AU666805B2

AU666805B2 - An electronic injector cleaner apparatus and method

Info

Publication number: AU666805B2
Application number: AU57850/94A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Alan Skovron
Original assignee: High Tech Auto Tools Pty Ltd
Current assignee: High Tech Auto Tools Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1989-02-14
Filing date: 1994-03-16
Publication date: 1996-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 2010-01-08
Also published as: AU5785094A

Description

i i II 666805

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

(ORIGINAL)

egulation 3.2 Name of Applicant: HIGH TECH AUTO TOOLS PTY. LTD.

A.C.N. 003 063 929 Pitt Street Sydney, New South Wales 2000, Australia

I

i "L i

I

ri o I r n~ o o r~ r se o Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Alan SKOVRON DAVIES COLLISON CAVE, Patent Attorneys, 1 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, 3000.

An Electronic Injector Cleaner Apparatus and Method The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: -1- 1~ i_ -2- AN ELECTRONIC INJECTOR CLEANER APPARATUS AND METHOD The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of cleaning electronic fuel injectors, and other electronic controlled injections such as air injectors.

Sj Prior art methods of cleaning electronic fuel injectors comprise generally of i two methods. The first utilises immersing the injectors or injector tips in an ultrasonic II bath of cleaning fluid. This method, however, only cleans the injector nozzle tip and Snot the filter basket or fuel flow pathway. A second method, such as the RAM FTCj 10 109 system, utilises a forced flow and/or forced back flow of cleaning fluid through I i the injector. Whilst each system has its advantages, they also have their disadvantages r in that they do not fully clean all of the pathway of the injector and hence the injector will. not operate at optimum efficiency or may need to be replaced.

i 15 A third method is that described in U.S. Patent No. 4,082,565. TIhis device uses a gravity feed of cleaning fluid through the injectors in the normal direction as they are being periodically pulsed with tips being immersed in an ultrasonic bath.

This method suffers from disadvantages in that it does not allow impurity particles trapped in the filter basket to be readily removed during cleaning and also requires a separate reservoir of cleaning fluid and connects to the inlets of the injectors to flow fluid therethrough.

j 'The present invention seeks to ameliorate the disadvantage by providing an apparatus and method of cleaning injectors which produces reverse flow of the cleaning fluid through the injectors thereby enabling flushing out debris in the fuel flow path and/or the filter baskets of the injectors.

According to the invention there is provided a cleaning apparatus for an electronic injector having an inlet and an outlet; said apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic bath adapted to contain cleaning fluid; support means adapted to hold at least one injector such that in use an electronic injector held in said support means has at least its outlet immersed in said 940316,pAopNscp18158Av,2 L I ie -3cleaning fluid in said ultrasonic bath; a first control means to resonate said bath; and a second control means for generating an electrical signal for pulsing said electronic injector whereby in use the cleaning fluid, while being resonated by the bath, flows in the reverse direction into the fuel injector outlet and out of the inlet as a result of the interaction of the ultrasonics and the pulsing of the injector.

The invention also provides a method of cleaning an electronic injector comprising the steps of supporting an electronic fuel injector in an ultrasonic bath of cleaning fluid such that at least the outlet is immersed and pulsing said injector whereby the cleaning fluid, while being resonated by the ultrasonics, flows in the reverse direction through the injector as a result of the interaction of the ultrasonics and the pulsing of the injector.

The invention also provides a method of cleaning an electronic injector comprising the steps of supporting an electronic fuel injector in an ultrasonic bath of cleaning fluid such that at least the inlet of the fuel injector is immersed in the cleaning fluid, and pulsing said injectors such that the cleaning fluid flows upwardly through the injector as a result of the interaction of the ultrasonics and the pulsing of the injector.

t t i In the field of cleaning electronic fuel injectors it is customary to describe the frequency of opening the injector by reference to R.P.M. and in this specification the expression R.P.M. has that meaning. Further, it is customary to describe the duration of the periods for which power is applied to the solenoids of the injectors as pulsing i at a rate expressed as a number of milliseconds and the same terminology is used in this specification.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 shows schematically a partially sectional view of an injector positioned in one embodiment of the present invention; 943i&.AMpeftc,,1B5Sdiv,3 r IL-' 7. -4- FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a group of injectors being held in position for cleaning in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a group of injectors being held in position for cleaning in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 4 illustrates schematically another means of holding an injector for cleaning; in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

In electronic fuel injectors, deposits build up around the nozzle, causing irregular spray patterns of fuel rather than a fine regular spray pattern, resulting in a loss of power. Further, the filter basket 3 can be blocked thereby restricting the flow of fuel through the injectors. Deposits can also, and do, build up around the shaft of the injector pin and on the internal surface of the fuel flow paths thus resulting in restrictions in fuel flow and therefore in loss of efficiency of the injector.

Prior art methods do not adequately clean the injector as, for example, the use of an ultrasonic bath on its own only effectively interacts with deposits at the very tip of the outlet and does not remove all of the residue from the internal fuel pathway or from the filter basket. With known methods having forced flow or back flow under pressure of cleaning fluid through the injector, reliance is only placed on the cleaning property of the fluid and/or pressure to remove the deposits. Further if a plastic, nylon, or other non-metallic filter basket is used, weaker cleaning fluids must be used to preverAt degradation of the plastic, nylon or other non-metallic filter basket. In the Lt a~acase of full immersion in the ultrasonic bath, degradation of plastic, nylon or other a anon-metallic components of the injector can occur.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1, the fuel injector 1 is held in a plate 4 with the injector nozzle outlet 5 submerged in the cleaning fV'1d 6 of an ultrasonic bath (not shown). Power is connected to the solenoid input 7 in order to pulse it "on" t or open h, a predetermined manner as described below. The injector 1 is pulsed at 1.0 msec 40.0 msec at an R.P.M. of between 50-15,000, with the ultrasonic bath operating at an ultrasonic frequency of between M0Hz and Thus energising power is applied to the solenoid input 7 in the form of pulses which 94031(p:pctMpl815IA.4 have durations in a predetermined range, 1 msec to 40 msec, and at a frequency or repetition rate in a predetermined range, 50 R.P.M. to 15,000 0.83 cycles/sec to 250 cycles/sec). The energising power therefore has a waveform which produces a corresponding pattern of opening and closing of the injector and the pattern can be described as a duty cycle. In accordance with the invention, the duty cycle is neither continuously open or continuously closed because in the former case there would be no pulsing and in the latter case the injector would be closed and no reverse direction flow could take place.

Alternatively, the injector can be fully immersed as shown in Figure 4.

Preferably, as shown in Figure 2, the outlets 5 are held in a holder 4 such that they are aligned with the epicentre 10 of the transducer, or in the case of a flat or mat transducer 11 as shown in Figure 3 the outlets 5 are aligned vertically above the 15 transducer to produce optimum ultrasonic interaction to improve the reverse flow and cleaning.

Preferably the transducer is operated at a frequency in the range of 25kHz Because of the interaction between pulsing of the injector and the ultrasonic resonating of the cleaning fluid, the cleaning fluid 6 flows into the outlet nozzle 2 of the injector and back flows through the filter basket 3 and out of the open inlet 8 of the injector. The cleaning fluid 6 as it flows up through the injector 1 is resonated by the ultrasonics and effectively removes the deposits and residues from all the surfaces Sthroughout the flow path of the injector.

Any suitable cleaning fluid can be used such as RAM 903 or RAM 904, or warm water with caustic soda if plastic, nylon or other non-metallic filter basket is used. If a metal filter baskrt is used, the cleaning fluid may comprise Carbolsol NF.

High Tech's own specially formulated ASNU (Trademark) injector cleaning fluid can be used for cleaning injectors having metallic or non-metallic filter baskets.

940316p:,opacp1815818Iv, S i i I

Claims

1. A method of cleaning an electronic injector comprising the steps of supporting an electronic fuel injector in an ultrasonic bath of cleaning fluid such that at least the outlet is immersed and pulsing said injector whereby the cleaning fluid, while being resonated by the ultrasonics, flows in the reverse direction through the injector as a result of the interaction of the ultrasonics and the pulsing of the injector.

2. A method of cleaning an electronic injector comprising the steps of supporting an electronic fuel injector in an ultrasonic bath of cleaning fluid such that at least the inlet of the fuel injector is immersed in the cleaning fluid, and pulsing said injectors such that the cleaning fluid flows upwardly through the injector as a result of the interaction of the ultrasonics and the pulsing of the injector.

3. A method of cleaning an electronic injector according to claim 1 or 2 whc:rin the ultrasonics resonate at an ultrasonic frequency between 10kHz and

4. A method of cleaning an electronic injector according to claim 1 or 2 or claims 3 and 4 when appended to claims 1 or 2 wherein the injectors are aligned with the epicentre of the transducer of the ultrasonics, A method of cleaning an electronic fuel injector according to claim 1 or 2 or claims 3 and 4 when appended to claims 1 or 2 wherein the transducer is a mat transducer and the injectors are aligned substantially normal thereto.

6. A method of cleaning an electronic fuel injector according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the cleaning fluid is carbolsol NF.

7. A method of cleaning an electronic fuel injector according to claims 1 to 6 wherein the cleaning fluid is ASNU TM injector cleaning fluid. I 951031,q:\opcr\gcp,57850c,6 r ~c- i i i i ii i -7-

8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the injector comprises an electronic fuel injector.

9. A cleaning apparatus for an electronic injector having an inlet and an outlet; said 5 apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic bath adapted to contain cleaning fluid; support means adapted to hold at least one injector such that in use an electronic injector held in said support means has at least its outlet immersed in said cleaning fluid in said ultrasonic bath; a first control means to resonate said bath; and a second control means for generating an electrical signal for pulsing said electronic injector whereby in use the cleaning fluid, while being resonated by the bath, flows in the reverse direction into the fuel injector outlet and out of the inlet as a result of the interaction of the ultrasonics and the pulsing of the injector. An apparatus according to claim 10 or 11 wherein the support means is adapted to support the injector with its outlet facing substantially downwardly such that in use only the outlet is immersed in the cleaning fluid in the ultrasonic bath.

11. An apparatus according to claim 10, 11 or 12 wherein said support means is adapted to support a plurality of electronic fuel injectors.

12. An apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 13 wherein the ultrasonic bath has its transducer positioned centrally and said support means is adapted to align each electronic fuel injector with the epicentre of the transducer.

13. An apparatus according to any one of claims 10, 11 or 12 wherein the ultrasonic bath has a mat transducer and said support means is adapted to align each electronic fuel injector substantially normal to the mat transducer.

14. A method of cleaning an electronic fuel injector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 951031,q:\opetr\gcp,57850.c,7 I I :i I 1 i j i i I -8-

15. An apparatus adapted to clean electronic fuel injectors substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 31st day of October, 1995 HIGH TECH AUTO TOOLS PTY. LTD. By its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE 951031,q:\oper\gcp,57850.c8 I I -9- ABSTRACT A cleaning apparatus and method for an electronic fuel injector containing an inlet and an outlet, which apparatus comprises an ultrasonic bath and a controller to pulse the injector. The apparatus holds at least the outlet of electronic fuel injector in cleaning fluid held in the ultrasonic bath, when the injector is pulsed at a predetermined rate with the bath resonated at an ultrasonic frequency, cleaning fluid in the bath flows in the reverse direction through the fuel injector, as a result of the interaction of the ultrasonics and the pulsing of the injector. 4 940316,p:-opW,18158div,9 r i