Fuel injection cleaning and testing system and apparatus

• US 5,633,457 A
• Filed: 12/05/1994
• Issued: 05/27/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Triangle Special Products
• Original Assignee: Triangle Special Products
• Inventors: Henderson, Robert A., Kilar, John R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chilcot, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dombroske, George M.
• Application Number:
  US08/351,256
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 73/119 A, 73/118.1, 73/116, 239/106, 239/112, 239/113, 123/198 A
• US Class Current: 73/114.45
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 3/06 with compression ignition compression ignition engines using air or gas for blowing fuel into compressed air in cylinder F02B13/02
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 77/04 Cleaning of, preventing corrosion or erosion in, or preventing unwanted deposits in, combustion engines cleaning of fuel injection apparatus F02M65/00
• 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 is described for cleaning the fuel injection system of a vehicle without disassembling the fuel injectors from the vehicle engine. The apparatus includes a pump separate and apart from the vehicle for feeding fuel into the fuel supply system and a controller for controlling the pump. The controller operates at least one fuel injector while the injector is disposed in operable association with said vehicle engine, and the pump operates in a fuel feeding mode and in a fuel withdrawing mode whereby to retract fuel from the system. The system associates said pump with said fuel supplying system and disables said fuel supplying system to permit said pump to be the sole source of the fuel supply for said at least one fuel injector. Further, the apparatus comprises a flow measuring device for measuring the flow of fuel through each injection valve during the operation of the injection valve and while the injection valve is operably secured to and associated with said engine, and a pulse controller for controlling the duration of fuel flow through each injection valve.

Claims

1. An apparatus for cleaning and/or testing the fuel injection valve system of a vehicle engine, wherein said apparatus defines an independent fuel system attachable to the vehicle engine so as to temporarily replace the engine'"'"'s fuel system, the apparatus comprising:

a fuel/chemical mixture tank having an outlet line and a return line in communication, respectively, with fuel inlet and outlet ports of the engine for communicating fuel to one of the fuel injectors;

fuel pump means, separate and apart from the vehicle engine, for pumping fuel/chemical mixture from said tank into the fuel inlet port of said engine;

a fuel filter interposed in said fuel line and between the mixture tank and the fuel pump;

a first sensor means, interposed between the pump and the filter, for detecting the fluid pressure drop across the filter during operation of the pump and generating a first signal;

a second sensor means, downstream of the pump, for detecting the fluid pressure at the inlet to the engine and generating a second signal; and

electronic control means for controlling the operation of the pump during operation of the engine being cleaned, said control means including

first circuit means, connected to the pump and responsive to said first signal, for operating the pump in a fuel feeding mode when the pressure drop is below a predetermined threshold and deactivating the pump when the pressure drop exceeds the predetermined threshold, and

second circuit means, connected to the pump and responsive to said second signal, for operating the pump in a fuel retracting mode whereby to draw the cleaner fluid back to the mixture tank via the outlet line, said first and second circuit means being connected in series with one another.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control means includes timer means for running the pump means a predetermined time.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further including flow measuring means for measuring the flow of fuel through each injector while the injector is operably secured to and associated with the engine, and pulse means for controlling the duration of fuel flow through the injector.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an injector control means separate and apart from the vehicle engine, for selectively operating injectors to enable cleaning and/or testing of the injectors.

5. An apparatus for cleaning and/or testing the fuel injection system of a vehicle engine, the vehicle engine of the type including at least one fuel injector operably secured to and associated with the engine, fuel supplying means including an engine pump for supplying fuel to the fuel injector, injector controlling means for controlling the operation of the fuel injectors whereby to feed fuel to the engine cylinders associated with the injectors, and power means for powering the controlling means, the improvement comprising pump means separate and apart from the vehicle for feeding fuel into the fuel supplying means, control means for controlling the pump means, including control means separate and apart from the vehicle for operating said at least one fuel injector while said injector is disposed in operable association with said vehicle engine and means for operating the pump in the fuel feeding mode and in a fuel withdrawing mode whereby to retract fuel from the system, and means for operably associating said pump means with said fuel supplying means and disabling said fuel supplying means to permit said pump means to be the sole source of the fuel supply for said at least one fuel injector.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the apparatus comprises flow measuring means for measuring the flow of fuel through each injection valve during the operation of the injection valve and while the injection valve is operably secured to and associated with said engine, and pulse means for controlling the duration of fuel flow through each injection valve.

7. A method of cleaning carbon deposits fromt the fuel injectors of vehicle engine having its fuel pump disabled and replaced by a carbon cleaning apparatus having an independent fuel pump and fuel system, said method comprising the steps of:

disconnecting said engine pump from operable relation with said vehicle engine and plugging the inlet and return fuel lines of said engine,

attaching an output and return fuel line of said independent fuel system to said engine to replace the fuel lines communicating with the engine'"'"'s fuel injectors,

presetting the fuel pressure of the apparatus,

connecting a fuel/chemical mixture tank to said output and return lines of said independent fuel system, so as to define a fuel/chemical flow subsystem as required for transferring the mixture from said mixture tank to said engine,

substantially simultaneously pumping fuel to said engine injectors and monitoring pressure drop through said input and output lines, the excess mixture fuel being returned to said mixture tank while said engine is operating,

filtering the fuel/chemical mixture being discharged from said mixture tank,

monitoring pressure drop through said filter, and

discontinuing pumping when the pressure being monitored falls below a preselected value or when a desired flow of fuel has been measured.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 further comprising the steps of monitoring the pressure drop of the fuel into the engine, and

reversing the pump and the direction of fuel flow when the pressure drop monitored at the engine inlet falls below a predetermined value, said pump drawing the excess fluid from the engine and apparatus and directing both through the filter and into the tank.