Abstract:
The invention relates to a control module for fluid control in injection systems, having a valve body ( 2 ) in which valve needles ( 6, 24 ) of control valves ( 5, 17 ) are received. With these control valves ( 5, 17 ), the pressure buildup or pressure relief of control chambers ( 30 ) or nozzle chambers of injectors can be varied. The control valves ( 5, 17 ) in the valve body ( 2 ) are electromagnetically actuatable, and magnet coils are received in recesses ( 9, 20 ) of insert elements ( 19, 32 ) or in recesses ( 9 ) in the valve body itself.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a 35 U.S.C. 371 application of PCT/DE01/03737, filed on Sep. 28, 2001. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     If the ever more stringent regulations for motor vehicle emissions are to be met, it is necessary for the fuel combustion proceeding in internal combustion engines to be shaped, via injection courses that can be varied, in such a way that an optimal course of combustion in terms of emissions can be achieved. This requires an injection system that is equipped with actuating devices that have the shortest possible response times and that impose precisely defined stroke paths on the control valves of a control module in injection systems. High demands in terms of durability and operational reliability must be made of these actuating devices. 
     PRIOR ART 
     An injection system configured for meeting the above legal specifications requires actuating devices that on the one hand must have a long service life and on the other must have high operating reliability. Moreover, via the actuating devices, short control valve trigger times must be attainable; another goal is to steer the valve control body of the control valves into various positions, in order to increase or decrease the injection pressure in controlled fashion. 
     If piezoelectric actuators are used in injection systems, then short response and switching times for control valves of an injection system can be achieved. However, it remains uncertain whether the piezoelectric actuators already used have the requisite durability for an injection system, and whether the operating reliability still exists after a relatively long time in operation. 
     In operation in internal combustion engines, especially internal combustion engines used in utility vehicles, piezoelectric actuators are exposed to extremely severe conditions in use, such as temperature fluctuations and jarring. Utility vehicles are usually designed for a life of 1 million kilometers or more, and hence the durability of an injection system must also be designed for such a long life. 
     From European Patent Disclosure EP 0 823 549 A2, an injector for an injection system in internal combustion engines is known. In the injector housing of this reference, two in-line control valves are provided, which are triggered by a magnet. The triggering of one of the two valves necessarily causes the actuation of the other valve as well. The advantage of this embodiment is the pressure equilibrium of the needle control valve in all operating states, while conversely there is also the disadvantage that decoupling of the reciprocation events of the two in-line valves cannot be done, which limits the capabilities of exerting influence to shape the course of injection. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The embodiment proposed according to the invention, by means of a miniaturized control part design, offers the advantage of creating a compact control module. Both the durability and reliability of electromagnets used as a switching device are also an undisputed and generally acknowledged technical fact. By miniaturizing the components with a corresponding flux density to be achieved in the electromagnet coil in cooperation with the magnet yoke surrounding the coil, a degree of compactness of the control module in an injection system is attained such that it is possible to accommodate such a control module in existing systems, for instance in utility vehicle motors, without major changes in the installation space. 
     Advantages in terms of installation space can even be attained by means of a reduced-size version of the control module proposed according to the invention, since the lateral attachments on the injector that are required in piezoelectric actuators for injection of fuel at high pressure into the combustion chambers of an internal combustion engine can be omitted entirely. 
     The actuating devices, embodied as electromagnets, of the control module proposed according to the invention can be switched, depending on their function, such that both control valves of the control module are closed when without current, or both control valves can be switched into the open position when without current. This is preferably achieved by means of spring elements provided on the control valve bodies of the control valves. However, it is also possible to keep one of the two control valves closed when without current, while positioning the other control valve into the open state when without current. 
     In the control module proposed according to the invention, a variant embodiment, with a favorable effect on both the possible uses and the space needed, allows disposing the magnet yoke—the nonmoving part of the electromagnet—in the valve body of the control module, by suitable recessing for accommodating the coil. As a result, the material of the valve body can simultaneously serve as a magnetic conductor, which lowers the cost. The recesses that receive the magnet coils in the valve body can also be disposed in separate components, which can for instance be made from a high-quality soft-magnetic material. A combination of these two possibilities for disposing or accommodating the magnet coils of an electromagnet is also possible. 
     If separate inserts that receive the magnet coils are built into the valve body of the control module, then they can be connected to the valve body by various methods. On the one hand, it is possible for the insert elements, which receive the magnet coils and are provided with annular recesses, to be screwed into the valve body; on the other hand, the insert elements, surrounding the magnet coils in cup-shaped fashion, can also be conceived of as being press-fitted or clamped into the valve body. Moreover, a positive-engagement connection of the insert element receiving the recess for the magnet coil to the valve body can be done by material-engagement connection, such as soldering or welding. 
     In a way that favorably affects the production costs, the valve needles for both control valves can be made with the same diameter. As a result, identical production methods can be employed; moreover, stockpiling and storage costs can be favorably affected by the principle of using identical parts. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention is described in further detail below in conjunction with the drawing; in which 
         FIG. 1 , a control module with recesses for magnet coils, the recesses being received parallel but with a height offset from one another, for magnet coils; 
         FIG. 2 , a control module of  FIG. 1 , in which a separate receiving element for the magnet coil is let into the valve body on one of the control parts; 
         FIG. 3 , the parallel disposition of two control parts in the valve body with separate receiving inserts for receiving the magnet coils; 
         FIG. 4 , the parallel disposition of two control valves in the control module, whose actuating magnet coils are both received in recesses in the valve body; and 
         FIG. 5 , a variant of a control module with control valves, in which compression springs surround the control valve bodies in their upper region. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  shows a detailed section through the control module, proposed according to the invention, with recesses, received parallel therein but with a height offset from one another, for electromagnets that actuate the valve control bodies. 
     In a sectional view,  FIG. 1  shows that in a valve body  2  of the control module  1 , which valve body is received symmetrically to its axis of symmetry  3 , two control valves  5 ,  17  acting parallel to one another are received. The first control valve  5  includes an essentially vertically extending valve needle  6 . The valve needle  6  is embodied as a rotationally symmetrical component that is symmetrical to the line of symmetry  11 . An annular magnet armature  7  is received in the upper region of the valve needle  6  and surrounds the valve needle  6  over the full surface area above a taper  8  thereon. 
     In the part of the valve body  2  located below the radial width of the magnet armature  7 , an encompassing recess  9  is embodied for receiving the magnet coil of an electromagnet. The region of the valve body  2  surrounding the recess  9  in the valve body  2  can therefore be considered to be the magnet yoke of the electromagnet. In the lower region of the first control valve, a leak fuel chamber  10  surrounding the constriction point of the valve needle  6  is embodied. 
     Located above the leak fuel chamber  10  in the valve body  2  is the valve seat  12 , closed by the seat face of the valve needle  6 , by way of which seat the annular chamber  14  embodied in the valve body  2  can be pressure-relieved. On the lower end of the valve needle  6 , there is a mandrel  15 , which serves as a guide face for the first few windings of a spring element  16 , which is also supported, as a restoring element, in the valve body  2 . 
     Also received in the valve body  2  is a second control valve  17 , which is described with a height offset relative to the first control valve  5  already described. A bore  18  is received in the valve body  2  of the control module  1 , and an annularly configured insert element  19  is let into this bore. In the annularly configured insert element  19 , which comprises a high-quality soft-magnetic material, there is a recess  20  for the coil of an electromagnet. The annularly configured insert element  19  is pierced by a bore with a sleeve let into it. A compression element is braced on one end on a ring  21  secured to the sleeve, and on the other end it is guided in a mandrel-shaped extension  22 , which is embodied on the valve needle  24  of the second control valve  17 . Below the mandrel  22 , the valve needle  24  of the second control valve  17  is provided with a platelike element or valve plate  23 , which can be moved vertically up and down by the electromagnet, whose coil is received in the recess  20  of the insert element  19 . 
     In the lower region of the second control valve  17 , there is an annular chamber  25  annularly surrounding the valve needle  24 . On the lower end of the valve needle  24 , the valve seat  26  is embodied, which opens and closes the annular chamber  25  that surrounds the valve needle  24 . 
     Coaxially to the axis of symmetry  3  of the valve body  2 , there is an injector piston  31  in the valve body  2 ; its conically tapering end protrudes into a control chamber designated by reference numeral  30 . The control chamber  30  has an inlet, not shown, and an annular outlet  28 , which can have a throttle element  29  let into it. The annular chamber outlet  28  discharges into the annular chamber  25 , which surrounds the lower region of the valve needle  24  of the second control valve  17 . An outlet  27  branches off from the annular chamber  25 , and by way of this outlet the control volume emerging from the control chamber  30  drains into a reservoir. 
       FIG. 2  shows a control module of  FIG. 1  in further detail, in which a separate receiving element for a magnet coil is let into the valve body at one of the control valves. 
     From a comparison of  FIG. 1 , already described, and  FIG. 2 , it can be seen that the part located to the right of the line of symmetry  3  of the valve body  2 , that is, the second control valve  17  in  FIG. 2 , is identical to the control valve  17  of  FIG. 1 . The sole difference is that there is no throttle element  29  in the annular chamber inlet  28  in the configuration of  FIG. 2 . 
     In a distinction from the variant embodiment, described in  FIG. 1 , of the first control valve  5 , the electromagnet that activates the first control valve  5 , that is, its magnet coil, is located in recesses  9  of an insert element  32 , which is maximally surrounded by the valve body  2 . In a preferred possible design for the insert element  32 , this element can be made from high-quality soft-magnetic material. To improve the switching dynamics, the material of the insert element  32  serving as a magnet yoke can be provided with recesses extending axially in slitlike form. Preferably, slitlike-configured recesses can be embodied on the insert element or also in the valve body  2  in the region of the recesses  9  for receiving the magnet coils. The insert element  32  shown in  FIG. 2  can either be screwed into the valve body  2  or press-fitted into it or clamped into it or welded or soldered to it, in order to enter into a permanent connection with the valve body  2  of the control module  1 . 
     Analogously to  FIG. 1 , in a variant embodiment of the control module  1  of the invention that has a height offset  34  of the control valves  5  and  17  to one another, there is a control chamber  30  into which the conically tapering end of an injector piston  31  protrudes. The control chamber  30  in the valve body  2  can be pressure-relieved via the annular chamber inlet  28 , the annular chamber  25 , the second control valve  17 , and the outlet  27  communicating with them. 
       FIG. 3  shows the parallel disposition of two control valves in the valve body with insert elements for receiving the magnet coils of electromagnets in further detail. 
       FIG. 3  shows that the two control valves  5  and  17  received in the valve body  2  of the control module  1  are structurally exactly identical. The valve needles  6  and  24  of the first control valve  5  and second control valve  17 , respectively, are embodied with the same diameter, making it possible to attain production of the control module proposed according to the invention and in accordance with  FIG. 3  by the principle of identical parts. The use of identical parts is especially simple from a production standpoint and helps keep production costs low. 
     In the case of the valve needles  6  and  24  of the two control valves  5 ,  17 , respectively, that are received in the valve body, a cup-shaped needle receiving element  36  is assigned on the lower end, which element is engaged via the spring  16  braced at the bottom—not shown here—on the valve body  2 . As a result, a restoring force can be imposed on the valve needles  6  and  24  of the first control valve and second control valve  17 , respectively. 
     From  FIG. 3 , it can be seen that the magnet coils of the electromagnets that actuate or activate the control valves  5  and  17  are surrounded in recesses  9  by insert elements  32 . In this version of the control module of the invention, the magnet coils are received in separate built-in parts in the valve body  2 . Analogously to the provisions shown in  FIG. 2 , the insert elements  32  can be let into the valve body  2  side by side. Both insert elements  32  can be identical components, and both insert elements  32  preferably comprise a high-quality soft-magnetic material acting as a magnet yoke. 
     In this embodiment of the control module  1  proposed according to the invention as well, the insert elements  32 , in whose recesses  9  the magnet coils of the electromagnets are received, can be screwed to the valve body  2 , press-fitted into it, or clamped to it. A connection between the valve body  2  and insert element  32  by positive engagement, such as by welding or soldering, is also conceivable. The configuration of the annular chambers  14  and  25 , the leak fuel chambers  10 , the corresponding sealing seats  13  and  26 , and the disposition of injector pistons  31 , the control chamber  30  in the valve body, and the annular chamber inlet  28  and annular chamber outlet  27  are identical to the configurations already sketched in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     From  FIG. 4 , the parallel disposition of two control valves is shown in further detail; their actuating magnet coils are both received in recesses of a valve body. 
     In this embodiment, an especially low-height configuration of a control module  1  for fluid control, for instance in injection systems that inject fuel that is at high pressure, can be achieved by providing that the recesses  9  that receive the magnet coils are embodied directly in the valve body  2 . Thus the material comprising the valve body  2  can advantageously be employed as a magnetic conductor. Moreover, the insert elements  32  of high-quality soft- magnetic material, which increase the structural height of the valve body, can be omitted. The annular magnet armatures  7  received on the valve needles  6  and  24  convert the axial reciprocating motion, which is generated by the switching of the magnet coils that are received in the recesses  9  of the valve body  2 , into vertical reciprocating motion of the respective valve needles  6  and  24 .  FIG. 4  shows an embodiment of a control module  1  that is especially compact in structure; in it, the recesses  9  for the magnet coil, the annular chamber  14  and  25  surrounding the respective valve needles  6  and  24  approximately centrally, the adjoining sealing seat  12  and  26 , and the adjoining leak fuel chambers  10  are all located especially close together and in line. 
     In this embodiment as well, the injector piston is embodied coaxially to the axis of symmetry  3  of the valve body  2 . 
     The embodiment of  FIG. 5  shows a variant of a control module with control valves in which spring elements are embodied surrounding the control valve bodies in their upper region. 
     Unlike the parallel dispositions of the control valves  5  and  17  in the valve body  2  of the control module  1  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , in the variant embodiment of  FIG. 5  the spring elements  16  are each located in the upper region of the valve body  2 . The spring elements  16  are penetrated on the one hand by the valve needles  6  and  24  and to avoid kinks are located on the insides of bores in the insert elements  32 . The insert elements  32  have annularly extending recesses  9 , which receive the magnet coils of the electromagnets that actuate the control valves  5  and  17 . In this exemplary embodiment of the concept on which the invention is based as well, the insert elements  32  can be made from high-quality soft-magnetic material; moreover, the insert elements  32  can be permanently connected to the valve body  2  of the control module  1  by the already-described methods of screwing, welding, soldering, or press-fitting or clamping. In the upper region of the valve needle  6  and  24 , this needle is surrounded by an annular magnetic armature  7 ; the region of the valve needle  6  and  24  receiving the magnet armature  7  forms a stop face for the compression spring that penetrates the bore in the insert element  32 . On the other hand, the compression spring  16 , surrounded by the insert element  32 , is braced on a ring which in turn rests flat on the valve body  2 . With this variant embodiment of the control module  1  proposed according to the invention, the valve body  2  can be optimized to provide that the material surrounding the magnet coils of the electromagnet can be selected optimally in terms of its magnetic properties, regardless of the material comprising the valve body  2 . 
     From  FIG. 5 , it can be seen that the two control valves  5  and  17  are configured as identical components and do not differ from one another in either diameter or attachment parts. Only the annular chambers  14  and  25 , which are embodied in the housing in the valve body  2  and surround the valve needles  6  and  24  in the lower region, differ in terms of the orifice of an annular chamber inlet  28  or an annular chamber outlet  27 , which are associated with the annular chamber  25  of the second control valve  17 . 
     From  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 , variant embodiments of a control module  1  can be seen in further detail in which the two control valves  5  and  17  contained in the control module are disposed symmetrically to one another and have the same structural height. Moreover, both control valves  5  and  17 , that is, their valve needles  6  and  24 , respectively, have the same production diameter, so that identical parts can be used. 
     From  FIGS. 1 and 2 , it can be seen that inside a valve body  2  of a control module  1 , at a first control valve  5 , the coil of an electromagnet can be received in recesses  9  embodied in the valve body  2 , while the electromagnet of the second control valve  17 , also received in the valve body  2 , of the control module  1  can be surrounded by an insert of high-quality soft-magnetic material in a bore  18 . The same is true for the variant embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , in which analogously to  FIG. 1  a height offset of the two control valves  5  and  17  to one another can be seen. 
     The foregoing relates to preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention, it being understood that other variants and embodiments thereof are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention, the latter being defined by the appended claims.