Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6394426
-
Patent Number
6,394,426
-
Date Filed
Friday, July 7, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 28, 200222 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Reising, Ethington, Barnes, Kisselle, Learman & McCulloch, P.C.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 261 22
- 261 49
- 261 51
- 261 35
- 261 691
- 261 692
- 261 DIG 23
- 261 DIG 82
- 261 DIG 68
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An engine fuel apparatus has a fuel and air mixing passage through which a rich fuel and air mixture is provided to an engine to support the operation of the engine at idle and low speed, low load engine operation, and a pressurized fuel delivery passage provides liquid fuel to a downstream fuel injector for operation of the engine at high load, high speed and wide open throttle engine operating conditions. A shut-off valve prevents the flow of fuel to the mixing passage when a throttle valve therein, which controls engine operation, is opened a predetermined amount from idle to prevent the flow of the fuel into the mixing passage at high load and/or high speed engine operation. Another shut-off valve prevents the flow of pressurized fuel to the downstream fuel injector device when the throttle valve is between idle and a predetermined position off of idle to prevent the flow of pressurized fuel to the fuel injector device under low speed, low load engine operation. Desirably, a camshaft rotated in response to rotation of the throttle valve is used to actuate both shut-off valves.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to engine fuel systems and more particularly to an apparatus providing a dual fuel supply to an engine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Typically, carburetors have been used to supply a fuel and air mixture to both four stroke and two stroke small internal combustion engines. For many applications where small two stroke engines are utilized, such as hand held power chainsaws, weed trimmers, leaf blowers, garden equipment and the like, carburetors with both a diaphragm fuel delivery pump and a fuel metering system have been utilized. In operation, two stroke engines utilizing these carburetors have a relatively high level of hydrocarbon exhaust emissions which are detrimental to the environment and exceed and cannot meet the exhaust emission requirements imposed by the State of California and the emission requirements proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States government and the governments of several other countries.
Due to the relatively low selling price of small two stroke engines, and particularly two stroke engines for hand held power tools and the like, it is not economically feasible to utilize sophisticated electronic fuel injection systems such as those typically used for automotive vehicle applications. Components such as sensors, high precision fuel injectors, electric fuel pumps, fuel pressure regulators, and electronic control modules are prohibitive in cost and render the engine and fuel system too large for the small engine industry. Some pneumatic assisted fuel injection systems have improved the exhaust emissions at relatively low cost for various small engines. However, they require a compatible non-electronic fuel metering system and pressurized fuel delivery system to support the engine fuel requirements over its wide range of operating loads and conditions as well as the environmental conditions in which the engines are used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A dual supply apparatus with a fuel and air mixing passage through which a rich fuel and air mixture is provided to an engine to support the operation of the engine at idle and low speed, low load engine operation, and a pressurized fuel delivery passage providing a metered flow of fuel to a fuel injector downstream of the apparatus which provides the fuel required by the engine at high load, high speed and wide open throttle engine operating conditions. A shut-off valve closes to prevent the flow of fuel into the mixing passage when a throttle valve, which controls engine airflow operation, is opened a predetermined amount from idle to prevent the flow of the fuel into the mixing passage at high load and/or high speed engine operation. Similarly, a fuel injector circuit shut-off valve closes to prevent the flow of pressurized fuel to the fuel injector when the engine throttle valve is between idle and a predetermined position off of idle to prevent the flow of pressurized fuel to the fuel injector under low speed, low load engine operation.
Desirably, a camshaft rotates in response to rotation of the throttle valve to actuate both the mixing passage fuel shut-off valve and the fuel injector shut-off valve. This provides a mechanical synchronization of the switching of the fuel delivery from the mixing passage circuit to the fuel injector circuit in response to the throttle valve position. To provide a smoother switching of the fuel delivery between these circuits, preferably the opening and closing of both valves overlaps so they are both open at the same time so some fuel is supplied to the engine by both circuits during valve transition.
Objects, features and advantages of this invention include providing an apparatus which provides a fuel and air mixture to the engine crankcase under at least some operating conditions for lubrication of the engine and to support engine operation, provides a pressurized supply of fuel to a fuel injector apparatus under at least some engine operating conditions to enable the injection of fuel into the combustion chamber of the engine, reduces the hydrocarbon emissions of the engine, improves the fuel economy, permits use of a relatively inexpensive fuel injector mechanism, provides a desired fuel and air mixture to the engine under a wide range of engine operating conditions, does not significantly increase the total package envelope of the engine, minimizes the number of ancillary engine components required for control of fuel delivery, enables adjustment for the transition between crankcase fuel circuit operation and fuel injector circuit operation, is adaptable to a variety of engines, may be used with engines equipped with direct fuel injection technology, provides a low cost metered fuel supply to the engine, is of relatively simple design and economical manufacture and assembly, is reliable, durable and has a long, useful life in service.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and best mode, appended claims and accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1
is a schematic front view of an apparatus embodying the present invention and having a fuel injector circuit shut-off valve and a mixing passage fuel delivery shut-off valve which control the fuel delivery from the apparatus;
FIG. 2
is a side view of the apparatus of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a schematic sectional view of the apparatus of
FIG. 1
with portions broken away and in section illustrating the mixing passage fuel delivery circuit shut-off valve;
FIG. 4
is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the position of the mixing passage fuel delivery circuit shut-off valve when the throttle valve is in its idle position;
FIG. 5
is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve when the throttle valve is in its idle position;
FIG. 6
is fragmentary sectional view illustrating a pump of the fuel injector delivery circuit;
FIG. 7
is a fragmentary sectional view of the apparatus illustrating a fuel flow path through the fuel injector delivery circuit;
FIG. 8
is a graph of the engine fuel demand versus engine speed and illustrating the relative fuel supplies to the engine of the mixing passage fuel delivery circuit and the fuel injector circuit;
FIG. 9
is a plan view of a camshaft lever of the apparatus;
FIG. 10
is a side view of the apparatus lever of
FIG. 9
;
FIG. 11
is a side view of a camshaft of the apparatus; and
FIG. 12
is another side view of the camshaft of the apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring in more detail to the drawings,
FIGS. 1-7
illustrate an apparatus
10
having a fuel and air mixing passage
12
through which a fuel and air mixture is delivered to a crankcase of a 2-stroke internal combustion spark ignition engine
14
, a fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
which controls the flow of fuel to the fuel and air mixing passage
12
, a fuel injector circuit outlet passage
18
through which a supply of pressurized fuel is supplied to a fuel injector apparatus
20
for subsequent injection of the fuel into the engine and a fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
which controls the flow of fuel through the fuel injector delivery passage
18
. Desirably, a camshaft
24
is mechanically linked to a shaft
26
of a throttle valve
28
for rotation with the throttle valve shaft
26
and is adapted to selectively drive the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
and the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
between open and closed positions to control the flow of fuel from the apparatus
10
. The fuel and air mixing circuit preferably provides the fuel required for operation of the engine
14
at idle and relatively low speed, low load engine operation. The fuel injector circuit preferably provides the fuel required for operation of the engine at high speed, high load conditions up to wide open throttle engine operation. However, other engine/injector apparatus configurations can be realized that may use a similar fuel injector circuit for both idle and low speed engine operating conditions controlled by the switching valve
16
in lieu of the fuel circuit providing fuel through the fuel and air mixing passage for idle/slow speed operation. To accomplish this, both shut-off valves
16
,
22
control the flow of fuel to the fuel injector apparatus
20
, with one valve
16
open to permit a metered fuel flow to the injector
20
at low engine speed and closed at high engine speed, and the other valve
22
closed at low engine speeds and open at higher engine speeds to provide fuel to the injector
20
.
Fuel Pump
As shown in
FIG. 3
, the apparatus
10
has a fuel pump
30
defined between an end plate
32
and a main body
34
with a gasket
36
between them. The fuel pump
30
has a diaphragm
38
defining a fuel chamber
40
on one side and a crankcase pressure pulse chamber
42
on its other side communicating with the engine crankcase through a passage
44
. Negative pressure pulses from the engine crankcase displace the diaphragm
38
in a direction tending to increase the volume of the fuel chamber
40
to draw fuel from a fuel tank through an inlet passage
46
in the end plate
32
. A fuel inlet valve
48
which is preferably a flap type valve integral with the fuel pump diaphragm
38
is opened by the decreased pressure within the fuel chamber
40
to permit fuel flow therethrough and into the fuel chamber
40
. A subsequently provided positive pressure pulse from the engine crankcase to the pressure pulse chamber
42
displaces the fuel pump diaphragm
38
in a direction tending to decrease the volume of the fuel chamber
40
to thereby increase the pressure of the fuel therein and to discharge it through an outlet valve
50
. The outlet valve
50
is also preferably a flap type valve integral with the fuel pump diaphragm
38
and is opened by the increase in pressure in the fuel chamber.
Fuel Metering
Fuel discharged from the fuel pump outlet is delivered under pressure to a fuel metering assembly
52
of the apparatus
10
through a fuel metering inlet passage
54
. The fuel metering assembly
52
functions as a vacuum actuated pressure regulator receiving pressurized fuel from the fuel pump
30
and regulating its pressure to a predetermined pressure, usually subatmospheric, to control the delivery of fuel from the fuel metering assembly
52
. The assembly
52
has an inlet valve
56
with a needle shaped head
58
and a shaft
60
which is actuated by a lever arm
62
connected at one end to the valve, fulcrumed between its ends on a pin
64
and having a control finger
66
actuated at its free end by a fuel metering diaphragm (not shown). The inlet valve
56
is yieldably biased to its closed position bearing on a valve seat
68
by a coil spring
70
received in a pocket
72
of the body
34
and bearing on the finger
66
of the lever arm
62
. As the pressure changes within a fuel metering chamber
74
defined on one side of the fuel metering diaphragm, the fuel metering diaphragm is displaced to bear on the finger
66
and hence rotate the lever arm
62
to cause a corresponding movement of the inlet valve
56
between its open and closed positions to selectively permit fuel to enter the metering chamber
74
through the inlet valve
56
.
Fuel Mixture Circuit
The main body
34
of the apparatus
10
has the fuel and air mixing passage
12
formed therethrough. The fuel and air mixing passage
12
has an inlet portion
76
which leads to a venturi
78
, which in turn leads to an outlet portion
80
through which a fuel and air mixture is delivered to the engine. The venturi
78
has a converging upstream portion
82
leading to a throat
84
of reduced diameter which in turn leads to a downstream diverging portion
86
. A plurality of low speed fuel jets
88
open into to the fuel and air mixing passage
12
preferably in the diverging portion
86
or just downstream of the venturi
78
. At least one high speed fuel jet
89
preferably opens into the throat
84
. Fuel is provided from the fuel metering chamber
74
through the fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
to the fuel jets
88
and
89
for delivery into the fuel and air mixing passage
12
in response to a pressure differential across the fuel jets
88
,
89
. A conventional low speed fuel adjustment needle (not shown) may be contained in the body
34
for more precise adjustment of idle/slow speed fuel delivery, if desired. An air bleed
90
may extend from the downstream end of the fuel and air mixing passage
12
to a fuel progression pocket
92
which leads to the fuel jets
88
. The air bleed
90
preferably bleeds air into the progression pocket at medium to high engine speed so that a leaner mixture of fuel and air is provided into the fuel and air mixing passage
12
when the throttle valve
28
is opened more than about 50% towards its wide open position.
Throttle & Shut-Off Valves
The throttle valve
28
is preferably a butterfly type valve having a disk shaped valve head
94
mounted on a shaft
26
rotatably carried in the body
34
. The throttle valve
28
is moved from an idle position, as shown in
FIG. 3
, substantially preventing the flow of air through the fuel and air mixing passage
12
, to a wide open throttle position wherein the valve head
94
is generally parallel with the fluid flow through the fuel and air mixing passage
12
to permit a substantially unrestricted fluid flow therethrough.
As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, the throttle valve shaft
26
extends out of the body
34
at one end and has a cam
100
on this end adapted to engage and displace a lever
102
attached to the camshaft
24
to cause rotation of the camshaft
24
during at least a portion of the rotation of the throttle valve shaft
26
. As shown in
FIGS. 9 and 10
, the camshaft lever
102
is preferably a generally thin metallic arm with a through hole
104
which receives a cap screw
106
or other fastener to connect the lever
102
to the camshaft
24
. The lever
102
preferably has a curved cam surface
108
between its ends which, as shown in
FIG. 2
, is adapted to engage the corresponding portion of the throttle valve shaft cam
100
when the throttle valve
28
is rotated sufficiently away from its idle position toward its wide open position. Rotation of the throttle valve shaft
26
from the idle position of the throttle valve
28
to its wide open position, causes the throttle valve shaft
26
and its cam
100
to rotate clockwise, as viewed in
FIG. 2
, and over at least a portion of this rotation causes a corresponding counterclockwise rotation of the camshaft lever
102
which in turn, causes a counterclockwise rotation of the camshaft
24
.
As shown in
FIGS. 1
,
2
,
11
and
12
, the camshaft
24
is preferably a generally cylindrical rod received in a complementary bore
110
in an upper plate
112
of the body
34
and has a machined flat
114
at one end with a hole
116
formed through this flat
114
adapted to receive the fastener
106
or other means of connection of the camshaft lever
102
thereto. A second machined flat
118
adjacent the other end of the camshaft
24
is adapted to selectively engage the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
and the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
to move these valves
16
,
22
between their open and closed positions in response to the position of the throttle valve
28
, which is controlled by the degree of rotation of the throttle valve shaft
26
. As best shown in
FIG. 1
, a spring
124
is preferably received at one end of the camshaft between the camshaft lever and the body to yieldably bias the camshaft
24
, and the camshaft lever
102
to their positions corresponding to the idle position of the throttle valve
28
. As shown in
FIG. 6
, to limit the rotation of the camshaft, and hence, thereby limit the engagement of the camshaft with the shut-off valves to control the position of the shut-off valves in their fully closed position, adjustable screws
126
are received in the upper plate and are adapted to engage a portion of the camshaft
24
to limit its rotation. The upper plate
112
in which the camshaft
24
is carried is connected to an intermediate plate
130
which is in turn connected to the main body
34
. A suitable gasket
132
and a fuel injector pump diaphragm
134
are disposed between the upper and intermediate plates
112
,
130
. As shown in
FIG. 4
, locating pegs
136
may extend from the intermediate plate
130
through openings in the diaphragm
134
and gasket
132
and into blind bores
138
in the upper plate
112
in assembly to maintain the relative position of the plates, diaphragm, and gasket.
Mixing Passage Fuel Shut-Off Valve
As shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
, the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
is received in a generally cylindrical bore
140
extending through the upper plate
112
, gasket
132
, diaphragm
134
and into the intermediate plate
130
. A passage
142
opening into this bore
140
communicates the fuel metering chamber
74
with the shut-off valve
16
and defines an annular shoulder
144
on which an O-ring
146
or other annular sealing member is provided to define a valve seat.
The shut-off valve
16
has a valve head
148
adapted to be received and to seal against the O-ring
146
defining the valve seat and an enlarged diameter body
150
extending from the valve head
148
and having an annular groove
152
constructed to receive an O-ring
154
to provide a fluid tight seal between the valve body
150
and the bore
140
of the upper plate
112
to prevent fluid leakage between them. A coil spring
156
is preferably disposed around the valve head
148
and bears on a washer
158
disposed on the valve seat
146
at one end and an annular shoulder
160
of the valve body
150
at its other end to yieldably bias the shut-off valve
16
to its open position with the valve head
148
spaced from the valve seat
146
to permit fluid flow past the valve head
148
. The spring
156
preferably also maintains the valve body
150
in contact with the camshaft so that it is responsive to camshaft rotation. The spring force on the washer
158
also maintains the O-ring
146
on the bottom or shoulder of the bore
140
to prevent leakage into the bore
140
around the O-ring
146
. The end of the valve body
150
opposite the valve head
148
engages the camshaft
24
in the area of its second flat
118
and rotation of the camshaft
24
drives the shut-off valve
16
from its open position to its closed position preventing fluid flow through the valve seat
146
.
The shut-off valve
16
controls the flow of fuel from the fuel metering chamber
74
in the main body
34
, through the passage
142
formed in the intermediate plate
130
which extends from the fuel metering chamber
74
, through the valve seat
146
, and to another passage
162
leading to the fuel progression pocket
92
within the main body
34
to provide fuel to the various fuel jets
88
and
89
opening into the fuel and air mixing passage
12
. Thus, when the shut-off valve
16
is in its open position with its valve head
148
spaced from its valve seat
146
, the fuel metering chamber
74
is communicated with the fuel and air mixing passage
12
. When the shut-off valve is in its closed position preventing fluid flow through the valve seat
146
, the fuel and air mixing passage
12
is not in communication with the fuel metering chamber
74
and thus, essentially no fuel is supplied through the fuel and air mixing passage
12
when the shut-off valve
16
is in its fully closed position. Alternatively, as shown in phantom in
FIG. 4
, the passage
162
may communicate with the fuel injector apparatus
20
if it is desired to provide fuel to the engine through the injector apparatus
20
at low engine operative speeds.
Fuel Injector Circuit
As shown in
FIG. 6
, the fuel injector circuit preferably has a second fuel pump
170
with a diaphragm
134
between the intermediate plate
130
and upper plate
112
and constructed to provide a supply of pressurized fuel to the fuel injector
20
downstream of the apparatus
10
. The diaphragm
134
is trapped between the gasket
132
and the intermediate plate
130
to define a crankcase pressure pulse chamber
174
on one side of the diaphragm
134
and a fuel chamber
176
on the other side of the diaphragm
134
. A passage
178
defined in part by a fitting
180
carried by the upper plate
112
communicates the engine crankcase chamber with the pressure pulse chamber
174
to actuate the second fuel pump diaphragm
134
. A fuel passage
182
communicates the fuel metering chamber
74
with the pump fuel chamber
176
through an inlet valve
184
, which is preferably a flap type valve integral with the second fuel pump diaphragm
134
. An outlet passage
186
communicates fuel discharged from the fuel chamber
176
with a fuel passage
188
. Fluid flow through the outlet is controlled by an outlet valve
190
which is preferably a flap type valve integral with the second fuel pump diaphragm
134
.
When a negative pressure from the engine crankcase is communicated with the pressure pulse chamber
174
, the diaphragm
134
is displaced in a direction tending to increase the volume of the fuel chamber
176
thereby decreasing the pressure in the fuel chamber
176
. The decreased pressure in the fuel chamber
176
draws fuel from the fuel metering chamber
74
through the connecting passage
182
and into the fuel chamber
176
. A subsequent positive pressure pulse from the engine crankcase displaces the second fuel pump diaphragm
134
in a direction tending to decrease the volume of the fuel chamber
176
thereby increasing the pressure therein and discharging fuel through the outlet passage
186
to the fuel passage
188
. Thus, the second fuel pump
170
operates in a similar manner to the first fuel pump
30
to draw fuel into its fuel chamber
176
and to discharge fuel from the fuel chamber under pressure. In a currently preferred embodiment, the fuel discharged through the fuel outlet passage is at a pressure of between 2 and 5 psi. Drawing fuel from the metering chamber
74
provides enhanced fuel pressure stability independent of fuel tank pressure, atmospheric conditions, or changes in storage tank fuel level.
Fuel discharged under pressure from the fuel pump
170
flows through the fuel passage
188
to a fuel adjustment valve
192
(
FIG. 7
) which restricts the flow of fuel through the fuel injector delivery circuit. The fuel adjustment valve
192
preferably has a threaded shank portion
194
received in a complimentary threaded counterbore
196
in the upper plate
112
so that it may be rotated to vary the axial position of a needle shaped valve head
198
relative to a valve seat
200
in the upper plate
112
. The valve head
198
is moved relative to the valve seat
200
to control the size of an annular flow area between them to provide an adjustable restriction to the fuel flow therethrough. Fuel which flows past the valve head
198
flows through a passage
202
extending from the bore in which the valve
192
is received, through the gasket
132
and diaphragm
134
, to a check valve
204
disposed in the intermediate plate
130
.
The check valve
204
isolates the portion of the fuel injector circuit upstream thereof from any external pressure variations experienced at or caused by the downstream fuel injector device
20
. As shown, the check valve
204
is located upstream of the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
but may be located downstream thereof or externally of the apparatus
10
such as in a fuel supply line between the apparatus and the downstream fuel injector device
20
. The check valve
204
has a housing
206
fitted into a counterbore
208
in the intermediate plate
130
and an annular valve seat
210
defining a flow orifice
212
, a flat disk
214
adapted to bear on the valve seat
210
to close the flow orifice
212
and a retainer
216
which positions and retains the disk
214
inside the housing
206
. Calibrated holes may be provided through the disk
214
to leak or bleed a controlled pressure back into the fuel injector circuit to lower the differential pressure across the metering valve head
198
and valve seat
200
. The check valve
204
must have a low inertia to facilitate opening and closing the check valve
204
with an operational frequency response as high as 180 cycles per second and is preferably made from suitably durable materials such as Mylar or other plastic composites.
Fuel which flows through the check valve
204
enters a passage
220
which communicates with the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
. The fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
is constructed substantially the same as the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
and, as best shown in
FIG. 5
, has a cylindrical valve head
222
selectively engageable with a valve seat
224
defined by an O-ring received in the bore
226
in which the shut-off valve
22
is received. The valve head
222
has a reduced diameter relative to a valve body
228
extending therefrom and which carries an O-ring
230
to provide a fluid tight seal between the shut-off valve
22
and the upper plate
112
to prevent fluid leakage between them. A spring
232
disposed between the valve body
228
and a washer
234
bearing on the valve seat O-ring
224
yieldably biases the body
228
of the shut-off valve
22
to its open position permitting fluid flow through the valve seat
224
and preferably maintains the valve body
228
in contact with the camshaft. The spring
232
also seals the O-ring
224
against the bore
226
. When the throttle valve
28
is in its idle position, and the camshaft
24
is in its corresponding position, as shown in
FIG. 5
, the body
228
of the shut-off valve
22
is engaged by the camshaft
24
and moved to its fully closed position to substantially prevent fluid flow through its valve seat
224
. When the shut-off valve
22
is at least partially open, fuel may flow through the valve seat
224
, past the valve head
222
and to the fuel injector circuit outlet passage
18
defined in part by an outlet fitting
238
carried by the intermediate plate
130
which communicates with the downstream fuel injector device
20
. Therefore, pressurized fuel discharged from the outlet of the second fuel pump
170
is provided to a downstream fuel injector device
20
through outlet passage
18
when the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
is open and the pressure at the fuel injector device
20
is less than the fuel pump
170
outlet pressure. A pressure at the fuel injector device
20
which is higher than the fuel pump outlet pressure will close the check valve
204
to prevent reverse flow through the outlet passage
18
.
Operation of the apparatus
10
on an engine is illustrated in
FIG. 8
which plots engine fuel demand versus engine speed. The fuel supplied by the mixing passage circuit is shown by a line
250
and the fuel supplied by the fuel injector circuit is shown by a line
252
. As shown, a greater quantity of liquid fuel is provided to the engine during starting of the engine than at idle (which may be accomplished with a conventional choke valve arrangement), to facilitate starting of the engine and subsequent warming up of the engine. After the engine has warmed up, a relatively low quantity of fuel is required for steady state operation of the engine at idle. At idle, as previously described, the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
is in its open position permitting fuel to flow therethrough to the fuel and air mixing passage
12
whereupon it is combined with air flowing through the passage
12
and delivered to the engine
14
. At the same time, the camshaft
24
is engaged with the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
to close it, and prevent fuel from being delivered to the fuel injector apparatus
20
so that no fuel is supplied through the fuel injector apparatus
20
to the engine
14
under startup and idle conditions.
As the throttle valve
28
is opened from its idle position towards its wide open position to increase the engine speed, an increased flow of air passes through the fuel and air mixing passage
12
, an increased pressure drop exists across the fuel jets
88
, and an increased amount of liquid fuel is drawn into the fuel and air mixing passage for delivery to the engine, as indicated by line
250
. Up to a predetermined throttle valve position or degree of opening, the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
remains essentially fully open and the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
remains fully closed to prevent fuel flow therethrough. At a predetermined degree of opening of the throttle valve
28
, desirably when the throttle valve
28
is rotated between 30% and 90% of the total rotational angle between its idle and wide open positions, and more desirably when it is rotated at least 50% towards its wide open position, the cam
100
engages the lever
102
to begin rotation of the camshaft
24
and thereby begin to close the mixing passage circuit shut-off valve
16
and to open the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
. The majority of the fuel supplied to the engine is still supplied through the fuel and air mixing passage circuit with a relatively minor fuel flow delivered to the injector and subsequently to the engine.
Continued rotation of the throttle valve
28
causes a continued rotation of the camshaft
24
which further opens the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
and begins to close the mixing passage shut-off valve
16
to increase the flow of fuel through the fuel injector shut-off valve
22
and decrease the flow of fuel through the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
. Eventually, upon sufficient rotation of the throttle valve
28
, the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve is fully closed to prevent fuel flow therethrough. Desirably, the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
is fully closed when the throttle valve
28
is rotated at least 50% , and preferably between 70% to 90% towards its wide open position. The range of overlap wherein the mixing passage fuel circuit shut-off valve
16
and the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
are both at least partially open, is illustrated by a dashed line
254
in
FIG. 8
which represents the combined fuel delivered by the apparatus through both the fuel and air mixing passage
12
and the fuel outlet passage
18
. This range may correspond to a range of movement of the throttle valve of between 0% and 30% of the total rotation of the throttle valve
28
, as desired. The switch from mixing passage fuel delivery to fuel injector fuel delivery is facilitated by the air bleed
90
which provides air into the progression pocket
92
to reduce the flow rate of liquid fuel into the fuel and air mixing passage
12
as the fuel discharged from the fuel outlet passage
18
is being increased. Continued opening of the throttle valve
28
to its wide open throttle position rotates the camshaft
24
to fully open the fuel injector circuit shut-off valve
22
and fully close the mixing passage circuit shut-off valve
16
so that all the fuel is supplied through the fuel injector apparatus
20
to the engine at high engine speed high load operation and wide open throttle engine operating conditions.
Therefore, the apparatus
10
controls the flow of both a fuel and air mixture to the two-stroke engine crankcase and a separate, pressurized fuel supply to a fuel injector device on the engine to support operation of the engine. Desirably, the fuel supplies are linked to the throttle valve
28
and are automatically controlled by shut-off valves
16
,
22
according to the position of the throttle valve
28
to provide the desired fuel flow rate to the engine over a wide range of operating conditions. The synchronization or relative opening and closing of the shut-off valves
16
,
22
can be controlled in a variety of ways. The adjustment screws
126
can be adjusted to limit the rotation of the camshaft
24
, the position of the camshaft
24
in the apparatus
10
can be changed, more than one camshaft can be provided, the location and/or size of the valve bodies can be changed, the engagement between the cam
100
and lever
102
can be modified, to name a few of the ways to vary the output characteristics of the apparatus
10
. Further, the apparatus
10
may be used to supply fuel to substantially any fuel injector device
20
including the direct injection arrangement disclosed in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 09/764,701, filed on Jan. 18, 2001 and claiming the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/178,429, filed Jan. 27, 2000, among other pneumatic, electronic, mechanical or other type injection systems for all modes of fuel injected operation including idle and slow speed conditions.
Finally, while the apparatus
10
has been described with reference to a mechanical linkage between the throttle valve
28
and the shut-off valves
16
,
22
, the shut-off valves
16
,
22
could also be driven between their open and closed positions by a pneumatic or other fluid signal, or an electronic signal such as through a solenoid type valve.
Claims
- 1. An engine fuel apparatus comprising:a body having a fuel and air mixing passage through which a fuel and air mixture is delivered to an engine and a fuel outlet passage through which liquid fuel is discharged to support engine operation; a throttle valve carried by the body having a shaft and a valve head carried by the shaft, disposed in the fuel and air mixing passage and rotatable between idle and wide open positions; a first valve carried by the body in communication with the fuel and air mixing passage for movement between an open position permitting fuel flow to the fuel and air mixing passage and a closed position at least partially restricting fuel flow to the fuel and air mixing passage to control the amount of fuel delivered to the fuel and air mixing passage; a second valve carried by the body in communication with the fuel outlet passage for movement between an open position permitting fuel flow to the fuel outlet passage and a closed position at least partially restricting fuel flow to the fuel outlet passage to control the amount of fuel discharged from the fuel outlet passage; and a mechanical linkage which selectively moves both the first valve and second valve between their open and closed positions in response to movement of the throttle valve between its idle and wide open positions to control the fuel delivered to both the fuel and air mixing passage and the fuel outlet passage as a function of the throttle valve position.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mechanical linkage moves the first valve to its closed position and permits the second valve to be in its open position when the throttle valve is in its wide open position.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein when the first valve and second valve are in their closed positions they substantially prevent fluid flow to the fuel and air mixing passage and the fuel outlet passage, respectively.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mechanical linkage comprises a camshaft carried for rotation by the body and selectively engageable with both the first and second valves to move them between their open and closed positions as the camshaft rotates, a lever connected to the camshaft, and a cam carried by the throttle valve shaft and constructed to engage the lever during at least a portion of the rotation of the throttle valve to rotate the camshaft.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein when the throttle valve is in its idle position, the camshaft bears on and closes the second valve and when the throttle valve is in its wide open position, the camshaft bears on and closes the first valve.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the camshaft has at least one flat formed therein which is adapted to engage at least one of the first valve and second valve.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said one flat of the camshaft engages both the first valve and second valve.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1 which also comprises a fuel pump having an inlet in communication with a supply of fuel and an outlet in communication with the fuel outlet passage through the second valve to provide a supply of pressurized fuel to the fuel outlet passage at least when the second valve is open.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first valve has an annular valve seat through which fuel flows to the fuel outlet passage, a valve head which engages the valve seat when the first valve is in its closed position to at least substantially prevent fluid flow through the valve seat and a spring yieldably biasing the first valve to its open position.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first valve is fully open when the second valve is fully closed and the first valve is fully closed when the second valve is fully open, and both the first and second valves are at least partially open at the same time when the throttle valve is in a predetermined position so that fuel is delivered through both the fuel and air mixing passage and the fuel outlet passage at least when the throttle valve is in said predetermined position.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first valve is fully open when the throttle valve is in its idle position and is fully closed when the throttle valve is rotated between 30% and 90% of the angular distance towards its wide open position.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the first valve is closed when the throttle valve is rotated more than 50% towards its wide open position.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the first valve and second valve are both at least partially open over a range of throttle valve opening up to 30% of the total angular movement of the throttle valve beginning at a predetermined throttle valve position.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the fuel pump has a diaphragm carried by the body to define a fuel chamber on one side and a pressure pulse chamber on its other side in communication with a crankcase chamber of an engine to provide a pressure signal to the pressure pulse chamber to actuate the diaphragm.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the fuel pump discharges fuel from its outlet at a pressure of between 2 and 5 psi.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the first valve is closed when the throttle valve is rotated 70% to 90% towards its wide open position.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 1 which also comprises an air bleed passage communicating at one end downstream of the throttle valve and at its other end with a fuel passage through which fuel is delivered to the fuel and air mixing passage to provide air into the fuel when the throttle valve is rotated more than 50% from its idle position towards its wide open position to reduce the flow rate of liquid fuel into the fuel and air mixing passage.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the camshaft is yieldably biased to a position corresponding to the idle position of the throttle valve.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 8 which also comprises a check valve downstream of the fuel pump outlet which permits fluid flow from the fuel pump through the check valve and prevents reverse fluid flow to isolate the fuel pump from pressure variations downstream of the check valve.
- 20. An engine fuel apparatus comprising:a body having a fuel and air mixing passage through which a fuel and air mixture is delivered to an engine and a fuel outlet passage through which liquid fuel is discharged to support engine operation; a throttle valve carried by the body having a shaft and a valve head carried by the shaft, disposed in the fuel and air mixing passage and rotatable between idle and wide open positions; a first valve carried by the body in communication with the fuel and air mixing passage for movement between an open position permitting fuel flow to the fuel and air mixing passage and a closed position at least partially restricting fuel flow to the fuel and air mixing passage to control the amount of fuel delivered to the fuel and air mixing passage; a second valve carried by the body in communication with the fuel outlet passage for movement between an open position permitting fuel flow to the fuel outlet passage and a closed position at least partially restricting fuel flow to the fuel outlet passage to control the amount of fuel discharged from the fuel outlet passage; and a linkage which controls movement of both the first and second valves between their open and closed positions as a function of the position of the throttle valve to control the fuel delivered from the fuel and air mixing passage and the fuel outlet passage.
- 21. An engine fuel apparatus, comprising:a body having a fuel and air mixing passage through which a fuel mixture is delivered to an engine and a second fuel passage through which liquid fuel is discharged to support engine operation; a throttle valve carried by the body having a shaft and a valve head carried by the shaft, disposed in the fuel and air mixing passage and rotatable between idle and wide open positions; a camshaft carried by the body and driven for rotation in response to at least a portion of the movement of the throttle valve between its idle and wide open positions; a first shut-off valve carried by the body and selectively engageable with the camshaft to be driven by the camshaft during at least a portion of the camshaft rotation between an open position permitting fuel flow to the fuel and air mixing passage and a closed position at least partially restricting fuel flow to the fuel and air mixing passage to control the amount of fuel delivered to the fuel and air mixing passage; and a second shut-off valve carried by the body and selectively engageable with the camshaft to be driven by the camshaft during at least a portion of the camshaft rotation between an open position permitting fuel flow to the second fuel passage and a closed position at least partially restricting fuel flow to the second fuel passage to control the amount of fuel discharged from the second fuel passage.
- 22. The apparatus of claim 21 which also comprises a lever connected to the camshaft and a cam connected to the throttle valve shaft for co-rotation with the throttle valve shaft and constructed to engage and displace the camshaft lever during a portion of the rotation of the throttle valve shaft to cause a corresponding rotation of the camshaft.
- 23. An engine fuel apparatus comprising:a body having a fuel outlet passage through which liquid fuel is discharged to support engine operation; an air passage in the body through which air is delivered to the engine; a throttle valve carried by the body having a shaft and a valve head in the air passage, carried by the shaft and rotatable between idle and wide open positions; a first valve carried by the body in communication with the fuel outlet passage for movement between an open position permitting fuel flow from a supply of fuel to the fuel outlet passage and a closed position at least partially restricting fuel flow to the fuel outlet passage; a fuel pump having an inlet configured to communicate with a supply of liquid fuel and an outlet of pressurized fuel; a second valve carried by the body in communication with the outlet of the fuel pump and the fuel outlet passage for movement between an open position permitting pressurized liquid fuel flow from the fuel pump to the fuel outlet passage and a closed position at least partially restricting the pressurized liquid fuel flow to the fuel outlet passage; and a mechanical linkage which selectively moves both the first valve and second valve between their open and closed positions in response to movement of the throttle valve between its idle and wide open positions to control the fuel delivered to the fuel outlet passage as a function of the throttle valve position so that when the throttle valve is between its idle position and a position between its idle and wide open positions the first valve is open and the second valve is closed, and when the throttle valve is between its wide open position and a position between its idle and wide open positions the first valve is closed and the second valve is open.
- 24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the fuel pump discharges fuel from its outlet at a pressure in the range of 2 to 5 psi.
- 25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the fuel pump has a diaphragm carried by the body to define a fuel chamber on one side and a pressure pulse chamber on its other side configured to communicate with a crankcase chamber of an engine to provide a pressure signal to the pressure pulse chamber to actuate the diaphragm of the fuel pump.
- 26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the fuel pump discharges fuel from its outlet at a pressure in the range of 2 to 5 psi.
US Referenced Citations (16)