Catalyst feed control device for catalytic converters

Claim 1

A CATALYTIC CONVERTER APPARATUS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CASING HAVING A GAS INLET AT THE FRONT END AND A GAS OUTLET AT THE REAR END, A CATALYST BED DISPOSED WITHIN AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH OF THE CASING, A CATALYST PARTICLE RESERVIOR DISPOSED ABOVE THE CATALYST BED AT THE GAS INLET END THEREOF AND HAVING A PASSAGE FOR CONVEYING PARTICLES TO SAID GAS INLET END OF THE CATALYST BED, A SECOND RESERVIOR FOR EXHAUSTED CATALYST PARTICLES ABOVE THE CATALYST BED AT THE GAS OUTLET END THEREOF AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID GAS OUTLET END OF THE CATALYST BED, FIRST MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID CATALYST BED IN SAID CASING WHEREBY THE GAS FLOW BETWEEN SAID GAS INLET AND OUTLET PASSAGE PASSES THROUGH THE CATALYST BED IN A DIRECTION FROM THE GAS INLET TO THE GAS OUTLET SO AS TO URGE THE CATALYST PARTICLES TO MOVE ALONG THE BED TO THE SECOND RESERVIOR, AND SECOND MEANS LOCATED BETWEEN THE SECOND RESERVIOR AND THE CATALYST BED FOR CONTROLLING THE RATE OF CATALYST PARTICLES FLOW FROM SAID BED TO SAID SECOND RESERVIOR, SAID SECOND MEANS INCLUDING A DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING THE DEGREE OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SAID BED AND SAID SECOND RESERVIOR.