Fuel Injector Device and Method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016290302-A1
Application number	US-201514679225-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 6, 2015
Priority date	Apr 6, 2015
Publication date	Oct 6, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A fuel injector may include a nozzle assembly and a body. The body may have a fuel inlet, a nozzle supply passage fluidly coupled to the nozzle assembly, and an internal surface defining a chamber within the body. The fuel inlet may be fluidly coupled to the nozzle supply passage via the chamber. The fuel inlet defines an inlet dimension and the chamber defines a chamber dimension, the chamber dimension being larger than the inlet dimension.

First claim

We claim:

1 . A fuel injector comprising:
a nozzle assembly; and a body having:
a fuel inlet;
a nozzle supply passage fluidly coupled to the nozzle assembly; and
an internal surface defining a chamber within the body, the fuel inlet being fluidly coupled to the nozzle supply passage via the chamber, wherein the fuel inlet defines an inlet dimension and the chamber defines a chamber dimension, the chamber dimension being larger than the inlet dimension.

2 . The fuel injector of claim 1 wherein the fuel inlet defines an inlet plane and an inlet axis oriented perpendicular to the inlet plane, and wherein the chamber defines a chamber plane separated from the inlet plane along the inlet axis, wherein the inlet plane has a dimension equal to the inlet dimension and the chamber plane has a dimension equal to the chamber dimension.

3 . The fuel injector of claim 2 wherein the chamber further defines a plurality of chamber planes spaced apart from the inlet plane along the inlet axis, each of the plurality of the chamber planes having a dimension normal to inlet axis and larger than the inlet dimension.

4 . The fuel injector of claim 2 wherein the chamber plane is oriented at an angle oblique to the inlet axis.

5 . The fuel injector according to claim 1 , wherein the chamber is a toroidal chamber.

6 . The fuel injector according to claim 5 , wherein the toroidal chamber is a stepped toroidal chamber.

7 . The fuel injector according to claim 1 , further comprising an actuator operatively coupled to the nozzle assembly by a pin, wherein the chamber is disposed about the pin within the body.

8 . The fuel injector according to claim 1 , wherein the chamber includes a chamber cross sectional area, the fuel inlet includes an inlet cross sectional area, the nozzle supply passage includes a supply cross sectional area, and the chamber cross sectional area is comparatively larger than both the inlet cross sectional area and the supply cross sectional area.

9 . The fuel injector according to claim 8 , wherein the body includes a body cross sectional area and the chamber cross sectional area is greater than half the body cross sectional area.

10 . A method for manufacturing a fuel injector, the method comprising the steps of:
generating a 3 dimensional (3D) model of an injector body piece, the injector body piece including:
a fuel inlet defining an inlet dimension;
a nozzle supply passage fluidly coupled to a nozzle assembly of the fuel injector; and
an internal surface defining a chamber within the injector body piece, the chamber defining a chamber dimension, and the fuel inlet being fluidly coupled to the nozzle supply passage via the chamber, wherein the chamber dimension is larger than the inlet dimension;
dividing the 3D model into a series of layers; generating a computer readable set of instructions for fabricating each layer of the series of layers; and fabricating the series of layers based on the computer readable set of instructions, wherein each layer of the series of layers is consolidated with an overlapping portion of a previous layer.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising the step of:
forming the chamber into a toroidal chamber.

12 . The method according to claim 11 , further comprising the step of:
forming the toroidal chamber into a stepped toroidal chamber.

13 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the step of fabricating further comprises the steps of:
depositing a substrate layer; and sintering the substrate layer in a pattern corresponding to the computer readable set of instructions.

14 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising the step of:
forming the chamber to follow a contour corresponding to a pin passageway.

15 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the chamber includes a chamber cross sectional area, the fuel inlet includes an inlet cross sectional area, the nozzle supply passage includes a supply cross sectional area, and wherein the step of fabricating further comprises the steps of:
forming the chamber cross sectional area comparatively larger than both the inlet cross sectional area and the supply cross sectional area.

16 . The method according to claim 15 , wherein the injector body piece includes a body cross sectional area and wherein the step of fabricating further comprises the steps of:
forming the chamber cross sectional area greater than half the body cross sectional area.

17 . The method according to claim 10 , further comprising the steps of:
sealing the nozzle supply passage; and introducing an autofrettage liquid at sufficient pressure via the fuel inlet to cause the internal surface to plastically yield.

18 . A fuel injector component comprising:
a fuel inlet; a nozzle supply passage; and means for accumulating fuel pressure fluidly coupled between the fuel inlet and the nozzle supply passage.

19 . The fuel injector component according to claim 18 , wherein the means for accumulating fuel pressure includes a first cross sectional area, the fuel inlet includes an inlet cross sectional area, the nozzle supply passage includes a supply cross sectional area, and the first cross sectional area is comparatively larger than both the inlet cross sectional area and the supply cross sectional area.

20 . The fuel injector component according to claim 19 , wherein the fuel injector component includes a fuel injector component cross sectional area and the first cross sectional area is greater than half the fuel injector component cross sectional area.

Assignees

• Caterpillar Inc

Inventors

• Shafer Scott F
• Hackett David E
• Habeger Craig

Classifications

• G05B2219/35134

  3-D cad-cam · CPC title

• B29C67/0088

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• G05B2219/49007

  Making, forming 3-D object, model, surface · CPC title

• F02M61/18 Primary

  Injection nozzles, e.g. having valve seats; {Details of valve member seated ends, not otherwise provided for} · CPC title

• G05B19/4099 Primary

  Surface or curve machining, making three-dimensional [3D] objects, e.g. desktop manufacturing · CPC title