 12, the injection mold 32 is closed again. For this purpose, the same mold cover 62b or another mold cover is positioned in such a way that it rests against the outer face 13 in the region of the surrounding section 33 and also against the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve 16.

In the case of a closed injection mold 62, an axial pressure force 64, illustrated by an arrow, is applied by the mold cover 62b to the front end face 26 of the associated internally threaded sleeve 16, as a result of which the internally threaded sleeve 16 is pressed with its rear end face 27 against the opposing annular shoulder 35 with a sealing effect.

The internally threaded sleeves 16 and the housing base body 12 are now held together securely by the injection mold 62, wherein there is an empty closed space 34 which has not yet been filled around the respective internally threaded sleeve 16. The closed space 34 is sealed axially on the inside by contact between the rear end face 27 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 and the annular shoulder 35. At the front side, sealing is effected by the closed injection mold 62 and, by way of example, by the mounted mold cover 62 b.

Next, the plastic material used for the construction of the obturator 38 is injected into the respective obturator space 34 according to the arrow 65. Preferably, injection channel structures 66 are formed in correspondingly associated surface sections of the outer surface 13 of the housing base body 12 (exemplary in the outer surface sections 13a, 13 b), which open radially to the outside into the closed space 34 and through which the liquid plastic flows into the closed space 34.

The design of the injection mold 62 makes it possible to influence very easily whether the closing body 38 extends at the front end face 54 always flush with the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 or whether an annular groove 55 is to be produced according to the depiction in the lower image half of fig. 3. Fig. 8 shows a mold structure 67 of an injection mold 62, which protrudes into the closed space 34 and acts as a Negative mold (also sometimes referred to as a bottom mold) for the annular groove 55 to be produced.

After the injected plastic has solidified and the closure 38 has sufficient stability, the injection mold 32 is opened and the now finished (ferriggestellette) channel housing 3 is removed. The finished duct housing 3 corresponds in its design to fig. 1 to 4.

The channel housing 3 can now be equipped with the functional unit 4 in order to produce the fluidic device 1.

In the embodiment described so far, the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 remains uncovered by the plastic material. This has the following advantages: the user of the channel housing 3 immediately recognizes that the channel housing 3 has a metallic, internally threaded sleeve 16.

However, it is basically possible to also inject the front end face 26 of the internally threaded sleeve 16 with plastic too much during the production of the closure 38.