Claims
- 1. An exhaust muffler for mounting in proximity to a structure on a vehicle having a convex shape, said muffler comprising:
- a plurality of plates secured in face-to-face relationship, said plates comprising peripheral edges and being formed to define at least one inlet, at least one outlet and at least one tube extending therebetween; and
- an external shell having peripheral edges secured generally in register with the peripheral edges of said plates, portions of said external shell intermediate said peripheral edges being formed to define at least on chamber in communication with said tube, portions of said peripheral edges of said external shell and said plates defining a generally concave conformal area having a shape conforming to at least a portion of said convex shape of said structure, said conformal area being configured such that at least one line connecting spaced apart locations on the peripheral edges of said conformal area passes through said structure when said muffler is mounted to said vehicle.
- 2. A muffler as in claim 1 wherein the peripheral edges of said generally concave conformal area are of generally arcuate configuration.
- 3. A muffler as in claim 1 wherein the peripheral edges of said conformal area are configured to be approximately uniformly spaced from said structure of said vehicle by a distance approximately equally to a minimum acceptable clearance between said structure and said muffler to define an interference zone between said structure and said muffler.
- 4. A muffler as in claim 1 wherein the concave conformal area defines a first concave conformal area, said muffler further comprising at least a second concave conformal area configured to conform to a second generally convex structure on the vehicle such that a line connecting spaced apart locations on said second concave conformal area passes through the second structure on the vehicle.
- 5. A muffler as in claim 4 wherein the second concave conformal area is spaced from the peripheral edges.
- 6. A muffler as in claim 5 wherein the second concave conformal area is defined by portions of the peripheral edges spaced from the portions of the peripheral edges defining the first concave conformal area.
- 7. An exhaust muffler as in claim 1 wherein portions of the peripheral edges defining the conformal area are generally planar.
- 8. An exhaust muffler for mounting in proximity to a generally arcuate structure on a vehicle having a generally convex arcuate shape, said muffler comprising:
- a pair of plates secured in face-to-face relationship, said plates comprising peripheral edges and being formed to define at least one inlet, at least one outlet and at least one tube extending therebetween; and
- at least one external shell having peripheral edges secured generally in register with the peripheral edges of said plates, portions of said external shell intermediate said peripheral edges being formed to define at least one chamber in communication with said tube, portions of the peripheral edges of said external shell and of said plates defining an inwardly concave arcuate conformal area having a shape generally conforming to the shape of at least a portion of said arcuate structure of said vehicle and spaced therefrom to define an interference zone between said arcuate structure and said muffler such that chordal lines extending between selected points on said concave conformal area of said peripheral edges of said external shell and said plates pass through said interference zone when said muffler is mounted to said vehicle.
- 9. A muffler as in claim 8 wherein selected ones of said chordal lines extend through said arcuate structure.
- 10. A muffler as in claim 8 wherein the concave conformal area defines a first concave conformal area, said muffler further comprising at least a second concave conformal area configured to conform to at least a second generally convex arcuate structure on the vehicle and spaced therefrom to define at least a second interference zone, such that lines extending between spaced apart locations on the second conformal area passes through the second interference zone.
- 11. A muffler as in claim 10 comprising second and third concave conformal areas.
- 12. A muffler as in claim 10 wherein said second concave conformal area is defined by portions of the peripheral edges of said muffler spaced from portions of the peripheral edges defining the first conformal area.
- 13. An exhaust muffler as in claim 8 wherein portions of the peripheral edges defining the conformal area are generally planar.
- 14. An exhaust muffler for mounting on the underside of a vehicle and in proximity to a spare tire well of said vehicle, said spare tire well comprising at least one portion defining an outwardly directed arcuate shape, said muffler comprising:
- a pair of plates secured in juxtaposed relationship, said plates comprising peripheral edges and being formed to define at least one inlet, at least one outlet and at least one tube extending therebetween; and
- at least one external shell having peripheral edges secured generally in register with the peripheral edges of at least one of said plates, said external shell being formed to comprise at least one chamber, said peripheral edges of said external shell and said internal plates being formed to define an inwardly directed conformal area substantially conforming to the shape of the outwardly directed arcuate portion of said spare tire well.
- 15. An exhaust muffler as in claim 14 wherein said vehicle further comprises a structure spaced from the spare tire well and having a generally convex shape, said external shell comprising a second conformal area conforming to the convex shape of said structure, such that a line connecting spaced apart locations on said second conformal area passes through the structure of said vehicle.
- 16. An exhaust muffler for mounting in proximity to first and second structures on a vehicle having convex shapes, said muffler comprising:
- an array of tubes comprising at least one inlet and at least one outlet for said muffler; and
- a pair of external shells having peripheral edges and being secured to one another at said peripheral edges and around said array of tubes, portions of said peripheral edges comprising a first generally concave conformal area conforming to the convex shape of at least a portion of the first structure, said muffler further comprising a second concave conformal area conforming to the convex shape of the second structure, whereby said conformal areas can be disposed in generally nested relationship to said structures when said muffler is mounted to said vehicle.
- 17. A muffler as in claim 16 wherein said first conformal area is of generally arcuate concave configuration.
- 18. A muffler as in claim 16 wherein said first conformal area is configured to be approximately uniformly spaced from said first structure when said muffler is mounted on said vehicle.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 146,032 which was filed on Jan. 20, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,840.
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59-155528 |
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JPX |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
146032 |
Jan 1988 |
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