Vehicle Exhaust Muffler Sensor Mounting via Intermediary Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
The mounting of an exhaust gas sensor on a vehicle exhaust muffler with an inner and outer tube structure is challenging due to potential assembly errors between the two tubes.
Innovation Solution
The exhaust muffler design includes a pipe member within the silencer chamber, a sensor to detect exhaust gas states, and a closure that couples to the pipe member and outer tube, but not the inner tube, allowing for minimal influence from assembly errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the exhaust gas sensor is mounted on the inner tube, then the sensor can be positioned within the silencer chamber, but assembly errors between the inner and outer tubes will affect mounting precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a closure as an intermediary component that couples the pipe member to the outer tube, rather than directly mounting the sensor on the inner tube. The closure acts as a mediator that transfers the connection, eliminating the need for direct precision alignment between the inner tube and outer tube. This resolves the technical contradiction by decoupling the sensor mounting precision from the assembly precision between inner and outer tubes.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the closure is coupled to both the inner tube and outer tube, then the structure is more stable, but the inner tube structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the coupling function from the inner tube by having the closure couple only to the outer tube and pipe member, not to the inner tube. This separates the coupling stability function from the inner tube, maintaining structural stability while keeping the inner tube structure simple. The inner tube is taken out of the coupling relationship, eliminating the need for complex coupling features on it.
3Ease of manufacture
If the sensor is mounted directly on the muffler structure, then the mounting is simplified, but assembly errors between inner and outer tubes will influence sensor positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The closure serves as an intermediary that provides a dedicated mounting interface for the sensor on the pipe member. This intermediary structure simplifies the mounting process by providing a clear attachment point, while simultaneously isolating the sensor positioning from assembly errors between the inner tube and outer tube. The closure mediates between the muffler structure and the sensor, resolving both the ease of manufacture and precision concerns.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enables stable mounting of the exhaust gas sensor with reduced impact from assembly errors, simplifies the inner tube structure, and maintains high detection accuracy of exhaust gas parameters.
Implementation Method 1
a closure (88) disposed around the downstream sensor (84) to block gases inside the silencer chamber (SP) from escaping into the external environment
Implementation Method 2
a sensor configured to detect a state of the exhaust gas flowing through the pipe member. The sensor may detect, for example, the temperature, the flow velocity, or a component of the exhaust gas
Data Source
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AI summary
A vehicle exhaust muffler 20 includes an inner tube 32 in which a silencer chamber SP is defined, an outer tube 34 forming the outer shell of the muffler 20, a pipe member 51 which is disposed in the silencer chamber SP and through which exhaust gas G is allowed to pass, a sensor 84 which detects a state of the exhaust gas G flowing through the pipe member 51, and a closure 88 disposed around the sensor 84 to block gases inside the silencer chamber SP from escaping into the external environment. The closure 88 includes a pipe-side connection 100 at which the closure 88 is coupled to the pipe member 51 and an outer tube-side connection 102 at which the closure 88 is coupled to the outer tube 34.