Methods and systems for filling a muffler body with a fibrous material prior to completing assembly of the muffler body are disclosed. The muffler body is composed of two half shells and the fibrous material is injected between the shells by a filling nozzle.

Systems for and methods of evacuating air from a muffler while it is being filled with a fibrous material are disclosed.

There is provided a method for filling a silencer with glass fiber, for filling an internal space between a case and an inner pipe with glass fiber in a silencer in which a porous inner pipe penetrates through a pair of through holes in the case, the method including shifting the inner pipe in a penetrating direction from a normal position where the inner pipe is secured to the case, inserting a nozzle auxiliary portion into an interior of the case from a through hole opened by the inner pipe being shifted, supplying glass fiber into the interior of the case from a nozzle of a glass fiber supply machine connected to the nozzle auxiliary portion, and filling the internal space between the case and the inner pipe with glass fiber.

A method for manufacturing a vehicle muffler includes: forming a tubular body (6; 91, 92) from a nonwoven fabric (2; 2A, 2B) composed of inorganic fibers (11) each being in a filament form; inserting and installing the tubular body (6) as a sound-absorbing material into a space (S) between an inner pipe (72; 81) and an outer pipe (71; 821, 822) of an inner-outer double pipe constituting a vehicle muffler. The tubular body (6) may be obtained by applying a binder (3) to one surface (2a) of the nonwoven fabric (2), then rolling the nonwoven fabric (2) into a tubular shape with the surface (2a) having the binder (3) applied thereto facing inward, infiltrating additional binder (3) into an outer peripheral surface of the tubular-shaped nonwoven fabric (2), and then heating the tubular-shaped nonwoven fabric (2) to a predetermined temperature to harden the binder (3).

A method for manufacturing a vehicle muffler includes: forming a tubular body (6; 91, 92) from a nonwoven fabric (2; 2A, 2B) composed of inorganic fibers (11) each being in a filament form; inserting and installing the tubular body (6) as a sound-absorbing material into a space (S) between an inner pipe (72; 81) and an outer pipe (71; 821, 822) of an inner-outer double pipe constituting a vehicle muffler. The tubular body (6) may be obtained by applying a binder (3) to one surface (2a) of the nonwoven fabric (2), then rolling the nonwoven fabric (2) into a tubular shape with the surface (2a) having the binder (3) applied thereto facing inward, infiltrating additional binder (3) into an outer peripheral surface of the tubular-shaped nonwoven fabric (2), and then heating the tubular-shaped nonwoven fabric (2) to a predetermined temperature to harden the binder (3).

In the present disclosure is proposed a novel sound attenuating element for, at least in part, providing adequate or preferably improved sound attenuating properties without excessively impeding flow while being susceptible to automated or machine assisted manufacturing or for providing the public with a useful alternative. The novel sound attenuating element is formed at least in part by an assembly of a plurality of components which are successively connected to each other, which each exhibit a curved shape, and which form at least one non-planar ruled surface when assembled.

There is provided a method for filling a silencer with glass fiber, for filling an internal space between a case and an inner pipe with glass fiber in a silencer in which a porous inner pipe penetrates through a pair of through holes in the case, the method including shifting the inner pipe in a penetrating direction from a normal position where the inner pipe is secured to the case, inserting a nozzle auxiliary portion into an interior of the case from a through hole opened by the inner pipe being shifted, supplying glass fiber into the interior of the case from a nozzle of a glass fiber supply machine connected to the nozzle auxiliary portion, and filling the internal space between the case and the inner pipe with glass fiber.

A silencing apparatus is provided with a shell, ventilation pipes communicating with the inside of the shell, insertion holes which are respectively formed in the shell so as to have sizes smaller than surrounding skirt parts and allow the ventilation pipes to be loosely inserted in, and partitions partitioning the inside of the shell. In the silencing apparatus, at least, a sound-absorbing chamber partitioned by the partition and positioned adjacent to the insertion hole is filled with a sound-absorbing fiber material, and a sound-absorbing fiber material filling gap between the insertion hole and the ventilation pipe is closed by an annular closing member. To provide a silencing apparatus allowing a sound-absorbing chamber to be filled with sound-absorbing fiber material without a gap, even in a complicated configuration having the inside of a shell partitioned by a partition.

Systems for and methods of evacuating air from a muffler while it is being filled with a fibrous material are disclosed.

Methods and systems for filling a muffler body with a fibrous material prior to completing assembly of the muffler body are disclosed.