Internal combustion exhaust catalytic reactor monitoring system
First Claim
1. Catalytic reactor monitoring system to supervise operation of a catalytic reactor (12) connected to the exhaust system of internal combustion engines, to detoxify exhausted gases from the engine, comrisingat least one oxygen sensor (90) to determine oxygen content in the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine and comprising an ion conductive solid electrolyte (21) forming an ion concentration chain and which includes two catalytically inactive electrodes (91, 92);
- means (93-96) branching the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine upstream and downstream of the catalytic reactor (12) respectively, one electrode being responsive to the upstream branch and the other electrode being responsive to the downstream branch;
a detection circuit (20) connected to the sensor (90) providing an output signal in dependence on the signal from the sensor;
and response means (39,
34) responsive to the output signal from the detection circuit (20).
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Accused Products
Abstract
To supervise operational effectiveness of catalytic reactors included in exhaust emission detoxification systems, an oxygen sensor is located downstream of the reactor to determine oxygen content in the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine, the oxygen sensor comprising an ion conductive solid electrolyte forming an ion concentration chain and having catalytically inactive contacts, connected to a detection circuit which provides an output signal in dependence on a signal from the sensor, the output signal operating an alarm, or a transducer which interferes with proper engine operation to force the operator to have the reactor repaired. Preferably, two ion conductive chains are used, in a single sensor, or in two sensors, one being exposed to exhaust gases upstream of the catalytic reactor and the other downstream of the catalytic reactor, the output signals being provided to a differentially connected operational amplifier, to balance out extraneous influences.
51 Citations
14 Claims
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1. Catalytic reactor monitoring system to supervise operation of a catalytic reactor (12) connected to the exhaust system of internal combustion engines, to detoxify exhausted gases from the engine, comrising
at least one oxygen sensor (90) to determine oxygen content in the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine and comprising an ion conductive solid electrolyte (21) forming an ion concentration chain and which includes two catalytically inactive electrodes (91, 92); -
means (93-96) branching the exhaust gases from the internal combustion engine upstream and downstream of the catalytic reactor (12) respectively, one electrode being responsive to the upstream branch and the other electrode being responsive to the downstream branch; a detection circuit (20) connected to the sensor (90) providing an output signal in dependence on the signal from the sensor; and response means (39,
34) responsive to the output signal from the detection circuit (20). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification