Fuel injector having three stages

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10605153-B2
Application number	US-201615335907-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2016
Priority date	Oct 27, 2016
Publication date	Mar 31, 2020
Grant date	Mar 31, 2020

Abstract

An engine, fuel injector, and method are disclosed. The method may include aligning an exhaust gas passage with an exhaust gas source to allow exhaust gas to enter a pre-chamber for a first duration; aligning a fuel passage with a fuel source to allow fuel to enter the pre-chamber for a second duration; and aligning injector nozzle connectors with injector nozzles, for a third duration, to allow a mixture of the fuel and the exhaust gas to be injected from the pre-chamber to the combustion chamber.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of injecting fuel into a combustion chamber of an engine comprising:
rotating an inner element relative to an injector body a first rotational amount and aligning an exhaust gas nozzle with an exhaust gas passage and an exhaust gas source to allow exhaust gas to enter a pre-chamber for a first duration;
rotating the inner element relative to the injector body a second rotational amount and aligning a fuel nozzle with a fuel passage and a fuel source to allow fuel to enter the pre-chamber for a second duration; and
rotating the inner element relative to the injector body a third rotational amount and aligning injector nozzle connectors with injector nozzles for a third duration to allow a mixture of the fuel and the exhaust gas to be injected from the pre-chamber into the combustion chamber, the injector nozzle connectors extending radially through an outer wall of the inner element.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising moving an injection needle into the pre-chamber to force the mixture of the fuel and the exhaust gas into the combustion chamber.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the aligning the exhaust gas passage with the exhaust gas source is effected by rotating the inner element relative to the injector body 11 degrees;
the aligning the fuel passage with the fuel source is effected by rotating the inner element relative to the injector body another 11 degrees; and
the aligning the injector nozzle connectors with the injector nozzles is effected by rotating the inner element relative to the injector body 23 degrees.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a sum of the first rotational amount, the second rotational amount, and the third rotational amount is substantially equal to 360 degrees divided by a number of nozzle passages equally radially spaced around a circumference of the injector body.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein a sum of the first rotational amount, the second rotational amount, and the third rotational amount is substantially equal to 45 degrees.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first duration is 10 ms, the second duration is 15 ms, and the third duration is 60 ms.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fuel is high pressure fuel supplied through a fuel line to the combustion chamber, and wherein the injector body is included in a fuel injector and the fuel is pressurized before entering the fuel injector by a fuel pump.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inner element includes the outer wall surrounding and defining the pre-chamber, the outer wall being substantially cylindrical, and the injector nozzle connectors include eight injector nozzle connectors extending radially through the substantially cylindrical outer wall at eight substantially equal circumferential intervals; and
wherein the injector body includes a substantially cylindrical body wall surrounding the substantially cylindrical outer wall of the inner element, and the injector nozzles include eight injector nozzles extending radially outward and longitudinally toward a middle region of the combustion chamber.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the inner element has a central axis located central to the substantially cylindrical outer wall, and further comprising the exhaust gas nozzle and the fuel nozzle located at a first longitudinal location relative to the central axis, and wherein the injector nozzle connectors are located at a second longitudinal location relative to the central axis different from the first longitudinal location.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the exhaust gas nozzle and the fuel nozzle extend radially through the substantially cylindrical outer wall angularly spaced from one another by 11 degrees.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein one of the injector nozzle connectors is angularly spaced from the fuel passage by approximately 23 degrees.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the injector nozzle connectors include eight injector nozzle connectors angularly spaced from one another by approximately 45 degrees.

13. A method, comprising:
rotating an inner fuel injector element relative to an injector body of a fuel injector a first amount and aligning an injector exhaust gas passage with an exhaust gas source via an exhaust gas nozzle radially extending through an outer wall of the inner fuel injector element;
rotating the inner fuel injector element a second amount and aligning a fuel passage with a fuel source via a fuel nozzle radially extending through the outer wall of the inner fuel injector element; and
rotating the inner fuel injector element a third amount and aligning injector nozzle connectors with injector nozzles to inject a fuel and exhaust gas mixture from a pre-chamber to a cylinder, the injector nozzle connectors radially extending through the outer wall of the inner fuel injector element.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the inner fuel injector element is rotatable inside the injector body to align, with successive rotational movements: the exhaust gas nozzle with the injector exhaust gas passage, the fuel nozzle with the fuel passage, and the injector nozzle connectors with the injector nozzles.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the inner fuel injector element has a substantially cylindrical outer wall defining the pre-chamber therein, the inner fuel injector element being pivotable about a central axis of the injector body, and wherein the exhaust gas nozzle passes radially through the substantially cylindrical outer wall at a first circumferential location and a first longitudinal location; wherein the fuel nozzle passes radially through the substantially cylindrical outer wall at a second circumferential location and the first longitudinal location, and wherein the injector nozzle connectors pass radially through the substantially cylindrical outer wall at a second longitudinal location.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the injector nozzle connectors include eight injector nozzle connectors that pass radially through the substantially cylindrical outer wall at eight substantially evenly spaced circumferential locations, wherein one of the injector nozzle connectors defines a second angle with the fuel nozzle and the fuel nozzle makes a first angle with the exhaust gas nozzle, and wherein a sum of the first angle and the second angle is substantially equal to 45 degrees.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising a fuel line to supply a high pressure fuel for combustion in a combustion chamber, wherein the fuel is pressurized before entering the fuel injector by a fuel pump, and a junction line to port a portion of exhaust gas from the combustion chamber.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Zhang Xiaogang

Classifications

• F02B19/02 Primary

  the chamber being periodically isolated from its cylinder · CPC title

• F02M61/14

  Arrangements of injectors with respect to engines; Mounting of injectors · CPC title

• F02M63/0038

  rotary · CPC title

• F02M57/04

  the devices being combustion-air intake or exhaust valves · CPC title

• F02M26/37

  with temporary storage of recirculated exhaust gas (internal exhaust gas recirculation F02M26/01) · CPC title