Exhaust valve assembly

An exhaust valve assembly for use in an exhaust system for directing a flow of an exhaust gas generated by an engine, said assembly comprising:

• a first piece having a first body region and a first auxiliary region coupled to said first body region with at least one of said first body and auxiliary regions defining first edges;
• a second piece having a second body region and a second auxiliary region coupled to said second body region with at least one of said second body and auxiliary regions defining second edges;
• said first and second pieces being joined to one another along said edges to form a housing comprising a body region and an auxiliary region with said body region defining a longitudinal axis and an area with a flow path extending along said axis for the flow of the exhaust gas within said area along said axis and said body region defining an opening, and said auxiliary region forming at least one wall defining a space outside of said area of said body region and outside of said flow path such that the flow of the exhaust gas is unaltered by said wall, with said space being in communication with said area through said opening;
• a shaft coupled to said wall of said auxiliary region;
• and
• a vane coupled to said shaft and moveable between an open position with said vane disposed entirely within said auxiliary region such that the flow of the exhaust gas is unaltered by said vane and a closed position with at least a portion of said vane disposed in said area intersecting said axis and intersecting said flow path such that the flow of the exhaust gas is obstructed by said vane.

A method of manufacturing an exhaust valve assembly for use in an exhaust system for directing a flow of an exhaust gas generated by an engine, said method comprising the steps of:

• forming a first piece having a first body region and a first auxiliary region coupled to said first body region with at least one of said first body and auxiliary regions defining first edges;
• forming a second piece having a second body region and a second auxiliary region coupled to said second body region with at least one of said second body and auxiliary regions defining second edges;
• coupling a first portion of a vane assembly to the first auxiliary region;
• and
• joining the first and second pieces together to form a housing comprising a body region and an auxiliary region with the body region defining a longitudinal axis and an area with a flow path extending along the axis for the flow of the exhaust gas within the area along the axis and the body region defining an opening, and the auxiliary region forming at least one wall defining a space outside of the area of the body region and outside of the flow path such that the flow of the exhaust gas is unaltered by the wall, with the space being in communication with the area through the opening.