Patent Application
20110315122
The present disclosure relates to engine fuel systems, and more specifically to fuel injectors and fuel lines.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A fuel line may be used to connect a fuel injector with a pressurized fuel supply. The fuel line may be sealingly connected to the fuel injector. For example, a sealing member located on one end of the fuel line may mate with a fuel injector connector. In order to ensure a proper seal between the surfaces of the sealing member and fuel injector, the connector may be secured to the fuel injector connector with a relatively large force. Such a large force may cause deformation of the sealing member and/or the fuel injector.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
A fuel line may include a hollow elongate body having a first end and a second end. A first sealing member located on the first end of the hollow elongate body may have a monolithic construction and include a base region and a sealing region. The base region may have a first material hardness and the sealing region may have a second material hardness, the second material hardness being less than the first material hardness. A first connector may be coupled with the elongate body and the first connector and the first sealing member may be configured to sealingly connect to a fuel injector.
An engine assembly may include an engine structure defining a cylinder, a fuel injector supported by the engine structure and in communication with the cylinder; and a fuel line sealingly connected to the fuel injector. The fuel line may include a hollow elongate body having a first end and a second end. A first sealing member located on the first end of the hollow elongate body may have a monolithic construction and include a base region and a sealing region. The base region may have a first material hardness and the sealing region may have a second material hardness, the second material hardness being less than the first material hardness. A first connector may be coupled with the elongate body and the first connector and the first sealing member may be configured to sealingly connect to the fuel injector.
A fuel system may include a fuel rail, a fuel injector, and a fuel line sealingly connected to the fuel injector and fuel rail. The fuel line may include a hollow elongate body having a first end and a second end. A first sealing member located on the first end of the hollow elongate body may have a monolithic construction and include a base region and a sealing region. The base region may have a first material hardness and the sealing region may have a second material hardness, the second material hardness being less than the first material hardness. A first connector may be coupled with the elongate body and the first connector and the first sealing member may be configured to sealingly connect to the fuel injector.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Examples of the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Referring to
The fuel system 14 may include a fuel pump 22, a fuel tank 24, a fuel rail 26, fuel injectors 28, a main fuel supply line 30 and secondary fuel supply lines 32. The fuel pump 22 may be in communication with the fuel tank 24 and may provide a pressurized fuel supply to the fuel rail 26 via the main fuel supply line 30. The fuel rail 26 may provide the pressurized fuel to injectors 28 via the secondary fuel supply lines 32. The fuel rail 26 may include a pressure regulating valve 36 that regulates fuel pressure within the fuel rail 26 by returning excess fuel to the fuel tank 24 via a return line 38.
The fuel injectors 28 may each include an actuation assembly 40 in communication with the control module 16. In the present non-limiting example, the fuel injectors 28 may form direct injection fuel injectors where fuel is injected directly into the cylinders 20.
Referring to
In the mated condition, the threaded connector 57 may engage the connector 64 such that the sealing member 62 is sealingly engaged with the fuel inlet connector 56. For example, an outer perimeter 63 of the sealing member 62 may be brought into contact with an inner perimeter 58 of the fuel inlet connector 56. In a non-limiting example, the inner perimeter 58 may include an interior conical structure 59 that contacts the outer perimeter 63 of the sealing member 62. It should be understood that, alternatively, an inner perimeter of a sealing member may contact an outer perimeter of a fuel inlet connector. A relatively large connection force may be required to ensure a proper seal between the outer perimeter 63 of the sealing member 62 and the inner perimeter 58, and more specifically the interior conical structure 59 of the fuel inlet connector 56. By way of non-limiting example, the connection force may be greater than 8000 Newtons. In this manner, the sealing member 62 may be sealingly engaged with the fuel injector 28 to define a sealed connection from the fuel line 60 to the fuel injector 28.
In some embodiments, a difference in material hardness between the sealing member 62 and the fuel inlet connector 56 may be utilized to ensure a proper seal. For example, the sealing member 62 may be constructed of a material that has a lower material hardness than the material of the fuel inlet connector 56. Upon application of the connection force (such as the force exerted upon the sealing member 62 by connector 64 being threaded upon threaded connector 57), the sealing member 62 may be compressed and the outer perimeter 63 may deform to conform to the inner perimeter 58, and more specifically the interior conical structure 59 of the fuel inlet connector 56, to define a sealed connection from the fuel line 60 to the fuel injector 28.
The sealing member 62 may include a base region 68 and a sealing region 66. The base region 68 may include a ridge 69 that cooperates with the connector 64 to sealingly connect the connector 64 and sealing member 62 with the fuel injector 28. By way of non-limiting example, the sealing region 66 may be fixedly attached to the base region 68 by cladding, plating, welding, adhesives, overmolding or other attachment process. The base region 68 may be constructed of a first material having a first material hardness. The sealing region 66 may be constructed of a second material having a second material hardness. By way of non-limiting example, the first and second materials may include steel, alloyed carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper or a polymer.
The second material hardness may be less than the first material hardness. By way of non-limiting example, the second material hardness may be at least five percent less than the first material hardness. In this manner, the sealing region 66 may more easily conform (through deformation or otherwise) to the inner perimeter 58/interior conical structure 59 of the fuel inlet connector 56, thus ensuring a proper seal with the fuel injector 28. Furthermore, upon sealing connection with the fuel injector 28, the deformation (if any) of the sealing member 62 may be limited solely or primarily to the sealing region 66. In a non-limiting example, the sealing region 66 may comprise an annular sealing band formed on the outer perimeter 63 of the sealing member 62.
The sealing member 62 may have a monolithic construction where the first and second materials are the same. In a non-limiting example, the first end 60A, second end 60B and sealing member 62 may also have a monolithic construction. In order to create the sealing region 66, the sealing member 62 may be subjected to a process that reduces the material hardness in the sealing region 66. For example only, the sealing member 62 may be annealed in the sealing region 66, such as by laser annealing, induction annealing, etc. Alternatively, the sealing member 62 may be subjected to a process that increases the material hardness of the sealing member 62 outside of the sealing region 66. In this manner, the second material hardness (of the sealing region 66) may be less than the first material hardness (of the base region 68).
