Equipment for exhaust gas detoxification in internal combustion engines

Claim 1

In equipment for exhaust gas detoxification of internal combustion engines of the type that includes an exhaust system with an exhaust manifold and an exhaust pipe and at least one thermal or catalytic reactor within the exhaust system, the improvement comprising: a heat pipe within which a working fluid flows, said heat pipe containing three zones, a first zone serving as an evaporation zone, said evaporation zone being disposed in the vicinity of the exhaust valves of the internal combustion engine for accepting heat from the exhaust gas, a second zone serving as the transport zone for the transport of the working medium between the first and third zones, said second zone being of flexible construction, extending along the outside of the exhaust pipe and having insulating material surrounding the outer surface of the respective portion of the heat pipe to substantially prevent heat flow from the second zone to its surroundings, and a third zone serving as a condensation zone and giving off heat to its surroundings, said condensation zone being disposed within the reactor; and a radially permeable capillary tube formed as a helically wound wire lying within the heat pipe such that through and along its interior the working medium flows in a vapor phase towards the condensation zone and along its outside the working medium flows in a liquid phase toward the evaporation zone.