Patent Application
20070012006
Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 of European Application No. 05380147.8 filed on Jul. 1, 2005.
This patent application deals with a “CONSTRUCTIVE DISPOSITION INTRODUCED INTO A PARTICULATE MATTER SEALING DEVICE EXISTING IN GAS ORIGINATING FROM FUEL BURNING AND/OR CHEMICAL REACTIONS WHEN RUNNING COMBUSTION ENGINES” where applicant presents an unpublished solution for treating gases emitted by combustion engines, commonly released into the environment through exhaust pipes of moving equipment, such as automotive vehicles and/or stationary equipment, for industrial use, whose aim is to cooperate with environmental pollution rate reduction, and consequently improve living conditions, as far as the flora and fauna of planet Earth are concerned.
The demand for a solution of this nature is latent to the extent in which present-day mankind sees at naked eyes the nefarious effects caused by environmental degradation, worldwide, pollutant gas emission having consistent participation in forming the contaminated environment to which the entire planet population is exposed.
In this manner the now claimed invention presents a series of advantages, which can be ranked as ecological order advantages, namely the invention directly implies improvements in the environment, because one sees significant reduction of high-particulate matter content gases, a fact contributing to minimize, for instance, the harmful effects of the environmental phenomenon known as “greenhouse effect”, being that all preliminary data obtained from the particulate matter seal indicate a reduction ranging between 60% and 90% of particulate matter emission.
In turn, it is possible to identify operating order advantages, where by using the now claimed invention the combustion engine performance is not compromised, thanks to an exclusive constructive concept that does not interfere with back compression in exhaust pipes, this positive feature having direct implication in fuel consumption saving and further it does not overload the engine components during its running, increasing its service life and minimizing the need for corrective maintenance.
The now claimed seal also has an advantage from the point of view of the retaining product itself, where said constructive concept is shown to be of outmost simplicity and practicability, a factor that collaborates to reducing overhead involved in its manufacture and therefore make the end price accessible to a more popular consumer market.
The economic aspect is further evidenced when one takes into account that the now claimed seal can be used indefinitely, because when it is shown to be saturated it can be removed and washed in a proper location, eliminating accumulated particulate matter, always in compliance with environmental legislation standards in effect, and can be reinstalled and allowed to return to its operation.
There is still one last differential to be mentioned, referring to ergonomic features, in this specific case that translated into low-level noises and vibration of the exhaust pipe system.
Due to all these aspects applicant understands that the now claimed solution represents an innovation known by the technical state, notoriously in the application area of the technology industry for sealing element devices.
As already known by the technical state a wide variety for particulate matter present in gases generated by combustion and/or chemical reactions is made available. However, after a detailed study of results obtained from using these devices, applicant can, via value analysis, identify a series of faulty points in their constructive and functional system, that leads to compromise the main goal to be achieved, namely, reducing environmental pollution rates.
For this assertion to become affirmative applicant has based his studies from the premise that the functional efficiency of combustion engines is directly related to correct air and fuel exhaust, or in other words, there must be a suitable amount of these components and at a given, precise time, which becomes fundamental to gas emission control, such gases that take with them a considerable amount of particulate matter.
Upon defining the mandatory condition for a perfect combustion engine performance applicant begins to have a consistent reference to identify the causes of low performance of these engines, wherever they are in intended manner or further by sheer negligence in relation to preventive and corrective maintenance, the lack of suitable engine tune-up makes a difference in the ideal proportion of air and fuel, preventing obtaining at the precise time the mandatory condition for its correct operation, having as a consequence particulate matter gas emission increase top the environment, being that, poor fuel burning is also translated by the amount of oxygen in the air 23% remaining air is burned making final quality of fuel burning difficult.
Particulate matter composition varies in accordance with the composition of the fuel to be burned, with the engine state of conservation and further its operating temperature, being that this particulate matter is formed from the agglutination of unburned hydrocarbons, water and impurities of this same fuel to a carbon chemical element core.
In turn, particulate matter shows a large dimensional variation of particles, such variation leading any kind of porous filter to early saturation, which in turn cause functional overload on engine components, such overload resulting in increased fuel consumption, engine power drop and increase of emitted gases during the combustion process.
One has further to consider the fact that particulate matter remains suspended in the air, because the above-mentioned filtering ensure its full sealing, and in this manner, smaller-size particles can be inhaled by the individual, lodging themselves in deep areas of the human lungs, for example, being an irritating agent to sight and the breathing system, which mainly afflict children and the elderly, particularly in the season of the year when temperatures are extremely low, a fact that potentializes particulate matter concentration.
This entire contamination process potentializes carcinogenic action that possible exists in particulate matter. One further considers the undesirable effects observed in the atmosphere, such and visibility and contrast reduction, and also increased “greenhouse effects”, where, studies show that particulate material when deposited on mountaintop glaciers or the planet's poles concentrates solar energy producing thawing and increased global temperature.
In order to bestow more credibility on the above-described subject applicant mentions an official document issued by the renowned, trustworthy company of the automotive industry, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil, issuing in the form of a report by the Development and Experimental Engineering Management, upon the development of a filter type for particulate matter, such document being called “Commercial vehicles and the environment”. In addition to this study, the existence is known of specific tests for a particulate matter filter version used by the vehicle fleet circulating in the urban area, this study, in turn, being undertaken by Mercedes-Benz AG. Germany, where a version of the sealing device is used whose filtering is performed by a ceramic wire network rolled in a pipe, which in turn is installed inside a housing, which replaces the muffling element installed in the exhaust pipe of the automotive vehicle.
In this case a catalytic regeneration system is employed in particulate matter burning, which is deposited in the filter, keeping gas restriction within levels acceptable by environmental legislation in force, being that the device is automatically activated during the automotive vehicle operation. Notwithstanding the rumored efficiency of the described and known technical state of the seal system, it is known that it has high manufacturing costs, and therefore being impracticable from the commercial point of view, at least for its application in the great majority of automotive vehicles in circulation. Having said this, applicant, taking advantage of undeniable available advances and also using a serious study and observation of particulate matter behavior, characteristics and composition, a study backed by conclusive trials and tests on obtained effectiveness, particulate matter sealing type product has been developed, identified in this paper by the initials “R.M.P.”, highly efficient, reducing its level in the environment, in order to cooperate with improving environmental conditions on planet Earth, where allied to this aspect keeps usual back compression conditions found in combustion engines, preventing fuel consumption increase and reducing the need for corrective maintenance, being a supplement to a feasible solution from the industrial and commercial point of view.
Supplementing this description, in order to obtain better understanding of this characteristics of this invention claim and application, this description is accompanied, as attachment, a set of drawings where a form of preferred performance is made graphically for the particulate matter sealing device, which is accompanied by five constructive variants, aimed at demonstrating how encompassing its application is, where:
Detail 1 is a blown up front view representation of a blade element pertaining to the manifold blades;
Detail 2 is a blown up view representation of the manifold coil component with its respective component elements;
With reference to the drawings illustrating this invention patent application,
In time, the main housing component (A3) is fastened to the exhaust type (1) through a clamping component (A4). A first variant to the preferred performance manner is graphically represented through
A second variant to the preferred performance manner is graphically represented through
This font cover component (C1) is assembled together with the main housing component (C2), which is in tubular shape with rectangular cross-section.
The interior of the main housing component (C2), receives the manifold blade component assembly (C4), whose useful area is permeated by retaining holes (C4″), which are supported by structural rod elements (C4′), as indicated in detail 1 In turn, manifold blade components (C4) present a hollow area (C6) in their central region.
Together with the manifold blade component frontal portion (C4) the manifold coil component is fastened (C5) presenting a braided mesh element (C5′), concocted in knitted steel-based material, as indicated in detail 2.
The above-described constructive concept further results from the formation of a main decompression (C6′), as represented in
Finally, the back portion of the main housing component (C2), is contemplated with a back cover (C3), this one with a similar profile and structure to the one observed for the front cover component (C1), being that in its end portion the front fitting area is defined (C3′) destined for fastening it to the exhaust pipe (1).
The front cover component inner walls (C1) and the back cover (C3), present the trapezoidal trunk-shaped profile as in order to provide a suitable assembly of the manifold blade components (C4) through their interference with structural rod elements (C4′).
Applicant stresses that the economic aspect refers to a low-cost solution for solution performance manners described in this paper, where the particulate matter sealing device (A), vertical particulate matter sealing device (B) and enclosed particulate matter sealing device (C) are manufactured by using low-cost raw material, such as steel and aluminum. The enclosed particulate matter-sealing device (C) can be credited with a last positive aspect, which resides in the fact that once it is installed it allows eliminating the automotive vehicle-muffling component.
In order to bestow greater credibility to the constructive and functional concepts introduced in order to make the now claimed invention feasible, applicant now describes, in the following paragraphs, the scientific foundation that has generated the differentiated qualities previously described in this paper.
Applicant has based his studies on the knowledge that in gas emission (Fg) with particulate matter (Fp), chemical element molecules when released from the exhaust pipe to the atmosphere, perceive an expansion, where particulate matter is committed by the release inertia, tending in this manner to make a straight-line route with a small dispersal degree caused by the mentioned gas expansion.
The primary function of the enclosed particulate matter sealing device (C) resides in causing the particulate matter (Fp) released by gases (Fg), once it is involved by said inertia, to have its speed reduced, a reduction that should reach zero speed, which is justified by a series of mechanical shocks against the walls of the manifold blade components (C4) and manifold coil component (C5), retaining and agglutinating said particles, therefore, such agglutination is characteristic of carbon-based elements making up the particulate matter.
Manifold blade components (C4) in turn are structured by structural rod elements (C4′), so that it allows them to be spatially positioned and parallel among them.
In turn, the manifold coil component (C5) shows a braided mesh element (C5′), concocted in knitted steel-based material, but this component creates a treated gas outflow restriction around 27%.
In order to prevent a back compression effect at the exhaust system, caused by the above-mentioned gas outflow restriction, the constructive concept of the enclosed particulate matter-sealing device (C) defines that manifold blade components (C4) present a hollow area (C6) in their central region. Allied to this hollow area (C6) a main decompression area is also defined (C6′), being that their sum potentializes decompression inside the enclosed particulate matter-sealing device (C) upon gas expansion.
In order to have the desired effect feasible a mandatory condition is that the area resulting from the sum between the hollow area (C6) between the manifold blade components (C4) and the main decompression area (C6′), is to be at least equal to the area found in the exhaust pipe (1).
Applicant further makes a reservation in order the make the nature of the particulate matter sealing device explicit (C) which does not have the primary function of a filter, because it prevents with the above-described feature loss of the combustion engine output, keeping fuel consumption suitable and increasing its service life time.
The particle sealing capacity afloat the manifold coil component (C5), can be predicted through a simplified formula, upon its utilization in automotive vehicles, where:
Ssaturation=Vr*Ts, being:
Ssaturation=Space run by the vehicle until saturation of the manifold coil component saturation;
Vr=Relative average speed of the combustion engine shaft transfer to the vehicle's tires;
Ts=Saturation time analyzed by the particulate matter emission volume emitted by the combustion engine versus filling the total volume of the manifold coil component.
The practical result observed by applying this formula reports to an estimated mean for an automotive vehicle emitting 0.0048849 grams of particulate matter per minute, where saturation of the manifold coil component (C5) will occur after running approximately 13,000 kilometers, which is translated into high durability, allied to the fact that once saturation is reached the enclosed particulate matter sealing device (C) can be easily removed for washing in an appropriate location, where at the end of this washing it can be assembled again at the automotive exhaust system, being renewed to perform without problems for the next 13,000 kilometers.
Finally, in relation to ergonomic use features it is translated into low-level noises and vibration of the exhaust pipe system, this vibration is obtained thanks to the transformation sound waves into mechanical energy at the manifold blade component walls (C4) and manifold coil (C5).
In order to expand the scope of possible applications for the now claimed particulate matter seal applicant illustrates a third constructive variant for it, represented by
In turn,
Applicant further presents a fifth constructive variant, represented by
The interior of the main housing (F1) receives the assembly of manifold blade components (C4), which are permeated by sealing holes (C4″) and manifold coil (C5), this assembly being supported by structural rod elements (C4′), where said components are identical to the ones applied at the second constructive variant, called enclosed particulate material sealing device (C). Though the hereinafter-claimed invention has been explained with reference to the graphic representation of its specific drawings the hereinafter-mentioned explanation is of illustrative nature, the invention being limited only by the claims attached to this paper.
Due to all that has been described and illustrated that it deals with a “CONSTRUCTIVE DISPOSITION INTRODUCED INTO A PARTICULATE MATTER SEALING DEVICE EXISTING IN GAS ORIGINATING FROM FUEL BURNING AND/OR CHEMICAL REACTIONS WHEN RUNNING COMBUSTION ENGINES”, which perfectly fits into the standards governing the Invention Patent, in light of the Industrial Property Law, due to filling an important gap existing in the market, moreover because its provides a technical, operating alternative in particulate matter sealing systems, being worthy due to what has been exposed and as a consequence, of the respective privilege.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05380147.8 | Jul 2005 | EP | regional |
