Fluid Injector Actuator with Resilient Armature Overtravel Feature

A fuel injector, comprising:

• a valve assembly;
• a body having an internal surface defining a bore therein, the internal surface including a first body shoulder at least partly facing a longitudinal direction defined along a longitudinal axis of the bore;
• a first armature disposed within the bore, the first armature being configured to generate a force in response to a first electromagnetic field acting thereon;
• a first stem operatively coupled to the first armature and a first valve of the valve assembly;
• a first pair of shoulders disposed on the first stem, the first pair of shoulders at least partly facing one another and defining a first stem circumferential groove therebetween;
• and
• a first valve travel spacer disposed about the first stem circumferential groove in interference with the first body shoulder along the longitudinal direction.

A method for assembling an actuator for a valve, comprising:

• inserting a distal end of a stem through a bore of an armature;
• inserting the distal end of the stem through a bore of an actuator body;
• and
• translating a valve travel spacer along a radial channel of the actuator body until the valve travel spacer engages a circumferential groove of the stem, thereby disposing the valve travel spacer between the distal end of the stem and the actuator body along a longitudinal axis of the stem.