Hanger clamp assembly
AssigneeBKS Company
InventorScott T. Cassel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hanger clamp assembly is provided for supporting a muffler body directly from the undercarriage of a vehicle. A band clamp is adapted to encircle the muffler body and a mounting arm of a hanger bracket is disposed between a support plate on the band clamp and the muffler. The band clamp has a force applying mechanism to tighten the sleeve of the band clamp around the muffler and press the support plate against the surface of the muffler. The support plate is substantially longer in the circumferential direction than the mounting arm of the support bracket and thereby provides an extended moment arm to resist rotative motion of the muffler about its longitudinal axis.
Claims12
In combination with a vehicle muffler having a roundish cross-section, a hanger clamp assembly for hanging said muffler from an undercarriage member of a vehicle, said assembly comprising:
- a band clamp having a sleeve portion and a channel portion,
- said sleeve portion being adapted to be conformed to said roundish cross-section of said muffler throughout a substantial part of the circumference of said muffler,
- said channel portion comprising first and second sidewalls extending substantially perpendicularly outward from said sleeve portion and terminating in free ends separated from each other,
- a spline disposed between the sidewalls and having a pair of surfaces which are respectively opposite said pair of sidewalls, at least one of said surfaces of said spline being concave, a pair of bars, one bar being disposed against one sidewall opposite said concave surface of the spline and the other bar being disposed against the other sidewall opposite the other surface of the spline,
- a hanger bracket adapted for attachment to said member and having a mounting arm extending transversely of said sleeve portion and disposed between the outer surface of said muffler and the inner surface of said sleeve portion,
- a support plate disposed between the outer surface of said arm and said inner surface of said sleeve portion, said plate extending in the circumferential direction of said sleeve portion with a length substantially greater that the width of said arm,
- and a force applying means including at least one bolt extending through the bars, sidewalls and spline and being adapted to draw the bars together and force the sidewalls against the respective surfaces of the spline whereby the sleeve portion is drawn into intimate engagement with said muffler,
- and said support plate presses said arm against the surface of said muffler and engages said muffler circumferentially of said arm to thereby resist rotative motion of said muffler about its longitudinal axis.
A hanger clamp assembly for supporting a vehicle muffler form an undercarriage member of a vehicle, the hanger clamp assembly comprising:
- a band clamp having a sleeve portion and first and second end portions, said sleeve portion being generally conformable to the circumference of the muffler and said end portions being configured to be movable towards each other by a fastener to thereby tighten said band clamp about the muffler;
- a hanger bracket attachable to the undercarriage member and having a mounting arm configured to be able to extend transversely of said sleeve portion between the outer surface of the muffler and the inner surface of said sleeve portion when said band clamp and hanger bracket are assembled to support the muffler;
- a support plate having a length that is substantially greater than the width of said mounting arm, said support plate being configured such that, when said band clamp, hanger bracket, and support plate are assembled to support the muffler and said end portions are tightened together by the fastener, said support plate can be disposed between a section of said sleeve portion and said mounting arm in contact with said mounting arm and the muffler to thereby press said mounting arm against the surface of the muffler.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.