US 5,638,796 A · Electric supercharger

Abstract

An electric supercharger is described comprising a centrifugal blower for compressing air. The blower is mounted on one end of a shaft. A first bearing is provided for supporting the blower on said one end of said shaft in a cantilever fashion. The rotor of an electric motor is mounted on the opposite end of said shaft. A second bearing is provided for supporting the rotor on said opposite end of the shaft in a cantilever fashion. A lubricating fluid container is located between the first and the second bearings for containing a quantity of lubricating fluid. A slinger is also mounted on the shaft, which passes through the lubricating fluid container, for slinging the lubricating fluid against the first and second bearings. The motor, which is a brushless d-c motor, is designed to provide in response to a 50 to 100 volt applied potential, approximately 10 horse power at approximately 60,000 rpm's.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A direct-drive electric supercharger for increasing air supply to cylinders of a corresponding internal combustion engine beyond that normally pumped in by pistons of the engine at a prevailing atmospheric pressure so as to boost power output by the engine, said supercharger comprising:

(a) a shaft having first and second ends;
(b) a centrifugal fan blade mounted on the shaft for supplying air to said cylinders;
(c) a brushless DC electric motor having a stator and a rotor, said rotor being mounted on the shaft, said brushless DC electric motor being for directly rotating the shaft and centrifugal fan blade at a speed sufficient to substantially boost the power output of the engine;
and
(d) a fan housing surrounding the centrifugal fan blade, said fan housing being adapted to couple the air supplied by the fan blade to the corresponding internal combustion engine.

2 more elements

(a) a shaft having first and second ends;
(b) a centrifugal fan blade mounted on the shaft for supplying air to said cylinders;
and
(c) a brushless DC electric motor having a stator and a rotor, said rotor being mounted on the shaft, said brushless DC electric motor being for directly rotating the shaft and centrifugal fan blade at a speed sufficient to substantially boost the power output of the engine;
and
(d) bearing means rotatably mounted about the shaft between the centrifugal fan blade and the rotor, for rotatably supporting the combination of the shaft, the centrifugal fan blade and the rotor;
wherein the bearing means has first and second spaced apart bearings supporting the shaft, said supercharger further comprising:
(e) lubricating means interposed between the first and second bearings for applying a lubricating fluid to the first and second bearings.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Electric supercharger

Life of this patent

Electric supercharger

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14