Radial counterflow muffler for NO reduction and pollutant collection
First Claim
1. A muffler for attenuating acoustic pulses in a flow of exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine while simultaneously collecting soot, the muffler comprising:
- a plurality of disk pairs, each disk pair comprising a pair of self-propelled, rotatable coaxial disks, each disk pair positioned within a housing in a cascade configuration, the centers of each disk pair aligned with each other, and the plurality of disks structured to rotate about an axis of rotation defined along the aligned centers of the disks, each disk pair defining a radial workspace between them, the radial workspace having an axial feed port at the center of one of the disks and an axial extraction port at the center of the other disk;
a baffle disposed between each disk pair, the respective baffles disposed between respective axial feed ports and axial extraction ports of each disk pair, the baffles and the disks structured to feed gas from each respective axial feed port, radially out from the axial feed port under the respective baffle and radially into the respective axial extraction port over the respective baffle, the gas exiting the workspace through each respective axial extraction port;
vanes disposed on each disk and structured to drive each disk to rotate when the flow of gas across each disk engages the vanes;
a housing disposed around the periphery of the plurality of workspaces such that soot advected out of the workspace impinges the housing;
a soot collector for collecting the soot that impinges the housing; and
a soot hopper for storing the soot.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A scrubbing muffler for internal combustion engines comprises coaxial counter-rotating disk pairs stacked in a cascade. Acoustic pulses are attenuated by doing work and dissipated by the circuitous path through the dynamic cascade. A motor and/or Venturi effect from slipstream over a vehicle assists exhaust and reduces backpressure for greater fuel economy. Exhaust gas fed at the axis is sheared between the disks of the first stage of the cascade as it passes radially outward into a shrouding tank disposed about the cascade. Vortex rebound at the tank wall advects flow radially inward back through the workspace between the first stage disks to axial extraction as feed for the second stage of the cascade. N2 and H2O, along with CO and NO, can pass radially inward to successive stages. Soot and CO2 stay in the tank. NO and CO are reduced at a Faraday disk cathode.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A muffler for attenuating acoustic pulses in a flow of exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine while simultaneously collecting soot, the muffler comprising:
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a plurality of disk pairs, each disk pair comprising a pair of self-propelled, rotatable coaxial disks, each disk pair positioned within a housing in a cascade configuration, the centers of each disk pair aligned with each other, and the plurality of disks structured to rotate about an axis of rotation defined along the aligned centers of the disks, each disk pair defining a radial workspace between them, the radial workspace having an axial feed port at the center of one of the disks and an axial extraction port at the center of the other disk; a baffle disposed between each disk pair, the respective baffles disposed between respective axial feed ports and axial extraction ports of each disk pair, the baffles and the disks structured to feed gas from each respective axial feed port, radially out from the axial feed port under the respective baffle and radially into the respective axial extraction port over the respective baffle, the gas exiting the workspace through each respective axial extraction port; vanes disposed on each disk and structured to drive each disk to rotate when the flow of gas across each disk engages the vanes; a housing disposed around the periphery of the plurality of workspaces such that soot advected out of the workspace impinges the housing; a soot collector for collecting the soot that impinges the housing; and a soot hopper for storing the soot. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A muffler for attenuating acoustic pulses in a flow of exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine while simultaneously collecting soot, the muffler comprising:
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a plurality of disk pairs, each disk pair comprising a pair of self-propelled, rotatable coaxial disks, each disk pair positioned within a housing in a cascade configuration, the centers of each disk pair aligned with each other, and the plurality of disks structured to rotate about an axis of rotation defined along the aligned centers of the disks, each disk pair defining a radial workspace between them, the radial workspace having an axial feed port at the center of one of the disks and an axial extraction port at the center of the other disk; a baffle disposed between each disk pair, the respective baffles disposed between respective axial feed ports and axial extraction ports of each disk pair, the baffles and the disks structured to feed gas from each respective axial feed port, radially out from the axial feed port under the respective baffle and radially into the respective axial extraction port over the respective baffle, the gas exiting the workspace through each respective axial extraction port; a motor connected to the baffles of each of the disk pairs, the motor structured to drive the baffles to rotate about the axis of rotation of the disks vanes disposed on each disk and structured to drive each disk to rotate when a flow of gas across each disk engages the vanes; the housing disposed around the periphery of the plurality of workspaces such that soot advected out of the plurality of workspaces impinges the housing; a soot collector for collecting the soot that impinges the housing; and a soot hopper for storing the soot. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification