Claims
- 1-15 (Canceled)
- 16. A fuel injector comprising:
a housing having an inlet, an outlet and a longitudinal axis extending therethrough; a valve seat disposed proximate the outlet, the valve seat including a sealing surface, an orifice, and a first channel surface, the orifice having a first diameter; a metering orifice disc located at the outlet, the metering orifice disc having a plurality of metering openings extending therethrough, a second channel surface confronting the first channel surface, the metering openings tangential to a virtual circle, the virtual circle having a diameter greater than the first diameter; a needle being reciprocally located within the housing along the longitudinal axis between a first position wherein the needle is displaced from the valve seat, allowing fuel flow past the needle, and a second position wherein the needle is biased against the valve seat, precluding fuel flow past the needle; and a controlled velocity channel disposed between the first channel surface of the valve seat and the second channel surface of the metering orifice disc, the controlled velocity channel extending outwardly from the orifice to the plurality of metering openings, such that fuel flow is at a generally constant velocity between the orifice and the plurality of metering openings.
- 17. A fuel injector comprising:
a housing having an inlet, an outlet and a longitudinal axis extending therethrough; a valve seat disposed proximate the outlet, the valve seat including a sealing surface and an orifice; a metering orifice disc located at the outlet, the metering orifice disc having a plurality of metering openings extending therethrough; a closure member being reciprocally located within the housing along the longitudinal axis between a first position wherein the closure member is displaced from the valve seat, allowing fuel flow past the closure member, and a second position wherein the closure member is biased against the valve seat, precluding fuel flow past the closure member; and a flow channel formed between the orifice and the metering orifice disc, the channel extending between a first end and a second end, the first end disposed at a first radius from the longitudinal axis and spaced at a first distance from the metering orifice disc, the second end disposed at a second radius proximate the plurality of metering openings with respect to the longitudinal axis and spaced at a second distance from the metering orifice disc such that a product of the first radius and the first distance is equal to a product of the second radius and the second distance so as to maintain a generally constant velocity flow of fuel between the orifice and the metering orifice disc.
- 18. A fuel injector comprising:
a housing having an inlet, an outlet and a longitudinal axis extending therethrough; a valve seat disposed proximate the outlet, the valve seat including a sealing surface and an orifice; a metering orifice disc proximate the outlet, the metering orifice disc having a plurality of metering openings extending therethrough, the metering openings defining a first virtual circle greater than a second virtual circle defined by a projection of the sealing surface onto the metering orifice disc so that all of the metering openings are disposed outside the second virtual circle; a closure member being reciprocally located within the housing along the longitudinal axis between a first position wherein the closure member is displaced from the valve seat, allowing fuel flow past the closure member, and a second position wherein the closure member is biased against the valve seat, precluding fuel flow past the closure member; and a flow channel formed between the orifice and the metering orifice disc, the channel extending between a first end and second end, the first end disposed at a first radius from the longitudinal axis and spaced at a first distance from the metering orifice disc, the second end disposed at a second radius proximate the plurality of metering openings with respect to the longitudinal axis and spaced at a second distance from the metering orifice disc such that a product of the first radius and the first distance is equal to a product of the second radius and the second distance so as to maintain a generally constant velocity flow of fuel between the orifice and the metering orifice disc.
- 19. A fuel injector comprising:
a housing having an inlet, an outlet and a longitudinal axis extending therethrough; a valve seat disposed proximate the outlet, the valve seat including a sealing surface, an orifice, and a first channel surface; a metering orifice disc proximate the outlet, the metering orifice including a second channel surface confronting the first channel surface, the metering orifice disc having a plurality of metering openings extending therethrough, the metering openings defining a first virtual circle greater than a second virtual circle defined by a projection of the sealing surface onto a metering orifice disc so that all of the metering openings are disposed outside the second virtual circle; one of the first and second channel surfaces forming a tapered channel portion, the metering orifice disc having a plurality of metering openings extending therethrough, the metering openings defining a second virtual circle greater than the first virtual circle so that all of metering openings are disposed outside the first virtual circle; a closure member being reciprocally located within the housing along the longitudinal axis between a first position wherein the closure member is displaced from the valve seat, allowing fuel flow past the closure member, and a second position wherein the closure member is biased against the valve seat, precluding fuel flow past the closure member; and a flow channel formed by the first and second channel surfaces, the at least one channel extending in a radial direction from the longitudinal axis and having a changing cross-sectional area as the at least one channel extends outwardly from the orifice to the plurality of metering openings so that a flow path extending radially from the orifice of the seat in any one radial direction away from the longitudinal axis towards the metering orifice disc passes to one metering opening.
- 20. A method of generating turbulence in a fuel flow through a fuel injector, the fuel injector having a first end and a second end extending along a longitudinal axis, the method including:
providing a fuel flow under pressure to the fuel injector; opening a valve in the fuel injector and allowing the pressurized fuel to flow past the valve and into an orifice; directing the fuel flow at an initial velocity from the orifice into a controlled velocity channel formed by a valve seat and a metering orifice disc, the fuel generally maintaining constant velocity through the controlled velocity channel, the controlled velocity generating turbulence within the fuel flow; and directing the fuel flow through at least one orifice opening downstream of the controlled velocity channel and out of the fuel injector.
- 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the controlled velocity channel tapers from a first height at an upstream end of the controlled velocity channel to a second height at a downstream end of the controlled velocity channel, the second height being smaller than the first height.
- 22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the first height is located at a first radius with respect to the longitudinal axis, the second height is located at a second radius with respect to the longitudinal axis such that a product of the first height and the first radius is substantially equal to a product of the second height and second radius.
PRIORITY
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of the original application Ser. No. 09/568,464 filed on May 10, 2000, which prior application is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09568464 |
May 2000 |
US |
Child |
10807336 |
Mar 2004 |
US |