Exhaust gas purifying apparatus for internal combustion engines

Claim 1

An exhaust gas purifying apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising a cylinder divided into a plurality of successive stages for expansion, condensation and collection of impurities, each such stage having successively in the direction of gas flow (a) an annular expansion chamber and (b) annular condensation chamber separated from one another by an annular perforated adiabatic plate, and (c) an annular collecting chamber separated from the condensation chamber by an annular perforated wall and containing a heat resistant collecting material, means transmitting the exhaust gas received from the engine to an annular expansion chamber of a first stage located at a forward end of the cylinder, the exhaust gas flowing through this stage being delivered from the annular collecting chamber to the annular expansion chamber of the next succeeding stage and passing in like manner from succeeding stage to succeeding stage to be delivered to the annular expansion chamber of the last of said stages located at the rear end of the cylinder, second means delivering an exhaust portion of said cylinder and located at the rear end thereof, the annular collecting chamber of said last stage delivering exhaust gas to said exhaust portion, the volume of the chambers and the size of the perforations in said adiabatic plates progressive decreasing from stage to stage the direction from the first stage toward the last stage to compensate for variations in the flow of exhaust gas, and a cooling tube extending along the central axis of the cyliNder to cool the gas as it progresses through the apparatus said tube being open to the atmosphere at the forward end of the cylinder and in communication with exhaust portion at the rear end of the cylinder.