Patent Publication Number: US-8991173-B2

Title: Linear actuator for a variable-geometry member of a turbocharger, and a turbocharger incorporating same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to exhaust gas-driven turbochargers having a variable-geometry member for regulating the flow of exhaust gas through the turbine. The disclosure relates in particular to a linear actuator for effecting movement of the variable-geometry member. 
     Turbochargers for internal combustion engines often include some type of variable-geometry member for regulating exhaust gas flow through the turbine so as to provide a greater degree of control over the amount of boost provided to the engine by the turbocharger. Such variable-geometry members can include variable vane arrangements, waste gates, sliding pistons, etc. 
     Linear actuators are frequently employed for providing the motive force to move the variable-geometry member of the turbocharger. An actuator rod or shaft of the actuator is mechanically coupled to the variable-geometry member. Examples of such linear actuators include pneumatic actuators operated by vacuum derived from the engine&#39;s intake system. 
     In order to accurately control the position of the variable-geometry member, typically a sensor assembly is incorporated in the linear actuator for sensing the position of the actuator rod along the nominal displacement path of the actuator rod. One type of sensor assembly comprises a permanent magnet and a Hall effects sensor. The magnet is housed within the movable part of the actuator that imparts movement to the actuator rod. The sensor is disposed in the fixed part of the actuator, proximate the magnet. The nominal displacement path of the actuator rod is usually coincident with the longitudinal axis of the actuator rod. However, often the actual movement of the actuator rod is not a pure translation along the longitudinal axis of the rod, but also includes some amount of rotation of the rod about one or more axes that are not parallel to the longitudinal axis. This complex movement of the actuator rod complicates the accurate sensing of the actuator rod position by the sensor assembly. 
     Others have tried to address this problem by providing a guiding structure for the actuator rod. The guiding structure surrounds and contacts the actuator rod and constrains it to pivot about a fixed pivot point that is proximate the sensor. The magnet is contained in a part of the rod adjacent the sensor. The objective of this arrangement is to keep the radial spacing between the magnet and the sensor constant regardless of whether the rod is purely translating or undergoing a complex translation and rotation movement. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure concerns a vacuum-operated linear actuator for a variable-geometry member of a turbocharger. In accordance with one embodiment described herein, a turbocharger for an internal combustion engine comprises a compressor wheel and a turbine wheel mounted on a common shaft, the compressor wheel being disposed in a compressor housing and the turbine wheel being disposed in a turbine housing, the turbine housing defining passages for receiving exhaust gas, directing the exhaust gas to the turbine wheel, and discharging the exhaust gas from the turbine housing. The turbocharger further includes a variable-geometry member operable to regulate flow of exhaust gas through the turbine housing, and a vacuum-operated linear actuator coupled with the variable-geometry member and operable to cause movement of the variable-geometry member. 
     The linear actuator comprises an enclosure having a first end wall and an opposite second end wall spaced apart along an axial direction, and a flexible diaphragm within the enclosure, the enclosure and diaphragm cooperating to define an interior chamber capable of supporting a fluid pressure differential across the diaphragm. A metallic generally cup-shaped piston has a bottom wall connected to the diaphragm and a side wall extending from the bottom wall generally toward the first end wall of the enclosure. A spring is engaged between the first end wall of the enclosure and the piston for biasing the piston and the diaphragm in a direction opposite the fluid pressure differential across the diaphragm. An actuator rod is connected to the piston and the diaphragm and extends generally axially and penetrates through the second wall of the enclosure. 
     The actuator further comprises a sensor assembly comprising a permanent magnet and a sensor each fixedly mounted with respect to the enclosure and proximate the first end wall of the enclosure, and a non-magnetized metallic flux modifier mounted on the piston. The flux modifier can be contained in a generally cylindrical carrier, the carrier extending generally axially between a proximal end proximate the first end wall to a distal end proximate the piston. Movement of the diaphragm and piston result in movement of the carrier and the flux modifier contained therein, and the movement of the flux modifier causes an alteration of the magnetic field of the magnet. This alteration of the magnetic field is sensed by the sensor, which produces an output signal indicative of the magnetic field. 
     A slide-pivot bearing is mounted at the first end wall of the enclosure and receives the carrier, the slide-pivot bearing permitting the carrier to move axially and to pivot relative to the enclosure. The carrier is connected to the bottom wall of the piston by an articulated joint, the articulated joint permitting pivotal movement of the carrier relative to the piston such that a given amount of angular misalignment of the piston relative to the axial direction results in a lesser amount of angular misalignment of the carrier relative to the axial direction. 
     Alternatively, the flux modifier does not have to be contained in a generally cylindrical carrier. 
     The sensor can comprise a Hall effects sensor. 
     In one embodiment, the articulated joint between the carrier and the piston comprises a socket member affixed to the bottom wall of the piston and defining a socket, and an end portion of the carrier that is received in the socket, the socket presenting an inner wall portion of generally spherical configuration, the end portion presenting a surface of generally spherical configuration engaging the inner wall portion of the socket. 
     The actuator in one embodiment includes a crimping member affixed to the bottom wall of the piston, the socket member being crimped by the crimping member. 
     In one embodiment, an end portion of the actuator rod extends into an interior of the socket, and the actuator includes a resilient biasing member disposed between the end portion of the actuator rod and a surface of the carrier, the biasing member exerting a generally axial pre-load on the carrier. 
     Alternatively, the flux modifier can be connected to the piston by a flexible member that flexes to allow the flux modifier to pivot relative to the piston. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       Having thus described the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a turbocharger and actuator in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of an actuator in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, in a relatively extended position; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the actuator in a relatively extended position (with the coil spring and diaphragm removed, for clarity), where the actuator rod and associated components have pivoted 5 degrees relative to the axial direction of the actuator; 
         FIG. 4  is a view similar to  FIG. 3 , with the actuator in a partially retracted position; 
         FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 3 , with the actuator in still further retracted position, where the actuator rod and associated components have pivoted 3 degrees relative to the axial direction of the actuator; and 
         FIG. 6  depicts an assembly of a flux modifier and flexible attachment device in accordance with a further embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The turbocharger and actuator now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some but not all possible embodiments are shown. Indeed, the turbocharger and actuator may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
     A turbocharger and actuator according to one embodiment are depicted in  FIG. 1 . The turbocharger comprises a compressor wheel  20  mounted in a compressor housing  22  and a turbine wheel  30  mounted in a turbine housing  32 . The compressor wheel and turbine wheel are mounted on opposite ends of a shaft  34  that is supported in bearings mounted in a center housing  42 . The compressor housing  22  is fastened to one side of the center housing  42  and the turbine housing  32  is fastened to the other side of the center housing. Exhaust gas from an engine is fed into an inlet in the turbine housing, into a volute  38  that surrounds the turbine wheel  30 . The exhaust gas is fed from the volute  38  into the turbine wheel  30  through a variable nozzle  50 . In the illustrated embodiment, the variable nozzle  50  includes variable vanes  51  whose setting angles can be varied via rotation of a unison ring  52  about its axis, which axis substantially coincides with the rotation axis of the turbine wheel  30 . 
     The unison ring  52  is rotated by a mechanical linkage (not visible in  FIG. 1 ) that is operated by a linear actuator  60 . The actuator  60  includes an actuator rod  62  that projects out from the actuator and is coupled with the mechanical linkage in suitable fashion. The details of coupling the actuator to the variable-geometry member of the turbine will vary from turbocharger to turbocharger, depending on the particular design of the turbocharger and its variable-geometry member. This is well understood by persons of ordinary skill in the turbocharger art, and hence need not be described in detail here. 
     The present disclosure concerns in particular the design of the actuator  60 , and therefore the present description will focus on the actuator.  FIG. 2  shows a cross-sectional view of the actuator  60  in accordance with one embodiment. Broadly, the actuator comprises a fixed portion that includes an enclosure or housing  70 , and a movable portion that includes a diaphragm  80 , a cup-shaped member or piston  90 , a coil spring  100 , and the actuator rod  62 . The housing  70  is made up of two generally cup-shaped parts  72  and  74  that are connected to each other, open end-to-open end, so as to form an enclosure. The housing has a first end wall  73  formed by the part  72  and an opposite second end wall  75  formed by the part  74 . The diaphragm  80  is a sheet of flexible and resilient material that is fluid-impervious, such as a rubber or rubber-like material. An outer periphery of the diaphragm is captured between the two housing parts  72  and  74  in a fluid-sealed manner, such that the diaphragm divides the interior of the housing into an upper chamber and a lower chamber (with respect to the orientation shown in  FIG. 2 ). The upper chamber is sealed with respect to atmosphere, while the lower chamber is vented to atmosphere. The housing  70  is attached, such as by bolts  76 , to a bracket (not shown) that in turn is attached by bolts to one of the fixed housing structures of the turbocharger. 
     The cup-shaped piston  90  of the actuator is disposed with its closed bottom wall against the upper surface of the diaphragm  80  and its open end facing upwardly. The coil spring  100  is disposed substantially concentrically with respect to the piston  90  and has one end engaged against the bottom wall of the piston  90  and its opposite end engaged against an inner surface of the upper housing part  72  (although the turn of the coil spring that engages the housing part  72  cannot be seen in the cross-section of  FIG. 2 ). 
     The actuator includes a fluid passage  78  that extends into the upper chamber of the housing  70 , through which fluid (typically air) can be evacuated from or fed into the upper chamber. When a vacuum is exerted through the fluid passage, the upper chamber is partially evacuated to create a vacuum in the upper chamber. Because the lower chamber on the other side of the diaphragm  80  is vented to atmosphere, a fluid pressure differential exists across the diaphragm, urging it and the piston  90  upwardly so as to compress the spring  100 . The position the piston  90  moves to depends on the degree of vacuum relative to the spring force. The actuator rod  62  has one end connected to the piston  90  and hence it moves along with the piston. The other end of the rod  62  is coupled to the variable-geometry member of the turbine, such that linear movement of the rod  62  in one direction or the other (as regulated by the amount of vacuum exerted on the actuator chamber) results in movement of the variable-geometry member. 
     The actuator rod  62  passes through a ring-shaped gimbal  120 , located adjacent the second end wall  75  of the enclosure  70 . The gimbal keeps the portion of the rod within the gimbal generally centered relative to the actuator housing but permits the rod to undergo some degree of pivoting about axes transverse to the longitudinal axis of the rod. This pivoting ability is necessary because as a result of the characteristics of the variable-geometry mechanism to which the distal end of the rod  62  is connected, the rod  62  in some turbochargers will not purely translate parallel to its longitudinal axis, but will undergo a complex motion made up primarily of a translation component parallel to the longitudinal axis but also including a secondary rotation component about at least one axis that is not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rod. This complex motion of the actuator rod  62  is also imparted to the piston  90  because of the substantially rigid connection therebetween. This in turn complicates the accurate sensing of the actuator position, as further described below. 
     The actuator  60  also includes a sensor assembly  130  for sensing the position of the actuator rod  62  along the nominal longitudinal axis A of the actuator ( FIG. 2 ). The sensor assembly  130  includes a permanent magnet  132 , a sensor  134 , and a flux modifier  136 . The sensor assembly  130  includes a socket portion  140  for receiving a plug (not shown). The socket portion  140  houses electrically conductive pins  142  that are electrically connected to the sensor  134 . The plug includes receptacles that respectively receive the pins  142 , and conductors of the plug carry signals on the pins to a processor (e.g., the vehicle ECU, not shown) that processes the signals to determine the actuator position from the signals. 
     The sensor  134  can be a Hall effects sensor or the like. The flux modifier  136  is a non-magnetized metallic member having a generally rod-shaped configuration. The flux modifier is contained in a generally cylindrical carrier  138 . The carrier can be non-metallic (e.g., plastic), and has an upper or proximal end proximate the first end wall  73  and the sensor  134 , and an opposite lower or distal end remote from the sensor and closer to the second end wall  75 . The magnet  132  is a ring-shaped magnet and is contained in a housing of an annular slide-pivot bearing  150  located adjacent the first end wall  73 . The slide-pivot bearing  150  defines a passage  152  sized to receive the carrier  138  with sufficient radial clearance to allow the carrier to freely move axially as well as to pivot to a limited extent. Toward this end, the bearing surface defined by the passage  152  of the bearing  150  can have a shape described by rotating a circular arc (which is convex in the radially inward direction) along a circular path about the central longitudinal axis of the passage  152  so as to generate a surface of revolution. In other words, the surface defining the passage  152  has the shape of the radially inner surface of a torus. It is not essential, however, for the shape to be precisely toroidal, and variations can be employed, as long as the carrier  138  is freely able to translate axially and pivot as further described below. 
     The lower or distal end of the carrier  138  is connected by an articulated joint  160  to the bottom wall of the piston  90 . The articulated joint  160  is formed by a socket member  162  affixed to the bottom wall of the piston  90  and defining a socket, and an enlarged end portion  139  of the carrier  138  that is received in the socket. The socket presents an inner wall portion of generally spherical configuration (or, more accurately, configured generally as the interior surface of a hollow sphere), and the end portion  139  presents a surface of generally spherical configuration engaging the inner wall portion of the socket. The opening into the socket is of smaller diameter than the end portion  139  but is substantially larger in diameter than the generally cylindrical part of the carrier  138 . Accordingly, the end  139  of the carrier  138  is able to pivot or swivel relative to the socket member  162  as well as to undergo lateral movement relative to the socket member, within limits set by the size of the opening in the socket member  162  through which the carrier extends. The carrier  138  and socket member  162  in effect form a type of ball-and-socket joint  160 . 
     A crimp ring  164  or the like is crimped onto the socket member  162 . The crimp ring  164  is rigidly affixed to the bottom wall of the piston  90 , and the actuator rod  62  is also rigidly affixed to the piston  90 . An end of the rod  62  extends into the socket defined by the socket member  162  An elastomeric biasing member  166  is disposed between this end of the rod and the carrier  138 . The biasing member  166  is essentially a plug that plugs up the open end of the hollow cylindrical carrier  138  and engages the flux modifier  136  contained therein so as to hold the flux modifier in a fixed position within the carrier. The biasing member also exerts a generally axial pre-load on the carrier in the upward direction in  FIG. 2 . 
     The actuator rod  62 , piston  90 , crimp ring  164 , and socket member  162  collectively form an assembly that can move axially and also pivot relative to the enclosure  70  and other fixed components of the actuator. Ideally this piston/rod assembly would undergo a pure translation when the actuator extends and retracts the actuator rod  62 , but as previously noted, the mechanics of the connection between the rod  62  and the variable-geometry member being actuated may be such that the rod  62  is forced to pivot to some extent during actuation. This is depicted for example in  FIGS. 3 through 5 .  FIG. 3  depicts the actuator in a relatively extended position (i.e., with the piston  90  located adjacent the end wall  75 , and with the spring, which is removed from  FIG. 3  for clarity, relatively uncompressed). The piston/rod assembly has pivoted 5 degrees relative to the actuator axis A. The gimbal  120  permits this pivoting, but because the gimbal is axially spaced from the point where the actuator rod  62  connects to the piston  90 , the pivoting of the rod  62  results in the piston  90  moving along a circular arc whose center is defined by the gimbal. Thus, the piston  90  tilts 5 degrees relative to axial and also moves closer to one side wall of the enclosure  70 . This in turn causes the socket member  162  to move off-center and pivot, and the articulated joint between the socket member and the carrier  138  allows this movement in such a way that the carrier  138  pivots to a much less extent than the 5 degrees that the piston/rod assembly pivots. 
     The amount of pivoting of the carrier  138  is a function primarily of the amount of pivoting of the piston/rod assembly and the axial position of the carrier  138 . As the carrier  138  is retracted (i.e., moved upward in  FIGS. 2 through 5 ), a given amount of pivoting of the piston/rod assembly causes an increasing amount of pivoting of the carrier. This is because the carrier is pivoting about the slide-pivot bearing  150 , and retraction of the carrier reduces the radius of the circular-arc path that the end  139  of the carrier moves along. Accordingly, for a given amount of lateral movement of the end  139  of the carrier, the more the carrier is retracted, the more the carrier pivots (compare, for example,  FIG. 3  with  FIG. 5 ). The articulated joint  160 , however, substantially reduces the amount of pivoting of the carrier relative to what would occur without the joint. Thus, the carrier  138  is able to move along a path that is relatively axial, with only a relatively small amount of pivoting motion superimposed on the generally axial movement. This benefits the accuracy of position sensing by the sensor assembly  130 . 
     As the actuator is operated to either extend or retract the piston/rod assembly, the flux modifier  136  contained in the carrier  138  moves axially and also pivots to a relatively small extent. The axial movement of the flux modifier  136  causes the magnetic field of the magnet  132  to change. Changes in the magnetic field are sensed by the sensor  134 , which produces electrical signals indicative of the magnetic field. The characteristics of the magnetic field are correlated with the axial location of the flux modifier. In this way, the axial position of the flux modifier, and hence the axial position of the rod  62 , can be determined based on the signals from the sensor  134 . 
     Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. For example, one embodiment of an actuator has been described in which there is an articulated joint  160  connecting a carrier  138  to the piston  90 , the joint comprising essentially a ball joint. However, there are other ways in which such a joint can be implemented, and the invention is not limited to any particular implementation.  FIG. 6  for instance depicts an assembly in which the flux modifier  136  is not contained in a generally cylindrical carrier. The distal end of the flux modifier  136  is fastened to a flexible member  170 , which can be a flexible plastic material for example. The flexible member  170  in turn is fastened to a substantially rigid member  172 , which for example can be a rigid plastic material. The member  172  would be affixed to the piston in suitable fashion. The flexible member  170  is able to flex and allow the flux modifier  136  to pivot relative to the member  172  and piston. 
     The flexible member  172  as illustrated in  FIG. 6  is relatively short compared to the flux modifier, such that the majority of the length of the flux modifier is not contained by the flexible member. Alternatively, however, the flexible member could be longer to contain most or all of the length of the flux modifier, if desired. 
     Additionally, the flexible member  170  connecting the flux modifier  136  to the piston could comprise a spring of suitable type, rather than a flexible plastic member. 
     Other modifications to the specific embodiments described above can also be made. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.