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US 11,719,205 B2Granted
Fuel injection system
AssigneeOrbital Australia Pty Ltd
InventorsGeoffrey Paul Cathcart, Stephen John Karay, David James Caley
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AssigneeOrbital Australia Pty Ltd
InventorsGeoffrey Paul Cathcart, Stephen John Karay, David James Caley
Estimating the term…
A dual fluid injection system which comprises a liquid fuel metering device, a fluid delivery device, and apparatus providing an interface therebetween. The interface conveys liquid fuel along a flow path from the metering device to a mixing zone for mixing with air from a pressurized supply to provide an air-fuel mixture for injection by the fluid delivery device into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. The flow path may involve a directional change by way of a turn section. The flow path is sized such that liquid fuel is retained therein by virtue of capillary action, whereby a quantity of liquid fuel is retained after a delivery event such that the flow path remains substantially filled with liquid fuel in readiness for the next delivery event during operation of the engine.
An apparatus for mixing a liquid fuel with air in a dual fluid direct injection system for an internal combustion engine, the apparatus comprising an inlet for receiving a metered quantity of liquid fuel from a liquid fuel metering device comprising a fuel injector, a flow path extending from the inlet for transporting liquid fuel received from the fuel injector at the inlet to a mixing zone at which liquid fuel is admitted into a volume of air to create an air-fuel mixture, the flow path having an inlet end communicating with the inlet and an outlet end communicating with the mixing zone to convey liquid fuel received at the inlet end and to discharge liquid fuel at the outlet end into the mixing zone, wherein a volume of liquid fuel discharged at the outlet end of the flow path corresponds to a volume of the metered quantity of liquid fuel received at the inlet end of the flow path wherein the flow path retains liquid fuel therein by capillary action whereby the flow path remains substantially filled with liquid fuel between delivery cycles, and wherein the flow path comprises a directional change between the inlet end and the outlet end downstream of the fuel injector.
A dual fluid direct injection system comprising
A method of fueling an internal combustion engine, the method comprising providing a flow path having an inlet end, an outlet end and a directional change between the inlet end and outlet end, the flow path retaining liquid fuel therein by capillary action whereby the flow path remains substantially filled with liquid fuel between delivery cycles, delivering a metered quantity of liquid fuel to the flow path at the inlet end, the volume of liquid fuel received at the inlet end serving to drive liquid flow along the flow path and to cause a corresponding volume of liquid fuel to issue at the outlet end of the flow path.
A method of fueling an internal combustion engine, the method comprising transporting a quantity of liquid fuel metered by a liquid fuel metering device comprising a fuel injector around a turn section to an outlet end of a flow path retaining liquid fuel therein by capillary action whereby the flow path remains substantially filled with liquid fuel between delivery cycles, discharging the metered quantity of liquid fuel at the outlet end for mixing with pressurized air to create an air-fuel mixture, and delivering the air-fuel mixture into a combustion space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.