1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for delivering fuel for combustion in an internal combustion engine. More specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for increasing the speed of a fuel injector by using a capacitor to store energy which can be used to accelerate the rate at which an electro-mechanical solenoid returns to its initial position.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide range of pumps have been developed for displacing fluids under pressure produced by electrical drives. For example, in certain fuel injection systems, fuel is displaced via a reciprocating pump assembly which is driven by electric current supplied from a source, typically a vehicle electrical system. In one fuel pump design of this type, a reluctance gap coil is positioned in a solenoid housing, and an armature is mounted movably within the housing and secured to a guide tube. The solenoid coil may be energized to force displacement of the armature toward the reluctance gap in a magnetic circuit defined around the solenoid coil. The guide tube moves with the armature, entering and withdrawing from a pump section. By reciprocal movement of the guide tube into and out of the pump section, fluid is drawn into the pump section and expressed from the pump section during operation.
In pumps of the type described above, the armature and guide tube are typically returned to their original position under the influence of one or more biasing springs. Where a fuel injection nozzle is connected to the pump, an additional biasing spring may be used to return the injection nozzle to its original position. Upon interruption of energizing current to the coil, the combination of biasing springs then forces the entire movable assembly to its original position. The cycle time of the resulting device is the sum of the time required for the pressurization stroke during energization of the solenoid coil, and the time required for returning the armature and guide to the original position for the next pressure stroke. Engine speed is generally a function of the flow rate of fuel to the combustion chamber. Increasing the speed of the engine shortens the duration of each combustion cycle. Thus, a fuel delivery system must provide the desired volumes of fuel for each combustion cycle at increasingly faster rates if the engine speed is to be increased.
Where such pumps are employed in demanding applications, such as for supplying fuel to combustion chambers of an internal combustion engine, cycle times can be extremely rapid. Cycle time refers to the amount of time required for a fuel injector to load with fuel, discharge the fuel into the combustion chamber and then return to its original position to start the cycle over again. Cycle time is typically short for fuel injectors. For example, injectors used in a direct injection system can obtain a cycle time of 0.01 seconds. That equates to the injectors being able to load with fuel, discharge the fuel into the combustion chamber, and then prepare to reload for a subsequent cycle 100 times in a single second. While this cycle time seems very short, it is often desirable to reduce this time even further when possible.
Moreover, repeatability and precision in beginning and ending of pump stroke cycles can be important in optimizing the performance of the engine under varying operating conditions. While the cycle time may be reduced by providing stronger springs for returning the reciprocating assembly to the initial position, such springs have the adverse effect of opposing forces exerted on the reciprocating assembly by energization of the solenoid. Such forces must therefore be overcome by correspondingly increased forces created during energization of the solenoid. At some point, however, increased current levels required for such forces become undesirable due to the limits of the electrical components, and additional heating produced by electrical losses.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved technique for pumping fluids in a linearly reciprocating fluid pump. There is a particular need for an improved technique for providing rapid cycle times in fluid pumps, such as fuel pumps without substantially increasing the forces and current demands of electrical driving components.
The present invention provides a novel technique for pumping fluids in a reciprocating pump arrangement designed to respond to these needs. The technique is particularly well suited for use in fuel delivery systems, such as in chamber fuel injection. However, the technique is in no way limited to such applications, and may be employed in a wide range of technical fields. The pumping drive system offers significant advantages over known arrangements, including a reduction in cycle times and so forth.
The technique is based upon a drive system employing at least one permanent magnet and at least one coil assembly. The coil assembly is energized cyclically by a reciprocating circuit to produce reciprocating motion of a drive member, which may be coupled directly to the coil. The drive member may extend into a pumping section, and cause variations in fluid pressure by intrusion into and withdrawal from the pumping section during its reciprocal movement. Valves, such as check valves, within the pumping section are actuated by the variations in pressure, permitting fluid to be drawn into the pumping section and expressed therefrom.
More specifically, the drive section has a reciprocating coil assembly to which alternating polarity control signals are applied by a reciprocating circuit. A permanent magnet structure of the drive section creates a magnetic flux field which interacts with an electromagnetic field produced during application of the control signals to the coil. Depending upon the polarity of the control signals applied to the coil, the coil is driven in one of two directions of movement. The reciprocating circuit employs a storage capacitor and several switches to capture the energy of the reciprocating coil as the pump is driven downwardly. The charge is recycled as the capacitor dissipates, thereby reversing the polarity of the current through the coil and driving the coil assembly upwardly to its initial position. A drive member transfers movement of the coil to a pump element which reciprocates with the coil to draw fluid into a pump chamber and expel the fluid during each pump cycle.
The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
Turning now to the drawings and referring first to
In the embodiment shown in
Fuel from the feed manifold 24 is available for injection into combustion chambers of engine 12, as described more fully below. A return manifold 26 is provided for recirculating fluid not injected into the combustion chambers of the engine. In the illustrated embodiment a pressure regulating valve 28 is coupled to the return manifold line 26 through a sixth fuel line 15f and is used for maintaining a desired pressure within the return manifold 26. Fluid returned via the pressure regulating valve 28 is recirculated into the separator 18 through a seventh fuel line 15g where the fuel collects in liquid phase as illustrated at reference numeral 30. Gaseous phase components of the fuel, designated by referenced numeral 32 in
Engine 12 includes a series of cylinders or combustion chambers 38 for driving an output shaft (not shown) in rotation. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, depending upon the engine design, pistons (not shown) are driven in a reciprocating fashion within each combustion chamber in response to ignition of fuel within the combustion chamber. The stroke of the piston within the chamber will permit fresh air for subsequent combustion cycles to be admitted into the chamber, while scavenging combustion products from the chamber. While the present embodiment employs a straightforward two-stroke engine design, the pumps in accordance with the present technique may be adapted for a wide variety of applications and engine designs, including other than two-stroke engines and cycles.
In the illustrated embodiment, a reciprocating pump 40 is associated with each combustion chamber 38, drawing pressurized fuel from the feed manifold 24, and further pressurizing the fuel for injection into the respective combustion chamber 38. A nozzle 42 is provided for atomizing the pressurized fuel downstream of each reciprocating pump 40. While the present technique is not intended to be limited to any particular injection system or injection scheme, in the illustrated embodiment, a pressure pulse created in the liquid fuel forces a fuel spray 43 to be formed at the mouth or outlet of the nozzle 42, for direct, in-cylinder injection. The operation of reciprocating pumps 40 is controlled by an injection controller 44. Injection controller 44, which will typically include a programmed microprocessor or other digital processing circuitry and memory for storing a routine employed in providing control signals to the pumps, applies energizing signals to the pumps to cause their reciprocation in any one of a wide variety of manners as described more fully below.
An exemplary reciprocating pump assembly, such as for use in a fuel injection system of the type illustrated in
As illustrated in
A drive member 122 is secured to bobbin 114 via extension 118. In the illustrated embodiment, drive member 122 forms a generally cup-shaped plate having a central aperture for the passage of fluid. The cup shape of the drive member 122 aids in centering a plunger 124 which is disposed within a concave portion of the drive member 122. Plunger 124 preferably has a longitudinal central opening or aperture 126 extending from its base to a head region 128 designed to contact and bear against drive member 122. A biasing spring 130 is compressed between the head region 128 and a lower component of the pump section 104 to maintain the plunger 124, the drive member 122, and bobbin 114 and coil 116 in an upward or biased position. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, plunger 124, drive member 122, extension 118, bobbin 114, and coil 116 thus form a reciprocating assembly which is driven in an oscillating motion during operation of the device as described more fully below.
The drive section 102 and pump section 104 are designed to interface with one another, preferably to permit separate manufacturing and installation of these components as subassemblies and to permit their servicing, as needed. In the illustrated embodiment, housing 106 of drive section 102 terminates in a skirt 132 which is secured about a peripheral wall 134 of pump section 104. The drive and pump sections 102 and 104 are preferably sealed, such as via a soft seal 136. Alternatively, these housings may be interfaced via threaded engagement, or any other suitable technique.
Pump section 104 forms a central aperture 138 designed to receive plunger 124. Aperture 138 also serves to guide the plunger in its reciprocating motion during operation of the device. An annular recess 140 surrounds aperture 138 and receives biasing spring 130, maintaining the biasing spring 130 in a centralized position to further aid in guiding plunger 124. In the illustrated embodiment, head region 128 includes a peripheral groove or recess 142 which receives biasing spring 130 at an end opposite recess 140.
A valve member 144 is positioned in pump section 104 below plunger 124. In the illustrated embodiment, valve member 144 forms a separable extension of plunger 124 during operation, but is spaced from plunger 124 by a gap 146 when plunger 124 is retracted as illustrated in
Valve member 144 is positioned within a pump chamber 148. Pump chamber 148 receives fluid from an inlet 150. Inlet 150 thus includes inlet passage 152 through which fluid, such as pressurized fuel, is introduced into the pump chamber 148. A check valve assembly, indicated generally at reference numeral 154, is provided between inlet passage 152 and pump chamber 148, and is closed by the pressure created within pump chamber 148 during a pumping stroke of the device. In the illustrated embodiment, a fluid passage 156 is provided between inlet passage 152 and the volume within which the drive section 102 components are disposed. Fluid passage 156 may permit the free flow of fluid into the drive section 102, to maintain that the drive section components bathed in fluid. A fluid outlet (not shown) may similarly be in fluid communication with the internal volume of the drive section 102, to permit the recirculation of fluid from the drive section 102. Valve member 144 is maintained in a biased position toward gap 146 by a biasing spring 158. In the illustrated embodiment, biasing spring 158 is compressed between an upper portion of the valve member 144 and a retaining ring 160.
When the pump defined by the components described above is employed for direct fuel injection, as one exemplary utilization, a nozzle assembly 162 may be incorporated directly into a lower portion of the pump assembly 104. As shown in
Still further movement of the plunger 142 and the valve member 144 produces a pressure surge or spike which is transmitted downstream, such as to nozzle assembly 162. In the illustrated embodiment, this pressure surge forces poppet 166 to unseat from the nozzle body 164, moving downwardly with respect to the nozzle body 164 by a compression of spring 170 between retainer 168 and the nozzle body 164. Fluid 176, such as fuel, is thus sprayed or released from the nozzle 162, such as directly into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine as described above with reference to
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, upon reversal of the polarity of the drive or control signal applied to coil 116 through the leads L, an electromagnetic field surrounding the coil 116 will reverse in orientation, causing an oppositely oriented force to be exerted on the coil 116 by virtue of interaction between this field and the magnetic field produced by magnets 108 and 110. This force will thus drive the coil 116, and other components of the reciprocating assembly back toward their original position (shown in
By appropriately configuring drive signals applied to coil 116 through the leads L, the device of the present invention may be driven in a wide variety of manners.
Next, the first switch 206 is opened thereby producing a voltage across the coil 116. At this time, the second switch 208 is closed. The current flows from the voltage source 202 as indicated by current path 216. The current 216 flows from the voltage source 202 through the coil 116, through the second switch 208 and through the capacitor 212. At this time, the voltage which was stored in the coil 116 will be transferred and stored in the capacitor 212. Depending on the energy stored in the coil 116 at the time the second switch 208 is closed, and depending upon size of the capacitor 212, the voltage magnitude in the capacitor 212 will vary. Once the voltage of the capacitor 212 reaches a predetermined voltage, the second switch 208 is opened and the third switch 210 is closed. This situation will be triggered when the voltage stored in the capacitor 212 becomes higher than the voltage produced by the source 202. The current now flows through the circuit as indicated by flow path 218. The current 218 flows from the capacitor 212 through the third switch 210 and back through the coil 116. This reverse current will push the drive member 122 back to its original position as indicated in
By using a reverse current 218 to provide reciprocal motion of the drive member 122 in accordance with the embodiment described herein, several advantages over prior electro-mechanical solenoid based systems, such as fuel injectors, may be achieved. First, as previously discussed and as will be discussed with reference to
As discussed with reference to
Energy is stored in the capacitor 316 until such time that micro-controller 318 closes the third switch 310. At this point, the voltage stored in the capacitor 316 will be driven back to the coil 116 thereby facilitating the reciprocating motion of the drive member 122 (shown in
While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.
The present invention is a continuation and claims priority of U.S. Ser. No. 10/153,370 filed May 21, 2002 now abandoned which is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/641,325, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,511 on Jun. 4, 2002, each which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3913536 | Lapple et al. | Oct 1975 | A |
4264849 | Fleischer et al. | Apr 1981 | A |
4682801 | Cook et al. | Jul 1987 | A |
4787823 | Hultman | Nov 1988 | A |
4841165 | Bowles | Jun 1989 | A |
4884954 | Van Niekerk | Dec 1989 | A |
5267344 | Nelson, III | Nov 1993 | A |
5518372 | Chin | May 1996 | A |
5558068 | Kunishima et al. | Sep 1996 | A |
5602505 | Antone | Feb 1997 | A |
5620311 | Wetzel | Apr 1997 | A |
5895207 | Burgdorf et al. | Apr 1999 | A |
5947702 | Biederstadt et al. | Sep 1999 | A |
6078118 | Reinartz et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6148800 | Cari et al. | Nov 2000 | A |
6179580 | Huber et al. | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6182350 | Iwata et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6196812 | Siegel | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6202615 | Pels et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6247441 | Sato et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6398511 | French et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
6616416 | Tolbert, Jr. | Sep 2003 | B1 |
20030156946 | Tolbert, Jr. | Aug 2003 | A1 |
20060140777 | Berwanger et al. | Jun 2006 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040061478 A1 | Apr 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 09641325 | Aug 2000 | US |
Child | 10153370 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 10153370 | May 2002 | US |
Child | 10675609 | US |