Fuel swirler plate for a fuel injector
US6899290B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 6, 2002 |
| Grant date | May 31, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 1, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF02M61/18
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A fuel swirler plate for improving atomization of fuel in a fuel injector. A plurality of identical fuel supply passages is formed in the plate, each passage including an outer fuel reservoir region; a region having converging walls wherein fuel is accelerated and turned partially tangential to the axis of the plate and fuel injector; a metering region wherein flow is regulated; and an exit region wherein the fuel is combined with similar fuel flows from the other passages to form a high velocity swirl annulus between the swirler plate and a pintle ball of the fuel injector. An advantage of the novel swirl plate over prior art plates is that, when the injector valve is closed, only a very small volume of fuel resides in the swirl annulus between the pintle ball and the exit region of the plate, and such residual fuel is urged rotationally and becomes the leading edge of a new vortex the next time the valve is opened, thus minimizing SAC spray formation. The present invention is useful in fuel cells, burners, and in both direct injection and port injection fuel injectors of internal combustion engines.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.