United States Patent 19) [11] 3,913,542

Uitti et al. (45) Oct. 21, 1975

54 SIMPLIFIED TURBO CHARGER SYSTEM 3,186, 161 6/1965 Bricout................................... 60/13
FOR AIRCRAFT 3,208,213 9/1965 Anderson................................ 60/13
3,233,403 2/1966 MacIness et al........................ 60/13
(75) Inventors: Paul M. Uitti, Huntington Beach; 3,324,651 6/1967 Smith et al.............................. 60/13
William H. Mastin, Jr., Long Beach, 3,421,314 1/1969 Michalke................................ 60/13
both of Calif. 3,435,813 4/1969 Wagner................................... 60/13
3,464,202 9/1969 Wagner................................... 60/13
73 Assignee: Rajay Industries, Inc., Long Beach, 3,541,784 llll 970 Haase..................................... 60/13
Calif. 3,548,798 12/1970 Fleischer................................. 60/13
3,651,636 3/1972 Glassey et al........................... 60/13
22) Filed: Sept. 16, 1974
21 Appl. No.: 506,575 Primary Examiner-Charles J. Myhre
Assistant Examiner-Daniel J. O'Connor
Related U.S. Application Data Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cox, Smith, Smith, Hale &
63 Continuation of Ser. No. 335,167, Feb. 23, 1973, Guenther Incorporated
abandoned.
57) ABSTRACT
(52) U.S. Cl.................. 123/119 C; 60/598; 60/605;
An aircraft engine receives its fuel/air mixture directly
60/611
(51) Int. C.’.......................................... F02B 33/44 from a turbocharger whose turbine and centrifugal
(58) Field of Search...................... 60/598, 605, 611; compressor are directly coupled. The turbine is driven
12311 19 C directly by the full flow of exhaust gases without inter
vening controls and modulation. Regulation of the sys
(56) References Cited tem, such as to prevent overboost, is effected substan
UNITED STATES PATENTS tially entirely by an intake throttle to the turbocom
pressor in both carburetted and fuel-injected versions.
2,622,390 12/1952 Newton................................... 60/13
2,849,992 9/1958 Stillebroer et al................ 60/605 X 4 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure

Zeta

44-44444/4

Z
U.S. Patent Oct. 21, 1975 3,913,542
 3,913,542
2
SIMPLFIED TURBO CHARGER SYSTEM FOR aircraft engine at sea level and including an exhaust
AIRCRAFT driven turbine with an undersized nozzle coupled to a
centrifugal compressor. The entire exhaust flow is con
This is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application Ser. fined to discharge only through the turbine.
No. 335,167 filed on Feb. 23, 1973, the patent applica 5 Relocation of the carburetor or air throttle body is
tion having been expressly abandoned simultaneous essential to the operation of the system. When no
with the filing of the present application. wastegate is used, throttling of the induction air, which
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION also limits the amount of exhaust gases driving the tur
bine, must be done at the inlet to the compressor.
The present invention relates to the supercharging of O
Throttling at the compressor discharge could result in
engines, and is more particularly concerned with the compressor surging and unstable operation.
simplified turbocharging of aircraft engines to escape Conventional modulating fuel supply means are pro
the present trend toward increasingly complex and del vided to supply fuel to the charge being introduced into
icate boost-controls. The primary purpose of an air the engine.
craft turbocharger system is to enable the aircraft en 15
gine to maintain its normally aspirated sea level power In the carburetted version of the present invention,
at aititude by supplying the added amount of air for the carburetor is located at the compressor inlet and
combustion. It is not the intent of this invention to pro the fuel/air mixture is passed, under pressure, directly
vide a turbocharger system for aircraft with the turbo to the intake manifold. The desired manifold pressure
charger engine at sea level capable of performing at full is controlled entirely by the carburetor throttle position
20
throttle under conditions of turbocharger boosts. Nei and no wastegate or related controls are required. A
ther the engine nor the turbocharger are matched with simple non-pressurized carburetor may be used, elimi
the proper turbocharger size, carburetor, ignition tim nating throttle shaft seals and pressurized float cham
ing or other variable to provide acceptable full throttle ber. Also, the standard fuel pump or gravity fuel supply
performance at sea level. 25 can be used, rather than the high pressure pump which

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART senses compressor discharge pressure in the pressur
ized carburetor configuration.
A wide variety of supercharger controls and, particu In the fuel injection version of the present invention,
larly, altitude-compensating boost controls have been 30 the air throttle is located at the compressor inlet in the
developed and tried - some of them with significant same manner as the carburetor with the compressor
SUCCESS. discharge air going directly to the engine intake mani
However, these have been based on the concept of fold. The desired manifold pressure is controlled en
primary, secondary and sometimes tertiary or further
control norms and - to their further complication and 35 tirely
related
by the air throttle position and no wastegate or
controls are required.
excessive weight - a variety of overrides, interlocks In either version of the present invention, an evacu
and 'refinements.'
In the carburetted versions of prior systems the car ated bellows type of pneumatic override in the throttle
buretor is located in its original position on the engine linkage can be incorporated to sense overboost and
and the turbocharger compressor draws ambient air in, serve to close the throttle. For overall safety against
compresses it and passes it into the pressurized carbu 40 overboost, a simple absolute pressure relief valve can
retor and on into the engine at a pressure higher than be provided in the intake manifold. This eliminates the
the ambient pressure of the outside air. The engine ex costly, more complex and less reliable control systems.
haust gases, which drive the turbocharger, are by In larger engines employing two turbochargers, a sin
passed around the turbine through a wastegate, to 45 gle carburetor or air throttle body can be used, with an
allow only enough gas to enter the turbine to produce equalizer tube incorporated to balance air or mixture
the desired compressor discharge and resultant mani distribution to both turbochargers. Similarly, a separate
fold pressure. This system of reduced by-passing occurs carburetor or air throttle could be used on each turbo
generally after wide open throttle no longer provides charger, with an equalizer tube between the turbo
the desired manifold pressure, and is actuated by a sys 50 chargers in the compressor discharge.
tem of manual and/or automatic controls and sensors. The system of this invention results in lower exhaust
Similarly, in fuel injection versions of prior systems the back pressures under certain lower altitude conditions
air throttle body is substituted for the carburetor and than current systems with automatic controls sensing a
the turbocharger compressor draws ambient air in and single compressor discharge pressure which is throttled
passes it into the pressurized air throttle body and on 55 down to the desired manifold pressure. A lower intake
into the engine, with manifold pressure controlled by manifold temperature also would exist. Both features
the wastegate. would improve fuel economy and prolong engine life.
Such complicated systems have their place in expen The aircraft engine and the turbocharger are un
sive, piston powered, high performance aircraft. matched at sea level and are sized to substantially over
However, these prior systems are too expensive, 60 boost with full throttle at sea level.
complex, sensitive and heavy to be considered for ligh
ter aircraft in the single or twin-engine category of the BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
'type usually considered to be "general aviation' units. A better understanding of the invention may be de
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION rived from the following description and the accompa
65
In general, the preferred form of the present inven nying FIGURE which is a schematic view of a turbo
tion comprises an internal-combustion, aircraft engine charged engine embodying the carburetted version of
having a turbocharger installation mismatched to the the system of this invention.
 3,913,542
3 4
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED valve not only controls the gross capacity of the com
pressor, but similarly limits the compressor, as well.
EMBODIMENT While the system of this invention has been described
As shown in the drawing, the preferred form of the with reference to a conventional carburetor type of
present invention comprises an aircraft engine 1 sup fuel-supply system it is to be understood that the other
plied by a turbocharger 2. The engine includes a plural types of fuel-supply systems may be employed so long
ity of cylinders 3 (only one of which is depicted, for as the turbine receives the undivided full flow of engine
simplicity) each having a valved intake 4 and a valved exhaust throughout its normal operating range and the
exhaust 5.
compressor is controlled on the intake side. For exam
ple, if a conventional fuel injection system were em
The turbocharger 2 includes an exhaust-driven tur 10 ployed, it would only be necessary to locate the air
bine 6 directly coupled, as by a shaft 7 to a centrifugal throttle body of the fuel injection system on the com
compressor 8. The turbine has an undersized nozzle pressor intake in lieu of the carburetor 21 and the tur
which results in a substantial engine overboost with full bocharger system will operate in the manner previously
throttle at sea level thus enabling the engine to operate described.
at full engine power at sea level with the throttle only 15
OPERATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODEMENT
partially open. The turbocharger is sized and designed
to compensate for loss of manifold pressure due to in Operation of the system of this invention is quite un
creased altitude and to produce full engine power at like a standard system. The principal difference is that
the critical altitude with full throttle. maximum power is selected by the pilot advancing the
20 throttle lever to a specified manifold pressure, prese
Exhaust-confining means such as an exhaust mani lected for the particular installation, rather than ad
fold here represented as an exhaust pipe 10 provide vancing it to a maximum position.
closed communication between the engine exhaust 5 As the aircraft climbs and manifold pressure drops
and the intake of the turbine 6. It is important to the with increasing altitude, the pilot merely advances the
present invention that the turbine receive the undi 25
throttle lever thereby delivering more air to the com
vided, full flow of engine exhaust throughout its normal pressor to maintain a predetermined manifold pressure
operating range, as will be discussed more fully herein and thereby a corresponding climb power setting.
after. The turbine discharges through a conventional Similar procedures are used for cruise and letdown
power.
tail pipe 11. The maximum altitude reached before significant
The centrifugal compressor 8 delivers its charge to 30 power loss starts occurring, (sometimes referred to as
the engine intake 4 via an intake manifold here repre critical altitude), is that altitude where the throttle has
sented as an intake pipe 12. The intake of the compres been advanced to a maximum or wide open position to
sor is connected to a carburetor 21 and is in communi maintain sea level takeoff power. Continued climbing
cation with the atmosphere through the carburetor 21. beyond this point will result in drop off of manifold
The carburetor throttle valve. 14 is manually controlled 35 pressure and corresponding power. The altitude where
by a throttle lever 15 on the pilot's panel 16. In a rela this occurs can be varied by the selection of turbo
tively "closed' position, the throttle valve 14 “starves' charger turbine components for the initial installation
or unloads the compressor 8 while relatively "open' for sea level power.
We claim:
positions of the throttle 14 operate to "feed' or load 1. A method of operating a turbocharged aircraft en
the compressor. The fuel/air mixture is supplied from 40
gine at all altitudes comprising the steps of;
the carburetor in a conventional manner and passes a. mismatching a turbocharger to an aircraft engine
through the compressor into the intake manifold 12. so that said turbocharger can overpressurize an
If desired, safety reliefs may be incorporated in the inlet manifold of said aircraft engine at lower alti
system. For example, an excess-pressure or overpres tudes;
sure sensing means 22 may be associated with the in 45 b. discharging all of the exhaust gases from said air
take manifold or intake pipe 12. As may be desired, the craft engine through a turbine of said turbocharger;
overpressure means 22 may be a direct vent to atmo and W

sphere or, alternatively, it may be associated with an c. throttling an inlet of a directly coupled centrifugal
override servo 23 to override the manual throttle lever compressor of said turbocharger, said throttling
15. 50 controlling gross delivery to said inlet manifold of
However, it is to be understood that such supplemen said aircraft engine to thereby maintain a prese
tal controls are of far less significance or criticality in lected manifold pressure for maximum efficiency
of operation, said throttling being toward the
the present invention than they would be in other sys closed position at lower altitudes and toward the
tems. This obtains, in particular, from the fact that the 55
open position at higher altitudes.
present invention has both recognized and utilized a 2. The method of operating a turbocharged aircraft
feature inherent in turbochargers. engine at all altitudes as recited in claim 1, further in
Accordingly, it is most significant, in the present in cluding the step of overriding said throttling to prevent
vention, that turbines and centrifugal compressors have overpressurization in said inlet manifold at lower alti
inherent "slip' losses not found in positive tudes in case of failure. . . a
displacement supercharging compressors - or, for that 60 3. The method of operating a turbocharged aircraft
matter, in geardriven centrifugal-compressor boosting engine at all altitudes as recited in claim 2, wherein said
systems. overriding consists of venting excessive pressure in said.
inlet manifold to atmosphere.
It is significant, therefore, that our system, in "starv 4. The method of operating a turbocharged aircraft
ing' or "unloading' its compressor, accordingly limits 65 engine at all altitudes as recited in claim 2, wherein said
the gross delivery through the engine to the turbine, so overriding consists of an override servo counteracting
that there is a lesser tendency of the turbine to over a lever for pilot operation.
drive the compressor. Stated alternatively, the throttle : :