Patent ID: 7073481

Claim:
A diesel engine (E) for a railroad locomotive comprising: a combustion chamber (C) including a piston (T) movable in the chamber to achieve a compression ratio of greater than 15.5:1 and an air intake valve (IV) and an exhaust valve (EV) whose openings and closings are timed to movement of the piston; an injector (J) injecting fuel into the combustion chamber and having a nozzle (N) comprising a spray diameter of approximately 0.43 mm whose hydraulic flow characteristics effectively reduce particulate matter (PM) produced by combustion of an air-fuel mixture in the chamber to a level that meets Tier 2 requirements established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for such engines; sensors (S 1 â€“S 3 ) sensing various engine operating parameters; and, an engine controller (ECU) responsive to inputs from the sensors as to a current operating status of the engine to control the injector to inject fuel into the cylinder beginning at approximately 3Â° before top dead center (TDC) so the particulate matter and other emissions (NOx) produced by the resulting combustion also meet Tier 2 requirements.