Oct.

24, 1944,

c. K. NEWCOMBE

SUPERCHARGER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES

Filed Jan. 3. 1942

2,360,969

Patented Oct. 24, 1944 _

3

2,360,969. _

UNlTED STATES PATENT lorries.

' SUPERCHARGER FOR INTERNAL,

GOIWBUSTION ENGINES

Clare Kenzie Newcombe, Manchester, England,

assignor to Heat Pumps Limited, London, Eng
land, a British company

' Application January 3, 1942, Serial No. 425,558

In Great Britain December 9, 1940
3 Claims. (or 60-11).
This invention is for improvementsin or relat
which, under operating conditions, will, on the onev '
ing to superchargers for internal-combustion en
. hand, maintain the engine cylinders below a
gines, particularly aircraft engines.
selected temperature value and, on the other
It has already been proposed to drive an air
hand, will, by virtue of the heat absorbed from the
craft engine supercharger by means of a turbine
engine, produce vapour under a pressure su?icient
fed with exhaust gases from the aircraft en
to provide the necessary energy for driving the
.

gine. With this method, there arises the disad

turbine of the supercharger. The pooling medium

is preferably one of the Freon group such as
Freon 12 or dichloro-fdi?uoro-methane which is
in a modern aircraft engine reach high tempera .10 non-toxic,
has little or no action upon metal and
tures, but also that the back pressure in the ex
can be useful for its ?re-extinguishing properties

. vantage not only that the turbine is subjected to

vthe corrosive effect of the exhaust gases, which

haust system may adversely a?ect the running

_ in the event of a crash. However, other known

of the aircraft engine. In addition, the pressure.

refrigerant liquids can also be'employed, for ex

1 of the gas in the turbine cannot be regulated, to

any considerable extent, without a?ecting the 15

performance of the "engine. For the latter two I
reasons, it has not hitherto been possible to em
ploy this known form of supercharger drive for
an aircraft engine of the two -stroke type'withr any
degree of success.

has the advantage of high molecular weight and

therefore enables the superchargen turbine to be

of small dimensions, and also carbon tetrachlo-v

ride.
One example according to the invention will
now be described with reference to the accom-.

This invention is concerned with another

panying- diagram which indicates the general ar

rangement of the plant.

a known method of driving a turbine-operated su

percharger of an internal-combustion engine in

ample methyl bromide which, although it is toxic,

-In

- example each aircraft engine cylinder

which pressure vapour developed at least in part

l is p vided with a Jacket '2 in the usual fashion
by the liquid cooling system of the engine is sup 25 employed for liquid-cooling systems, to'provide
plied as the motive power for the turbine. In
a circulating space for the cooling liquid. The
carrying out a method of this type, various
engine cylinder jacket 2 is provided at its. upper
proposals have been made; for example, it has
part with an exit pipe 3 for the cooling medium,
beensuggested that the liquid cooling system or
an inlet pipe 4 being located at the lower part
the engineshould be arranged to act as a pre
thereof. The inlet pipe 4 feeds from a liquid cir
heater for a cooling liquid to be subsequently . culating pump 6 of any suitable type. Preferably,
vaporized in an exhaust-gas heated boiler, the .1 the engine cylinder formsbut a preheater for I
vapour being used to drive a turbine blower for
the cooling medium, a boiler proper being formed
the engine.
'
in the liquid outlet pipe bycoiling a pipe 2! at
In carrying out the method of the above kind
6 around the exhaust manifold I. From the
and according to the present invention an in
boiler, the mixture of liquid and vapour passes
Jectnr-typeheat pump is employed for raising the
into a vapour injector type heat pump 20 from
temperature and pressure level of the vapour gen
which vapour of. energy content increased by said
erated by the cooling system. Thus the invention
pump 20 is supplied to the turbine 9, the exhaust
provides, in an internal-combustion engine, the 40 being, passed into a condenser Ill, e.'g., of the
combination of a turbine-driven supercharger for j radiator type, thence to the pump.
the engine, an engine cooling system employed
Conveniently, the turbine 9
the super
as the cooling medium, a liquid having
e
charger impeller l6 are mounted on the same
physical characteristics of the working ?uid of a
shaft il. ,
>

refrigerating plant,<and--~_an injector-type heat

pump arranged to boost the temperature and

pressure level of the vapour generated by the
' cooling system and to supply that vapour as mo

tive power for driving the supercharger turbine.

Any of. the fluid refrigerant media that are
commonly employed in refrigerating apparatus
comprising evaporative elements of the s0.-ca1led
?ooded type may be employed as'the cooling
medium in the apparatus of the present inven
tion, it being necessary 'to select a substance '

45

The exhaust timing of- the engine may be so -

altered that the major portion of the energy is

contained in the exhaust gases; this energy would

be transferred to the pressure vapour and the

turbo-unit would develop the greater portion of

thexe?ective.horse-power.

_ It"~._will be seen that the exhaust-gas heated

boilerlis, used to generate pressure vapour whichin

turn is utilized as the motive power of the in
iector-type heat pump 20 for raising the tem

perature level of thevapour generatedby the

2,800,969

cooling system. The purpose of this arrangement

is to increase the heat drop available for the tur

bine by increasing the pressure of the cooling

vapour.

tem and to supply that vapour as motive power for

. driving the supercharger turbine, an exhaust

gas heated boiler arranged togenerate the pres

I claim:

level oi the vapour generated by the cooling sys

'

1._ In an internal-combustion engine, the com,- '

bination of a turbine-driven supercharger for the ,

sure vapour used as motive power for the heat

pump, and a circulating pump for the cooling 7

liquid.

engine, an engine cooling system employing as the

3. In an internal-combustion engine, the com
cooling medium a liquid having the physical char;
bination of a turbine-driven supercharger for the
acteristics of the working ?uid of a refrigerating 10 engine, an engine cooling system employing as the
plant, an injector-type heat pump arranged to

cooling medium a liquid having the physical char

boost the temperature and'pressure level of the
oi the working ?uid of a refrigerating
vapour generated by the cooling system and to - acteristics
plant, an injector-type heat pump arranged to
supply that vapour as motivepower for driving
the temperature and pressure level of the
the supercharger turbine, .ian'd an exhaust-gas 16 boost
vapour generated by the cooling system and to
heated boiler arranged to generate the pressure
vapour used as motive power for the heat pump.
2. In an internal-combustion engine, the com
bination of a turbine-driven supercharger for

supply that vapour as motive power for driving

the supercharger turbine, an exhaust-gas heated

boiler arranged to generate the pressure vapour
as motive power for the heat pump, a cir
the engine, an engine cooling system employing 20 used
culating pump for the cooling liquid, and a con
as the cooling medium a liquid having the physical
denser to receive exhaust mm the turbine and
characteristics of the working ?uid of a refrig
return the condensed liquid to the circulating
erating plant, an injector-type heat pump ar
pump.
ranged to boost the temperature and pressure so
CLARE KENZIE NEWCOMZBE.