Patent ID: 7603852

Claim:
An exhaust gas purification apparatus for purifying exhaust gas exhausted from an internal combustion engine, comprising: a connecting tube connected to the internal combustion engine and through which the exhaust gas flows; and a purification filter that has a porosity of about 70% or more, an apparent density in a range of 0.05 to 1.00 g/cm 3 , carries a catalyst thereon, wherein particulate materials in the exhaust gas flowing through the connecting tube are captured in the filter and combust in the presence of the catalyst, wherein the purification filter has a honeycomb structure having two end faces and a plurality of through holes arranged in parallel along the longitudinal direction of the purification filter, where one of two end openings of a through hole is sealed at one of the two end faces in a manner that the alternate end openings of the through holes are sealed at the end faces, the purification filter is formed mainly of one or more materials selected from an inorganic fiber and an inorganic foam and is disposed in a position such that a length of the connecting tube from the internal combustion engine to the end face of the filter closer to the engine is about 1 m or less, wherein the purification filter is formed by laminating in a longitudinal direction two or more plate-like members having a plurality of through holes wherein the through holes in the plate-like members are aligned to form through holes across the purification filter in the longitudinal direction.