Abstract:
A throttle device for liquid or gaseous media including a turbine which drives a compressor, a pump or a generator, and in which throttling of liquid or gaseous flow occurs by modifying the turbine load state.

Description:
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 09/284,203, abandoned, which is a 371 of PCT/EP97/05557, filed Oct. 9, 1997. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a throttle for liquid or gaseous media, comprised of a turbine which drives a compressor, a pump or a generator. 
     DE OS 32 05 722 discloses a throttle for gaseous media, namely for the air intake of an internal combustion engine. This makes use of the knowledge that the reduction of the kinetic energy of the flow in the air intake tube, which occurs in load regulation or operation of the load adjusting device, is converted to another form of energy. In this way both the disadvantages of the known throttle valve which comprise an energy loss for the internal combustion engine and the disadvantage of the great structural complexity of the known throttle-less load control or regulation are avoided. 
     DE OS 32 05 722 discloses a load adjusting apparatus, especially for the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle. This load adjusting apparatus is an operating machine with means for exchanging kinetic energy between it and the flow in the air intake tube, wherein this operating ads machine is driven by the air flow at least in the partial-load range of the internal combustion engine. The operating machine can, under certain conditions, also operate as a supercharger. 
     A disadvantage of this system is to be seen in the fact that a bypass line is necessary. The operating machine is arranged in this bypass line. Both in the bypass line and in the main line throttle valves are provided for controlling the distribution of the air. This makes this system expensive and liable to malfunction due to the mechanical components that it additionally requires. 
     A disadvantage of the disclosed design is also to be seen in the fact that the throttling of the internal combustion engine is performed very sluggishly. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is therefore addressed to the problem of providing a throttle for liquid or gaseous media, which will have a simple construction and be suitable for a multitude of applications. This object is achieved by a throttling arrangement as as described hereinafter. 
     The substantial advantage of the invention lies in the fact that the throttling of the liquid or gaseous flow is effected by varying the load state of the turbine. 
     Through the invention, therefore, the energy which is usually lost at throttle locations, is utilized, namely by a device such as a compressor or a pump, for example, which transforms the energy. For example, with a pump, air can be supplied to a pressure tank. Of course, it is also possible to use the energy made available by the turbine to drive a pump which conveys water, oils or other liquids. 
     One advantageous embodiment of the invention is that, for example, the energy produced by the turbine can be converted into various forms of energy. Thus it is also possible to convert the energy to thermal energy and to use it for heating or warming a system. 
     One embodiment of the turbine envisions making it with a bipartite or multipartite casing construction. This is especially advantageous when synthetic resin material is used for the housing; the individual components can be made by injection molding and therefore can be produced at especially low cost. 
     The turbine can have synthetic resin or metal impellers, and thus the impellers can also be economically manufactured if thermoplastic synthetic resin materials are used. 
     A further refinement of the invention envisions providing the rotor mountings of the turbine with a resilient construction. Thus the rotor can rotate about the axis of its greatest moment of inertia, and slight imbalances can be compensated. Also, a resilient mounting reduces bearing wear. 
     An especially advantageous embodiment of the turbine uses unjacketed rotors and a metal shell opposite the rotors is present in a synthetic resin housing. The gap width between the respective rotor and the metal shell can be optimized in the manufacturing process or in the engineering of the design. 
     An alternative embodiment of the turbine envisions providing the latter with jacketed rotors; labyrinth seals, for example, can be used for sealing relative to the housing. 
     A supplement to the throttle advantageously comprises, for example, providing a filter for the liquid or gaseous medium at the inflow side or at the outflow side. If the filter is used at the inflow side, it reduces the fouling of the turbine and thereby achieves a longer operating life for the turbine. 
     These and other features of preferred embodiments of the invention will be found not only in the claims but also in the description and the drawings, it being possible for the individual features to be realized individually or together in the form of subcombinations in embodiments of the invention and in other fields, and can represent advantageous as well as independently patentable embodiments for which protection is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be explained in further detail hereinafter with reference to working examples. 
     FIG. 1 shows a turbine with a resilient rotor mounting, 
     FIG. 2 shows a detail view of a rotor, 
     FIG. 3 a bipartite synthetic resin housing, 
     FIG. 4 a variant of a synthetic resin housing, 
     FIG. 5 an air intake system with turbine. 
     FIG. 6 a schematic diagram of the throttle arrangement according to the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the detail drawing of FIG. 1, a turbine with a resiliently mounted rotor and a coupled pump are shown. The common shaft  10  is conventionally mounted for rotation on two ball bearings  11  and  12  in a mounting sleeve  13 . The mounting sleeve has resilient rings  14  and  15  at both of its ends, and these are fixed in corresponding grooves in a support  16 . The resilient bedding of the mounting has the advantage that, even with a slight imbalance, the rotor will spin on its inertial axis. 
     Both at the turbine end  17  and at the pump end  18 , metal facings  19  and  20 , respectively, are provided, which are molded or embedded or snapped in place. The gap width around the unjacketed rotors  21  and  22  can be set by spacers between the facings  19 ,  20  and the housing  23 . 
     It is also possible, however, to use jacketed rotors. In a detail drawing according to FIG. 2, a section of a jacketed rotor is shown. The latter has, in conjunction with the housing, a plurality of labyrinth seal areas  24  and  25 ; the labyrinth seal is thus partially integrated into the rotor  11 . 
     As already mentioned, the rotor  21  is closed relative to the casing at the turbine end  17 ; the respective turbine ports  37  are shown in broken lines. The gap between the rotor  21  and the turbine end  17  can, of course, be enlarged by varying the labyrinth seal areas and thereby the seal can be improved. 
     FIG. 3 shows a synthetic resin housing for a turbine in bipartite form. The two shells  26  and  27  are separated along the turbine axis. The rotor is not shown here; after the two synthetic resin parts are produced, the rotor is assembled in place with its complete bearings, and the synthetic resin parts are welded together by the ultrasound method. 
     FIG. 4 likewise shows schematically a synthetic resin housing for a turbine. In this case two parting planes are provided, each of which is located in the area of the rotors. The synthetic resin parts  28 ,  29  and  30  are likewise welded together by the ultrasound method after the rotors and the bearings have been inserted into the middle component  28 . 
     FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of a throttle or turbine on an air intake system of an internal combustion engine. The air intake system comprises a manifold  33  from which one or more intake tubes  34  lead to a connecting flange  35 . This connecting flange  35  is affixed to an internal combustion engine. Instead of or in addition to the throttle valve for controlling the supply of air to the internal combustion engine, the throttle is provided in the form of a turbine. The air taken in by the internal combustion engine is fed to this turbine at the intake end  36 ; this air drives the turbine due to the pressure drop between the ambient pressure and the subatmospheric pressure in the intake. At the compressor end  37  compressed air is produced which can be made available to the vehicle system. The construction-of the turbine is similar to that shown in FIG. 3, wherein a housing end  32  is formed by the end face  31  of the air intake system. After insertion of the rotors and bearings, the second housing shell  30  is bolted or welded to end face  31 . Here, again, an ultrasound welding process can be employed if a thermoplastic synthetic resin material is used. 
     FIG. 6 shows a throttle for liquid or gaseous media with a turbine  36  which is arranged in parallel with a throttle and which drives a load such as a compressor  37 . The load might also be a pump or an electric generator. In this arrangement, the flow of the parallel stream in which the turbine is disposed can be controlled by regulating the load state of the turbine.