Abstract:
An apparatus for metering a urea or a urea-water solution for delivery to a catalytic converter assembly for removing nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gases of a Diesel engine, includes a housing block supporting function components communicating via a line, formed by recesses in the housing block, for transporting the reducing agent, and the walls of the line are formed by the housing block. This apparatus assures a simple line layout for reducing agent with a minimum number of sealing points that is accordingly appropriate for large-scale mass production.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a 35 USC 371 application of PCT/DE 01/03663 filed on Sep. 24, 2001. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The invention is based on an apparatus for metering a reducing agent, in particular a urea or a urea-water solution, in the context of catalytic posttreatment of exhaust gases. 
   2. Description of the Prior Art 
   To achieve a reduction in NO x  components in exhaust gases, reduction catalytic converters have been developed, especially for Diesel engines, and are typically classified as either so-called SCR catalytic converters (for Selective Catalytic Reduction) or reservoir-type catalytic converters. The so-called SCR catalytic converters are regenerated by delivering a reducing agent comprising urea and/or ammonia, while the so-called reservoir-type catalytic converters are regenerated in so-called rich exhaust gas phases with hydrocarbons from the entrained internal combustion engine fuel. 
   It is known for the various components of a metering system to be made to communicate via hoses. From German Patent Application 199 46 900.8, an apparatus is known which for removing nitrogen oxides from exhaust gases, for instance from a Diesel engine, meters in urea as a reducing agent. Means intended for this purpose are sometimes secured to a plastic or metal block or integrated with such a block. The metering system described is relatively large and complicated to produce, since it comprises a plurality of components located in line with one another. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The metering apparatus of the invention has the advantage over the prior art of a simple, sturdy line layout with a minimum number of sealing points, which can be produced economically and in large-scale mass production. Since there are only a few sealing points, there is less risk of leaks and therefore less risk of failure. Hoses and separate screw fastenings for lines can be omitted. Because of the smaller number of required components and the smaller structural size, the effort and expense of assembly is less, the overall structural volume is decreased, and the production and system costs are thus lowered. The structural unit can be checked for tightness, for instance, after preassembly, which means reduced rejection costs compared to finding defects upon final system checking. The recesses can be disposed in various ways, for instance in the form of bores; additional bores make it possible to expand the basic functions of the metering apparatus by mounting additional components. The provision of recesses in a housing block makes it possible to attach the metering means and other function components to the housing block; the length of the line filled with reducing agent is kept short as a result, so that the liquid can be rapidly thawed again after ice forms. Short line layouts are also fast to fill, and the requisite pressure for operation can be built up quickly. 
   It is especially advantageous for all the means to be connected to one another via at least one rectilinear supply line that traverses the entire housing block. This line layout is simple to produce and makes possible an adroit arrangement of components that have to be connected to one another. Moreover, it can be embodied in a simple way as an injection-molded bore, for instance in a plastic block that receives the various system components. 
   The open ends of the line can advantageously be closed by function components, so that separate closure elements such as closure screws are unnecessary. 
   A heating element, introduced in particular axially parallel to the recess, such as an electric heating rod embodied as an electrical resistor, can advantageously heat a central line quickly in order to thaw a frozen fluid or to protect the apparatus from freezing. Alternatively, or in combination with the electric heating rod, the housing block can also comprise an electrically conductive material, in particular an electrically conductive plastic, which as described in German Patent Application 199 46 900.8, is provided with electrodes that can be subjected to an electrical voltage, in order to achieve an electric current for heating the entire assembly by way of the housing block. 
   The material comprising the housing block is advantageously selected such that because of a low modulus of elasticity of the material, this material can contribute to volumetric compensation if ice forms in the line. 
   It is also advantageous to integrate compensatory or resilient elements in the assembly, so that a freeze-resistant metering system can be furnished that remains intact after freezing and thawing cycles and that protects integrated components against destruction from ice formation. The individual components themselves need not be embodied as completely freeze-resistant. Moreover, materials that are not resistant to high pressure can also be used, in particular for the housing block, since the buildup of excessive pressure forces in such extreme situations as freezing is averted. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described more fully herein below, in conjunction with the drawings, in which: 
       FIG. 1  shows the functional layout of a metering apparatus; 
       FIG. 2  is a fragmentary sectional view showing components of a metering apparatus that are integrated into a housing block provided with recesses; 
       FIG. 3  is a detail view of a further embodiment of the invention; and 
       FIG. 4  is a further detail view. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   In  FIG. 1 , reference numeral  1  indicates the inlet to the metering apparatus, by way of which a urea-water solution is supplied to the apparatus. A metering pump  4  aspirates the fluid. The pump  4  is rpm-controlled via a stepping motor, not shown. A pressure regulator  11  carries any excess pumped quantity of fluid via the outlet  11   a  of the pressure regulator either back to the inlet of the metering apparatus or to the metering pump or to a urea tank, not shown in detail, from which the metering pump  4  is supplied via the inlet  1 . The line  12  connecting the inlet  1 , pump  4  and pressure regulator  11  carries the pumped fluid onward to a metering valve  7 . A pressure sensor  50  for measuring the pressure in the line  12  is mounted upstream of the metering valve. The metering valve is electrically triggerable and dispenses the fluid in accordance with the electrical triggering to components connected to the outlet  14 . This is for example a mixing chamber, not shown in detail but already described in the aforementioned German application 199 46 900.8, to which compressed air from a compressed air container can be delivered in order to form an aerosol from the urea-water solution, which can then be injected into the inlet region, in particular of a motor vehicle exhaust gas catalytic converter. 
   The metering pump  4  meters the requisite quantity of urea-water solution in accordance with the reducing method employed. A secondary control unit, not shown in detail, acquires data for this purpose pertaining to the engine operating state, which are received from a higher-ranking engine control unit via a CAN data line, along with the signals of various pressure, temperature and fill level sensors, not described in detail here. 
   From the sensor information and the information from the engine control unit, the secondary control unit calculates a urea metering quantity and triggers the metering valve accordingly. 
   In an alternative embodiment, the reducing agent can also be injected by the injection valve  7  directly into the inlet region of the catalytic converter, in other words without reinforcement with compressed air or without having to provide a mixing chamber. 
     FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view through a metering apparatus of the invention, which has a housing block  400 , in particular of electrically conductive plastic, with a modulus of elasticity between approximately 1000 N/mm 2  and approximately 7000 N/mm 2 . The housing block has recesses in the form of bores  80 ,  81 ,  82  and  83 , which form the reducing agent line  12  shown in  FIG. 1 . The bore  80  traverses the entire block. The pump lines  60  of the metering pump  40  are connected via O-rings to the ends of the bores  80  and  82 , and the pump is secured to the surface of the housing block via an elastic sheet-metal angle piece  61 . A pressure regulator  11 , acting to compensate for pressure if ice forms and having a diaphragm not shown in detail, is flanged to the surface of the housing block, and two O-rings seal off the head of the pressure regulator that protrudes into the housing block. Analogously, a metering valve  7  is secured to the housing block. On the end of the housing block opposite the metering pump  4 , the bore  80  merges with a region of larger cross section, where a pressure sensor  50  is accommodated. The pressure sensor is secured to the surface of the housing block via a flexible, elastic flange  51 . Once again, O-rings assure sealing of the bore that can be filled with a fluid. 
   Via the bore  81 , the metering valve  7  communicates with the flanged-on outlet  14  of the metering apparatus. The inlet  1  flanged on next to it communicates with the bores  83  and  82  and serves to supply the reducing agent from a reservoir to the metering pump  4 . In the bore  80 , between the pressure regulator  11  and the metering valve  7 , there is an air-filled elastic hose  63 , which is secured to the bore wall, for instance by means of an adhesive. The electric pump motor, which is also secured to the housing block  400 , is disposed above the metering pump. A control unit, not shown in detail, is connected electrically, in a manner not shown in detail, to both the metering valve and the pressure sensor and also to other sensors, not shown in detail, such as a fill level sensor for the urea tank, and from the engine control unit this control unit receives data on the operating state of the engine whose exhaust gases are to be chemically reduced with the aid of the metering apparatus in the exhaust system. 
   The housing block  400  serves to receive and secure various means for supply reducing agent and further function components, such as the pressure sensor  50 , metering valve  7 , pressure regulator  11  and metering pump  4 . The rectilinear bore  80  traverses the housing block from one end to the other and can be designed in a way appropriate for manufacture, for instance conically or stepped in the case of a plastic block, or cylindrically for the sake of metal-cutting machining in the case of a metal housing block. In addition, further bores  81  through  83  are provided, some of which extend parallel and others perpendicular to the through bore  80  and assure the attachment of the assembly to a reducing agent reservoir and to the catalytic converter as well as assuring pressure compensation via the pressure regulator  11 . The pressure regulator  11  and the metering valve  7  protrude with their line connections, not shown in the drawings, into the bore  80 , so that they each communicate with the bore; simultaneously, they close off the bore from the outside. The assembly has a plurality of structural characteristics for compensating for volumetric fluctuations resulting from freezing or melting of the reducing agent during cold weather. Because the metering pump  4  is secured to the housing block  400  by means of the elastic sheet-metal angle piece  61 , a compensation capability in the event of severe pressure fluctuations caused by a phase transition is assured because the pump lines  60  together with the metering pump  4  all move relative to the bores  80  and  82 , and thus the volume in the line system that carries the reducing agent can adapt automatically when otherwise the housing block could burst, or such components as the metering valve or pressure sensor could become damaged. O-ring seals continue to keep the line tightly closed. The pressure sensor  50 , secured axially resiliently to the housing block via the flexible elastic flange  51 , is likewise pressed outward by a volumetric expansion in the event of ice formation. If the ice melts again, the pressure sensor and the metering pump move reversibly back to their outset position. The pressure regulator  11 , which is known per se and is commercially available, has a built-in elastic diaphragm, which is relieved to the ambient air. This diaphragm can yield elastically if ice forms and can thus also help to compensate for the increase in volume if ice forms. Moreover, because of its low modulus of elasticity, the housing block can to a certain extent absorb the ice pressure by expanding. In addition, the air-filled elastic hose  63  serves to reduce the circumferential tension in the bore wall, because upon freezing of a urea-water solution, for instance, it is compressed and thus can absorb some of the line pressure building up at the time. 
   In an alternative embodiment, still other bores may be provided, which connect the components for feeding and metering compressed air to one another, so that if a compressed air-supported development of an aerosol is intended for injection into a catalytic converter assembly, once again a compact, integrated assembly can be furnished. In that case, instead of the metering valve  7 , a metering valve together with a mixing chamber is secured to the housing block, into which chamber the reducing agent can be metered and which chamber can be subjected to compressed air. In this case, the outlet  140  forms the outlet of the mixing chamber. The bores both for the reducing agent lines and for the supply of compressed air can also be made by injection molding, especially when plastic is used. 
   Instead of an air-filled elastic hose  63 , other volumetrically elastic elements can be used, such as gas-filled plastic microballoons; hollow, gas-filled fibers closed on the ends; or gas-filled hoses, wound spirally in a manner similar to a compression spring. 
     FIG. 3 , in cross section, shows a detail of an alternative metering apparatus, in which a bore discharging into a cavern  100  is provided. This bore is for instance a bore that is in communication with the bore  80 . The cavern is embodied as a bore that is conical toward the outside and is closed with a flange  110 ; O-ring seals assure sealing even if the position of the flange changes. The flange is in fact supported axially movably via compression springs  111  and screws  112 . 
   In the event of freezing, the fluid in the line, that is, in the bores and thus also in the bore discharging into the cavern  100 , expands and presses against the housing block. To a limited extent, the bore walls yield, as already noted above. Any further increase in the pressure could cause the housing to burst. The support of the flange  110  embodied as a resilient element is now dimensioned such that in good time before any risk of bursting, it yields to the ice pressure by moving axially and thus limits the pressure in the bore in the event of ice formation. The conical embodiment of the bore here results in an amplified axial direction of action of the ice pressure and carries this pressure to the resilient flange. Given suitable dimensioning of the components, this process can be repeated cyclically as often as desired. 
   The cavern  100  can also be embodied as a cylinder, or as a cylinder with a multiply graduated inside diameter, or in other words can be formed by the peripheral region of the bore itself or by a cylindrical hollow chamber with a different diameter, in particular a larger diameter, than the bore. The cavern can also have any feasible geometry. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates an alternative, axially movable securing of the pressure sensor  50 . A compression spring  120  presses it against a bore step  131  of the sensor bore  130 . The compression spring  120  is braced here on a threaded ring  121  that is secured to the housing block  400 . An O-ring seal  140  in a radial indentation in the pressure sensor assures sealing off of the fluid volume formed by the bore  80  and the sensor bore  130 . 
   If the urea-water solution freezes, then as a consequence of a volumetric expansion the pressure in the bore  80  and in the widened-diameter sensor bore  130  increases, until the spring force of the compression spring  120  is reached. Then the pressure sensor  50  is displaced counter to the spring force and increases the volume in the sensor bore  130 . By this variant installation, both the pressure sensor  50  and the block  400  are protected against excessively high ice pressure loads. 
   The foregoing relates to preferred exemplary embodiments in the invention, it being understood that other variants and embodiments thereof are possible, within the spirit and scope of the invention, the latter being defined by the appended claims.