Back to results
US 5,702,276 AGranted
Watercraft catalytic exhaust system
AssigneeSanshin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsRyoichi Nakase, Shigeyuki Ozawa, Hiroaki Fujimoto, Takehisa Suzuki
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeSanshin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsRyoichi Nakase, Shigeyuki Ozawa, Hiroaki Fujimoto, Takehisa Suzuki
Estimating the term…
A number of embodiments of a personal watercraft are disclosed which have a catalytic exhaust system for treating and purifying 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 discharging at least a portion of coolant upstream of 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.
A personal watercraft comprising 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, an exhaust system communicating with said engine exhaust port and delivering exhaust gases to the atmosphere, a cooling jacket juxtaposing at least a portion of said exhaust system and communicating with a cooling system of said engine such that coolant flows between said engine cooling system and said cooling jacket, and a catalyzer in said exhaust system having a catalyst bed which treats the exhaust gases before discharge to the atmosphere, said cooling jacket communicating with a first outlet port positioned upstream of said catalyzer such that at least a portion of coolant flow through said cooling jacket flows through said first outlet port.
A personal watercraft having a hull defining a rider's area sized to accommodate at least one rider, said hull defining an engine compartment between a plurality of floatations, said 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 communicating with said engine exhaust port to convey exhaust gases to the atmosphere, and a catalyst in said exhaust system to treat the exhaust gases before discharge, at least an upper portion of said catalyst being position within said hull so as to be above a water level with said engine compartment generally filled with water from the body of water in which the watercraft is operated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.