Slidable sleeve actuation system for a turbocharger compressor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10570912-B2
Application number	US-201715603139-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 23, 2017
Priority date	May 23, 2017
Publication date	Feb 25, 2020
Grant date	Feb 25, 2020

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for a slidable sleeve valve actuation system for a turbocharger compressor. In one example, an actuator assembly for a slidable sleeve of a turbocharger compressor may comprise: a fork arm coupled to the slidable sleeve; a rotatable lever arm coupled to the fork arm via a rigid connecting shaft; a connector rod coupled between the lever arm and a rotatable element; and an actuator unit coupled to the rotatable element and attached to an attachment case, the attachment case coupled to the turbocharger compressor. The actuator assembly may be actuated to move the slidable sleeve from one position along a casing treatment to another position along the casing treatment, thereby adjusting the alignment of sleeve slots on the slidable sleeve relative to choke or surge slots on the casing treatment.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An actuator assembly for a slidable sleeve of a turbocharger compressor, comprising:
a fork arm coupled to the slidable sleeve;
a rotatable lever arm coupled to the fork arm via a rigid connecting shaft;
a connector rod coupled between the lever arm and a rotatable cam,
the rotatable cam extending between the connector rod and an actuator unit, and the actuator unit coupled to the rotatable cam and attached to an attachment case, the attachment case coupled to the turbocharger compressor, rotation of the rotatable cam translating the connector rod, the connector rod rotating the lever arm and the connecting shaft, the connecting shaft translating the fork arm and the slidable sleeve in an axial direction.

2. The actuator assembly of claim 1 , wherein the slidable sleeve includes a plurality of slots arranged around a circumference of the slidable sleeve and wherein the slidable sleeve is adapted to surround an inner casing of an inlet of the turbocharger compressor.

3. The actuator assembly of claim 2 , wherein the fork arm includes an annular portion coupled around the connecting shaft and a curved portion that curves around an outer surface of the slidable sleeve, where distal ends of the curved portion of the fork arm are directly coupled to the outer surface of the slidable sleeve, adjacent to the plurality of slots of the sleeve.

4. The actuator assembly of claim 1 , wherein the connector rod is coupled to the lever arm via a first pivot joint and coupled to the rotatable cam via a second pivot joint.

5. The actuator assembly of claim 1 , wherein the actuator unit is one of an electric, a pneumatic, or a hydraulic actuator.

6. A method, comprising:
via an actuator assembly, transferring linear motion, in an axial direction with respect to a rotational axis of a compressor, to a fork arm positioned around and coupled to a slidable sleeve, to move the slidable sleeve in the axial direction along an outside of an inner casing of a casing treatment of a compressor to cover and uncover slots in the inner casing,
the actuator assembly rotating a rotatable cam directly coupled to a first end of a connector rod to translate the connector rod in the axial direction, the rotatable cam extending between the first end of the connector rod and the actuator assembly, where a second end of the connector rod is directly coupled to a first end of a lever arm and pivoting the lever arm via the translation of the connector rod in the axial direction to translate a rigid connecting shaft coupled to the fork arm.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein transferring linear motion to the slidable sleeve includes translating the connector rod in a positive axial direction, toward a compressor wheel of the compressor, to transfer linear motion to the slidable sleeve and translate the slidable sleeve in a negative axial direction, away from the compressor wheel.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
in response to a first engine operating condition, transferring linear motion in the axial direction to the fork arm to move the slidable sleeve to uncover surge slots of the inner casing and cover choke slots of the inner casing, the surge slots positioned upstream of the choke slots on the inner casing, relative to a direction of air flow through the inner casing;
in response to a second engine operating condition, transferring linear motion in the axial direction to the fork arm to move the slidable sleeve to uncover the choke slots of the inner casing and cover the surge slots of the inner casing; and
in response to a third engine operating condition, transferring linear motion in the axial direction to the fork arm to move the slidable sleeve to cover both the choke slots and the surge slots of the inner casing.

9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
in response to a fourth engine operating condition, transferring linear motion in the axial direction to the fork arm to move the slidable sleeve to uncover both choke slots and surge slots of the inner casing, the surge slots positioned upstream of the choke slots on the inner casing, relative to a direction of air flow through the inner casing; and
in response to a fifth engine operating condition, transferring linear motion in the axial direction to the fork arm to move the slidable sleeve to cover the choke slots and uncover the surge slots of the inner casing.

10. A turbocharger compressor for an engine, comprising:
a compressor wheel;
a casing treatment having an inner casing surrounding at least a portion of the compressor wheel, the inner casing including a first plurality of slots and a second plurality of slots, the first plurality of slots positioned upstream of the second plurality of slots;
a slidable sleeve surrounding at least a portion of the inner casing and including a plurality of sleeve slots arranged around a circumference of the slidable sleeve, the plurality of sleeve slots having a sleeve width larger than a slot width of the first and second pluralities of slots; and
an actuator assembly including:
a fork arm coupled to the slidable sleeve;
a lever arm coupled to the fork arm and a connector rod; and
an actuator coupled to the connector rod and adapted to translate the slidable sleeve along the inner casing to vary alignment of the plurality of sleeve slots with the first plurality of slots and the second plurality of slots.

11. The turbocharger compressor of claim 10 , wherein the first plurality of slots is positioned adjacent to a plurality of full blades of the compressor wheel and the second plurality of slots is positioned adjacent to a plurality of splitter blades of the compressor wheel, the plurality of full blades positioned upstream of the plurality of splitter blades.

12. The turbocharger compressor of claim 10 , wherein the first plurality of slots on the inner casing is positioned in a range of 25% to 50% along a flow direction length of the compressor wheel between an inlet end and an outlet end of the inner casing, and the second plurality of slots on the inner casing is positioned in a range of 5% to 15% along the flow direction length of the compressor wheel between the inlet end and the outlet end of the inner casing.

13. The turbocharger compressor of claim 10 , wherein the slidable sleeve includes a first end positioned closer to an interior portion of the casing treatment and the compressor wheel than a second end of the slidable sleeve, wherein the plurality of sleeve slots is positioned closer to the first end than the second end, and wherein the fork arm is coupled to the slidable sleeve at a position that is closer to the second end than the plurality of sleeve slots relative to the second end.

14. The turbocharger compressor of claim 10 , wherein the slidable sleeve is adjustable into a first position where the first plurality of slots is not in alignment with the plurality of sleeve slots and the second plurality of slots is in alignment with the plurality of sleeve slots.

15. The turbocharger compressor of claim 10 , wherein the slidable sleeve is adjustable into a second position where the first plurality of slots and the second plurality of slots are not in alignment with the plurality of sleeve slots and wherein, when the slidable sleeve is in the second position, the plurality of sleeve slots is positioned on the inner casing, between the first plurality of slots and the second plurality of slots.

16. The turbocharger compressor of claim 10 , wherein the slidable sleeve is adjustable into a third position where the first plurality of slots is in alignment with the

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Hanna David R
• Hu Leon
• Kantrow Daniel William

Classifications

• F04D29/685

  Inducing localised fluid recirculation in the stator-rotor interface · CPC title

• F04D27/0207

  by bleeding, bypassing or recycling fluids (influencing the boundary layer by an uncontrolled bleeding of the working fluid F04D29/681) · CPC title

• F02B37/16 Primary

  by bypassing charging air · CPC title

• F04D27/0246 Primary

  by varying geometry within the pumps, e.g. by adjusting vanes · CPC title

• F01D17/148

  by means of rotatable members, e.g. butterfly valves · CPC title