Fuel injection cleaning and testing system and apparatus

• US 4,520,773 A
• Filed: 09/13/1984
• Issued: 06/04/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1982
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Essex Group Incorporated (LS Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Miller Special Tools Division Triangle Corporation
• Inventors: Koslow, James R.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US06/650,345
• Time in Patent Office: 264 Days
• Field of Search: 123/198 A, 134/116, 134/123, 134/169 A
• US Class Current: 123/198.00A
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 77/04 Cleaning of, preventing corrosion or erosion in, or preventing unwanted deposits in, combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 65/001 Measuring fuel delivery of a fuel injector
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 65/008 of injectors only

Abstract

A method and apparatus for cleaning and testing the fuel injection system of a vehicle without disassembling the fuel injectors from the vehicle engine. The cleaning apparatus comprises a mechanism for feeding a solvent-fuel cleaning mixture into the fuel supplying system of the engine, a control system for the feeding mechanism and a series of connectors between the fuel injection system and both the feeding mechanism and the control system. The method includes connecting the feeding mechanism and the control system to the engine fuel injection system and running the apparatus to clean the fuel injectors on site without disassembling the fuel injectors from the vehicle engine. The testing apparatus may be performed statically or dynamically with the cleaning apparatus. The static testing mechanism involves disassembly of the fuel injectors from the engine. The dynamic testing apparatus comprises the cleaning apparatus, a flow meter, and added electrical controls in the control system including a selector switch to select the individual fuel injection valve to be tested. The dynamic testing method includes calibrating the apparatus flow meter, connecting the feeding mechanism and the control system to the engine fuel injection system and running the apparatus to measure the flow through the fuel injection valve by the flow meter.

Claims

1. An apparatus for cleaning and testing the fuel injection valve system of a vehicle engine, said valve system including at least one electronically pulsed fuel injection valve operably secured to and associated with said engine, means for supplying fuel to said at least one valve, means for controlling said at least one electronically pulsed valve to feed fuel to said engine, and means for powering said controlling means, said apparatus comprising:

means for feeding a liquid into said fuel supplying means of said vehicle engine, comprising;

an outlet conduit,

means for storing a supply of said liquid,

means separate from said fuel supplying means for pumping said liquid from said storing means to said outlet conduit, and

means for communicating said storing means with said pumping means;

means for controlling said liquid feeding means, comprising;

means for operating said at least one electronically pulsed fuel injection valve disposed in operable association with said vehicle engine,

switch means for determining the commencement or cessation of operation of said feeding means, and

means for operably associating said valve operating means and said switch means with said powering means;

means for operably associating said outlet conduit of said feeding means with said valve fuel supplying means and disabling said valve fuel supplying means to permit said feeding means to be the source of the fuel supply for said at least one fuel injection valve;

means for measuring the flow through one fuel injection valve at a remote location during operation of the injection valve while the injection valve is operably secured to and associated with said engine, said measuring means being integrated with said fuel supplying means;

a device for transporting said control, said communicating means, said pumping means, said storage tank, said outlet conduit and said measuring means to and from operable association with said engine; and

valve means disposed on said transporting device for actuating said measuring means when said valve means is disposed in a first position and for bypassing said measuring means when said valve means is disposed in a second position, said measuring means being readily removable from operable association with said valve system by operably disassociating said outlet conduit operably associating means from said feeding means.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising timer means overriding said switch means for ceasing operation of said apparatus after a selected amount of time.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said timer means includes means for controlling the operation of said pumping means.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein said timer means further includes means for controlling the operation of said fuel injection valve operating means.

5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein said timer means includes means for controlling the operation of said fuel injection valve operating means.

6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises means for purging said feeding means which includes means for overriding said controlling means.

7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said measuring means further comprises means for filtering said mixture.

8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said feeding means further comprises means for regulating the pressure of said mixture downstream of said pumping means.

9. An apparatus in accordance with claim 8, wherein said feeding means further comprises a pressure gauge.

10. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, wherein said valve system comprises a plurality of fuel injection valves disposed on one engine.

11. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further comprising means for calibrating said measuring means and at least one master injection valve against which said measuring means may be calibrated.

12. An apparatus for cleaning and testing the fuel injection valve system of an engine, said valve system including at least one electronically pulsed fuel injection valve operably associated with said engine, means for supplying fuel to said at least one valve, means for controlling said at least one valve to feed fuel to said engine, and means for powering said controlling means, said apparatus comprising:

a source of power;

means for feeding either a cleaning liquid or fuel into said fuel supplying means of said engine, comprising

an outlet conduit,

means for storing a supply of said liquid or fuel,

means for pumping said liquid or fuel from said storing means to said outlet conduit, and

means for communicating said storing means with said pumping means;

a control for said liquid or fuel feeding means, comprising

means for operating said at least one electronically pulsed fuel injection valve disposed in operable association with said engine,

switch means for determining the commencement or cessation of operation of said feeding means and said operating means, and

means for operably associating said valve operating means and said feeding means with said source of power;

means for operably associating said outlet conduit of said feeding means with said valve fuel supplying means to supply liquid or fuel to said at least one fuel injection valve from said storing means of said feeding means;

means for measuring the flow through said at least one fuel injection valve during operation of the valve while the valve is operably secured to and associated with said engine, comprising

flow meter means disposed at a location remote from said vehicle engine,

first control valve means for permitting flow from said pumping means to said flow meter means, and

second control valve means for permitting flow from said flow meter means to said at least one fuel injection valve; and

a portable frame to which said feeding means, said control, and said measuring means are connected, and to which said flow meter means is mounted, to be transported to and from said engine.

13. An apparatus in accordance with claim 12, wherein said flow meter means comprises at least two separate flow meters and said measuring means further comprising third control valve means for selecting the flow meter to be used.

14. An apparatus in accordance with claim 12, wherein said measuring means including means for calibrating said flow meter means of each apparatus against at least one master fuel injection valve.

15. An apparatus for testing the fuel injection valve system of a vehicle engine, said valve system including at least one electronically pulsed fuel injection valve operably secured to and associated with said engine, means for supplying fuel to said at least one valve, means for controlling said at least one valve to feed fuel to said engine, and means for powering said controlling means, said apparatus comprising:

means for feeding fuel into said fuel supplying means of said vehicle engine, comprising;

an outlet conduit,

a tank for storing a supply of said fuel,

means for pumping said fuel from said storing tank to said outlet conduit, and

means for communicating said storing tank with said pumping means;

a control mechanism for said fuel feeding means, comprising

means for operating said at least one electronically pulsed fuel injection valve disposed in operable association with said vehicle engine,

first switch means for controlling the commencement or cessation of operation of said feeding means and said apparatus fuel injection valve operating means, and

means for operably associating said valve operating means and said manual switch means with said powering means;

means for operably associating said outlet conduit of said feeding means with said valve fuel supplying means and disabling said valve fuel supplying means to permit said feeding means to be the source of the fuel supply for said at least one fuel injection valve;

means for measuring the flow through an individual injector during operation of the testing apparatus while the injector is disposed on the engine, including second switch means for determining the commencement of flow measurement by said measuring means said measuring means being associated with and disassociated with said injector by means of the association or disassociation of said outlet conduit with said fuel supplying means; and

a transporting device to which said fuel feeding means, said control mechanism and said flow measuring means are attached.

16. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said measuring means includes multiple means for measuring fuel injector flow rates to be capable of measuring fuel injectors included in either standard or turbocharged vehicle engines as desired.

17. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said valve system comprises a plurality of fuel injection valves disposed on one engine and said controlling means for said fuel feeding means includes means for selecting an individual fuel injector to be tested.

18. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said manual switch means further includes timer means for controlling the length of time of operation of said fuel injection valve operating means and said fuel pumping means.

19. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said apparatus further comprises means for calibrating said measuring means including a master injector calibrated to said apparatus and operable to be fed by said feeding means and controlled by said operating means of said controlling means and means for adjusting said means for measuring to properly calibrate said measuring means prior to testing injectors on an engine.

20. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said switch means includes means for separately controlling the commencement or cessation of operation of said feeding means separate from said fuel injection valve operating means.

21. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said feeding means further comprises means for filtering said mixture.

22. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said feeding means further comprises means for regulating the pressure of said mixture downstream of said pumping means.

23. An apparatus in accordance with claim 15, wherein said feeding means further comprises a pressure gauge.

24. An apparatus for testing the fuel injector system of a vehicle engine, said injector system including at least one electronically pulsed fuel injector operably associated with said engine, means for supplying fuel to said at least one injector, means for controlling said at least one injector to feed fuel to said engine, and means for powering said controlling means, said apparatus comprising:

a source of power;

means for feeding fuel into said fuel supply means of said vehicle engine, comprising,

an outlet conduit,

means for storing a supply of said fuel,

means for pumping said fuel from said storing means to said outlet conduit, and

means for communicating said storing means with said pumping means;

means for controlling said fuel feeding means, comprising

means for operating said at least one electronically pulsed fuel injector disposed in operable association with said vehicle engine,

switch means for determining the commencement or cessation of operation of said feeding means and said injector operating means, and

means for operably associating said injector operating means and said switch means with said source of power;

readily removable means for operably associating said outlet conduit of said feeding means with said injector fuel supplying means to supply fuel to said at least one fuel injector from said storing means of said feeding means; and

means for measuring the flow through an individual fuel injector at a location remote from said injector during operation of the injector while the injector is operably associated with said engine, wherein said measuring means is associated and disassociated with said injector via the association and disassociation of said outlet conduit with said injector fuel supplying means.