Cummins Engine Company, Inc.

Cummins Inc.

Westport Research Inc.

Julius P Perr

Lester L Peters

George L Muntean

Benjamin M Yen

Edward D Smith

Yul J Tarr

Arpad M Pataki

Donald J Benson

John T Carroll, Iii

David L Buchanan

Harry L Wilson

Robert C Yu

J Victor Perr

Bryan W Swank

John D Lane

Dennis A Wilber

Mark S Cavanagh

A S Ghuman

Amarjit S Ghuman

Chung Y Liu

Bai Mao Yen

Charles R Kelso

O Eddie Sturman

John D Crofts

Laszlo D Tikk

Gary L Gant

Alain M J Touchette

Bela Doszpoly

Wayne A Eckerle

Josh S Shao

Charles R Schenk

John M Janssen

W Beale Delano

Kevin L Vogt

Patrick R Badgley

S Michael Baker

Russ P Durrett

Dennis M Ashwill

Jeffrey L Campbell

James E Denton

Andrew C Rosselli

Bradley D Douville

David E Schisler

Kent V Shields

Bruce A Watson

Timothy A Warlick

Chad L Buchanan

Edgars Valdmanis

Eric Liang

Michael E Lucas

Kuang-Wen T Wan

Cary L Gant

Thomas L Szarvas

David L Buchanon

Bai-Mao Yen

Chris Sorg

Donald N Case

Robert Samuel

Andrew G Stiles

Richard D Kraus

Jy-Jen Frank Sah

Alexander Guluk

Peter W Schutz

A preferred embodiment EGR valve permits exhaust gas to be induced into the intake line downstream of the compressor, while minimizing the need to reduce the size of the turbocharger. The preferred embodiment EGR valve exploits variations around the mean pressure in the EGR passage created by the engine cycle by selectively opening when the pressure in the EGR valve exceeds the pressure in the intake line. Thus, exhaust gas is recirculated even when the engine is running near torque peak. The preferred embodiment EGR valve also exploits the higher mean pressure in the exhaust line relative to the intake line at higher engine speeds by remaining open, in order to minimize the energy consumed in opening and closing the EGR valve.

Dual mode EGR valve

An improved closed nozzle injector assembly for injecting high pressure fuel into the combustion chamber of an engine is provided which includes a first needle valve element associated with a first set of injector orifices, a first needle valve control device for controlling the opening and closing of the first needle valve, a second needle valve associated with a second set of injector orifices and a second needle valve control device for controlling the opening and closing of the second needle valve. Each needle valve control device includes a control volume positioned at one end of the respective needle valve, a control volume charge circuit for supplying high pressure fuel to the respective control volume and the respective injection control valve for controlling the flow of high pressure fuel from the respective control volume to a low pressure drain thereby controlling the movement of the respective needle valve. Using a dedicated control volume and injection control valve for each needle valve element permits effective control over the duration of pilot and post fuel injection events while also providing variable rate shaping capability for optimized emissions and fuel economy. The present dual needle valve element injector includes various components such as biasing springs which are positioned and interconnected to other components in a manner which creates a simple, compact fuel injector package providing independent control of two sets of spray orifices in one injector.

Variable spray hole fuel injector with dual actuators

A hydraulically actuated dual fuel injector separately injects two fuels into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. In particular, the two fuels may be controlled quantities of a first liquid fuel and a second gaseous fuel that are used to fuel a diesel engine. The injector preferably begins injecting the first fuel sequentially before beginning to inject the second fuel. The dual fuel injector comprises: (a) an injector body; (b) a hydraulic fluid inlet port formed in the injector body for enabling pressurized hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic fluid source to be introduced into the interior of the injector body, said hydraulic fluid being of sufficient pressure to maintain sealing and to prevent leakage of the gaseous fuel into the hydraulic fluid; (c) a first fuel inlet port formed in the injector body for enabling a first fuel to be introduced into the interior of the injector body; (d) a first injection valve disposed within the injector body fluidly connected to the first fuel inlet port for controlling injection of the first fuel from the injector through a first fuel ejection port; (e) a second inlet port formed in the injector body for enabling a second fuel to be introduced into the interior of the injector body; (f) a second injection valve disposed within the injector body fluidly connected to the second inlet port for controlling injection of the second fuel from the injector through a second fuel ejection port; (g) a first two-way control valve which controls the flow of the hydraulic fluid to actuate the first injection valve; (h) a second control valve which controls the flow of the hydraulic fluid to actuate the second injection valve; (i) a metering device within the injector body for metering the amount of first fuel injected by the first injection valve; and (j) a seal in the injector body which prevents leakage of the second fuel within the injector body.

Gaseous and liquid fuel injector with a two way hydraulic fluid control valve

Compact high performance fuel system with accumulator

An improved fuel injector for providing precise control over injection timing, quantity and rate shape is provided which includes a fuel pressure balancing device for balancing the fuel pressure forces acting on a needle valve element while the element is in both the closed and open positions thereby permitting an actuator to more precisely and predictably control the movement of the needle valve element. The fuel pressure balancing device includes a cavity formed in the needle valve element and pressure balancing surfaces formed on the needle valve element and positioned in the cavity. The actuator may be a piezoelectric actuator for compressing actuating fluid in an actuating fluid circuit which includes a fluid chamber positioned adjacent a needle valve element and fluidically separate from a fuel supply circuit for supplying high pressure fuel for injection. Actuating fluid pressure in the chamber acts on the needle valve element to initiate injection. In another embodiment, the needle valve element is directly controlled by a solenoid actuator.

Fuel injector with pressure balanced needle valve

A fuel injector for periodically injecting fuel pulses of a variable quantity on a cycle to cycle basis as a function of the pressure of fuel supplied to the injector from a source of fuel and at a constant time during each cycle is set forth including an injector body containing a central bore and an injection orifice at the lower end of the body and a reciprocating plunger assembly including an upper plunger section and a lower plunger section serially mounted within the central bore to define a variable volume metering chamber located between the lower plunger section and the lower end of the injector body containing the injection orifice. The variable volume metering chamber communicates during a portion of each injector cycle with the source of fuel. A variable volume timing chamber is located between the upper and lower plunger sections, and the timing chamber communicates for a portion of each injector cycle with the source of timing fluid and os isolated from the source of timing fluid at a constant time during each cycle.

Unit fuel injector having constant start of injection

A fuel injector assembly is provided which operates to effectively creating a low injection flow rate followed by a high injection flow rate during all engine operating conditions, including idle and low engine speed conditions, to produce a high quality fuel spray with proper atomization and thus improved fuel air mixing resulting in improved emissions abatement and fuel economy. The assembly includes two biased valve elements designed to sequentially open and close to initially open a limited number of orifices followed by the opening of a remainder of the orifices thereby effectively varying the available cross sectional flow area from the nozzle cavity into the combustion chamber of the engine during the injection event. The nozzle valve elements may be spring biased or fluid pressure biased and include biasing surfaces sized to cause the sequential opening and closing of the elements.

Two stage fuel injector nozzle assembly

An injection rate shaping nozzle assembly for a fuel injector is provided which includes a closed nozzle valve element and a rate shaping control device including an injection spill circuit for spilling a portion of the fuel to be injected to produce a predetermined time varying change in the flow rate of fuel injected into a combustion chamber. The spill circuit includes a spill passage integrally formed in the nozzle valve element. The rate shaping control device may include a spill accelerating chamber in formed in the nozzle valve element for creating a rapid increase in the spill flow rate. A spill circuit purge device is provided to remove fuel from the spill circuit and accelerating chamber between each of the injection events thereby ensuring an unimpeded, effective spill fuel flow during the next spill event. The purge device includes a purge passage formed of a predetermined size for restricting the flow of purge gas to ensure sufficient fuel removal from the injection spill circuit while avoiding excessive purge gas flow. The purge passage may include an annular clearance gap formed between the nozzle valve element and the nozzle housing wall, or alternatively, may include an orifice passage formed in the inner portion of the nozzle valve element. An improved method for forming a nozzle valve element having an axial center passage is also disclosed.

Injection rate shaping nozzle assembly for a fuel injector

In accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention a timing adjustment device includes a cam follower that is engaged between an overhead cam and an injector rocker arm, and is mounted on a rotatable eccentric shaft. The geometry of the eccentric shaft and cam follower is designed so that, as timing is varied by rotation of the eccentric shaft, no change is produced in the vertical height of the rocker arm when the cam shaft is on the outer base circle and the injector is bottomed, in order to assure that the 'mechanical crush' of the PT type injector is constant despite changes in timing. In a first application of the timing arrangement, it is used together with a simple injector, which does not utilize a multi-plunger arrangement to form a hydraulic link, to achieve lower parasitic losses. To obtain independent control over injection pressure and timing, a fuel injector in which a hydraulic link is formed between plungers of a multi-plunger arrangement is used with the timing arrangement in order to allow the injection pressure to be maintained constant over a wide range of engine speeds without interfering with engine timing.

Variable injection timing and injection pressure control arrangement

A fuel injection rate shaping control system is provided which effectively controls the flow rate of fuel injected into the combustion chamber of an engine to improve combustion and reduce emissions by controlling the rate of pressure increase during injection. The injection rate shaping control system includes a rate shaping control device including a rate shaping transfer passage having a predetermined length and diameter specifically designed to create a desired injection pressure rate shape. In other embodiments of the present invention, two or more rate shaping transfer passages capable of producing distinct rate shapes are packaged in various fuel injection systems to selectively provide various rate shapes depending on operating conditions. Switching valves, i.e., solenoid operated three-way valves, may be used to direct the fuel or timing fluid flow to any one of the rate shaping transfer passages. Also, a dampening means in the form of a reverse flow restrictor valve is positioned in the rate shaping transfer passage to dampen reflected pressure waves thereby minimizing the adverse effects thereof.

Fuel injection rate shaping control system

A cam operated open nozzle fuel injector is provided comprising a reciprocating plunger assembly including an outer plunger, an inner plunger and a variable volume timing chamber located between the plungers. A hold down force generating means includes a cam having a hold down cam or ramp portion for maintaining the inner plunger in an innermost position against the inner end of the injector body with a sufficient hold down force during each hold down period throughout injector operation independently of injector train wear. The hold down cam portion operates to move the outer plunger inwardly towards the inner plunger throughout a substantial portion of the hold down period. The hold down cam portion functions to compensate for fuel drainage from the timing chamber so as to maintain a predetermined pressure in the timing chamber corresponding to a desired hold down force. The hold down force generating device is capable of maintaining timing fluid in the timing chamber throughout the hold down period and may include a timing chamber drain regulating valve for controlling the drainage of fluid from the timing chamber.

Open nozzle fuel injector having drive train wear compensation

A solenoid valve for use in a fuel system includes a valve body with a central core and three interconnected passageways. A spool is disposed within the central core and by means of enlarged and reduced diameter portions controls the flow through the solenoid valve. Solenoid armatures cooperatively control movement of the valve spool which is sized and shaped so as to provide a fuel flow path from an inlet passageway to an outlet passageway when the solenoid valve is in an opened condition. When the spool is shifted to a closed condition, incoming fuel is blocked and a flow path is created from the output passageway to a drain passageway, The drain passageway allows excess fuel in the injector to drain to relieve fuel pressure on the metering plunger. As the spool moves from a closed condition to an opened condition, some fuel flows to the drain passageway. The amount of fuel 'loss' depends on the speed of the spool and the size of the drain passageway. In order to avoid the higher cost associated with drilling a small diameter hole through the valve body, a larger drilled hole is used. The enlarged end of the valve spool is extended so as to block a substantial portion of the drain passageway orifice. The blocked orifice yields a smaller flow through area and this reduced flow orifice area reduces transition loss and cavitation.

Three-way flow valve with variable drain orifice area

An open nozzle unit fuel injector having an injector body for receiving a plunger assembly therein is disclosed including a fuel supply source for providing a metered quantity of fuel to a metering chamber formed in a central bore of the injector body to be injected into the cylinder of the internal combustion engine and a trapped volume spill port for a volume of fuel trapped in the metering chamber when the plunger has moved from its fully retracted position to its fully advanced position and injection has terminated. In accordance with the present invention, an open nozzle unit fuel injector is achieved which exhibits a sharp ending of injection, which prevents secondary injection and which significantly reduces the unburned hydrocarbon emissions of the engine incorporating such open nozzle unit fuel injectors including a trapped volume spill port.

High pressure fuel injector including a trapped volume spill port

A metering system is provided which controls the amount of fuel supplied to the combustion chambers of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine comprising a fuel pump for supplying fuel at low pressure to a first and a second group of unit fuel injectors, a first solenoid-operated fuel control valve controlling the flow of fuel to the first set of injectors and a second solenoid-operated fuel control valve controlling the flow of fuel to the second set of injectors. The system may also include first and second solenoid-operated timing fluid control valves associated with the first and the second group of injectors, respectively. The injectors are capable of being in the fuel receiving mode, establishing a metering period, and the timing receiving mode, establishing a timing period, at the same time to increase the amount of time available for metering both timing fluid and fuel. By grouping the various injectors based on the order of injection so that the injectors from each group are placed in the injection mode in spaced periods throughout each cycle of the engine, e.g. injectors from other groups injecting in the period of time between each injection mode, the system can be designed to permit longer metering and timing periods.

Individual timing and injection fuel metering system

A unit fuel injector is provided comprising an injector body containing a pumping chamber for receiving fuel at a low pressure level from a fuel supply passage for subsequent discharge at a high pressure level, a discharge orifice and a transfer passage communicating with the pumping chamber and the discharge orifice. A valve element is provided for movement between (i) an advanced position wherein the supply passage communicates with the pumping chamber through the transfer passage and (ii) a retracted position wherein communication between the supply passage and the pumping chamber is blocked to allow fuel to flow from the pumping chamber through the transfer passage and out the discharge orifice. The valve element includes a control valve integrally formed with a tip valve, and a force balancing element for tending to balance the forces acting on the valve element by reducing the force tending to bias the valve element toward its second position closing the discharge orifice, when the pressure within the pumping chamber increases to the high pressure level.

Force balanced electronically controlled fuel injector

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Columbus, IN, United States of America

Julius P Perr