Patent ID: 7032845

Claim:
A fuel injector for direct injection of fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, comprising: a valve-seat member having a valve-seat surface; a valve needle having at its spray-discharge end a valve-closure member, the valve-closure member cooperating with the valve-seat surface on the valve-seat member to form a sealing seat; at least one swirl channel provided in a section of a valve component surrounding the valve needle; at least one spray-discharge orifice provided downstream from the sealing seat for spray-discharging the fuel; and a swirl chamber which tapers in a flow direction of fuel within the swirl chamber, the taper being formed by a section of the valve needle that widens in the flow direction of fuel within the swirl chamber; wherein the swirl channel, when viewed through the swirl channel in a flow direction of the fuel within the swirl channel, is inclined counter to a spray-discharge direction relative to the center axis of the valve needle.