Sound attenuating air intake systems for marine engines

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9784218-B1
Application number	US-201615172809-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Jun 3, 2016
Priority date	Jun 3, 2016
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

An air intake system for a marine engine has a throttle body and a throttle plate that is rotatably supported within the throttle body. The throttle plate is rotatable to regulate air flow through the throttle body from a first region on a first side of the throttle plate to a second region on a second side of the throttle plate. An air conduit has an air conduit inlet and an air conduit outlet. A noise cancelling device comprises a pass-though chamber. The pass-through chamber has a chamber inlet that receives the air flow from the air conduit, a chamber outlet that discharges the air flow to the idle air control valve, and a pass-through interior between the chamber inlet and chamber outlet. The pass-though chamber is configured to cancel noise emanating from the idle air control valve.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air intake system for a marine engine, the air intake system comprising:
a throttle body;
a throttle plate that is rotatably supported within the throttle body, the throttle plate being rotatable to regulate air flow through the throttle body from a first region on a first side of the throttle plate to a second region on a second side of the throttle plate;
an air conduit that has an air conduit inlet and an air conduit outlet, the air conduit outlet being disposed in fluid communication with the second region, the air conduit inlet being disposed in fluid communication with a location which is at a pressure generally equal to pressure within the first region;
an idle air control valve connected in fluid communication with the air conduit and configured to control rate of the air flow from the inlet to the outlet; and
a noise cancelling device comprising an expansion pass-though chamber, the expansion pass-through chamber having a chamber inlet that receives the air flow from the air conduit, a chamber outlet that discharges the air flow to the idle air control valve, and a walled pass-through interior disposed between the chamber inlet and chamber outlet and sized larger than the chamber inlet such that the walled, pass-though chamber causes noise emanating from the idle air control valve to expand and attenuate prior to emanating from the chamber inlet.

2. The air intake system according to claim 1 , wherein the pass-though interior is a completely open interior.

3. The air intake system according to claim 1 , wherein the chamber inlet extends along an inlet center axis and wherein the chamber outlet extends along an outlet center axis that is parallel to the inlet center axis.

4. The air intake system according to claim 3 , wherein the inlet center axis and outlet center axis are radially spaced apart from each other.

5. The air intake system according to claim 4 , wherein the idle air control valve comprises a valve inlet configured to receive the air flow from the air conduit and wherein the chamber outlet is configured to mate with the valve inlet.

6. The air intake system according to claim 5 , wherein the chamber outlet comprises an outlet sleeve that is sized to mate with the valve inlet in a press-fit.

7. The air intake system according to claim 5 , wherein the chamber inlet comprises an inlet sleeve that is sized to mate with a downstream end of the air conduit in a press-fit.

8. The air intake system according to claim 1 , wherein the noise cancelling device is a modular device that can be attached to and removed from the system.

9. An air intake system for a marine engine, the air intake system comprising:
a throttle body;
a throttle plate that is rotatably supported within the throttle body, the throttle plate being rotatable to regulate air flow through the throttle body from a first region on a first side of the throttle plate to a second region on a second side of the throttle plate;
an air conduit that has an air conduit inlet and an air conduit outlet, the air conduit outlet being disposed in fluid communication with the second region, the air conduit inlet being disposed in fluid communication with a location which is at a pressure generally equal to pressure within the first region;
an idle air control valve connected in fluid communication with the air conduit and configured to control rate of the air flow from the inlet to the outlet; and
a noise cancelling device comprising an expansion pass-though chamber, the expansion pass-through chamber having a chamber inlet that receives the air flow from the air conduit, a chamber outlet that discharges the air flow to the idle air control valve, and a walled pass-through interior disposed between the chamber inlet and chamber outlet and sized larger than the chamber inlet such that the walled pass-though chamber causes noise emanating from the idle air control valve to expand and attenuate prior to emanating from the chamber inlet;
wherein the chamber inlet extends along an inlet center axis and wherein the chamber outlet extends along an outlet center axis that is parallel to the inlet center axis;
wherein the inlet center axis and outlet center axis are radially spaced apart from each other;
wherein the idle air control valve comprises a valve inlet configured to receive the air flow from the air conduit and wherein the chamber outlet is configured to mate with the valve inlet; and
wherein the noise cancelling device is a modular device that can be attached to and removed from the system.

10. An air intake system for a marine engine, the air intake system comprising:
a throttle body;
a throttle plate within the throttle body, the throttle plate being rotatable to regulate air flow through the throttle body from a first region on a first side of the throttle plate to a second region on a second side of the throttle plate;
an air conduit having an air conduit inlet and an air conduit outlet, the air conduit outlet being disposed in fluid communication with the second region, the air conduit inlet being disposed in fluid communication with a location which is at a pressure generally equal to pressure within the first region;
an idle air control valve connected in fluid communication with the air conduit and configured to control rate of the air flow from the inlet to the outlet, wherein the idle air control valve has a body with an idle air control valve inlet that conveys the air flow from the air conduit outlet into the body and an idle air control valve outlet that conveys the air flow out of the body to an intake manifold of the marine engine;
a noise cancelling device comprising a pass-through chamber that is coupled to the idle air control valve inlet, the noise cancelling device comprising an expansion pass-through chamber, the expansion pass-through chamber having a chamber inlet that receives the air flow from the air conduit outlet, a chamber outlet that discharges the air flow to the idle air control valve inlet, and a walled pass through interior disposed between the chamber inlet and the chamber outlet and sized larger than the chamber inlet such that the pass-through chamber causes noise emanating from the idle air control valve to expand and attenuate prior to emanating from the chamber inlet.

Assignees

• Brunswick Corp

Inventors

• Waisanen Andrew S

Classifications

• F02M3/06 Primary

  Increasing idling speed · CPC title

• F02M35/12

  Intake silencers {; Sound modulation, transmission or amplification (intake silencers also used as exhaust silencer F01N13/007; filters for compressors F04B39/16)} · CPC title

• F02M3/12

  Passageway systems · CPC title

• F02M35/1233 Primary

  by using expansion chambers in the air intake flow path · CPC title

• F02M69/32

  with an air by-pass around the air throttle valve or with an auxiliary air passage, e.g. with a variably controlled valve therein · CPC title