Abstract:
A submuffler for a vehicle muffler system which comprises a housing, a pressure-reducing conduit disposed within said housing, said pressure-reducing conduit containing a plurality of apertures disposed on the surface thereof, an eddy-generating member disposed within the pressure-reducing conduit along a substantial length thereof, and pipe means connected to an inlet side and an exit side of the housing for introducing exhaust gas thereto and exiting exhaust gas therefrom.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field Of The Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to an improved vehicle muffler system and more particularly to a submuffler combined with a muffler device for use in a vehicle for reinforcing the power of a vehicle engine, whereby the vehicle muffler system increases the exhaust speed of the exhaust gas which is exhausted from the vehicle engine.  
           [0003]    2. Description Of Related Art  
           [0004]    Various types of vehicle mufflers systems are known in the art. Generally, the vehicle is driven by a driving power generated from revolutional movement which is converted from vertical movement utilizing a connecting rod, a crankcase, spark ignition and expansion after the compression of the fuel-air mixture.  
           [0005]    As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional vehicle muffler system includes an exhaust manifold  60  operatively connected to a vehicle engine  50  for collecting the combusted exhaust gas. Thereafter, the exhaust gas is transferred through a catalytic converter  70  for reducing the carbon monoxide, the carbohydrate and the nitroxylate using the catalyst in the catalytic converter. The reduced exhaust gas flows into a submuffler  80  for reducing the pressure of the exhaust gas within an open space and then the combustion exhaust gas flows through a plurality of nets or sieves in the main muffler  90  so as to reduce the pressure of the exhaust gas to atmospheric pressure.  
           [0006]    However, as the exhaust gas from the exhaust gas manifold  60  and the converter  70  flows through the submuffler  80 , it operates to reset the flow and pressure of the exhaust gas, whereby a reduction in the power of the vehicle engine  50  is produced. In addition, the conventional submuffler  80  frequently wears out due to oxidation and rust. Therefore, upon exhausting the combustion exhaust gas through the main muffler  90 , the ratio of noise generation and harmful smoke exhaust is increased producing a muffler system which pollutes and contaminates the environment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved vehicle muffler system which eliminates the above problems encountered with conventional vehicle muffler systems.  
           [0008]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a submuffler device for a muffler system used in vehicles for rapidly exhausting the combustion exhaust gas so as to reduce air pressure in the exhaust tube thereof, whereby the submuffler device draws in a large amount of air which is completely combusted for eliminating and reducing air pollution.  
           [0009]    A further object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle muffler system which includes a submuffler disposed between the catalytic converter and the main muffler of the vehicle muffler system, the submuffler containing a housing, an insulating material disposed within the housing, a tubular member inserted into the insulating material, a pressure-reducing member containing a plurality of apertures disposed within the tubular member, an eddy-generating member disposed within the pressure-reducing member, a pair of caps connected to both sides of the housing and a resonator disposed between the inside of the tubular member and the outside of the pressure-reducing member.  
           [0010]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle muffler system which is simple in structure, inexpensive to manufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.  
           [0011]    Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.  
           [0012]    Briefly described, the present invention is directed to a vehicle muffler system which includes a submuffler containing an eddy-generating member for effectively exhausting exhaust gas which translates to stronger vehicle engine power. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional vehicle muffler system;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle submuffler utilized in the present invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a perspective cutaway portion of the submuffler of FIG. 2 illustrating the construction thereof;  
         [0017]    FIG.. 4  is a sectional view of the submuffler of the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7; and  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the eddy-generating member of the submuffler of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0023]    Referring now in detail to the drawings for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the vehicle muffler system as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and  4  comprises a submuffler  1  connected to a catalyst converter  70  and a main muffler  90  (FIG. 1) through a pipe  7 .  
         [0024]    As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and  4 , the submuffler includes a housing  2  having a pair of caps  8  disposed at both ends thereof, an insulating material disposed within the housing  2 , a tubular member  3  inserted into the insulating material, a pressure-reducing pipe  4  containing a plurality of apertures  9  disposed within the tubular member, an eddy-generating member  6  disposed within the pressure-reducing pipe  4  and a resonator zone  10  disposed between an outer surface of the pressure-reducing pipe  4  and the inner surface of the tubular member  3 .  
         [0025]    The housing  2  has a pair of horizontal surfaces on the top and bottom thereof, respectively. Therefore, the pair of caps  8  has an elliptical configuration. A connecting pipe  7  connects the catalyst converter  70  to the main muffler  90  (FIG. 1). Alternatively, the cap  8  can have a circular configuration.  
         [0026]    The apertures  9  of the tubular member  3  can have many types of configuration, for example, a cylindrical configuration or a polygonal configuration for preventing particles from migrating from the insulating material into the pressure-reducing pipe  4  as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 6. Also, the tubular member  3  can have a net-type tubular construction.  
         [0027]    The pressure-reducing pipe  4  has the plurality of apertures disposed therein for freely communicating air therethrough. Therefore, if the pressure of the exhaust gas therein is high, the exhaust gas flows into the resonator  10  so that pressure of the exhaust gas therein can be reduced. On the contrary, if the pressure of the exhaust-gas disposed in the pressure-reducing pipe  4  is too low, the exhaust gas in the resonator  10  will flow into the pressure-reducing pipe  4 , so that the pressure of the pressure-reducing pipe  4  can be controlled to a constant pressure therein which reduces noise.  
         [0028]    Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and  4 , the insulating material  5  has an elongated opening  5 a for receiving the tubular member  3 . The insulating material can be, for example, glass fiber or asbestos for preventing the conduction of heat of the exhaust gas travelling through the pressure-reducing pipe  4  to the outside of the housing  2  and from transmitting noise to the outside of the housing  2 .  
         [0029]    The eddy-generating member  6 , due to its configuration, changes the directional flow of the exhaust gas and increases the speed thereof. Thus, the eddy-generating member  6  can have a zig-zag configuration, a serpentine configuration, including one with a plurality of parallel fins, a screw thread configuration, and the like. The eddy-generating member causes the exhaust gas to swirl which increases the exhausting ratio of the exhaust gas which reduces the pressure of the exhaust pipe. The eddy-generating member  6  can be made of stainless steel.  
         [0030]    Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention operates as follows. As shown in FIG. 1, the combustion gas from the vehicle engine  50  collects in the manifold  60 . Thereafter, the collected combustion gas travels through the catalyst converter  70  where the combustion gas is reduced. The reduced gas, that is, the exhaust gas is introduced through the pressure-reducing pipe  4  for transmitting the exhaust gas to the resonator  10  through the plurality of apertures  9  so as to reduce the pressure and noise of the exhaust gas within the pressure-reducing member  4  when the pressure and noise of the exhaust gas are too high. On the other hand, when the pressure of the exhaust gas is low, the exhaust gas in the resonator  10  transmits gas into the pressure-reducing member  4  through the plurality of apertures  9 .  
         [0031]    The eddy-generating member  6  also increases the air flow ratio so as to increase the exhausting efficiency of the exhaust gas. Therefore, the combustion gas can be exhausted quickly from the vehicle engine  50  to the manifold  60 , enhancing the combustion of the air-fuel mixture. As a result of the complete combustion of the air-fuel mixture, the power of the vehicle engine  50  is increased as compared to vehicles using a conventional muffler system.  
         [0032]    The present invention will now be described in more detail in connection with the following examples which should be considered as being exemplary and not limiting the present invention.  
       EXAMPLE 1  
     Conventional Vehicle Muffler System  
       [0033]    A vehicle is driven using a conventional vehicle muffler system to test the changing ratios (Cm) of the pedal, the rotation number (rpm) and the fuel expense (Km/l) as shown in Table 1.  
                                     TABLE 1                       Changing Ratio               of Pedal (Cm)   Rotation Number (rpm)   Fuel Expense (Km/l)                                0.5   1000-1400   8.25       1.0   1400-1800   9.5       1.5   1800-2000   10.0       2.0   2000-2400   11.9       2.5   2400-2800   8.5       3.0   2800-3200   7.0       3.5   3200-4000   6.0                  
 
         [0034]    Thus, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to a depth of 0.5 Cm, the number of rotations increases to 1400 rpm and gradually increases according to the depth of the pedal depression. When the accelerator pedal moves to a depth of 1.5-2.0 Cm, the fuel expense increases to a maximum of 10.0 ˜11.9 Km/l. when exceeding 2.5 Cm of accelerator pedal compression, the fuel expense decreases.  
       EXAMPLE 2  
       [0035]    A vehicle having the vehicle system of the present invention is driven to test changing ratios (Cm) of the pedal, rotation number (rpm) and fuel expense (Km/l) as shown in Table 2.  
                                     TABLE 2                       Changing Ratio               of Pedal (Cm)   Rotation Number (rpm)   Fuel Expense (Km/l)                                0.2   1000-1400   8.25       0.5   1400-1800   9.5       0.8   1800-2000   10.0       1.1   2000-2400   11.9       1.4   2400-2800   8.5       1.8   2800-3200   7.0       2.2   3200-4000   6.0                  
 
         [0036]    When the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to a depth of 0.3 Cm, the number of rotations increases to 1400 rpm and gradually, further increases according to the depth of the pedal. When the accelerator pedal moves to a depth of 0.8 ˜1.1 Cm, the fuel expense increases to 11.9 Km/l.  
         [0037]    As shown in Tables 1 and 2, in the conventional muffler system, the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to a depth of 1.0 Cm to produce a speed of 80 ˜90 Km/h. However, in the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention, the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to a depth of 0.5 Cm to produce a speed of 80 ˜90 Km/h. Accordingly, the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention provides a substantial savings in fuel consumption while achieving strong engine power.  
         [0038]    Referring to FIG. 5, the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention shows a second embodiment wherein the submuffler does not include an insulating material which achieves the benefits of a light-weight product and reduced manufacturing costs.  
         [0039]    Referring to FIG. 6, the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention shows a third embodiment which does not include the use of a resonator  10 .  
         [0040]    [0040]FIGS. 7, 8 and  9  of the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention show the use of another type of eddy-generating member  4   a  for accelerating the swirl of air flow of the exhaust gas. The eddy-generating member  4   a  contains an axial rod  20  and a plurality of spiral vanes or fins  21  for producing a vigorous swirling action so as to exhaust the exhaust gas strongly and quickly.  
         [0041]    Accordingly, the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention has the following advantages. First of all, the output of the vehicle engine  50  is increased since the exhaust gas can be exhausted quickly due to swirl of the exhaust gas and low pressure of the exhaust gas when the exhaust gas goes through the submuffler  1  of the present invention. Secondly, a vehicle having the vehicle muffler system of the present invention can provide increased safety since a vehicle can pass other cars and climb hills easily and quickly due to a strong engine performance with a corresponding savings in fuel when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to a depth of 0.5 Cm. Thirdly, the vehicle muffler system according to the present invention increases the exhaust efficiency ratio of the exhaust gas, whereby the air-fuel mixture achieves complete combustion, thereby reducing air pollution.  
         [0042]    The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included in the scope of the following claims.