Spiral-wound diaphragm bellows, and method of making such a diaphragm bellows
View Patent ↗A diaphragm bellows includes a spiral-wound, pre-profiled metal strip having neighboring turns which are connected by a continuous welding seam in an area of an outer diameter or inner diameter of the metal strip. Neighboring flanks of the metal strip enter a region of the welding seam at an angle of less than 60°.
1. A diaphragm bellows, comprising a spiral-wound, pre-profiled metal strip having neighboring turns connected by a continuous welding seam in an area of an outer diameter or inner diameter of the metal strip, wherein neighboring flanks of the metal strip enter a region of the welding seam at an angle of less than 60°.
2. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the angle is less than 45.
3. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the angle is less than 30.
4. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the welding seam is radially spaced in midsection at a distance of at least about 0.5 mm from the outer diameter or inner diameter.
5. The diaphragm bellows of claim 4 , wherein the distance is about 1 mm.
6. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the metal strip has a substantially U-shaped profile in cross section.
7. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the metal strip has a substantially V-shaped profile in cross section, defined by a bending radius of less than 0.8. mm.
8. The diaphragm bellows of claim 7 , wherein the bending radius is less than 0.1. mm.
9. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the turns define crests and valleys, each said crest and each said valley being defined by an axial dimension, wherein a ratio of the axial dimension of the crests to the axial dimension of the valleys is smaller than 1.
10. The diaphragm bellows of claim 9 , wherein the ratio of the axial dimension of the crests to the axial dimension of the valleys is smaller than 0.9.
11. The diaphragm bellows of claim 9 , wherein the ratio of the axial dimension of the crests to the axial dimension of the valleys is smaller than 0.85.
12. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the metal strip has corrugated flanks in cross section.
13. The diaphragm bellows of claim 12 , wherein the corrugation of the flanks extends in a same direction.
14. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the continuous welding seam is configured at least in part in the form of a flat welding seam on an end face.
15. The diaphragm bellows of claim 1 , wherein the metal strip defines a land height which is commensurate with a distance between a top land and a bottom land of the metal strip, said land height ranging from 5% to 30% of the inner diameter of the metal strip.
16. The diaphragm bellows of claim 15 , wherein the land height is at least ten times to twenty times a material thickness of the metal strip.
17. A diaphragm bellows, comprising a spiral-wound profiled metal strip having neighboring turns connected by a continuous welding seam in an area of an outer diameter or inner diameter of the metal strip, wherein the welding seam is radially spaced in midsection at a distance of at least about 0.5 mm from the outer diameter or inner diameter.