Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Otto A Ludecke

Kenneth B Bly

Terrence L Stark

Theodore L Rosebrock

Richard H Smith

Terrance L Stark

Mark J Gutwald

David L Dimick

A diesel exhaust cleaner and regeneration system with indexing particulate trap for use with a diesel engine, as on a city bus, includes a housing means having a cylindrical intermediate housing, an exhaust inlet means at one end and an exhaust outlet at its opposite end with a shaft operatively journaled in the intermediate housing for rotation about the axis thereof and having one end thereof extending outboard of said exhaust inlet means to permit exterior rotation thereof. A cylindrical trap housing means is fixed to the shaft whereby it is sealingly and rotatably supported in the intermediate housing, the trap housing means including a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart filter supports located concentrically around the shaft with a particulate filter operatively supported in each of the filter supports. A fuel burner means is operatively fixed to the exhaust inlet means with the outlet end of the burner means located in operative axial alignment with one of the filters. A releasable detent means is operatively associated with the intermediate housing and with the trap housing means to permit rotative indexing of the particulate filters sequentially into operative alignment with the fuel burner means upon rotative movement of the shaft so that all of the filters can be sequentially regenerated.

Diesel exhaust cleaner and regeneration burner system with indexing

A wall flow monolith, for example, of circular configuration has its outer surface at the inlet end cut on tangents so as to provide four chordal flat surfaces with at least alternate channels next to these surfaces plugged at the inlet end so that exhaust flow is through these chordal surfaces into these channels whereby particulates are collected on the chordal surface. Glow plugs are positioned to ignite particulates on these chordal surfaces and, these glow plugs are energized either individually or in sets as an accumulated time function of engine operation.

Diesel exhaust cleaner with alternating glow plug burner system

A through flow exhaust particulate filter element of the type including a ceramic monolith structure having a plurality of thin interlaced gas filtering porous internal walls defining a plurality of parallel passages extending to opposite inlet and outlet ends thereof, said passages including a first group comprising inlet passages open at said inlet end of the element and closed by plugs at the outlet end and a second group comprising outlet passages closed by plugs at said inlet end and open at said outlet end, the plugs of the outlet passages at the inlet end of the element being of a ceramic porous material corresponding in porosity substantially to that of the porous internal walls whereby exhaust gases can flow therethrough so that particulates will be trapped by these porous plugs to thus permit flame travel along these plugs to adjacent inlet passages during incineration of collected particulates on the filter element.

Wall-flow monolith filter with porous plugs

An exhaust cleaner system for use in the exhaust system of a diesel engine is provided with a particulate filter positioned in a trap housing with an exhaust inlet thereto and an exhaust outlet therefrom. A pair of exhaust ducts are positioned in the inlet end of the exhaust outlet whereby to define, in effect, three separate exhaust flow zones through the filter and a flow limiter valve is operatively positioned to sequentially control flow through the exhaust ducts. Glow plugs are located so as to extend into the zones of the filter associated with the exhaust ducts to initiate incineration of particulates during reduced exhaust flow conditions as controlled by the flow limiter valve.

Diesel exhaust cleaner with glow plug igniters and flow limiting valve

A particulate trap for use in the exhaust system of a diesel engine to effect removal of particulates from the exhaust gases discharged from the engine, has a trap housing with an exhaust inlet at one end and an exhaust outlet at its opposite end with at least one ceramic monolith wall flow particulate filter having an inlet end and an outlet end positioned in the trap housing by a tubular support member having a mat of refractory material sandwiched between it and a portion of said particulate filter next adjacent to the outlet end thereof in a manner to prevent bypass flow from said exhaust inlet around said particulate to the exhaust outlet, at least 50% of the exterior surface of the particulate filter next adjacent to its inlet end being in spaced apart relationship to the trap housing so as to define a passage in flow communication with the incoming exhaust gases whereby these gases will heat the exterior of the filter next adjacent to the inlet end thereof so as to effect a reduction of the thermal stress on the particulate filter during engine operation. This support arrangement also reduces radial and axial stress on this exposed end of the filter.

Ceramic monolith particulate trap including filter support

A diesel exhaust particulate trap is provided with a heat resistant particulate filter which includes a perforated and pleated metal substrate member coated with a ceramic fiber filter material on its interior surface so as to define a filter chamber for the inside-out flow of exhaust gases through the filter. In a preferred embodiment, an electrical particulate filter igniter is associated with the filter. The igniter includes a trap door pivotably secured to the substrate member, which is normally biased to a closed position by a spring but which can be opened by exhaust flow prior to an accumulation of particulates on the filter. Opening and closing of the trap door is used to effect deenergization and energization, respectively, of an electrical heating element used to initiate combustion of particulates.

Diesel exhaust particulate trap with pleated filter

A method and means for controlling diesel particulate emissions involves providing an exhaust trap filter to collect exhaust particulates at a point near the engine exhaust ports and providing means to periodically vent burning combustion chamber gases to the exhaust filter to initiate combustion and incineration of the collected particulates. Various means for conducting burning mixture to ignite the particulates in the filter are disclosed.

Method and means for diesel exhaust particulate emission control

A self-regenerating diesel engine exhaust particulate filter comprising, in a preferred embodiment, porous ceramic walls defining filter surfaces between adjacent inlet and outlet passages and having electric heating wires in the inlet passages to periodically initiate incineration of collected particulates therein. A movable shield is preferably provided to restrict gas flow through the various passages during their respective periods of incineration so as to provide periodic regeneration with a minimum expenditure of external energy.

Monolith diesel exhaust filter with self-regeneration

A serviceable exhaust particulate trap for diesel engines comprising, in a preferred embodiment, a concentric dual bath filter including a tubular outer filter element of high surface area, such as pleated paper or the like, acting as a primary filter, and a tubular mesh-packed secondary filter in a central bypass passage. A normally closed pressure relief valve opens to permit bypass flow through the secondary filter in order to limit back pressure acting on the primary filter under various operating conditions. The particulate trap may be combined in a convenient package with a vehicle muffler.

Diesel engine exhaust particulate trap

Diesel exhaust filter and incineration control systems are disclosed which provide intake throttling of the diesel engine as a primary means of raising exhaust temperature in the filter for the periodic burn-off of collected particulates. Various embodiments and supplemental means of increasing exhaust temperatures are also disclosed.

Diesel engine exhaust particulate filter with intake throttling

An arrangement of dual element alternate flow exhaust cleaner and burner device for diesel engines is disclosed which provides trapping of particulates in the engine exhaust gases by their passage through either of the two elements. Collected particulates of carbon and other combustibles in the other nonactive element are electively incinerated by excess air or oxygen containing gas heated by a suitable burner or heater device. The incinerated products from the inactive element are redirected into the exhaust stream to pass through the active element for the cleansing of particulates remaining from the burnoff process before discharge.

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Rochester, MI, United States of America

Otto A Ludecke