Dual travel seated pin valve assembly
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorClifford E. Cotton, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
When an engine is cold-started, the engine oil is quite viscous and requires larger passageways to flow through the engine than when the engine is warmed up and the engine oil flows readily. The present invention relates to a pin valve assembly which may be used on a fuel injector of an engine. The pin valve assembly of the present invention includes a movable shuttle which allows for a relatively large fluid flow space within the pin valve assembly when the engine is cold, and then moves to reduce the fluid flow space when the engine oil is less viscous and requires less room to flow as desired. Therefore, the advantages of a relatively large fluid flow space as well as a shorter pin travel distance within the pin valve assembly are both preserved.
Claims19
A dual travel seated pin valve assembly, comprising:
- a valve body defining a lower seat;
- a shuttle body defining an upper seat;
- a pin having a first contact surface and a second contact surface and movable along a pin axis between the lower seat and the upper seat;
- a pin actuator operative to selectively move the pin along the pin axis;
- wherein the shuttle body is movable between a first shuttle position and a second shuttle position along the pin axis;
- and
- a shuttle actuator, wherein the shuttle actuator selectively actuates to move the shuttle body between the first shuttle position and the second shuttle position.
A dual travel seated pin valve assembly, comprising:
- a valve body defining a lower seat;
- a shuttle body defining an upper seat;
- a pin having a first contact surface and a second contact surface and movable alone a pin axis between the lower seat and the upper seat;
- wherein the shuttle body is movable between a first shuttle position and a second shuttle position along the pin axis;
- a shuttle actuator, wherein the shuttle actuator selectively actuates to move the shuttle body between the first shuttle position and the second shuttle position;
- a latching mechanism adapted to retain the shuttle body in the second shuttle position;
- and
- wherein the latching mechanism is a hydraulic latch.
A dual travel seated pin valve assembly, comprising:
- a valve body;
- a first movable shuttle body defining an upper seat;
- a second movable shuttle body defining a lower seat;
- a pin having a first contact surface and a second contact surface and movable along a pin axis between the lower seat and the upper seat;
- and
- wherein the first shuttle body is movable between a first shuttle position and a second shuttle position along the pin axis.
A method of controlling a fluid flow space, comprising:
- defining the fluid flow space within a valve body between an upper seat and a lower seat;
- moving at least one of the upper seat and the lower seat by energizing a shuttle actuator;
- changing a volume of the fluid flow space;
- and
- moving a pin toward one of the upper seat and the lower seat by energizing a pin actuator.
A hydraulically-actuated fuel injector, comprising:
- a seated pin valve, including:
- a pin adapted to travel between a first pin position and a second pin position;
- a pin actuator operative to selectively move the pin along the pin axis;
- a valve body defining a lower seat at the first pin position;
- a shuttle body defining an upper seat at the second pin position and adapted to move between a first shuttle position and a second shuttle position;
- and
- a shuttle actuator adapted to move the movable shuttle between the first shuttle position and the second shuttle position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.