Patent ID: 7530506

Claim:
A fuel injection valve comprising: a cylindrical case constructed of a magnetic metal, said metal case including an upstream end through which a pressurized fuel is led into a fuel passage defined in the metal case and a downstream end from which the fuel is injected to a given portion through fuel injection nozzles; a core tube constructed of a magnetic metal, said core tube being received in the cylindrical case and having an upstream end facing the upstream end of the cylindrical case and a downstream end facing the downstream end of the cylindrical case; a valve seat member provided at the downstream end of the cylindrical case at a position upstream of the fuel injection nozzles; a valve element axially movably received in the cylindrical case between the core tube and the valve seat member, the valve element including a structural base that is directed toward the downstream end of the core tube and a valve head that is directed toward the valve seat member; a biasing member that biases the valve element toward the valve seat member; and an electromagnetic coil that forces the valve element to move toward the downstream end of the core tube against the biasing force of the biasing member when energized, wherein the structural base of the valve element is a sintered magnetic metal member and has a relative density ranging from approximately 95 % to approximately 98 %, and wherein the structural base has, at an end thereof that is contactable with the downstream end of the core tube, a notched surface for suppressing a sticking of the end of the structural base to the downstream end of the core tube.