Patent ID: 7849840

Claim:
An internal combustion engine system comprising, in combination: an engine having a combustion air intake and an output shaft; a battery to provide power for starting the engine; a compressor having an output for selectively supplying air at above atmospheric pressure to the engine air intake; an electric motor/generator of the switched-reluctance, which is adapted to be energized from the battery; first rotary drive means rotatably drivingly coupling the electric motor/generator to the compressor, the first rotary drive means driving the compressor at a speed significantly higher than the speed that is imparted by the engine when the engine is first started; second rotary drive means including both an overrunning clutch and a magnetic clutch operating in series, selectively drivingly coupling the output shaft of the engine to the compressor; and an engine management system operable whenever the engine acquires sufficient speed to override the drive applied from the electric motor/generator through the first rotary drive means to the compressor to selectively transfer the rotating drive energy received by the compressor from the first rotary drive means to the second rotary drive means.