Patent ID: 7073626

Claim:
A muffler, for an internal combustion engine, the muffler comprising a housing ( 2 ) which is adapted to have a gaseous medium flow therethrough and which has at least one housing chamber ( 3 , 5 ), and the muffler further comprising deflecting elements ( 13 to 16 ) that are adapted and arranged to make the gaseous medium swirl and that are arranged in a fixed manner spaced apart one behind another in the housing chamber along a main axis ( 19 â€²) of the housing, so that the deflecting elements are fixed stationary relative to the housing, wherein each one of the deflecting elements respectively comprises a disk-shaped body ( 17 â€²) having a set of radially extending guiding elements ( 18 ) being guide vanes as well as radially extending slots ( 18 â€²) respectively between the guide vanes, and extends over the clear cross section of the housing ( 2 ), wherein each one of the guide vanes has a free leading edge along one of the slots and a free trailing edge along another of the slots, wherein each one of the slots is respectively formed and bounded between the trailing edge of one of the guide vanes and the leading edge of a next adjacent one of the guide vanes of a respective one of the deflecting elements, and wherein the respective sets of guide vanes of successive adjacent ones of the deflecting elements along the main axis of the housing are respectively alternately oppositely angled at opposite pitch angles so as to be adapted to deflect the flow of the gaseous medium respectively alternately in opposite swirl directions about the main axis ( 19 â€²) of the housing respectively in successive portions of the housing chamber respectively between successive ones of the deflecting elements.