Cummins Engine Company, Inc.

Cummins Inc.

Cummins Intellectual Property, Inc.

Corydon Edward Morris

Gary L Gant

David L Buchanan

Bela Doszpoly

Lester L Peters

George L Muntean

Ernst Winklhofer

Heribert Kammerstetter

Jeffrey C Huang

Daniel L Morin

Denis Gill

Richard J Gustafson

David M Rix

Paul Douglas Free

Salim A Jaliwala

&Aacute;rp&aacute;d M Pataki

A fuel injector is provided that includes various precise configuration parameters, including dimensions, shape and/or relative positioning of fuel injector features, resulting in improved efficiency of fuel flow through the fuel injector.

Fuel injector

A fuel injector that includes an injector control valve assembly. The injector control valve assembly includes a contact spring positioned between a fuel injector upper body and the injector control valve assembly to isolate a stator housing from clamping forces that occur during fuel injector assembly and clamping in an internal combustion engine. The injector control valve assembly further includes a cartridge configuration that permits preassembly of the injector control valve assembly prior to mounting in the fuel injector.

Fuel injector with injection control valve cartridge

A fuel injector control valve is provided that includes a drain circuit for directing the flow of fuel away from temperature sensitive components of a fuel injector in which the fuel injector control valve is positioned. The drain circuit includes at least one portion that directs drain fuel axially inward or toward a fuel injector orifice, and away from an actuator of the fuel injector.

Fuel injector with injection control valve assembly

A fuel injector including an injection control device valve spring preload adjustment device is disclosed. The fuel injector includes a transverse access passage extending at an acute angle to a longitudinal axis of the fuel injector. The preload adjustment device includes at least one transverse slot that creates a cantilevered thread portion. The cantilevered thread portion is deformed at a deformation angle to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis to form a locking feature.

Fuel injector with injection control valve spring preload adjustment device

A flow limiter for a fuel system is provided. The flow limiter includes a self-contained portion that enables testing of the flow limiter prior to assembly into a fuel system. A housing of the flow limiter is arranged to provide reduced or no pressure differential across a wall of the housing, permitting the housing to be reduced in size and thickness and providing improved consistency of operation.

Flow limiter assembly for a fuel system of an internal combustion engine

A piezoelectric-actuated fuel injector for injecting fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine is provided which includes a piezoelectric actuator movable to expand in a first direction and movable to contract in a second direction opposite the first direction, and a hydraulic link assembly disposed within a nozzle cavity formed in a nozzle housing containing a nozzle valve element. The hydraulic link assembly is positioned close to the injector orifices to minimize needle valve element length and mass, thereby reducing seat impact forces and enhance response time. A refill valve operates to move into an open position to refill a hydraulic link chamber. An actuator power source operates to vary voltage to cause multiple injection pulses and to selectively maintain the voltage above a predetermined lower level between injection pulses to maintain the refill valve in a closed position to prevent refilling of the hydraulic link chamber.

Piezoelectric direct acting fuel injector with hydraulic link

A piezoelectric-actuated fuel injector for injecting fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine is provided which includes a piezoelectric actuator movable to expand in a first direction and movable to contract in a second direction opposite the first direction, and a hydraulic link assembly disposed within said injector cavity. The hydraulic link assembly includes a hydraulic link barrel having an inner bore, a hydraulic link outer plunger positioned to slidably move in the inner bore, and a hydraulic link operatively connected to a needle valve to move the needle valve in the second direction toward the open position in response to movement of the piezoelectric actuator in the first direction. A hydraulic link inner plunger is attached to the needle valve and extends into a center bore of the hydraulic link outer plunger. Leakage control features and hydraulic link refill valves are also provided.

A fuel injector assembly with injector seal retention includes a fuel injector body including an injector nozzle housing disposed at a distal end of the fuel injector body. The injector body is adapted with a grooved portion to securely capture an injector seal to prevent the loss of the injector seal during installation and/or removal of the fuel injector assembly into an engine cylinder head.

Fuel injector assembly with injector seal retention

A three-way fuel injection control valve assembly is provided which includes a pilot valve for controlling the movement of a drain valve member and a separate supply valve member to minimize valve response time and transition flow losses. The solenoid operated two-way pilot valve controls the flow of fuel from a control volume formed adjacent the ends of the drain valve member and the supply valve member to begin and end an injection event. A transition flow loss limiting feature is provided which causes the drain valve member to close prior to the opening of the supply valve member and subsequently causes the supply valve member to close prior to the opening of the drain valve member during a given injection event thereby minimizing transition flow losses. The transition flow loss limiting feature includes sizing the cross sectional areas of the supply valve member and the drain valve member, sizing a bias plunger for biasing the drain valve member and sizing one or more bias springs so that no opening overlap occurs between the supply valve member and the drain valve member.

Pilot valve controlled three-way fuel injection control valve assembly

A servo-controlled fuel injector is provided which includes a leakage limiting valve device for limiting the quantity of high pressure fuel available for leakage into the combustion chamber in the event the closed nozzle valve element fails to sealingly engage its seat between injection events. The servo-controlled fuel injector includes a control volume positioned adjacent an outer end of the nozzle valve element, a control volume charge circuit for supplying fuel to the control volume, a drain circuit for draining fuel from the control volume to a low pressure drain and an injection control valve positioned along the drain circuit for controlling the flow through the drain circuit so as to cause reciprocal movement of the nozzle valve element. The leakage limiting valve is integrated into the fuel injector body and positioned along a fuel transfer passage to block the flow of high pressure fuel to a nozzle cavity between injection events. The leakage limiting valve may be a cylindrical valve element positioned between the nozzle valve element and the injection control valve. Alternatively, the leakage limiting valve may be in the form of an annular valve sleeve slidably mounted on one end of the nozzle valve element so as to position the control volume immediately adjacent the injection control valve thereby minimizing the trapped volume and thus the valve response time.

Servo-controlled fuel injector with leakage limiting device

A cover assembly for closing off the opening in a panel so as to establish a sealed interface around the opening includes a cover member with a four corners arrangement of clearance holes for attachment of the cover to the panel which also includes a matching pattern of clearance holes. The cover assembly includes a gasket member which is constructed with a carrier and a cooperating edge seal. The carrier includes a substantially planar surface which faces the cover member and extending outwardly from this facing surface are two series of pin-like projections. The cover member is cooperatively arranged with two substantially straight and elongated channels which are constructed and arranged to receive the outwardly extending projections. The two channels act as abutment surfaces for the projections so as to restrict outward or lateral movement of the gasket relative to the cover and panel. At any point when there is internal pressure of sufficient magnitude to deflect the gasket, the protrusions are moved into abutment against the sidewalls of the receiving channels, thereby preventing any further movement of the gasket and preventing blowout.

Retention gasket with cooperating cover

A gas mass flow sensor for sensing the flow of a gas to an internal combustion engine including a main flow passage having an inlet and an outlet for directing a gas flow to the internal combustion engine with the inlet communicating with a source of the gas and an outlet communicating with the internal combustion engine. A secondary flow passage for isolating a portion of the gas flow from the main flow passage is provided with the secondary flow passage including an inlet surrounding the main flow passage and a flow sensing section. Positioned within the flow sensing section of the secondary flow passage is a gas mass flow sensor for sensing the mass flow of gas through the secondary passage which is indicative of the mass flow through the main flow passage. Positioned within the main flow passage is a nozzle with the nozzle including a nozzle inlet and nozzle outlet wherein the outer diameter of the nozzle inlet is less than an inner diameter of the main flow passage with the inlet of the secondary flow passage being in the form of an annulus between the nozzle inlet and the main flow passage. The mass flow sensor may be incorporated into a unitary mass flow sensing and mixing module for sensing a flow of both air and fuel as well as for mixing the air and fuel together for delivery to an internal combustion engine.

Mass flow measurement device

A gas/air mixer for injecting gas into the intake air stream of an internal cumbustion engine using a combination of radial holes and radial tubes located around the perimeter of an air flow passage. The gas/air mixer includes an intake air passage which has a combination of radial holes and radial tubes arranged so that the gas is injected into the air stream. The gas passage contains gas which is at a higher pressure than the intake air. The gas flows around an annulus which distributes the gas to all the radial holes and radial tubes. The size of the intake air passage, the number and size of the radial holes, and the number, size and length of the radial tubes can be varied in any combination to achieve adequate gas/air mixing for the particular engine application. This combination can even include a device that contains all radial holes or all radial tubes. The distance that the gas is injected into the air stream is small at the radial holes and larger at the radial tubes.

Gas/air mixer

A cam follower lever assembly is provided which permits variable control of the timing of the beginning of operation of an engine component, i.e. fuel injector or engine valve. The cam follower lever includes a timing control lever and a force transmitting lever mounted for pivotal movement on a common pivot shaft. The timing control lever is also mounted for nonpivotal movement, relative to the pivot shaft, by a hydraulic actuation device permitting selective nonpivotal movement of the timing control lever relative to a cam's outer surface so as to selectively advance or retard the timing of, for example, fuel injection. The actuation device includes actuator cavities formed in the levers and a control valve arrangement. In one embodiment, a control valve is mounted in a cavity formed in the timing control lever.

Growing community of inventors

Columbus, IN, United States of America

Corydon Edward Morris