Photo: Porsche
Porsche has filed a patent for a new kind of turbocharger, and it is something worth patenting. The new patent shows a few drawings of how the system is imagined to operate, and it is different from the current turbochargers employed in production vehicles.
The patent can be described as one for an electric turbo, but it is something far beyond what we have seen before, and it does not operate as such a device.
Before we explain what Porsche has filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, we must first describe what usually happens with a turbocharger and with an electric turbo.
We must clarify that a conventional turbocharger has a compressor, sometimes referred to as "the cold side," and a turbine, which is referred to as the "hot side."
These two elements are joined by a shaft that helps the latter spin the former as exhaust gasses pass through the turbine. The compressor “draws” air from the inlet and “pushes” it through the piping, intercooler (if present – older models might not have one), and then into the vehicle's intake.
First, forget about the “electric turbo” devices you have seen on the internet advertised to provide more horsepower. These have nothing to do with this patent or with the other OEM-fitted electric turbos.
Now, OEM-installed electric turbochargers typically involve having an electric motor that spins a compressor to assist the conventional turbocharger in providing boost in situations where the demand for it exceeds what the latter can provide. This way, the boost threshold, commonly referred to as turbo lag, is eliminated.
Sadly, these OEM-fitted electric turbochargers require a 48V electrical system, as nobody has managed to develop a 12-volt motor that is efficient enough to spin a compressor as fast as it needs to provide enough boost. The described reason is why those cheap “electric turbos” found online never work as advertised.
Other systems involve compressed air or various solutions to make the compressor part of a turbocharger spool up faster to improve throttle response.
Several solutions were found to provide the boost that the engine requires in low-rpm situations without causing a surge scenario within the turbine. That is what usually happens when going full-throttle (or a high-load situation) while in gear and driving at low rpm.
Porsche's patent refers to a turbocharger that ditches the shaft between the turbine and the compressor altogether. The turbine remains fitted to the exhaust manifold, as we can find in conventional vehicles, but it spins a generator instead of the described shaft and compressor.
Meanwhile, at the intake, an electric motor is fitted to the compressor, and it does its job without regard to how many exhaust gases pass through the turbine. The latter also has a bypass valve, which operates as a wastegate and allows gases to pass it if required, as Carbuzz underlines.
The patent filing does not reveal if the system has a battery or a capacitor/super-capacitor to store excess energy or where the electric motor of the compressor gets its power from. A capacitor might be the solution here, but we must wait for Porsche to reveal more details later.
It is important to note that other manufacturers have developed systems that are similar to this one, at least in the form that they are described. Their operation may be different from what is explained, and each has its benefits and drawbacks.
Before we explain what Porsche has filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, we must first describe what usually happens with a turbocharger and with an electric turbo.
We must clarify that a conventional turbocharger has a compressor, sometimes referred to as "the cold side," and a turbine, which is referred to as the "hot side."
These two elements are joined by a shaft that helps the latter spin the former as exhaust gasses pass through the turbine. The compressor “draws” air from the inlet and “pushes” it through the piping, intercooler (if present – older models might not have one), and then into the vehicle's intake.
First, forget about the “electric turbo” devices you have seen on the internet advertised to provide more horsepower. These have nothing to do with this patent or with the other OEM-fitted electric turbos.
Now, OEM-installed electric turbochargers typically involve having an electric motor that spins a compressor to assist the conventional turbocharger in providing boost in situations where the demand for it exceeds what the latter can provide. This way, the boost threshold, commonly referred to as turbo lag, is eliminated.
Sadly, these OEM-fitted electric turbochargers require a 48V electrical system, as nobody has managed to develop a 12-volt motor that is efficient enough to spin a compressor as fast as it needs to provide enough boost. The described reason is why those cheap “electric turbos” found online never work as advertised.
Other systems involve compressed air or various solutions to make the compressor part of a turbocharger spool up faster to improve throttle response.
Several solutions were found to provide the boost that the engine requires in low-rpm situations without causing a surge scenario within the turbine. That is what usually happens when going full-throttle (or a high-load situation) while in gear and driving at low rpm.
Porsche's patent refers to a turbocharger that ditches the shaft between the turbine and the compressor altogether. The turbine remains fitted to the exhaust manifold, as we can find in conventional vehicles, but it spins a generator instead of the described shaft and compressor.
Meanwhile, at the intake, an electric motor is fitted to the compressor, and it does its job without regard to how many exhaust gases pass through the turbine. The latter also has a bypass valve, which operates as a wastegate and allows gases to pass it if required, as Carbuzz underlines.
The patent filing does not reveal if the system has a battery or a capacitor/super-capacitor to store excess energy or where the electric motor of the compressor gets its power from. A capacitor might be the solution here, but we must wait for Porsche to reveal more details later.
It is important to note that other manufacturers have developed systems that are similar to this one, at least in the form that they are described. Their operation may be different from what is explained, and each has its benefits and drawbacks.
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