Catalytic exhaust cleaner

Claim 1

An exhaust cleaner for temporary use on a motorcar having an exhaust pipe, comprising: (a) a container having an exhaust gas inlet and an exhaust gas outlet; (b) a catalyst material having good heat accumulating capacity disposed within the interior of said container; (c) electrical heating means disposed in said container in direct contact with said catalyst material; (d) means for sensing and indicating the temperature of said catalyst material; (e) a protective enclosure at least partially surrounding said container and insulatedly spaced therefrom comprising a shield of heat insulating material and a metallic shield arranged externally of said heat insulating material; (f) frame means mounting said container for ready transportation comprising an upstanding substantially vertical frame and a bottom frame attached to said upstanding frame and extending substantially transversely thereto, a hook-like projection extending from said frame for temporarily attaching said exhaust cleaner to a motorcar in proximity to its exhaust pipe and a handle connected to said frame for manually transporting said exhaust cleaner; (g) a flexible hose connected to said exhaust inlet at one end and having means at the other end thereof for temporary connection to the outlet end of an exhaust pipe; and (h) means electrically connected to said heating coil for connecting the heating coil to a power supply external to a motorcar in order to pre-heat said catalyst material to a predetermined temperature, prior to attaching said exhaust cleaner to a motorcar.