Fuel injection device for an internal combustion engine

In a fuel injection apparatus for an internal combustion engine comprising a high-pressure fuel pump (10) and a fuel injection valve (12) connected to it for each cylinder of the engine, the high-pressure fuel pump (10) having at least one pump piston (18) that is driven into a stroke motion by the engine and delimiting a pump working chamber (22) that is supplied with fuel from a fuel tank (24), the fuel injection valve (12) having a pressure chamber (40) connected to the pump working chamber (22) and at least one first injection valve element (28), which controls at least one first injection opening (32) and, actuated by the pressure prevailing in the pressure chamber (40), can be moved in an opening direction (29) counter to a closing force in order to open the at least one injection opening (32), with a control valve (68) that at least indirectly controls a connection (66) of the pump working chamber (22) to a relief to chamber (24) and to a pressure source (23) in order to fill the pump working chamber (22) during the intake stroke of the at least one pump piston (18), the improvement wherein the high-pressure pump (10) has two pump pistons (18, 118), including a first pump piston (18) inside of which the second pump piston (118) is guided so it can slide in an at least approximately coaxial fashion, the two pump pistons (18, 118) delimiting the pump working chamber (22), wherein the first pump piston (18) is driven into a stroke motion, wherein the two pump pistons (18, 118) can optionally be coupled to each other and move as a unit during the delivery stroke or the second pump piston (118) can be fixed in a passive position so only the first pump piston (18) executes a delivery stroke, wherein the fuel injection valve (12) has a second injection valve element (128), which is guided in a sliding fashion inside the hollow first injection valve element (28), controls the at least one second injection opening (132), and can be moved by the pressure prevailing in the pressure chamber (40) in an opening direction (29) counter to a closing force, wherein the second injection valve element (128) is at least indirectly acted on by the pressure prevailing in a fuel-filled control pressure chamber (52;

• 252), and wherein the control pressure chamber (52;
• 252) has a connection (53;
• 253) to the pump working chamber (22) controlled by the second pump piston (118), wherein the control pressure chamber (52;
• 252) is disconnected from the pump working chamber (22) when the second pump piston (118) is disposed in its passive position.