US 2026/0251111 A1Published application

Fuel system with self-optimizing fuel control valve

AssigneeDeere & Company

InventorsJoel D. Parr, Mark R. Stocker, Joshua M. Dawkins

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Abstract

A fuel system for an engine of a work vehicle is disclosed. The fuel system includes a fuel rail coupled to fuel injectors, a fuel pump delivering pressurized fuel to the fuel rail, a control valve configured to control flow through the fuel pump, and a controller coupled to the sensor arrangement and the control valve. The controller having processing and memory architecture executing logic commands to control the control valve to assess the rail pressure and the engine speed to threshold values, operate the control valve to seat or unseat the valve head of the control valve to initiate and sustain delivery of pressurized fuel from the fuel pump to the fuel rail at a normal operating pressure above 10,000 psi during a normal operation, and cycle the control valve to repeatedly seat and unseat the valve head in succession during a subnormal operation.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A fuel system for an engine of a work vehicle, the fuel system comprising:

a fuel rail to which are coupled fuel injectors that are in turn coupled to the engine;
a fuel pump delivering pressurized fuel to the fuel rail to be distributed to the fuel injectors;
a sensor arrangement including a pressure sensor detecting a rail pressure at the fuel rail and an engine sensor detecting a speed, load, or temperature of the engine;
a control valve configured to control flow through the fuel pump, the control valve having:
a valve body defining a flow passage upstream from the fuel rail and the pressurized fuel and leading from a valve passage that is disposed about a valve axis in which is disposed a valve head, the valve head configured to seat against the valve body to close off the flow passage;
and
a valve actuator coupled to the valve body and controllable to move the valve head along the valve axis to seat or unseat the valve head;
and
a controller coupled to the sensor arrangement and the control valve and having processing and memory architecture executing logic commands to control the control valve to:
assess the rail pressure and the engine speed, load, or temperature relative to threshold values;
operate the control valve to seat or unseat the valve head of the control valve to initiate and sustain delivery of the pressurized fuel from the fuel pump to the fuel rail at a normal operating pressure above 10,000 psi during a normal operation of the engine as determined by the controller based on the assessment of the rail pressure and the engine speed, load, or temperature;
determine a subnormal engine operation condition based on the pressure sensor or the engine sensor or receipt of an engine shutdown command;
after determining a subnormal engine operation condition, cycle the control valve to repeatedly seat and unseat the valve head in succession;
determine an engine start condition based on the pressure sensor or the engine sensor or receipt of an engine start command;
and
after determining an engine start condition, terminate cycling the control valve.

13 more elements

An engine of a work vehicle, the engine comprising:

a plurality of fuel injectors;
a fuel rail coupled to the plurality of fuel injectors;
a fuel pump delivering pressurized fuel to the fuel rail to be distributed to the fuel injectors;
a sensor arrangement including a pressure sensor detecting a rail pressure at the fuel rail and an engine sensor detecting a speed, load, or temperature of the engine;
a control valve configured to control flow through the fuel pump, the control valve having:
a valve body defining a flow passage upstream from the fuel rail and the pressurized fuel and leading from a valve passage that is disposed about a valve axis in which is disposed a valve head, the valve head configured to seat against the valve body to close off the flow passage;
and
a valve actuator coupled to the valve body and controllable to move the valve head along the valve axis to seat or unseat the valve head;
and
a controller coupled to the sensor arrangement and the control valve and having processing and memory architecture executing logic commands to control the control valve to:
assess the rail pressure and the engine speed, load, or temperature relative to threshold values;
operate the control valve to seat or unseat the valve head of the control valve to initiate and sustain delivery of the pressurized fuel from the fuel pump to the fuel rail at a normal operating pressure above 10,000 psi during a normal operation of the engine as determined by the controller based on the assessment of the rail pressure and the engine speed, load, or temperature;
determine a subnormal engine operation condition based on the pressure sensor or the engine sensor or receipt of an engine shutdown command;
after determining a subnormal engine operation condition, cycle the control valve to repeatedly seat and unseat the valve head in succession;
determine an engine start condition based on the pressure sensor or the engine sensor or receipt of an engine start command;
and
after determining an engine start condition, terminate cycling the control valve.

14 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.