Patent ID: 7481381

Claim:
A fuel injector comprising: an inlet and an outlet and a passage extending along a longitudinal axis from the inlet to the outlet, the inlet communicable with a flow of gaseous fuel; a closure member disposed in at least two positions along the longitudinal axis in the passage; a seat disposed in the passage proximate the outlet, the seat including a sealing surface contiguous to a portion of the closure member in one of the two position of the closure member and a seat orifice extending through the seat from the sealing surface along the longitudinal axis; a flow modifier having a retainer portion and flow modifier portion, the retainer portion being coupled to an outer surface of the outlet, the flow modifier including: a first flow modifier surface and a second flow modifier surface, the first flow modifier surface disposed about the longitudinal axis to define a flow passage in fluid communication with the seat orifice and the second flow modifier surface disposed along and about a first axis generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis to define at least a flow channel, wherein the second flow modifier surface further comprises a second flow channel diametric to the first flow channel along the first axis, and third and fourth flow channels aligned along a second axis orthogonal to the first and longitudinal axes, wherein each of the flow channels comprises a flow channel having a generally circular cross-section about respective first and second axes, wherein the retainer portion comprises: a first retainer surface contiguous to an outer surface of the outlet along the longitudinal axis to define a cylindrical inner retainer surface; a second retainer surface that surrounds the outer surface of the outlet at an oblique angle along the longitudinal axis to define a truncated conic inner retainer surface; and a third retainer surface defining a generally planar surface contiguous to the second retainer surface and the flow modifier portion to define an annular pocket about the longitudinal axis.