Patent ID: 7568634

Claim:
An injection nozzle for use in delivering fuel to an internal combustion engine, the injection nozzle comprising: a supply passage for delivering fuel to first and second injection nozzle outlets, an outer valve that is engageable with an outer valve seat so as to control fuel delivery into the engine through the first nozzle outlet, an inner valve that is slidable within a bore provided in the outer valve and engageable with an inner valve seat so as to control fuel delivery into the engine through the second nozzle outlet, and a switching valve, for controlling whether only one of the first and second nozzle outlets or both of the first and second nozzle outlets together are open to allow delivery of fuel therethrough, wherein the switching valve is arranged within the supply passage and defines an inlet side, an outlet side and a flow passage to permit fuel to flow past the switching valve to the first and second nozzle outlets, wherein the switching valve is moveable between an open state and a closed state in response to a change in the pressure of the fuel supplied to the supply passage, wherein, in use, when the switching valve is in said open state, only one of the first and second nozzle outlets is open to allow delivery of fuel therethrough, and, when the switching valve is in said closed state, both of the first and second nozzle outlets together are open to allow delivery of fuel therethrough, and wherein the flow passage within the switching valve provides a conduit for fuel from the supply passage to the downstream regions of the nozzle both when the switching valve is open and when the switching valve is closed.