Abstract:
A decorative automotive exhaust comprising cut outs on an exterior portion to expose a decorative plate. The depth of the decorative plate relative to the cut outs creates a 3D perspective.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application No. 62/219,577 filed Sep. 16, 2015 the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is in the field of exhaust tips for vehicles in particular trucks that have custom appearance. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    There are numerous silencers and muffler exhaust tips available on the market for vehicle owners that want to customize their vehicles. Most of the aftermarket exhaust tips on the market are decorative in nature given that the exhaust tip is usually the only part of the engine muffler system that is visible to ordinary observers. Presently, most exhaust tips are limited in appearance and customization. U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,863 to Shuen, U.S. Design Pat. No. 413,296 to Hussaini, U.S. Design Pat. No. 384,319 to Harutiunian, U.S. Design Pat. No. 191,509 to Feinberg, and U.S. Design Pat. No. 164,960 to Russell, disclose a decorative exhaustion pipe. 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,859 to Hussaini discloses a decorative muffler exhaust tip that serves to amplify exhaust noise. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,573 to Tabata, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,223 to Kesselring, disclose an exhaust piece that serves to further silence the noise from the exhaust of the engine to which the muffler system is connected. 
         [0006]    Others, such as U.S. Design Pat. No. 189,573 to Russell, and U.S. Design Pat. No. 133,788 to Koch, disclose a tailpipe tip that diverts the exhaust in a particular direction. 
         [0007]    Some, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,043,097 to Inman, et al., and U.S. Design Pat. No. 247,360 to Hamaguchi, et al., disclose exhaust tips that channel air from around the muffler exhaust tip in a manner that creates a negative pressure on the muffler system when the vehicle is in motion. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,835 to Russell discloses a clamping means for an exhaust tail pipe. 
         [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,710 to Huang et al. discloses an exhaust tip having a set of LEDs that automatically illuminate when heated exhaust gases pass through the tip. Exhaust tips are typically provided for trucks to provide a custom appearance, engine sound, and improve engine performance. The present invention provides new methods and designs to customize exhaust tips. These publications and all other referenced patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is an incorporated reference here, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein the definition of the term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply. Although various improvements are known to the art, all, or almost all of them suffer from one or more than one disadvantage. Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved exhaust tip. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, it is an object of this invention to provide an exhaust tip with a customizable appearance. 
         [0011]    Another object of this invention is to provide an exhaust tip which does not impede engine performance. 
         [0012]    Another object of this invention is to provide an exhaust tip which does not impede sound performance. 
         [0013]    It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not to be viewed as being restrictive of the present invention, as claimed. Further advantages of this invention will be apparent after a review of the following detailed description of the disclosed embodiments and in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  shows a preferred embodiment of an exhaust tip from a right side perspective. 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  shows a preferred embodiment of an exhaust tip from a left side perspective. 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  shows a preferred embodiment of an exhaust tip from an oblique perspective. 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  shows a preferred embodiment of an exhaust tip from a back side perspective. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  shows a preferred embodiment of an exhaust tip from a mounting side perspective. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]    Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention and not for purposes of limiting the same, 
         [0020]      FIGS. 1-5  show an exhaust tip  10 . Exhaust tip  10  comprises a main exhaust tip portion  1 , a neck portion  2 , and an attachment portion  3 . The neck portion  2  generally provides for a transition between the main exhaust tip portion  1  and the attachment portion  3  but is not an absolute requirement for the functioning of the present invention. The attachment portion  3  can further comprise a nut  4  and threaded assembly  14  to crimp the exhaust tip  10  on to an existing vehicle tail pipe. The attachment method described is not intended to be limiting additional common attachment means and methods include bolts, screws, welding, adhesives, polymeric ribbons. The exhaust tip  10  further has an outer surface  11  and inner surface  21 , wherein the exhaust tip  10  can be single walled or double walled as common in exhaust tip design and manufacturing. The present invention is directed to 3D decoration and logo display wherein the outer surface  11  and inner surface  21  are cut through typically with a laser but any commercial manufacturing cutting methods that can cut through metal, aluminum, steel would work; for example, plasma cutters and water jet cutters. The cutting of the design or logo  5  is shown in  FIG. 1  on the right side of the exhaust tip  10 . And again, the cutting of the design or logo  15  is shown in  FIGS. 2-3  on the left side of the exhaust tip  10 . The cutting process can be performed prior to the attachment of a decorative plate  20  or after the attachment of decorative plate  20 . If the decorative plate  20  is attached prior to cutting a protective or sacrificial material may be used to protect the decorative plate  20 . There is really no limit to the size of the logo  5 , 15  except for the dimensions of the main exhaust tip portion  1 . The decorative plate  20  is attached the inside surface  21  of the exhaust tip. One or more decorative plate  20  may be affixed to the inside surface  21 , in this preferred embodiment there are two decorative plate  20  attached. The method of attachment of the decorative plate  20  is typically done with spot welds  25  but could be performed with full length welds or other common means of affixing metal to metal. It is understood that there are heat resistant polymers and ceramic materials that can be substituted for metal commercially available and methods are well known in the automotive industry. 
         [0021]    While the main exhaust tip portion  1  dimensions have been disclosed as two to twelve inches in diameter with a preference of three to six inches in diameter. The main exhaust tip portion  1  length can be between eight inches and five and a half feet with a preference of about ten to twenty-four inches in length. 
         [0022]    While the decorative plate  20  can be made in almost any shape there are certain preferred embodiments believed to be novel in optimizing 3D reflection and optical illusion. For example, in a preferred embodiment the decorative plate  20  is concave with respect to the inside surface  21 . The decorative plate  20  shape can be slightly round, elliptical, hyperbolic, or even flat with respect to the inside surface  21 , what is important is that there be a gap between the outer surface  11  and inside surface  21 . In an alternative embodiment the decorative plate  20  could be concave and complement the inside surface  21  including any gap. The preferable gap distance is approximately one to two centimeters but could be one to fifteen centimeters for very large diameter main exhaust  1 . The length of the decorative plate  20  is preferably shorter than the main exhaust  1  however, in an alternative embodiment it would be possible to have the decorative plate  20  extend beyond the length of the main exhaust and have additional design elements such as anodized aluminum or additional cut out shapes and logos. The surface of the decorative plate  20  can be painted or treated with different coloring agents to create a visible contrast between the decorative plate  20  and the outer surface  11 . The decorative plate  20  could be ornamental with different combinations or alone reflective materials for reflecting light. 
         [0023]    The foregoing description is, at present, considered to be the preferred embodiments of the present discovery. However, it is contemplated that various changes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made without departing from the present discovery. Therefore, the foregoing description is intended to cover all such changes and modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present discovery, including all equivalent aspects. Additional modifications and improvements of the present invention may also be apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the particular combination of parts described and illustrated herein in intended to represent only one embodiment of the invention, and is not intended to serve as limitations of alternative devices within the spirit and scope of the invention.