The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 28, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 22, 1995
Kazuhiro Sakurai, Gotenba, JP;
Koji Shimoji, Susono, JP;
Tohru Yoshinaga, Okazaki, JP;
Kiyohiko Watanabe, Okazaki, JP;
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Aichi, JP;
Abstract
An electrically heated catalytic converter having a substrate for a catalyst, a rod-like metal electrode connected to the substrate, and a casing accommodating the substrate. The substrate for the catalyst is formed as a scroll-like cylindrical laminated assembly of thin metal sheets wound around the electrode. The electrode extends from the laminated assembly along the central axis, bends towards the wall of the casing and penetrates the casing. The electrode is fixed to the casing via an insulating material at the point where it penetrates the casing. When the electricity is fed to the electrode, electric current flows through the electrode to the laminated assembly, and to the casing, and heat is generated in the substrate by the electric current and the temperature of the catalyst carried by the substrate quickly reaches the activating temperature. The rod-like electrode of the present invention is formed as a hollow pipe. Since the heat mass of the hollow pipe electrode is very small compared with the solid metal rod electrode, only a small amount of the heat generated by the electric current is consumed for heating the electrode of the present invention. Therefore, a large amount of the heat generated by the electric current is used for heating the substrate for the catalyst, and the time required for heating the substrate for the catalyst is greatly reduced.