IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0968386
(2004-10-19)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Linna,Jan Roger
- Baron,John
- Pellizzari,Roberto O.
- Loftus,Peter
- Palmer,Peter
- Mello,John Paul
- Sprague,Stuart Bennett
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출원인 / 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
3 인용 특허 :
68 |
초록
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A fuel injector for vaporizing a liquid fuel for use in an internal combustion engine. The fuel injector includes at least one capillary flow passage, a heat source arranged along the at least one capillary flow passage, the heat source operable to heat the liquid fuel in the at least one capillary
A fuel injector for vaporizing a liquid fuel for use in an internal combustion engine. The fuel injector includes at least one capillary flow passage, a heat source arranged along the at least one capillary flow passage, the heat source operable to heat the liquid fuel in the at least one capillary flow passage to a level sufficient to change at least a portion thereof from the liquid state to a vapor state and deliver a stream of substantially vaporized fuel from the outlet end of the at least one capillary flow passage; and a valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine, the valve located proximate to the outlet end of the at least one capillary flow passage, the valve including a low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine; wherein the low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine is formed of a material having low mass and or a low coefficient of thermal conductivity. The fuel injector is effective in reducing cold-start and warm-up emissions of an internal combustion engine.
대표청구항
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What is claimed is: 1. A fuel injector for vaporizing and metering a liquid fuel to an internal combustion engine, comprising: (a) at least one capillary flow passage having an inlet end and at least one outlet end; (b) a heat source arranged along said at least one capillary flow passage, said hea
What is claimed is: 1. A fuel injector for vaporizing and metering a liquid fuel to an internal combustion engine, comprising: (a) at least one capillary flow passage having an inlet end and at least one outlet end; (b) a heat source arranged along said at least one capillary flow passage, said heat source operable to heat the liquid fuel in said at least one capillary flow passage to a level sufficient to change at least a portion thereof from the liquid state to a vapor state and deliver a stream of substantially vaporized fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage; and (c) a valve for metering substantially vaporized fuel to the internal combustion engine, said valve located downstream of said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage, said valve including a low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine; and (d) a nozzle to atomize a portion of the liquid fuel; wherein said low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine is formed of a material having low mass and/or a low coefficient of thermal conductivity. 2. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein said low mass member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is a plug member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage. 3. The fuel injector of claim 2, wherein said low mass plug member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is axially aligned with said at least one capillary flow passage. 4. The fuel injector of claim 2, wherein said low mass plug member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is tangentially alignable with said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage. 5. The fuel injector of claim 2, wherein said low mass plug member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is a hollow sleeve member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage. 6. The fuel injector of claim 5, wherein said low mass hollow sleeve member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is axially aligned with said at least one capillary flow passage. 7. The fuel injector of claim 6, wherein said low mass hollow sleeve member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine has an internal cross sectional area effective for positioning said hollow sleeve member over said at least one capillary flow passage enabling the stream of fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage to be substantially occluded. 8. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein said low mass member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is a spherical plug member. 9. The fuel injector of claim 8, wherein said at least one capillary flow passage is positionable to enable said outlet end to contact an outer surface of said low mass spherical plug member and occlude the stream of fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage. 10. The fuel injector of claim 1, further comprising: (e) means for cleaning deposits formed during operation of the apparatus injector. 11. The fuel injector of claim 10, wherein said means for cleaning deposits includes said heat source and an oxidizer control valve for placing said at least one capillary flow passage in fluid communication with an oxidizer, said heat source also being operable to heat the oxidizer in said at least one capillary flow passage to a level sufficient to oxidize deposits formed during the heating of the liquid fuel, wherein said oxidizer control valve for placing said at least one capillary flow passage in fluid communication with an oxidizer is operable to alternate between the introduction of liquid fuel and the introduction of oxidizer into said capillary flow passage and enable in-situ cleaning of said capillary flow passage when the oxidizer is introduced into said at least one capillary flow passage. 12. The fuel injector of claim 11, wherein the oxidizer comprises air, exhaust gas, steam and mixtures thereof. 13. The fuel injector of claim 10, wherein said means for cleaning deposits includes a solvent control valve for placing said at least one capillary flow passage in fluid communication with a solvent, said solvent control valve disposed at one end of said at least one capillary flow passage, and wherein said solvent control valve for placing said at least one capillary flow passage in fluid communication with a solvent is operable to alternate between the introduction of liquid fuel and the introduction of solvent into said capillary flow passage and enable in-situ cleaning of said capillary flow passage when the solvent is introduced into said at least one capillary flow passage. 14. The fuel injector of claim 13, wherein the solvent comprises liquid fuel from the liquid fuel source and wherein the heat source is phased-out during cleaning of said capillary flow passage. 15. The fuel injector of claim 10, wherein the means for cleaning deposits employs a solvent comprising liquid fuel from the liquid fuel source and wherein the heat source is phased-out during cleaning of said capillary flow passage. 16. The fuel injector of claim 1, further including a solenoid to actuate said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine. 17. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein said at least one capillary flow passage is a helical passage. 18. The fuel injector of claim 1, further comprising a non-capillary liquid fuel flow passage, said non-capillary liquid fuel flow passage having an inlet end and an outlet end, said inlet end in fluid communication with the liquid fuel supply. 19. The fuel injector of claim 18, further comprising: (e) a first fluid control valve for placing said inlet end of said capillary liquid fuel flow passage in fluid communication with a liquid fuel supply, and (f) a second fluid control valve for placing said inlet end of said non-capillary liquid fuel flow passage in fluid communication with the liquid fuel supply, wherein both of said fluid control valves for placing said inlet end of said capillary liquid fuel flow passage in fluid communication with a liquid fuel supply and said valve for placing said inlet end of said non-capillary liquid fuel flow passage in fluid communication with the liquid fuel supply share a valve body controllable to direct fuel to said at least one capillary flow passage and said liquid fuel flow passage. 20. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein said heat source includes a resistance heater. 21. A fuel system for use in an internal combustion engine, comprising: (a) a plurality of fuel injectors, each injector including (i) at least one capillary flow passage having an inlet end and an outlet end; (ii) a heat source arranged along the at least one capillary flow passage, said heat source operable to heat the liquid fuel therein in said at least one capillary flow passage to a level sufficient to change at least a portion thereof from the liquid state to a vapor state and deliver a stream of substantially vaporized fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage; (iii) a valve for metering substantially vaporized fuel to the internal combustion engine, said valve located downstream of said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage, said valve including a low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine; wherein said low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine is formed of a material having a low mass and/or a low coefficient of thermal conductivity; (iv) a nozzle to atomize a portion of the liquid fuel; (b) a liquid fuel supply system in fluid communication with said plurality of fuel injectors; and (c) a controller to control the supply of fuel to said plurality of fuel injectors. 22. The fuel system of claim 21, wherein said low mass member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is a plug member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage. 23. The fuel system of claim 22, wherein said low mass member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is a hollow sleeve member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage. 24. The fuel system of claim 23, wherein said low mass hollow sleeve member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine is axially aligned with said at least one capillary flow passage. 25. The fuel system of claim 24, wherein said low mass hollow sleeve member has an internal cross sectional area effective for positioning said hollow sleeve member of said valve for metering fuel to the internal combustion engine over said at least one capillary flow passage enabling the stream of fuel from said outlet end of said at least one capillary flow passage to be substantially occluded. 26. The fuel system of claim 21, further comprising means for cleaning deposits formed during operation of the apparatus. 27. The fuel system of claim 26, wherein said means for cleaning deposits includes said heat source and an oxidizer control valve for placing said at least one capillary flow passage in fluid communication with an oxidizer, said heat source also being operable to heat the oxidizer in said at least one capillary flow passage to a level sufficient to oxidize deposits formed during the heating of the liquid fuel, wherein said oxidizer control valve for placing said at least one capillary flow passage in fluid communication with an oxidizer is operable to alternate between the introduction of liquid fuel and the introduction of oxidizer into said capillary flow passage and enable in-situ cleaning of said capillary flow passage when the oxidizer is introduced into said at least one capillary flow passage. 28. The fuel system of claim 26, wherein the means for cleaning deposits employs a solvent comprising liquid fuel from the liquid fuel source and wherein the heat source is phased-out during cleaning of said capillary flow passage. 29. The fuel system of claim 21, wherein said at least one capillary flow passage is a helical passage. 30. The fuel system of claim 21, wherein said heat source includes a resistance heater. 31. A method of delivering fuel to an internal combustion engine, comprising the steps of: (a) supplying liquid fuel to at least one capillary flow passage of a fuel injector; (b) causing a stream of substantially vaporized fuel to pass through an outlet of the at least one capillary flow passage by heating the liquid fuel in the at least one capillary flow passage; (c) metering the vaporized fuel to a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine through a valve located downstream of the outlet end of the at least one capillary flow passage, the valve including a low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine; and (d) atomizing a portion of the liquid fuel through a nozzle; wherein the low mass member for substantially occluding the stream of fuel to the internal combustion engine is formed of a material having a low mass and/or a low coefficient of thermal conductivity. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein said delivery of vaporized fuel to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine is limited to start-up and warm-up of the internal combustion engine. 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising delivering liquid fuel to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine when the internal combustion engine is at a fully warmed condition. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein a liquid fuel injector is operated to deliver liquid fuel to the at least one combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. 35. The method of claim 31, further comprising cleaning periodically the at least one capillary flow passage. 36. The method of claim 35, wherein said periodic cleaning comprises (i) halting liquid fuel flow to the at least one capillary flow passage, (ii) supplying an oxidizer to the at least one capillary flow passage and (iii) heating the at least one capillary flow passage whereby deposits formed in the at least one capillary flaw passage are oxidized. 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising selectively supplying fuel and oxidizer to the at least one capillary flow passage, wherein the supply selection is achieved by a valve mechanism operated by a controller. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the oxidizer includes pressurized air, exhaust gas, steam and mixtures thereof. 39. The method of claim 35, wherein said periodic cleaning comprises (i) phasing-out said heating of the at least one capillary flow passage, (ii) supplying a solvent to the at least one capillary flow passage, whereby deposits formed in the at least one capillary flow passage are removed. 40. The method of claim 39, wherein the solvent includes liquid fuel from the liquid fuel source.
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