Exhaust gas purifying apparatus for internal combustion engine

An exhaust gas purifying apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprising:

• an exhaust passage including a main exhaust passage through which exhaust gas exhausted from the internal combustion engine flows, and a bypass passage branching off from the main exhaust passage at an upstream connecting portion of the main exhaust passage and again merging with the main exhaust passage at a downstream connecting portion downstream of the upstream connecting portion;
• an exhaust gas purifying catalyst that is provided in the main exhaust passage and purifies certain components contained in the exhaust gas;
• an HC absorbent that is provided in the bypass passage and absorbs HC components contained in the exhaust gas;
• an NOx absorbent that is provided in the bypass passage and absorbs NOx components contained in the exhaust gas;
• one or more exhaust switching valves located within the exhaust passage so as to be capable of forming a closed path including the exhaust gas purifying catalyst, the HC absorbent and the NOx absorbent in the exhaust passage;
• and
• an electronic control unit including program logic that, when executed by the electronic control unit, controls the one or more exhaust switching valves so as to form the closed path when separating HC and NOx from, respectively, the HC absorbent and the NOx absorbent.