Claims
- 1. A fuel injector comprising:
- a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, and a fuel passageway extending from the inlet to the outlet along a longitudinal axis;
- an armature proximate the inlet of the valve body;
- a needle valve operatively connected to the armature;
- a valve seat proximate the outlet of the valve body, the valve seat including a first surface, a second surface, and a passage extending between the first surface and the second surface in the direction of the longitudinal axis;
- a guide member disposed within the valve body, the guide member including an aperture that guides the needle valve; and
- a flat metering disk disposed between the valve seat and the guide member, the flat metering disk including a central aperture, a perimeter, an axial thickness, and at least one slot extending from the central aperture toward the perimeter of the flat metering disk, the at least one slot extending through the axial thickness of the flat metering disk.
- 2. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the at least one slot has an entrance located between the central aperture and the perimeter of the flat metering disk.
- 3. The fuel injector of claim 2, wherein the at least one slot comprises a plurality of slots extending through the axial thickness of the flat metering disk.
- 4. The fuel injector of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of slots includes a portion that extends tangentially from a boundary of the central aperture.
- 5. The fuel injector of claim 3, wherein the flat metering disk further comprises a plurality of apertures extending through the axial thickness of the flat metering disk, the plurality of apertures being equal in number to the plurality of slots so that one of the plurality of apertures communicates with the entrance of one of the plurality of slots.
- 6. The fuel injector of claim 5, wherein the plurality of apertures is uniformly disposed about the central aperture of the flat metering disk.
- 7. The fuel injector of claim 6, wherein the guide member comprises a flat disk having a perimeter, a central aperture, and a plurality of openings between the perimeter and the central aperture, the plurality of openings being equal in number to the plurality of apertures so that one of the plurality of openings communicates with one of the plurality of apertures.
- 8. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the guide member comprises a cup-shaped member having a base portion and an axially extending portion.
- 9. The fuel injector of claim 8, wherein the base portion comprises at least one opening that communicate with the at least one slot.
- 10. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the valve seat includes a fuel passageway having a conical annulus extending between an upstream side of the valve seat and a downstream side of the valve seat; and
- wherein the needle valve includes a curved surface that mates with the conical annulus to inhibit fuel flow through the passage of the valve seat.
- 11. The fuel injector according to claim 10, wherein said curved surface on said needle valve is spherical.
- 12. A fuel injector comprising:
- a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, and a fuel passageway extending from the inlet to the outlet along a longitudinal axis;
- an armature proximate the inlet of the valve body;
- a needle valve operatively connected to the armature;
- a valve seat proximate the outlet of the valve body, the valve seat including a first surface, a second surface, a passage extending between the first surface and the second surface in the direction of the longitudinal axis;
- a flat metering disk proximate the valve seat and the guide member, the flat metering disk including a central aperture, a perimeter, an axial thickness, and a plurality of slots, each of the plurality of slots extending from the central aperture to a slot entrance to provide a tangential flow path for fuel flowing from the fuel passageway to the passage of the valve seat, the slot entrance being located between the central aperture, the perimeter of the flat metering disk each of the plurality of slots extending through the axial thickness of the flat metering disk; and
- a guide member proximate the flat metering disk, the guide member having an aperture that guides the needle valve, the guides member being configured to allow fuel to flow from the fuel passageway to the flat metering disk.
- 13. The fuel injector of claim 12, wherein the flat metering disk further comprises a plurality of apertures extending through the axial thickness of the flat metering disk, the plurality of apertures being equal in number to the plurality of slots so that one of the plurality of apertures communicates with the entrance of one of the plurality of slots.
- 14. The fuel injector of claim 13, wherein the guide member comprises a flat disk having a perimeter, a central aperture, and a plurality of openings between the perimeter and the central aperture, the plurality of openings being equal in number to the plurality of apertures so that one of the plurality of openings communicates with the entrance of one of the plurality of apertures.
- 15. The fuel injector of claim 13, wherein the guide member comprises a cup shaped member having a base portion and an axially extending portion, the base portion having a plurality of openings, the plurality of openings being equal in number to the plurality of apertures so that one of the plurality of openings communicates with the entrance of one of the plurality of apertures.
- 16. A method of providing a swirl generator for a fuel injector, the fuel injector having a valve body having an inlet, an outlet, and a fuel passageway extending from the inlet to the outlet along a longitudinal axis; an armature proximate the inlet of the valve body; a needle valve operatively connected to the armature; a valve seat proximate the outlet of the valve body; and a guide member disposed within the valve body, the guide member including an aperture that guides the needle valve, the method comprising:
- providing a metering member including a central aperture, a perimeter, an axial thickness, and at least one slot extending from the central aperture toward the perimeter of the metering member, the at least one slot extending through the axial thickness of the metering member; and
- locating the metering member between the valve seat and the guide member.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the metering member comprises a flat disk.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the flat disk comprises a central aperture, a perimeter, an axial thickness, a plurality of slots, and a plurality of apertures, each of the plurality of slots extending from the central aperture to a slot entrance to provide a tangential flow path for fuel flowing from the fuel passageway to the passage of the valve seat, each of the plurality of slots extending through the axial thickness of the flat disk, each of the plurality of apertures extending through the axial thickness of the flat disk, the plurality of apertures being equal in number to the plurality of slots so that one of the plurality of apertures communicates with the entrance of one of the plurality of slots.
- 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the guide member comprises a flat disk.
- 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the guide member comprises a cup-shaped member, the cup-shaped member having a base portion and an axially extending portion.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/795,672 filed Feb. 6, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,972,
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
2273830 |
Brierly |
Feb 1942 |
|
5207384 |
Horsting |
May 1993 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2-241973 |
Sep 1990 |
JPX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
795672 |
Feb 1997 |
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