Fuel control cross shaft

Abstract

The invention is concerned with an improved fuel injection control system which is useful with an internal combustion engine comprising a pair of pluralities of equal numbers of cylinders with said pairs of pluralities of cylinders being aligned side by side and including a pair of pluralities of fuel injection pumps in one-to-one relation with said cylinders. The improved system serves to control each of the pumps to operate simultaneously and to deliver a generally equal amount of fuel to each respective cylinder. The improved control system comprises a pair of control shafts, one aligned parallel to each of the pairs of pluralities of cylinders and generally perpendicular to the axis of each of said cylinders and spaced laterally therefrom. The system further includes a pair of pluralities of fuel injector pump control link means, each of said pairs of pluralities of pump control link means being movable responsive to rotation of a respective one of said control shafts, each of said pump control link means controlling fuel injection from a respective one of said pumps to a respective corresponding cylinder. Also part of the control system is a cross shaft extending from adjacent a respective one of said control shafts to adjacent a respective other thereof, and mounted to rotate about a longitudinal axis thereof. Still further a part of the system is means for controlling rotation of the cross shaft about the longitudinal axis thereof and means communicating the cross shaft with each of the control shafts to cause an equal rotation of each of the control shafts about a longitudinal axis thereof responsive to a rotation of the cross shaft about the longitudinal axis thereof.

I claim: 
     
       1. In an internal combustion engine comprising a pair of pluralities of equal numbers of cylinders with said pairs of pluralities of cylinders being aligned side by side, and including a fuel injector pump for each of said cylinders, an improved system for controlling each of said pumps to operate simultaneously and to deliver a generally equal amount of fuel to each respective cylinder, comprising: a pair of control shafts, one aligned parallel to each of said pairs of pluralities of cylinders generally perpendicular to the axes of each of said cylinders and spaced laterally therefrom;   a pair of pluralities of fuel injector pump control link means, each of said pairs of pluralities of link means being movable responsive to rotation of a respective one of said control shafts, each of said link means controlling fuel injection from a respective one of said pumps to a respective corresponding cylinder;   a cross shaft extending from adjacent a respective .Iadd.end of .Iaddend.one of said control shafts to adjacent a respective .Iadd.end of the .Iaddend.other .Iadd.of said control shafts .Iaddend.thereof .Iadd.in coplanar relation therewith.Iaddend., and mounted to rotate about a longitudinal axis thereof;   means for controlling rotation of said cross shaft about a longitudinal axis thereof; and means communicating said cross shaft with .Iadd.the ends of .Iaddend.each of said control shafts to cause an equal rotation of each of said control shafts about a longitudinal axis thereof responsive to a rotation of said cross shaft and about a longitudinal axis thereof.   
     
     
       2. An improved control system as in claim 1, wherein said cross shaft--control shaft communicating means comprises a pair of control levers, one mounted adjacent each end of said cross shaft and extending generally latitudinally therefrom, each of said control levers including a generally rounded section spaced from said cross shaft and wherein said system includes a pair of follower levers, one extending generally latitudinally from each of said control shafts, each of said follower levers including a slotted section spaced from a respective one of said control shafts, said rounded sections of said control levers each fitting within a respective slotted section of a respective one of said follower levers, rotation of said cross shaft causing simultaneous rotation of said control levers which each bear against a respective one of said follower levers causing rotation thereof which in turn causes a simultaneous and generally equal rotation of each respective one of said control shafts. 
     
     
       3. An improved control system as in claim 2, wherein said engine comprises a V engine. 
     
     
       4. An improved control system as in claim 3, including an electronic governor controlling rotation of said cross shaft. 
     
     
       5. An improved control system as in claim 4, including an operator-shiftable manual control for overriding said electronic governor to provide a capability for safety shut-off of fuel from said fuel injector pumps. 
     
     
       6. An improved control system as in claim 5, wherein said fuel injector pump control link means comprise racks.