Patent Application
20220074343
This disclosure relates to turbochargers for internal combustion engines.
Turbochargers are used for extracting energy from the exhaust gas produced during internal combustion to drive a compressor to boost the pressure of the air supplied to the internal combustion engine. Conventional turbochargers exhibit a lag between the time that the throttle is opened to the time that the boost (increase in intake air pressure) reaches the engine. While part of the lag can be attributed to the time it takes for compressed air to be conveyed from the compressor outlet to the air intake manifold, a larger contributor is the time it takes to impart inertia to the turbine wheel and compressor wheel. It is possible to reduce lag by using a smaller turbocharger. However, a smaller turbocharger also produces less added power. Other solutions involve relatively complex structures including variable geometry turbochargers, twin-scroll turbochargers, and sequential turbochargers.
Disclosed is a turbocharger exhibiting reduced lag while employing a relatively simple structure that is reliable and robust. The turbocharger employs two compressors driven by a turbine disposed between the compressors. More specifically, each compressor has a compressor wheel, wherein the compressor wheels are fixed on opposite ends of a rotatable shaft, and the turbine wheel is also fixed on the rotatable shaft between the compressor wheels. This arrangement is able to provide a given boost with less torque by using two smaller compressor wheels rather than a single larger compressor wheel.
A turbocharger 10 in accordance with this disclosure is shown in
A turbocharged internal combustion engine system 30 is shown in
Compressors 12 and 18 also include compressed air outlets and compressed air conduits 52, 54 for conveying compressed air from the compressors to an air intake manifold 56 associated with engine 32. As is typically the case, system 30 can be provided with an intercooler 58 for reducing the temperature of the compressed air before it enters manifold 56 and engine 32.
In the illustrated embodiment, air inlet 42 for first compressor 12 is parallel with the air inlet 40 for second compressor 14, and air outlet of first compressor 12 is parallel with air outlet 50 of second compressor 14. The exhaust gases are split between the two compressors, rather than flowing through a first compressor arranged in series with the first compressor. Also, in the illustrated embodiments, compressor 12 has a housing and volute 44 that is substantially a mirror image of housing and volute 46 of compressor 14.
In the illustrated embodiment, conduit 60 is provided for combining and conveying compressed air from the first compressor and the second compressor to the air intake manifold.
The above description is intended to be illustrative, not restrictive. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with the full scope of equivalents. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the art, and that the disclosed devices, kits and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. Thus, the invention is capable of modification and variation and is limited only by the following claims.
