US3834341A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Fluid-cooled engine exhaust system
Assignee: Maine Technical Industries Inc
•
Filing: 1972-05-18
•
Granted: 1974-09-10
•
Expires: 1992-05-18
Abstract
Abstract In a water-cooled engine exhaust system for boats having inboard engines wherein exhaust gases from the engine are vented through a shaped conduit, couplings are provided to enable the conduit to be fabricated from a series of straight and curved sections. The sections are composed of coaxial pipes of different diameters which cooperate to provide a central flow passage for exhaust gases and an annular flow passage for the cooling fluid. Each coupling comprises complementary elements which are mounted on the ends of the sections and which are fastened together by means of band clamps. Each element is internally constructed to provide fluid communication between the central and annular passages in adjacent conduit-sections. Special transition coupling members are also provided for the ends of the conduit to supply cooling water to and to remove cooling water from the annular passage.
Inventors
- 👤 P Sexton
- 👤 S Tibbetts
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 17:18
CPC Classifications
F; F01; F01N; F01N13/00; F01N13/18; F01N13/1805; B; B63; B63H; B63H21/00; B63H21/32; F01N3/00; F01N3/02; F01N3/04; F16; F16L; F16L39/00; F16L39/005; F28; F28D; F28D7/00; F28D7/10; F28D7/106; F28F; F28F9/00; F28F9/26; F28F2275/00; F28F2275/08; F28F2275/085; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T10/00; Y02T10/10; Y02T10/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
330 words
A coupling for joining in end to end relation separate lengths of conduits each having an inner wall defining a central flow passage and an outer wall spaced from the inner wall for defining a peripheral flow passage around said central passage, said coupling comprising: a pair of coupling elements each having a through bore, inner flange means on each element for telescopically engaging an end portion of said inner wall, outer flange means on each element for telescopically engaging an end portion of said outer wall, said inner and outer means defining a recess therebetween, each of said elements having a surface extending outwardly from its bore with said surfaces confronting one another and each surface having an arcuate channel, the channel in one element being in registry with the channel in the other element when said surfaces engage one another so that said elements may be rotated relative to one another about a central axis through their bores while providing fluid communication from one channel to the other, means to clamp said coupling elements together with said bores in registry with one another, said clamp means including a ring surrounding and engaging the peripheries of said elements and means to constrict said ring around said peripheries with said ring permitting relative rotation of said elements when loosely constricted and locking said elements against relative pivotal movement when tightly constricted, means providing fluid communication from one recess to the other to join the peripheral flow passages of the lengths of condUit, said fluid communication means including at least one port in each element extending between said channel and said recess, and sealing means interposed between said surfaces including an inner resilient member surrounding said bore in one of said elements and an outer resilient member surrounding said arcuate channel in one of said coupling elements, whereby separate mediums may be flowed through the central and peripheral flow passages of the joined conduits after said coupling elements are clamped together.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
330 words
A coupling for joining in end to end relation separate lengths of conduits each having an inner wall defining a central flow passage and an outer wall spaced from the inner wall for defining a peripheral flow passage around said central passage, said coupling comprising: a pair of coupling elements each having a through bore, inner flange means on each element for telescopically engaging an end portion of said inner wall, outer flange means on each element for telescopically engaging an end portion of said outer wall, said inner and outer means defining a recess therebetween, each of said elements having a surface extending outwardly from its bore with said surfaces confronting one another and each surface having an arcuate channel, the channel in one element being in registry with the channel in the other element when said surfaces engage one another so that said elements may be rotated relative to one another about a central axis through their bores while providing fluid communication from one channel to the other, means to clamp said coupling elements together with said bores in registry with one another, said clamp means including a ring surrounding and engaging the peripheries of said elements and means to constrict said ring around said peripheries with said ring permitting relative rotation of said elements when loosely constricted and locking said elements against relative pivotal movement when tightly constricted, means providing fluid communication from one recess to the other to join the peripheral flow passages of the lengths of condUit, said fluid communication means including at least one port in each element extending between said channel and said recess, and sealing means interposed between said surfaces including an inner resilient member surrounding said bore in one of said elements and an outer resilient member surrounding said arcuate channel in one of said coupling elements, whereby separate mediums may be flowed through the central and peripheral flow passages of the joined conduits after said coupling elements are clamped together.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
46 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein each of said elements has a beveled surface intersecting its peripheral surface and said band has similarly beveled surfaces engaging said beveled surfaces on said elements, said beveled surfaces cooperating to align said elements axially with respect to one another.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer resilient members include 0-rings, and including circular grooves in said one coupling element for receiving said 0-rings.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said confronting surfaces of each element are flat and are disposed normal to the bores and wherein said fluid communication means includes a series of spaced ports in each element extending from its recess to its confronting surface.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said arcuate channel in each of said confronting surfaces is annular so that said channels are in continuous registry with one another when one element is rotated relative to the other.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 including a sleeve extending axially in said bores between the ends of the inner walls to maintain said bores in registry with one another.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
50 words
Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said inner wall is surrounded by said inner flange and said sleeve extends in the bores of the coupling elements between the ends of the inner walls of adjacent lengths to provide a substantially smooth transition from one length of conduit to the other.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
286 words
In a fluid-handling system wherein separate fluids are flowed through a conduit composed of segments of at least an inner and an outer pipe having different diameters and disposed coaxially to define a central flow passage and an annular flow passage between the pipes, the improvement comprising: coupling means joining said segments in end to end relation and having means therein providing fluid communication between the central and annular flow passages of adjacent segments of said conduit, selected ones of said segments of said conduit being arcuate and selected other ones of said segments being straight, so that the conduit may be assembled into a predetermined configuration when said selected segments are arranged in end to end relation, said coupling means including complementary coupling elements each having a central through bore providing fluid communication between the ends of said inner pipes and a surface extending outwardly from said bore, said fluid communication providing means including an arcuate channel located outwardly of said bore in said surface of each element, the channel of one element being in registry with the channel in the other element when said surfaces are disposed in confronting relation, port means providing fluid communication between each channel and the annular flow passage between the pipes connected to the element, means sealingly mounting each element to the ends of each segment, said coupling elements having circular peripheries, clamping means surrounding said peripheries to permit relative rotation between said coupling elements when loosely clamped and to maintain said elements firmly engaged with one another when tightly clamped, and including sealing means interposed between said confronting surfaces, whereby the segments of the conduit may be loosely arranged relative to one another before being securely clamped together.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
286 words
In a fluid-handling system wherein separate fluids are flowed through a conduit composed of segments of at least an inner and an outer pipe having different diameters and disposed coaxially to define a central flow passage and an annular flow passage between the pipes, the improvement comprising: coupling means joining said segments in end to end relation and having means therein providing fluid communication between the central and annular flow passages of adjacent segments of said conduit, selected ones of said segments of said conduit being arcuate and selected other ones of said segments being straight, so that the conduit may be assembled into a predetermined configuration when said selected segments are arranged in end to end relation, said coupling means including complementary coupling elements each having a central through bore providing fluid communication between the ends of said inner pipes and a surface extending outwardly from said bore, said fluid communication providing means including an arcuate channel located outwardly of said bore in said surface of each element, the channel of one element being in registry with the channel in the other element when said surfaces are disposed in confronting relation, port means providing fluid communication between each channel and the annular flow passage between the pipes connected to the element, means sealingly mounting each element to the ends of each segment, said coupling elements having circular peripheries, clamping means surrounding said peripheries to permit relative rotation between said coupling elements when loosely clamped and to maintain said elements firmly engaged with one another when tightly clamped, and including sealing means interposed between said confronting surfaces, whereby the segments of the conduit may be loosely arranged relative to one another before being securely clamped together.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein each of said elements has a beveled surface intersecting its peripheral suRface, and said clamping means includes a band having mating beveled surfaces engaging said beveled surfaces and means to constrict said band around said surfaces to urge said elements axially toward one another, whereby transaxial displacement between the elements is prevented when the clamping means is tightly constricted around said elements.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
126 words
Apparatus according to claim 8 including a transition coupling member at each end of said conduit, each transition member being associated with one of said elements and each member having a chamber in registry with the fluid communication providing means of its associated element, each transition member also having a bore in registry with the central flow passage in its associated element, means to connect the bore of the transition member at one end of the conduit with a source of a first fluid, means to connect the bore of the transition member at the other end of the conduit to a receiver of the first fluid, and means for flowing a second fluid radially into and out of said flow chambers in said transition members.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the transition coupling member at said source end of the conduit includes a fitting providing fluid communication into the interior of its flow chamber.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
33 words
Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the transition coupling member at said receiver end of the conduit has vents providing fluid communication between its flow chamber and the interior of said inner pipe.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
47 words
Apparatus according to claim 8 including a boat having an inboard engine associated with said fluid-handling system, said central flow passage being in fluid communication with an exhaust-producing outlet of said engine, and said annular flow passage being in fluid communication with a source of cooling fluid.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
GB1054035A
Cited
US900576A
Cited
US2541205A
Cited
US2650112A
Cited
US3206836A
Cited
GB1048961A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-09-09 | 1978-03-11 | 1978-09-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-09-09 | 1982-03-11 | 1982-09-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-09-09 | 1986-03-11 | 1986-09-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |