US5541373A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Active exhaust silencer
Assignee: Digisonix Inc
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Filing: 1994-09-06
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Granted: 1996-07-30
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Expires: 2014-09-06
Abstract
Abstract An active silencer for a vehicle exhaust system that has a low profile so that it can be hung underneath the vehicle in a conventional manner without altering the vehicle. The silencer has a chamber isolated from the exhaust flow in which one or more speakers are mounted side-by-side. The speakers face downwards and share a common tuning chamber within the isolated chamber. The tuning chamber is ported to a mixing chamber where the canceling acoustic waves mix with noise from the exhaust flow before the exhaust noise exits to the atmosphere.
Inventors
- 👤 C. Raymond Cheng
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 07:31
CPC Classifications
F; F01; F01N; F01N1/00; F01N1/06; F01N1/065; G; G10; G10K; G10K11/00; G10K11/16; G10K11/175; G10K11/178; G10K11/1785; G10K11/17857; G10K11/17861; G10K11/1787; G10K11/17879; G10K11/17881; G10K2210/00; G10K2210/10; G10K2210/105; G10K2210/1053; G10K2210/112; G10K2210/128; G10K2210/1282; G10K2210/12822; G10K2210/30; G10K2210/301; G10K2210/3026; G10K2210/3027; G10K2210/3046; G10K2210/321; G10K2210/3219; G10K2210/3227
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
108 words
An active silencer for canceling noise from an exhaust pipe comprising: a chamber having an enclosing wall structure with an outer wall, a front end wall and a rear end wall; a partition separating the chamber into a top volume and a bottom volume, the partition spanning from the front end wall to the rear end wall and having a speaker hole therein; a loudspeaker mounted to the partition through the speaker hole so that a diaphragm of the speaker is in acoustic communication with the bottom volume; and a port from the bottom volume through the front end wall for communicating with noise from the exhaust pipe.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
108 words
An active silencer for canceling noise from an exhaust pipe comprising: a chamber having an enclosing wall structure with an outer wall, a front end wall and a rear end wall; a partition separating the chamber into a top volume and a bottom volume, the partition spanning from the front end wall to the rear end wall and having a speaker hole therein; a loudspeaker mounted to the partition through the speaker hole so that a diaphragm of the speaker is in acoustic communication with the bottom volume; and a port from the bottom volume through the front end wall for communicating with noise from the exhaust pipe.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 wherein the bottom volume is a tuning chamber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
51 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 wherein the partition has a second speaker hole therein, and the active silencer further comprises a second loud-speaker mounted to the partition through the second speaker hole so that a diaphragm of the second speaker is in acoustic communication with the bottom volume.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 3 wherein the bottom volume is a tuning chamber shared by both speakers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 wherein the enclosing wall structure has an outer oval-shaped cylindrical wall, and the front and rear end walls are substantially flat and perpendicular to the outer wall.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
48 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 further comprising a reinforcement flange integral with the outer wall, and extending inwardly from the outer wall around the inner surface of the outer wall, the reinforcement flange being located substantially equal distance between the front and rear end walls.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
37 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 3 further comprising an upper partition flange integral with the partition and extending into the top volume, the upper partition flange being located between the speaker holes in the partition.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
37 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 3 further comprising a lower partition flange integral with the partition and extending into the lower volume, the lower partition flange being located between the speaker holes in the partition.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 wherein the partition has a peripheral edge that is bent and is attached to the enclosing wall structure.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
36 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 further comprising a speaker mounting spacer wherein the speaker is mounted to the partition by fastening a basket of the speaker to the partition with the spacer therebetween.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 10 further comprising a speaker securing ring wherein the speaker is fastened to the partition by fastening the speaker securing ring to the partition with the speaker basket and the spacer therebetween.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 wherein the outer wall has a drain hole in a part of the outer wall that encloses the bottom volume.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 further comprising a mixing chamber having an inlet end that receives the port and the exhaust pipe, and an outlet end that is open to the atmosphere.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 3 further comprising an error microphone located in the mixing chamber.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 further comprising a first microphone located in the port and a second microphone located in the exhaust pipe.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
An active silencer as recited in claim 1 wherein the partition is positioned so that the top volume is larger than the bottom volume.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
108 words
An active silencer for canceling noise from an exhaust pipe comprising: a chamber having an enclosing wall structure with an outer wall, a first end wall and a second end wall; a partition separating the chamber into a first volume and a second volume, the partition spanning from the first end wall to the second end wall and having a speaker hole therein; a loudspeaker mounted to the partition through the speaker hole so that a diaphragm of the speaker is in acoustic communication with the second volume; and a port from the second volume through the first end wall for communicating with noise from the exhaust pipe.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
108 words
An active silencer for canceling noise from an exhaust pipe comprising: a chamber having an enclosing wall structure with an outer wall, a first end wall and a second end wall; a partition separating the chamber into a first volume and a second volume, the partition spanning from the first end wall to the second end wall and having a speaker hole therein; a loudspeaker mounted to the partition through the speaker hole so that a diaphragm of the speaker is in acoustic communication with the second volume; and a port from the second volume through the first end wall for communicating with noise from the exhaust pipe.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-07-30 | 2000-01-29 | 2000-07-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-07-30 | 2004-01-29 | 2004-07-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-07-30 | 2008-01-29 | 2008-07-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |