Decorative tail pipe mounted apparatus for an automobile
An apparatus for attachment to the tail pipe of a vehicle is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an elongate bracket operative to be attached to said tail pipe and having an end extendable beyond the end of said tail pipe. The apparatus also comprises an endplate coupled to said end of said bracket. The apparatus also comprises a symbol formed as a part of said endplate and operative to be viewed by an observer outside said vehicle. The apparatus may amuse observers outside the vehicle and mask the normally unappealing appearance of the tailpipe.
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Canadian patent application Serial No. 2,452,974 which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to apparatus mountable to an automobile tail pipe. More specifically the present invention relates to a decorative endplate mountable to the end of an automobile tail pipe. Background
Traditionally the automobile tail pipe has served the utilitarian purpose of channeling exhaust gases away from the automobile's exhaust system. The tail pipe is not normally a pleasant site for those observers outside the automobile.
Some attempts have been made to beautify the automobile tail pipe. U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,666 describes one such device. This device uses the force generated by exhaust gases to spin a decorative visual spinner. The device is complex, may be difficult to install and may only be usefully mountable to horizontal exhaust pipes.
Another decorative device for an automobile tail pipe is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,144. This device is complicated in structure, and may be complicated to install.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the following description and figures describe and show various examples of the endplates, brackets, bracket assemblies and integral endplate/brackets of the present invention. These examples show several different ways of combining the various elements of the invention together and those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many other ways of combining the various elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In general, the bracket is referred to as bracket 10 with specific examples shown in the different figures. In general, the endplate is referred to as endplate 20 with specific examples shown in the different figures. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the applicable law interpreting the claims following this description.
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The bracket 10 may be attached to the tail pipe 60 with hose clamp 40. The clamp 40 in conjunction with the tab 30 may serve to hold the assembly onto the tailpipe and prevent rotation and slippage. Alternatively the bracket 10 may be attached to the tail pipe 60 or a sleeve covering the tail pipe 60 by bolts, other types of clamps, gluing, welding, etc. In addition, the clamp 40 may be welded or otherwise attached to the bracket 10 or the clamp 40 may be loose from the bracket 10 until it is installed by the user. The bracket 10 and endplate 20 may be formed of any applicable material such as stainless steel, aluminum, high temperature plastics, etc. In fact with the emergence of fuel cell powered vehicles with much lower exhaust temperatures, it is conceived that the endplate and bracket may be formed out of materials less impervious to heat such as lower temperature plastics.
The circular bend 80 may alternatively be other shapes such as a squared bend, oval, etc. as long as endplate 20 engages the slot 90 and the endplate is retained by the bend. The circular bend 80 may be clamped tight, bonded, welded, etc. through the slot or alternatively the endplate 20 may swing within the circular bend 80 which allows the endplate 20 to be swung adjacent to the bracket 10 for shipment. If the endplate 20 is swingable it also allows for the endplate 20 to remain vertical when the tail pipe 60 is off horizontal. I.e., gravitational pull on the endplate 20 will swing it to a vertical position. This may ensure the endplate remains easily visible to an observer.
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In this example, bracket 10 has endplate attachment tabs 120 formed at the opposite end as the elongated tab 130. These endplate attachment tabs 120 have holes 125 formed within them that cooperate with holes 225 (seen in
Referring now to FIGS. 8 to 11 an example of the invention for mounting to a dual tail pipe configuration is shown. This example is similar to the previous examples with the addition of two slidable brackets 300 which are “U” shaped and have elongated slots 310 formed within them. In this configuration, the bracket 10 has two holes 320 formed within it. Bolts or other attachment mechanisms may be threaded through the elongated slots 310. The bolts may have nuts attached to their end. This allows the assembly to be expanded or contracted to fit various dual tail pipe 60 spacings. Once the clamps 40 are attached, the nuts/bolts may or may not be tightened depending on the desired rigidity.
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Claims
1. An apparatus for attachment to a tail pipe of a vehicle comprising:
- an elongate bracket operative to be coupled to said tail pipe and having an end extendable beyond an outlet of said tail pipe;
- an endplate coupled to said end;
- a symbol formed as a part of said endplate and operative to be viewed by an observer outside said vehicle.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said endplate prevents said observer from viewing a substantial part of said tail pipe.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bracket comprises a bend separating said bracket into first and second sections; said first section mountable flush with said tail pipe and said second section angled such that said endplate is hangable to obscure from view at least a portion of an exhaust system of said vehicle.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bracket comprises a circular bend formed at said end and through a slot in said endplate.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said endplate is rotatable within said circular bend.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising a sound dampener disposed within said circular bend.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said symbol comprises at least one hole formed in said endplate in the shape of said symbol.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said symbol comprises at least one marking on a surface of said endplate.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a rotatable attachment between said elongate bracket and said endplate.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said rotatable attachment comprises a circular bend.
11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein said rotatable attachment comprises at least one attachment tab.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said elongate bracket comprises a retaining tab operative to be engaged with an outlet edge of said tail pipe.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said retaining tab is operative to engage an inside surface of said tail pipe.
14. An apparatus for attachment to a tail pipe of a vehicle comprising:
- an endplate;
- a symbol formed as a part of said endplate and operative to be viewed by an observer outside said vehicle;
- first means for suspending said endplate beyond an outlet of said tail pipe;
- second means for positioning said endplate in order to obstruct an observer's view of said tail pipe.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising:
- third means for preventing said endplate from obstructing flow of exhaust gases from said tail pipe.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising:
- third means for securing said apparatus to said tailpipe.
17. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said tail pipe is a first tail pipe and said apparatus further comprises:
- third means for attaching said apparatus to a second tail pipe;
- fourth means for centering said endplate between said first and second tail pipes.
18. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said symbol comprises at least one hole formed in said endplate in the shape of said symbol.
19. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said symbol comprises at least one marking on a surface of said endplate.
20. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising third means for hanging said endplate near vertical 21. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising third means for rotatably attaching said endplate to said first means.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 7, 2004
Publication Date: Jun 30, 2005
Inventor: Shawn Quast (Victoria)
Application Number: 11/004,978