Patent ID: 7273036

Claim:
A high-pressure fuel pump ( 10 ) for a fuel injection system ( 56 ), having a housing ( 17 , 47 ), a piston ( 13 ) guided in a cylindrical bore ( 15 ) of the housing ( 17 ), a base plate ( 27 ) in contact with a polygonal ring ( 23 ) on a drive shaft of the pump ( 10 ), said piston ( 13 ) having a first end guided at a first end of said cylindrical bore ( 15 ), said piston ( 13 ) having a free second end guided within a second end of said cylindrical bore ( 15 ), a low-pressure inlet ( 45 ) disposed at the second end of the cylindrical bore ( 15 ), a supply chamber ( 31 ) in which the fuel is compressed by the free end of the piston ( 13 ), an intake valve ( 35 ) disposed between the supply chamber ( 31 ) and the low-pressure inlet ( 45 ), a valve member of the intake valve ( 35 ) being braced against an end of the piston ( 13 ) via a compression spring ( 43 ) disposed in the supply chamber ( 31 ), and a high-pressure outlet, wherein the valve member of the intake valve ( 35 ) is embodied as a ball ( 39 ).