Patents Examined by Amber Orlando
  • Patent number: 8870987
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to detect any breakdown or failure of a particulate filter more appropriately. A failure detecting apparatus for detecting failure of a particulate filter according to the present invention comprises an acquiring section which acquires an amount of PM contained in an exhaust gas allowed to outflow from the particulate filter; a regeneration process executing section which executes a filter regeneration process for oxidizing and removing PM deposited in the particulate filter; and a failure judging section which judges that the particulate filter is in the failure state if a decreased amount of the amount of PM contained in the exhaust gas acquired by the acquiring section, during a predetermined period of time as started from a point in time at which the execution of the filter regeneration process performed by the regeneration process executing section is completed, is not equal to or larger than a predetermined reference amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Daisuke Shibata
  • Patent number: 8864875
    Abstract: An exhaust gas treatment system for an internal combustion engine is provided comprising an exhaust gas conduit, a particulate filter (“PF”) device, a hydrocarbon source and an electronic control module including operative logic which when implemented. The PF has a filter structure for removal of particulates in the exhaust gas and is selectively regenerated based on an amount of particulates trapped within the filter structure of the PF device. The control module is in communication with the internal combustion engine and the hydrocarbon source, and receives a regeneration signal indicating the amount of particulates trapped within the filter structure of the PF device. The electronic control module includes control logic for monitoring the internal combustion engine prior to a regeneration event. The electronic control module includes control logic for determining a plurality operating parameters of the internal combustion engine based on the monitoring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventors: Eugene V. Gonze, Michael J. Paratore, Jr., Julian C. Tan
  • Patent number: 8852311
    Abstract: The present invention aims to provide a honeycomb structure capable of preventing a plugging failure and forming cracks by heat shock which are caused by a cell having a small cross-section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited
    Inventors: Teruo Komori, Hajime Yoshino
  • Patent number: 8852325
    Abstract: A device for collecting particles that have a high electron affinity, particularly explosive particles, from a gas, includes a flow channel (12a) in which at least one electrically positive collector electrode (20a) and at least one ionising electrode (18a) are arranged, between which an electrical field is present so that the particles having high electron affinity can be indirectly charged by corona discharge on the ionising electrode (18a) and can be displaced towards the collector electrode (20a).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
    Assignee: EADS Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Sebastian Beer, Gerhard Müller, Jan Spannhake, Wolfgang Legner
  • Patent number: 8845798
    Abstract: A particulate matter detecting apparatus for an internal combustion engine that can estimate a discharge amount of the particulate matter accurately. The particulate matter detecting apparatus for an internal combustion engine, comprises: a sensor disposed at an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine, the sensor including a pair of electrodes for detecting particulate matter in an exhaust gas; means for estimating a discharge amount of the particulate matter based on an output of the sensor, and means for acquiring a predetermined parameter that serves as an index for a rate with which the particulate matter in the exhaust gas is deposited on the sensor. The discharge amount estimating means corrects an estimated value of the discharge amount of the particulate matter based on the parameter acquired by the parameter acquiring means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroki Nishijima
  • Patent number: 8845793
    Abstract: A filter assembly is described herein for controlling the air passing therethrough. The filter assembly can include a housing comprising a cavity formed therein. The filter assembly can also include a filter positioned within the cavity and coupled to the housing. Further, the filter assembly can include a reinforcement structure coupled to an end of the housing and adjacent to a top end of the filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Cooper Technologies Company
    Inventors: Joseph Michael Manahan, Graig E. DeCarr
  • Patent number: 8845783
    Abstract: The present invention is intended to detect a failure of a PM filter with a higher degree of accuracy. The present invention is provided with: a PM trapping efficiency calculation part to calculate a PM trapping efficiency (which is a proportion of an amount of particulate matter trapped with respect to an amount of inflow particulate matter) based on an amount of inflow particulate matter obtained by an inflow particulate matter obtaining part, and an amount of outflow particulate matter detected by a PM sensor; and a failure detection part to make a determination that a failure has occurred in the PM filter, in cases where there has appeared a tendency for the PM trapping efficiency to decrease during a period of time until the execution of the following filter regeneration processing is started after the completion of execution of the filter regeneration processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuya Takaoka, Daisuke Shibata, Hiroshi Sawada, Toru Kidokoro
  • Patent number: 8834610
    Abstract: A crankcase ventilation filter assembly and components therefor, are described. In an example arrangement, the crankcase ventilation filter assembly is configured to be serviced from either the top or the bottom. A rotational indexing arrangement is to ensure appropriate orientation of an internally received filter cartridge, and other components of the arrangement are provided. Methods of assembly, servicing and use are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Donaldson Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Lundgren, Daniel Adamek, Wade Mosset
  • Patent number: 8828115
    Abstract: An air filter element is provided with an anti-crown support grid on a clean side of the filter media. The support grid includes one or more elongated mounting members provided along periphery portions of the grid and at least one support rib spanning between and secured at opposing ends to the mounting members. The mounting members are embedded within a peripheral seal frame. The support grid may include at least one alignment feature sized, configured and positioned to be receivable into a complimentary feature of a housing so as to positionally lock the filter element and the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Mann & Hummel GmbH
    Inventors: Grant Gillispie, Alexander Braithwaite, Michael Desjardins
  • Patent number: 8821819
    Abstract: A promoted activated carbon sorbent is described that is highly effective for the removal of mercury from flue gas streams. The sorbent comprises a new modified carbon form containing reactive forms of halogen and halides. Optional components may be added to increase reactivity and mercury capacity. These may be added directly with the sorbent, or to the flue gas to enhance sorbent performance and/or mercury capture. Mercury removal efficiencies obtained exceed conventional methods. The sorbent can be regenerated and reused. Sorbent treatment and preparation methods are also described. New methods for in-flight preparation, introduction, and control of the active sorbent into the mercury contaminated gas stream are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Energy & Environmental Research Center Foundation
    Inventors: Edwin S. Olson, Michael J. Holmes, John Henry Pavlish
  • Patent number: 8821609
    Abstract: A ceramic honeycomb filter comprising a ceramic honeycomb structure having large numbers of flow paths partitioned by porous cell walls, and plugs disposed in the flow paths alternately on the exhaust gas inlet or outlet side, to remove particulate matter from an exhaust gas passing through the porous cell walls; the porous cell walls having porosity of 45-75%, the median pore diameter A (?m) of the cell walls measured by mercury porosimetry, and the median pore diameter B (?m) of the cell walls measured by a bubble point method meeting the formula of 35<(A?B)/B×100?70, and the maximum pore diameter of the cell walls measured by a bubble point method being 100 ?m or less.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Metals, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunji Okazaki, Toshitaka Ishizawa
  • Patent number: 8821608
    Abstract: Inner cases are connected to outer cases through joining flanges which protrude toward outer peripheries of the outer cases. A plurality of combinations each including filters, the inner cases, and the outer cases are provided. Both the joining flanges are sandwiched and fixed between a pair of sandwiching flanges, thereby connecting the plurality of outer cases to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Yanmar Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masataka Mitsuda
  • Patent number: 8814969
    Abstract: An exhaust gas emission control system includes a cylindrical inflow body and an inflow pipe into which exhaust gas flows. The exhaust gas emission control system also includes a cylindrical outflow body and an outflow pipe from which the exhaust gas flows. The inflow pipe is provided with a louver member that covers an opening of the inflow body near an upstream side of an exhaust gas flow direction. The louver member is provided with slits and inclined plates capable of changing a flow direction of the exhaust gas passing through the slits into a desired direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
    Inventors: Shouhei Nagasaka, Hiroki Sato, Issei Hara, Yosuke Obuchi, Tatsushi Itoh, Yuuki Kasaoka
  • Patent number: 8814975
    Abstract: There is provided a honeycomb structure including a honeycomb base material including a porous partition wall parent material; plugged portions; and a porous collecting layer disposed on the surface of the partition wall parent material in the remaining cells. A melting point of a material constituting the collecting layer is higher than that of a material constituting the partition wall parent material, a pore surface area per unit volume of the collecting layer is 2.0 times or more a pore surface area per unit volume of the partition wall parent material, and a thickness of a portion of the collecting layer which penetrates into pores of the partition wall parent material is 6% or smaller of that of each of partition walls including the partition wall parent material and the collecting layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshio Kikuchi
  • Patent number: 8814974
    Abstract: A thin-walled porous ceramic wall-flow filter is disclosed. The filter produces a relatively lower pressure drop coupled with relatively high initial filtration efficiency (FE0), and may enable packaging the filter in a smaller volume. The filter includes a plurality of porous ceramic walls forming cell channels. At least some of the cells are plugged forcing some exhaust gases through the walls, thereby filtering out entrained particulates. The walls have a wall thickness (Twall) wherein 102 ?m?Twall<279 ?m, and a median pore diameter (MPD), and wherein 10<Twall/MPD, and may also be <40. The relatively small median pore diameter (MPD) in comparison to the wall thickness (Twall) allows the use of thinner ceramic walls that provide less flow resistance than thicker walls while maintaining sufficient initial filtration efficiency (FE0). Furthermore, such thin-walled filter structure coupled with unequal inlet/outlet area ratio (Ai/Ao) may allow filter lengths to be additionally shortened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2014
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: Douglas Munroe Beall, Achim Karl-Erich Heibel, Pushkar Tandon
  • Patent number: 8808418
    Abstract: A system for treating diesel exhaust is disclosed. The system includes a first filter including layers of filtration material positioned between layers of corrugated metallic foil. The metallic foil defines a honeycomb arrangement of longitudinal passageways from an upstream end to a downstream end and also openings for allowing exhaust to pass between adjacent longitudinal passageways of the metallic foil. The filtration material is positioned such that exhaust between the adjacent longitudinal passageways passes through the filtration material. The metallic foil also includes flow diverting structures to divert flow within the longitudinal passageways through the openings. A second filter is positioned downstream from the first filter. The second filter defines a honeycomb arrangement of longitudinal passageways. The longitudinal passages are selectively plugged adjacent upstream and downstream ends to force flow radially through walls between the longitudinal passages of the second filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Donaldson Company
    Inventors: Wenzhong Zhang, Todd R. Taubert, Timothy L. Ricke, Julian A. Imes
  • Patent number: 8801822
    Abstract: An exhaust gas aftertreatment system for an engine can perform manual regeneration control for regenerating a particulate removal filter by increasing the engine rotation speed. The system can suppress the engine rotation speed increase while maintaining the exhaust gas temperature required to regenerate the particulate removal filter. The system can set the target engine rotation speed to a first set value when a regeneration instruction signal from a manual regeneration switch is received. When, although the engine rotation speed falls within a predetermined engine rotation speed range including the first set value that is the target engine rotation speed for a predetermined time period, the exhaust gas temperature does not reach the filter's regeneration temperature within the predetermined time period, the target engine rotation speed is repeatedly reset by being increased from the first set value by a predetermined rotation speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Yanmar Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideo Shiomi, Taichi Togashi
  • Patent number: 8801818
    Abstract: A method for cleaning and checking a particle filter of a motor vehicle is provided. In a first step soot particles which have collected in the particle filter are burnt off. In a second step ash located in the particle filter is blown out using compressed air. A cleaning device for a particle filter of a motor vehicle is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2014
    Assignee: Daimler AG
    Inventors: Andreas Albrecht, Peter Benz, Charles W. Emley, Uwe Gaertner, Christian Medau
  • Patent number: 8784539
    Abstract: The invention relates to diesel soot particulate filter cartridge having a central filter cartridge axis. The filter cartridge has a radial flow. The filter cartridge comprises a porous structure. The porous structure is coiled around the central filter cartridge axis. The porous structure comprises non-sintered metal fibers, said fibers having a roughness being higher than 1.7. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing a diesel soot particulate filter cartridge. Furthermore the invention relates to a multicartridge diesel soot particulate filter. The flow through the multicartridge diesel soot particulate filter is axial while the flow through the filter cartridges is radial.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: NV Bekaert SA
    Inventors: Inge Schildermans, Johan Vandamme, Frank Verschaeve
  • Patent number: 8784529
    Abstract: Dehumidifiers having improved heat exchange blocks and associated methods of use and manufacture are disclosed. A heat exchange system in accordance with a particular embodiment can include a plurality of elements with a plurality of airflow channels. A plurality of peripheral spacers are positioned toward edges of neighboring elements and extend in a first direction. A first airflow path extends in the first direction, and is at least partially defined by the corresponding elements and the peripheral spacers. A second airflow path is defined by the airflow channels and extends in a second direction, and an airflow blocker is positioned at a corner portion of the elements to prevent fluid communication between the first and the second airflow paths at the elements. In certain embodiments, the heat exchange system can further include a dehumidifier having an evaporator positioned between the first and second airflow paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Dri-Eaz Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard A. Black, Brett Bartholmey, Aaron Matthew Kiesser