Controllable muffler system for internal combustion engine

Details Controllable muffler system for internal combustion engine Controllable muffler system for internal combustion engine

2001-09-12

2004-06-29

Lockett, Kimberly (Department: 2837)

Acoustics

Sound-modifying means

Muffler, fluid conducting type

C181S212000, C181S227000, C181S237000, C181S250000, C181S251000, C181S254000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06755279

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to muffler systems of an automotive engines, and more particularly to the muffler systems of a controllable type that can control its sound muffling or dampening performance in accordance with engine speed or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to clarify the task of the present invention, some known controllable muffler systems of the above-mentioned type will be briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In
FIG. 8
, there is shown one muffler system that is described in Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 4-72408. The system of this publication generally comprises a chamber body
100
A, an inlet pipe (no numeral) led into the chamber body
100
A and two outlet pipes
101
and
102
extending to the outside from the interior of the chamber body
100
A. The outlet pipe
101
is equipped with a control valve
103
that is controlled in accordance with an operation condition (e.g. engine speed) of an associated engine.
In
FIG. 9
, there is shown another known muffler system that is described in Japanese Utility Model First Provisional Publication 4-54917. The system of this publication generally comprises a chamber body
100
B and two inlet pipes
104
and
105
of which upstream ends are mated. The inlet pipe
104
passes through the chamber body
100
B, having small openings thereof exposed to the interior of the chamber body
100
B, while the other inlet pipe
105
is led into a middle position of the chamber body
100
B. The inlet pipe
104
is equipped with a control valve
106
that is controlled in accordance with an operation condition (e.g. engine speed) of an associated engine.
Due to provision of the control valves
103
and
106
, the above-mentioned known muffler systems can exhibit optimum performance in accordance with the engine operation condition. However, increase in cost can not be avoided because of employment of the control valves
103
and
106
which are actuated by complicated electronic control systems.
In
FIG. 10
, there is shown still another known muffler system that is described in Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 10-131738, which can be produced at relatively low cost. The system generally comprises a chamber body
100
C, an inlet pipe, an outlet pipe and an inner pipe
107
. The inner pipe
107
is equipped at its downstream end with an exhaust pressure sensible valve
108
. That is, the valve
108
is controlled to open/close the inner pipe
107
in accordance with a pressure difference created in the chamber body
100
C.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, even the system of
FIG. 10
tends to fail to exhibit at
20
a satisfied performance because of the nature of the exhaust pressure sensible valve
108
. In particular, adjustment of the valve
108
for obtaining a desired muffling performance is difficult.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a controllable muffler system which is free of the above-mentioned drawbacks.
According to the present invention, there is provided a controllable muffler system which can be arranged entirely below a vehicle floor to obtain an optimum controllable muffling performance thereof.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controllable muffler system for use with an engine that produces a power by burning fuel, which comprises a first passage section extending from the engine for having an exhaust gas of the engine flow therethrough, the first passage section having a catalytic converter mounted thereon; a dual passage section including second and third passage sections which extend separately from an end of the first passage section, the second passage having a control valve for controlling the flow rate of the exhaust gas flowing therethrough; a fourth passage section extending from respective ends of the second and third passage sections to the open air, the fourth passage section having a rear muffler mounted thereon; and a control unit which controls the control valve of the second passage section in accordance with an operation condition of the engine.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controllable muffler system for use with an internal combustion engine, which comprises a first passage section extending from the engine for having an exhaust gas of the engine flow therethrough, the first passage section having a catalytic converter and a front muffler mounted thereon; a dual passage section including second and third passage sections which extend separately from an end of the first passage section, the second passage having a control valve for controlling the flow rate of the exhaust gas flowing therethrough; a fourth passage section extending from respective ends of the second and third passage sections to the open air, the fourth passage section having a rear muffler mounted thereon; and a control unit which controls the control valve of the second passage section in accordance with an operation condition of the engine.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3317001 (1967-05-01), Powers et al.
patent: 5014817 (1991-05-01), Takato et al.
patent: 5355973 (1994-10-01), Wagner et al.
patent: 6167699 (2001-01-01), Johnston et al.
patent: 4-72408 (1992-03-01), None
patent: 4-54917 (1992-05-01), None
patent: 454917 (1992-05-01), None
patent: 7-91246 (1995-04-01), None
patent: 9-79051 (1997-03-01), None
patent: 9-228819 (1997-09-01), None
patent: 10-131738 (1998-05-01), None

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