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AssigneeCummins Engine Company, Inc.
InventorsGary L. Gant, George L. Muntean, Harry L. Wilson, John R. Youngblood, Mark S. Cavanagh
Estimating the term…
A stepped rotation fuel distribution valve for receiving and conducting metered, pressurized fuel pulses to the combustion cylinders of a diesel engine is provided. The valve includes a fuel distribution shaft rotatably mounted in a valve housing. The shaft includes a fuel discharge port that is sequentially registrable with fuel distributing passages in the housing that ultimately lead to the diesel fuel injectors associated with the combustion cylinders of the engine. A drive mechanism, which may include a stepper motor, intermittently rotates the fuel distributor shaft so that the shaft discharge port dwells in registration with one of the fuel distributing passages at the time a pressurized pulse of fuel is discharged through the shaft discharge port. The drive mechanism may also include either a set of timing gears or a spring coupling to achieve the desired intermittent rotation. In all cases, the intermittent rotation of the fuel distribution shaft prevents the shaft from rotating at a time when the discharge of a highly pressurized fuel pulse applies a high side load to the shaft which in turn can generate high frictional forces between the fuel distribution shaft and the surrounding housing.
A fuel distribution valve for receiving metered, pressurized fuel pulses and conducting said fuel pulses to the combustion cylinders of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
A fuel distribution valve for receiving metered, pressurized fuel pulses and conducting said fuel pulses to the combustion cylinders of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
A method for distributing metered, pressurized fuel pulses to the combustion cylinders of an internal combustion engine by means of a distributor valve having a fuel distribution shaft rotatably mounted in a bore in a distributor housing, wherein said shaft has a discharge port for sequentially discharging said fuel pulses into a plurality of angularly spaced fuel distributing passages communicating with said housing bore, comprising the step of intermittently rotating said shaft in said bore such that the angular position of said shaft dwells in registration with one of said distributing passages whenever a fuel pulse is discharged from said shaft discharge port to prevent said shaft from rotating during a high side load.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.