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US 5,961,931 AGranted
Particulate trap
AssigneeSumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
InventorsSyunsuke Ban, Tomohiko Ihara, Yoichi Nagai, Kiyoshi Kobashi, Hiromichi Yanagihara
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AssigneeSumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
InventorsSyunsuke Ban, Tomohiko Ihara, Yoichi Nagai, Kiyoshi Kobashi, Hiromichi Yanagihara
Estimating the term…
A particulate trap for use with a diesel engine is high in particulate trapping capacity and regenerating capacity and low in pressure drop, and yet is compact and inexpensive. This trap has a filter element made up of a plurality of tapered filter members formed from a fabric of heat-resistant metal fibers. The filter members have different diameters from each other and are nested concentrically one inside the other so that the adjacent filter members are positioned inversely. Each filter member is connected at its large-diameter end to the small-diameter end of the immediately outer filter member to alternately close the exhaust inlet and outlet ends of the gaps between the adjacent filter members. The filter element thus formed is mounted in a metal case provided in an exhaust line and used as a particulate trap. With this arrangement, it is possible to increase the particulate trapping area of the filter and the exhaust inlet openings without increasing the size of the entire trap. Such a trap is less likely to suffer pressure drop and is highly durable.
A particulate trap for use with a diesel engine, comprising a filter element disposed in an exhaust line of the diesel engine and having an exhaust inlet end and an exhaust outlet end, said filter element comprising a plurality of tapered tubular filter members made of a nonwoven web of heat-resistant metal fiber each having a first end and a second end, said second end having a greater diameter than said first end, said plurality of tapered tubular filter members being concentrically nested such that adjacent ones of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members taper in opposite directions, said first end of each of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members which has another of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members provided immediately thereinside having the same diameter as said second end of the other of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members provided immediately thereinside, an innermost of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members having said first end thereof closed, and direct connections between said first end of each of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members having another of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members provided immediately thereinside and said second ends of the other of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members provided immediately thereinside such that gaps between adjacent ones of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members are alternately closed at said exhaust inlet end and at said exhaust outlet end;
A particulate trap for use with a diesel engine, comprising a filter element having an exhaust inlet end and an exhaust outlet end, said filter element comprising a plurality of tapered tubular filter members made of a nonwoven web of heat-resistant metal fiber each having a first end and a second end, said second end having a greater diameter than said first end, said plurality of tapered tubular filter members being concentrically nested such that adjacent ones of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members taper in opposite directions, said first end of each of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members which has another of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members provided immediately thereinside having the same diameter as said second end of the other of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members provided immediately thereinside, an innermost of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members having said first end thereof closed, and direct connections between said first end of each of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members having another of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members provided immediately thereinside and said second ends of the other of said plurality of tapered tubular members provided immediately thereinside such that gaps between adjacent ones of said plurality of tapered tubular filter members are alternately closed at said exhaust inlet end and at said exhaust outlet end;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Filters or filtering processes specially modified for separating dispersed particles from gases or vapours: particle separators, e.g. dust…
Metallic material: the material being filamentary or fibrous
Using folded, pleated material: with specific folds, e.g. having different lengths
Characterised by specially adapted filtering structure, e.g. honeycomb, mesh or fibrous: the structure being monolithic, e.g. honeycombs
Term ended 13 Oct 2015 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
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The present invention relates to a particulate trap for trapping and removing particulates such as carbon and other noxious components contained in exhausts from a diesel engine.
Emissions from automotive engines are a leading cause of air pollution. It is therefore extremely important to develop a technique for removing noxious components contained in exhausts.
Exhausts from diesel engines are especially problematic because they contain mainly NOx and carbon particulates. Efforts are now being made to develop a technique for effectively removing such particulates from exhausts.
Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a filter element according to the present invention;
FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the same;
FIGS. 1A and 1B show a filter element for use as a particulate trap embodying the present invention. This filter element 1 comprises a plurality of filter members 2-7 made of a heat-resistant metal. They have each the shape of a truncated cone having large- and small-diameter ends (except the member 2, which is conical and thus has a closed end), and are concentrically and alternately inversely arranged one inside another so that each filter member is joined at its small-diameter end to the large-diameter end of the inner, adjacent filter member. The central filter member 2 may be a truncated conical member like the other filter members. In this case, its small-diameter end has to be closed with a disk-shaped filter member.
By arranging the filter members this way, gaps Gi at one end of the filter element 1 (exhaust inlet end) are closed at the other end (exhaust outlet end), and gaps Go open at the exhaust outlet end are closed at the exhaust inlet end.
The outermost filter member 7 may be provided with a mounting flange 8 at its large-diameter end.