It is an object of the present invention to provide a supercharging device of the type indicated in the preamble of claim 1 , by means of which it is possible for at least one component of the supercharging device to be dampened in an application-specific manner.

This object is achieved by the features of claim 1.

Owing to its material composition, the damping element exhibits a specific elastic behavior, by means of which it is possible to realize damping in an application- specific manner, specifically preferably at the location at which damping is to be realized, for example for the compensation of thermal expansions or vibrations.

The dependent claims contain advantageous developments of the invention.

It is possible either for the damping material of the damping element according to the invention to be applied directly to the component, specifically preferably precisely at the location at which damping is to be realized, or for the damping material to be introduced into a molding tool in order to form the damping element.

The damping material may preferably comprise fibers composed of different materials which are distributed in a non-specific manner in the damping material or which are pre-oriented in the form of mesh or grate structures.

If the damping element is applied directly to the component at the location at which damping is to be realized, the damping material can preferably be sprayed by means of a spraying apparatus onto the relevant surface of the component to be damped. It is alternatively also possible for the damping material to be painted or smoothed on.

If the damping material is introduced into a molding tool in which the damping element is molded by drying, the finished damping element can be fastened to the relevant surface of the component to be damped, for example by screwing, adhesive bonding or riveting.

It is furthermore possible for the damping material of the damping element to be arranged between two disks which may be composed of metal or plastics, for example. In this case, the damping material is preferably sprayed onto one of the two disks, for example by means of a spraying apparatus, though may be painted on or smoothed on in this case also. The second disk is subsequently pushed onto the damping material. The damping element thus formed can then be installed at the respective location to be damped or on the component to be damped. The length of the damping element can be adapted in accordance with the respective requirements.

In a further particularly preferred embodiment, the damping element has two sleeves which are displaceable relative to one another and by means of the connection flanges of which the damping element can be fastened to the component to be damped.

Claims 9 and 10 define two particularly preferred embodiments of the damping element according to the invention as an object that can be marketed independently.

Further details, advantages and features of the present invention can be found in the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective, exemplary illustration of a possible embodiment of a supercharging device according to the invention,

Figure 2 shows a sectional illustration of a first embodiment of a damping element according to the invention;

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the damping element shown in Figure 2, and

Figure 4 shows a sectional illustration of a further embodiment of the damping element according to the invention.

Figure 1 illustrates a supercharging device 1 according to the invention, which in the example is in the form of an exhaust-gas turbocharger. A supercharging device of said type may be a single exhaust-gas turbocharger or else may be a turbocharger arrangement composed, for example, of two turbochargers for forming a low-pressure stage and a high-pressure stage. It is also conceivable for the supercharging device to also be an electrical compressor which has a compressor wheel in a compressor housing, said compressor wheel being driven by an electric motor.

The supercharging device 1 has at least one component 2 to be damped, which component is, according to the invention, equipped with a damping element 3, the damping material of which is constructed from sol-gels and/or aerogels. According to the invention, it is possible here either for the damping material to be applied directly to the component 2, for example by being sprayed, smoothed or painted on, or for the damping material, as illustrated in Figure 1 , to be pre-molded in a molding tool to form a damping element which is then fastened to the component 2 in a suitable manner.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate a particularly preferred embodiment of the damping element 3 according to the invention. In said embodiment, the damping element 3 has two shells or disks 5 and 6, between which the damping material 4 is arranged in order to form the damping element 3. The shells or disks 5 and 6 and the damping material 4 have a central passage recess 19 through which, for example, a fastening element in the form of a screw can be passed, by means of which fastening element the damping element 3 can be fastened to the component 2 to be damped.

Figure 4 illustrates a further embodiment of a damping element 7 according to the invention. The damping element 7 of this embodiment has two sleeves 8 and 9 which each comprise a fastening flange 10 and 11. The fastening flanges 10 and 11 are equipped with fastening recesses 10A, 10B, 11A and 11B, by means of which the damping element 7 can be fastened, for example by means of screws, to the one or more components to be damped.

The two sleeves 8 and 9 are displaceable relative to one another, wherein the damping material 4, which in this preferred embodiment has been pre-molded to form a block, is fastened to the sleeve 9 by means of a screw 14. For this purpose, both the sleeve 9 and the damping material 4 have passage recesses 12 and 13 which, as shown in Figure 4, are in alignment such that the screw 14 can be passed through both passage recesses 12 and 13. In this case, the screw 14 has, at one end 16 thereof, a stop 15 which presses against a holding plate 20 and which, when a fixing nut 18 has been tightened, thus braces the damping material 4 against the sleeve 9 by abutment.

The sleeve 8 has a receiving recess 21 into which the damping material 4 and the sleeve 9 can engage.

It is thus possible for the damping element 7 of the embodiment as per Figure 4 to be fastened, for example, to two spaced-apart components, wherein the spacing between the components, which are not illustrated in Figure 4, can be bridged by virtue of the two sleeves 8 and 9 being pulled apart or pushed together as appropriate. In addition to the above written disclosure of the invention, reference is hereby explicitly made to the illustrative presentation of the invention in Figures 1 to 4.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

1 Supercharging device

2 Component

3 Damping element

4 Damping material

5, 6 Disks

7 Damping element

8, 9 Sleeves

10 Fastening flange

10A, 10B Fastening recesses

11 Fastening flange

11A, 11B Fastening recesses

12 Passage recess

13 Passage recess

14 Screw

15 Stop

16 First end

17 Second end

18 Fastening nut

19 Passage recess

20 Disk

21 Receiving recess