Cooling an electrically controlled turbocharger

• US 7,946,118 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2010
• Issued: 05/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BorgWarner Incorporated
• Original Assignee: EcoMotors, Inc
• Inventors: Hippen, Will, Garrard, Tyler, Laimboeck, Franz
• Primary Examiner(s): Trieu; Thai Ba
• Application Number:
  US12/840,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20100284824A1
• Time in Patent Office: 307 Days
• Field of Search: 60607-608, 606/053, 605/97, 417/407, 417/44.1, 417/366, 310/524, 310/58, 310/43, 310/261, 310/214, 310/261.001, 184/6.11, 184/6.16, 184/6.24
• US Class Current: 60/605.3
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 11/02 Arrangements of lubricant conduits
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/021 for lubricating auxiliaries, e.g. pumps or turbo chargers
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/12 Turbo charger
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 29/0412 Multiple heat exchangers arranged in parallel or in series
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 29/0475 the intake air cooler being combined with another device, e.g. heater, valve, compressor, filter or EGR cooler, or being assembled on a special engine location
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 37/10 at least one pump being alternatively or simultaneously driven by exhaust and other drive, e.g. by pressurised fluid from a reservoir or an engine-driven pump
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 39/10 electric
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 39/14 Lubrication of pumps; Safety measures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 6/12 Turbochargers, i.e. plants for augmenting mechanical power output of internal-combustion piston engines by increase of charge pressure
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/40 in turbochargers
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2220/76 an electrical generator
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 Improving ICE efficiencies

Abstract

An electrically controlled turbocharger has a motor mounted on a shaft in a motor housing between a turbine and compressor. Oil is sprayed onto the motor stator to cool the stator. An oil gallery is disposed above the stator to receive lubricating oil and contains apertures that perform as jets to allow oil to be sprayed directly on the motor stator. A coolant jacket is formed in the turbocharger housing between the turbine and the motor to allow liquid coolant to circulate therein and dissipate heat from the turbine end prior to reaching the motor components. Other embodiments provide for a stator component to be submerged in flowing cooling oil.

Claims

1. A method of cooling the stator component of an electric motor in an electrically controlled turbocharger, comprising the steps of:

providing a housing structured to support a main shaft for rotation and to separately contain components of a turbine, said electric motor and a compressor;

mounting said shaft on bearings at either end of said housing that contains said electric motor components to result in said shaft supporting for rotation therewith a turbine blade, and electric motor rotor and a compressor blade;

forming oil lubrication passages in said housing for receiving lubricating oil from a separate source and for directing oil to each of said bearings;

providing an oil cooling gallery in said housing in communication with said stator component of said electric motor;

providing a pressure reduction valve between said passages and said oil cooling gallery to pass oil from said separate source at a relatively reduced pressure to said oil cooling gallery and to provide said oil directly to said stator component to effect cooling thereof; and

providing said oil gallery with an apertured wall adjacent said stator component and spraying said oil directly onto said stator component.

2. The method as in claim 1, further including the steps of providing said housing with a sump for receiving excess oil as it flows through said bearings and for receiving oil provided directly to said stator component and a drain for allowing said excess oil to be removed from said housing.

3. The method as in claim 2, further including the steps of providing a liquid cooling jacket in said housing to surround the bearing located between said turbine and said motor, and to interrupt a heat conduction path existing in said housing between said turbine and said motor;

and circulating coolant liquid from an external source through said coolant jacket.

4. The method as in claim 1, further including the steps of providing said oil gallery to surround said stator component and submerging said stator component in oil received from said reduction valve.

5. An electrically controlled turbocharger comprising:

a turbine, a compressor and an electric motor, a housing and a main shaft;

said housing structured to support said main shaft for rotation and to have portions which separately contain components of said turbine, said electric motor and said compressor;

said shaft being mounted on bearings at either end of said housing portion that contains said electric motor components and;

said shaft supports a turbine blade, an electric motor rotor and a compressor blade for rotation therewith;

said housing is formed to contain oil lubrication passages which receive lubricating oil from a separate source of oil and direct oil to each of said bearings;

said housing contains an oil cooling gallery adjacent the stator component of said electric motor;

said oil cooling gallery being in communication with said passages through a pressure reduction valve to receive oil from said source of oil at a relatively reduced pressure and to direct said oil onto said stator component wherein said oil cooling gallery contains a wall that separates said gallery from said stator component and said wall contains a plurality of apertures that allow oil within said gallery to be sprayed directly onto said stator component.

6. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 5, wherein said housing defines a motor cavity that surrounds said stator and rotor components and contains a sump portion below said rotor component that allows said sprayed oil and said oil from said bearings to collect by gravity and be drained therefrom.

7. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 5 wherein said aperture wall of said cooling gallery is formed by a sleeve attached to said stator component said apertures in said sleeve are disposed to form jets which allow oil to be sprayed directly onto said stator component.

8. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 5, wherein said oil cooling gallery contains said stator component and said oil flows directly over said stator component.

9. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 5, wherein said housing is formed to contain a cooling jacket to surround a bearing located between said turbine and said motor and said cooling jacket is located within a heat conduction path existing in said housing between said turbine and said motor and said cooling jacket is configured to receive liquid coolant from an external coolant source and to pass said coolant back to said source.

10. An electrically controlled turbocharger comprising a turbine, a compressor and an electric motor, a housing and a main shaft;

said housing structured to support said main shaft for rotation and to separately contain components of said turbine, said electric motor and said compressor;

said shaft being mounted on bearings at either end of said housing that contains said electric motor components and;

said shaft supports, for rotation therewith, a turbine blade, an electric motor rotor and a compressor blade;

said housing is formed to contain a cooling jacket to surround the bearing located between said turbine and said motor and located within a heat conduction path existing in said housing between said turbine and said motor;

said cooling jacket configured to receive coolant liquid from an external source and to pass said coolant back to said source;

said housing further containing oil lubrication passages to supply lubricating oil from an external source to each of said bearings, a sump for receiving excess oil as it flows through said bearings and a drain for allowing said excess oil to be removed from said housing;

said housing contains an oil chamber in communication between said lubrication passages and the stator component of said electric motor to supply lubricating oil directly onto said stator component wherein said oil chamber is in communication with said lubrication passages through a pressure reduction valve to receive oil from said source of oil at a relatively reduced pressure from that present in said passages and said oil chamber contains apertures that function as jets to direct said oil onto said stator component.

11. An electrically controlled turbocharger comprising:

a turbine, a compressor and an electric motor, a housing and a main shaft;

said housing structured to support said main shaft for rotation and to separately contain components of said turbine, said electric motor and said compressor;

said shaft being mounted on bearings at either end of said housing that contains said electric motor components and;

said shaft supports for rotation therewith a turbine blade, an electric motor rotor and a compressor blade;

said housing is formed to contain oil lubrication passages which receive lubricating oil from a separate source and direct oil to each of said bearings;

said housing contains an oil cooling gallery adjacent the stator component of said electric motor;

said oil cooling gallery is in communication with said passages through a pressure reduction valve to receive oil from said passages at a relatively reduced pressure and to provide said oil directly to said stator component to effect cooling thereof wherein said oil cooling gallery contains a wall that separates said gallery from said stator component and said wall contains a plurality of apertures that allow oil within said gallery to be sprayed directly onto said stator component.

12. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 11, wherein said shaft is mounted to rotate about a generally horizontal axis and said apertures are disposed above said stator component to allow gravitational flow of said oil onto and over said stator component.

13. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 11, wherein said oil cooling gallery contains said stator component and said oil flows directly onto and over said stator component.

14. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 13, wherein said stator is separated from said rotor component by an air gap and a wall partition of said oil cooling gallery to prevent said cooling oil flowing over said stator component from flowing onto said rotor component.

15. The electrically controlled turbocharger as in claim 14, wherein said shaft is mounted to rotate about a generally horizontal axis and said oil gallery is a stator chamber in which said oil submerges said stator component, and exits into a sump in said housing below said shaft and said stator chamber.

16. The electrically controlled turbocharger of claim 11 further comprising at least one flinger operably connected to the shaft and extending outwardly from the axis of the shaft.

17. The electrically controlled turbocharger of claim 11 further comprising a stiffener around the shaft adjacent the motor.