Abstract:
An airflow diverter and replacement air intake plenum is disclosed that provides an increase in the air speed and airflow within the intake plenum of an automobile. The increase is the result of providing appropriately sized and shaped apparatus to smooth out the airflow within the plenum and eliminate turbulence that increase pressure within the plenum and cause a restriction of air movement. The diverter is configured in a triangular shape to divert the air from a single input port into two output ports. The apparatus is ideally configured for use in a Porsche, but can be configured for other automobiles and engines.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an automobile plenum airflow diverter. More particularly, the present invention relates a specifically sized and shaped apparatus that can be placed within the plenum of the intake manifold of an automobile to improve the air flow within the plenum this increases the air speed and air flow within the plenum. A replacement plenum is also disclosed that provides similar function that can be achieved by replacing a stock plenum. Even more specifically the apparatus is intended for the intake air plenum of a Porsche. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For as long as gasoline powered motors have been around the need to increase the efficiency of these motors has been an issue. Many people and companies have spent money on the research and development on the design of products with the specific intent to improve fuel economy. One of the main areas to improve fuel economy is with the delivery of air to the combustion chamber. The more efficiently the air and or fuel can be delivered into the combustion chamber the more complete the burn, the higher the horsepower and ultimately the more efficient the engine. A number of patents have been issued that address changing how the air flows into the throttle body, through the plenum and into the cylinders of the engine. 
     One method of changing or adjusting the airflow through the plenum is covered in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,210,107 and 4,977,866 issued to Shaffer and Wilkins respectively. These patents disclose using an adjustment plates or walls placed within the plenum of an engine. The location of the plates within the plenum can be externally adjusted to move the plates within the plenum whereby tuning the airflow as it passes through the plenum. While these devices allow the airflow through the plenum to be adjusted, they require manual adjustment to the plates within the plenum, are expensive to install, and include and adjustment component that allows for maladjustment of the plates or walls. 
     Another method of changing or adjusting the airflow through the plenum is covered in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,776,146 and 6,776,400 issued to Ricart-Ugaz et al and Laneuvill respectively, these disclose the use of a flow obstructer that is placed in the path of air that enters the top of the carburetor or throttle body. These devices disturb the air entering the throat of the throttle body to create turbulent airflow. They further obstruct a portion of the air entering the throttle body and create a change in the flow of air into the engine. While they provide a diversion of the air entering the engine, the air flow entering the throttle body may be turbulent airflow. Placing these devices within the throttle body create pressure changes that may slow down the air as it enters the plenum. 
     A number of other patents disclose placing turbulent or swirling obstruction on top of the carburetor, throttle or within the plenum. These devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,015,574 issued to Hanff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,386 issued to Reyes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,742 issued to Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,163 issued to Linder et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,642 issued to Kim, U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,124 issued to Chang and U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,296 issued to Kim. All these products introduce an obstructer into the airflow with an attempt to better mix the air and fuel. In the process of creating turbulent flow they also restrict the amount of air entering the engine and cause pressure changes with the plenum. 
     What is needed is a simple to install product that can be placed within a standard factory plenum or can replace a factory plenum that will smooth out the airflow within the plenum and allow more air to enter the engine and increase the horsepower from the engine. The proposed plenum airflow diverter provides this solution by providing simple component that can be placed within the plenum of a vehicle or where the plenum can be replaced to provide the features disclosed in this application. The proposed device satisfies these needs. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present plenum diverter is to provide a component that can be placed within a plenum to increase the airspeed and airflow through the plenum. 
     The present plenum diverter provides these features in a number of manners. One component can be placed in a “T” shaped plenum and diverts the airflow onto the plenum to be smoothly diverted into the output ports of the plenum. The shape of this components approximates the size and shape of the input and output ports of the plenum to reduce obstructions that can cause the air to slow down. The result of the components allows the standard “T” shaped plenum to operate more like a “Y” shaped plenum. 
     Another object of the plenum diverter insert is to provide the insert in both symmetric and non-symmetric shapes based upon the plenum where the insert is being used. These two or more variations allow a plethora of options to allow for variations that can accommodate a number of different shaped plenums. 
     A further object of the plenum diverter is to provide a replacement plenum that can be easily used to replace a “T” shaped plum and provide an increase in the airflow and air speed of the air through the plenum. 
     It is further an object of the plenum diverter to provide a plenum diverter that can accommodate the same, larger or various sizes of throttle bodies. If a larger throttle body is used with the plenum diverter a larger amount of air can enter the throttle body, the plenum and ultimately the engine. This will all result in higher air speed, higher airflow, greater horsepower and better fuel economy. 
     Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of prior art plenum that is currently being used. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the replacement plenum. 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the replacement plenum. 
         FIG. 4  is a side cross sectional view of the plenum diverter insert placed inside the plenum shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric view of the insert plenum diverter from  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the insert plenum diverter from claim  4  showing the insert plenum diverter as symmetric. 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the insert plenum diverter from claim  4 . 
         FIG. 8  is an isometric view of a non-symmetric insert plenum diverter. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the insert plenum diverter from claim  8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a front view of the insert plenum diverter from claim  8 . 
         FIG. 11  is a graph showing the change in horsepower from an engine before and after using the replacement plenum from  FIG. 2   
         FIG. 12  is an isometric view of the replacement plenum showing the location of the replacement plenum in the intake manifold. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  there is shown side view of prior art plenum  10  that is currently being used. In this view a single the intake port  11  is shown where air  20  is brought into the plenum. The air exits the plenum through two exit ports  12  and  14 . Due to the “T” shape of the plenum some air that enters in the center of the input port will bounce off the far wall of the Plenum  115  and will cause some of the air to swirl or be turbulent as shown by item  22 . This air may exit the plenum  25  in a turbulent manner and slow the airflow through the plenum. Air that enters near the sides of the plenum  24  may make a smoother transition  26  to the output port(s). 
     To get a better understanding regarding where the plenum exists in an automobile, refer to  FIG. 12  that shows an isometric view of the plenum  100  showing the location of the plenum in the intake manifold system. The plenum  100  is positioned between a throttle body  30  and intake manifolds or headers  40  and  45 . Air  50  enters the throttle body  30  after it is filtered. The throttle body  30  regulates the amount of air that is brought in to the throttle body using a simple flap valve, butterfly valve or similar regulating mechanism. The air  50  flows through the throttle boy and enters the plenum and then exits the plenum  52  and  54  where the air is sent into the intake manifolds or headers  40  and  45 . From within the headers the air is sent into each of the cylinders  60  to  65  of the engine. This figure shown the plenum with a single intake and air flow being diverted into a six separate cylinders, but an engine with as little as two or more than two cylinders is contemplated. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the replacement plenum. The plenum  100  in this figure is used in place of the standard plenum to provide superior air speed and airflow. From this view the airflow  112  is shown entering the input port  110 . As the air flows into the plenum the airflow is split with the apex of the diverter  114 . The apex is essentially a horizontal detail within the plenum that divides the airflow into to directions. The two separate air paths exit the plenum at  116  and  118 . The splitting of the airflow allows the stream of air to smoothly exit out of the plenum with a minimal disturbance and turbulence. The isometric view in  FIG. 3  shows the appropriate size and shape of the replacement plenum and provides additional information regarding the unique attributes of the plenum. 
       FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the replacement plenum  100  where an inverted “T” shaped plenum is replaced with an inverted “Y” shaped plenum. The input port  110  is designed to accept a larger size  115  throttle body of 85 mm, while the standard plenum as shown in  FIG. 1 , is designed for a 80 mm throttle valve. The larger throttle body allows a greater volume of air to enter the input port  110  of the plenum. The larger throttle body is an optional feature of the plenum diverter, but a variety of different size throttle bodies are contemplated including producing the replacement plenum with a variety of mounting holes or providing slots to allow for a variety of throttle bodies that can be changed without requiring the plenum to be replaced. In the preferred embodiment the output port(s)  120  are the same size  125  as original throttle body, but the plenum could be fabricated with output ports that are different in size than was used in the original equipment on the vehicle. The size of the output port on the original plenum is between 70 mm and 90 mm but can vary based upon the vehicle the replacement plenum is being installed into. While the preferred uses the dimensions disclosed, the inlet and outlet dimensions of the plenum can vary based upon the connections that are available on the vehicle. The replacement plenum includes the similar air, sensor and breather ports that are present on the original plenum installed on the vehicle. The locations of these ports are shown as item  130 , and  132 , but could be located in other places on the plenum. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  the plenum is completely replaced. Other embodiments are shown in  FIGS. 4 to 10  where the plenum is not replaced, but a diverter is placed in the original factory plenum to accomplish a similar results. 
     In the preferred embodiment the replacement plenum is made from a metallic casting, but the replacement plenum can be made from any material that provides the desired function. The material may include but not be limited to plastics, metals or a combination thereof. 
       FIG. 4  is a side cross sectional view of the plenum diverter insert  140  placed inside the plenum  100  shown in  FIG. 1 . The insert is a triangular shaped apparatus that can be placed within a standard plenum to accomplish similar results that can be achieved from the replacement plenum disclosed previously. In this figure the airflow  112  is shown entering the input port  110 . The air flowing into the plenum is split into two different directions by the apex  114  of the insert where the air stream exits the output ports of the plenum  116  and  118 .  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7  show various views of the diverter that can be placed into the plenum. These figures provide greater clarity of the design of the diverter.  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7  show the apex  114  of the diverter as essentially a straight surface the air stream flows onto and is split into two directions. The outside profile  145  of the diverter is appropriately designed to fit within the plenum without requiring modification of the plenum. The diverter is designed to approximate the cross section of the plenum, and areas  142  and  144  are semi-circular features that accomplish this design objective. The triangular shape starts at the apex and tapers down on the two ends to smooth the airflow out of the plenum. Recess(s)  150  is shown on the underside of the diverter to allow the diverter to be bonded into an existing plenum. Alternately, it is contemplated, that the diverter be screwed or fastened within the plenum using a variety of fastening means. 
       FIG. 7  shows that the profile of the diverter is circular to match the internal profile of the plenum. Dashed line  148  shown that the profile of the diverter could also be square or rectangular to match the profile of a different shaped plenum or manifold. 
       FIGS. 8 to 10  shows an alternate embodiment of the flow diverter where the diverter is not symmetrically shaped on both sides of the apex  114 . These figures also show a circular notch  160  on one side of the diverter that allows for the circulation of air to sensor or other parts of the vehicle that may be required based upon the plenum that is installed within the vehicle. A concave recess  152  is shown on the underside of the diverter to allow the diverter to be bonded into an existing plenum. In the preferred embodiment the diverter is made from a heat resistant plastic material, but the diverter can be made from any material that provides the desired function. The material may include but not be limited to plastics, metals or a combination thereof.  FIG. 9  shows the underside of the diverter is concave to allow for placement of a bonding agent to attach the diverter into the plenum. 
       FIG. 11  is a graph showing the change in horsepower from an engine before and after using the replacement plenum from  FIG. 2 . The X-axis of this graph shows the speed of the vehicle in Miles Per Hour, while the Y-axis shows the Horsepower of the vehicle. Two plots on the graph show the horsepower at the various speeds. The dashed line  185  shows that at a given speed the replacement plenum used 386.3 horsepower, while at the same speed the standard plenum used 416.5 horsepower. This graph is an example of the improvement that is achieved with the replacement plenum and or the diverter. These tests were measured using a Dynojet Model 2480 Dynamometer. 
     The air diverter(s) and replacement plenum is optimally designed for use in the six-cylinder motor that is used in a Porsche, but the air diverter and replacement plenum can be designed for use in a variety of vehicles and intake systems for other vehicles. In addition, the plenum is shown with a circular cross section for the air path, but other cross sectional air paths are contemplated including but not limited to square, rectangular, oval and others. The replacement plenum and the insert both provide a more consistent cross sectional area of the plenum that provides less restrictive and turbulent air flow, resulting in an increase of air flow rate, air speed and higher output from the engine. 
     Thus specific embodiments and applications for a replacement plenum and an airflow diverter plenum insert have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.