Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Ngk Insulators, Inc.

Keizo Iwama

Masanobu Miki

Kenji Dosaka

Takeshi Sakuma

Tatsuya Okayama

Masaaki Masuda

Atsuo Kondo

Yasumasa Fujioka

Takashi Egami

Hidetaka Ozawa

Makoto Hattori

Masahiro Tokuda

Yoshiyuki Nakanishi

Yukio Miyairi

Takayuki Sakurai

Tatsuhiko Hatano

Shoji Yokoi

Shinya Ishimaru

Atsuo Kondou

Yuuichiro Imanishi

Kazuhide Terada

Shinichi Tosa

Makoto Otani

A heat cycle system includes a cooling circuit and a Rankine cycle circuit in which an organic medium circulates. The Rankine cycle circuit includes an evaporator, an expander, and a condenser. Before warm-up of an engine, a control device executes a warm-up mode in which the organic medium is circulated through the condenser, the expander and the evaporator in sequence; after the warm-up of the engine, the control device executes a waste heat recovery mode in which the organic medium is circulated through the evaporator, the expander and the condenser in sequence. In the warm-up mode, by supplying energy to the expander, the control device compresses the organic medium passing through the condenser and supplies the compressed organic medium to the evaporator; in the waste heat recovery mode, by depressurizing the organic medium passing through the evaporator by the expander, the control device recovers the energy generated by the expander.

Heat cycle system

A particulate matter detection device of the present invention includes a plate-like element base material, and a pair of measurement electrodes arranged in the element base material, each of the measurement electrodes is a combteeth-like electrode including a plurality of planarly arranged combteeth portions, and a comb spine portion which connects the plurality of combteeth portions of each of the measurement electrodes to one another at one end of each of the plurality of combteeth portions, the combteeth portions of the measurement electrodes are arranged to engage with each other with a space being left therebetween, and the comb spine portion of at least one of the measurement electrodes is covered with a comb spine covering portion made of a dielectric material.

Particulate matter detection device

The apparatus is provided with an abnormality determination means for determining abnormality of the apparatus where two different combinations of two electrodes are selected from the three electrodes, an alternating-current voltage is applied to an electrode in one combination by the voltage-applying portion to measure a value of a current flowing to the other electrode via the dielectric body by electrostatic coupling, an alternating-current voltage is applied to an electrode in another combination out of the at least two different combinations by the voltage-applying portion to measure a value of a current flowing to the other electrode via the dielectric body by electrostatic coupling, and an abnormality of the apparatus is determined from the current values measured.

Apparatus with abnormality determination function and method for determining abnormality

A particulate matter detection device includes a plate-like element base material including, on one surface thereof, a formed recess portion to collect a particulate matter; a pair of measurement electrodes arranged on the bottom surface side of the recess portion of the element base material; and a high-voltage dust collection electrode embedded in a wall which forms the recess portion of the element base material on the one surface side of the element base material from a position where the pair of measurement electrodes are arranged. An electric field is generated from the high-voltage dust collection electrode to the pair of measurement electrodes, to collect, on the bottom surface side of the recess portion, the particulate matter flowing along the element base material, and a change of electric characteristics between the pair of measurement electrodes is measured to detect the particulate matter collected on the recess portion.

The particulate matter detection device of the present invention is a particulate matter detection deviceincluding an electrode portionand detection meansfor detecting an electrical characteristic of the electrode portion, whereby a particulate mattercontained in an exhaust gasis detected on the basis of a change of the electrical characteristic due to the particulate matterattached to the electrode portion. The particulate matter detection device ifurther includes removal meansand abnormality judgment meansfor comparing an initial electrical characteristic in a use initial state of the device with the electrical characteristic measured in a state where the particulate matterattached to the surface of the electrode portionis removed by the removal means, to judge whether or not the particulate matter detection device ihas an abnormality.

Particulate matter detection device and inspection method of the particulate matter detection device

A PM sensor is provided having high responsiveness and capable of long term detection. A PM sensor includes a sensor element that has particulate collection electrodes to which a particulate collection voltage for causing particulate matter contained in exhaust to adhere to a sensor element is applied, and measurement electrodes to which a measurement voltage for measuring an electrical characteristic of the sensor element is applied, in which, after a particulate collection voltage is applied to the particulate collection electrodes application of the particulate collection voltage is stopped in response to a predetermined condition being satisfied, the measurement voltage is applied to the measurement electrodes and the electrical characteristic of the sensor element is measured.

A particulate matter detection deviceincludes a first electrodewhose one surface is covered with an inter-electrode dielectric material; a second electrodedisposed on the side of the one surface of the first electrode, to perform the discharge of electricity by a voltage applied between the first electrodeand the second electrode; and a pair of measurement electrodesdisposed on the surface of the inter-electrode dielectric materialso as to face each other; characteristic measurement meansfor measuring electric characteristics between the pair of measurement electrodesand; and particulate matter amount calculation meansfor obtaining the amount of the particulate mattercollected by the surface of the inter-electrode dielectric material, based on the change amount of the electric characteristics.

A plasma reactor is provided with two or more plasma generating electrodes which are installed in series inside a gas passage in a casing, with each plasma generating electrode being electrically controlled independently. The surface area of the conductor on each unit electrode forming the plasma generating electrode installed on the upstream side of the gas passage is smaller than the surface area of the conductor on the unit electrode forming the plasma generating electrode installed on the downstream side of the gas passage. Plasma can be generated between each of the unit electrodes by supplying each of the plasma generating electrodes with independently controlled electric power. The plasma reactor can efficiently react specific components contained in the gas passing through the gas passage.

Plasma reactor

An exhaust gas treating apparatusincludes; a case bodyand a plasma producing meanscapable of producing plasma inside the case bodyand treats the substances to be treated contained in the exhaust gas by the plasma producing means. The plasma producing meanshas one or more each of a pulse electrodeand a ground electrodethat are oppositely disposed in the case bodyand has a pulse power sourcecapable of feeding a pulse current to the pulse electrodeby switching frequency and/or voltage for different values at predetermined time intervals. The substances to be treated contained in the exhaust gas can selectively be treated by switching frequency and/or voltage value for different values at predetermined time intervals so that plasma of a kind adequate for the substances to be treated contained in an exhaust gas is produced between the pulse electrodeand the ground electrode

Apparatus and method of treating exhaust gas

A plasma generating electrodeof the present invention includes a plurality of unit electrodeshierarchically layered at predetermined intervals, the unit electrodesincluding a deficient unit electrodein which a conductive filmhas an absent portion and a normal unit electrodein which the conductive filmdoes not have an absent portion. Spaces V formed between the unit electrodesinclude a normal space Va formed so that the distance between conductive filmscorresponds to the distance between the unit electrodesand a deficient space Vb formed so that the distance between the conductive filmsis greater than the distance between the conductive filmsin the normal space Va. The plasma generating electrodeof the present invention can efficiently treat a plurality of predetermined components contained in a treatment target fluid by utilizing different types of plasma suitable for respective reactions by causing the treatment target fluid to flow only once.

Plasma generating electrode, plasma generator, and exhaust gas purifying device

A plasma generation electrode capable of subjecting predetermined components contained in a fluid to be treated to their respective reaction treatments with plasmas having different intensities optimized on a reaction basis, by passing merely once the fluid to be treated, is provided. In the plasma generation electrode, a unit electrode is composed of a tabular ceramic material serving as a dielectric material and an electrically conductive film disposed in the inside of the ceramic material, a plurality of unit electrodes are layered at a constant spacing, the distance between the electrically conductive films disposed in the unit electrodes adjacent to each other is varied partly or the dielectric constant of the ceramic material constituting the unit electrode is varied partly, and plasmas having different intensities can be generated partly in the spaces.

Plasma generation electrode, plasma reactor, and exhaust gas cleaning apparatus

In an exhaust gas purifying technique in which discharge is utilized, the invention provides a technique in which purification efficiency can be enhanced while an increase in electric power consumption is suppressed. A discharge mode including a discharge period and an undischarged period is adopted in a configuration in which a plasma process is performed to exhaust gas from a Diesel engine by generating the discharge in a plasma generator. A basic waveform periodically exists in a repeated manner in the discharge period, and the discharge is not performed in the undischarged period. An amplitude and/or a period of the basic waveform is controlled according to a load on the Diesel engine, a continuous iteration count of the basic waveform is controlled according to purification reaction efficiency in the plasma process, and the burst period is controlled according to an exhaust gas flow rate.

Exhaust gas purifying apparatus

An exhaust gas purification system that is equipped, from an upstream side toward downstream side through which an exhaust gas flows, with a plasma reactor and a NOselective reduction catalyst unit having a NOselective reduction catalyst layer acting on the exhaust gas, and which system provides a reducing agent adding means adding a reducing agent to the exhaust gas at an upstream side of the plasma reactor, wherein the NOselective reduction catalyst layer comprises nickel and a NOselective reduction catalyst or wherein the NOselective reduction catalyst layer contains &#x3b3;-alumina that supports magnesium or wherein the NOselective reduction catalyst unit comprises a first purification unit where an exhaust gas via the plasma reactor is introduced, and a second purification unit where an exhaust gas via the first purification unit is introduced.

Exhaust gas purification system

A system for purifying an exhaust gas includes a plasma unit and a catalyst unit. The plasma unit generates energetic plasma species which react with particulate matters and nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas. The catalyst unit has a catalyst which reacts with the exhaust gas. The plasma unit is disposed upstream relative to the catalyst unit in a direction of flow of the exhaust gas and the system provides sequential purification for the particulate matters and the nitrogen oxides.

System and method for purifying an exhaust gas

An exhaust gas purification system equipped, from an upstream side toward downstream side through which an exhaust gas flows, with a plasma reactor and a catalyst unit charged with a catalyst acting on NOin the exhaust gas in this order, and equipped with a reducing agent supplying device to supply a reducing agent at an upstream side of the plasma reactor, wherein the catalyst has an NOadsorptive catalyst layer and an NOselective reduction catalyst layer contacting the NOadsorptive catalyst layer.

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Wako, Japan

Keizo Iwama