Catalytic muffler

Claim 1

A CATALYTIC MUFFLER FOR OXIDIZING HYDROCARBON COMBUSTION EXHAUST GASES COMPRISING A CYLINDRICAL HOUSING HAVING AN INLET END AND AN OUTLET END, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CYLINDRICAL TUBE CENTRALLY POSITIONED WITHIN SAID HOUSING BETWEEN SAID INLET END AND SAID OUTLET END AND EXTENDING FROM SAID INLET END, THAT PORTION OF SAID TUBE WITHIN SAID HOUSING BEING PERFORATED, A CAPPING ELEMENT FOR SAID TUBE ADJACENT SAID OUTLET END, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING PERFORATED CYLINDRICAL SLEEVE WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND SURROUNDING SAID TUBE, SAID SLEEVE HAVING A CROSSSECTION GREATER THAN THAT OF SAID TUBE BUT LESS THAN THAT OF SAID HOUSING, CATALYST PARTICLES FOR OXIDIZING SAID HYDROCARBON COMBUSTION EXHAUST GASES DISPOSED WITHIN THE ZONE DEFINED BY SAID TUBE AND SAID SLEEVE, A PLATE LIKE RETAINING MEMBER TRANSVERSELY SITUATED BETWEEN SAID TUBE AND SAID SLEEVE ADJACENT TO SAID OUTLET END OF SAID HOUSING, THE AREA BETWEEN THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID SLEEVE AND THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID HOUSNG DEFINING A ZONE FOR CATALYTICALLY OXIDIZED EXHAUST GASES TO BE CARRIED TO THE OUTLET END OF SAID HOUSING, A MOVEABLE DISK POSITIONED WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND ADJACENT TO THE INLET END OF SAID HOUSING SAID DISK BEING SLIDEABLY FITTED FOR LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OVER SAID TUBE, AND INNER SURFACE OF SAID DISK DISPOSED TO BE IN CONTACT WITH CATALYST PARTICLES IN SAID CATALYST ZONE AND YIELDABLE MEANS CONTACTING SAID SLIDEABLY MOUNTED DISK WHEREBY A FORCE IS CREATED BY SAID MEANS AGAINST SAID CATALYST PARTICLES SO AS TO MAINTAIN SAID ZONE FREE OF VOIDS.