BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exhaust flow director and catalyst mount for internal combustion engine, according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the present exhaust flow director and catalyst mount showing this device mounted to the cylinder head of an engine with a number of threaded fasteners.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view through an internal combustion engine according to the present invention having the present exhaust flow director and catalyst mount.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the exhaust flow director and catalyst mount shown in FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
As shown in FIG. 1, exhaust flow director and catalyst mount 10 attach to an engine by means of exhaust flanges 30. Exhaust runners 38A, 38B and 38C extend from each exhaust flange 30 to a collector chamber 22, which is shown with particularity in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 4 also shows velocity profile P, across front face 50 of leading catalyst element 48. Exhaust catalyst 46 shown in FIG. 4 has two bricks or monolithic substrates 48 and 54. As shown in FIG. 4, the velocity profile is generally uniform. This means that the entire catalyst will be used to accomplish the required exhaust after treatment.
The uniform velocity profile illustrated in FIG. 4 is achieved in part by means of guide vanes which are formed integrally with the walls of collector chamber 22. Two guide vanes are shown in FIG. 2 at 42. Guide vanes 42, in combination with the placement of exhaust runners 38, cause a swirling component in the flow so that the portions of exhaust, in the illustrated example numbering 3, are turned and directed down into different, but overlapping, portions of front face 50 of catalyst 46 such that a uniform flow distribution is achieved prior to the midbed portion of catalyst leading element 48. Because exhaust gases are caused to flow through runners 38 and collector chamber 22 and into catalyst 46 without excessive scrubbing of the collector chamber walls, heat loss in the exhaust gases is minimized. This is a marked contrast from many prior art exhaust handling devices.
FIG. 2 shows a further important feature of an exhaust flow director and catalyst mount according to the present invention inasmuch as exhaust flanges 30, exhaust runners 38, and outlet flange 26 are generally coplanar. This allows access to all of fasteners 36 simultaneously, so as to permit fastening of exhaust flow director 10 to an engine in a single operation. Once flow director 10 has been attached to an engine, catalyst 46 (FIGS. 3 and 4) may be mounted to the flow director.
FIG. 4 shows an installed advantage of the present exhaust flow director and catalyst mount inasmuch as catalyst 46 is shown as being connected directly to the flow director with a generous collector/chamber smoothing and guiding the flow into the catalyst brick as shown in FIG. 4.
It is also seen from FIG. 3 that the packaging space required for the present exhaust flow director and catalyst is minimized because intermediate pipes as well as, for that matter, an underbody catalyst, can and have been eliminated.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, numerous variations and alternate embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only in terms of the appended claims.