Caterpillar Inc.

Michael Curtis Herr

Dana Ray Coldren

Cory Andrew Brown

Gregory W Hefler

Sana Mahmood

Zhenyu Li

Joshua D Carlson

Matthew Robert Vanderveen

Linda Angharad Williams

Andrew Justin Wallis

A fuel injector includes an injector housing, an outlet check, an injection control valve assembly, and a valve seat orifice plate integrating a valve seat and various orifices for outlet check control. In the valve seat orifice plate a drain orifice extends between a valve seat surface and a check control chamber formed between a closing hydraulic surface of the outlet check and the valve seat orifice plate. First and second re-pressurization orifices extend between an outer surface of the valve seat orifice plate and the check control chamber.

Fuel injector having valve seat orifice plate with valve seat and drain and re-pressurization orifices

A resilient seal member disposed in an alignment groove of an accumulator body centers the accumulator body in an oversized accumulator bore of a cylinder head to prevent assembly damage. The seal member can compress to allow the accumulator body to move off center within the accumulator bore so that an end may be received by and form a seal with a port of a fuel injector. The alignment groove and the seal member are configured so that cooling fluid can flow past the seal member when the accumulator body is installed. In one implementation, the accumulator body includes at least one fluid flow channel at the alignment groove having a depth greater than the alignment groove so fluid can flow through the channel to pass the seal member.

Accumulator centering mechanism

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 an E orifice and a buffer chamber, which may assist in avoiding cavitation erosion in a sensitive area associated with a flat control valve seat. 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

Growing community of inventors

Tremont, IL, United States of America

Michael Curtis Herr