Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpiller Inc.

Bryan Moore

Daniel Richard Ibrahim

Daniel Reese Puckett

Sana Mahmood

Christopher D Hanson

Kranti Kumar Nellutla

Michael E Sattler

Bradley Scott Bashore

Prasanna Mohan Ballal

Scott F Shafer

Avinash Reddy Manubolu

Adam Duresky

Fuel is injected by energizing a solenoid of a fuel injector for an on-time that terminates at a first end-of-current timing. An end-of-current trim is determined at least in part by estimating a duration between an induced current event in a circuit of the solenoid and a valve/armature interaction event. An induced current event occurs when an armature abruptly stops, and a valve/armature interaction event occurs when the armature couples with or de-couples from the valve member. Fuel is injected in a subsequent injection event by adjusting the end-of-current timing by the end-of-current trim.

End-of-current trim for common rail fuel system

A nozzle for a fuel injector is disclosed. The nozzle may have an internal axial nozzle bore. The nozzle may also have at least one orifice passing from the nozzle bore radially outward through a wall of the nozzle at a tip end. Further, the nozzle may have a sac volume formed in the tip end and defined by a bore radius and a tip radius. The bore radius may be generally perpendicular to the central bore. The tip radius may be generally parallel to the central bore. The tip radius may be less than the bore radius.

Fuel injector having turbulence-reducing sac

End-of current trim for common rail fuel system

A fuel injector for an engine is disclosed. The fuel injector may have a fuel nozzle with at least one injection orifice, and a needle element movable within the fuel nozzle between a first position at which the needle element inhibits fuel flow and a second position at which fuel flow is substantially uninhibited. The fuel injector may also have a control chamber located at a base end of the needle element, a body, and a control valve disposed within the body and movable to selectively drain the control chamber, thereby causing the needle element to move between the first and second positions. The fuel injector may further have an armature disposed within an armature cavity of the body and selectively energized to move the control valve, and a pressure reducer disposed within the body and configured to reduce a pressure of the armature cavity.

Fuel injector having reduced armature cavity pressure

A fuel injector that comprises a parallel circuit fuel filtration circuit providing filtered fuel to the control valve. Specifically, a fuel filter is positioned inside the injector within the passage leading to the control valve. Debris is removed from the fuel and filtered fuel is allowed to pass through to the control valve. Unfiltered fuel may be purged from the fuel injector during injection. Alternatively, unfiltered fuel may be removed from the injector via the drain.

Parallel circuit fuel filtration for fuel injectors

A common rail fuel injector includes a needle valve member that moves to open and close nozzle outlets for a fuel injection event responsive to pressure in a needle control chamber. Between injection events, the needle control chamber is fluidly connected to the fuel inlet by a first pathway that includes a Z orifice, and fluidly connected to the fuel inlet by a second pathway that includes an F orifice, an intermediate chamber and an A orifice. During an injection event, the needle control chamber is fluidly connected to a drain outlet by a third pathway that includes the A orifice, the intermediate chamber and an E orifice. Different performance characteristics are achieved by adjusting the sizes of the respective of F, A, Z and E orifices.

Fuel injector with needle control system that includes F, A, Z and E orifices

A fuel system component is provided. The fuel system component may comprise a valve body having a substantially conical surface region including a first coating. The component may further include a valve seat having a first surface region with a substantially conical surface including a second coating. The coating of the valve seat is configured to engage at least a portion of the coating of the substantially conical surface region of the valve body.

Growing community of inventors

Washington, IL, United States of America

Bryan Moore