Motor vehicles – Bodies – With means for handling exhaust of a motor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-17
2001-10-09
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Motor vehicles
Bodies
With means for handling exhaust of a motor
C180S296000, C248S058000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298935
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an exhaust system for a motor vehicle comprising a vehicle body and an internal combustion engine. The exhaust system has an exhaust which is intended for connection to the internal combustion engine and has at least one housing of a silencer and/or of a catalytic converter with a housing casing, having essentially a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm, and two housing ends and metallic pipes rigidly connected to the latter. The exhaust system furthermore has retaining means for holding the exhaust on the vehicle body.
The exhaust system is intended, for example, for a car but may also be used for another motor vehicle—for example a truck or bus. The internal combustion engine may consist of a gasoline or diesel engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
European Patent Application Publication 0 807 749 and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,702 disclose exhaust systems which have pipes, a catalytic converter and at least one silencer, at least one of the pipes, the casing and the end walls of the housing of the or each silencer having a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm and preferably not more than 0.8 mm. Thanks to this light-weight construction, such an exhaust system has a very low weight. The exhaust systems have retaining means with holders which connect the housing of each silencer, in the vicinity of the housing ends, to the bottom of the vehicle. The holders have, for example, metallic retaining members fastened to the housing casing by spot welding or another welding method. Owing to the small material thickness of the housing casing, however, it is difficult to weld the retaining members in a stable manner to the housing casing without holes being formed in the latter. At least a part of the exhaust system and in particular at least one silencer are arranged in the tunnel of the vehicle bottom. Furthermore, there is generally only a small amount of space between the vehicle bottom and the surface on which the vehicle stands or drives. However, the holders fastened to the housing casing also occupy a certain height and reduce the height region available for the housing casing and hence the maximum possible cross-sectional dimensions of the silencer and its silencing effect.
German Patent Application Publications 30 26 730 and 31 37 746 disclose exhaust systems in which the housing of a silencer or pipes of the exhaust are suspended from the vehicle body by means of at least one rubber ring. If a force is exerted on an exhaust part held in this manner, the rubber rings initially offer only very little resistance to a deflection of the exhaust from its rest position. Only when the deflections of the exhaust parts reach limits of about 1 cm to 2 cm or even more does the resistance generated by the rubber rings increase abruptly. Retaining means comprising at least one rubber ring therefore have the disadvantage that the or each suspended part is virtually freely movable in particular upward and also in all approximately horizontal directions within certain ranges which are usually at least 1 cm or more. Exhaust parts suspended in this manner must therefore be large distances away from the vehicle body and—in the case of the arrangement in the tunnel of the vehicle bottom—in particular from the walls of the tunnel. Furthermore, exhaust parts suspended in this manner and the parts connected to them must have thick walls so that the exhaust is sufficiently strong.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to provide an exhaust system which avoids disadvantages of the known exhaust systems and whose exhaust, particularly in the case of a thin-walled embodiment of the or each housing casing and of at least one pipe connected to the housing, can be connected permanently to the vehicle body by the retaining means without damage to the or each housing. Furthermore, it is intended to ensure that the or at least one housing can be readily accommodated in the tunnel of the vehicle bottom and can have a large vertical cross-sectional dimension. Furthermore, the retaining means should be capable of being economically manufactured and mounted and should permit good vibration damping.
This object is achieved, according to the invention, by an exhaust system for a motor vehicle having a vehicle body and an internal combustion engine, comprising an exhaust which is intended for connection to the internal combustion engine and has at least one housing of at least one of a silencer and of a catalytic converter with a housing casing, having essentially a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm, and two housing ends and metallic pipes which are rigidly connected to the latter and at least one of which has a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm, and comprising retaining means for holding the exhaust on the vehicle body, wherein the retaining means have a metallic retaining member for each pipe connected to a housing end and wherein a sleeve surrounding the or each pipe connected to a housing end and having a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm is fastened to said pipe, the retaining member being fastened to said sleeve.
According to another object of the invention, there is provided a motor vehicle having a vehicle body, an internal combustion engine, an exhaust system and wheels which rest on a horizontal surface when a motor vehicle is in a normal position, wherein the exhaust system comprises an exhaust which is connected to the internal combustion engine and has at least one housing of at least one of a silencer and of a catalytic converter with a housing casing, having essentially a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm, and two housing ends and metallic pipes which are rigidly connected to the latter and at least one of which has a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm, and comprising retaining means holding the exhaust on the vehicle body, wherein the retaining means have a metallic retaining member for each pipe connected to a housing end and wherein a sleeve surrounding the or each pipe connected to a housing end and having a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm is fastened to said pipe, the retaining member being fastened to said sleeve, wherein, in the normal position, a lowest point of at least one housing is below a lowest point of the retaining members coordinated with this housing.
An exhaust system according to the invention has at least one silencer and/or a catalytic converter whose housing has a casing which is for instance tubular and/or sleeve-shaped and hence annular in cross-section and has a wall thickness which is essentially 1 mm or less. Furthermore, at least one and preferably each of the two pipes connected to the housing, and preferably also each end wall of the housing, has essentially a wall thickness of not more than 1 mm. The wall thicknesses of the housing casing, of the housing end walls and of the or each said pipe are preferably essentially not more than 0.8 mm and, for example, 0.5 mm to 0.7 mm or possibly even less than 0.5 mm. The wall thickness of the or each sleeve is expediently likewise not more than 1 mm, preferably not more than 0.8 mm and, for example, about 0.5 mm to 0.7 mm. Nevertheless, the retaining members of the retaining means can be connected to the pipes by welding or by brazing since, owing to the sleeve or sleeves pushed onto at least one pipe, the retaining means need not be welded or soldered directly to thin-walled parts and therefore furthermore no holes form or other damage results. A welded or brazed joint is more advantageous in manufacture, stronger and more stable than a screw connection.
Because the sleeve or sleeves surrounds or surround at least one of the pipes and therefore the retaining means need not engage the housing of a silencer and/or of a catalytic converter, for example, a housing in a tunnel having predetermined cross-sectional dimensions can have a larger vertical cross-sectional dimension than if retaining means were to engage the housing casing.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the r
Alexnat John W. Jörg
Steenackers Pieter Delfina
Fischmann Bryan
Johnson Brian L.
Scambia Industrial Developments AG
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP
LandOfFree
Exhaust system for a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle with... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Exhaust system for a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle with..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Exhaust system for a motor vehicle and a motor vehicle with... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2554549