Internal combustion engine and supercharger
First Claim
1. An internal combustion engine and supercharger comprising:
- an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for receiving air from the intake manifold that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressures,a supercharger for supplying air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine selectively that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressures,the supercharger includesa housing having a pair of chambers,an air bypass opening open to one of the chambers and a bypass air exit passage,a pair of rotatable rotors located in the chambers operable to move air through the housing to atmosphere and the air intake manifold of the engine that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressures,a valve assembly for controlling the mass of air flow at below atmospheric pressure flowing to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine,a first actuator operably connected to the valve assembly for operating the valve assembly to vary the power of the internal combustion engine,an air flow control apparatus operable to vary the mass and above atmospheric pressure of the air supplied to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to the power requirements of the internal combustion engine to vary the rate of flow of air from the air intake manifold delivered to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine above the atmospheric pressure into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine,said air flow apparatus including a slide assembly movably mounted on the housing for movement between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions relative to the rotors and said air bypass opening whereby a first portion of air moved by the rotors when the slide assembly is in the maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions is directed to atmosphere and a second portion of the air moved by the rotors is directed to the air intake manifold of the engine,a second actuator operably connected to the slide assembly to selectively move the slide assembly between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions to vary the second portion of air directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine, thereby selectively increasing or decreasing the mass of air flow and associated internal compression ratio of the air moved by the rotors to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine,a power transmission drivably connecting the internal combustion engine to the rotors of the supercharger whereby the internal combustion engine operates the supercharger to generate a supply of air,an apparatus for introducing fuel into the air in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine corresponding to the mass of air flow delivered to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine by the supercharger,a sensor for providing signals representative of the power demanded of the internal combustion engine, anda control processor responsive to the signals from the sensor to provide command signals for operating the second actuator, said control processor being operable to control the apparatus to regulate the amount of fuel introduced into the combustion chamber and the timing of the fuel injection into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An internal combustion engine drivably connected to a variable displacement and variable internal compression ratio supercharger that supplies varying amounts of air to the engine air intake manifold that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressures responsive to the power requirements of the engine. The supercharger has a pair of rotors concurrently driven by the engine to move air to the engine. A slide assembly associated with screw rotors is movable with a controller relative to the rotors to bypass air to atmosphere and regulate the amount of air and pressure of the air above atmospheric pressure compressed by the screw rotors to the engine to increase the engine'"'"'s efficiency. When operating at part-load unboosted, a throttle valve is operable to control the air mass flowing to the air intake manifold below atmospheric pressure to control the power of the engine.
59 Citations
62 Claims
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1. An internal combustion engine and supercharger comprising:
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an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for receiving air from the intake manifold that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressures, a supercharger for supplying air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine selectively that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressures, the supercharger includes a housing having a pair of chambers, an air bypass opening open to one of the chambers and a bypass air exit passage, a pair of rotatable rotors located in the chambers operable to move air through the housing to atmosphere and the air intake manifold of the engine that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressures, a valve assembly for controlling the mass of air flow at below atmospheric pressure flowing to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine, a first actuator operably connected to the valve assembly for operating the valve assembly to vary the power of the internal combustion engine, an air flow control apparatus operable to vary the mass and above atmospheric pressure of the air supplied to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to the power requirements of the internal combustion engine to vary the rate of flow of air from the air intake manifold delivered to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine above the atmospheric pressure into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, said air flow apparatus including a slide assembly movably mounted on the housing for movement between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions relative to the rotors and said air bypass opening whereby a first portion of air moved by the rotors when the slide assembly is in the maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions is directed to atmosphere and a second portion of the air moved by the rotors is directed to the air intake manifold of the engine, a second actuator operably connected to the slide assembly to selectively move the slide assembly between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions to vary the second portion of air directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine, thereby selectively increasing or decreasing the mass of air flow and associated internal compression ratio of the air moved by the rotors to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, a power transmission drivably connecting the internal combustion engine to the rotors of the supercharger whereby the internal combustion engine operates the supercharger to generate a supply of air, an apparatus for introducing fuel into the air in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine corresponding to the mass of air flow delivered to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine by the supercharger, a sensor for providing signals representative of the power demanded of the internal combustion engine, and a control processor responsive to the signals from the sensor to provide command signals for operating the second actuator, said control processor being operable to control the apparatus to regulate the amount of fuel introduced into the combustion chamber and the timing of the fuel injection into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An internal combustion engine and supercharger for supplying air to the engine comprising:
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an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for accommodating air and fuel and receiving air from the air intake manifold that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressure, a supercharger for supplying air to the air intake manifold of the engine according to the load requirements of the engine that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressure, a valve assembly for controlling the mass of air flow at below atmospheric pressure flowing to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine, a first actuator operably connected to the valve assembly for operating the valve assembly to vary the speed of the internal combustion engine, the supercharger includes a housing having a chamber, rotors located in the chamber in the housing operable to move air through the supercharger to atmosphere and the air intake manifold of the engine, said housing including an air bypass opening open to the chamber and atmosphere, a control apparatus including a slide assembly movably mounted on the housing between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions relative to the rotors and air bypass opening whereby a first portion of air moved by the rotors is expelled from said chamber to an air exit passage through the air bypass opening when the slide assembly is in the maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions and a second portion of the air moved by the rotor is directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine, a second actuator operably connected to the slide assembly to selectively move the slide assembly between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions to vary the volume of the second portion of air directed to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine thereby selectively increasing or decreasing the mass of air flow and associated internal compression ratio of the air moved by the rotors to the air intake manifold of the engine, a drive apparatus for rotating the rotors to generate a supply of air, an apparatus for introducing fuel into the air supplied to the combustion chamber corresponding to the mass of air flow directed to the combustion chamber of the engine by the supercharger, and a control processor responsive to the load requirements of the engine to operate the second actuator to regulate the position of the slide assembly to control the amount of air directed to the air intake manifold of the engine and control the apparatus to regulate the amount of fuel introduced into the combustion chamber. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An internal combustion engine and supercharger comprising:
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an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold for air that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressure and at least one combustion chamber in communication with the air intake manifold, a supercharger for supplying air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine that can range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressure, a power transmission drivably connecting the internal combustion engine to the supercharger whereby the internal combustion engine operates the supercharger to generate a supply of air, a valve assembly for controlling the mass of air flow at below atmospheric pressure flowing to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine, a first actuator operably connected to the valve assembly for operating the valve assembly to vary the power of the internal combustion engine, said supercharger including an air flow control apparatus operable to vary the mass and pressure of the air supplied to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to the load requirements of the internal combustion engine to vary the mass of air flow delivered to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine near or above atmospheric pressure, and an apparatus for introducing fuel into the air in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine corresponding to the mass of air flow delivered to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine by the supercharger. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. An internal combustion engine and supercharger comprising:
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an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold for air below atmospheric pressure or above atmospheric pressure and at least one combustion chamber in communication with the air intake manifold, a supercharger for supplying air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine in a range selectively from below through above atmospheric pressure, a drive apparatus for operating the supercharger to supply air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine, a first valve assembly movable between open and nearly closed positions for controlling the mass of air at below atmospheric pressure flowing to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine, a second valve assembly movable between open and nearly closed positions for allowing air from the supercharger to flow to atmosphere, a control operably connected to the first and second valve assemblies to progressively move the first valve assembly to control the mass of air flowing to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine and move the second valve assembly from the open position to the nearly closed position when the first valve assembly is in the open position, a first sensor providing a first signal representative of the position of the first valve assembly between and including its open and nearly closed positions, a second sensor providing a second signal representative of the position of the second valve assembly in its open position or nearly closed position, said supercharger including an air flow control apparatus operable to vary the mass and pressure of the air supplied to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to the load requirements of the internal combustion engine to vary the mass of air delivered to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine near or above atmospheric pressure, an apparatus for introducing fuel into the air in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine corresponding to the mass of air delivered to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine by the supercharger, and a device operable to deliver a mass air flow rate into the air intake manifold, a processor being responsive to the first and second signals from the first and second sensors to provide command signals to control the apparatus to regulate the amount of fuel introduced into the air supplied to the engine during transient engine operation and responsive to said mass air flow rate into the air intake manifold to control the apparatus for maintaining a desired combustible air/fuel ratio in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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45. An internal combustion engine and supercharger for supplying air to the engine comprising:
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an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for accommodating air and fuel and receiving air from the air intake manifold, a supercharger for supplying air to the air intake manifold of the engine according to the load requirements of the engine, the supercharger including a housing having a chamber and an air delivery port, at least one rotor located in the chamber of the housing operable to move air through the supercharger and air delivery port to the air intake manifold of the engine, an air control slide assembly mounted on the housing operable to control the timing or position of the air release at the delivery port to the air intake manifold of the engine, an actuator operably connected to the air control slide assembly to move the air control slide assembly relative to the rotor to vary the timing or position of the air release at the air delivery port to the air intake manifold of the engine, a drive apparatus for rotating the rotor to generate a supply of air, an apparatus for introducing fuel into the air supplied to the combustion chamber corresponding to the mass of air directed to the combustion chamber of the engine by the supercharger, and a control responsive to the load requirements of the engine to operate the actuator to regulate the position of the air control slide assembly to vary the timing or position of the air release at the air delivery port. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method for supplying power to a power user comprising:
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operating an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for accommodating air and fuel and selectively receiving air from the intake manifold at below atmospheric pressure and above atmospheric pressure, drivably connecting the internal combustion engine to the power user whereby the power user imparts a load on the internal combustion engine, supplying an air flow to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine with a supercharger, controlling the mass of air below atmospheric pressure flowing from the supercharger to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine, driving the supercharger with the internal combustion engine, controlling the mass and pressure of the air supplied by the supercharger to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to the power requirements of the internal combustion engine to regulate the mass of air delivered to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine above the atmospheric pressure, and introducing fuel into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine corresponding to the mass of the flow of air delivered to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine to meet the load requirements of the internal combustion engine. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A method of supplying air to an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold comprising:
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generating a continuous mass of air flow with a supercharger, controlling the mass of air flow from the supercharger to the air below atmospheric pressure in the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine, expelling a first portion of the mass of air flow above atmospheric pressure to an air passage, directing a second portion of the mass of air flow above atmospheric pressure to the internal combustion engine, and controlling the amount of the first portion of the mass of air flow expelled to the air passage to selectively regulate the rate of flow of the second portion of the mass of air flow above atmospheric pressure directed to the internal combustion engine. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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Specification