Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting – deodorizing – preser – Chemical reactor – Waste gas purifier
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-04
2003-04-29
Tran, Hien (Department: 1764)
Chemical apparatus and process disinfecting, deodorizing, preser
Chemical reactor
Waste gas purifier
C422S177000, C422S180000, C060S302000, C060S323000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06555070
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an exhaust component or an exhaust device, having at least two inlet lines for connection to an internal combustion engine and a wall.
The exhaust component is used as part of an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine for conducting and possibly catalytically treating and cleaning exhaust gas. The internal combustion engine may, for example, be a gasoline engine of a passenger automobile or other roadgoing motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known exhaust manifolds have two or more inlet lines which can be connected to an internal combustion engine, and a collection outlet which is common to these inlet lines, the various lines comprising pipes with simple metal walls. During operation of the internal combustion engine, such walls are heated to high temperatures, normally of at least about 700° C., so that such exhaust manifolds, and in particular their inlet lines, emit large quantities of heat to their environment. The considerable amounts of heat, which are emitted by radiation, thermal conduction and convection, cause undesirable heating of temperature-sensitive parts and/or spaces which are arranged close to the exhaust manifold, such as for example electrical components, electronic components and/or components which contain plastic, the fuel tank, a spare wheel and/or the passenger compartment. In practice, therefore, it is often necessary to arrange heat-shield plates in the vicinity of the exhaust manifold, which plates increase the costs involved in the production of the vehicle, take up large amounts of space and, owing to the vibrations generated by the engine, may cause noise problems.
Furthermore, it is known to surround the gas-carrying parts of an exhaust manifold or catalytic converter with a double-walled cooling jacket. The latter had an intermediate space, through which water is guided during operation. However, a cooling jacket of this nature additionally requires a cooling installation in order to circulate and cool the water which has been heated in the cooling jacket, or requires an increase in the size of a cooling system which serves primarily to cool the engine. This increases the space which is take up and the costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,920 has disclosed a non-catalytic exhaust reactor having a casing and inlet lines which, at locations which are distributed along the cylindrical casing jacket, open through this jacket into the interior space of the casing. This exhaust reactor thus does not form an exhaust manifold and, during operation, produces considerable back-pressure. The inlet lines of the exhaust reactor evidently have metal walls and thus emit large amounts of heat to the environment. The jacket has an outer wall which is evidently made from metal. This outer wall surrounds an insulating layer which, at the openings of the inlet lines and at the outlet line, is provided with holes and, on the inside, on the outside, at the ends and at the position of the holes is provided with coatings. Insulating layers are also arranged on the inner sides of the end walls. These insulating layers and their coatings therefore have to be produced and fitted in addition to the metal, cylindrical outer wall, the metal, planar end walls and the inlet lines. Therefore, a large number of separate parts have to be produced and assembled in order to form this casing, the inlet lines and the insulating layers. It should be noted that the materials of which the insulating layers and coatings consist are not specified.
French patent disclosure 2,238,585 has disclosed a composite material which comprises a glass fiber fabric which is arranged between two metal sheets and is used in particular to form muffler casings. To produce such a casing, two sheets of the composite material are shaped into half-shells and are then joined together at edges. French patent disclosure 2,238,585 does not disclose an exhaust manifold. Furthermore, the glass fiber fabric which is disclosed which is only relatively thin, and, in addition, has only a low compressive strength. However, considerable compressive forces have to be applied to a planar, composite sheet in order to deform the sheet into an exhaust manifold which has relatively small radii of curvature, and consequently the glass fiber fabric would be compressed to a very considerable extent. According to tests carried out, the thickness of the glass fiber fabric in the finished exhaust manifold would probably amount to at most about 20% to 35% of the original thickness and would then be only less than about 1 mm. Consequently, the heat emitted by an exhaust manifold could only be reduced to an insufficient extent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,093 has disclosed a catalytic converter and two inlet lines for connecting an internal combustion engine to the catalytic converter. The latter has a casing with two walls, each of which is composed of two shells and between which there is an intermediate space which contains air. However, the inlet lines only have simple metal walls which, during operation, are heated to high temperatures and emit large quantities of heat. Furthermore, tests carried out on catalytic converters in passenger automobiles with a similar double-walled casing have shown that the outer wall of such casings, during operation, is heated to high temperatures despite the intermediate space which contains air, these high temperatures typically amounting to about 500° C. to 600° C. Accordingly, a catalytic converter of this nature also emits large amounts of heat to its environment. The exhaust system which is known from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,093 also exhibits the disadvantages that it is necessary to assemble a large number of separate parts in order to produce it, thus making production of the exhaust system more expensive. Furthermore, the connection between the shells which form the outer wall by means of screws requires large amounts of space.
Similar problems may also arise in the case of a separate exhaust manifold.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is therefore based on the object of providing an exhaust component or an exhaust device for conducting and possibly catalytically treating and cleaning exhaust gas which eliminates the drawbacks of known exhaust components and/or exhaust devices having an exhaust manifold and/or catalytic converter with at least two inlet lines and produces good thermal insulation but can nevertheless be produced and fitted at low cost and takes up only small amounts of space.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of an exhaust component having at least two inlet lines for connection to an internal combustion engine and a wall, wherein the wall has two wall elements, each with two metal shells and a layer of heat-insulating material which is located between these shells, and wherein the two wall elements have edge sections which are connected to one another and together, in cross section, surround interior spaces of all the inlet lines.
The invention furthermore relates to a method for producing an exhaust component having at least two inlet lines for connection to an internal combustion engine and a wall comprising two wall elements, each with two metal shells and a layer of heat-insulating material which is locacted between these shells, the two wall elements having edge sections which are connected to one another and together, in cross section, surround interior spaces of all the inlet lines, wherein two sheet-metal parts are provided for each wall element, each of which sheet-metal parts serves to form one of the shells, wherein a layer of heat-insulating material is arranged between the two sheet-metal parts, and wherein the two sheet-metal parts and the layer arranged between them are then together deformed in such a manner that the two wall elements together, in cross section, surround interior spaces of the inlet lines.
The layer of heat-insulating material which, according to the invention, is present between the shells of each wall element produces good t
Scambia Industrial Developments AG
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP
Tran Hien
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