Ceramic mufflers

Claim 1

AN ALL-CERAMIC NOISE SUPPRESSOR DEVICE COMPRISING (A) A CERAMIC CASING INCLUDING OPPOSITE INLET AND OUTLET END WALLS HAVING INLET AND OUTLET PORTS, RESPECTIVELY, (B) A PLURALITY OF CERAMIC GAS FLOW RESISTIVE ELEMENTS ARRANGED IN A SERIES DEFINING AN IRREGULAR GAS FLOW PATH WITHIN SAID CASING INTERMEDIATE SAID INLET AND OUTLET END WALLS, EACH OF SAID ELEMENTS COMPRISING TWO DIFFERENT PORTIONS, (1) FIRST PORTIONS COMPRISING IMPERFORATE BARRIERS TO GAS FLOW, (2) SECOND PORTIONS COMPRISING OPEN PASSAGE, THIN WALLED HONEYCOMBS, EACH HONEYCOMB HAVING: (A) AN INLET SURFACE AND AN OPPOSED OUTLET SURFACE, (B) A PLURALITY OF UNOBSTRUCTED GAS PASSAGES EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID INLET AND OUTLET SURFACES, THE GAS PASSAGES BEING DEFINED BY THIN WALLS UP TO ABOUT 0.015 INCH THICK, THE CROSSSECTIONAL AREA OF EACH GAS PASSAGE NOT EXCEEDING ABOUT 0.010 SQUARE INCH AND THE AGGREGATE OPEN CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID HONEYCOMB MEASURED IN A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXES OF THE GAS PASSAGES BEING AT LEAST 50 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL CROSS SECTIONAL AREA OF SAID HONEYCOMB, THE INLET SURFACE OF SAID SECOND PORTIONS OF EACH SUCCEEDING ELEMENT ALONG THE GAS FLOW PATH BEING SPACED FROM THE OUTLET SURFACE OF SAID SECOND PORTIONS OF THE PRECEDING ELEMENT, SAID SPACED SURFACES SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TOGETHER WITH SAID FIST PORTIONS TO PROVIDE THE DEFINITION OF THE IRREGULAR GAS FLOW PATH, SAID AGGREGATE OPEN AREA OF EACH ELEMENT BEING NOT LESS THAN THE AREA OF SAID INLET PORT, AND (C) A CERAMIC BOND RIGIDLY POSITIONING SAID ELEMENTS IN SAID CASING.