Catalytic muffler

Claim 1

A CATALYTIC MUFFLER FOR TREATING EXHAUST INGREDIENTS PRODUCED BY AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE WHICH COMPRISES AN ELONGATED, GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL CASE HAVING A FRONT END, A REAR END, A TOP WALL, A BOTTOM WALL AND A PAIR OF SIDE WALLS, THE DEPTH OF THE CASE BETWEEN THE TOP WALL AND BOTTOM WALL BEING MATERIALLY LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE CASE BETWEEN THE SIDE WALLS WHEREBY THE CASE HAS A FLATTENED OVAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE, A PERFORATE INLET PLENUM TUBE IN SAID CASE CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID FRONT END OF THE CASE ADAPTED TO RECEIVE EXHAUST INGREDIENTS FLOWING FROM THE ENGINE INTO SAID CATALYTIC MUFFLER THROUGH AN OPENING IN SAID FRONT END OF THE CASE, A PERFORATE OUTLET PLENUM TUBE IN SAID CASE CONNECTED AT ONE END TO SAID REAR END OF THE CASE AND FROM WHICH TREATED EXHAUST INGREDIENTS FLOW FROM SAID CATALYTIC MUFFLER THROUGH AN OPENING IN SAID REAR END OF THE CASE, AN IMPERFORATE BAFFLE GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED IN THE CASE BETWEEN SAID PLENUM TUBES, SAID PLENUM TUBES BEING GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY ORIENTED AND DISPOSED IN GENERALLY PARALLEL, VERTICALLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP, ONE OVER THE OTHER, WITH ONE TUBE ABOVE THE BAFFLE AND THE OTHER BELOW THE BAFFLE, SAID PLENUM TUBES AND BAFFLE BEING GENERALLY COEXTENSIVE IN LENGTH WITH THE CASE WITH THE WIDTH OF THE BAFFLE BEING GREATER THAN THE HORIZONTAL WIDTH OF SAID TUBES, AND THE INLET PLENUM TUBE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY TAPERED FROM THE FRONT END TO THE REAR END WITH THE NARROW END OF THE INLET PLENUM TUBE BEING THE REAR END SO AS TO REDUCE THE TENDENCY OF THE EXHAUST INGREDIENTS TO CONCENTRATE TOWARD THE REAR END OF THE INLET PLENUM TUBE, AND A BED OF CATALYST MATERIAL SUBSTANTIALLY FILLING THE CASE AND ENCOMPASSING SUBSTANTIALLY ALL SURFACES OF SAID PLENUM TUBES EXPOXED IN THE CASE AND SAID BAFFLE, SAID PLENUM TUBES BEING IMPERVIOUS TO THE PASSAGE OF SAID CATALYST MATERIAL THEREINTO BUT THE PERFORATIONS IN SAID TUBES PERMITTING EXHAUST INGREDIENTS TO FLOW FROM SAID INLET PLENUM TUBE THROUGH SAID CATALYST MATERIAL INTO SAID OUTLET PLENUM TUBE, SAID BAFFLE PREVENTING THE EXHAUST INGREDIENTS FROM FLOWING DIRECTLY FROM THE INLET PLENUM TUBE TO THE OUTLET PLENUM TUBE AND DIRECTING THE EXHAUST INGREDIENTS ALONG AN EXTENDED FLOW PATH THROUGH THE CATALYST MATERIAL, ONE OF THE PLENUM TUBES EXTENDING VERTICALLY ALONG ITS LENGTH FROM PROXIMATE THE BAFFLE TO PROXIMATE THE TOP WALL OF THE CASE AND THE OTHER PLENUM TUBE EXTENDING VERTICALLY ALONG ITS LENGTH FROM PROXIMATE THE BAFFLE TO PROXIMATE THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE CASE, EACH PLENUM TUBE HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM HEIGHT ALONG ITS LENGTH, AND THE TAPER OF SAID INLET PLENUM TUBE BEING PROVIDED BY A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY VARYING WIDTH THEREOF, WHEREBY SAID CASE IS VERTICALLY PARTITIONED TO PROVIDE A PAIR OF SPACED COMPARTMENTS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID PLENUM TUBES IN WHICH THE CATALYST MATERIAL IS DISPOSED.