Patent Grant
9500169
This application is a U.S. National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/EP2012/076183 filed Dec. 19, 2012, which designates the United States of America, and claims priority to DE Application No. 10 2011 090 196.5 filed Dec. 30, 2011, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The invention relates to a lever device for an injection valve having a housing, at least one lever element, a drive element and an output element. Furthermore, the invention relates to an injection valve for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, which injection valve has the lever device and a valve needle which is coupled to the output element or which forms the output element.
Injection valves for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle can have actuators which are configured, in particular, as piezo-electric actuators. Actuators of this type have a piezo-ceramic material. Actuators of this type can change their longitudinal extent depending on an electric field which acts in the piezo-ceramic material. Furthermore, a lever device can be provided which transmits the stroke of the actuator.
Piezo-electric actuators which are used as actuating members, in particular in injection valves for internal combustion engines in motor vehicles, are arranged in a housing in such a way that a stroke movement can be performed in the axial direction.
One embodiment provides a lever device for an injection valve, the lever device comprising a housing having a housing recess, at least one lever element arranged in the housing recess, a drive element arranged in the housing recess and coupled to the at least one lever element for acting on the at least one lever element in a direction of a force action axis, and an output element arranged in the housing recess and coupled to the at least one lever element such that the output element is moveable in the direction of the force action axis by the at least one lever element, wherein each of the at least one lever element comprises a coupling section configured or arranged such that the at least one lever element is fixedly coupled to the housing or to the output element such that at least one lever element rotates with the housing or the output element around the force action axis.
In a further embodiment, the coupling section of each lever element comprises a planar wall section that interacts with a corresponding planar wall section of the output element such that each lever element is fixedly coupled to the output element such that each lever element rotates with the output element around the force action axis.
In a further embodiment, the coupling section of each lever element comprises a planar wall section that interacts with a corresponding planar wall section of the housing recess such that each lever element is fixedly coupled to the housing such that each lever element rotates with the housing around the force action axis.
In a further embodiment, the coupling section of each lever element comprises a recess, and the housing comprises a pin arranged in the recess of the coupling section of each lever element such that the each lever element is fixedly coupled to the housing fixedly such that each lever element rotates with the housing around the force action axis.
Another embodiment provides an injection valve, comprising a lever device a disclosed above, and a valve needle coupled to or defining the output element, wherein the drive element of the lever device and the valve needle are coupled to each another such that, based on an actuating signal, the valve needle prevents a fluid flow through the injection valve in a closed position of the valve needle and releases a fluid flow through the injection valve in other positions of the valve needle.
Example embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the drawings, in which:
Embodiments of the invention to provide a lever device for an injection valve which has long-term reliability. Other embodiments provide an injection valve which has a long service life.
Some embodiments provide a lever device for an injection valve, having a housing which has a housing recess, at least one lever element which is arranged in the housing recess, a drive element which is arranged in the housing recess and is coupled to the at least one lever element for acting on the at least one lever element in the direction of a force action axis, and an output element which is arranged in the housing recess. The output element is coupled to the at least one lever element in such a way that the output element can be moved in the direction of the force action axis by means of the at least one lever element. The at least one lever element has a coupling section which is configured or arranged in such a way that the at least one lever element is coupled to the housing or the output element fixedly so as to rotate with it with regard to the force action axis.
The at least one lever element is fixed rotationally with respect to the housing or the output element with regard to the force action axis.
This has the advantage that the at least one lever element is prevented from performing a rotational movement with respect to the housing or the output element, as a result of which changes in the injection quantities can be avoided which can be produced as a result of a rotational movement of this type of the at least one lever element. The at least one lever element is thus positioned reliably with respect to the housing or the output element. As a result, long-term reliable operation of the lever device can be made possible.
In one embodiment, the coupling section of the lever element has a planar wall section, and the output element has a planar wall section. The planar wall section of the lever element interacts with the planar wall section of the output element in such a way that the at least one lever element is coupled to the output element fixedly so as to rotate with it with regard to the force action axis.
The planar wall section of the lever element and the planar wall section of the output element are, in particular, planar in a plane which is approximately plane-parallel to the force action axis.
This has the advantage that the planar wall sections of the lever element and the output element can be realized particularly simply in terms of manufacturing technology. The lever element and the output element can therefore be manufactured in a very simple and reliable way. Furthermore, a rotational movement of the lever element with respect to the output element can be prevented reliably.
In a further embodiment, the coupling section of the lever element has a planar wall section, and the housing recess has a planar wall section. The planar wall section of the lever element interacts with the planar wall section of the housing recess in such a way that the at least one lever element is coupled to the housing fixedly so as to rotate with it with regard to the force action axis.
The planar wall section of the lever element and the planar wall section of the housing recess are, in particular, planar in a plane which is approximately plane-parallel with respect to the force action axis.
This has the advantage that the lever element and the housing can be manufactured in a very simple way. Furthermore, a rotational movement of the lever element with respect to the housing can be prevented reliably.
In a further embodiment, the coupling section of the lever element has a recess, and the housing has a pin. The pin is arranged in the recess of the coupling section of the lever element in such a way that the at least one lever element is coupled to the housing fixedly so as to rotate with it with regard to the force action axis. This has the advantage that a rotational movement of the lever element with respect to the housing can thus be prevented particularly reliably.
Other embodiments provide an injection valve which comprises the lever device and a valve needle. The valve needle is coupled to the output element or forms the output element. The drive element and the valve needle are coupled to one another via the lever device in such a way that, depending on an actuating signal, the valve needle prevents a fluid flow through the injection valve in a closed position and otherwise releases said fluid flow. A valve of this type can be operated with long-term reliability on account of the coupling of the lever element with respect to the housing or the valve needle.
The injection valve 10 has a housing 12. The housing 12 has a shim 12a which is arranged between two tubular sections 12b of the housing 12. The shim 12a and the two tubular sections 12b are coupled fixedly to one another and together form the housing 12. A housing recess 14 with a fluid inlet 16 and a fluid outlet 18 is formed in the housing 12. Fuel can be fed to the injection valve 10 in the region of the fluid inlet 16 via a connector (not shown) which is coupled hydraulically to the housing recess 14.
A valve needle 20 is arranged axially movably in the housing recess 14, which valve needle 20 closes an injection nozzle 22 in a closed position and otherwise makes a fuel flow through the injection nozzle 22 possible.
The injection valve 10 comprises a piezo-electric actuator 24. Instead of the piezo-electric actuator 24, another actuator can also be provided, for example a magnetostrictive actuator or an electromagnetic actuator.
Furthermore, the injection valve 10 comprises a drive element 26 which is coupled to the actuator 24. The drive element 26 preferably has a pin or rod which transmits the stroke and a drive force of the actuator 24. The actuator 24 and the drive element 26 are coupled to one another in the axial direction. The stroke of the drive element 26 is dependent on an axial extent of the piezo-electric actuator 24, which axial extent is dependent on an actuating signal which can be fed to the piezo-electric actuator 24. Furthermore, the drive element 26 comprises a preferably bell-shaped structural element 27.
Furthermore, a lever device 28 is arranged in the housing recess 14 of the injection valve 10. The lever device 28 comprises the drive element 26 and a lever element 30 or a plurality of lever elements 30. In the embodiments which are shown, the lever device 28 has two lever elements 30. The lever elements 30 are coupled to the drive element 26. Furthermore, the lever elements 30 are coupled to an output element 32. The output element 32 is arranged in the housing recess 14. The output element 32 is preferably coupled to the valve needle 20. The valve needle 20 can also form the output element 32. The drive element 26, the lever element 30 and the output element 32 interact in such a way that the stroke of the drive element 26 is transmitted to the valve needle 20, and that the valve needle 20 is therefore moved into its closed position or into an open position.
The force action axis A of a drive force of the drive element 26 runs through the drive element 26 and, furthermore, as a force action axis of an output force, through the output element 32. In further embodiments, the force action axis through the drive element 26 is offset with respect to the force action axis through the output element 32.
The lever elements 30 have in each case one coupling section 34. In the embodiment which is shown in
In the embodiment of the lever device 28 which is shown in
In the embodiment which is shown in
The coupling sections 34 of the lever elements 30 have in each case one recess 44. The pins 42 engage into the recesses 44 of the coupling sections 34 of the lever elements 30. It can therefore be achieved that the lever elements 30 are coupled to the shim 12a of the housing 12 fixedly so as to rotate with it with regard to the force action axis A.
As a result of the fixed coupling between the lever elements 30 and the housing 12 so as to rotate together, it can be achieved that the lever elements 30 can assume a fixed position with respect to the housing 12 even over a multiplicity of injection operations. As a result, stable injection conditions of the injection valve 10 can be achieved even over a multiplicity of injection operations of the injection valve 10. It can be achieved as a result that component tolerances have only a minor effect on the injection quantities of the injection valve 10.
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| PCT/EP2012/076183 | 12/19/2012 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2013/098161 | 7/4/2013 | WO | A |
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