Patent ID: 7309031

Claim:
A fuel injection valve comprising: a fuel injection port; a needle for cutting off the fuel flowing into the fuel injection port; a needle moving means for moving the needle in a direction away from the fuel injection port and thereby allowing the fuel to flow into the fuel injection port; a force application means for applying a force to the needle in the direction away from the fuel injection port only during a period when the degree to which the needle has moved from the fuel injection port by the needle moving means is smaller than a predetermined degree; and a housing for accommodating the needle, wherein the needle, while cutting off the fuel flow into the fuel injection port, is in contact with an inner wall surface of the housing, and when the needle comes off from the inner wall surface of the housing, the fuel is allowed to flow into the fuel injection port, wherein when the needle comes off from the inner wall surface of the housing, the fuel circumvents the needle and flows to the neighborhood of the forward end of the needle through a space between the needle and the inner wall surface of the housing, wherein the predetermined degree corresponds to a point where the fuel flowing between the needle and the inner wall surface of the housing begins to be restricted when the needle comes off from the inner wall surface of the housing, and wherein the force application means comprises a transmission member that applies an urging force to the needle, and when the degree to which the needle has moved from the fuel injection port is smaller than the predetermined degree, the transmission member transmits the urging force to the needle, and when the degree to which the needle has moved from the fuel injection port is not smaller than the predetermined degree, a flange portion of the transmission member comes into contact with another wall surface formed on the housing so that movement of the transmission member is limited and the transmission member does not transmit the urging force to the needle.