Fuel injector and method for controlling the same
AssigneesHyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
InventorChang Yeol Choi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel injector for a combustion engine is disclosed. The fuel injector includes an injector body having a nozzle orifice, a solenoid coil mounted in the injector body, a control chamber filled with high-pressure fuel, an armature moved by electromagnetic force of the solenoid coil to vary fuel pressure in the control chamber, and a needle that moves to open or close the nozzle orifice according to the variation in the fuel pressure in the control chamber. The fuel injector further includes piezoelectric actuator for adjusting a fuel injection rate by adjusting an opening speed of the nozzle orifice based on a load condition of the engine.
Claims14
A fuel injector comprising:
- an injector body having one or more nozzle orifices;
- a solenoid coil mounted in the injector body;
- a control chamber filled with high-pressure fuel;
- an armature configured to be moved to vary fuel pressure in the control chamber;
- a needle configured to move to open or close the one or more nozzle orifices according to the variation in the fuel pressure in the control chamber;
- and
- an adjustment unit configured to adjust a fuel injection rate by adjusting an opening speed of the nozzle orifices based on a load condition of an engine,
- wherein the adjustment unit includes an actuator interposed between the solenoid coil and the armature.
A method of controlling a fuel injector that includes an injector body having a nozzle orifice, a solenoid coil mounted in the injector body, a control chamber filled with high-pressure fuel and having an inlet passage through which the high-pressure fuel is introduced and an outlet passage through which the high-pressure fuel is drained, an outlet orifice formed in the outlet passage, an armature configured to be moved to vary fuel pressure in the control chamber, a needle configured to move to open or close the nozzle orifice according to the variation in the fuel pressure in the control chamber, and an actuator interposed between the solenoid coil and the armature, the method comprising:
- contracting the actuator to a minimum thickness under a full load condition of an engine;
- and
- expanding the actuator to a predetermined expansion thickness under a partial load condition of the engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.