Patent Application
20090008883
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high pressure fuel pump and a seal system using therefor.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
As illustrated in
In the above-described high-pressure fuel pump, earnest works has been carried out to omit a gasoline recovering circuit by the return pipe 54 in order to simplify a structure. However, when the gasoline recovering circuit is omitted, the gasoline G leaked from a portion between the plunger 51 and the cylinder 53 is retained as it is so that the pressure may become equal to discharge pressure (about 10 MPa). Under such high pressure, the oil seal 52 may be damaged at an early stage. In order to prevent this problem, a pipe for connecting from a fuel pump to a suction port of the high-pressure fuel pump is distributed to a return port so as to make the pressure applied to the oil seal 52 to be a lowest pressure of the fuel pump (about 0.5 MPa). However, even this pressure still affect to the oil seal 52 not small. Further, the plunger 51 reciprocates at a remarkably high speed according to the work of an engine.
However, a single product of an oil seal that is usable under severe conditions of “high speed”, “high pressure” and “fuel resistance” has not developed yet, and thus it is required to develop a new seal system that is usable under such the severe conditions.
The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an objective of the present invention is to provide a high-pressure fuel pump with a seal system that is usable under the conditions of “high speed”, “high pressure” and “fuel resistance”, and a seal system using the pump.
According to claim 1 of the present invention, in order to realize the above-described objective, a high-pressure fuel pump has a seal system for separating/sealing of fuel and lubricating oil as sealing objects, in an annular space between an axle reciprocating within the pump and a housing having the axle passing therethrough, wherein the seal system consists of a combination of a fuel-side seal for sealing of fuel and a lubricating-oil-side seal for sealing of lubricating oil, the fuel-side seal is composed of a plastic-made seal ring and a rubbery-elastomer-made O ring for backup of the seal ring, the lubricating-oil-side seal consists of a single body of a single-lip-type oil seal having a rubbery-elastomer-made seal lip fitted to a metal ring and arranged toward the lubricating oil side, and a distance between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal is set to be larger than a reciprocating motion distance of the axle.
According to claim 2 of the present invention, the high-pressure fuel pump of claim 1 is structured such that the rubbery-elastomer-made O ring tightly contacts to an inner surface of a tapered housing having a diameter gradually reducing from the lubricating oil side toward the fuel side.
According to claim 3 of the present invention, the high-pressure fuel pump of claim 1 is structured such that a washer is provided at the fuel side than the fuel-side seal.
According to claim 4 of the present invention, a seal system for separating/sealing of fuel and lubricating oil as sealing objects is provided in an annular space between an axle reciprocating within a high-pressure fuel pump and a housing having the axle passing therethrough, wherein the seal system consists of a combination of a fuel-side seal for sealing of fuel and a lubricating-oil-side seal for sealing of lubricating oil, the fuel-side seal is composed of a plastic-made seal ring and a rubbery-elastomer-made O ring for backup of the seal ring, the lubricating-oil-side seal consists of a single body of a single-lip-type oil seal having a rubbery-elastomer-made seal lip fitted to a metal ring and arranged toward the lubricating oil side, and a distance between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal is set to be larger than a reciprocating motion distance of the axle.
Further, according to claim 5 of the present invention, the seal system of claim 4 is structured such that the rubbery-elastomer-made O ring tightly contacts to an inner surface of a tapered housing having a diameter gradually reducing from the lubricating oil side toward the fuel side.
Furthermore, according to claim 6 of the present invention, the seal system of claim 4 is structured such that a washer is provided at the fuel side than the fuel-side seal.
When a plastic-made seal ring is compared with a rubbery type oil seal according the above-described conventional art, the plastic-made seal ring generally has wear resistance to meet the conditions of “high speed” and “high pressure”, and oil resistance to meet the condition of “fuel resistance”. Thus, the plastic-made seal ring is used as the fuel-side seal for sealing of fuel in the present invention. Further, in order to obtain axle followability of the plastic-made seal ring, a rubbery-elastomer-made O ring is used together as a backup ring. Further, an oil seal is used as the lubricating-oil-side seal for sealing of lubricating oil. As for the oil seal, when considering the axle reciprocating at high speed, it is preferable to use an oil seal with a metal ring by which a contacting state between a seal lip and an axle can be stabilized most. Further, as for the oil seal, the seal lip is arranged in such a direction as to seal the lubricating oil. When the seal lip is arranged in such the direction as to seal the lubricating oil, fuel slightly dripped from an oil film (a fuel oil film) formed by the plastic-made seal ring is scraped out by the oil seal. Thereby, generation of a pressure accumulating phenomenon between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal can be prevented. Furthermore, fuel leaked from the seal lip is in a trace amount, so that there is no problem in a pump device.
Further, in order to suppress a leaking amount of the fuel-side seal to be the minimum, it is effective that an axial distance between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal is set to be larger than the reciprocating motion distance of the axle. When considering a dimensional tolerance of each part, it is desirable that the distance between both the seals is set to be larger by 0.5 mm or more than the reciprocating motion distance of the axle. Further, when the distance between both the seals is set to be larger than the reciprocating motion distance of the axle, the lubricating-oil-side seal does not reach the oil film formed by the fuel-side seal (except the above described dripped part) at the time of an operation of the axle. Thus, it can be prevented that the lubricating-oil-side seal scratches out the oil film (fuel) toward the lubricating oil side.
Further, the fuel-side seal which is composed of the plastic-made seal ring and the rubbery-elastomer-made O ring generally has a symmetrical shape in the axial direction. However, when the fuel-side seal has such the symmetry shape in the axial direction, the thickness of the oil film formed by the moving direction of the axle is equal at the times of forward movement and return movement of the axle. Thus, the sealing ability may be less than that of a lip-type seal having seal directionality. Therefore, in order to prevent such the problem, the inner surface of the housing which keeps the O ring is formed in a tapered shape having a diameter gradually reduced from the lubricating oil side toward the fuel side, and thereby a peak of surface pressure distribution of the seal ring with respect to the axle is shifted toward the fuel side. When the peak of surface pressure distribution of the seal ring is shifted toward the fuel side, the thickness of the oil film, which is formed at the time of movement of the axle from the fuel side toward the lubricating oil side, can be thinned. Conventionally, there are many examples in which a plastic-made seal lip has a lip-type shape. However, the cost for processing such the seal lip is high, and a contacting state becomes unstable since the seal lip contacts to an axle through an O ring.
Furthermore, when it is necessary to control the plastic-made seal ring and the rubbery-elastomer-made O ring not to slip out from the housing, a washer can be incorporated at the fuel side than the fuel-side seal. Further, when the washer is arranged, pulse absorbing effect of the fuel pressure, which is made by a space portion between a washer inner diameter and a plunger outer diameter, can be expected.
The present invention has the following effects.
In the high-pressure fuel pump according to claim 1 of the present invention, fuel is sealed by the plastic-made seal ring, which has excellent wear resistance and oil resistance, and lubricating oil is sealed by the oil seal with a metal ring, by which a contacting state between a seal lip and an axle can be stabilized most. Therefore, by realizing a seal constitution with right materials being used for right places, a high-pressure fuel pump having a seal system that is usable under the severe conditions of “high speed”, “high pressure” and “fuel resistance” can be provided.
Further, the oil seal is a single-lip-type oil seal, in which the seal lip is arranged toward the lubricating oil side. Thus, slight amounts of fuel leaked from the plastic-made seal ring can be discharged toward the lubricating oil side through the seal lip. Therefore, generation of pressure accumulation between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal can be prevented, and application of excessive load to the seals can be prevented. In this case, since the amount of fuel leaked from the oil seal is in a trace amount, there is no problem in a device even if the fuel is mixed into the lubricating oil.
Further, the distance between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal is set to be larger than the reciprocating motion distance of the axle. Thus, it can be prevented that the lubricating-oil-side seal reaches to the oil film (except the dripped part) formed by the fuel-side seal at the time of operation of the axle. Therefore, it can be prevented that the lubricating-oil-side seal scratches out the oil film (fuel) toward the lubricating oil side, and thus the leaking amount of the dripped fuel can be suppressed to the minimum.
Further, in the high-pressure fuel pump according to claim 2 of the present invention, the rubbery-elastomer-made O ring can be made to tightly contact to the inner surface of the tapered housing having a diameter gradually reducing from the lubricating oil side toward the fuel side. Thus, the peak of surface pressure distribution of the plastic-made seal ring with respect to the axle can be shifted toward the fuel side than that in case of a symmetrical shape in the axial direction. Therefore, the thickness of the oil film formed when the axle moves from the fuel side toward the lubricating oil side can be thinned, and thus the leaking amount of the fuel can be reduced also from this point.
Further, in the high-pressure fuel pump according to claim 3 of the present invention, the washer is arranged at the fuel side than the fuel-side seal. Thus, the absorbing effect of the fuel pressure pulse, which is made by the space portion between a washer inner diameter and a plunger outer diameter, can be expected.
Further, in the seal system according to claim 4 of the present invention, fuel is sealed by the plastic-made seal ring, which has excellent wear resistance and oil resistance, and lubricating oil is sealed by the oil seal with a metal ring, by which a contacting state between a seal lip and an axle can be stabilized most. Therefore, by realizing a seal constitution with right materials being used for right places, a high-pressure fuel pump with a seal system that is usable under the severe conditions of “high speed”, “high pressure” and “fuel resistance” can be provided.
Further, the oil seal is a single-lip-type oil seal, in which the seal lip is arranged toward the lubricating oil side. Thus, slight amounts of fuel leaked from the plastic-made seal ring can be discharged toward the lubricating oil side through the seal lip. Therefore, generation of pressure accumulation between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal can be prevented, and application of excessive load to the seals can be prevented. In this case, since the amount of fuel leaked from the oil seal is in a trace amount, there is no problem in a device even if the fuel is mixed into the lubricating oil.
Further, the distance between the fuel-side seal and the lubricating-oil-side seal is set to be larger than the reciprocating motion distance of the axle. Thus, it can be prevented that the lubricating-oil-side seal reaches to the oil film (except the dripped part) formed by the fuel-side seal at the time of operation of the axle. Therefore, it can be prevented that the lubricating-oil-side seal scratches out the oil film (fuel) toward the lubricating oil side, and thus the leaking amount of the dripped fuel can be suppressed to the minimum.
Further, in the seal system according to claim 5 of the present invention, the rubbery-elastomer-made O ring can be made to tightly contact to the inner surface of the tapered housing having a diameter gradually reducing from the lubricating oil side toward the fuel side. Thus, the peak of surface pressure distribution of the plastic-made seal ring with respect to the axle can be shifted toward the fuel side than that in case of a symmetrical shape in the axial direction. Therefore, the thickness of the oil film formed when the axle moves from the fuel side toward the lubricating oil side can be thinned, and thus the leaking amount of the fuel can be reduced also from this point.
Furthermore, in the seal system according to claim 6 of the present invention, the washer is arranged at the fuel side than the fuel-side seal. Thus, the absorbing effect of the fuel pressure pulse can be expected.
Then, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The high-pressure fuel pump 1 according to this example includes a cylinder 2 for sucking gasoline as fuel from a suction port which is not illustrated, a plunger (axle) 4 for pressurizing the sucked gasoline and feeding it, an electromagnetic valve 5 for controlling a discharging amount of the pressurized gasoline, and a return spring 6 for returning the plunger 4. Particularly, the high-pressure fuel pump 1 has a feature of including a seal system 21 as a sealing device having the following constitution. The seal system 21 is for separating/sealing of gasoline G as the fuel and engine oil O as lubricating oil and is provided in an annular space between a seal housing (housing) 7 and the plunger 4. The seal housing 7 is also functioned as a spring retainer provided at a lower part of the cylinder 2, and the plunger 4 is inserted to an inner periphery of an axle hole of the seal housing 7 so as to freely reciprocate. The seal system 21 is constituted as follows.
As illustrated in
The fuel-side seal 31 is composed of a plastic-made seal ring 32 and a rubbery-elastomer-made O ring 33 for backup of the seal ring 32. The seal ring 32 slidably and tightly contacts to a peripheral surface of the plunger 4, and has an O ring 33 fitted at the outer peripheral side thereof.
The seal ring 32 is formed with a predetermined plastic so as to have a cross sectional rectangular shape. As a material of the seal ring 32, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) having excellent fuel resistance and high wear resistance as a sliding material is particularly desirably used when considering use under a high speed and high pressure condition.
Further, the O ring 33 is formed with a predetermined rubbery elastomer so as to have a cross sectional O shape. As a material of the O ring 33, a fluoro elastomer which is a rubbery material having excellent fuel resistance and alcohol resistance is particularly desirably used.
On the other hand, the lubricating-oil-side seal 41 is made of a single body of a single-lip-type oil seal 42 formed by attaching a rubbery-elastomer-made seal lip 44 to a metal ring 43 through vulcanizing of it. The lubricating-oil-side seal 41 is fitted at the inner peripheral side of the seal housing 7 by the metal ring 43, and is slidably and tightly contacted with a peripheral face of the plunger 4 by the seal lip 44. The seal lip 44 is arranged toward the engine oil 0 side so as to effectively seal the engine oil O. Further, the seal lip 44 is fitted with a garter spring 45 for adjusting an interference. As for the type of the oil seal 42, the oil seal having the metal ring 43 is selected by which a contacting state between the seal lip 44 and the plunger 4 is stabilized most.
Further, the distance between the fuel-side seal 31 and the lubricating-oil-side seal 41 (a distance from an engine oil O side end part of a sliding surface of the seal ring 32 to a lip end of the seal lip 44) A is set to be larger than a reciprocating distance B of the plunger 4 by 0.5 mm or more in an exact size (A>B). The reciprocating distance B of the plunger 4 means a moving distance in accordance with reciprocating motion of the plunger 4, and an oil film is formed on a peripheral surface of the plunger 4 according to this distance.
In the high-pressure fuel pump 1 having the above-described constitution, the seal system 21 is mounted in an annular space between the seal housing 7 and the plunger 4 which reciprocates in the pump as described above for separating/sealing the gasoline G and the engine oil O. The high-pressure fuel pump 1 has the feature that the following operational effects are achieved by having the above-described constitution.
As described above, the gasoline G is sealed by the seal ring 32 made of PTFE having excellent wear resistance and fuel resistance, and the engine oil O is sealed by the oil seal 42 with the metal ring 43 by which the contacting state between the seal lip 44 and the plunger 4 is stabilized most. The seal ring 32 made of PTFE is hardly worn by sliding due to the characteristics of the material even when being used under the conditions of high speed and high pressure, and is hardly eroded with the gasoline G. Further, the oil seal 42 is also hardly worn because of stably contacting to the plunger 4. Therefore, since such the seal constitution with right materials being used for right places is realized, the seal system can be properly used under the severe conditions of “high speed”, “high pressure” and “fuel resistance”.
Further, the oil seal 42 is the single-lip-type oil seal in which the seal lip 44 is arranged toward the engine oil O side. Thus, the slight amount of the gasoline G leaked from the seal ring 32 can be discharged to the engine oil O side through the seal lip 44. Therefore, generation of pressure accumulating phenomenon between the fuel-side seal 31 and the lubricating-oil-side seal 41 can be prevented, and application of excessive load to the oil seal 42 to generate a problem such as abnormal wear can be prevented. Further, since the amount of the gasoline G leaked from the oil seal 42 is in a trace amount, there occurs no problem even if the gasoline G is mixed into the engine oil O.
Further, the distance A between the fuel-side seal 31 and the lubricating-oil-side seal 41 is set to be larger than the reciprocating distance B of the plunger 4. Thus, at the time of forward movement of the plunger 4 (an arrow shown in
In addition, this state that the seal does not reach the oil film occurs at the opposite side in the axial direction at the time of return movement of the plunger 4 (an arrow shown in
Further, the constitution of the high-pressure fuel pump 1 according to the above-described first example can be added or changed as follows.
In the first example, an inner peripheral surface 8a of the seal mounting part 8 holding the O ring 33 of the fuel-side seal 31 is formed in a cylindrical surface shape. However, when the inner peripheral surface 8a of the seal mounting part 8 is formed in a tapered surface shape (a conical surface shape) having a diameter gradually reducing from the engine oil O side toward the gasoline G side as illustrated in
Further, in the first example, the O ring 33 is directly fitted to the inner peripheral side of the seal housing 7. However, as illustrated in
In examples of
Further, as for a structure of the oil seal 42 of the lubricating-oil-side seal 41, the oil seal 42 may have a pipe shaped part 43a extending toward the gasoline G side at the metal ring 43 as illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-006928 | Jan 2006 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2006/324898 | 12/14/2006 | WO | 00 | 7/16/2008 |
