Central injection device for internal combustion engines

Abstract

The annulus (20) around the fuel feed stud (8) which seals the rotor (14) of this central injection device is connected to a stowage compartment (40) for intake air by way of a ball bearing (7). In the case of the impeller (31, 35) driven rotor (14), the stowage air pressure counteracts the leakage fuel pressure in the annulus (20). By .[.adapting.]. .Iadd.adopting .Iaddend.the width of the opening of the stowage compartment (40), the stowage air pressure is adjusted to be equal to or slightly higher than the leakage fuel pressure, so that no fuel can flow out of the annulus (20). .[.To enrich the fuel of the air-fuel mixture in the higher load range, a width of opening of the stowage compartment (40) is provided where the stowage air pressure at the corresponding RPM's becomes smaller than the leakage fuel pressure and the rotor (14) delivers additional fuel. .]. A ventilating passage (42) connects the stowage compartment (40) with the annulus (33) which conducts the fuel discharged from the fuel outlet opening (16) to the spray ring (35) below the blades (38). .[.This ventilation ensures an undisturbed fuel delivery into the annulus (33). This injection device produces an air-fuel mixture in which the toxic constituents in the exhaust lie uniformly below the limit values and there are no high peak values for the toxic constituents..]. .Iadd.When the rotor (14) is at rest, an internal fuel level "N" is established therein. During ingested air-driven rotation of the rotor, fuel is sequentially flowed through the fuel feed stud (8) downward across the at-rest fuel level, laterally through the rotor via an internal passage portion (17c) therein, upwardly through the rotor, via an internal passage portion (17d) therein, across the fuel level, and then outwardly through a lateral fuel outlet opening (16) into a concentric annulus (33). The fuel then flows downward through the annulus (33) to the spray ring (35) below the blades (38).

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. In a central injection device for an internal combustion engine having a rotor with an impeller driven by the intake air stream, said rotor being mounted in a housing for rotation about a fixed fuel feed stud connected to a fuel feed conduit and extending into a central borehole of the rotor without contacting same and having a fuel outlet opening lying within the rotor, said rotor having a lateral fuel outlet opening connected to a connecting passage leading within the rotor to the fuel outlet opening of the fuel feed stud, a narrow annulus being provided between the fuel feed stud and the wall of the rotor borehole, the discharge orifice of said annulus, as wall as the lateral fuel outlet opening, lying above a fuel level established when the rotor is at rest, which annulus, in order to seal the rotor, picks up the leakage fuel which is displaced radially by centrifugal forces from the outlet opening of the fuel feed stud lying below the fuel level, the improvement wherein a stowage compartment (40) bounded peripherally by a concentric stowage ring (39) and impacted upon directly by the intake air stream, is connected to the annulus (20), the stowage ring (39) having an inner wall which tapers conically in the direction of the intake air stream, and wherein an air overpressure, which counteracts the leakage fuel pressure, is produced over the stowage compartment (40) in the annulus (20). 
     
     
       2. The device according to claim 1 further having upper and lower ball bearings (6, 7) located at opposite end faces of said rotor (14), the rotor rotating in the housing (1) by means of the ball bearings (6, 7), the improvement wherein the stowage compartment (40) is connected to the discharge orifice (20a) of the annulus (20) via the space between the inner and the outer race of the upper ball bearing (7) which is located upstream of the intake air stream. 
     
     
       3. In a central injection device for an internal combustion engine having a rotor with an impeller driven by the intake air stream, said rotor being mounted in a housing for rotation about a fixed fuel feed stud connected to a fuel feed conduit and extending into a central borehole of the rotor without contacting same and having a fuel outlet opening lying within the rotor, said rotor having a lateral fuel outlet opening connected to a connecting passage leading within the rotor to the fuel outlet opening of the fuel feed stud, a narrow annulus being provided between the fuel stud and the wall of the rotor borehole, the discharge orifice of said annulus, as well as the lateral fuel outlet opening, lying above a fuel level established when the rotor is at rest, which annulus, in order to seal the rotor, picks up the leakage fuel which is displaced radially by centrifugal forces from the outlet opening of the fuel feed stud lying below the fuel level, the improvement wherein a stowage compartment (40) bounded peripherally by a concentric stowage ring (39) and impacted upon directly by the intake air stream, is connected to the annulus (20), a cylindrical suction pin (18) being provided at the bottom of the rotor borehole (15) in the face of which is disposed an inlet opening (17a) of the connecting passage (17) leading to the lateral fuel outlet (16), the fuel feed stud (8) having a hollow cylindrical endpiece (19) which surrounds the suction pin (18) without contacting same and forms a centrifugal seal therewith, and wherein an air overpressure, which counteracts the leakage fuel pressure, is produced over the stowage compartment (40) in the annulus (20). 
     
     
       4. The device according to claim .[.38.]. .Iadd.3.Iaddend., the improvement wherein the fuel feed stud (8) has a depending endpiece (19) defining a large inner end segment (21) of the annulus (20). 
     
     
       5. In a central injection device for an internal combustion engine having a rotor with an impeller driven by the intake air stream, said rotor being mounted in a housing for rotation about a fixed fuel feed stud connected to a fuel feed conduit and extending into a central borehole of the rotor without contacting same and having a fuel outlet opening lying within the rotor, said rotor having a lateral fuel outlet opening connected to a connecting passage leading within the rotor to the fuel outlet opening of the fuel feed stud, a narrow annulus being provided between the fuel feed stud and the wall of the rotor borehole, the discharge orifice of said annulus, as well as the lateral fuel outlet opening, lying above a fuel level established when the rotor is at rest, which annulus, in order to seal the rotor, picks up the leakage fuel which is displaced radially by centrifugal forces from the outlet opening of the fuel feed stud lying below the fuel level, the improvement wherein a stowage compartment (40) bounded peripherally by a concentric stowage ring (39) and impacted upon directly by the intake air stream, is connected to the annulus (20), the lateral fuel outlet opening discharging into a concentric annulus (33) which extends along the length of a mid section (14a) of the rotor, said concentric annulus being sealed shut at its end which lies upstream of the intake air stream and is connected with the stowage compartment (40) by at least one ventilating passage (42) opening into the inside of the annulus (40), said annulus (33) being bounded along its outer periphery by a wall (32) which extends conically in the direction of flow of the intake air and being open at its downstream end via a number of holes (34) toward a concentric spray ring (35) which extends in the direction of flow of the intake air, and wherein an air overpressure, which counteracts the leakage fuel pressure, is produced over the stowage compartment (40) in the annulus (20). 
     
     
       6. The device according to claim 5, the improvement wherein the spray ring (35) is offset radially outwardly relative to the conical wall (32) of the annulus (33) and has an inner wall (36) which tapers conically in the direction of flow of the intake air. .Iadd. 
     
     
       7.  A central injection device for an internal combustion engine, comprising: (a) a hollow, generally cylindrical housing having an axis and adapted to receive and discharge a flow of ingested air;   (b) a rotor having a circumferential array of blades coaxially disposed thereon, and having an upper end and a lower end;   (c) means for coaxially supporting said rotor within said housing for rotation about said axis in response to ingested air flow through said housing;   (d) passage means, formed in said rotor, for defining a pump therein adapted to receive fuel from a source thereof and centrifugally discharge the received fuel from said rotor, said passage means having a fuel level established when said rotor is at rest and including: (1) a centrally disposed axial passage having a lower end positioned below said fuel level,   (2) a first laterally extending passage extending outwardly from said lower end of said first axially extending passage,   (3) a second axial passage extending upwardly from the outer end of said first laterally extending passage to a point above said fuel level,   (4) an annular fuel discharge passage circumscribing said first and second axial passages and extending axially from above said fuel level to below said first laterally extending passage, said annular passage having a fuel discharge opening disposed on a lower end portion thereof, and   (5) a second laterally extending passage having an orifice operably disposed therein and intercommunicating said second axial passage and said annular fuel discharge passage at a location positioned above said fuel level; and     (e) a spray ring coaxially carried by said rotor, said spray ring having a spray edge portion disposed below said rotor blades and positioned to intercept, and form a fuel mist from, fuel discharged through said fuel discharge opening. .Iaddend. .Iadd.   
     
     
       8.  A method of creating a fuel mist discharge from the spinning, bladed rotor of a central injection device for an internal combustion engine, said rotor having an upper end portion, a lower end portion, a fuel outlet opening, and an internal fuel level established when said rotor is at rest, said method comprising the steps of: (a) sequentially flowing fuel downwardly through the rotor and across said fuel level, laterally outwardly through the rotor, upwardly through the rotor and across said fuel level, laterally outwardly through said rotor across metering orifice means therein, downwardly through said rotor and across said fuel level, and outwardly through said fuel outlet opening;   (b) positioning an edge of an atomizing member downstream from the rotor blades; and   (c) flowing fuel discharged from said fuel outlet opening across said edge. .Iaddend. .Iadd.   
     
     
       9.  A central injection device for an internal combustion engine, comprising: (a) a hollow housing;   (b) a rotor having a bladed impeller thereon and being mounted in said housing for rotation in response to an air flow through said housing;   (c) passage means in said rotor for receiving fuel from a source thereof and discharging the received fuel in response to rotation of said rotor, said passage means having a fuel level established by fuel in said rotor when said rotor is at rest, said passage means further having: an upstream section for flowing fuel downwardly across said fuel level,   an intermediate section for receiving fuel from said upstream section below said fuel level and flowing the received fuel upwardly across said fuel level to a downstream end portion of said intermediate section disposed above said fuel level, and   a downstream section communicating with said downstream portion of said intermediate section and extending downwardly therefrom to a level below said fuel level and the impeller blades;     (d) orifice means, disposed in said downstream end portion of said intermediate section of said passage means above said fuel level, for metering fuel flow through said passage means; and   (e) spray edge means, positioned downstream from the impeller blades, for intercepting fuel discharged from said downstream section of said passage means and converting the fuel to a fine mist. .Iaddend. .Iadd.10. The device of claim 9 wherein said downstream section of said passage means comprises an annular fuel discharge passage communicating with the balance   
     
     
        of said passage means through said orifice means. .Iaddend. .Iadd.11.  The device of claim 10 wherein said annular fuel discharge passage is vented 
     
     
        to the exterior of said rotor. .Iaddend. .Iadd.12.  The device of claim 10 wherein said fuel discharge passage has a conically downwardly flared 
     
     
        laterally outer periphery. .Iaddend. .Iadd.13.  The device of claim 9 wherein: said rotor has a central axial bore extending inwardly through an upper end thereof,   said device further comprises a fuel feed stud extending downwardly through said bore without contacting the surface thereof, said fuel feed stud having an internal fuel passage opening downwardly through a lower end surface thereof and defining said upstream section of said passage means,   said intermediate section of said passage means has an axially extending inlet portion having an inlet facing and spaced downwardly from the outlet of said fuel feed stud fuel passage, and   said device further comprises means defining a centrifugal seal circumscribing a portion of said axially extending inlet portion of said intermediate section of said passage means adjacent the outlet of said   
     
     
        internal fuel passage of said fuel feed stud. .Iaddend. .Iadd.14.  The device of claim 13 wherein: said rotor has a hollow cylindrical central intake pin extending axially upwardly into said axial bore of said rotor and internally defining an upper portion of said axially extending inlet portion of said intermediate section of said passage means,   said fuel feed stud has a hollow cylindrical lower end portion circumscribing said intake pin without contacting it, and   said centrifugal seal-defining means include said hollow cylindrical central intake pin and said hollow cylindrical lower end portion of said fuel feed stud. .Iaddend. .Iadd.15. The device of claim 9 further comprising an atomizing ring coaxially carried by said rotor adjacent a lower end portion thereof and having a lower end defining said spray edge   
     
     
        means. .Iaddend. .Iadd.16.  The device of claim 15 wherein said atomizing ring has a conically downwardly tapered inner surface. .Iaddend. 
     
     
        .Iadd.     The device of claim 9 further comprising: upper and lower central support means respectively carried by upper and lower portions of said housing,   upper and lower bearing means respectively carried by said upper and lower central support means and rotatably supporting upper and lower end portions of said rotor,   a central axial bore extending downwardly through said upper end portion of said rotor, and   a fuel feed stud extending downwardly into said bore and defining therein an annular passage, said annular passage communicating with an upper end   
     
     
        of said upper bearing means. .Iaddend. .Iadd.18.  The device of claim 17 further comprising stowage compartment means for intercepting air flowing through said housing, and utilizing the pressure of the intercepted air to impede fuel flow outwardly through said upper bearing means from said 
     
     
        annular passage around said fuel feed stud. .Iaddend. .Iadd.19.  The device of claim 18 wherein said passage means include an annular fuel discharge passage, and wherein said device further comprises a vent passage extending between said annular fuel discharge passage and said stowage compartment means. .Iaddend. .Iadd.20. The device of claim 18 wherein said stowage compartment means are defined by a conically upwardly flared annular upper end portion of said rotor which circumcribes and is spaced laterally outwardly from a lower end portion of said upper bearing means. .Iaddend.