Watercraft catalytic exhaust system
AssigneeSanshin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsRyoichi Nakase, Shigeyuki Ozawa, Hiroaki Fujimoto
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Abstract
A number of embodiments of personal watercraft having catalytic exhaust systems for treating and purifying the exhaust gases. In all of the embodiments, the catalyst is positioned and disposed so as to be protected from water. In addition, arrangements are provided for cooling the catalyst, for circulating ventilating air across it, for isolating it from other components such as the fuel tank, and for permitting its flushing with fresh water after operating in a salt water environment.
Claims21
A personal watercraft having a hull defining a rider's area sized to accommodate at least one rider, said hull defining an engine compartment containing an internal combustion engine having at least one exhaust port and an output shaft, a propulsion device carried by said hull and driven by said engine output shaft for propelling said watercraft, an exhaust system for conveying exhaust gases from said engine exhaust port to the atmosphere, and a catalyst in said exhaust system for treating the exhaust gases before discharge to the atmosphere, said catalyst being position within said hull so as to be above the water surface level of the body of water in which the watercraft is operated with the hull floating in a normal upright position and in an inverted position.
A personal watercraft having a hull defining a rider's area sized to accommodate at least one rider, said hull defining an engine compartment containing an internal combustion engine having at least one exhaust port and an output shaft, a propulsion device carried by the hull and driven by the output shaft for propelling the watercraft, and an exhaust system for conveying exhaust gases from said engine to the atmosphere, said exhaust system comprising a catalyzer positioned within an exhaust conduit, a coolant jacket extending along a portion of the exhaust conduit, said catalyzer including a catalyst bed supported by a flange within said conduit, said flange being interposed between first and second conduit sections of said conduit and including at least one passage to permit coolant to flow through said flange from a first segment of the cooling jacket juxtaposing the first conduit section to a second segment of the cooling jacket juxtaposing the second conduit section.
A personal watercraft having a hull defining a rider's area sized to accommodate at least one rider, said hull defining an engine compartment containing an internal combustion engine having at least one exhaust port and an output shaft, a propulsion device carried by said hull and driven by said engine output shaft for propelling said watercraft, and an exhaust system for conveying exhaust gases from said engine exhaust port to the atmosphere, said exhaust system comprising first and second exhaust pipes interconnected by a flexible pipe section, said first exhaust pipe connected to the engine exhaust port and the second exhaust pipe supporting a catalyzer.
A personal watercraft having a hull defining a rider's area sized to accommodate at least one rider, said hull having a longitudinal axis and defining an engine compartment containing an internal combustion engine having at least one exhaust port and an output shaft, a propulsion device carried by said hull and driven by said engine output shaft for propelling said watercraft, an exhaust system for conveying exhaust gases from said engine exhaust port to the atmosphere, and a catalyzer positioned within an exhaust pipe of said exhaust system which extends generally transverse to said longitudinal axis of said hull.
A personal watercraft having a hull defining a rider's area sized to accommodate. at least one rider, said hull having a longitudinal axis and defining an engine compartment containing an internal combustion engine having at least one exhaust port and an output shaft, an induction system for the engine, the induction system having an air inlet, a propulsion device carried by said hull and driven by said engine output shaft for propelling said watercraft, an exhaust system for conveying exhaust gases from said engine exhaust port to the atmosphere, a catalyzer in said exhaust system for treating the exhaust gases before discharge to the atmosphere, and at least first and second air ducts, said ducts and said induction system air inlet aligned along a common line with said induction system air inlet positioned between said first and second ducts, said catalyzer being positioned near said induction system air inlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.