U.S. patent application number 12/791257 was filed with the patent office on 2010-12-16 for adaptive valve for exhaust system.
Invention is credited to Kwin Abram.
Application Number | 20100313554 12/791257 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43305180 |
Filed Date | 2010-12-16 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100313554 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Abram; Kwin |
December 16, 2010 |
ADAPTIVE VALVE FOR EXHAUST SYSTEM
Abstract
A vehicle exhaust system includes at least one adaptive valve
that is associated with an exhaust component, and which is movable
between open and closed positions. An anti-flutter component is
associated with the adaptive valve to reduce fluttering movement of
the adaptive valve caused by exhaust gas pulsations.
Inventors: |
Abram; Kwin; (Columbus,
IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PAMELA A. KACHUR
577 W Santee Drive
Greensburg
IN
47240
US
|
Family ID: |
43305180 |
Appl. No.: |
12/791257 |
Filed: |
June 1, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61185702 |
Jun 10, 2009 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
60/324 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01N 1/165 20130101;
F01N 2260/16 20130101; F01N 1/08 20130101; F01N 2390/00
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
60/324 |
International
Class: |
F01N 1/00 20060101
F01N001/00 |
Claims
1. A vehicle exhaust system comprising: at least one exhaust
component; at least one adaptive valve associated with said at
least one exhaust component, said at least one adaptive valve
movable between open and closed positions within an exhaust gas
flow path; and at least one anti-flutter component associated with
said at least one adaptive valve to reduce fluttering movement of
said at least one adaptive valve caused by exhaust gas
pulsations.
2. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 1 wherein said
anti-flutter component comprises a damper that is coupled to said
at least one adaptive valve.
3. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 1 wherein said at
least one adaptive valve comprises at least one first adaptive
valve and wherein said anti-flutter component comprises a second
adaptive valve that operates independently of said first adaptive
valve.
4. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 3 wherein one of
said first and second adaptive valves is positioned upstream of
said at least one exhaust component and the other of said first and
second adaptive valves is positioned downstream of said at least
one exhaust component.
5. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 4 wherein said one
of said first and second adaptive valves provides broadband
suppression and said the other of said first and second adaptive
valves provides resonance suppression.
6. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 3 wherein said at
least one exhaust component comprises a muffler and wherein said
first adaptive valve is positioned within an inlet pipe to said
muffler and said second adaptive valve is positioned within an
outlet pipe to said muffler.
7. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 1 wherein said
anti-flutter component comprises a weighted mass that is coupled to
said at least one adaptive valve.
8. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 7 wherein said
weighted mass biases said at least one adaptive valve to one of the
closed position or open position.
9. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 8 including an
elongated body fixed to a valve body of said at least one adaptive
valve, and wherein said weighted mass is fixed to a distal end of
said elongated body.
10. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 1 wherein said
anti-flutter component comprises first and second retainer members
connected by a wire element, wherein one of said first and said
second retainer members is rotatable relative to the other of said
first and said second retaining members.
11. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 1 wherein said at
least one exhaust component comprises a pipe that connects an
upstream exhaust component to a downstream component.
12. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 1 wherein
movement of said at least one adaptive valve is solely controlled
by exhaust gas flow.
13. A vehicle exhaust system comprising: at least one exhaust
component; at least one adaptive valve associated with said at
least one exhaust component, said at least one adaptive valve
having a valve body that is movable between open and closed
positions; and a mass member associated with said at least one
valve to bias said at least one adaptive valve toward one of the
open and closed positions.
14. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 13 wherein said
mass member exerts a mass force to hold said at least one adaptive
valve in said closed position, and wherein when exhaust gas flow
force is sufficient to overcome said mass force, said at least one
adaptive valve moves toward said open position.
15. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 13 wherein said
mass member comprises an elongated component fixed to said valve
body and an enlarged weighted mass fixed to a distal end of said
elongated component.
16. A vehicle exhaust system comprising: at least one exhaust
component; a first adaptive valve positioned upstream of said at
least one exhaust component to provide a first type of noise
suppression; and a second adaptive valve that operates
independently of said first adaptive valve and is positioned
downstream of said at least one exhaust component to provide a
second type of noise suppression, said first and second adaptive
valves each being moveable between open and closed positions in
response to exhaust gas flow.
17. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 16 wherein one of
said first and second types of noise suppression comprises
broadband suppression and the other of said first and second types
of noise suppression comprises resonance suppression.
18. The vehicle exhaust system according to claim 16 wherein said
at least one exhaust component comprises a muffler and wherein said
first adaptive valve is positioned within an inlet pipe to said
muffler and said second adaptive valve is positioned within an
outlet pipe to said muffler.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 61/185,702, which was filed Jun. 10, 2009.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention generally relates to an adaptive valve as
used in a vehicle exhaust system, and more specifically to an
adaptive valve with an anti-flutter component.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Exhaust systems often use adaptive valves to reduce noise
during exhaust gas flow through an exhaust component. An adaptive
valve is a self-regulating valve that adapts to different engine
operating conditions through the effect of exhaust gas flow.
[0004] The adaptive valve includes a spring, which biases the valve
toward a desired direction. When exhaust gas flow is sufficient to
overcome the biasing force of the spring, valve movement is
controlled by variations in exhaust gas flow. The adaptive valve
functions differently depending on where the valve is located
within the exhaust system. It is desirable to place an adaptive
valve in a muffler; however, due to spring temperature limits, the
valve springs are not considered a good match for most muffler
applications.
[0005] Further, the adaptive valve can be susceptible to flutter
due to exhaust gas pulsations impacting the valve, which causes the
valve to open and close quickly and repeatedly. This fluttering
action can cause premature wear and strain on the valves.
[0006] Finally, each exhaust component typically has several
acoustic resonant modes. When the adaptive valve is mounted within
the exhaust component, the valve is able to suppress many, but not
all, of these resonant modes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A vehicle exhaust system includes at least one adaptive
valve that is associated with an exhaust component, and which is
movable between open and closed positions. An anti-flutter
component is associated with the adaptive valve to reduce
fluttering movement of the adaptive valve caused by exhaust gas
pulsations.
[0008] In one example, the exhaust component comprises an exhaust
pipe. The adaptive valve is positioned within the exhaust pipe and
is moveable from a closed position to an open position solely based
on exhaust gas flow.
[0009] In one example, the anti-flutter component comprises a
damper that is coupled to the adaptive valve. The damper can be
mounted internal or external to the exhaust pipe.
[0010] In one example, the anti-flutter component comprises a
second adaptive valve that operates independently of the first
adaptive valve. One adaptive valve is positioned upstream of the
exhaust component and the other adaptive valves is positioned
downstream of the exhaust component. One of the adaptive valves
provides broadband suppression and the other of the adaptive valves
provides resonance suppression. The vehicle exhaust component could
comprise a muffler, for example, and one adaptive valve could be
positioned within an inlet pipe to the muffler and the other
adaptive valve could be positioned within an outlet pipe to the
muffler.
[0011] In another example, the anti-flutter component comprises a
weighted mass that is coupled to the adaptive valve.
[0012] In another example, the anti-flutter component comprises
first and second retainer members connected by a wire element. One
of the first and second retainer members is rotatable relative to
the other of the first and second retainer members and the wire
element cooperates with the retainers to provide a damping
effect.
[0013] These and other features of the present invention can be
best understood from the following specification and drawings, the
following of which is a brief description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an exhaust system that
includes one example of an adaptive valve with an anti-flutter
component in an internal configuration.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows another example of an exhaust component with an
adaptive valve and anti-flutter component in an external
configuration.
[0016] FIG. 3 shows another schematic example of an adaptive valve
in a first location in an exhaust system with a corresponding Sound
Pressure Level vs. Engine Speed graph.
[0017] FIG. 4 shows another schematic example of an adaptive valve
in a second location in an exhaust system with a corresponding
Sound Pressure Level vs. Engine Speed graph.
[0018] FIG. 5 shows a combination of valves from FIGS. 3 and 4 with
a corresponding Sound Pressure Level vs. Engine Speed graph.
[0019] FIG. 6 shows a prior art example of an exhaust component
with a spring-loaded passive valve.
[0020] FIG. 7 shows another example of an exhaust component with an
adaptive valve and anti-flutter component with the valve in a
closed position.
[0021] FIG. 8 shows the valve of FIG. 7 in an open position.
[0022] FIG. 9 shows another example of an exhaust component with an
adaptive valve and anti-flutter component.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0023] A vehicle exhaust system 10 is comprised of a plurality of
exhaust components that direct exhaust gases from an engine 12 to a
tailpipe 14. These exhaust components can comprise converters,
mufflers, resonators, pipes, tubes, etc. as known. In the example
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the exhaust system 10 includes an exhaust
component 16 that comprises a tube that houses an adaptive valve
20. Additional exhaust components 24 can be located upstream of the
exhaust component 16 and additional exhaust components 26 can be
located downstream of the exhaust component 16 as known.
[0024] The exhaust component 16 provides a flow pathway 22 in which
the adaptive valve 20 is positioned. The adaptive valve 20
comprises a disc-shaped valve body that is biased toward a closed
position where the flow pathway 22 is substantially blocked.
Typically, a resilient member such as a spring is used to bias the
valve toward the closed position. When exhaust gas pressure is
sufficient to overcome the biasing force, the adaptive valve 20
moves from the closed position toward an open position. When the
exhaust gas pressure falls below the biasing force, the adaptive
valve 20 will return to the closed position. Thus, the adaptive
valve 20 is a passive valve whose movement is solely controlled by
variations exhaust gas flow pressure.
[0025] The adaptive valve 20 provides a system weight reduction
because additional active control components are not required.
Further, the adaptive valve 20 provides a broad range of noise
reduction. However, the adaptive valve 20 can be susceptible to
flutter due to exhaust gas pulsations impacting the valve 20, which
causes the valve 20 to open and close quickly and repeatedly. This
fluttering action can cause premature wear and strain on the
valve.
[0026] The adaptive valve 20 includes at least one anti-flutter
component 30 that is used to reduce this fluttering movement caused
by exhaust gas pulsations. In one example, the anti-flutter
component 30 comprises a damper 32 that is coupled to the adaptive
valve 20. Any type of damper 32 can be used in the system, such as
a linear, torsional, oil filled, friction based, integrated
spring/force, etc. In the example shown in FIGS. 1-2, the damper 32
includes a cylinder 34 that is fixed to the exhaust component 16
and an extendible rod 36 that is coupled to the valve 20. The
damper 32 can be tuned or set to provide a desired damping force on
the valve 20 to reduce/dampen the opening and closing speed of the
valve 20, which significantly reduces the effects of
fluttering.
[0027] The damper 32 can be mounted external to the exhaust
component 16 as shown in FIG. 1, or can be mounted internally as
shown in FIG. 2. One benefit to locating the damper externally is
that the damper 32 is not subjected to high exhaust temperatures;
however, additional packaging space is required for the damper. The
configuration shown in FIG. 2 does not require any additional
packaging space.
[0028] In another example shown in FIGS. 3-5, a combination of
adaptive valves are used to provide a wide range of noise
reduction. In this example, first 40 and second 42 adaptive valves
are used in combination with each other to provide broadband and
resonance suppression. The first 40 and second 42 adaptive valves
are positioned at different locations within the exhaust system 10
and operate independently of each other.
[0029] In this example, the exhaust system 10 includes an exhaust
component 44, such as a muffler for example. The first adaptive
valve 40 is positioned upstream of the exhaust component 44 in an
inlet exhaust pipe 46 to provide broadband suppression as shown in
FIG. 3. This broadband suppression is generally constant across a
range of various engines speeds, such as from 750 rpm to 4500 rpm
for example.
[0030] The second adaptive valve 42 is positioned downstream of the
exhaust component 44 in an outlet exhaust pipe 48 to provide
resonance suppression as shown in FIG. 4. The resonance suppression
is significantly increased within the engine speed range of
1500-2500 rpm for example.
[0031] FIG. 5 shows the overall net effect of noise suppression
when both of the first 40 and second 42 adaptive valves are
utilized. This combination provides a widened range of noise
suppression from engine speeds, such as from 750 rpm to 4500 rpm
for example. Further, this combination has the potential for
reducing the fluttering effect as described above. By combining
multiple adaptive valves 20, i.e. two or more adaptive valves, into
the exhaust system 10, the complex resonant nature of the overall
exhaust system can be more effectively addressed. Also, the first
adaptive valve 40, i.e. the upstream broadband suppression valve,
can be adjusted to not flutter because this valve is not being
relied upon for all noise suppression.
[0032] FIG. 6 shows a prior art configuration for an adaptive valve
50. In this configuration, the adaptive valve 50 includes a disc
body 52 mounted within a pipe 54 that is biased toward the closed
position by a spring 56. However, due to spring temperature limits,
springs are not viewed as working well for most exhaust component
applications.
[0033] In the example shown in FIGS. 7-8, the spring is replaced by
a mass member 60 such that gravity can be used in place of the
spring force. Also, a gravity activated device provides the benefit
of generating a non-linear torsional moment M that is not easily
accomplished with current spring configurations.
[0034] Further, the use of the mass member 60 in association with
the adaptive valve 50 can serve as an anti-flutter component. The
weighted end of the mass member 60 can reduce potential for
fluttering movement as compared to traditional spring designs.
[0035] As shown, the mass member 60 is associated with an adaptive
valve 62 to bias the valve 62 toward the closed position (FIG. 7)
within a pipe 64. The mass member 60 exerts a mass force to hold
the adaptive valve 62 in the closed position, and when exhaust gas
flow force is sufficient to overcome the mass force, the adaptive
valve 62 moves toward the open position (FIG. 8).
[0036] In the example shown, the mass member 60 comprises an
elongated component 70 that is fixed to a valve body 72. An
enlarged weighted mass 74 is fixed to a distal end 76 of the
elongated component 70. It should be understood that this is just
one example of a mass member configuration and that other types of
mass member configurations could also be used. Further, the mass
member can be located internally or externally of the pipe 64.
[0037] FIG. 9 shows another example of an anti-flutter component.
In a traditional configuration such as that shown in FIG. 6, the
spring 56 is mounted within the pipe 54 by spring retaining
elements. In the example of FIG. 9, an anti-flutter assembly 80
includes first 82 and second 84 retainer members that are connected
to each other with a wire element 86. These members can be
comprised of spring retainers that were previously used for the
spring 56; further, the wire element 86 can be used with or without
the spring depending upon the application.
[0038] In the example shown, the first retainer member 82 comprises
an outer spring retainer that rotates about a center axis A
relative to the second retainer member 84, which comprises an inner
spring retainer. The wire element 86 provides damping as well as
spring characteristics. Any type of wire element can be utilized,
including a wire rope, single wire element, and can use different
types of wires and wire strand sizes. Further, the wire can be made
from any type of material such as stainless steel, for example.
Further, the wire element 86 can be attached to the first 82 and
second 84 retainer members by any of various attachment interfaces.
Examples include crimping, clamping, fastening, etc. Further,
different methods of wire looking, bending, and twisting can be
used to form the wire element 86.
[0039] One benefit is that the provided damping effects are
accomplished with materials, such as stainless steel for example,
which can withstand high temperatures while being simple to
implement.
[0040] Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been
disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize
that certain modifications would come within the scope of this
invention. For that reason, the following claims should be studied
to determine the true scope and content of this invention.
* * * * *