Nippon Soken, Inc.

Denso Corporation

Niro Takaki

Akikazu Kojima

Takashi Inoue

Hiroshi Okada

Sadahisa Onimaru

Masanori Yasuda

Atsuya Okamoto

Tsukasa Kuboshima

Kiyohiko Watanabe

Takeshi Hashizume

Tatsushi Nakashima

Yoshiharu Nonoyama

A filter is arranged in an exhaust passage of an engine. The filter supports a catalyst. An accumulating amount estimating means detects differential pressure of the filter to estimate an amount of soot accumulating on the filter. An oxidizing condition detecting means detects an oxidizing condition of soot accumulating on the filter. A forcible oxidizing means increases temperature of the filter more than oxidizing temperature of soot for forcibly oxidizing soot accumulating in the vicinity of the catalyst of the filter. When the oxidizing condition detecting means detects a condition, in which soot accumulating on the filter is only partially oxidized, the accumulating amount estimating means estimates the amount of soot accumulating on the filter after oxidizing soot accumulating in the vicinity of the catalyst using the forcible oxidizing means.

Accumulating amount estimating device detecting differential pressure of filter

In an accumulator fuel injection device pulsating of pressure is suppressed and fluctuation of fuel injection is prevented by providing flow rate control means such as an orifice generating a flow rate regulated at a fuel passage of a diesel engine. The device supplies fuel to injectors of cylinders from a pump pressurizing the fuel to a high pressure through a common rail which can stock high pressure fuel or through a corresponding fuel passage having a large volume.

Accumulator fuel injection device

In a combustion heater, a fuel feed unit supplies a fuel uniformly into a burner so as to prevent incomplete combustion in the burner. When a vaporization member is provided in the burner, the fuel feed unit supplies the fuel uniformly all over the surface of the vaporization member so that the incomplete combustion in the burner is also prevented. In addition or alternatively, the fuel feed unit includes a fuel feed pipe and a valve unit which is provided at a tip portion of the fuel feed pipe, so as to prevent emissions of an unburned fuel. In addition or alternatively, a temperature of the fuel supplied to the burner is monitored, and an operation of the fuel feed unit or an air feed unit for supplying combustion air to the burner is controlled based on the monitored fuel temperature so as to provide a desirable air-fuel mixture for preventing incomplete combustion in the burner. An amount of the fuel supplied to the burner or an oxygen concentration in an exhaust gas after combustion in the burner may be monitored instead of the fuel temperature.

Combustion heater

An electric heater comprises a central electrode and a ring electrode with a honeycomb heat generator disposed therebetween. The honeycomb heat generator is formed by winding a conductive foil strip around the central electrode until the size of the rolled honeycomb body just fits to the ring electrode. The surface of the conductive foil strip is coated by an insulating material, thereby preventing a short circuit between two layers of the conductive foil strip wound around the central electrode. A plurality of bonding parts are provided to electrically connect adjacent layers of the conductive foil strip wound around the central electrode. The bonding parts are disposed along a plurality of bonding lines extending across the layers of the conductive foil strip. The bonding parts are disposed on every other bonding line along each layer of the conductive foil strip.

Electrically heatable honeycomb body of a catalytic converter equipped

In a combustion heater, at the time of ignition, a fuel supply amount is increased in a stepwise fashion. On the other hand, at the time of extinction, the fuel supply amount is decreased in a stepwise fashion. The fuel supply amount is increased stepwise using different fuel increasing amounts or different fuel increasing periods, both depending on heat quantities generated by a burner at respective fuel increasing time points. At the time of extinction, the fuel supply amount and an air supply amount are both reduced to given values, respectively, and held at the given values for a given time period. After lapse of the given time period, the fuel supply amount is reduced to zero, while the air supply amount is held at the given value for a further given time period. The air supply amount is changed with a given time delay relative to a change of the fuel supply amount. The time delay may be adjusted depending on a temperature in the burner.

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Kariya, Japan

Niro Takaki