Fuel injector
AssigneeGas Outboards International Pty., Ltd.
InventorJohn H. Donaldson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Injector apparatus for direct injection of liquefied gas fuels, particularly LPG into internal combustion engines, includes a partially stabilized zirconia tube which incorporates a sliding spool therein for controlling a metering orifice of a nozzle. The spool has a tip which extends beyond the nozzle and into the inducted air steam of an engine. Expanding gas entering the air steam from a central gallery in the spool and via the nozzle cools the tip thereby causing heat to be transferred from the spool to the tip thereof.
Claims25
A fuel injector for injecting fuel into an internal combustion engine characterized in that, said fuel comprises or includes liquified gas fuel and said injector includes a body portion incorporating a metering device for continuously metering the desired quantity of fuel to an inlet air stream of the engine via a nozzle of the injector, whereby said liquified gas fuel is cooled below the boiling point of the gas and thus caused to be in a liquid state prior to passing through said nozzle and when entering said air stream, thereby causing a cooling of said inlet air stream in an expansion zone extending from said nozzle into said air stream and wherein at least a portion of the fuel injector extends into said expansion zone such that sufficient heat is transferred from said fuel injector to said expansion zone to maintain said liquified gas fuel in a liquid state in the fuel injector.
A method of injecting fuel into an internal combustion engine, characterized in that, said fuel comprises or includes liquified gas fuel and said method includes causing said fuel to be cooled to a temperature below the boiling point thereof prior to injection into an inlet air stream of the engine by the step of transferring heat from incoming said fuel at a pre-injection zone into an expansion zone in said air stream.
A fuel injector for injecting fuel into an internal combustion engine, said fuel comprising or including liquified gas fuel and said injector including a metering device for continuously metering the desired quantity of fuel to an inlet air stream of the engine via a nozzle of the injector, a heat transfer member extending between a pre-expansion zone upstream of said nozzle and an expansion zone downstream of said nozzle and in said air stream, whereby heat is transferred from said pre-expansion zone to said expansion zone to thereby cool said fuel to a temperature below the boiling point of the gas prior to and for passage through said nozzle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.