US 2002/0172633 A1Published application

Vehicular atmosphere cleansing system

OwnerGerald S. Koermer, Jeffrey B. Hoke +3inventors

InventorsGerald S. Koermer, Jeffrey B. Hoke, Ronald M. Heck, Terence C. Poles, Edward T. Wolynic

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Abstract

A vehicular atmosphere cleansing system utilizes a regenerative wheel having flow channels extending through the wheel coated with an adsorbant. An atmosphere stream passes through a first position dependent portion of the wheel where VOC's including HC's are adsorbed while a heated atmosphere stream passes through a second position dependent regenerative portion of the wheel whereat VOC's are desorbed. The adsorbant is activated carbon having particles of micropore size adhered to the substrate by a silicone binder producing high adsorption efficiencies while withstanding relatively high regenerative heat temperatures resulting from exhaust gas sensible heat. A hydrocarbon senses HC in the desorbed heated atmosphere stream to rotatively and sequentially index pie shaped, segmented portions of the wheel into the wheel's regenerative region while also functioning as the main component of an OBD device for the system.

Claims59

Dependent claims

1) A system for cleansing the atmosphere, including volatile organic compounds contained therein, drawn into the engine compartment of a vehicle having an internal combustion engine comprising:

a) a heat wheel within the engine compartment of said vehicle having a side defining an entrance face surface and an opposite side defining an exit face surface;
b) said vehicle having a forward vehicular opening through which a stream of atmosphere flows when the vehicle operates, said vehicular opening in fluid communication with a majority of the surface area of said entrance face surface of said heat wheel;
c) a heat inlet duct having an entrance end in fluid communication with said vehicular opening and an exit end adjacent a portion of said entrance face surface of said heat wheel;
d) a heat outlet duct having an entry end adjacent a portion of said exit face surface of said heat wheel and an exiting end in fluid communication with the emissions treating system of said vehicle, said entry end of said heat outlet duct and said exit end of said heat inlet duct generally aligned to be in registry with one another;
e) a heat transfer mechanism in fluid communication with atmosphere flowing within said heat inlet duct for raising the temperature thereof to a set value;
f) a drive for rotating said heat wheel so that at any given time a first position dependent portion of said heat wheel is in fluid communication with a first portion of said atmosphere stream drawn through said vehicular opening whereby said first atmosphere portion passes through the first position dependent portion of said heat wheel and exhausts back to atmosphere while a second position dependent portion of said heat wheel is in fluid communication with a second portion of said atmosphere stream drawn through said vehicular opening into said heated inlet duct whereby said second atmosphere portion is heated by said heat transfer mechanism and exhausted to said heat outlet duct after passing through said second position dependent portion of said heat wheel;
and,
g) said heat wheel having a plurality of channels extending from said entrance face of said heat wheel to said exit face surface thereof, each channel having surfaces coated with an adsorber selected from the group consisting of zeolite, active carbon, carbon molecular sieves, mesapore solids and micropore solids whereby said volatile organic compounds are adsorbed in said first position dependent portion of said wheel and desorbed in said second position dependent portion of said wheel.

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37) A system for cleansing the atmosphere of volatile organic compounds contained therein that is drawn into the engine compartment of a vehicle having an internal combustion engine comprising:

a) a rotatable heat wheel having channels extending therethrough from one side to an opposite side of said heat wheel, said channels coated with an adsorber selected from the group consisting of zeolites, cordierites, active carbons, carbon molecular sieves, mesapore solids and micropore solids;
b) means for directing a stream of atmosphere at engine cabin ambient temperature through a first position dependent portion of said heat wheel on one side of said heat wheel;
c) means for directing a heated stream of atmosphere through a second position dependent portion of said heat wheel;
d) means for directing the heated stream of atmosphere after passing through said heat wheel to an exhaust emission system of said engine, said directing means including a heat outlet duct;
e) means for rotating said heat wheel, and
f) a sensor in said heat outlet duct for determining the presence of hydrocarbon in the heated atmosphere whereby the effectiveness of said heat wheel is determined.

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43) A method for cleansing the atmosphere by a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine comprising the steps of:

a) drawing a first stream of atmosphere into the engine compartment of a vehicle by means of a fan and/or the motion of the vehicle, said first atmosphere steam being at ambient engine cabin temperature;
b) drawing a second stream of atmosphere either separately from said first stream or split from said first stream into said second stream by means of a fan and/or the motion of the vehicle;
c) heating said second atmosphere stream by sensible heat from exhaust gases produced by said engine to temperatures in the range of approximately 150 to 300° C.;
d) providing a heat wheel having channels extending therethrough from one side of said heat wheel to the opposite side of said heat wheel;
said channels having as a coating thereon activated carbon of a micropore porosity, said carbon having a density of at least 0.5 g/in3 and a mean particle size not greater than 25 microns;
e) passing said first stream of atmosphere through channels occupying, at any given time, a first position dependent portion of said heat wheel to adsorb volatile organic compounds contained in said atmosphere;
f) passing said second stream of heated atmosphere through channels occupying, at any given time, a second position dependent portion of said heat wheel to desorb volatile organic compounds contained in said channels;
g) directing said second stream of heated atmosphere with volatile organic compounds desorbed from said wheel to the gaseous emission treating system of said vehicle;
and,
h) rotating said wheel so that before the channels in said first position dependent portion of said heat wheel become saturated with volatile organic compounds they are rotated into a position whereat the channels become channels forming the second position dependent portion of said heat wheel while the desorbed channels formerly forming the second position dependent portion of said heat wheel are rotated into a position whereat the channels become part of the channels forming said first position dependent portion of said heat wheel.

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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.