Internal combustion engine and supercharger

A method for supplying power to a power user comprising:

• operating an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for accommodating a mass of air and fuel,
• drivably connecting the internal combustion engine to the power user whereby the power user imparts a load on the internal combustion engine,
• generating a mass of air flow with a supercharger,
• expelling a first portion of the mass of air flow without compression with the supercharger to an air passage,
• compressing a second portion of the mass of air flow with the supercharger,
• directing the second portion of the compressed mass of air from the supercharger to the internal combustion engine,
• controlling the first portion the mass of air flow without compression expelled to the air passage to selectively regulate the flow of the second portion of the mass of compressed mass of air flow directed to the internal combustion engine to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine,
• driving the supercharger with the internal combustion engine, and
• introducing fuel into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine corresponding to the compressed second portion of the mass of air flow delivered to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine to meet load requirements of the internal combustion engine.

An air control system for an internal combustion engine comprising:

• a supercharger for generating a mass of air,
• wherein said supercharger includes:
• a housing,
• a chamber and an air bypass opening in communication with the chamber and an air bypass passage, and
• an air delivery port open to the chamber for directing a mass of air to the internal combustion engine,
• a rotor assembly located in the chamber of the housing operable to move a first portion of the mass of air without compression through the air bypass opening to the air bypass passage and to move a compressed second portion of the mass of air to the air delivery port and internal combustion engine,
• 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 rotor assembly and air bypass opening whereby the first portion of the mass of air moved without compression by the rotor assembly is expelled to the air bypass opening and to the air exit passage when the slide assembly is in maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions, and the compressed second portion of the mass of air moved and compressed by the rotor is moved to the air delivery port and the internal combustion engine,
• an actuator operably connected to the slide assembly to selectively move the slide assembly between the maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions, and
• a valve assembly operable to control the compressed second portion of the mass of air from the supercharger to the internal combustion engine.

A supercharged internal combustion engine comprising:

• an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for accommodating a mass of air and fuel and receiving the mass of air from the intake manifold,
• a supercharger operable to supply the mass of air to the intake manifold of the engine according to the air requirements of the internal combustion engine for a given power output of the internal combustion engine,
• wherein said supercharger includes:
• a housing having an internal chamber,
• an air inlet passage open to the internal chamber to allow a mass of air to flow into the internal chamber of the housing, and
• an air bypass opening and an air bypass passage open to the air bypass opening and open to the air inlet passage,
• rotors rotatably mounted on the housing and located in the internal chamber operable to move a first portion of the mass of air without compression through the air bypass opening to the air bypass passage and into the air inlet passage whereby the first portion of the mass of air flows to the air inlet passage of the supercharger,
• 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 the first portion of the mass of air moved without compression by the rotors is expelled from the internal chamber through the air bypass opening to the air bypass passage and air inlet passage of the supercharger when the slide assembly is in the maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions and the second portion of the mass of air moved and compressed by the rotors is directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a first 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 selectively increase or decrease the second portion of the mass of air directed to the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine
• a throttle valve located in the air inlet passage to control the mass of air flowing into the air inlet passage and to the supercharger,
• a second actuator operably connected to the throttle valve for operating the throttle valve to regulate the power of the engine,
• a drive apparatus for rotating the rotors to generate the supply of the mass of air, and
• a control processor responsive to power requirements of the engine to operate the first actuator to regulate the position of the slide assembly to control the second portion of the mass of air directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine.

A supercharged internal combustion engine comprising:

• an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for accommodating air and fuel and receiving a mass of air from the air intake manifold,
• a supercharger for supplying the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the engine according to air requirements of the engine for a given power output of the internal combustion engine,
• the supercharger including a housing having a chamber, an air bypass opening open to the chamber and atmosphere, and an air delivery port,
• a rotor located in the chamber of the housing operable to direct a first portion of the mass of air without compression to the air bypass opening and to trap and compress a second portion of the mass of air and then direct the compressed mass of air to air delivery port and to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• said supercharger including an air flow control apparatus operable to vary the compressed second portion of the mass of air supplied to the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to the air requirements of the internal combustion engine for a given power output of the internal combustion engine and direct the first portion of the mass of air without compression to the air bypass opening,
• said air flow control apparatus including a slide member movably mounted on the housing for movement between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions relative to the air bypass opening to selectively increase or decrease the first portion of the mass of air without compression flowing from the supercharger into the air bypass opening and to selectively increase or decrease the compressed second portion of the mass of air supplied to the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a first actuator connected to the slide member operable to selectively move the slide member between maximum bypass, partial bypass and minimum bypass positions relative to the air bypass opening,
• an air control slide assembly mounted on the housing operable to control the timing of the second portion of the mass of air release at the air delivery port to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine whereby the trapped pressure of the second portion of the mass of air discharged into the air delivery port substantially equates to the pressure of the mass of air in the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a second actuator operably connected to the air control slide assembly to move the air control slide assembly relative to the rotor to vary the timing of the second portion of the mass of air release at the air delivery port to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a drive apparatus for rotating the rotor to generate a supply of mass of air, an apparatus for introducing fuel into the air supplied to the combustion chamber corresponding to the second portion of 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 second actuator to regulate the position of the air control slide assembly to regulate the second portion of the mass of air release at the air delivery port.

A supercharged internal combustion engine comprising:

• an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for accommodating a mass of air and fuel and receiving the mass of air from the air intake manifold,
• a supercharger operable to supply the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the engine according to air requirements of the engine for a given power output of the internal combustion engine,
• wherein the supercharger includes:
• a housing having an internal chamber,
• rotors located in the internal chamber in the housing operable to move a first portion of the mass of air without compression through the supercharger to atmosphere and to trap and compress a second portion of the mass of air and then to direct the intake manifold of the engine,
• said housing including an air bypass opening open to the internal 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 the first portion of the mass of air moved without compression by the rotors is expelled from said internal chamber through the air bypass opening to an air bypass passage when the slide assembly is in the maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions and the second portion of the mass of air is trapped and compressed by the rotors and is then directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a first 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 compressed second portion of the mass of air directed to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine thereby selectively increasing or decreasing the second portion of the mass of air flow and associated internal compression ratio of the second portion of the mass of air moved by the rotors to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a valve assembly located between the supercharger and the air intake manifold of the engine for controlling the second portion of the mass of air flowing from the supercharger to the air intake manifold of the engine to regulate power of the engine,
• a second actuator operably connected to the valve assembly for operating the valve assembly to regulate the power of the engine,
• a drive apparatus for rotating the rotors to generate the supply of the mass of air,
• an apparatus for introducing fuel into the mass of air supplied to the combustion chamber corresponding to the mass of air flow directed to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine by the supercharger, and
• a control processor responsive to power requirements of the engine to operate the first actuator to regulate the position of the slide assembly to control the second portion of the mass of air directed to the air intake manifold of the engine to control the second actuator and to control the apparatus to regulate an amount of fuel introduced into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

A supercharged internal combustion engine comprising:

• an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold for accommodating a mass of air and at least one combustion chamber in communication with the air intake manifold,
• a supercharger for supplying the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• wherein said supercharger has:
• a housing with an air bypass opening, and
• a drive apparatus for operating the supercharger to supply the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a throttle valve assembly located between the supercharger and air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine movable between open and nearly closed positions for controlling the mass of air flowing from the supercharger to the air intake manifold to regulate the power of the internal combustion engine,
• a vent valve assembly located between the supercharger and throttle valve assembly selectively movable between open and closed positions for allowing the mass of air from the supercharger to flow to and from atmosphere or preventing the mass of air from the supercharger to flow to atmosphere,
• a control operably connected to the throttle and vent valve assemblies to move the throttle 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 vent valve assembly from the open position to the closed position when the throttle valve assembly is in the open position,
• a first sensor providing a first signal representative of the position of the throttle valve assembly between and including its open and nearly closed positions,
• a second sensor providing a second signal representative of the position of the vent valve assembly in its open position or nearly closed position,
• said supercharger including an air flow control apparatus operable to regulate the mass of air supplied to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to air requirements of the internal combustion engine for a given power output of the internal combustion engine,
• said air flow control apparatus including a slide member movably mounted on the housing for movement between maximum air bypass, partial bypass and minimum air bypass positions relative to the air bypass opening to selectively increase or decrease a first portion of the mass of air without compression flowing from the supercharger into the air bypass opening and to selectively increase or decrease a second portion of the mass of air supplied to the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• an actuator connected to the slide member operable to selectively move the slide member between maximum bypass, partial bypass and minimum bypass positions relative to the air bypass opening,
• 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 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 an amount of fuel introduced into the mass of air supplied to the engine during transient engine operation and responsive to said mass of the air flow into the air intake manifold and to control the apparatus for maintaining a desired combustible air/fuel ratio in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

A supercharged internal combustion engine comprising:

• an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for receiving a mass of air from the air intake manifold,
• a supercharger operable for supplying the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the engine,
• wherein said supercharger includes:
• a housing having an internal chamber,
• an air bypass opening to the internal chamber, and
• an air bypass passage open to the air bypass opening,
• a pair of rotors rotatably mounted on the housing located in the chamber operable to move a first portion of the mass of air without compression through the air bypass opening to the air bypass passage, and to move a compressed second portion of the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• an air flow control apparatus operable to vary the second portion of the mass of air at air pressures in the range of atmospheric air pressure to three atmospheric air pressures of the second portion of the mass of air supplied to the intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to air requirements of the internal combustion engine for a given power output of the internal combustion engine,
• said air flow control apparatus including a slide assembly movably mounted on the housing and located between the chamber and air bypass opening movable between maximum air bypass, partial air bypass and minimum air bypass positions relative to the rotors and the air bypass opening whereby the first portion of the mass of air moved by the rotors when the slide assembly is in the maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions is directed to the air bypass passage without compression and the second portion of the mass of air is trapped and compressed by the rotors and is then directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a first 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 the trapped mass of air that is compressed and directed to the air intake manifold of the engine thereby selectively increasing or decreasing the mass of air flow and associated internal compression ratio of the mass of air moved by the rotors to the combustion chamber of the engine,
• a power transmission drivably connecting the engine to the rotors to rotate the rotors to generate the supply of the mass of air,
• a throttle valve assembly located between the supercharger and air intake manifold of the engine for controlling the mass of air flow at air pressures in the range of one half atmospheric air pressure to three atmospheric air pressures to the air intake manifold of the engine to regulate the power of the engine,
• a second actuator operably connected to the throttle valve assembly for operation of the throttle valve assembly to vary the air requirements of the internal combustion engine for a given power requirement of the internal combustion engine,
• wherein the second actuator includes a progressive sequential manual control for operating the throttle valve assembly to vary a power of the engine,
• an apparatus for introducing fuel into the mass of air in the combustion chamber of the engine corresponding to the second portion of the mass of air delivered to the combustion chamber of the engine by the supercharger,
• at least one sensor for providing a signal representative of the power requirement of the engine, and
• a control processor responsive to the signal from the at least one sensor for providing the signal representative of the power requirement of the engine to operate the first and second actuators and to regulate the fuel introduced into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.

A supercharged internal combustion engine comprising:

• an internal combustion engine having an air intake manifold and at least one combustion chamber for receiving a mass of air from the air intake manifold,
• a supercharger being operable for supplying the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine
• wherein the supercharger includes:
• a housing having a pair of chambers,
• an air bypass opening open to at least one of the chambers and an air bypass passage,
• a pair of rotatable rotors located in the chambers operable to generate a mass flow of air and move a first portion of the mass of air without compression through the housing to the air bypass opening to the air bypass passage and to move a compressed second portion of the mass of air to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• an air flow control apparatus operable to vary the second portion of the mass of air flow at air pressures in the range of atmospheric air pressure to three atmospheric air pressures of the mass of the air supplied to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine responsive to air requirements of the internal combustion engine for a given power output of the internal combustion engine,
• said air flow control 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 the first portion of the mass of air moved by the rotors when the slide assembly is in the maximum air bypass and partial air bypass positions is directed to the air bypass passage without compression and the second portion of the mass of air trapped and compressed by the rotors and is then directed to the air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine,
• a first 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 the trapped mass of air that is compressed and 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 mass of 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 to rotate the rotors whereby the internal combustion engine operates the supercharger to generate a supply of the mass of air,
• a throttle valve assembly located between the supercharger and air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine for controlling the mass of air flow at air pressures in the range of one half atmospheric air pressure to three atmospheric air pressures to the air intake manifold of the engine to regulate a power of the internal combustion engine,
• a second actuator operably connected to the throttle valve assembly for operation of the throttle valve assembly to regulate the air requirements of the internal combustion engine for a given power requirement of the internal combustion engine,
• an apparatus for introducing fuel into the mass of air in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine corresponding to the second portion of the mass of air delivered to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine by the supercharger,
• at least one sensor for providing a signal representative of the power requirement of the internal combustion engine, and
• a control processor responsive to the signals from the at least one sensor for providing the signal representative of the power requirement of the engine to operate the first and second actuators second actuator, said control processor being operable to control the apparatus to regulate the of fuel introduced into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.