Exhaust heating system to reduce engine cold start emissions
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorXiaogang Zhang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An aftertreatment device of a vehicle exhaust system includes an aftertreatment device. The aftertreatment device includes a body defining an inlet cone, an outlet cone, and a cavity therebetween. A heating element is disposed in the cavity. A catalyst is disposed in the cavity downstream of the heating element. A recirculation loop has a conduit with a first end connected to the outlet cone and a second end connected to the inlet cone. The recirculation loop further has an air-circulation device configured to recirculate heated air from the outlet cone to the inlet cone.
Claims20
An aftertreatment device of a vehicle exhaust system, the aftertreatment device comprising:
- a body defining an inlet cone, an outlet cone, and a cavity therebetween;
- a heating element disposed in the cavity;
- a catalyst disposed in the cavity downstream of the heating element;
- a recirculation loop including conduit having a first end connected to the outlet cone and a second end connected to the inlet cone and including an air-circulation device configured to recirculate heated air from the outlet cone to the inlet cone;
- and
- a controller programmed to, in response to a request to start an engine and a temperature of the catalyst being less than a threshold, inhibit starting of the engine and energize the heating element to heat the catalyst with the heating element while the engine is OFF.
An engine exhaust system comprising:
- an aftertreatment device including a heating element and a catalyst disposed downstream of the heating element;
- a recirculation loop associated with the aftertreatment device and including an air-circulation device and conduit configured to circulate air from downstream of the catalyst to upstream of the heating element;
- and
- a controller programmed to, in response to a request to start an engine and a temperature of the catalyst being less than a threshold, inhibit starting of the engine and energize the heating element and the air-circulation device to heat the catalyst with the heating element while the engine is OFF.
A method of heating an aftertreatment device of a hybrid vehicle, the method comprising:
- inhibiting starting of an engine when a catalyst of an aftertreatment device is less than a threshold temperature;
- heating the catalyst while the engine is OFF by activating a heating element disposed within the aftertreatment device and by activating an air-circulation device that is configured to circulate air from an outlet cone of the aftertreatment device to an inlet cone of the aftertreatment device;
- and
- starting the engine when the catalyst exceeds the threshold temperature.
The method 16 further comprising receiving temperature data indicative of a measured temperature of the catalyst from a temperature sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.