A nozzle assembly of a fuel injector includes a nozzle body in which a needle member is adapted to translate. The nozzle assembly is further provided with an electrical circuit so that an electrical signal enabling contact detection is measurable between the needle member and the nozzle body. The nozzle assembly also includes a piezoresistive device which continuously varies the electrical signal during the final closing displacements, or the initial opening displacements, of the needle, the variations of the signal being a function of a differential pressure.

An assembly at least comprising a fuel injector for dual fuel operation of an internal combustion engine. The assembly includes a nozzle holder defining a fuel circuit and provided with a nose adapted in use to be in connection with a combustion space of an internal combustion engine, and first and second nozzles in communication with the fuel circuit in the nozzle holder for directly injecting liquid fuel into the combustion space of the internal combustion engine for ignition of a combustible mixture present in the combustion space. The first and second nozzles adjacent to the nose of the nozzle holder are interconnected by a cooling channel. At each actuation of a fuel pump upstream of the first and second nozzles, substantially a full volume of fuel pumped during actuation of the fuel pump is allowed to flow through the cooling channel and via the first and second nozzles.

Methods and systems are provided for continuously estimating a direct injector tip temperature based on heat transfer to the injector from the cylinder due to combustion conditions, and heat transfer to the injector due to flow of cool fuel from the fuel rail. Variations in the injector tip temperature from a steady-state temperature are monitored when the direct injector is deactivated. Upon reactivation, a fuel pulse width commanded to the direct injector is updated to account for a temperature-induced change in fuel density, thereby reducing the occurrence of air-fuel ratio errors.

A dual-fuel internal combustion engine with a device for regulating the internal combustion engine, with at least two piston-cylinders, a fuel injector assigned to the piston-cylinder units for a liquid fuel, which has an injector needle. Each piston-cylinder unit has a gas supply device for fuel, wherein the regulating device controls the fuel injector and the at least one gas supply device individually for metering of the quantity of the liquid or gaseous fuel supplied to each piston-cylinder unit. At least one needle sensor is connected to the regulating device and assigned to the respective piston-cylinder unit, which detects a characteristic signal of the needle position in the ballistic range, so that the fuel injector can be operated with individual controllability for each of the at least two piston-cylinder units for the regulation of the supplied fuel quantity in the ballistic range.

To provide a displacement detection device that detects a displacement of a measuring object housed in a casing without changing the design of the casing or while suppressing the design change of the casing. A displacement detection device includes a pair of magnets arranged outside an injector body housing a needle with a space between the magnets and forming a magnetic field in the space, a soft magnetic material connected to the needle inside the injector body and displaced in accordance with the displacement of the needle and disposed in the magnetic field formed by the pair of magnets, and a sensor disposed outside the injector body and in the magnetic field formed by the pair of magnets, and detecting a change in magnetic flux density in accordance with the displacement of the soft magnetic material.

A fuel pressure sensor diagnosis device includes an electronic control unit configured to drive a fuel supply device during electric traveling of a hybrid vehicle, to perform determination as to whether an output of a fuel pressure sensor is within a normal range after driving of the fuel supply device is started, and to perform a diagnosis to determine whether a malfunction has occurred in the fuel pressure sensor based on a result of the determination, the normal range being an assumed range of the output of the fuel pressure sensor in a case where the fuel pressure sensor normally functions and the fuel supply pressure is a prescribed upper limit pressure.

A fuel injector includes an injector housing, a longitudinally movable nozzle needle, and a force sensing element. The injector housing defines a nozzle chamber, a pressure chamber, and a measuring chamber. The nozzle chamber is configured to be supplied with pressurized fuel via a feed line formed in the injector housing. The pressure chamber is configured to be hydraulically connected to the feed line. The nozzle needle is disposed in the nozzle chamber and is configured to open and to close at least one spray hole. The force sensing element is disposed in the measuring chamber and is configured to detect a pressure in the pressure chamber. The measuring chamber is separated from the pressure chamber by a diaphragm-like intermediate wall. The force sensing element supports the intermediate wall.

A fuel injection control device includes a reference interval calculation section that calculates a reference interval between an end time of a decrease interval where the pressure decreases as a fuel injection rate increases and a start time of an increase interval where the pressure increases as the fuel injection rate decreases on a pressure waveform detected by the pressure sensor, an integration interval setting section that sets, in the reference interval, an integration interval where an influence of a disturbance on the fuel pressure decrease due to a target injection is suppressible, and a decrease amount calculation section that calculates a corresponding pressure decrease amount, which is a fuel pressure decrease amount corresponding to a maximum injection rate of fuel of the target injection, based on an integral value obtained by integrating the fuel pressure decrease amount due to the target injection in the integration interval.

A filter assembly for a fuel injector is provided. The filter assembly includes a first ring. The first ring includes a plurality of first apertures provided along a circumference thereof. The filter assembly also includes a second ring disposed concentrically with respect to the first ring. The second ring includes a plurality of second apertures provided along a circumference thereof. Each of the plurality of second apertures is disposed misaligned with respect to each of the plurality of first apertures respectively. The filter assembly further includes an actuation mechanism operably coupled to the second ring. The actuation mechanism is adapted to selectively rotate the second ring about an axis with respect to the first ring to, at least partially, align each of the plurality of first apertures with respect to each of the plurality of second apertures respectively to provide an unfiltered flow of a fluid through the filter assembly.

Methods and systems are provided for a ducted fuel injector. In one example, a method may include adjusting a temperature of combustion chamber gases in a combustion chamber and/or adjusting a fuel rail pressure in response to an amount of light sensed by a photodiode of the duct.