Device for heating fuel

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for heating injected fuel in internal combustion engines integrated with a temperature sensor capable of measuring the temperature of the fuel immediately after heating, forming a unique set that provides great accuracy in the amount of power supplied to the heater and accuracy in fuel preheating temperature.

Claims

1. A device for heating fuel equipped with at least one interface region (10); at least one fuel inlet opening (21); at least one fuel outlet opening (22); at least one fuel outlet portion (22); at least one heating chamber (3) provided with an internal region (31), cooperating with the interface region (10), so as to project from the inlet portion (21); at least one heating element (4) projecting from the interface region (10), fluidly associated with the heating chamber (3); the device further comprises a temperature sensor (51) provided with a thermo element (52) and associated with the interface region (10) and which projects from the interface region (10), so that the thermo element (52) is positioned downstream of the heating element (4) through the internal region of the heating chamber, wherein the temperature sensor (51) is provided with an external coating.

2. The device for heating fuel, according to claim 1, wherein the thermo element (52) is positioned at a free end of the temperature sensor (51) opposite a point of association between the temperature sensor (51) and the interface region (10).

3. The device for heating fuel, according to claim 1, wherein the interface region (10) comprises at least connector (11) with at least 3 terminals.

4. The device for heating fuel, according to claim 1, wherein the fuel outlet opening (22) is positioned above the inlet opening (21) in relation to a vertical plane.

5. The device for heating fuel, according to claim 1, wherein the fuel outlet portion (22) is associated with at least one fuel injection device (7).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1Scheme of an embodiment of the fuel heating device where the interface region is positioned downwards.

(2) FIG. 2Scheme of an embodiment of the fuel heating device where the interface region is positioned upwards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) The fuel heating and heating management system is responsible for heating the fuel that will be injected into the engine to a predetermined temperature. Fuel heating aims to improve the atomization of the injected fuel spray, reducing its droplet size, which means better preparation of the air-fuel mixture, leading to a more homogeneous mixture, which will result in a decrease in the amount of fuel injected and thus reducing the amount of gases and particulates emitted.

(4) The operation of the heating system takes place from the start of the engine. System management aims to keep the temperature of the injected fuel always at the target temperature. For this, the system determines the amount of energy that must be supplied to the fuel, based on the fuel inlet temperature in the gallery, the fuel flow rate and the type of fuel.

(5) When the fuel temperature management system knows exactly what temperature of the fuel is being delivered in real time, through the direct reading of the fuel temperature at the position where it is delivered to the injector, the amount of energy needed for the heater to raise the fuel temperature to the desired level is made available more quickly and accurately, as there is no need to use mathematical models to arrive at the current temperature value.

(6) Therefore, as can be seen from FIG. 1, the present invention describes a device for heating fuel applicable in fuel injected temperature management systems in internal combustion engines applicable to a vehicle, such as a car.

(7) In more detail, the present invention describes a device for heating fuel equipped with at least one interface region 10; at least one fuel inlet opening 21; at least one fuel outlet opening 22; at least one fuel outlet portion 22; at least one heating chamber 3 provided with an internal region 31, cooperating with the interface region 10, so as to project from the inlet portion 21; at least one heating element 4 projecting from the interface region 10, fluidly associated with the heating chamber 3;
so that said device comprises a temperature sensor 51 provided with a thermo element 52 and associated with the interface region 10 and which projects from the interface region 10, so that the thermo element 52 is positioned downstream of the element heater 4 through the interior of the heating chamber.

(8) The interface region is understood to be the region of the heating device where the electrical connector 11 (externally) and the heating element 4 (internally) are mounted. Preferably, connector 11 is provided with at least 3 terminals.

(9) In a preferred embodiment, the present invention describes a device for heating fuel, where the thermo element 52 is positioned at a free end of the temperature sensor 5 opposite the point of association between the temperature sensor 51 and the region of interface 10. Commonly, the temperature sensor 5 comprises an external coating that protects the wiring, houses the thermo element 52, as well as provides structural rigidity to the temperature sensor 5, thus ensuring the position of the thermo element 52 in relation to the zone higher temperature Z.

(10) This preferred embodiment described above is new and inventive, since the positioning and installation of the temperature sensor 51 in the downstream heater device 13 allows the temperature measurement to be taken in the zone of the highest temperature Z that the fuel reaches inside from the heating chamber 3, after passing through the heating element 4, responsible for heating the fuel, since the thermo element 52 (which effectively reads the fuel temperature) is positioned in the highest temperature zone Z.

(11) Constructively, the present invention provides that the zone with the highest temperature Z of injected fuel is always close to the most extreme point of fuel output from the combustion chamber and entry into the fuel injection device 7, since the outlet opening fuel tank 22 is positioned above the inlet opening 21 with respect to a vertical plane.

(12) Therefore, according to the embodiments described above, the configuration of the heating device provides homogeneous heating of the fuel, since the fuel enters the internal region 31 of the heating chamber 3 through the fuel inlet opening 21 positioned in its lower region, it is forced to pass completely through the heating element 4carrying out the thermal exchangeand leaves heated through the fuel outlet opening 22 positioned in an upper region.

(13) Additionally, the fuel heating device comprises a preferred configuration where the fuel outlet portion 22 is associated with at least one fuel injection device 7. However, this feature is not limiting.

(14) The determination of the amount of energy required for the fuel to reach a target fuel temperature value at the current instant, according to the fuel temperature at the current instant, must be performed by a parameter processing device or control unit of the vehicle, which is primarily responsible for the intelligence of the engine as a whole. This control unit can comprise either the ECU (Electronic Control Unitresponsible for electronically managing all engine operation) already present in the vehicle, or an exclusive unit dedicated only to the fuel heating system.

(15) That way, it should be noted that, as described above, the present invention achieves the objective of providing a device for heating injected fuel in internal combustion engines, which integrates a temperature sensor capable of measuring the temperature of the fuel immediately after heating, forming a unique set that provides great precision in the amount of power supplied to the heater, accuracy in the fuel preheating temperature and, consequently, great precision in the reduction of polluting gases.