Claims
- 1. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine comprising:
a muffling chamber; a volume of muffling particles disposed within the muffling chamber; an exhaust conduit disposed at least partially within the muffling chamber, adjacent a portion of the muffling particles, and communicating between an internal combustion engine and the muffling chamber so that waste exhaust gases produced by the internal combustion engine are passed into the muffling chamber and through at least a portion of the volume of muffling particles in order to muffle engine sounds propagated by the waste exhaust gases.
- 2. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1, wherein the internal combustion engine is a diesel engine and wherein the engine sounds emitted after being muffled by the muffling particles have a volume less than about 100 db.
- 3. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1, wherein the muffling system results in exhaust system back pressure in a range of about 3 to about 5 inches of water when the diesel engine is running at idle speed.
- 4. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1, wherein the muffling system results in exhaust system back pressure in a range of about 15 to about 30 inches of water when the diesel engine is running at a rate of 2800 RPMs.
- 5. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1, wherein the muffling particles consist essentially of silica, alumina, or a mixture thereof, and wherein the muffling particles also catalytically degrade pollutants found within the waste exhaust gases.
- 6. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 5, wherein the measured level of carbon dioxide within the waste exhaust gases decreases as a result of passing through the muffling chamber.
- 7. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1, wherein the exhaust conduit includes a central pipe having an end disposed within the muffling chamber and a plurality of diffusion tubes connected to and in gaseous communication with the end of the central pipe, each diffusion tube including at least one diffusion hole through which the waste exhaust gases will pass.
- 8. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 7, wherein the plurality of diffusion tubes radiate outwardly in a spoke-like fashion from the end of the central pipe and wherein each diffusion tube includes a plurality of diffusion holes.
- 9. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 8, wherein the plurality of diffusion tubes are submerged within a volume of the muffling particles.
- 10. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 8, wherein the plurality of diffusion tubes are disposed orthogonally with respect to the central pipe and are spaced apart equidistant from each other.
- 11. A system for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 1, wherein the exhaust gases have a temperature of less than about 275° F. within the interior of the muffling chamber.
- 12. A muffling system for use in combination with a diesel engine comprising:
a muffling chamber; a volume of muffling particles disposed within the muffling chamber; an exhaust conduit disposed at least partially within the muffling chamber and in gaseous communication with the diesel engine, the exhaust conduit including at least one opening adjacent a portion of the muffling particles so that waste exhaust gases produced by the internal combustion engine are passed into the muffling chamber and through at least a portion of the volume of muffling particles in order to muffle engine sounds generated by the diesel engine and propagated by the waste exhaust gases.
- 13. A muffling system as defined in claim 12, wherein the muffling system results in exhaust system back pressure in a range of about 15 to about 30 inches of water when the diesel engine is running at a rate of 2800 RPMs.
- 14. A muffling system as defined in claim 12, wherein the muffling particles consist essentially of silica, alumina, or a mixture thereof, wherein the muffling particles also catalytically degrade pollutants found within the waste exhaust gases.
- 15. A muffling system as defined in claim 12, wherein the exhaust conduit includes a central pipe having an end disposed within the muffling chamber and a plurality of diffusion tubes connected to and in gaseous communication with the end of the central pipe, each diffusion tube including at least one diffusion hole through which the waste exhaust gases will pass.
- 16. A muffling system as defined in claim 15, wherein the plurality of diffusion tubes radiate outwardly in a spoke-like fashion from the end of the central pipe and wherein each diffusion tube includes a plurality of diffusion holes.
- 17. A muffling system as defined in claim 16, wherein the plurality of diffusion tubes are submerged within a volume of the muffling particles.
- 18. A muffling system as defined in claim 16, wherein the plurality of diffusion tubes are disposed orthogonally with respect to the central pipe and are spaced apart equidistant from each other.
- 19. A method for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine comprising:
proving a muffling system including a muffling chamber and a volume of muffling particles disposed within the muffling chamber; collecting waste exhaust gases produced by an internal combustion engine; and passing the waste exhaust gases into the muffling chamber and through at least a portion of the volume of muffling particles so as to muffle sounds produced by the internal combustion engine and propagated by the waste exhaust gases.
- 20. A method for muffling the sounds of an internal combustion engine as defined in claim 19, wherein the internal combustion engine is a diesel engine, wherein the muffling particles consist essentially of silica particles, and wherein the silica particles also catalytically degrade waste hydrocarbons found within the waste exhaust gases.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of earlier filed U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/183,088, filed Feb. 15, 2000. For purposes of disclosure, the foregoing provisional application is incorporated herein by specific reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60183088 |
Feb 2000 |
US |