Patent ID: 7438868

Claim:
A catalytic converter comprising a honeycomb catalyst body comprising a honeycomb structure as a catalyst carrier in which a large number of cells each functioning as a gas passage are formed by being surrounded by partition walls, and an exhaust gas purification catalyst carried on the partition walls of the honeycomb structure, wherein the honeycomb structure in which a large number of cells each functioning as a gas passage are formed by being surrounded by partition walls, wherein the partition walls are constituted by standard partition walls having a thickness of 0.27 mm or less, and thick partition walls each having a thickness larger than the thickness of the standard partition walls, the thick partition walls consist of the thickest partition wall and ordinary thick partition walls each having a thickness between the thickness of the thickest partition wall and the thickness of the standard partition walls, the ordinary thick partition walls are provided at the two sides of the thickest partition wall so that their thicknesses become gradually smaller as the ordinary thick partition walls are apart from the thickest partition wall, and the thickest partition wall is provided so as to divide the large number of cells into two or more cell blocks; a housing which is cylindrical, can hold the honeycomb catalyst body, and has an exhaust gas-incoming section at one end and a purified gas-outgoing section at the other end, and a holding material interposed between the outer surface of the honeycomb catalyst body and the inner surface of the housing, wherein the honeycomb catalyst body has, as the catalyst carrier, a honeycomb structure having an inner wall(s) which is (are) provided so as to divide the large number of cells into two or more cell blocks, and the exhaust gas-incoming section and purified gas-outgoing section of the housing are divided by diaphragms into two or more exhaust gas-incoming passages and two or more purified gas-outgoing passages and the diaphragms are provided along the inner wall(s) of the honeycomb structure, whereby the two or more cell blocks of the honeycomb structure are allowed to communicate with the corresponding two or more exhaust gas-incoming passages and corresponding two or more purified gas-outgoing passages of the housing; wherein the contacting areas of the honeycomb structure to be connected with said diaphragms have been strengthened beforehand.