U.S. patent application number 13/139325 was filed with the patent office on 2011-11-24 for exhaust systems for vehicles.
This patent application is currently assigned to AGCO GMBH. Invention is credited to Roman Bucher, Johann Dobler, Hans Heinle, Robert Heisler, Robert Honzek, Capelle Thorsten.
Application Number | 20110283687 13/139325 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40343843 |
Filed Date | 2011-11-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110283687 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dobler; Johann ; et
al. |
November 24, 2011 |
EXHAUST SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES
Abstract
An exhaust system for a vehicle having a cab (53) and an
internal combustion engine (1) located in an engine compartment
(51). The system includes an exhaust gas treatment unit (9) located
outside the engine compartment and having an inlet (9a) which
receives exhaust gases from the engine and an outlet (9e) which
passes treated gases into a final portion (E) of the exhaust
system. The treatment unit (9) is arranged to extend generally
vertically with the outlet (9e) generally vertically above the
inlet (9a) and adjacent a corner post (52) of the cab of the
vehicle to reduce impact on the visibility from the cab. A cage (C)
surrounds the exhaust gas treatment unit (9) and has a support
means (12) for attachment to a chassis of the vehicle and an outlet
(15e) which the outlet (9e) of the treatment unit is connected. The
final portion (E) of the exhaust system is connected with and
supported from the cage outlet (15e) to relieve the treatment unit
(9) from supporting the weight of the final portion of the exhaust
system.
Inventors: |
Dobler; Johann; (Legau,
DE) ; Heisler; Robert; (Marktoberdorf, DE) ;
Bucher; Roman; (Ichenhausen, DE) ; Thorsten;
Capelle; (Friedland, DE) ; Honzek; Robert;
(Uberthingau OT Oberthingau, DE) ; Heinle; Hans;
(Biessenhofen, DE) |
Assignee: |
AGCO GMBH
MARKTOBERDORF
DE
|
Family ID: |
40343843 |
Appl. No.: |
13/139325 |
Filed: |
December 7, 2009 |
PCT Filed: |
December 7, 2009 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP09/66554 |
371 Date: |
August 8, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
60/299 ; 60/272;
60/322 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01N 13/1805 20130101;
F01N 2590/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
60/299 ; 60/272;
60/322 |
International
Class: |
F01N 3/10 20060101
F01N003/10; F01N 13/08 20100101 F01N013/08; F01N 3/00 20060101
F01N003/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 19, 2008 |
GB |
0823124.3 |
Claims
1-12. (canceled)
13. An exhaust for an internal combustion engine for a vehicle, the
system including an exhaust gas treatment unit having an inlet and
an outlet and a final portion of the exhaust system which receives
the exhaust gases from the treatment unit, the system having a cage
which surrounds the exhaust gas treatment unit and has a support
means for attachment to a chassis of the vehicle and an outlet to
which the outlet of the treatment unit is connected, the final
portion of the exhaust system being connected with and supported
from the cage outlet to relieve the treatment unit from supporting
the weight of the final portion of the exhaust system.
14. A system according to claim 13 in which the cage has an upper
portion with the cage outlet and a lower portion with the support
means, the upper and lower portion being detachably interconnected
to give access to the treatment unit for servicing/replacement.
15. A system according to claim 14 in which the upper and lower
portions of the cage are provided with generally vertically
extending fingers which extend towards each other and whose
adjacent ends are interconnected to support the upper portion of
the cage from the lower portion.
16. A system according to claim 14 in which the upper and lower
cage portions are of a cast metal construction.
17. A system according to claim 15 in which the gaps between the
fingers of the upper and lower portions of the cage are covered by
heat shields to prevent accidental contact with the exhaust gas
treatment unit.
18. A system according to claim 13 in which he exhaust gas
treatment unit includes one or more of the following components
namely an oxidation catalyser, a NOx catalyser and/or NOx, HC,
NH.sub.3 absorber arranged in series.
19. A system according to claim 18 in which the exhaust gas
treatment unit includes a NOx sensor.
20. A system according to claim 19 in which the upper portion of
the cage includes an access cover for the NOx sensor on the
treatment unit.
21. A system according to claim 13 in which the gas treatment unit
is secured to the cage via a vibration mount.
22. An exhaust system according to claim 13 in which the top of the
cage for the treatment unit is located below the top of a cover
over the associated engine to reduce impact on visibility from the
cab.
23. An exhaust system for a vehicle having a cab and an internal
combustion engine located in an engine compartment, the system
including an exhaust gas treatment unit located outside the engine
compartment and having an inlet which receives exhaust gases from
the engine and an outlet which passes treated gases into a final
portion of the exhaust system, the treatment unit extending
generally vertically with the outlet generally vertically above the
inlet and adjacent a corner post of the cab of the vehicle to
reduce impact on the visibility from the cab.
Description
[0001] This invention relates to exhaust systems for vehicles, and
in particular to such systems for agricultural and/or industrial
tractors, which includes and exhaust gas treatment unit to reduce
the level of gas contaminants to the legally required levels.
[0002] It is an object of the present invention to provide such an
exhaust system which allows the treatment unit to be conveniently
fitted external to the engine compartment to the vehicle in an
efficient and low cost manner which has minimum impact on the
design of the remainder of the vehicle.
[0003] Thus according to the present invention there is provided an
exhaust system for a vehicle having a cab and an internal
combustion engine located in an engine compartment, the system
including an exhaust gas treatment unit located outside the engine
compartment and having an inlet which receives exhaust gases from
the engine and an outlet which passes treated gases into a final
portion of the exhaust system, the treatment unit being arranged to
extend generally vertically with the outlet generally vertically
above the inlet and adjacent a corner post of the cab of the
vehicle to reduce impact on the visibility from the cab.
[0004] Preferably a cage a cage surrounds the exhaust gas treatment
unit and has a support means for attachment to a chassis of the
vehicle and an outlet to which the outlet of the treatment unit is
connected, and the final portion of the exhaust system is connected
with and supported from the cage outlet to relieve the treatment
unit from supporting the weight of the final portion of the exhaust
system.
[0005] Such an exhaust system can be fitted with the final portion
of the exhaust system extending generally vertically and positioned
close to the right-hand A-pillar of the tractor cab where it has
only a small impact on visibility. Also, as the exhaust gas
treatment unit is not required to support the weight of the final
portion of the exhaust system, the design of the treatment unit can
be simplified and made cheaper and useable in different engine
installations or, under certain circumstances, a standard unit kit
can be used. In addition as the unit is completely isolated by
using shock-absorbing and vibration-absorbing means, pressure
surges caused by exhaust gas are reduced. Since such treatment
units involve catalytic coatings on relatively fragile support
materials the fact that the treatment unit is not stressed by the
weight or vibrations of the final portion of the exhaust system is
an additional advantage.
[0006] Additionally by locating the exhaust gas treatment unit
outside the engine compartment it is less exposed to high ambient
heat levels and heat emanating from the unit does not impact on the
under bonnet installations. Also there is more room in the engine
compartment for other elements of the exhaust system such as
particulate filters should these be required. Also existing vehicle
engine installations can easily be upgraded to include improved
exhaust gas treatment.
[0007] Also by locating the treatment unit immediately adjacent to
the final portion of the exhaust system, which can include the
silencer, back pressure can be reduced to improve exhaust gas
flow.
[0008] As the exhaust gas treatment unit is located towards the end
of the exhaust system Urea solutions can be injected into the
exhaust system further away from the treatment unit and will thus
mix fully with the exhaust gases prior to reaching the treatment
unit without requiring a mixer which would introduce back pressure.
As the mixing area is mainly outside the engine compartment, the
urea solution is not heated up which would tend to reduce it's
efficiency or destroy the Urea. Also by injecting the Urea into the
system closer to the hot turbo charger improved operation of the
system is obtained.
[0009] In a preferred construction the cage has an upper portion
with the cage outlet and a lower portion with the support means,
the upper and lower portion being detachably interconnected to give
access to the treatment unit for servicing/replacement.
[0010] The upper and lower portions of the cage may be provided
with generally vertically extending fingers which extend towards
each other and whose adjacent ends are interconnected to support
the upper portion of the cage from the lower portion.
[0011] The invention also provides an exhaust system for an
internal combustion engine for a vehicle, the system including:
[0012] an exhaust gas treatment unit having an inlet and an
outlet;
[0013] a cage which surrounds the exhaust gas treatment unit and
has a support means for attachment to a chassis of the vehicle and
an outlet to which the outlet of the treatment unit is connected,
and
[0014] a final portion of the exhaust system connected with and
supported from the cage outlet to relieve the treatment unit from
supporting the weight of the final portion of the exhaust
system.
[0015] The present invention will now be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
[0016] FIG. 1 shows an agricultural tractor fitted with an exhaust
system in accordance with the present invention adjacent the
right-hand front A-pillar of the cab and with part of the engine
cover removed for clarity;
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the tractor of FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the exhaust system of the
present invention.
[0019] FIG. 4 shows an exploded version of FIG. 3;
[0020] FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the exhaust system of FIG.
3;
[0021] FIG. 6 shows a side view of the exhaust system of FIG.
3;
[0022] FIG. 7 shows a section of on the line A-A of FIG. 5;
[0023] FIG. 8 shows details of the attachment of an exhaust gas
treatment unit to its surrounding cage, and
[0024] FIG. 9 shows details of the independent attachment of the
gas treatment unit and final portion of the exhaust system to the
surrounding cage.
[0025] Referring to the drawings, an agricultural tractor 50 has an
engine 1 with an exhaust mounted turbo charger 2 with an engine
cover 51, part of which is cut-away in FIGS. 1 and 2.
[0026] Turbo charger 2 feeds an exhaust system which includes an
engine braking throttle valve 3, an exhaust temperature sensor 4
and a first NOx sensor 5. These components are all directly mounted
on the engine downstream of the turbo charger 2.
[0027] A vibration isolating element 6 is connected by V-clamps 14
to the exhaust portion 7 which includes a urea injection unit 8.
Exhaust section 7 is connected with an inlet 9a (see FIG. 4) of an
exhaust treatment unit 9 which includes an oxidation catalysers 9b,
NOx catalysers 9c and an absorber 9d (see FIGS. 4 and 7) for NOx,
HC, and NH.sub.3.
[0028] In accordance with the present invention the exhaust gas
treatment unit 9 is supported within a cage C in the form of a
lower support part 12 and an upper support part 15. Each of these
two parts of the cage C is provided with circumferentially spaced
axially extending fingers 12a and 15a whose adjacent ends are
secured together by bolts 15b. Perforated heat shields 17 bridge
the gaps between fingers 12a and 15a to prevent accidental contact
with the hot exhaust gas treatment unit 9.
[0029] The upper support portion 15 has an outlet 15e (FIGS. 7 and
9) to which an outlet 9e of the gas treatment unit is connected.
The outlet 15e also supports a final portion 18 of the vehicle
exhaust system (which includes a silencer etc) via a further
V-clamp 14. A heat shield 19 surrounds the final portion of the
exhaust system to prevent accidental contact with the exhaust.
[0030] As can be seen from FIGS. 7 and 8, the gas treatment unit 9
is secured to the lower support part 12 by a bolt 21 which extends
through a rubber collar 20 within which a metal sleeve 20a is
provided to ensure that, when the bolt 21 is tightened to engage a
nut 22 which is welded internally to the gas treatment unit 9, the
correct pre-loading of the rubber sleeve 20 occurs via washer 23.
As will be appreciated several bolts 21 with cooperating nuts 22
and sleeves 20,20a may be used at different locations to
resiliently mount the unit 9 on the lower support part 12.
[0031] FIGS. 7 and 9 shows the detail of the connection of the
outlet 9d of the gas control unit 9 with the outlet 15e of the
upper support part 15. Two rectangular cross section rings 24 of
knitted metal fabric (or alternatively heat resistant rubber
material such as high temperature polysiloxane) are provided. These
rings provide a gas tight seal and also some level of vibration
isolation of the inner gas treatment unit 9 from the outer support
cage C.
[0032] Additionally the output 9d of the gas treatment unit 9 is
provided with a second NOx sensor 10 which can be accessed for
maintenance via a cover 16 on the cage C. The electronic control
unit for the second NOx sensor is protected by a cover 11 which is
carried by the exhaust section 7, and connected thereto by leads
10a.
[0033] As will be appreciated, the lower support part 12 of the
cage C is connected with the tractor chassis by bolts 13 so that
the entire weight of the exhaust system is carried by the cage C
and not transferred to the inner gas treatment unit 9 which can
therefore be of a lighter construction.
[0034] Also, by positioning the gas treatment unit and the final
portion of the exhaust system extending generally vertically and
adjacent the right-hand A-pillar 52 of the cab 53 of the tractor
the effective of this unit on the visibility from the cab is
minimized, as can be seen from FIG. 2, in which the obscured
portion of the driver's view marked Z largely corresponds with the
field of view which is normally blocked by the front right-hand
wheel of the tractor.
[0035] As referred to previously, the exhaust system of the present
invention allows the main exhaust treatment unit to be mounted
outside the normal engine compartment cover and in a position which
does not have a great effect on the visibility from the cab.
[0036] Also by making the exhaust treatment unit 9 a non-stressed
unit (as it does not have to support the weight of the exhaust
system), the construction of the exhaust gas treatment unit can be
made considerably lighter and less expensive and can be designed to
be useable on more than one tractor model. Advantageously this
enables the installation of a standard buy-in unit kit which can be
used on other types of vehicles.
[0037] As indicated previously, since such gas treatment unit uses
catalytic coatings on relatively fragile support materials the fact
that the treatment unit is not stressed by the weight of the final
portion of the exhaust system additionally the shock absorbing and
vibration-absorbing capabilities of the installation are
advantageous.
[0038] Also, since the exhaust treatment unit is not mounted under
the normal engine compartment cover, this leaves space available
under the normal engine compartment cover for the mounting of other
exhaust gas treatment units which may be required such as
particulate filters and also allows existing vehicle engine
installations to be easily upgraded to include improved exhaust gas
treatment by mounting the gas treatment unit external to the engine
compartment.
[0039] The exhaust system of the present invention is applicable to
a wide range of exhaust gas treatment configurations in which the
exhaust gas treatment unit may include one or more of the following
units namely, an oxidation catalyser, an NOx catalyser and an NOx,
HC or NH.sub.3 absorber or diesel particulate filters. Also,
although in the embodiment described above, urea injection is used
this is not essential and the present invention is applicable to
systems which do not inject urea into the exhaust system.
* * * * *