Patent ID: 6840746

Claim:
An acoustic muffler, comprising: a muffler housing positioned within a compressor housing of a reciprocating refrigerant compressor; an intake tube at a first end of the muffler housing for receiving a flow of refrigerant fluid; an exhaust tube at a second end opposed of the muffler housing to exhaust the flow of refrigerant fluid; an acoustic foam assembly positioned within the muffler housing adjacent to but outside the primary flow of the fluid, the foam assembly being chemically inert to compressor fluids, the acoustic foam assembly characterized by its ability to attenuate sound over a broad range of sound frequencies, even when saturated with compressor fluids, and further characterized by stability at high temperatures and fluctuating pressures experienced in normal compressor operation; and wherein the muffler housing and foam assembly are assembled within the compressor as a muffler so that sound generated by the flow of gas into a piston assembly of the compressor does not bypass the muffler, which attenuates noise resulting from compressor operation substantially reducing sound retransmitted to the compressor housing.