Patent ID: 8662423

Claim:
A nozzle for a fuel injector to supply an atomised liquid fuel, the nozzle comprising: a laminar arrangement of components, comprising: an electrode comprising a substantially planar electrically conductive member containing an electrode aperture, an edge of the electrode aperture enabling the electrode to impart a charge, a first planar member and a second planar member, and a first insulating member and a second insulating member, the first insulating member located above the electrode and the second insulating member located below the electrode, the first insulating member located on an outlet side of the nozzle; and a swirler supplying a swirling flow of a liquid fuel to the electrode aperture; and wherein an axis about which the liquid fuel swirls within the electrode aperture is generally perpendicular to the plane of the electrode and the laminar arrangement, and wherein the edge of the electrode aperture imparts the charge to the swirling flow of liquid fuel within the electrode aperture whereby the nozzle supplies a plurality of charged droplets of atomised fuel, wherein the first planar member is located on an outer planar side of the first insulating member and the second planar member located on an outer planar side of the second insulating member, wherein the first insulating member has a first aperture and the second insulating member has a second aperture, respectively, which are substantially coaxial with the electrode aperture, and wherein the first planar member comprises an outlet orifice to supply the plurality of charged droplets of atomised fuel.