Structure of fuel injector adjustable in fuel jet characteristic

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6409094
  • Patent Number
    6,409,094
  • Date Filed
    Friday, March 9, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 25, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A fuel injector is provided which has an improved structure capable of adjusting fuel jet characteristics such as the quantity of fuel to be injected to an engine and a fuel injection time lag after the fuel injector is assembled. The fuel injector includes an air gap adjusting screw and a spring pressure adjusting screw. The air gap adjusting screw serves to change an air gap between a stator and an armature of a solenoid valve to adjust the quantity of fuel to a target one. The spring pressure adjusting screw serves to change a spring pressure urging a valve in a spray hole-closing direction to regulate a spray hole open duration, thereby adjusting the fuel injection time lag or the quantity of fuel.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Technical Field of the Invention




The present invention relates generally to an improved structure of a fuel injector capable of adjusting fuel jet characteristics such as the quantity of a fuel jetting out of the fuel injector and fuel injection time lag after assembled.




2. Background Art




Fuel injectors are known in the art which are designed to control the fuel pressure in a pressure chamber formed in a nozzle body which acts on a valve for closing an injection nozzle. For moving the valve, the fuel injector controls a balance of a valve-opening pressure developed by the fuel pressure supplied to a fuel sump, a valve-closing pressure developed by the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber, and a spring pressure acting on the valve to close the nozzle. Within the pressure chamber, a fuel drain valve is installed. The regulation of the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber is accomplished by opening and closing the fuel drain valve.




Japanese Patent No. 2599281 discloses such a fuel injector which is illustrated in FIG.


8


.




A constant pressure of fuel is supplied to a pressure control chamber


211


and a fuel sump


216


. A valve hole


207


leading to the pressure chamber


211


is closed by a control valve


206


. When the sum of the fuel pressure in the control pressure chamber


211


working to urge the control valve


206


in a valve-opening direction and the attractive force produced by an electromagnet


213


attracting an armature


205


overcomes the spring pressure of a coil spring


203


urging the control valve


206


in a valve-closing direction, it will cause the control valve


206


to be lifted up to open the valve hole


207


, so that the fuel pressure in the control pressure chamber


211


drains to a magnet chamber


215


through a valve chamber


217


and holes formed in a yoke


212


, thereby resulting in a drop in fuel pressure within the control pressure chamber


211


. This causes the sum of fuel pressure in the fuel sump


216


urging a nozzle valve


200


in a spray hole-opening direction and the pressure produced by a coil spring


218


urging the nozzle valve


200


in a spray hole-closing direction to overcome the fuel pressure in the control pressure chamber


211


, thereby lifting the nozzle valve


200


upward. When the electromagnet


213


is deenergized, it will cause the control valve


206


to close the valve hole


207


, thereby resulting in an increase in fuel pressure within the control pressure chamber


211


. This causes the nozzle valve


200


to be moved downward to close the spray hole. The injection timing, therefore, has a correlation with the time of lift of the control valve


206


. The quantity of fuel injected has a correlation with the length of time the valve hole


207


is opened.




The above fuel injector, however, has a problem that it is difficult to adjust the quantity of fuel injected after the fuel injector is assembled. The reason for this will be discussed below.




The lift of the control valve


206


undergoes a time lag between application of a drive pulse signal to the electromagnet


213


and action of a valve-lifting force on the control valve


206


. The injection delay depends upon the spring load produced by the spring


203


on the control valve


206


in the valve-closing direction. The spring load is determined by the degree to which an adjusting screw


202


is fastened. It is, however, impossible to change the fastening degree of the adjusting screw


202


after the fuel injector is assembled, thus resulting in a difficulty in adjusting the time lag and the action of the valve-lifting force on the control valve


206


.




If the width of the drive pulse signal applied to the electromagnet


213


is constant, and the fuel pressure supplied to the fuel injector is also constant, the opening duration of the valve hole


207


depends upon a time delay between rising of the drive pulse signal and the time the control valve starts to be lifted and a time delay between falling of the drive pulse signal and the time the control valve closes the valve hole


207


. The valve lift time delay depends upon the spring load of the spring


203


and, thus, impossible to regulate after the fuel injector is assembled. The valve closing time delay depends upon the amount of lift of the control valve


206


and the spring load of the spring


203


. A maximum amount of lift of the control valve


206


is determined by an air gap between the stator or yoke


204


and the armature


205


. It is, however, impossible to adjust the spring load for the same reason as described above. The electromagnet


213


and the valve hole


207


are both restrained by a guide member


208


from moving. The guide member


208


is held between a nozzle body


209


and a control body


214


. The air gap between the yoke


204


and the armature


205


is a function of the distance between the valve hole


207


and the yoke


204


. It is, thus, impossible to change the amount of lift of the control valve


206


after the fuel injector is assembled. For these reasons, the opening duration of the valve hole


207


cannot be adjusted after the assembly of the fuel injector, thus resulting in a difficulty in regulating the quantity of fuel to be injected into the engine.




Accordingly, the regulation of the quantity of fuel injected should be accomplished by repeating a series of operations: inspection of the quantity of fuel injected, disassembly of the fuel injector, turning of the adjusting screw


202


, and/or replacement of the guide member


208


. This, however, results in a great reduction in productivity. It is also impossible to eliminate a difference in quantity of fuel injected between fuel injectors arising from a difference in size between spray holes.




Further, it is impossible to drain the fuel in the control pressure chamber


211


from a drain passage


201


along a longitudinal center line of the fuel injector. The fuel is, in practice, discharged to the drain passage


201


from the valve hole


207


through the magnet chamber


215


surrounding the electromagnet


213


, thus resulting in an increase in size of the fuel injector in a widthwise-direction thereof.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore a principal object of the invention to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art.




It is another object of the invention to provide a compact structure of a fuel injector which is capable of adjusting a fuel jet characteristic such as the quantity of a fuel jet to a target one after the fuel injector is assembled.




According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an improved structure of a fuel injector capable of adjusting a fuel jet characteristic after assembled. The fuel injector comprises: (a) a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (b) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (c) an injector body supporting therein the nozzle valve slidably, the injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in the injector body to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in the injector body; (d) a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in the injector body; (e) a first urging mechanism urging the control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; (f) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to the control valve and spaced from the stator through a given air gap, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move the control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; (g) a second urging mechanism urging the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in a first direction identical with the valve hole-opening direction; and (h) an air gap adjusting member disposed around the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in engagement with the injector body so as to urge the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in a second direction opposite the first direction against an urging pressure produced by the second urging mechanism to keep the air gap between the stator and the armature, the air gap adjusting member being designed to be movable selectively in the first direction and second direction for changing the air gap.




In the preferred mode of the invention, the air gap adjusting mechanism is connected to the injector body in a screw fashion. For example, the air gap adjusting mechanism has formed therein an internal thread engaging an outer thread formed on an end portion of the injector body and forms a sliding pair with the control pair moving mechanism.




The air gap adjusting mechanism is made of a hollow member fitted on the injector body.




The second urging mechanism is implemented by a disc spring disposed within the injector body.




According to the second aspect of the invention, there is provided an improved structure of a fuel injector capable of adjusting a fuel jet characteristic after assembled. The fuel injector comprises: (a) a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (b) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (c) an injector body supporting therein the nozzle valve slidably, the injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in the injector body to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole for establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in the injector body; (d) a valve chamber formed in the injector body downstream of the valve hole; (e) a control valve movable within the valve chamber to selectively open and close the valve hole formed in the injector body, when leaving the valve hole, the control valve defining in the valve chamber a first drain passage communicating with the pressure chamber through the valve hole; (f) an urging mechanism disposed within an urging mechanism mount chamber formed in the injector body leading to the first drain passage, the urging mechanism working to produce an urging pressure which urges the control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the valve chamber; (g) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to the control valve, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move the control valve in a valve hole-opening direction against the urging pressure produced by the urging mechanism, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the first drain passage; and (h) an urging pressure adjusting mechanism disposed within the injector body in contact with the urging mechanism, the urging pressure adjusting mechanism being so designed as to be movable in engagement with an inner wall of the urging mechanism mount chamber for changing the urging pressure produced by the urging mechanism, the urging pressure adjusting mechanism having formed therein a second drain passage communicating between the first drain passage and the drain port through the urging mechanism mount chamber.




In the preferred mode of the invention, the urging pressure adjusting mechanism engages the inner wall of the urging mechanism mount chamber in a screw fashion.




The urging pressure adjusting mechanism may alternatively be press-fitted within the urging mechanism mount chamber.




The fuel injector further comprises a second urging mechanism which urges the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in a first direction identical with the valve hole-opening direction and an air gap adjusting member disposed around the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in engagement with the injector body so as to urge the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in a second direction opposite the first direction against an urging pressure produced by the second urging mechanism to keep an air gap between the stator and the armature. The air gap adjusting member is designed to be movable selectively in the first direction and second direction for changing the air gap.




The air gap adjusting mechanism is connected to the injector body in a screw fashion.




The air gap adjusting mechanism has formed therein an internal thread engaging an outer thread formed on an end portion of the injector body and forms a sliding pair with the control pair moving mechanism.




The air gap adjusting mechanism is made of a hollow member fitted on the injector body.




The second urging mechanism is implemented by a disc spring disposed within the injector body.




According to the third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of adjusting a fuel injection characteristic of a fuel injector which is designed to inject fuel into an engine and which includes: (a) a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (b) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (c) an injector body supporting therein the nozzle valve slidably, the injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in the injector body to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in the injector body; (d) a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in the injector body; and (e) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil wound around the stator, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to the control valve and spaced from the stator through a given air gap, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move the control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber is decreased to move the nozzle valve so as to open the spray hole. The method comprises the steps of: (a) supplying a test liquid to the fuel injector from the inlet at a given pressure level higher than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the fuel sump and the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine; (b) applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole; and (c) changing the air gap between the stator and the armature to adjust a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to a target one.




The fuel injector further comprises: (a) a first urging mechanism urging the control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; (b) a second urging mechanism urging the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in a first direction identical with the valve hole-opening direction, and (c) an air gap adjusting member disposed around the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in engagement with the injector body so as to urge the stationary portion of the control valve moving mechanism in a second direction opposite the first direction against an urging pressure produced by the second urging mechanism to keep the air gap between the stator and the armature. The air gap adjusting member is designed to be movable selectively in the first direction and second direction for changing the air gap. The air gap changing step moves the air gap adjusting mechanism to change the air gap between the stator and the armature to adjust the quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to the target one.




The drive pulse applying step applies a first drive pulse signal and a second drive pulse signal having a width different from that of the first drive pulse signal in sequence to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil during the air gap changing step.




The width of the first drive pulse signal is longer than that required to move the nozzle valve until a maximum rate of a jet of the test liquid from the spray hole is reached.




If target quantities of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first and second drive pulse signals are applied to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism are defined as a first and a second target value, respectively, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the first target value is defined as δ


1


, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the second drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the second target value is defined as δ


2


, the air gap changing step changes the air gap so as to meet at least one of a condition of δ


1




2





2




2


≦K


1


and a condition of δ


1


×δ


2


<0, δ


1


≦K


2


, and δ


2


≦K


3


where K


1


, K


2


, and K


3


are preselected target values, (e.g., 1 mm


3


/st, 0.5 mm


3


/st, and 1 mm


3


/st), respectively.




According to the fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of adjusting a fuel injection characteristic of a fuel injector which is designed to inject fuel into an engine and which includes: (a) a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (b) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (c) an injector body supporting therein the nozzle valve slidably, the injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in the injector body to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in the injector body; (d) a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in the injector body; (e) an urging mechanism disposed within an urging mechanism mount chamber formed in the injector body, the urging mechanism working to produce an urging pressure which urges the control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; and (f) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil wound around the stator, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to the control valve, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move the control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber is decreased to move the nozzle valve so as to open the spray hole. The method comprises the steps of: (a) supplying a test liquid to the fuel injector from the inlet at a given pressure level higher than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine; (b) applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole; and (c) changing the urging pressure produced by the urging mechanism to adjust a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to a target one.




The fuel injector further comprises an urging pressure adjusting mechanism disposed within the injector body in contact with the urging mechanism. The urging pressure adjusting mechanism is so designed as to be movable in engagement with an inner wall of the urging mechanism mount chamber for changing the urging pressure produced by the urging mechanism. The urging pressure adjusting mechanism has formed therein a second drain passage communicating between a first drain passage communicating with the pressure chamber through the valve hole and the drain port through the urging mechanism mount chamber. The urging pressure changing step moves the urging pressure adjusting mechanism to shift the urging mechanism for adjusting the quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to the target one.




The drive pulse applying step applies a first drive pulse signal and a second drive pulse signal having a width different from that of the first drive pulse signal in sequence to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil during the air gap changing step.




The width of the first drive pulse signal is longer than that required to move the nozzle valve until a maximum rate of a jet of the test liquid from the spray hole is reached.




If target quantities of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first and second drive pulse signals are applied to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism are defined as a first and a second target value, respectively, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the first target value is defined as δ


1


, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the second drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the second target value is defined as δ


2


, the air gap changing step changes the air gap so as to meet at least one of a condition of δ


1




2





2




2


≦K


1


and a condition of δ


1


×δ


2


<0, δ


1


≦K


2


, and δ


2


≦K


3


where K


1


, K


2


, and K


3


are preselected target values, respectively.




According to the fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of adjusting a fuel injection characteristic of a fuel injector which is designed to inject fuel into an engine and which includes: (a) nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (b) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (c) an injector body supporting therein the nozzle valve slidably, the injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in the injector body to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging the nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in the injector body; (d) a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in the injector body; (e) an urging mechanism disposed within an urging mechanism mount chamber formed in the injector body, the urging mechanism working to produce an urging pressure which urges the control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; and (f) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil wound around the stator, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to the control valve and spaced from the stator through an air gap, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move the control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber is decreased to move the nozzle valve so as to open the spray hole. The method comprises: (a) a first step of changing the urging pressure produced by the urging mechanism while supplying a test liquid to the fuel injector from the inlet and applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole so as to have an injection lag time fall in a target range and (b) a second step of changing the air gap between the stator and the armature while supplying a test liquid to the fuel injector from the inlet and applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole so as to have a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole fall in a target range.




In the preferred mode of the invention, the test liquid is supplied at a given pressure level lower than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine in each of the first and second steps.




The test liquid may alternatively be supplied at a given pressure level higher than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine in each of the steps.




Each of the first and second steps applies first and second drive pulse signal having different widths alternately to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism.




In the second step, at least one of the first and second drive pulse signals has the width greater than a width required for moving the nozzle valve up to a level where a maximum rate of spraying of the test liquid from the spray hole is reached.




If target quantities of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first and second drive pulse signals are applied to the coil of the control valve moving mechanism are defined as a first and a second target value, respectively, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the first target value is defined as δ


1


, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the second drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the second target value is defined as δ


2


, the air gap changing step changes the air gap so as to meet at least one of a condition of δ


1




2





2




2


≦K


1


and a condition of δ


1


×δ


2


<0, δ


1


≦K


2


, and δ


2


≦K


3


where K


1


, K


2


, and K


3


are preselected target values, respectively.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given hereinbelow and from the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiments of the invention, which, however, should not be taken to limit the invention to the specific embodiments but are for the purpose of explanation and understanding only.




In the drawings:





FIG. 1

is a view which shows a fuel injection system for diesel engines in which fuel injectors of the invention are used;





FIG. 2

is a vertical sectional view which shows the structure of a fuel injector according to the invention;





FIG. 3

is a partially enlarged view which shows a fuel jet characteristic adjusting mechanism of a fuel injector of the invention;





FIG. 4

is a time chart which shows the waveform of an electric current produced when a rectangular drive pulse is applied to a fuel injector, the movement of a control valve and a needle, and the rate of fuel injected;





FIG. 5

is a block diagram which shows an adjustment device used to adjust a fuel jet characteristic of a fuel injector;





FIG. 6

is a flowchart which shows a sequence of adjustment steps performed by an operator using the adjustment device of

FIG. 5

;





FIG. 7

is a graph which shows a relation between the rate of fuel injection and a width of a drive pulse signal applied to an actuator of a fuel injector; and





FIG. 8

is a vertical sectional view which shows a conventional fuel injector.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer to like parts in several views, particularly to

FIG. 1

, there are shown fuel injectors


1


according to the present invention.




The fuel injectors


1


are installed in a head of an internal combustion engine (not shown) and inject fuel directly into cylinders of the engine, respectively. A fuel injection pump


104


sucks fuel from a fuel tank


105


, pressurizes and supplies it to a chamber in an accumulator pipe


103


in which the fuel is held at a given pressure level. The fuel in the accumulator pipe


103


is supplied to each of the fuel injectors


1


through a supply pipe


109


. The fuel injection pump


104


adjusts a delivery pressure of fuel as functions of the speed and load of the engine, the pressure of fuel sucked thereinto, the quantity of intake air, and the temperature of cooling water. The fuel injectors


1


and the fuel injection pump


104


are controlled by an electronic control unit (ECU)


106


.




Each of the fuel injectors


1


, as shown in

FIG. 2

, includes a housing


11


(i.e., an injector body) and a nozzle body


12


which are joined by a retaining nut


14


. The housing


11


has formed therein a needle chamber


11




d


, a fuel inlet passage


11




a


, a fuel passage


11




b


, and a leak passage


11




c


. The leak passage


11




c


communicates with the needle chamber


11




d


. To the fuel inlet passage


11




a


, a high-pressure fuel is supplied through a bar filter


13


installed in a connector


11




f


. The nozzle body


12


has formed therein a fuel passage


12




d


, a fuel sump


12




c


, a needle chamber


12




e


, and a spray hole


12




b


which communicate with each other. A valve seat


12




a


is formed on an inner wall of a spray tip of the nozzle body


12


. The fuel passage


12




d


leads to the fuel passage


11




b.






The fuel injector


1


also includes a nozzle valve


20


. The nozzle valve


20


consists of a needle


20




b


, a rod


23


, and a control piston


20




c


. The needle


20




b


is disposed slidably within the needle chamber


12




e


and has a seating edge


20




a


which is to rest on the valve seat


12




a


. The control piston


20




c


is disposed sidably within the needle chamber


11




d


. The nozzle valve


20


is urged by a coil spring


15


into constant engagement with the valve seat


12




a.






The housing


11


has formed therein, as shown in

FIG. 3

, a pressure chamber


60


which is defined by an inner wall of the needle chamber


11




d


, an end surface of the control piston


20




c


, and an end surface of a plate


65


. The pressure chamber


60


communicates with an inlet orifice


61


and an outlet orifice


62


. The outlet orifice


62


is greater in a fuel flow area than the inlet orifice


61


. The inlet orifice


61


is formed in an end portion of the control piston


20




c


of the nozzle valve


20


and leads to the fuel inlet passage


11




a


. The high-pressure fuel is supplied to the pressure chamber


60


from the fuel inlet passage


11




a


through the inlet orifice


61


. The outlet orifice


62


is formed in the plate


65


and communicates with a low-pressure valve chamber


63


through a valve hole


64


. The plate


65


defines an annular gap between a side wall thereof and the inner wall of the housing


11


which leads to the leak passage


11




c.






The valve chamber


63


is defined by an end surface of the plate


65


and an inner wall of a guide member


17


which is made of a hollow cylinder consisting of a large-diameter portion


17




a


and a small-diameter portion


17




b


. The large-diameter portion


17




a


has formed in a bottom wall thereof grooves (not shown) which define fuel paths between the bottom of the large-diameter portion


17




a


and the plate


65


establishing fluid communication between the valve chamber


63


and the leak passage


11




c


through the annular gap around the side wall of the plate


65


. The small-diameter portion


17




b


has drain passages


17




c


formed in a side wall thereof. The plate


65


and the guide member


17


are retained within the housing


11


using a cylindrical screw


16


. The cylindrical screw


16


defines an annular gap


16




a


between an inner wall thereof and an outer wall of the small-diameter portion


17




b


of the guide member


17


.




Disposed slidably within the guide member


17


is a control valve


40


which consists of a spherical member


40




a


, a hollow cylinder


40




b


, a small-diameter portion


40




c


, a large-diameter portion


40




d


, and a pillow-like stem


40




e


. The spherical member


40




a


works to close the valve hole


64


and is joined to the small-diameter portion


40




c


through the cylinder


40




b


. The large-diameter portion


40




d


is supported slidably by the inner wall of the guide member


17


. The stem


40




e


is press-fitted within a through hole


32




a


formed in an armature


32


. The armature


32


and the control valve


40


are moved together in a longitudinal center line of the housing


11


. The through hole


32




a


is circular, while the stem


40




e


is, for example, oval in section, so that gaps


32




b


are defined between an inner wall of the hole


32




a


and the periphery of the stem


40




e


. The gaps


32




b


communicate with the valve chamber


63


through the annular gap


16




a


and the drain passages


17




c


to define a first drain passage.




The fuel injector


1


also includes an actuator


30


retained by an inner wall of a boss


11




g


formed on the end of the housing


11


. The actuator


30


is urged by a disc spring


18


through a washer


19


upward, as viewed in the drawing. The actuator


30


consists of a casing


33


, a stator


34


, a coil


35


, and a connector


50


.




The casing


33


is made of a hollow cylindrical member and disposed slidably within the boss


11




g


of the housing


11


. The casing


22


has disposed therein a bobbin


36


around which the coil


35


is wound. The coil


35


is connected electrically to a terminal


51


installed in the connector


50


. When the coil


35


is energized by a drive pulse signal outputted by the ECU


106


, it will cause the stator


34


, the casing


33


, and the armature


32


to produce a magnetic circuit. The stator


34


has a spring chamber


34




c


leading to the gap


32




b


. Within the spring chamber


34




c


, a coil spring


38


is disposed. An adjusting screw


37


is screwed into the spring chamber


34




c


in engagement with an internal thread


34




d


for adjusting a valve-opening pressure, as described later in detail. The adjusting screw


37


is made of a hollow cylindrical member whose internal chamber leads to the gap


32




b


to define a second drain passage. The stator


34


also has a large-diameter chamber


70


upstream of the spring chamber


34




c


to which a return pipe


102


, as shown in

FIG. 1

, is connected. The adjusting screw


37


has formed on an upper end thereof, as viewed in

FIG. 3

, a groove (not shown) extending over the diameter thereof for facilitating ease of tightening or loosening the adjusting screw


37


.




An air gap-adjusting screw


31


made of a hollow cylindrical member is installed on the housing


11


in engagement with an external thread


11




e


formed on the periphery of the boss


11




g


. The air gap-adjusting screw


31


has an annular protrusion


31




b


projecting inwardly from an inner end wall thereof. The annular protrusion


31




b


is in slidable contact with an upper end surface of a flange


34




b


formed on the stator


34


. Specifically, the air gap-adjusting screw


31


and the actuator


30


forms a sliding pair. The stator


34


is urged upward, as viewed in the drawing, by the disc spring


18


through the casing


33


to bring the flange


34




b


into constant engagement with the annular protrusion


31




b


and set in position thereof in a longitudinal direction of the housing


11


by the air gap-adjusting screw


31


. Annular sealing members


39


are provided for sealing the actuator


30


and the injector


1


.




A fuel injection operation of the fuel injector


1


will be discussed below.




The ECU


106


actuates the fuel injection pump


104


and delivers the fuel to the accumulator pipe


103


. The fuel is stored in the accumulator pipe


103


at a constant high pressure level and supplied to each of the injectors


1


through the supply pipe


109


.




The ECU


106


produces a control valve-actuating current as a function of an operating condition of the engine and outputs it to the coil


35


of the actuator


30


in the form of a pulse signal. When the coil


35


is energized, it will cause the stator


34


to produce an attractive force. When the sum of the attractive force and the fuel pressure within the pressure chamber


60


acting on the control valve


40


(i.e., the armature


32


) exceeds the spring pressure of the spring


38


, the armature


32


is attracted to the stator


34


, thereby causing the control valve


40


to be lifted upward, as viewed in

FIGS. 2 and 3

, so that the spherical member


40




a


of the control valve


40


leaves the valve hole


64


to open the outlet orifice


62


. When the outlet orifice


62


is opened, it establishes the fluid communication between the pressure chamber


60


and the valve chamber


63


, thereby causing the fuel to flow from the pressure chamber


60


to the valve chamber


63


. The fuel entering the valve chamber


63


is drained to the fuel tank


105


, as shown in

FIG. 1

, through the drain passage


17




c


, the gaps


16




a


and


32




b


, the spring chamber


34




c


, the inside of the adjusting screw


37


, and the return pipe


102


.




When the pressure chamber


60


communicates with the valve chamber


63


, it will cause the quantity of fuel flowing into the pressure chamber


60


to be greater than that flowing out of the pressure chamber


60


, so that the fuel pressure within the pressure chamber


60


drops. The rate of a pressure drop in the pressure chamber


60


depends upon a difference in fuel flow area between the inlet orifice


61


and the outlet orifice


62


and the volume of the pressure chamber


60


. When the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


decreases, and the sum of the spring pressure of the spring


15


and the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


urging the needle


20




b


in the spray hole-closing direction overcomes the fuel pressure in the fuel sump


12




c


urging the needle


20




b


in the spray hole-opening direction, it will cause the needle


20




b


to be moved away from the valve seat


12




a


to open the spray hole


12




b


, thereby producing a fuel jet.




When the coil


35


is deenergized, it will cause the attractive force to disappear from the stator


34


, so that the spring pressure of the spring


38


overcomes the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


to move the control valve


40


downward, thereby closing the valve hole


64


through the spherical member


40




a


. The fuel continues flowing into the pressure chamber


60


through the inlet orifice


61


, so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


is elevated. When the sum of the spring pressure of the spring


15


and the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


acting on the needle


20




b


in the spray hole-closing direction overcomes the fuel pressure in the fuel sump


12




c


in the spray hole-opening direction, it will cause the needle


20




b


to move downward, as viewed in

FIG. 2

, so that the seating edge


20




a


of the needle


20




b


rest on the valve seat


12




a


to close the spray hole


12




b


, thereby stopping the fuel injection.




The correlation between a drive pulse signal applied to the coil


35


and the fuel injection will be described below with reference to FIG.


4


.





FIG. 4

is a time chart representing the waveform of an electric current produced when a rectangular drive pulse is applied to the fuel injector


1


, the movement of the control valve


40


and the nozzle valve


20


(i.e., the needle


20




b


), and the rate of fuel injected. The shown time chart is not peculiar to the fuel injectors


1


of this embodiment, but common to typical accumulator injectors for diesel engines.




Following the rise of the drive pulse signal, a time b is consumed by the stator


34


which is required to produce an attractive force for initiating a lift of the control valve


40


in the valve-opening direction against the sum of the spring pressure of the spring


38


and the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


. Therefore, as the spring pressure of the spring


38


is decreased, the time interval b is shortened.




When the control valve


40


opens the valve hole


64


, it will cause the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


to decrease at a rate which is a function of a difference between the quantity of fuel flowing out of the outlet orifice


62


and the quantity of fuel entering at the inlet orifice


61


. Following the initiation of a lift of the nozzle valve


20


from the valve seat


12




a


, a time d is consumed until the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


acting on the nozzle valve


20


drops below the sum of the fuel pressure in the fuel sump


112




c


and the spring pressure of the spring


15


in the spray hole-opening direction to produce a fuel jet from the spray hole


12




b.






The sum of the times b and d indicates a time lag L


2


between the rise of the drive pulse signal applied to the coil


35


of the actuator


30


and the initiation of the fuel injection which may be controlled by changing the spring pressure of the spring


38


.




During a time period h required for moving the nozzle valve


20


away from the valve seat


12




a


up to a lift position P, the rate of fuel injection depends upon a minimum sectional area of a gap defined between the seating edge


21




a


and the valve seat


12




a


through which the fuel flows (which will also be referred to below as a fuel flow seat area) because it is smaller than a fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


. Thus, during the time period h, the rate of fuel injection increases as the nozzle valve


20


is lifted. Note that the fuel flow seat area is assumed to be equal to the fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


when the nozzle valve


20


reaches the lift position P.




During a time period i required for the nozzle valve


20


to move from the lift position P to a full lift position, the fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


is smaller than the fuel flow seat area, so that the quantity of fuel injected depends upon the fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


. Thus, during the time period i, the amount of lift of the nozzle valve


20


increases with time, while the rate of fuel injection is kept constant.




Upon falling of the drive pulse signal applied to the coil


35


, the control valve


40


starts to move in the valve-closing direction. The control valve


40


moves a distance equivalent to an air gap H, as shown in

FIG. 3

, between the stator


34


and the armature


32


during a time period c required for the control valve


40


to move downward from the full lift position to a valve-closing position where the control valve


40


closes the valve hole


64


. Therefore, if the spring pressure of the spring


38


is fixed, an increase in the air gap H will cause a traveling distance of the control valve


40


to increase, so that the time period c is increased. Alternatively, if the air gap H is fixed, an increase in the spring pressure of the spring


38


will cause the velocity of movement of the control valve


40


to increase, so that the time period c is decreased.




When the control valve


40


closes the valve hole


64


, the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


is elevated gradually by a fuel flow from the inlet orifice


61


. Following the closing of the valve hole


64


, a time e is consumed until the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


acting on the nozzle valve


20


in the spray hole-closing direction overcomes the sum of the fuel pressure in the fuel sump


12




c


and the spring pressure of the spring


15


to initiate a downward movement of the nozzle valve


20


.




During a time period j required for the nozzle valve


20


to move downward from the full lift position to the lift position P, the fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


is smaller than the fuel flow seat area, so that the rate of fuel injection depends upon the fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


. Specifically, during the time period j, the amount of lift of the nozzle valve


20


decreases with time, while the rate of fuel injection is kept constant.




During a time period k required for the nozzle valve


20


is moved downward from the lift position P and seated at the valve seat


12




a


to close the spray hole


12




b


, the fuel flow seat area is smaller than the fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


, so that the rate of fuel injection depends upon the fuel flow seat area. Specifically, during the time period k, the rate of fuel injection decreases as the nozzle valve


20


is moved downward.




The sum of the times c, e, j, and k indicates a time lag L


1


between the falling of the drive pulse signal applied to the coil


35


of the actuator


30


and the termination of fuel injection. As the lag time L


1


is increased, the rate of fuel injection is increased. The quantity of fuel injected may, thus, be controlled by adjusting the air gap H or the spring pressure of the spring


38


.




The adjustment of a fuel jet characteristic of the fuel injector


1


performed prior to installation in the engine will be described below.




The adjustment of the quantity of fuel to be injected into the engine, as apparent from the above discussion, can be accomplished by controlling the fuel injection time lag L


2


and/or the fuel termination time lag L


1


.




The control of the fuel injection time lag L


2


, as seen from the above discussion, can be performed by adjusting the spring pressure of the spring


38


which is accomplished by regulating the amount of insertion of the adjusting screw


37


into the spring chamber


34




c


, that is, by tightening or loosening the adjusting screw


37


. Specifically, the amount of fuel to be injected into the engine can be regulated by turning the adjusting screw


37


while the fuel is delivered to the fuel injector


1


through the connector


11




f


, and the drive pulse signal is applied to the coil


35


through the terminal


51


to monitor the rate of fuel injection.




The control of the fuel termination time lag L


1


, as seen from the above discussion, can be achieved by adjusting the spring pressure of the spring


38


or the air gap H. The adjustment of the air gap His accomplished by turning the air gap-adjusting screw


31


to move the stator


34


against the spring pressure of the disc spring


18


urging the stator


34


upwards through the casing


33


. Specifically, the amount of fuel to be injected into the engine can be regulated by turning the air gap-adjusting screw


31


while the fuel is supplied to the fuel injector


1


through the connector


11




f


, and the drive pulse signal is applied to the coil


35


through the terminal


51


to monitor the rate of fuel injection.




Specifically, the fuel injection time lag L


2


can be adjusted by turning the adjusting screw


37


. The quantity of fuel to be injected into the engine can be adjusted by turning the adjusting screw


37


and/or the air gap-adjusting screw


31


. These adjustments, therefore, eliminate a difference in quantity of a fuel jet between the fuel injectors


1


.




When the control valve


40


is lifted up to open the valve hole


64


, the fuel in the pressure chamber


60


flows into the valve chamber


63


and then drains into the fuel tank


105


, as shown in

FIG. 1

, through the drain passage


17




c


, the gaps


16




a


and


32




b


, the spring chamber


34




c


, the inside of the adjusting screw


37


, and the return pipe


102


. Specifically, the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber


60


is released out of the fuel injector


1


through the inside of the coil


35


and the bobbin


36


. Further, the housing


11


, the actuator


30


, and the air gap-adjusting screw


31


are arranged coaxially with each other. This allows the size of the fuel injector


1


to be decreased as compared with the conventional injector shown in FIG.


8


.




After the adjustment of the fuel jet characteristic of the fuel injector


1


in the above manner, the air gap-adjusting screw


31


is preferably crimped to establish a tight connection with the boss


11




g


of the housing


11


for fixing the location of the actuator


30


relative to the housing


11


in the longitudinal direction.




Instead of the air gap-adjusting screw


31


, the casing


33


may be so designed as to be screwed into the boss


11




g


together with the stator


34


to change the air gap H. In this case, the stator


34


is joined fixedly to the casing


33


. Moreover, instead of the air gap-adjusting screw


31


, a cylindrical member capable of being press-fitted into the boss


11




g


of the housing


11


may be used to change the air gap H. Further, instead of the adjusting screw


37


, a pipe capable of being press-fitted into the spring chamber


34




c


may be used to adjust the spring pressure of the spring


38


. The disc spring


18


may be replaced with a coil spring. The pressure chamber


60


leads to the fuel inlet passage


11




a


through the inlet orifice


61


, but may alternatively communicate directly with the fuel inlet passage


11




a.






The second method of adjusting the fuel jet characteristic of the fuel injector


1


will be described below.




The second method is a method of adjusting the quantity of fuel jetting out of the fuel injector


1


(also referred to below as an injection quantity) to a target range by turning the adjusting screw


37


while applying a first pulse signal having a smaller width α and a second pulse signal having a greater width γ to the coil


35


of the actuator


30


.




In the following discussion, a time period required for the rate of fuel injection to reach a maximum level after rise of a drive pulse signal having an infinite width applied to the coil


35


is defined as β. A maximum pressure of fuel supplied to the fuel injector


1


when used actually in the engine is defined as Pm. The pressure of liquid supplied to the fuel injector


1


for adjusting the fuel jet characteristic is defined as Pt. Further, a target injection quantity at an adjustment timing point


1


(see

FIG. 7

as discussed later in detail) when the first pulse signal is applied to the coil


35


of the fuel injector


1


is defined as a first target value V


1




d


. The injection quantity as measured actually at the adjustment timing point


1


is defined as V


1




t


. A target injection quantity at an adjustment timing point


2


when the second pulse signal is applied to the coil


35


of the fuel injector


1


is defined as a second target value V


2




d


. The injection quantity as measured at the adjustment timing point


2


is defined as V


2




t


. Differences between V


1




d


and V


1




t


and between V


2




d


and V


2




t


are defined as δ


1




t


and δ


2




t


, respectively. Permissible ranges of the differences δ


1




t


and δ


2




t


are defined as δ


1




m


(e.g., 0.5 mm


3


/st or less) and δ


2




m


(e.g., 1 mm


3


/st or less). The product of δ


1




t


and δ


2




t


is defined as PN. The sum of squares of δ


1




t


and δ


2




t


is defined as Xt. A target value of Xt is defined as Xd. A difference between Xt and Xd is defined as δXt. A permissible difference between Xd and Xt is defined as δXm (e.g., 1 mm


3


/st or less).





FIG. 5

shows an adjustment device used in this embodiment to adjust the fuel jet characteristic of the fuel injector


1


.




A pump


303


is joined to the connector


11




f


of the fuel injector


1


through a test liquid supply pipe


304


to connect a tank


302


and the fuel inlet passage


11




a


of the fuel injector


1


. The pump


303


is actuated by a controller


305


to supply a test liquid in the tank


302


to the fuel inlet passage


11




a


of the fuel injector


1


. A measuring device


307


which is connected to the controller


305


is disposed beneath the spray hole


12




b


of the fuel injector


1


. The controller


305


is electrically connected to the coil


35


of the fuel injector


1


through the terminal


51


for applying a drive pulse signal having a variable width to the coil


35


. A display


306


is connected to the controller


305


. The measuring device


307


has installed therein a sensor capable of measuring the start of a fuel jet from the spray hole


12




b


and the quantity of the fuel jetting out of the fuel injector


1


. An adjusting pipe


308


is attached to the end of the adjusting screw


37


of the fuel injector


1


to make a fluid connection of the inside of the adjusting pipe


308


and the inside of the adjusting screw


37


. The adjusting pipe


308


is so designed as to tighten or loosen the adjusting screw


37


and held rotatably by a supporting member


309


. The supporting member


309


connects with the tank


302


through a return pipe


301


for draining the test liquid out of the fuel injector


1


. An adjusting rod


310


with a knob is connected to the adjusting pipe


308


in alignment therewith and rotatable together with the adjusting pipe


308


.




First, the controller


305


actuates the pump


303


to feed the test liquid to the fuel injector


1


at the constant pressure Pt at least greater than ½ of Pm, e.g., equal to Pm and applies the first pulse signal whose width α is shorter than the time period β and the second pulse signal whose width γ is greater than the time period β alternately to the coil


35


to spray the test liquid from the spray hole


12




b


. The fuel delivered to the fuel injector


1


other than that discharged from the spray hole


12




b


is drained to the tank


302


through the adjusting pipe


308


and the return pipe


301


.




The measuring device


307


measures the injection quantities V


1




t


and V


2




t


and data signals indicative thereof to the controller


305


. The controller


305


determines δ


1




t


, δ


2




t


, PN, Xt, and δXt using equations below and indicates them on the display


306


.






δ


1




t=V




1




d−V




1




t










δ


2




t=V




2




d−V




2




t












PN





1




t


×δ


2




t












Xt





1




t




2


×δ


2




t




2










δ


Xt=Xd−Xt








Subsequently, an operator performs steps, as shown in

FIG. 6

, to adjust the quantity of test liquid jetting out of the fuel injector


1


for a given injection period to a desired one.




First, in step


10


, it is determined whether Xt is smaller than or equal to Xd or not. If Xt≦Xd, it is concluded that the fuel injector


1


is a satisfactory produce. Alternatively, if Xt>Xd, the adjusting rod


310


is turned to tighten or loosen the adjusting screw


37


for bringing Xt into agreement with Xd. If Xt has reached Xd or less, it is concluded that the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


has fallen within a target range, and the routine terminates.




If Xt does not reach Xd, the routine proceeds to step


20


wherein the adjusting rod


310


is further rotated to determine whether δXt is smaller than or equal to δXm or not. If a YES answer is obtained, it is concluded that the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


has fallen within the target range, and the routine terminates. Alternatively, if a NO answer is obtained meaning that δXt does not become smaller than δXm, then the routine proceeds to step


30


wherein the adjusting rod


310


is further turned to determine whether conditions of δ


1




t





1




m


, δ


2




t





2




m


, and PN<0 are all met or not. If a YES answer is obtained, then it is concluded that the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


has fallen in the target range, and the routine terminates. Alternatively, if a NO answer is obtained meaning that it is impossible to met all the conditions, it is concluded that the fuel injector


1


is an inferior product, and the routine terminates.




Turning of the adjusting screw


37


, as described above, causes the spring pressure of the spring


38


to change, thereby changing the fuel injection duration. If the fuel injection duration is constant, the injection quantity increases with an increase in pressure of the test liquid supplied to the fuel injector


1


. Specifically, as the pressure of the test liquid supplied to the fuel injector


1


is elevated, a change in injection quantity per unit movement of the adjusting screw


37


increases.




Therefore, in a case where the test liquid is supplied to the fuel injector


1


at the constant pressure Pt, and a drive pulse signal having a given width is applied to the coil


35


to adjust the injection quantity, the higher the pressure Pt, the greater will be the change in injection quantity per unit movement of the adjusting screw


37


. A change in injection quantity will result in changes in value of δ


1




t


, δ


2




t


, Xt, and δXt, so that the greater the change in injection quantity, the greater the changes in value of δ


1




t


, δ


2




t


, Xt, and δXt. Therefore, the higher the pressure Pt, the greater will be the changes in value of δ


1




t


, δ


2




t


, Xt, and δXt per unit movement of the adjusting screw


37


.




The adjustment of the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


in this embodiment is, as described above, accomplished by changing the spring pressure of the spring


38


using the adjustment screw


37


while supplying the test liquid to the fuel injector


1


at the same pressure as a maximum pressure of fuel supplied actually to the fuel injector


1


when installed in the engine. This, therefore, results in increased accuracy in adjusting the quantity of fuel injected actually into the engine, thus minimizing a difference in the injection quantity between the fuel injectors


1


.




The fuel injector


1


is subject to a variation in maximum rate of fuel injection due to dimensional variations of the fuel inlet passage


11




a


, the fuel passage


11




b


, the fuel sump


12




c


, the spray hole


12




b


, etc. within given tolerances Therefore, even if the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


is adjusted to a desired one by changing the spring pressure of the spring


38


using the adjusting screw


37


while applying a drive pulse signal having a preselected constant width to the coil


35


, the quantity of fuel jetting out of the fuel injector


1


installed actually in the engine may undergo a variation when the width of the drive pulse signal is changed according to a required power of the engine during traveling of the vehicle. This will be discussed below in detail with reference to FIG.


7


.




In

FIG. 7

, the curve A indicates the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


when the spring pressure of the spring


38


is so adjusted by the adjusting screw


37


as to have the injection quantity reach a target one determined only at the adjustment timing point


1


. The curve B indicates the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


when the fuel jet characteristic is adjusted in the second method as described above, and the injection quantity has fallen in permissible ranges at the adjustment timing points


1


and


2


. The curve C indicates the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


when the spring pressure of the spring


38


is so adjusted by the adjusting screw


37


as to have the injection quantity reach a target one determined only at the adjustment timing point


2


. The curve D indicates an optimum injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


in a case where all the dimensions of the fuel inlet passage


11




a


, the fuel passage


11




b


, the fuel sump


12




c


, the spray hole


12




b


, etc. lie within tolerances of zero (0).




Each of the curves A, B, C, and D has a singular point within a range of a pulse width corresponding to the time period β required for the rate of fuel injection to reach a maximum level. Within the pulse width β, all the curves A, B, C, and D approximate to parabolas, while within a range greater than β, the curves A, B, C, and D approximate to lines tangent to the parabolas, respectively. The reason for the approximation of the curves A, B, C, and D to the parabolas within the pulse width β is that the rate of fuel injection of the fuel injector


1


is determined by the fuel flow seat area between the seating edge


20




a


and the valve seat


12




a


and thus increase as a function of a lift of the nozzle valve


20


. The reason for the approximation of the curves A, B, C, and D to the tangential lines within the range greater than β is that the rate of fuel injection of the fuel injector


1


is determined by the fuel flow area of the spray hole


12




b


and thus kept constant.




In the case where the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


is so adjusted as to reach a target one determined only at the adjustment timing point


1


, the injection quantity may be shifted greatly, as indicated by the curve A, from the optimum injection quantity (i.e., the curve D) as the pulse width becomes greater than β.




In the case where the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


is so adjusted as to reach a target one determined only at the adjustment timing point


2


, the injection quantity may be shifted, as indicated by the curve C, from the optimum injection quantity over a wide range.




In the case where the injection quantity of each of a plurality of fuel injectors


1


is so adjusted in the second method as to fall in permissible ranges at the adjustment timing points


1


and


2


, it is impossible to decrease both the differences δ


1




t


and δ


2




t


between V


1




d


and V


1




t


and between V


2




d


and V


2




t


to zero (0), as indicated by the curve B, unless all the injectors


1


are exactly identical in dimensions with each other. In the second method, as described above, the adjusting screw


37


is turned so as to minimize the sum Xt of squares of δ


1




t


(=a difference between V


1




d


and V


1




t


) and δ


2




t


(=a difference between V


2




d


and V


2




t


). The injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


adjusted in the second method will, thus, be closest to the optimum curve D.




Additionally, if δXt (=a difference between Xt and Xd) is not decreased below the permissible value Xm, the adjusting screw


37


is turned so as to meet the conditions of δ


1




t





1




m


, δ


2




t





2




m


, and PN<0 (see step


30


in FIG.


6


). The injection quantity approximating the optimum curve D is, thus, derived between the adjustment timing points


1


and


2


because of PN (=the product of δ


1




t


and δ


2




t


).




The third method of adjusting the fuel jet characteristic of the fuel injector


1


will be described below.




The third method is different from the second method only in that the quantity of fuel jetting out of the fuel injector


1


is adjusted by turning the air gap-adjusting screw


31


. Specifically, in steps


10


,


20


, and


30


in

FIG. 6

, the air gap-adjusting screw


31


is turned while applying the first pulse signal having a smaller width α and the second pulse signal having a greater width γ to the coil


35


of the actuator


30


.




Turning of the air gap-adjusting screw


31


, as described above, causes the stator


34


to be shifted in the longitudinal direction of the casing


11


, so that the air gap H between the stator


34


and the armature


32


changes, thus, resulting in a change in fuel injection duration. If the fuel injection duration is constant, the injection quantity increases with an increase in pressure of the test liquid supplied to the fuel injector


1


. Specifically, as the pressure of the test liquid supplied to the fuel injector


1


is elevated, a change in injection quantity per unit movement of the air gap-adjusting screw


31


increases.




Therefore, in a case where the test liquid is supplied to the fuel injector


1


at the constant pressure Pt, and a drive pulse signal having a given width is applied to the coil


35


to adjust the injection quantity, the higher the pressure Pt, the greater will be the change in injection quantity per unit movement of the air gap-adjusting screw


31


. A change in injection quantity will result in changes in value of δ


1




t


, δ


2




t


, Xt, and δXt, so that the greater the change in injection quantity, the greater the changes in value of δ


1




t


, δ


2




t


, Xt, and δXt. Therefore, the higher the pressure Pt, the greater will be the changes in value of δ


1




t


, δ


2




t


, Xt, and δXt per unit movement of the air gap-adjusting screw


31


.




The adjustment of the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


in this embodiment is, as described above, accomplished by changing the air gap H using the air gap-adjustment screw


31


while supplying the test liquid to the fuel injector


1


at the same pressure as a maximum pressure of fuel supplied actually to the fuel injector


1


when installed in the engine. This, therefore, results in increased accuracy in adjusting the quantity of fuel injected actually into the engine, thus minimizing a difference in the injection quantity between the fuel injectors


1


.




The fourth method of adjusting the fuel jet characteristic of the fuel injector


1


will be described below which is a combination of the second and third methods as described above. Specifically, this method first adjusts the fuel injection time lag L


2


of the fuel injector


1


by turning the adjusting screw


37


while applying the first pulse signal having a smaller width α and the second pulse signal having a greater width γ to the coil


35


of the actuator


30


and then adjusts the quantity of fuel jetting out of the fuel injector


1


by turning the air gap-adjusting screw


31


. Note that α<β<γ similar to the above embodiments.




1 Adjustment of Fuel Injection Time Lag




The adjustment of the fuel injection time lag L


2


is achieved by applying either of the first and second pulse signals to the coil


35


of the actuator


30


. In the fourth method as discussed below, the first pulse signal is applied to the coil


35


to control the fuel injection time lag L


2


.




First, the controller


305


actuates the pump


303


to feed the test liquid to the fuel injector


1


at the constant pressure Pt (<0.5 Pm) and outputs the first pulse signal to the coil


35


to spray the test liquid from the spray hole


12




b.






Upon initiation of spraying of the test liquid from the fuel injector


1


, the measuring device


307


starts to measure the injection quantity V


1




t


. When detecting a liquid jet from the fuel injector


1


, the measuring device


307


outputs a signal indicative thereof to the controller


305


. The controller


305


then determines a time interval between the output of the first pulse signal and reception of the signal from the measuring device


307


and indicates it as the fuel injection time lag L


2


on the display


306


.




Subsequently, the operator turns the adjusting screw


37


through the adjusting rod


310


and the adjusting pipe


308


so that the injection time lag L


2


indicated on the display


306


may fall within a target range. If the injection time lag L


2


has fallen within the target range, the operator terminates the adjusting operation.




When the control valve


40


closes the valve hole


64


, the pressure of the test liquid delivered from the pump


303


to the fuel injector


1


is equal to the pressure within the pressure chamber


60


. A lift of the control valve


40


is initiated when the valve-opening force that is the sum of the pressure of the test liquid in the pressure chamber


60


acting on the control valve


40


and the attractive force produced by the stator


34


overcomes the spring pressure of the spring


38


. If the pressure of the test liquid in the pressure chamber


60


exerted on the is low, a ratio of the spring pressure of the spring


38


to the valve-opening force will be great. Therefore, when the pressure of the test liquid supplied to the fuel injector


1


is low, the fuel injection time lag L


2


will be very sensitive to a change in spring pressure of the spring


38


.




Specifically, as the lower the pressure of the test liquid supplied to the fuel injector


1


, the higher will be the accuracy in adjusting the fuel injection time lag L


2


. In the fourth method, the test liquid is, as described above, delivered to the fuel injector


1


at the constant pressure Pt lower than or equal to 0.5 Pm. (Pm is a maximum pressure of fuel to be delivered to the fuel injector


1


when installed actually in the engine), thus resulting in increased accuracy in adjusting the fuel injection lag time L


2


.




2 Adjustment of Quantiy of Fuel Jet




After the fuel injection lag time L


2


is adjusted to within the target range, the quantity of fuel jetting out of the fuel injector


1


is adjusted in the same manner as the above described third method. Specifically, the controller


305


actuates the pump


303


to feed the test liquid to the fuel injector


1


at the constant pressure Pt at least greater than ½ of Pm, e.g., equal to Pm and applies the first pulse signal whose width α is shorter than the time period β and the second pulse signal whose width γ is greater than the time period β alternately to the coil


35


to spray the test liquid from the spray hole


12




b


. The operator turns the air gap-adjusting screw


31


to adjust the injection quantity to within a target range according to the steps shown in FIG.


6


.




The attractive force produced by the stator


34


is set much greater than the spring pressure of the spring


38


and does not impinge upon an initial action of the control valve


40


when lifted up regardless of the air gap H. Specifically, the adjustment of the injection quantity by turning the air gap-adjusting screw


31


does not change the fuel injection time lag L


2


.




As apparent from the above discussion, the fourth method of this embodiment first adjusts the fuel injection time lag L


2


of the fuel injector


1


using the adjusting screw


37


and regulates the quantity of fuel jetting out of the fuel injector


1


using the air gap-adjusting screw


31


. This, therefore, minimizes differences in the fuel injection time lag L


2


and the quantity of fuel injected into the engine between the fuel injectors


1


.




In the fourth method, the first pulse signal and the second pulse signal are applied to the coil


35


alternately, however, only one of them may be used if it is possible to estimate the quantity of the test liquid jetting out of the fuel injector


1


when the other pulse signal is applied to the coil


35


. Even if the widths of the first and second pulse signals do not meet the condition of α<β<γ, use of at least two pulse signals having different widths enables the injection quantity of the fuel injector


1


to be adjusted to a target range. If the widths of the first and second pulse signals meet the condition of α<β<γ, it is possible to minimize a difference in injection quantity between the fuel injectors


1


all over an effective pulse width range. If β<γ<β, it is possible to minimize the difference in injection quantity between the fuel injectors


1


in a low engine speed range. If β<α<γ, it is possible to minimize the difference in injection quantity between the fuel injectors


1


in a high engine speed range. Further, the adjustment of the fuel injection time lag L


2


and the injection quantity may alternatively be performed by turning the air gap-adjusting screw


31


and the adjusting rod


310


using a step motor under automatic control of the controller


305


such as feedback control.




While the present invention has been disclosed in terms of the preferred embodiments in order to facilitate better understanding thereof, it should be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in various ways without departing from the principle of the invention. Therefore, the invention should be understood to include all possible embodiments and modifications to the shown embodiments witch can be embodied without departing from the principle of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A fuel injector comprising:a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; an injector body supporting therein said nozzle valve slidably, said injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in said injector body to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in said injector body; a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in said injector body; a first urging mechanism urging said control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to said control valve and spaced from the stator through a given air gap, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move said control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; a second urging mechanism urging the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in a first direction identical with the valve hole-opening direction; and an air gap adjusting member disposed around the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in engagement with said injector body so as to urge the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in a second direction opposite the first direction against an urging pressure produced by said second urging mechanism to keep the air gap between the stator and the armature, said air gap adjusting member being designed to be movable selectively in said first direction and second direction for changing the air gap.
  • 2. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 1, wherein said air gap adjusting mechanism is connected to said injector body in a screw fashion.
  • 3. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 2, wherein said air gap adjusting mechanism has formed therein an internal thread engaging an outer thread formed on an end portion of said injector body and forms a sliding pair with said control pair moving mechanism.
  • 4. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 1, wherein said air gap adjusting mechanism is made of a hollow member fitted on said injector body.
  • 5. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 1, wherein said second urging mechanism is implemented by a disc spring disposed within said injector body.
  • 6. A fuel injector comprising:a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; an injector body supporting therein said nozzle valve slidably, said injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in said injector body to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole for establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in said injector body; a valve chamber formed in said injector body downstream of the valve hole; a control valve movable within said valve chamber to selectively open and close the valve hole formed in said injector body, when leaving the valve hole, said control valve defining in said valve chamber a first drain passage communicating with the pressure chamber through the valve hole; an urging mechanism disposed within an urging mechanism mount chamber formed in said injector body leading to the first drain passage, said urging mechanism working to produce an urging pressure which urges said control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the valve chamber; a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to said control valve, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move said control valve in a valve hole-opening direction against the urging pressure produced by said urging mechanism, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the first drain passage; and an urging pressure adjusting mechanism disposed within said injector body in contact with said urging mechanism, said urging pressure adjusting mechanism being so designed as to be movable in engagement with an inner wall of the urging mechanism mount chamber for changing the urging pressure produced by said urging mechanism, said urging pressure adjusting mechanism having formed therein a second drain passage communicating between the first drain passage and the drain port through the urging mechanism mount chamber.
  • 7. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 6, wherein said urging pressure adjusting mechanism engages the inner wall of the urging mechanism mount chamber in a screw fashion.
  • 8. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 6, wherein said urging pressure adjusting mechanism is press-fitted within the urging mechanism mount chamber.
  • 9. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 6, further comprising:a second urging mechanism urging the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in a first direction identical with the valve hole-opening direction; and an air gap adjusting member disposed around the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in engagement with said injector body so as to urge the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in a second direction opposite the first direction against an urging pressure produced by said second urging mechanism to keep an air gap between the stator and the armature, said air gap adjusting member being designed to be movable selectively in said first direction and second direction for changing the air gap.
  • 10. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 9, wherein said air gap adjusting mechanism is connected to said injector body in a screw fashion.
  • 11. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 10, wherein said air gap adjusting mechanism has formed therein an internal thread engaging an outer thread formed on an end portion of said injector body and forms a sliding pair with said control pair moving mechanism.
  • 12. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 9, wherein said air gap adjusting mechanism is made of a hollow member fitted on said injector body.
  • 13. A fuel injector as set forth in claim 9, wherein said second urging mechanism is implemented by a disc spring disposed within said injector body.
  • 14. A method of adjusting a fuel injection characteristic of a fuel injector which is designed to inject fuel into an engine and which includes:(a) a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (b) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (c) an injector body supporting therein said nozzle valve slidably, said injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in said injector body to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in said injector body; (d) a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in said injector body; and (e) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil wound around the stator, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to said control valve and spaced from the stator through a given air gap, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move said control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber is decreased to move said nozzle valve so as to open the spray hole, said method comprising the steps of: supplying a test liquid to said fuel injector from the inlet at a given pressure level higher than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the fuel sump and the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine; applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole; and changing the air gap between the stator and the armature to adjust a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to a target one.
  • 15. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said fuel injector further comprises a first urging mechanism urging said control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; a second urging mechanism urging the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in a first direction identical with the valve hole-opening direction, and an air gap adjusting member disposed around the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in engagement with said injector body so as to urge the stationary portion of said control valve moving mechanism in a second direction opposite the first direction against an urging pressure produced by said second urging mechanism to keep the air gap between the stator and the armature, said air gap adjusting member being designed to be movable selectively in said first direction and second direction for changing the air gap, and wherein said air gap changing step moves said air gap adjusting mechanism to change the air gap between the stator and the armature to adjust the quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to the target one.
  • 16. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said drive pulse applying step applies a first drive pulse signal and a second drive pulse signal having a width different from that of the first drive pulse signal in sequence to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil during said air gap changing step.
  • 17. A method as set forth in claim 16, wherein the width of the first drive pulse signal is longer than that required to move said nozzle valve until a maximum rate of a jet of the test liquid from the spray hole is reached.
  • 18. A method as set forth in claim 16, wherein if target quantities of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first and second drive pulse signals are applied to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism are defined as a first and a second target value, respectively, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the first target value is defined as δ1, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the second drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the second target value is defined as β2, said air gap changing step changes the air gap so as to meet at least one of a condition of δ12+δ22≦K1 and a condition of δ1×δ2<0, δ1≦K2, and δ2≦K3 where K1, K2, and K3 are preselected target values, respectively.
  • 19. A method of adjusting a fuel injection characteristic of a fuel injector which is designed to inject fuel into an engine and which includes:(f) a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (g) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (h) an injector body supporting therein said nozzle valve slidably, said injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in said injector body to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in said injector body; (i) a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in said injector body; (j) an urging mechanism disposed within an urging mechanism mount chamber formed in said injector body, said urging mechanism working to produce an urging pressure which urges said control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; and (k) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil wound around the stator, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to said control valve, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move said control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber is decreased to move said nozzle valve so as to open the spray hole, said method comprising the steps of: supplying a test liquid to said fuel injector from the inlet at a given pressure level higher than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine; applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole; and changing the urging pressure produced by said urging mechanism to adjust a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to a target one.
  • 20. A method as set forth in claim 19, further comprising an urging pressure adjusting mechanism disposed within said injector body in contact with said urging mechanism, said urging pressure adjusting mechanism being so designed as to be movable in engagement with an inner wall of the urging mechanism mount chamber for changing the urging pressure produced by said urging mechanism, said urging pressure adjusting mechanism having formed therein a second drain passage communicating between a first drain passage communicating with the pressure chamber through the valve hole and the drain port through the urging mechanism mount chamber, and wherein said urging pressure changing step moves said urging pressure adjusting mechanism to shift said urging mechanism for adjusting the quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole to the target one.
  • 21. A method as set forth in claim 20, wherein said drive pulse applying step applies a first drive pulse signal and a second drive pulse signal having a width different from that of the first drive pulse signal in sequence to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil during said air gap changing step.
  • 22. A method as set forth in claim 21, wherein the width of the first drive pulse signal is longer than that required to move said nozzle valve until a maximum rate of a jet of the test liquid from the spray hole is reached.
  • 23. A method as set forth in claim 21, wherein if target quantities of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first and second drive pulse signals are applied to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism are defined as a first and a second target value, respectively, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the first target value is defined as δ1, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the second drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the second target value is defined as δ2, said air gap changing step changes the air gap so as to meet at least one of a condition of δ12+δ22≦K1 and a condition of δ1×δ2≦0, δ1≦K2, and δ2≦K3 where K1, K2, and K3 are preselected target values, respectively.
  • 24. A method of adjusting a fuel injection characteristic of a fuel injector which is designed to inject fuel into an engine and which includes:(l) a nozzle having formed therein a spray hole from which fuel is sprayed; (m) a nozzle valve selectively opening and closing the spray hole; (n) an injector body supporting therein said nozzle valve slidably, said injector body having formed therein a fuel sump supplied with the fuel from an inlet formed in said injector body to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-opening direction, a pressure chamber supplied with the fuel from the inlet to produce fuel pressure urging said nozzle valve in a spray hole-closing direction, and a valve hole establishing fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a drain port formed in said injector body; (o) a control valve selectively opening and closing the valve hole formed in said injector body; (p) an urging mechanism disposed within an urging mechanism mount chamber formed in said injector body, said urging mechanism working to produce an urging pressure which urges said control valve in a valve hole-closing direction for closing the valve hole to block the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port; and (q) a control valve moving mechanism made up of a stationary portion and a movable portion, the stationary portion including a stator and a coil wound around the stator, the movable portion including an armature which is connected fixedly to said control valve and spaced from the stator through an air gap, the coil being energized electrically to produce an attractive force through the stator for attracting the armature to move said control valve in a valve hole-opening direction, thereby opening the valve hole to establish the fluid communication between the pressure chamber and the drain port so that the fuel pressure in the pressure chamber is decreased to move said nozzle valve so as to open the spray hole, said method comprising: a first step of changing the urging pressure produced by said urging mechanism while supplying a test liquid to said fuel injector from the inlet and applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole so as to have an injection lag time fall in a target range; and a second step of changing the air gap between the stator and the armature while supplying a test liquid to said fuel injector from the inlet and applying a drive pulse signal to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism to energize the coil for spraying the test liquid from the spray hole so as to have a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole fall in a target range.
  • 25. A method as set forth in claim 24, wherein the test liquid is supplied at a given pressure level lower than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine in the first step.
  • 26. A method as set forth in claim 24, wherein the test liquid is supplied at a given pressure level higher than half a maximum pressure of the fuel which is supplied to the pressure chamber when the fuel injector is actually used to inject the fuel into the engine in the second step.
  • 27. A method as set forth in claim 24, wherein the second step applies first and second drive pulse signal having different widths alternately to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism.
  • 28. A method as set forth in claim 27, wherein in the second step, at least one of the first and second drive pulse signals has the width greater than a width required for moving said nozzle valve up to a level where a maximum rate of spraying of the test liquid from the spray hole is reached.
  • 29. A method as set forth in claim 27, wherein if target quantities of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first and second drive pulse signals are applied to the coil of said control valve moving mechanism are defined as a first and a second target value, respectively, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the first drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the first target value is defined as δ1, a difference between a quantity of the test liquid sprayed from the spray hole when the second drive pulse signal is applied to the coil and the second target value is defined as δ2, said air gap changing step changes the air gap so as to meet at least one of a condition of δ12+δ22≦K1 and a condition of δ1×δ2<0, δ1≦K2, and δ2≦K3 where K1, K2, and K3 are preselected target values, respectively.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
2000-068754 Mar 2000 JP
US Referenced Citations (6)
Number Name Date Kind
4346847 Rissi Aug 1982 A
4498625 Schechter Feb 1985 A
5157967 Wieczorek Oct 1992 A
5383606 Stegmaier et al. Jan 1995 A
5449119 Maley Sep 1995 A
5873526 Cooke Feb 1999 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (4)
Number Date Country
57-13267 Jan 1982 JP
57-51944 Mar 1982 JP
7-504008 Apr 1995 JP
2599281 Jan 1997 JP