Caterpillar Inc.

Caterpillar Tractor Co.

Other

Dennis Henderson Gibson

Mark F Sommars

James R Blass

Ronald Dean Shinogle

Alan Ray Stockner

Gregory W Hefler

Jinhui Sun

Michael D Anderson

Bradley E Bartley

Dana Ray Coldren

Matthew David Friede

Jerry A Wear

Eric S Keyster

Alan R Stockner

Scott F Shafer

Hoisan Kim

Lifeng Wang

Daniel Raymond Baldwin

David Elliot Hackett

Dale C Maley

Donald J Waldman

Sridhar Thangaswamy

Shivangini Singh Hazari

Michael Edward Pickell

Ryan P Michels

Larry G Stolarczyk

Stephen Robert Lewis

John M Bailey

Robert Michael Campion

Andrew O Marrack

Marion Billingsley Grant, Jr

Gerald Lee Stolarczyk

Sana Mahmood

Avinash Reddy Manubolu

Igor Bausov

Martin A Lehman

Satya Naga Deepak Pillarisetti

Aaron Michael Brown

George M Matta

Howard N Cannon

Tito Sanchez

Scott A Chockley

George Kodikulam Joseph

John G Howard

Petr Michlik

Eduardo Bonnin

Haijun Kang

Ibrahim A Abdelrahman

Ankababu Kandlagunta

Ajay Tomar

Dean D Messinger

Ralph Tegg, Jr

Jin Hui Sun

Paige Y Gibson

Zhenyu (Jason) Li

Taylor Tang

Mohammad S Dar

A fuel system is disclosed for use with an engine. The fuel system may have a common rail, a first type of fuel injector fluidly connected to the common rail, and a second type of fuel injector fluidly connected to the common rail. The second type of fuel injector may include a pumping portion having a bore formed therein, and a plunger reciprocatingly disposed in the bore. The second type of fuel injector may also include an accumulator portion fluidly connected to the common rail and configured to receive fuel pushed from the bore of the pumping portion by the plunger, a nozzle portion, and a valve portion fluidly connecting the pumping, nozzle, and accumulator portions.

Common rail fuel system having pump-accumulator injectors

A cryogenic fluid pump includes an outlet tube extending along the pump centerline, the outlet tube having an outlet passage that is fluidly in communication with the combined outlet and with a pump outlet opening, and a shroud that extends concentrically along the outlet tube and has an inner diameter that is larger than an outer diameter of the outlet tube such that a gap is formed in a radial direction between an inner surface of the shroud and an outer surface of the outlet tube, the gap extending along at least a portion of the outlet tube.

Cryogenic fluid pump

A pushrod assemblymay include a seal carrierfor a spaced seal assemblyand/or a seal carrierfor a stacked seal assembly, the spaced seal assembly including first and second annular sealsseparated by a spacerto isolate between the seals a vented regionof the pushrod housing, the stacked seal assembly including at least two annular sealsstacked on the seal carrier. Each seal assembly can be removed and replaced via an access endof the seal carrier after detaching the access end from an adjacent component of the assembly. The seal carriers may be incorporated into a cryogenic pumpwherein at least one annular seal is arranged on each seal carrier to seal the pushrod assemblywithin its housing

Reciprocating pushrod assembly and cryogenic pump

A damping assembly for a valve is provided. The valve is configured to move between an open position and a close position. The valve includes a valve element and a valve stem disposed within a head. The damping assembly includes a damping chamber defined within the head. The damping assembly defines a sidewall. The damping assembly also includes a collar configured to receive the valve stem. The collar includes a collar stem. The collar also includes a collar head having an outer diameter. The collar head includes a side surface. The damping assembly includes a liquid passageway. The liquid passageway is being defined by a radial clearance between the side surface of the collar head and the sidewall of the damping chamber. The liquid passageway is configured to control a flow of a liquid as the valve moves between the open position and the closed position.

Damping assembly

A fluid injection system includes a fluid injector assembly; a fluid conditioning module having an outlet port that is fluidly coupled to an inlet port of the fluid injector assembly; an injector assembly outlet conduit fluidly coupled to an outlet port of the fluid injector assembly and disposed downstream of the fluid injector assembly, the injector assembly outlet conduit defining a pressure measurement port and a flow-restricting orifice, the pressure measurement port being disposed upstream of the flow-restricting orifice along the direction of fluid flow through the fluid injector assembly; a pressure sensor fluidly coupled to the pressure measurement port; and a controller operatively coupled to the fluid conditioning module and the pressure sensor. The controller is configured to adjust a flowrate of a fluid through the injector assembly inlet conduit based on a pressure signal from the pressure sensor.

Fluid injector supply system and method for operating same

A dual fuel common rail engine supplies pressurized natural gas and liquid diesel fuel at different pressures through a co-axial quill assembly for direct injection from a single fuel injector into an engine cylinder. Pressure waves in the gaseous fuel common rail are damped in a pressure damping chamber of the co-axial quill assembly to promote consistent gaseous fuel injection rates and quantities from the fuel injector.

Dual fuel common rail engine with co-axial quill assembly

A port injection system for gaseous fuels may include an injector body defining a hydraulic fluid inlet chamber, a hydraulic fluid exit passageway, a hydraulic fluid actuation passageway, a check valve inlet passageway fluidly connected with the hydraulic fluid actuation passageway, a valve chamber, and a gaseous fuel inlet chamber. An electrical solenoid actuator may be mounted to the injector body, with the electrical solenoid actuator including a movable armature, and a poppet valve connected to the movable armature and disposed within the valve chamber. The poppet valve may be movable between a pressurized hydraulic fluid flow blocking position and a pressurized hydraulic fluid flow passing position. A check valve may be disposed within the check valve inlet passageway. A gas admission valve may be disposed at least partially within the gaseous fuel inlet chamber and in contact with the check valve such that movement of the check valve by hydraulic fluid entering the check valve inlet passageway results in actuation of the gas admission valve away from a normally closed position closing off the gaseous fuel inlet chamber to a fuel injection position wherein gaseous fuel is allowed to flow from the gaseous fuel inlet chamber into an intake manifold or intake port of an engine on which the injector body is mounted.

Port injection system for gaseous fuels

A dual fuel common rail engine supplies pressurized natural gas and liquid diesel fuel at different pressures through a co-axial quill assembly for direct injection from a single fuel injector into an engine cylinder. Each coaxial quill assembly includes a matched pair of inner and outer quills that are chosen to have dimensions that allow both quills to sealingly engage each fuel injector at a common conical seat responsive to a clamping force applied along an axis. Matched pairs of inner and outer quills are retained together during pre-installation handling with a retainer that is left between the inner and outer quills after installation in an engine.

Co-axial quill assembly retainer and dual fuel common rail engine using same

A dual fuel common rail engine supplies pressurized natural gas and liquid diesel fuel at different pressures through a co-axial quill assembly for direct injection from a single fuel injector into an engine cylinder. Pressure waves in the gaseous fuel common rail are damped in a pressure damping chamber of the co-axial quill assembly before the pressure wave can undermine consistent gaseous fuel injection rates and quantities from the fuel injector.

Steel rod stock is shaped into a fuel injector tip having a central axis and including a shank extending between a mating end and a nozzle end. An inner surface of the fuel injector tip includes a conical needle valve seat and defines a nozzle chamber and a sac on opposite sides of the needle valve seat. The mating end includes a injector stack surface and an injector body contact surface. After shaping the fuel injector tip, it is a case hardened to a hardness in excess of HRC 55. Next, the nozzle end is shaped, after the case hardening step, to include a plurality of nozzle surfaces that each define one of a plurality of nozzle outlets extending between the sac and the outer surface. The inner surface and the nozzle surfaces are then autofrettaged to induce compressive residual stress at the case hardened needle valve seat, the case hardened sac and at least a portion of the nozzle surfaces closest to the sac.

Fuel injector tip with compressive residual stress

A metallic fuel system component includes an internal surface and an external surface. The metallic fuel system component is made by inducing compressive residual stress in only a portion of the internal surface of the metallic fuel system component by transmitting a laser shock wave through the metallic fuel system component from the external surface to the internal surface.

Indirect laser induced residual stress in a fuel system component and fuel system using same

A method of fabricating a piezo actuator is disclosed. The method includes forcing a blank against a mold to form a cylindrical casing having an open end and a closed end and rotating the cylindrical casing. The method also includes urging a die having a plurality of equally spaced protrusions into a surface of the cylindrical casing to form bellows in the cylindrical casing. The method further includes positioning a piezo element within the cylindrical casing.

Method of manufacturing a fuel injector having an encased piezo electric actuator

A common rail fuel injection system includes a piezo intensifier fuel injector that includes a plurality of components. Among these are a needle valve member, an intensifier piston, a first piezo stack electrical actuator and a second piezo stack electrical actuator. These components have a first configuration at which the needle valve member blocks a nozzle outlet of the fuel injector, and a shoulder of the intensifier piston is exposed to fluid pressure in a common rail. The components have a second configuration at which the nozzle outlet is fluidly connected to the common rail for a low pressure injection event. The components have a third configuration at which the nozzle outlet is fluidly blocked from the common rail, but movement of the intensifier displaces fluid through the nozzle outlet for a high pressure injection event.

Piezo intensifier fuel injector and engine using same

Pressurized injector actuation fluid, such as oil or fuel, is supplied to high pressure common rail by a fixed displacement fluid pump. Variable delivery from the pump is achieved by an improved sleeve metering approach. The sleeve surrounds the reciprocating piston and is manipulated to control venting of pumped fluid through vent ports in the piston. The sleeve is moved by preferably being the armature of a solenoid assembly. The varying of current to the solenoid coil alters the axial position of the sleeve relative to the piston to vary the effective pumping stroke of the piston.

Sleeve metered unit pump and fuel injection system using the same

A fuel injector is provided having a needle valve element and a nozzle member with a central bore configured to slidingly receive the needle valve element. The fuel injector also has a spring configured to bias the needle valve element toward a closed position. In addition, the fuel injection assembly has a guide element configured to reduce a lateral movement of the needle valve element. The fuel injection assembly further has a fluid flow restricting device configured to restrict the flow of a fluid through the needle valve element and create a fluid pressure differential between the fluid upstream and downstream of the fluid flow restricting device.

Fuel injector nozzle with flow restricting device

Growing community of inventors

Chillicothe, IL, United States of America

Dennis Henderson Gibson