Fuel injection system

A clip for securing the inlet of a fuel injection nozzle within a tubular outlet extending from a petrol supply manifold has a pair of spaced side plates which are interconnected by a bridging member. The side plates have internal ears which locate in slots on opposite sides of the injector, slots in the side plates which receive a rim on the tubular outlet. The side plates are extended to define tongues which extend into engagement with the surface of the manifold to locate the clip and therefore the injector in a predetermined angular relationship in the tubular outlet.

This invention relates to a clip for use in a petrol injection system of an 
internal combustion engine, a system comprising an elongated hollow petrol 
supply manifold having a plurality of hollow tubular outlets projecting 
from the manifold at spaced intervals therealong, a plurality of injectors 
each having an axially disposed fuel inlet which in use is located within 
a respective one of said tubular outlets, and a plurality of clips which 
serve to secure the injectors relative to the tubular outlets, each of 
said clips comprising a pair of side plates which extend in generally 
parallel spaced relationship, an integral bridging plate which 
interconnects said side plates and a pair of ears extending inwardly from 
said side plates respectively, said ears being shaped for engagement 
within slots formed on opposite sides of the respective injector so that 
the clip is secured to the injector in non-rotatable engagement therewith, 
said side plates having slots respectively which in use accommodate 
portions of a lip formed about each of said outlets whereby the inlet of 
the injector is secured within the respective outlet. 
In the use of the system the manifold is secured to the engine structure 
and the outlet portions of the injectors project into the air inlet ducts 
of the engine. With injectors which have an axially disposed outlet the 
angular disposition of the injectors has little influence on the operation 
of the associated engine. However, where the injectors have two or more 
outlets and produce sprays which may or may not diverge from the axis of 
the injector, it is essential that the angular disposition of the injector 
should be correct so as to ensure that the fuel sprays follow the desired 
paths within the air inlet ducts. 
GB 2073316A discloses one way of ensuring the correct angular disposition 
of a plurality of injectors and in which the fuel inlet manifold also 
carries one part of the electrical connectors which carry electrical 
current to the injectors. The other part of the connector is carried by 
the injector and the two parts of the connector can only be engaged when 
the injectors are in the correct angular relationship. It is not always 
convenient to combine the fuel supplying function and the electrical 
function in a single unit. 
A further example of a mounting arrangement for an injector is seen in EP 
0102164. In this case the clip is provided with a pair of spaced legs 
which locate within slots formed in the opposite sides of the injector and 
also within slots formed in the internal surface of a hollow boss in which 
the injector is mounted. Before the clip can be pushed into position the 
slots in the injector must be aligned with those in the boss a task not 
made easy by the fact that the tubular inlet of the injector in which the 
slots are formed is provided with a seal ring which forms a seal between 
the injector and the wall of the boss. 
The object of the present invention is to provided a clip of the kind set 
forth in a simple and convenient form. 
According to the invention a clip of the kind specified is characterised by 
integral tongues which extend from the side plates respectively for 
engagement with a surface of the manifold, the tongues acting to locate 
the clip and the injector in a pre-determined angular relationship 
relative to the tubular outlets.

Referring to the drawings the injector which is generally indicated at 10 
is of generally stepped cylindrical form and has its outlet end 11 
extending into a recess 12 which forms an extension of a branch 13 of an 
air inlet duct 14 of an engine. Part of the engine structure is indicated 
in sectional outline at 15. The injector has an axially disposed inlet 
which is best seen at 16 in FIG. 4. The injector is electrically 
controlled and part of the electrical coupling is seen at 17 in FIG. 1. 
Fuel is supplied to the fuel inlet 16 of the injector by way of a petrol 
supply manifold which is indicated at 18 in FIG. 1, the manifold in the 
particular example being of circular section and formed from metal. The 
manifold is provided with a support 18A by which it is secured to the 
engine structure 15. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, the manifold 18 is 
provided with a hollow tubular outlet 19 and the manifold will have a 
plurality of such outlets at spaced intervals along the length thereof. 
Each outlet has at its extremity, an annular lip 20. 
The accepted practice is to secure the inlets 16 of the injectors within 
the tubular outlets 19 of the manifold 18 using a clip so that when the 
manifold is removed from the engine structure the injectors remain secured 
to the manifold. Where the outlet of the injector is provided with a pair 
of orifices it is necessary to ensure the correct angular relationship of 
the injector and this can be achieved in accordance with the invention, by 
the use of a clip which is indicated at 21 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The clip is 
seen in greater detail in FIGS. 6 and 7 and referring to these figures the 
clip comprises a pair of side plates 22, 23 which are located in generally 
spaced parallel relationship and which are inter-connected by an integral 
bridging plate 24. The side plates respectively are provided with inwardly 
extending integral ears 25 which can be engaged within slots 26 which 
extend transversely in a cylindrical portion of the nozzle body adjacent 
the inlet 16. Each slot 26 is of part circumferential form and the tongues 
25 have arcuate cut-outs 27 intermediate their ends. The ears also are 
shaped at their end portions remote from the bridging plate to facilitate 
the engagement of the ears within the slots. 
The side plates 22, 23 are each provided with a slot 28 which when the 
inlet of the injector is accommodated within the outlet 19 of the 
manifold, accommodate parts of the lip 20. The engagement of the ears of 
the clip within the slots 26 is set as to prevent angular movement of the 
clip relative to the injector but the engagement of the lip 20 within the 
slots 28 does not prevent angular movement of the injector within the 
outlet. In the example such angular movement is prevented by extending the 
side plates 22, 23 to define tongues 29 the end edges of which are shaped 
to engage with part of the peripheral surface of the manifold 18 on one 
side of a plane including the longitudinal axes of the injectors. In the 
particular example said edges of the tongues are of arcuate form. Since 
the tongues 29 are offset from the axis of the injector, such engagement 
prevents angular movement of the injector and clip and therefore the 
injector is positively located against angular movement within the 
recesses 12. Providing the outlet orifices which are located within the 
outlet 11 of the injector are correctly orientated, the fuel sprays will 
issue in the correct direction within the respective inlet ducts 14.