Turbocharger compressor with inlet-adjustment mechanism having pivoting blades forming adjustable uninterrupted blade ring

A turbocharger comprising:

• a turbine housing and a turbine wheel mounted in the turbine housing and connected to a rotatable shaft for rotation therewith, the turbine housing receiving exhaust gas and supplying the exhaust gas to the turbine wheel;
• a centrifugal compressor assembly comprising a compressor housing and a compressor wheel mounted in the compressor housing and connected to the rotatable shaft for rotation therewith, the compressor wheel comprising impeller blades and defining an inducer portion, the compressor housing having an air inlet wall defining an air inlet for leading air generally axially into the compressor wheel, the compressor housing further defining a contour disposed adjacent to radially outer tips of the impeller blades and defining a volute for receiving compressed air discharged generally radially outwardly from the compressor wheel, the compressor housing defining an annular space bounded between an upstream wall and a downstream wall spaced axially therefrom, the annular space surrounding the air inlet and being open to the air inlet at a radially inner end of the annular space;
• and
• a compressor inlet-adjustment mechanism disposed in the annular space of the compressor housing, the inlet-adjustment mechanism comprising a plurality of coplanar, arcuate blades distributed about a circumference of a circle and partially overlapping one another so as to form an uninterrupted 360 degree blade ring, each blade being pivotable about a respective fixed pivot point such that the blade ring is adjustable between a maximum-open position in which an inner diameter of the blade ring has a maximum value and a minimum-open position in which the inner diameter of the blade ring has a minimum value, the blade ring being adjustable via simultaneous coordinated pivoting of the blades about the respective fixed pivot points, wherein the blades are structured and arranged to form said uninterrupted 360 degree blade ring in the maximum-open position and the minimum-open position and any intermediate-open position therebetween.