Patent ID: 8549842

Claim:
An air-assisted fluid injector, comprising: a one-piece injector nozzle comprising: a protruding head on one end and on another end; an opposed nozzle tip having an exposed injector face; and a cylindrical section disposed between the protruding head and the nozzle tip, the injector nozzle having a fluid conduit that extends from a fluid inlet in the protruding head toward the injector face and that opens into a plurality of fluid outlet conduits in the nozzle tip that extend to a corresponding plurality of spaced apart fluid outlets on the injector face; an injector housing having a nozzle bore and an outer surface, the injector nozzle sealably disposed in, and the cylindrical section entirely enclosed within, the nozzle bore, the exposed injector face on the nozzle tip projecting from the nozzle bore; an air conduit comprising; a head portion having an air inlet disposed in the protruding head, and a housing portion disposed within and —extending through the injector housing, the housing portion opening into a plurality of air outlet conduits disposed in the nozzle tip, each air outlet conduit extending to and opening into a respective fluid outlet conduit, wherein the air conduit is configured to receive a pressurized airflow at the air inlet and pass it through the head portion into the housing portion and then into the air outlet conduits; and an injector housing boss having a boss housing portion on one end and a nozzle portion on another end, the outer surface of the injector housing disposed within the boss housing portion, the injector nozzle disposed within the nozzle portion, the nozzle portion comprising an outwardly tapering bore that encloses and extends outwardly away from the injector face.