US20090139218A1

US20090139218A1 - Forced Air Exhaust Cooling System

Info

Publication number: US20090139218A1
Application number: US12/256,671
Authority: US
Inventors: Ryan Davis; Hasadora Reynolds; Ken Reynolds; Paul Reynolds
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-10-23
Filing date: 2008-10-23
Publication date: 2009-06-04

Abstract

An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle may include a first exhaust member to conduct the exhaust from the engine of the vehicle to the atmosphere and a source of pressurized fluid which may be air or gas to conduct the pressurized fluid to the first exhaust member to cool the exhaust from the engine of the vehicle. The source of pressurized fluid may be a blower, and the source of pressurized fluids may be a air dam. The blower may be connected to a battery of the vehicle, and the blower may include a sensor to determine if a predetermined speed has been reached to allow ram air input or to warn of back pressure, high temperature or current flow. The sensor may inactivate the blower when the predetermined speed has been reached. The source of pressurized fluid may be compressed air, and the source of the pressurized fluid may be refrigerated air.

Description

PRIORITY

The present invention claims priority under 35 USC section 119 and based upon a provisional application 60/982,037 filed on Oct. 23, 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to improvements in hot exhaust gas pipes and mufflers and more particularly relates to decorative exhaust gas pipes and mufflers including decorative chrome used on trucks, motorcycles and automobiles and heavy duty construction equipment such as mining and agriculture equipment. Furthermore, the present invention relates to cooling the exhaust gas to eliminate damage due to condensation near the exhaust and to eliminate damage to the undercarriage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the most critical problems confronting the developers of vehicle exhaust pipes and mufflers or exhaust pipes and mufflers which are exposed for appearance purposes has been the prevention of heat discolorization of the chromed exhaust pipes and muffler casings from the extreme heat generated by high engine performance. Another problem is the damage to the undercarriage, components and anything near the exhaust output due to the extreme heat.
Although the prior art has been concerned with preventing heat transfer to the outer housing of a vehicle exhaust system, none have really accomplished that goal, none have prevented heat discoloration as the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,885 for a Chambered-Core Motorcycle-Exhaust Apparatus was granted on Nov. 2, 1982 to Christy J. Dello. The exhaust system described in the Dello patent is concerned with a double wall exhaust system wherein the inner core is mounted within a tubular housing having a larger diameter than the inner core so as to establish an annular chamber between the outer housing and the inner exhaust core. Dello specifically requires the use of an inner exhaust core system that has a plurality of interconnected pipe segments.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,678 was granted Jan. 7, 1975 for a Muffler with Rotary Gas Flow to Ralph Haren. It is directed to a muffler construction that has an outer shell which is clamped to the ends of a flow tube which contains flow obstruction devices to prevent or restrict straight through gas flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,733 was granted Sep. 24, 1963 for a Sound Attenuating Gas Pipe to Edmund Ludlow. It is directed to an exhaust system which has an outer pipe with a plurality of sections or inserts mounted within the outer pipe that are coaxially aligned within the outer pipe to define a main gas flow passage therethrough. The combination is designed so that each adjacent pair of inserts act in combination with the adjacent wall of the outer pipe to define a “resonating chamber of volume”.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,395 was granted Sep. 1, 1998 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,907,134 was granted May 25, 1999 for Air Gap-Insulated Exhaust Pipe And Process For Manufacturing An Air Gap-Insulated Exhaust Pipe to Thomas Nording, et al. Both patents are directed to a double wall exhaust pipe wherein the inner pipe which is comprised of sections connected by a sliding fit which are prevented from contacting the walls of the outer pipe as the result of the thermal expansion of both pipes during operation.

SUMMARY

An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle may include a first exhaust member to conduct the exhaust from the engine of the vehicle to the atmosphere and a source of pressurized fluid to conduct the pressurized fluid to the first exhaust member to cool the exhaust from the engine of the vehicle.
The source of pressurized fluid may be a blower, and the source of pressurized fluids may be a air dam.
The blower may be connected to a battery of the vehicle, and the blower may include a sensor to determine if a predetermined speed has been reached.
The sensor may inactivate the blower when the predetermined speed has been reached.
The source of pressurized fluid may be compressed air, and the source of the pressurized fluid may be refrigerated air.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which, like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the exhaust system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of the exhaust system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a alternative of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention achieves lower exhaust temperatures by mixing the hot engine gases with cooler fluids which may be ambient air. When the present invention refers to fluid, the fluid may be air, gas or other types of fluids. A blower which may be an electric blower mixes the pressurize air with the hot exhaust gases at the base of the exhaust stack or downstream of the catalytic converter of the vehicle. Alternatively, the present invention may employ multiple blowers. The electric blower may operate from the battery or from the electrical system of the vehicle in order to power the motor. The blower may be powered by gas, solar or other forms of energy. The blower may include a sensor to detect back pressure or a high temperature condition in order to provide safe operation of electric blower. The sensor may determine the presence or absence of back pressure and the quantity of back pressure. The sensor may determine the temperature of the exhaust or the flow rate of the exhaust. The sensor may provide an indication of the status of the blower for example whether or not the blower is operating or not working. The blower may be positioned at an angled relationship to prevent the air from being forced into the exhaust such that the air would blow against the exhaust. The tube with the blower can be inserted into the stream of fluid flow to create a Venturi effect. Additional air may be directed from the front of the vehicle and may be received through an input port such as an air dam. Furthermore, the exhaust system may include a dedicated blower for each exhaust stack or alternatively, a single blower may provide the fluid for all of exhaust stacks. As a consequence of the additional air, the temperature of the exhaust stacks, referred below as the first and second exhaust members, may be reduced sufficiently so that the first and second exhaust members may be a single exhaust tube/stack and that the exhaust stack may be chrome plated for example with the nickel plating without the fear of discoloration or damage to the chrome. Additionally, the teachings of the present invention may eliminate the damage to the surrounding components including the undercarriage or anything near the output of the exhaust such as people or dry brush. The teachings of the present invention may be applied to any vehicles such as a motorcycle, truck, automobile, airplane, boat, heavy-duty construction equipment, agricultural equipment, mining equipment or other vehicle having exhaust gas which may reach elevated temperatures.
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the exhaust system 100 of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a first exhaust member 107 to conduct the exhaust and other heated fluids to the atmosphere through a first exhaust output port 111 and a second exhaust member 109 to conduct exhaust and other heated fluids to the atmosphere through a second exhaust output port 113. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a first exhaust member 107 and a second exhaust member 109, the teachings of the present invention can be extended to fewer or more exhaust members. The exhaust system 100 may include a blower member 101 to blow or pressurize fluid which may be an ambient air or other appropriate fluids and which may be supplied to a first blower output passageway which may be defined by the first tube 103 and may be supplied to a second blower output passageway which may be defined by the second tube 105. The first tube 103 may be connected to the first exhaust member 107 at an output port of the first tube 103 so that the pressurized fluid may be mixed with the engine gases which are generated as result of the combustion of the engine of the vehicle. The second tube 105 may be connected to the second exhaust member 109 at an output port of the second tube 105 so that the pressurized fluid may be mixed with the engine gases which are generated as result of the combustion of the engine of the vehicle.
The blower member 101 may include an electric motor to provide the pressurized fluid which may be connected to the battery of the vehicle (or from the vehicle's electrical system) or the blower member 101 may be mechanically driven from any location of the vehicle by the engine of the vehicle. The first exhaust member 107 and the second exhaust member 109 may be a single cylindrical tube having the outer surface coated with chrome for decoration. The first exhaust member 107 and the second exhaust member 109 may have a cross-section such as a round, oval, square or other appropriate shape.
In addition to the pressurized fluid, and the air fluid may be connected to the first exhaust member 107 and the second exhaust member 109 by forced airflow which may result from the operation and speed of the vehicle from an air dam of the vehicle. This air fluid is conducted to the first exhaust member 107 in a first air dam passageway 119, and the air fluid may be conducted to the second exhaust member 109 through the first air dam output port of the third tube 115. The air fluid may be conducted to the first exhaust member 107 by the fourth tube 117 in the second air dam passageway 131 of the fourth tube 117 and the air fluid may be conducted to the first exhaust member 107 through the first air dam output port of the fourth tube 117.
The engine gases may be exhausted from the engine of the vehicle and enters the first exhaust passageway of the first exhaust member 107 and enters the second exhaust passageway of the second exhaust member 109 and may be cooled as a result of mixing with the pressurized fluid from the first blower output passageway and the second lower output passageway. Furthermore, the engine gases may be further cooled as a result of mixing with the air fluid from the first air dam passageway and the second air dam passageway. The cooled engine gases may be conducted along the first exhaust member 107 and the second exhaust member 109 and may be output to the atmosphere at the first exhaust output port 111 and the second exhaust output port 113. The blower member 101 may include a sensor device to sense if the pressured fluid is backing up and may indicate that the exhaust system 100 is not operating properly. The sensor device may sense when the speed is sufficient that the air fluid from the air dam is sufficient to cool the first and second exhaust members 107, 109 so that the sensor may turn off the blower member 101 when the speed has reached a predetermined speed.
FIG. 1 additionally illustrates that the pressurized fluid may be supplied by compressed air from container 151 through the compressed air tube 153. Additionally the container 151 may have a refrigeration device in order to cool the air below ambient temperature. The refrigerated air may or may not be distributed by the blower or blowers.
FIG. 2 illustrates a first blower 241 having a first output tube 242 to output fluid and a second blower 243 having a second output to 244 to output fluid. FIG. 2 additionally illustrates that a refrigerant blower 245 has a third output tube 246 to output refrigerated fluid
Turning now to FIG. 3, the blower 331 which may be a source of compressed air, refrigerated air or ram air includes an output tube 333 which may be positioned at an angled relationship to the stream of fluid to prevent the air from being forced into the exhaust such that the air would blow against the exhaust and may be positioned downstream of the catalyst 335. The tube 333 with the blower 331 may be inserted into the stream of fluid flow to create a Venturi effect.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.

Claims

1. An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle, comprising:

a first exhaust member to conduct the exhaust from the engine of the vehicle to the atmosphere, and

a source of pressurized fluid to conduct the pressurized fluid to the first exhaust member to cool the exhaust from the engine of the vehicle.

2. An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle as in claim 1, wherein the source of pressurized fluid is a blower.

3. An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle as in claim 1, wherein the source of pressurized fluid is a air dam.

4. An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle as in claim 2, wherein the blower is connected to a battery of the vehicle.

5. An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle as in claim 2, wherein the blower includes a sensor to determine if a predetermined speed has been reached to allow the utilization of air dams.

6. An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle as in claim 1, wherein the source of pressurized fluid is compressed air.

7. An exhaust system to remove exhaust from an engine of a vehicle as in claim 1, wherein the source of pressurized fluid is refrigerated air.