US20050056482A1

US20050056482A1 - Tail pipe for muffler

Info

Publication number: US20050056482A1
Application number: US10/662,904
Authority: US
Inventors: Hsi-Lung Tsai
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-09-15
Filing date: 2003-09-15
Publication date: 2005-03-17

Abstract

A tail pipe includes a hollow body, two external fittings and an optional illuminating assembly. The hollow body has an outer periphery on which each external fitting is mounted. Each external fitting has a side face that faces outward from the body and a protrusion formed with a given shape and extending from the side face. The illuminating assembly is mounted in the body and has two arms extended out of the body and having multiple illuminating members to illuminate the external fittings to be visible in a dark place. Therefore, the external fittings provide a decoration for the tail pipe to make that to look more attractive. Also, the external fittings provide a visible signal to alert someone who is near the tail pipe to keep a distance from the tail pipe to avoid getting burned by the hot tail pipe.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tail pipe for a muffler, and more particularly to a tail pipe having external fittings that make the tail pipe to look more attractive and perform warning signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Tail pipes in accordance with the prior art do not have any feature for visible warning or decoration so that the tail pipe is potentially hazardous and is not attractive. Because special accessories for a vehicle are also required for some drivers who enjoy customizing their vehicles so as to distinguish them from others. Especially, when a vehicle using a luminous tail pipe is in dark place, the vehicle will attract the attention of surrounding people. Such aforesaid features to a tail pipe have not been seen yet in the market.
Besides, combusted gas in an engine of a vehicle will be exhausted through the mufflers and the exhaust pipes of the mufflers, the temperature of the exhaust pipes will be so high that somebody who inadvertently touches the exhaust pipe will be burned. The tail pipes are attached to the exhaust pipes of the mufflers to prevent the hot exhaust pipes burning somebody. However, the temperature of the tail pipes will simultaneously rise due to heat radiated from the exhaust pipe. Thus, visible warning signs for the tail pipes are required to alert passers-by to the potential danger.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an improved tail pipe having external fittings to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the invention is to provide an improved tail pipe for a muffler and the tail pipe has external fittings that provide decorations for the tail pipe.
Another objective of the invention is to provide an improved tail pipe that is luminous to provide visible warnings of high temperature of the tail pipe and further provide.
To achieve the aforementioned objective, a tail pipe in accordance with the present invention comprises a hollow body, two external fittings and an optional illuminating assembly. The hollow body has an outer periphery and an inner passage that has a front opening and a rear opening. Each external fitting is mounted on the outer periphery of the body by means of fasteners. The external fitting has a side face and a protrusion formed from the side face. The protrusion has a shape, such as a pattern, symbol or company logo and is light reflectable or light transmittable.
The illuminating assembly is mounted in the inner passage of the body and extends partially out of the body to brighten the external fittings to be visible in a dark environment and the external fittings are made of transparent or translucent materials. Therefore, the external fittings will provide a visible signal to show a position of the tail pipe and thus function as a warning signal to alert someone near the tail pipe to keep a distance from the tail pipe, and also provide a decoration for the tail pipe.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tail pipe for a muffler in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the tail pipe in FIG. 1 that further has an illuminating assembly;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tail pipe in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an operational perspective view of the tail pipe in FIG. 2 that is mounted on an exhaust pipe connected to the muffler; and
FIG. 5 is an operational perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the tail pipe in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, a tail pipe in accordance with the present invention comprises a hollow body (10) and two external fittings (20). The hollow body (10) has a front (not numbered), a rear (not numbered), an outer periphery (not numbered) and an inner passage (101). The inner passage (101) has a front opening (not numbered) and a rear opening (not numbered) that are defined respectively in the front and the rear of the body (10) to receive an exhaust pipe (31) of a muffler (not shown) through the rear opening. The body (10) further has two mounting holes (102) respectively defined through the outer periphery for the tail pipe to fix on the exhaust pipe (31) of the muffler by means of fasteners, such as screws (30).
Each external fitting (20) can be made with a capability of reflecting light and is mounted on the outer periphery of the body by means of fasteners, such as screws (30). The external fitting (20) has a side face (not numbered) that faces outward from the body (10) and a protrusion (201) formed from the side face. The protrusion (201) has a given shape, such as a significant pattern, company logo or symbol.
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the tail pipe further comprises a illuminating assembly (40) to brighten the external fittings (20) while the external fittings (20) are made of transparent or translucent materials to be light-transmittable. The illuminating assembly (40) comprises a circuit board (41), two mounting brackets (42) and multiple illuminating members (43), such as light emitting diodes (LEDs). The mounting brackets (42) are respectively attached to the inner periphery of the body (10) and are L-shaped. The circuit board (41) connects electrically to the electricity supply of a vehicle, and is mounted on the mounting brackets (42). The circuit board (41) further has two extended arms (411) and is ring-shaped with a central through hole (412) that allows the exhaust pipe (31) shown in FIG. 4 to extend through the circuit board (41). The extended arms (411) are respectively extended out of the body (10) and correspond to the external fittings (20).
The illuminating members (43) are respectively mounted on the extended arms (411) outside the body (10) and connect electrically to the circuit board (41). Thus, the illuminating members (43) can be illuminated for performing warning signs after the vehicle becomes recently stationary to prevent people walking around the parked vehicle form getting burned. Also, the illuminating members (43) can be lit for decoration of the vehicle while the vehicle is moving in a dark environment. The illuminating members (43) face respectively the external fittings (20) and produce light that is transmitted into the external fittings (20) to make the external fittings (20) visible in the dark environment.
With reference to FIG. 5, the aforesaid tail pipe further has an inner pipe (11) mounted in the inner passage (101) of the body (10). The inner pipe (11) has a front opening (not numbered) and a rear opening (not numbered) that extend respectively toward the front and the rear openings of the inner passage (101). The inner pipe (11) extends through and is held in the central through hole (412) of the circuit board (40) and is suspended by fasteners, such as bolts (32) or rivets (not shown). The rear opening of the inner pipe (11) connects to the exhaust pipe (31) to guide the combusted gas being directly exhausted through the front opening of the inner pipe (11) to prevent the illuminated assembly (40) from being contaminated by the combusted gas.
Therefore, the protrusions (201) of the external fittings (20) can be formed as a decorative pattern to make the tail pipe to look more attractive. Especially in a dark place, the luminous external fittings (20) will provide an attractive decoration effect for the tail pipe to attract the attention of surrounding people.
Besides, the external fittings (20) will provide a visible signal by reflecting light or transmitting light themselves and function as a warning signal to show an exact position of the tail pipe. The external fittings (20) will alert someone who is near the hot tail pipe to keep a distance away from the tail pipe to avoid being burned.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A tail pipe for a muffler having an exhaust pipe and comprising:

a hollow body having a front, a rear, an outer periphery and an inner passage having an inner periphery, a front opening and a rear opening that are formed respectively in the front and the rear of the body; and

at least one external fitting mounted on the outer periphery of the body and each of the at least one external fitting having a side face that faces outward from the body and a protrusion formed from the side face, and the protrusion having a shape.

2. The tail pipe for the muffler as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the at least one external fitting is light-transmittable and the tail pipe further comprising an illuminating assembly to illuminate each of the at least one external fitting, and the illuminating assembly comprises

multiple mounting brackets respectively attached to the inner periphery of the body;

a circuit board mounted on the mounting brackets and having an extended arm corresponding to each respective one of the at least one external fitting extending out of the body; and

multiple illuminating members mounted respectively on each extended arm and connecting electrically to the circuit board and facing the corresponding one of the at least one external fitting to make the corresponding external fitting being luminous.

3. The tail pipe for the muffler as claimed in claim 2, wherein the illuminating members are light emitting diodes.

4. The tail pipe for the muffler as claimed in claim 3, wherein the mounting brackets are L-shaped, and the circuit board further is ring-shaped with a central through hole.

5. The tail pipe for the muffler as claimed in claim 4, wherein the body further has two mounting holes defined through the outer periphery to mount the tail pipe on the exhaust pipe of the muffler with fasteners.

6. The tail pipe for the muffler as claimed in claim 5 further comprising an inner pipe mounted in the inner passage of the body, having a front opening and a rear opening and held in the central through hole of the circuit board and suspended by means of fasteners, and the rear opening of the inner pipe connecting to the exhaust pipe.