Abstract:
An isolator for an engine mount or an exhaust system is designed to be mounted directly into a hole defined by a supporting structure of a vehicle. A rod extends between an elastomeric isolator disposed in the hole and a component of the vehicle being supported.

Description:
FIELD 
       [0001]    The present disclosure relates to a mounting arrangement for an exhaust system of a vehicle. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an exhaust isolator which is mounted directly to a vehicle&#39;s frame or underbody, thus eliminating the need for brackets, bolts, welded frame nuts, clipped in frame nuts or the like. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
         [0003]    Typically, automotive vehicles, including cars and trucks, have an internal combustion engine which is coupled to at least a transmission and a differential for providing power to the driven wheels of the vehicle. An engine exhaust system which typically includes an exhaust pipe, a catalytic converter, a muffler and a tail pipe is attached to the engine to quiet the combustion process, to clean the exhaust gases and to route the products of combustion away from the engine. The exhaust system is supported by exhaust mounts or isolators which are positioned between the exhaust system and the frame, the underbody or some other supporting structure of the vehicle&#39;s body. In order to prevent engine movement and/or vibrations from being transmitted to the vehicle&#39;s body, the exhaust mounts or isolators incorporate flexible mounting members or elastic suspension members to isolate the vehicle&#39;s body from the exhaust system. 
         [0004]    Typical prior art exhaust mounts or isolators include an upper hanger which is attached to the vehicle&#39;s frame or other support structure of the vehicles&#39; body. The upper member extends from the support structure such that it positions an elastomeric isolator at the proper location to accept a lower hanger which extends from the elastomeric isolator to one of the exhaust system&#39;s components. The elastomeric isolator is secured in a specific location between the upper hanger and the lower hanger. Typically, the upper hanger includes assembly hardware such as stamped brackets, bolts, welded frame nuts, clip-in frame nuts and/or formed rods which are utilized to secure the upper mount to the frame or other support structure and to secure the elastomeric isolator to the upper mount. This hardware increases the costs and the amount of carbon necessary for the construction and assembly of the vehicle. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    The present disclosure describes an engine mount or isolator which is mounted directly to the vehicle&#39;s frame or other support structure of the vehicle&#39;s body. The direct attachment of the exhaust mount or isolator eliminates the need for the upper bracket and all of the associated hardware. The exhaust mount or isolator can be fit directly within a hole formed in the support structure. The elastomeric portion of the exhaust mount or isolator includes a hole which accepts a support rod or lower hanger which is attached to the component of the exhaust system. The support rod or lower hanger can be formed to position the component of the exhaust system in the desired location. 
         [0006]    Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
     
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exhaust system attached to a support structure of a vehicle with exhaust isolators in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of one of the exhaust isolators illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the exhaust isolator illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is an end view of the exhaust isolator illustrated in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the exhaust isolator illustrated in  FIGS. 1-4  with a support rod or lower hanger assembled; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is an enlarged perspective view similar to  FIG. 2  but illustrating an exhaust isolator in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and, 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the exhaust isolator illustrated in  FIG. 6  with a support rod or lower hanger assembled. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. There is shown in  FIG. 1 , an exhaust mounting system in accordance with the present disclosure which is identified generally by the reference numeral  10 . Exhaust mounting system  10  attaches an exhaust system  12  to a support structure  14  of a vehicle. The vehicle includes an internal combustion engine (not shown), an unsprung mass including wheels and a suspension system (not shown) and a sprung mass which includes a vehicle body (not shown) which is supported by support structure  14 . Exhaust system  12  is connected to the engine of the vehicle and exhaust system  12  routes the products of combustion of the engine to the rear of the vehicle. The internal combustion engine powers the wheels of the vehicle through a transmission (not shown) and a differential (not shown). 
         [0016]    Exhaust system  12  comprises an intermediate pipe  22 , a muffler  24 , a tailpipe  26  and a plurality of exhaust isolator assemblies  30 . Intermediate pipe  22  is typically connected to a catalytic converter (not shown) which is connected to an exhaust pipe (not shown) which is in turn connected to an exhaust manifold (not shown) which is one of the components of the vehicle&#39;s internal combustion engine. The catalytic converter may be connected to a single exhaust pipe which leads to a single exhaust manifold or the catalytic converter can be attached to a branched exhaust pipe which leads to a plurality of exhaust manifolds. Also, intermediate pipe  22  can be connected to a plurality of catalytic converters which connect together prior to reaching muffler  24  using a branched intermediate pipe  22  or the vehicle can have a plurality of exhaust manifolds, connected to a plurality of exhaust pipes, connected to a plurality of catalytic converters, connected to a plurality of intermediate pipes, connected to a plurality of mufflers, connected to a plurality of exhaust pipes. The present disclosure is applicable to the above described exhaust systems as well as any other exhaust system known in the art. 
         [0017]    Exhaust system  12  is utilized to route the exhaust gases from the vehicle&#39;s engine to the rear area of the vehicle. While traveling from the engine to the rear of the vehicle through exhaust system  12 , the catalytic cleaner cleans the exhaust gases and muffler  24  quiets the noises associated with the combustion process of the vehicle&#39;s engine. Exhaust isolator assemblies  30  provide for the support of exhaust system  12  underneath the vehicle and they operate to prevent engine movement and vibrations from being transmitted to the vehicle&#39;s body. In addition, exhaust isolator assemblies  30  provide proper positioning and alignment for exhaust system  12  during assembly of exhaust system  12  and during the operation of the vehicle. 
         [0018]    Referring now to  FIGS. 2-5 , exhaust isolator assembly  30  comprises an exterior housing or sleeve  40 , an elastomeric isolator  42 , an exhaust rod  44  and an internal sleeve  46 . Exterior housing or sleeve  40  and internal sleeve  46  are both a drawn steel sleeve, a plastic sleeve or any other type of sleeve known in the art. Exterior housing or sleeve  40  includes a flange  50  which facilitates the press-fitting or assembly of exterior housing or sleeve  40  into the vehicle. Exterior housing or sleeve  40  is designed to be press-fit into an aperture  52  defined by support structure  14  of the vehicle (a cross-member as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). Press-fitting of exterior housing or sleeve  40  directly into aperture  52  defined by support structure  14  eliminates the typical hardware associated with mounting the prior art exhaust isolators. Exterior housing or sleeve  40  may be pressed into aperture  52  mechanically, hydraulically or pneumatically. This press-fit operation can be conducted during vehicle assembly, it can be conducted during manufacture of support structure  14  or at any time convenient to the vehicle&#39;s manufacturer. While exterior housing or sleeve  40  is illustrated as being a circular cylindrical shape, it is within the scope of the present invention to have exterior housing or sleeve  40  be any shape which is desired by the vehicle&#39;s manufacturer. 
         [0019]    Elastomeric isolator  42  is disposed within exterior housing or sleeve  40  by being press fit, chemically bonded or secured to exterior housing or sleeve  40  by any other means known in the art. Elastomeric isolator  42  can be formed from silicone (typical for high temperature applications), EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer) (typical for moderate temperature applications), natural rubber (typical for low temperature applications) or any other elastomer which meets the requirements of the application. Internal sleeve  46  is typically molded into elastomeric isolator  42 . Elastomeric isolator  42  defines a plurality of voids  56  which are engineered in size, shape and location to control the dynamic rate of exhaust isolator assembly  30 , the insertion force for exhaust isolator assembly  30 , the system durability requirements for exhaust isolator assembly  30  as well as other developmental and performance characteristics for exhaust isolator assembly  30 . Elastomeric isolator  42  defines a through bore  58  through which exhaust rod  44  is inserted during the installation of exhaust system  12 . 
         [0020]    Exhaust rod  44  is a formed rod which can include compound bends such that a first end  60  is positioned to axially engage bore  58  and a second end  62  is designed to mate with and be secured to a component of exhaust system  12 . As illustrated, a different exhaust rod  44  is used for each exhaust isolator assembly  30  but it is within the scope of the present invention to utilize as many common exhaust rods  44  as the design of the specific application allows. Also, each exhaust rod  44  is designed such that each first end  60 , which axially engages a respective bore  58 , is designed such that they engage their respective bore  58  in the fore/aft direction of the vehicle. This fore/aft arrangement of all of exhaust rods  44  simplifies the assembly of exhaust system  12  into vehicle  10 . 
         [0021]    Typically, exhaust rods  44  will each be attached to their respective component of exhaust system  12 . Exhaust system  12  is properly positioned below the vehicle and each exhaust rod  44  is aligned with its respective bore  58  either individually or simultaneously. Exhaust rods  44  are inserted into bores  58  to complete the assembly of exhaust system  12  onto the vehicle. The fore/aft arrangement of all of support rods  44  simplifies this assembly process. An annular barb  66  is formed on the end of each exhaust rod  44  to resist the removal of exhaust rod  44  from its respective bore  58 . 
         [0022]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , an exhaust isolator assembly  130  in accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure is illustrated. Exhaust isolator assembly  130  comprises elastomeric isolator  142  and exhaust rod  44 . Elastomeric isolator  142  is the same as elastomeric isolator  42  except that elastomeric isolator  142  is designed to be secured directly to support structure  14  thus eliminating the need for exterior housing or sleeve  40 . 
         [0023]    Elastomeric isolator  142  is disposed within aperture  52 . Elastomeric isolator  142  includes internal sleeve  46  and it defines an annular slot  160  which mates with the surrounding structure forming aperture  52 . Elastomeric isolator  42  can be fit within aperture  52 , press fit within aperture  52 , chemically bonded to support structure  14  or secured to support structure  14  by any other means known in the art. Elastomeric isolator  142  can be formed from silicone (typical for high temperature applications), EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer) (typical for moderate temperature applications), natural rubber (typical for low temperature applications) or any other elastomer which meets the requirements of the application. Elastomeric isolator  142  defines the plurality of voids  56  which are engineered in size, shape and location to control the dynamic rate of exhaust isolator assembly  130 , the insertion force for exhaust isolator assembly  130 , the system durability requirements for exhaust isolator assembly  130  as well as other developmental and performance characteristics for exhaust isolator assembly  130 . Elastomeric isolator  142  defines the through bore  58  through which exhaust rod  44  is inserted during the installation of exhaust system  12 . 
         [0024]    Exhaust isolator assembly  130  can be utilized in place of exhaust isolator assembly  30  at any one or all of the locations which support exhaust system  12 . The performance and advantages described above for exhaust isolator assembly  30  apply also to exhaust isolator assembly  130 .