Air Gap-Insulated Muffler

Abstract

A muffler, in particular an end muffler, is provided for an exhaust system in a vehicle. The muffler has a muffler housing that has an exhaust intake pipe via which exhaust flows into the muffler housing as well as an exhaust discharge pipe via which exhaust flows out of the muffler housing. At least part of the muffler housing or the entire muffler housing is surrounded by an outer housing, and an air gap is provided between the muffler housing and the outer housing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A muffler for an exhaust gas system of a vehicle, comprising:
 a muffler housing having an exhaust gas inlet pipe, via which exhaust gas flows into the muffler housing, and an exhaust gas outlet pipe, via which exhaust gas flows out of the muffler housing;   a casing housing surrounding at least part of the muffler housing or an entirety of the muffler housing, wherein   an air gap is provided between the muffler housing and the casing housing.   
     
     
         2 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the casing housing is held spaced apart from the muffler housing by way of spacer elements. 
     
     
         3 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the casing housing is spaced apart from the muffler housing by between 0.3 cm and 2.0 cm 
     
     
         4 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the casing housing is spaced apart from the muffler housing by between 0.8 cm and 1.2 cm. 
     
     
         5 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the casing housing has an inlet for fresh air. 
     
     
         6 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the inlet for fresh air is designed in a funnel or fan-shaped manner or as an air guide blade, and is provided for guiding incident fresh air into the air gap of the casing housing. 
     
     
         7 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a blower which delivers fresh air from the surroundings via the inlet for fresh air into the casing housing.   
     
     
         8 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the casing housing has an air outlet, via which air that is heated by the muffler housing can flow out into the surroundings from the casing housing. 
     
     
         9 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the exhaust gas outlet pipe ends within the casing housing, which results in a suction jet pump effect that delivers heated air out of the air gap via the air outlet into the surroundings. 
     
     
         10 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein
 the casing housing is of tubular design in a region of the exhaust gas outlet pipe and is arranged coaxially with respect to the exhaust gas outlet pipe, and   the exhaust gas outlet pipe ends within a tubular section of the casing housing.   
     
     
         11 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the muffler housing is made of steel or a titanium alloy. 
     
     
         12 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the casing housing is made of steel or a titanium alloy. 
     
     
         13 . The muffler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the muffler is an end muffler of the exhaust gas system. 
     
     
         14 . A vehicle, comprising:
 an internal combustion engine; and   an exhaust gas system having a muffler, the muffler comprising:
 a muffler housing having an exhaust gas inlet pipe, via which exhaust gas flows into the muffler housing, and an exhaust gas outlet pipe, via which exhaust gas flows out of the muffler housing; 
 a casing housing surrounding at least part of the muffler housing or an entirety of the muffler housing, wherein 
 an air gap is provided between the muffler housing and the casing housing. 
   
     
     
         15 . The vehicle as claimed in  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a fan which blows fresh air from the surroundings via an inlet for fresh air into the casing housing.   
     
     
         16 . The vehicle as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the muffler has a longitudinal direction which is parallel to either a transverse direction of the vehicle or a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. 
     
     
         17 . The vehicle as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein the muffler is arranged in either a front car region or a rear car region of the vehicle. 
     
     
         18 . The vehicle as claimed in  claim 14 , wherein
 the muffler is arranged in a lower front car region,   the lower front car region is separated from an upper front car region via a bulkhead, and   the bulkhead is composed completely or partially of a fiber-reinforced plastic material.   
     
     
         19 . The vehicle as claimed in  claim 15 , wherein the fan is arranged in front of the muffler viewed in a driving direction of the vehicle. 
     
     
         20 . The vehicle as claimed in  claim 15 , further comprising:
 an air-refrigerant heat exchanger of a refrigerant circuit of the vehicle, the heat exchanger being arranged in front of the muffler and/or in front of the fan as viewed in a vehicle driving direction of the vehicle.