| Fuel injector with a metering assembly having a seat molded to a polymeric support member -> Monitor Keywords |
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Fuel injector with a metering assembly having a seat molded to a polymeric support memberRelated Patent Categories: Fluid Sprinkling, Spraying, And Diffusing, Including Valve Means In Flow Line, Reciprocating, Injection Nozzle Type, Electromagnetically Operated Valve (e.g., Ball-type), Elongated Armature With Integral ProjectionFuel injector with a metering assembly having a seat molded to a polymeric support member description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070187532, Fuel injector with a metering assembly having a seat molded to a polymeric support member. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
PRIORITY [0001] This application is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/014,691, filed Dec. 20, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Appl. Ser. No. 60/531,206, filed Dec. 19, 2003 and entitled "Plastic Bodied Fuel Injector," which application is incorporated herein in its entirety into this application. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Examples of known fuel injection systems use an injector to dispense a quantity of fuel that is to be combusted in an internal combustion engine. The quantity of fuel that is dispensed is varied in accordance with a number of engine parameters such as engine speed, engine load, engine emissions, etc. [0003] Known electronic fuel injection systems monitor at least one of the engine parameters and electrically operate the injector to dispense the fuel. It is believed that examples of known injectors use electromagnetic coils, piezoelectric elements, or magnetostrictive materials to actuate a valve. [0004] A known fuel injector utilizes a plethora of internal components such as a metallic inlet tube connected to a valve body via a non-magnetic shell with a pole piece interposed therebetween. The inlet tube, valve body, non-magnetic shell and pole piece are generally affixed to each other after a closure assembly and a metering assembly are disposed in the valve body. A solenoid coil is inserted over the assembled components and the entire assembly is molded into the fuel injector. [0005] It is believed that one known fuel injector utilizes a plastic body molded over a solenoid coil to provide a plastic inlet fuel passage with a metallic valve body being coupled to the solenoid coil. [0006] It is believed that another known fuel injector utilizes two separate subassemblies to form the fuel injector. The first subassembly can include a complete coil assembly and electrical connector molded into an outer casing to provide a power group. The second subassembly can include an inlet tube, pole piece, non-magnetic shell valve body, closure assembly and metering assembly affixed together to form a stand alone fuel group. The two sub-assemblies are formed separately and coupled together to provide an operable fuel injector. [0007] While the known fuel injectors are suited to the task of metering fuel, it is believed that the known fuel injectors may have certain assembly or component drawbacks that require extensive manufacturing process to be undertaken to ensure that the injector are suitable for commercial applications. They can include, for example, the necessity for multiple seal points between components to provide leak integrity in the injector and a large number of manufacturing steps that are undertaken. These seals can be effectuated by elastomeric seals, such as, O-rings, or multiple hermetic welds to ensure structural and leak integrity of the known fuel injectors. Others include the potential manufacturing difficulties associated with thermal distortion in welding multiple metallic components at close proximity to each other or the need for a metal valve body with internal resilient seals for leak integrity. Yet another drawback can include the utilization of lift setting components that must be inserted into the valve body of the fuel injector. Thus, it would be advantageous to reduce or even eliminate some of these drawbacks. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] The present invention provides for, in one aspect, a fuel injector that is believed to reduce or eliminate these drawbacks of the known fuel injectors while maintaining substantially the same operative performance. The fuel injector of the present invention utilizes a minimal number of seal points and is designed so that an interface between a potential leak point is hermetically sealed by a polymer-to-polymer seal. [0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, the fuel injector includes a polymeric housing, pole piece, filter assembly, coil assembly, spring member, armature assembly and metering assembly. The polymeric housing has a passageway extending between an inlet and an outlet along a longitudinal axis. The pole piece is disposed in the passageway, the pole piece having a through opening. The filter assembly has a portion disposed in the through opening of the pole piece. The coil assembly is disposed in the polymeric housing to surround the pole piece. The spring member is disposed partly in the pole piece and including a spring portion contiguous with the portion of the filter assembly. The armature assembly is disposed in the passageway in a first position having a first portion confronting the pole piece and in a second position having a closure member contiguous to an end face of the pole piece. The metering assembly has an O-ring disposed between a seat molded to a polymeric support member. The polymeric support member includes a peripheral portion bonded to the polymeric housing proximate the outlet. [0010] In yet another aspect, the present invention provides for a method of a method of making a metering assembly at an outlet of a fuel injector. The method can be achieved by molding a metering assembly having a seat and a polymeric support member, the seat including a peripheral portion molded to the polymeric support member; and securing the polymeric support member to the polymeric housing. BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention. [0012] FIG. 1A is a representation of a fuel injector according a preferred embodiment. [0013] FIG. 1B is an illustration of a polymeric bodied fuel injector housing that includes a complete coil assembly. [0014] FIG. 1C is an illustration of a metering assembly that can be bonded to the housing of FIG. 1B. [0015] FIG. 2A illustrates another embodiment of the polymeric bodied fuel injector. [0016] FIG. 2B illustrates another metering assembly that can be bonded to the polymeric bodied fuel injector of FIG. 2A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0017] FIGS. 1A-1C and 2A-2B illustrate the preferred embodiments of a fuel injector 100 or 200. Referring to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2A, the fuel injector 100 or 200 includes a continuous polymeric housing 10 extending from an inlet 12 to an outlet 14 along a longitudinal axis A-A. The polymeric housing 10 includes a polymeric wall surface 10A that directly faces the longitudinal axis A-A to define a first passage 16 in which fuel can flow from the inlet 12. The first passage 16 extends from the inlet 12 to communicate with a second passage 18 formed-by a plurality of internally mounted components. The first passage 16 includes the polymeric bore 10A that extends from a first external seal 20 proximate the inlet 12 to a second external seal 22 proximate an outlet 14 along the longitudinal axis A-A. Disposed within a portion of the polymeric bore 10A is a metering assembly 24 proximate the second external seal 22. A closure assembly 26 is disposed proximate the metering assembly 24, which is coupled to a rim portion 28 at the outlet end 14 of the polymeric housing 10. A portion of the closure assembly 26 is disposed in the polymeric bore 10A and between the first and second external seals 20, 22. The first passage 16 can be provided with a plurality of stepped surfaces 30, 32, 34 (FIG. 1B) defining a plurality of diameters for the polymeric bore 10A. The polymeric bore IOA can also include an inward (i.e., towards the longitudinal axis A-A) surface to define a guide surface 36 for a reciprocable closure member. The inward surface preferably includes a tapered surface 36. The polymeric housing 10 can be formed from a suitable polymeric material such as, for example, Nylon 6-6 with about 30 percent glass filler. [0018] As shown in FIG. 1B, the polymeric housing 10 provides a complete solenoid coil subassembly that is ready for assembly with the metering and closure assemblies. In particular, the polymeric housing 10 includes a solenoid coil assembly 38 disposed within the polymeric housing 10 so that no part of the coil assembly 38 extends outside the boundary of the polymeric housing 10. The solenoid coil assembly 38 is connected to at least one electrical terminal 40 formed on an electrical connector portion 42 of the polymeric housing 10. The terminal 40 and the electrical harness connector portion 42 can engage a mating connector, e.g., part of a vehicle wiring harness (not shown), to facilitate connecting the injector 100 or 200 to an electrical power supply (not shown) for energizing the electromagnetic coil 48. [0019] The coil assembly 38 includes a coil housing 44 disposed about the longitudinal axis A-A to surround a bobbin 46 and at least one wire coiled about the bobbin 46 to form an electromagnetic coil 48. The coil housing 44, which provides a return path for magnetic flux, generally takes the shape of a ferro-magnetic cylinder surrounding the electromagnetic coil 48. A flux washer 50 can abut a top surface of the bobbin 46 so that the flux washer 50 is in physical contact with the coil housing 44. The flux washer 50 can be integrally formed with or separately attached to the coil housing 44. The coil housing 44 can include holes 35, slots, or other features to break up eddy currents, which can occur when the coil 48 is de-energized. Continue reading about Fuel injector with a metering assembly having a seat molded to a polymeric support member... Full patent description for Fuel injector with a metering assembly having a seat molded to a polymeric support member Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Fuel injector with a metering assembly having a seat molded to a polymeric support member patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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