JPH11141429A - Fuel injection system and its driving method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep high shock action without lowering a extending speed of a piezoelectric element when supply voltage to the piezoelectric element is lowered in low load operating range. SOLUTION: This injection system comprises a direct voltage source 531, a detecting means for an engine operating condition, a piezoelectric element 704 which is pinched between a positive and negative electrodes, a first switch 701 which is provided between a positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element 704 and the direct voltage source 531, a second switch 702 which is provided between a positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element 704 and a ground, a voltage detecting means 703 for detecting charging voltage between both electrodes of the piezoelectric element 704, and control means 500 and 700 for driving the first switch 701 and the second switch 702, wherein the first switch 701 is driven to apply voltage of the direct voltage source 531 to the piezoelectric element 704 so as to start to charge the piezoelectric element 704, after that, voltage detected by the voltage detecting means 703 reaches a predetermined value, resulting in discharging from the piezoelectric element 704 by driving the second switch 702.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a fuel injection device for injecting fuel with an impulsively high pressure and a driving method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A liquid ejecting apparatus for applying a shocking high pressure to a liquid to eject the liquid has been proposed by the present applicant (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-219672). If this liquid injection device is to be used as a fuel injection device for an engine, the most practical configuration is to apply a DC voltage to this using a piezoelectric element and adjust the amount of expansion of the piezoelectric element according to the magnitude of the voltage. A configuration is conceivable in which the impact high pressure is adjusted, and thereby the injection amount is adjusted. In this case, the piezoelectric element is sandwiched between the positive and negative electrodes, and positive and negative charges are respectively supplied to the two electrodes by applying a voltage, and the two are charged and charged to extend the piezoelectric element. After charging, the piezoelectric element instantaneously expands to generate a shocking high voltage, and after injecting fuel, the electric charge of both electrodes is discharged, the voltage is not applied, the piezoelectric element is returned to the original state, and the next voltage is applied Prepare for.

[0003] In the case of an engine, fuel is injected for each combustion cycle, so that the charging of the piezoelectric element and the discharging of the piezoelectric element are alternately repeated. Here, in order to control the injection amount, the output voltage from the DC power supply to the positive charge supply side is adjusted by a voltage regulator or the like, and the output voltage is reduced when the required injection amount of the engine is small such as at a low load. On the other hand, when the required injection amount of the engine is large, such as when the load is high, the injection amount can be controlled by increasing the output voltage.

On the other hand, in an engine fuel injection system, the injection amount can be controlled in a wide range as much as possible to expand the dynamic range, which is the width between the maximum injection amount and the minimum injection amount, and particularly to adjust the minimum injection amount appropriately. To achieve stable engine output at low load and to improve fuel economy by lean combustion.

[0005]

However, in the above-described fuel injection device using an impulsively high pressure, even if the supply voltage to the piezoelectric element is adjusted for controlling the injection amount, the charge is started after the voltage is applied and the charge is started. Is substantially constant regardless of the voltage level. For this reason,
The charging speed (the speed at which charges are supplied) changes according to the magnitude of the voltage, and increases as the voltage increases and decreases as the voltage decreases. Since the extension speed of the piezoelectric element changes in accordance with this charging speed, if the supply voltage is reduced, the extension speed becomes too small, and the required high impact pressure cannot be obtained, and the injection amount becomes extremely small. It is conceivable that the momentum is weakened and the atomization state due to the injection becomes worse, so that an engine output corresponding to the required load cannot be obtained. For this reason,
Particularly in the low load operation region, proper fuel injection control cannot be performed, the minimum injection amount is limited, and the dynamic range cannot be expanded.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and particularly when the supply voltage to the piezoelectric element is reduced in a low load operation region, a high impact can be obtained without lowering the extension speed of the piezoelectric element. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fuel injection device which can control an injection amount with high accuracy while maintaining a target pressure, maintain a good atomization state, and obtain a stable engine output, and a driving method thereof.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a DC power supply, an engine operating state detecting means, a piezoelectric element sandwiched between positive and negative electrodes, and a piezoelectric element connected to the piezoelectric element. A plunger for applying an impact pressure to the fuel, a first switch provided between the positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element and the DC power source, and a first switch provided between the positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element and ground. A second switch, a voltage detecting means for detecting a charging voltage between both electrodes of the piezoelectric element, and an operating state detecting means and a voltage detecting means connected to the first switch and the first and second switches based on the detection signals; And a control means for driving the two switches.

In the driving method for a fuel injection device having the above-described structure, the first switch is driven to apply the voltage of the DC power supply to the piezoelectric element. When the voltage detected by the means reaches a predetermined value, the second switch is driven to discharge from the piezoelectric element.

According to this method, when the supply voltage to the piezoelectric element is reduced in order to reduce the injection amount during low load operation, the applied voltage itself is not reduced but a constant high voltage is applied. By stopping the voltage supply during the rising process until the voltage reaches the voltage, the charging voltage generated between the positive and negative electrodes of the piezoelectric element due to charging is reduced.
That is, a voltage is applied from a DC power supply having a predetermined voltage, a voltage in the course of rising is detected, and when this voltage reaches a predetermined value, charging is stopped and discharging is started. This makes it possible to apply a low voltage while maintaining a large impact action without reducing the elongation speed of the piezoelectric element during charging, and to supply a small amount of injection stably at a high injection speed without fail. it can. Therefore, the reliability of the fuel injection control particularly in the low load operation region is enhanced, the dynamic range can be expanded, the atomization state is good and the high output combustion is achieved over a wide range, and especially, the mist in the low injection amount state is achieved. Therefore, stable combustion can be achieved by eliminating the variation in the injection amount, and the output can be improved and the fuel efficiency can be improved.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a fuel injection device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a fuel injection device according to the present invention is applied to a two-cycle internal combustion engine. The engine 1 includes a cylinder head 2 that forms an upper part of a combustion chamber 40,
The combustion chamber 40 includes a cylinder block 3 that forms a cylinder, a crankcase 4 that forms a crank chamber, and the like. The crankshaft 5 in the crank chamber is connected to the piston 8 via a connecting rod 100 connected to the crankpin 6 and the piston pin 7. A spark plug 13 is mounted at the center of the cylinder head 2.

The engine 1 has an intake passage 9 communicating with the crank chamber and an exhaust passage 11 communicating with the combustion chamber 40 in the cylinder. The crank chamber and the combustion chamber 40 communicate with each other via a scavenging passage 642. A throttle valve 648 and a reed valve 647 for preventing intake air from flowing backward are provided in the intake passage 9. The cylinder head 2 is provided with a fuel injection unit 44 facing the combustion chamber 40.

The fuel injection unit 44 is formed by integrating the injector 14 and the high-pressure generator 16. As shown in FIG. 2 to be described later, the high-pressure generator 16 has an impact high-pressure source 17 including an impact extension element 17a in which piezoelectric elements are connected in series and a plunger 17b. The shock high voltage source 17 is connected to the control device 302 and is driven and controlled at a predetermined timing.

The fuel injection unit 44 communicates via a fuel supply pipe 21 with a gas-liquid separation float chamber 646 provided with a not shown unshown upper portion provided above the fuel injection unit 44. This gas-liquid separation float 64
Numeral 6 communicates with the fuel tank 22 via a float valve 646a for keeping the liquid level constant, a fuel pump 19A and a filter 620. The fuel injection unit 44 is controlled by the control device 302, and the control device 302
Connected to 1. The DC power supply 531 may be one in which a booster circuit is connected to a DC battery, or may be configured as a DC power supply 531 by a power supply circuit including an AC power supply and an AC / DC conversion circuit as illustrated. Control device 30
2 is controlled according to a program incorporated in the ECU 500 as described later. The fuel injection unit 44
May be provided on the side wall surface of the cylinder block 3 or the intake passage 9 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. Further, the fuel injection unit 44 and the gas-liquid separation float chamber 646
A return fuel pipe 23 communicating with the upper part of the fuel cell is provided.

With this configuration, bubbles in the pressurizing chamber, the injection passage, and the valve means (not shown) in the fuel injection unit 44 return to the fuel pipe 23 while the engine 1 is stopped, and enter the float chamber 6.
It moves by buoyancy in 46 directions. Fuel injection unit 44
The reason why air bubbles enter the pressurizing chamber inside is that the injection passage is higher than the valve means in the unit and the pressurizing chamber is higher than the injection passage. In addition, the reason why air bubbles enter the return fuel pipe 23 from the pressurizing chamber is that the opening of the return fuel pipe 23 on the pressurizing chamber side is located above the pressurizing chamber. Return fuel pipe 2
When the opening 3 on the pressurizing chamber side is higher than the introduction port (not shown) at the end of the fuel supply pipe 21, the air bubbles can be reliably returned and guided into the fuel pipe 23. On the other hand, bubbles in the fuel supply pipe 21 move into the float chamber 646 by buoyancy while the engine 1 is stopped.

During operation of the engine 1, the fuel injection unit 44 operates to perform an injection by generation of a shocking high-pressure wave, a negative pressure generated in the pressurized chamber by the injection, and a head (positive pressure) by the fuel oil level of the float chamber 646. ) And the fuel transfer to the pressurized chamber occurs alternately and continuously. At the time of fuel transfer to the pressurizing chamber, if air bubbles are present in the return fuel pipe 23 near the pressurizing chamber,
Since the air bubbles return to the pressurized chamber again, if a check valve allowing flow only in the direction of the float chamber 646 is arranged in the return fuel pipe 23, air can be reliably released even during the operation of the engine 1. Since the shocking high-pressure wave has a strong directivity in the normal direction of the generation surface, the return fuel pipe 2 during fuel injection
The amount of fuel extruded into 3 (injection leakage amount) is small.
Due to this slight pushing action of the fuel into the return fuel pipe 23, the air bubbles in the return fuel pipe 23 are reliably moved to the float chamber 646 and separated. Although the amount of fuel pushed out into the fuel supply pipe 21 during fuel injection (the amount of injection leakage) is small, if a check valve that allows flow only in the direction of the pressurized chamber is arranged in the fuel supply pipe 21, Injection leakage can be reduced.

A fuel pump 1 is connected to a fuel supply pipe 21.
9B may be provided, and a pressure regulating valve 101 may be provided in the return fuel pipe 23. The fuel circulation path K is maintained at a predetermined pressure by the pressure regulating valve 101, and a stable excess pressure can be added. Therefore, accurate injection can be performed by operating the fuel injection unit 44. In this case, the gas-liquid separation float chamber 646 is provided with a float valve 64 for keeping the liquid level constant.
Although 6a is unnecessary, a fuel level meter including an upper limit level sensor S11 and a lower limit level sensor S21 is provided. When the fuel level of the gas-liquid separation float chamber 46 falls below the position of the lower limit level detection sensor S21, the fuel pump 19A is driven to supply fuel from the fuel tank 22 via the filter 20, and the upper limit level detection sensor S11 supplies fuel. Upon detection, the supply of fuel is stopped.

The engine 1 of this embodiment further uses an oil injection unit 649 to supply oil. The oil injection unit 649 has substantially the same configuration as the fuel injection unit 44 using the high-pressure generator 16 described above, and oil is injected from the injector 655 into the crank chamber and the cylinder via the oil pipes 653 and 654. . Oil is supplied to the oil injection unit 649 from an oil tank 651 via a strainer 652 by an oil pump 650. The oil injection unit 649 has a high-pressure generation source and injects oil from the injector 655 by an impulsive high pressure similarly to the above, and its configuration, generation principle, action, and injection operation of the impulsive high-pressure wave are as follows. This is the same as the fuel injection unit 44. The pressurizing chamber is provided with a plurality of lubricating oil discharge ports communicating with each of the oil pipes 653 and 654 at positions facing one shocking high-pressure generating section. By providing the air bleeding means also in this oil injection unit 649, air bleeding can be easily performed.

Hereinafter, the fuel injection device of the present invention will be further described. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the fuel injection device. In this embodiment, the gas-liquid separation float chamber 646 shown in FIG. 1 is eliminated, and the fuel is directly guided from the fuel tank 22 by the fuel pump 19 and sent to the fuel injection unit 44. The return fuel pipe 23 from the fuel injection unit 44 is connected to the upper part of the fuel tank 22.

The fuel injection unit 44, in which the high-pressure generator 16 and the injector 14 are integrally formed as one unit, has a compact structure with good fuel injection responsiveness. The injector 14 has an injection port 41 at the tip.
Is formed, and the nozzle body 2
Injection valve 25 is mounted in 4. The injection valve 25 is always urged by the spring 26 in the closing direction. The injector 14 is connected to the case body 31 via the nozzle cover 200.
And is integrated with this. This injector 1
When the shocking high-pressure wave propagates to 4, it collides with the inner side surface of the tip of the injection valve 25 and further rises in pressure. Then, the fuel is injected by pushing the injection valve 25 open against the spring 26 by the energy.

A pressure chamber 50 is formed inside the case body 31. On one end side of the pressurizing chamber 50, an impact high-pressure generation source 17 including an impact extension element 17 a and a plunger 17 b and the like is provided in a storage chamber 43 formed by the case 400 and the case main body 31. Is placed within. The high-pressure generation source 17 generates an impulsive high pressure in the pressurizing chamber 50 to apply an impressive pressure to the fuel in the pressurizing chamber.

The plunger 17b is provided with an impact extension element 17
a, the plunger 17b is a separate component from the shock-elongating element 17a, and is press-fitted and fixed to the fuel-side end of the shock-elongation element 17a. The shock-elongating element 17a is, as described later,
It is composed of a piezoelectric element and electrodes (not shown) sandwiching the piezoelectric element. A DC power supply 531 is connected to this electrode via the control device 302.

An annular recess 17b2 is formed on the outer periphery of the plunger 17b, and the recess 17b2 is provided with a seal member 102 for partitioning the storage chamber 43 on the side of the impact extension element 17a and the pressurizing chamber 50. The sealing member 102 is O
The position of the seal member 102 is provided in the middle of the plunger 17b.

The stroke length of the plunger 17b is long enough for the stroke and the amount of deformation of the shock-elongating element 17a.
No extra force is applied due to fuel pressure and friction. Further, even when the cylindrical case main body 31 is thermally deformed, the displacement amount of the working stroke is only the displacement of the shock-elongating element 17a, and thus does not affect the measurement accuracy. Further, the degree of freedom of the shape of the pressurizing chamber 50 is high, and the air is hardly accumulated. In this embodiment, the inner wall of the pressurized chamber has a funnel shape.

The fuel discharge port 3 faces the pressurizing chamber 50 at the end of the pressurizing chamber wall 50a on the side facing the shocking pressurizing surface 17b1 for applying a shocking high-pressure wave to the pressurized chamber fuel.
3 opens. This fuel discharge port 33 communicates with the injector 14.

The impact extension element 1 of the impact high-pressure source 17
7a is a case 4 with a nut 403 for tightening the end.
00 is fixed. Reference numeral 401 denotes a stopper for preventing the impact extension element 17a from rotating when the nut is tightened. The shock high-voltage source 17 is connected to the case main body 31 via the case 400 to form an integral structure. A fuel inlet 46a is provided in the pressurizing chamber 50 on a side surface of the cylindrical case main body 31 orthogonal to the shocking pressurizing surface 17b1 of the shocking high-pressure generation source 17, that is, a side surface perpendicular to the traveling direction in which the high-pressure wave propagates. It faces and opens. The first branch supply side fuel passage 21a communicating with the fuel supply pipe 21 is connected to the fuel inlet 46a. Fuel inlet 4
A check valve 21a1 backed up by a spring is arranged at an upstream portion near 6a.

Further, a fuel outlet 47a is opened on the side surface of the case body 31 so as to face the pressurizing chamber 50. The first branch return-side fuel passage 23a communicating with the return fuel pipe 23 is connected to the fuel outlet 47a. The pressure regulating valve 23 backed up by a spring is located upstream of the fuel outlet 47a.
a1 is arranged.

In the fuel injection device having such a configuration,
When the driving voltage is started to be applied to the shock expanding element 17a of the shock high pressure source 17 in a state where the pressurizing chamber 50 is filled with the fuel, the shock pressing surface 17b1 is instantaneously changed when the shock expanding element 17a changes its shape. An impressive high-pressure wave is generated in the nearest fuel. The shocking high-pressure wave is applied to the pressing chamber 50 from the shocking pressing surface 17b1 in a direction perpendicular to the shocking pressing surface 17b1.
And instantaneously propagates toward the fuel discharge port 33 at the opposite position on the opposite side of the fuel discharge port 33.

The pressure wave passes through the fuel inlet 46a which opens to the side of the pressurizing chamber while traveling in the pressurizing chamber 50. The opening direction of the fuel inlet 46a is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the high-pressure wave. Direction, it passes through it instantaneously, and the pressure of the high pressure wave increases the pressure of the fuel in the fuel inlet 46a and the pressure regulating valve 23a1.
Has substantially no effect on the high-pressure wave, and little energy is consumed in the high-pressure wave. The high-pressure impulsive wave emitted from the impulsive pressurizing surface 17b1 of the impulsive high-pressure source 17 and collected by the funnel-shaped pressurized inner wall 50a and further boosted is introduced into the fuel discharge port 33 formed solely on this surface. Enters and reaches the injection passage 33a. The shocking high-pressure wave that has reached the injection passage 33a opens the injection valve 25 against the spring 26 and injects high-pressure fuel from the injection port 41.

At the lower end side (pressurizing chamber side) of the case 400,
A fuel inlet 46b is formed, and the fuel inlet 46b has a second branch supply side fuel passage 2 communicating with the fuel supply pipe 21.
1b is connected. Also, on the upper end side of the case 400,
A fuel outlet 47b is formed, and the fuel outlet 47b has a second branch return-side fuel passage 2 communicating with the return fuel pipe 23.
3b is connected. The case 400 has a fuel outlet 47b.
A seal member 190 is provided at an upper position to prevent the fuel in the storage chamber 43 from leaking to the outside.

As described above, in this embodiment, the supply side of the fuel circulation path K is branched into the first branch supply side fuel passage 21a and the second branch supply fuel passage 21b, and the first branch supply side fuel passage 21a Communicates with the pressurizing chamber 50 through the check valve 21a1 and the fuel inlet 46a, and the second branch supply side fuel passage 2
1b communicates with the storage chamber 43 via the fuel inlet 46b.

On the other hand, the return side of the fuel circulation path K branches into a first branch return side fuel passage 23a and a second branch return side fuel passage 23b, and the first branch return side fuel passage 23a is connected to a pressure regulating valve 23a.
1 and communicate with the pressurizing chamber 50 through the fuel outlet 47a,
The second branch return-side fuel passage 23b communicates with the storage chamber 43 via a fuel outlet 47b.

As described above, the fuel circulation path K is connected to the pressurizing chamber 50.
The fuel supply path is branched into a path for supplying fuel to the storage chamber 43 and a path for supplying fuel to the storage chamber 43. Therefore, the shock-elongating element 17a can be cooled with a simple structure without providing a special cooling device. The pre-pressure in the pressurizing chamber 50 can be made constant by the pressure valve 23a1, and the fuel can be prevented from flowing back into the storage chamber 43 when the fuel in the pressurizing chamber 50 is pressurized by impact. improves.

FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration diagram around the impact high-pressure source 17 according to the embodiment of the fuel injection device. The fuel injection unit 44 according to this embodiment includes the high-pressure generator 16
And the injector 14 are integrated with each other, and a storage chamber 43 is provided in the sealed case 71 of the high-pressure generator 16, and the impact high-pressure generation source 17 is stored in the storage chamber 43.

The sealed case 71 is provided with a fuel inlet 46 and a fuel outlet 47. Fuel from the fuel supply pipe 21 is supplied from the fuel inlet 46 to the storage chamber 43, and the storage chamber 4
3 is returned from the fuel outlet 47 to the fuel pipe 23. As described above, the storage chamber 43 for storing the impact high-pressure generation source 17 is provided in the middle of the fuel circulation path K, and the fuel is circulated through the storage chamber 43.

Storage room 4 for storing shocking high-pressure source 17
By circulating the fuel to 3, the impact high-pressure source 17 can be cooled with a simple structure without a special cooling device. Therefore, the shock high pressure source 1
Since the temperature does not rise even after using the fuel cell 7 for a long time, the displacement characteristics of the high-impact high-pressure source 17 do not change, and the fuel injection accuracy is improved.

The high-pressure shock source 17 includes a sealed case 71.
And a plurality of piezoelectric elements 73 provided therein.
For example, the first electrode plates 151a on the positive electrode side and the second electrode plates 151b on the negative electrode side are alternately arranged between the three. The piezoelectric element 73, the first polar plate 151a and the second polar plate 151b
In the stacked state, the holder 74 and the plunger 152
It is sandwiched between and fixedly held by bolts 72.

The piezoelectric element 73 integrally fixed and held by the bolts 72 is attached to the inside of the closed case 71 by the screw member 75 via the holder 74. Each first electrode plate 151a and each second electrode plate 151b are
The first is connected by a conductive plate 76 and supplies a positive charge.
It is connected to the control device 302 via a charge supply line 303 and a second charge supply line 304 for supplying a negative charge. A sealing grommet 77 is attached to a portion where each of the charge supply lines 303 and 304 is taken out from the sealed case 71 to maintain the hermeticity of the case. The sealing grommet 77 further contributes to preventing fuel leakage. The control device 302 is the ECU 50
0 and drive-controlled as described below. The control device 302 is connected to a DC power supply 531 obtained by converting the AC power supply 300 into a direct current by the AC / DC conversion circuit 301.

Here, the piezoelectric element is a known piezoelectric actuator made of an element having a so-called piezoelectric effect.
In addition, there are various materials having a piezoelectric effect from quartz to a polymer. As a material of a piezoelectric actuator, lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which is a kind of piezoelectric ceramics, is representative.

The plunger 152 has an impacting pressure surface 15 larger than a cross section of the piezoelectric element 73 constituting the impacting extension element.
2a. The plunger 152 includes the piezoelectric element 73
And is provided at the fuel-side end of the piezoelectric element 73. Shock pressing surface 152 larger than the cross section of piezoelectric element 73
By using the plunger 152 having “a”, a large impact pressure can be obtained with a simple configuration and fuel can be supplied efficiently.

An annular recess 152b is formed in the outer periphery of the plunger 152, and the recess 152b allows the plunger 152 to slide smoothly with respect to the sealed case 71.
A sliding member 153 for preventing wear is provided. The position of the sliding member 153 is provided in the middle of the plunger 152. The stroke length of the plunger 152 is
In addition to ensuring a sufficient stroke and deformation amount, the sliding member 153 facilitates the movement of the plunger 152 to easily generate an impact high pressure.

The plunger 152 is provided with a communication path 160 for communicating the storage chamber 43, which forms a part of the fuel circulation path K, with the pressurizing chamber 50.
The fuel can be supplied to the pressurizing chamber 50 from the storage chamber 43 which forms a part of the fuel circulation path K when supplying the fuel in which 0 is a negative pressure,
When the fuel in the pressurizing chamber 50 is shockedly pressurized, it becomes a throttle and functions to reduce the backflow of the fuel from the pressurizing chamber 50 to the storage chamber 43.

A plurality of (seven in this example) piezoelectric elements (piezoelectric ceramics) 73 and a first electrode plate 151a and a second electrode plate 151 which are arranged so as to sandwich them and are integrated.
b forms an electrostrictive element. An AC power supply from the AC power supply 300 is converted into a DC voltage via an AC / DC conversion circuit 301 and input to a control device 302 for voltage adjustment.
The voltage adjustment control device 302 is controlled by the ECU 500 and, when charging (when pressure is generated) for applying a voltage, of the two outputs respectively connected to the first charge supply line 303 or the second charge supply line 304, First charge supply line 3
03 is adjusted to a predetermined positive voltage, and the second charge supply line 304 is grounded. Further, at the time of discharge at the time when the application of the pressure is completed, both sides of the first charge supply line 303 and the second charge supply line 304 are grounded.

As described above, the fuel injection unit 44 includes the pressurizing chamber 50 communicating with the liquid fuel supply source through the fuel inlet,
The piezoelectric element 73 includes a first electrode on one side of at least one piezoelectric body and a second electrode on the other side, and a plurality of the piezoelectric elements 73 are arranged.
Terminal TA1 on the third side and terminal TA on the second charge supply line 304 side
2, the terminal TA1 has a predetermined positive voltage value, and the terminal TA2
When the voltage is applied to ground the first electrode plate 151a
, An electric field is generated in the direction of the second electrode plate 151b, that is, in the direction of the solid line arrow, and the piezoelectric ceramic between the first electric plate 151a and the second electric plate 151b expands substantially in proportion to the magnitude of the electric field. On the other hand, when the first charge supply line 303 side is grounded and the second charge supply line 304 side is set to a predetermined positive voltage, the second electrode plate 1
An electric field is generated from 51b in the direction of the first polar plate 151a, that is, in the direction of the dashed arrow, and the first polar plate 151a and the second polar plate 151 are generated.
The piezoelectric ceramic during b shrinks substantially in proportion to the magnitude of the electric field.

In FIG. 3, since the first electrode plates 151a and the second electrode plates 151b are alternately arranged, the direction of the electric field acting on each piezoelectric ceramic is reversed by 180 degrees in the order of the arrangement of the piezoelectric ceramics. For this reason, in this embodiment, the same plate-shaped piezoelectric ceramics are arranged with the front and back reversed by 180 degrees in the order of arrangement, and the piezoelectric ceramics are arranged on the first charge supply line 303 side and the second charge supply line 304 side. All the piezoelectric ceramics can be simultaneously expanded or contracted in accordance with the voltage load. The displacements of the respective piezoelectric ceramics are integrated (in FIG. 3, seven displacements are integrated) to be a large displacement.

In order to prevent erroneous assembly, two kinds of colors are applied to the outer periphery of the side surface of the same piezoelectric element 73, and an arrow in the same direction as the direction of the electric field when the piezoelectric element 73 of one color is extended. Is attached to the outer periphery of the side surface, and the piezoelectric element 73 of the other color is attached.
The same arrow as the direction of the electric field at the time of contraction is attached to the outer periphery of the side surface, these are arranged first on the first electrode plate 151a at the end with the designated color, and then those having different colors are alternately arranged in order,
In addition, by assembling such that the arrow points in the predetermined position direction, it is possible to invert and arrange the piezoelectric elements 73 by 180 degrees in the arrangement order.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the power supply device. The ECU 500 receives crank angle information from the pulsar coil or the crank angle sensor 501,
The throttle opening information is input from the throttle opening sensor 502 and the engine rotation information is input from the engine rotation sensor 503. Note that the throttle opening sensor may be an air amount sensor. The engine speed may be calculated from the data of the crank angle sensor. Based on this information, the ECU 500 sends a control command to the ignition control circuit 520 according to an ignition control map stored in the memory 510 in advance, and causes the spark plug to spark at an ignition timing according to the operating state of the engine.

Further, the ECU 500 sends a control command to the control device 302 which controls the terminal voltage of the shock-expanding element according to the shock-expanding element control map stored in advance. The control device 302 is supplied with a predetermined power supply voltage from a DC power supply 531. The control device 302 controls the terminal TA of the shock-stretching element 17a based on the control command, as described later.
1 and the voltage of the terminal TA2 are controlled to extend the shock-extending element 17a at a predetermined timing to inject fuel from the injection port 41 into the combustion chamber 40 of the engine 1.

Next, the drive voltage control of the fuel injection device of the present invention will be further described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a specific circuit diagram of the fuel injection device of the present embodiment, and FIG.
7 is a flowchart of a control operation by the circuit configuration of FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 is a graph of a supply voltage to the piezoelectric element with respect to a throttle opening.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 302
A driving circuit 700 driven by the CU 500;
1, a first switch 701 interposed between the DC power supply 531 and the positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element 704, and a second switch interposed between the positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element 704 and ground via the resistor R2. 702 and a voltage detector 703 connected to the positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element 704. The first and second switches 701 and 702 are composed of transistors,
ON / OFF control is performed by the drive circuit 700 as described later. As described above, the piezoelectric element 704 is sandwiched between the positive and negative electrode plates and connected to the plunger, and has the same configuration as the high-impact high-voltage source 17 shown in FIG. 2 or FIG.

The DC power supply 531 may be one in which a step-up circuit is connected to a battery of a constant voltage (for example, by boosting the battery voltage of 12 V to 300 to 500 and increasing the DC power supply 531).
1). Alternatively, as described above, a constant DC voltage (for example, 300 to 500 V) including an AC power supply and an AC / DC converter.
Power supply circuit. This DC power supply 53
1 is connected to the piezoelectric element 704 via the first switch 701.
Is connected to the positive electrode side. The negative side of DC power supply 531 is connected to ground.

The first switch 701 functions as a charging switch for the piezoelectric element 704,
1 to the piezoelectric element 704 to apply the voltage from
4 is charged and stretched to generate a shocking high voltage.

The second switch 702 functions as a discharge switch for the piezoelectric element 704. The second switch 702 discharges the piezoelectric element 704 extended by charging, stops voltage application, cancels high voltage generation, and restores the piezoelectric element 704 to its original state. Return to non-driving state.

The voltage detector 703 detects the voltage charged in the piezoelectric element 704, and detects the voltage between the two terminals (TA1 and TA2) of the piezoelectric element 704 or the positive electric charge with respect to the grounded negative electrode. Measure the potential.

As described above, data indicating the operating state such as crank angle data, throttle opening data, and engine speed data is input to the ECU 500, and the map data and the like stored in the memory 510 are input accordingly. Optimum operation control data for ignition timing, fuel injection timing, etc. is calculated based on Such a calculated value is sent to the drive circuit 700 of the control device 302.

The drive circuit 700, based on the command value from the ECU 500 and the voltage detected by the voltage detector 703, controls the first and second switches 701 and 702 as described later.
Is turned on and off to drive the piezoelectric element 704 to inject fuel in an optimal state.

Next, the operation of the circuit constituting the fuel injection device having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, (A) shows a charging signal to the piezoelectric element (high-voltage generation source 17) by the driving operation of the first switch 701,
(B) is a graph of a rising state of a voltage charged in the high voltage generation source 17 when a voltage is applied to the high voltage generation source 17, and (C) discharges the high voltage generation source 17 by the driving operation of the second switch 702. FIG. 4D is a graph showing a signal, and FIG. 4D is a graph showing a pressure waveform for fuel generated by driving the high-pressure generating source 17.

As shown in FIG. 6, when both the exhaust port and the scavenging port are closed while the piston of the two-stroke engine shifts from bottom dead center (BDC) to top dead center (TDC). (A), a predetermined crank angle α
At time t1 corresponding to 1, the first switch 701 is turned on. As a result, as shown in FIG.
The application of a voltage to the high-voltage generation source 17 starts from 1 and electric charges are charged to the positive and negative electrode plates sandwiching the piezoelectric element, and the charging voltage rises correspondingly.

In this case, the time TS until the electric charge in the high-voltage generation source is saturated is determined according to the shape and characteristics of the piezoelectric element and the electrode plate constituting the high-voltage generation source 17, and this time TS is the applied voltage. It is almost constant regardless of.
That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the voltage of V1 is applied (dotted line), the charging completion point and the lower V
When the voltage of 0 is applied (dashed line), the charging completion time does not change at t4. Therefore, as the applied voltage is higher, the charging speed is higher, and the expansion speed of the piezoelectric element is correspondingly higher, so that a large impact pressure is obtained. Conversely, when the applied voltage is reduced, not only does the pressure drop shortly, but also the impact action of the piezoelectric element decreases due to a decrease in the extension speed of the piezoelectric element. Therefore, the fuel injection by the impulsive high pressure cannot be performed stably.

In the present invention, the voltage V1 that can sufficiently cover the maximum injection amount under a high engine load is always applied. When reducing the injection amount, the voltage application is stopped during the rise of the applied voltage V1. Thus, a low voltage can be applied without lowering the charging speed. Therefore,
The extension speed of the piezoelectric element is kept high as in the case of the maximum injection amount, and the injection amount can be reduced by lowering the pressure while the impact action is sufficiently increased.

As described above, in order to stop the voltage application during the rising of the voltage V1, the present invention detects the charging voltage to the rising piezoelectric element by using the voltage detector, and responds to the necessary injection amount. When the predetermined voltage V0 is reached, the first switch 701 is turned off at the time t2,
The second switch 702 is turned on to start discharging (FIG. 6
(C)). At time t3 when the discharge is sufficiently performed, the second switch 702 is turned off. The discharge end time may be determined by setting a timer to turn off the second switch in consideration of a sufficient time until the discharge is completed after the voltage application is stopped, or the charge voltage may be further monitored by the above-described voltage detector. When the charging voltage becomes zero, the second
The switch may be turned off.

By such drive voltage control, as shown in (D), pressure is generated in the fuel after a time delay T0 of several μs from the voltage application start time t1, and the maximum impact pressure is obtained after the lapse of the voltage application time. . The time T2 until the pressure peak is reached is several times (for example, about several hundred μs) the voltage application time T1 from the first switch-on time t1 to the second switch-on time t2.

Next, the flow of the fuel injection control by the control circuit having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. First EC
U500 is the throttle opening θ and the engine speed R
PM data is obtained by measurement or calculation and taken in as the calculation base of control data (step S1).

Next, based on these data, the optimum injection timing α1 and ignition timing α2 according to the engine operating state at that time are obtained by calculation, and the control voltage V0 to the piezoelectric element corresponding to the injection amount is calculated. (Step S2). The voltage V0 is a voltage that starts discharging during the rise of the power supply voltage V1, as described with reference to FIG. In this case, the discharge starting voltage V0 for obtaining the required injection amount corresponds to the engine load. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, it is almost proportional to the throttle opening θ. That is, when the throttle opening θ is small (or when the intake air amount is small), the injection amount is reduced, and the discharge start voltage V0 is set low accordingly. The discharge start voltage V0 may be determined not only by the throttle opening θ corresponding to the required load of the engine, but also by detection data of the engine speed, temperature, and other operating conditions. When such a V0 is obtained, a map of the optimum V0 for a parameter such as a throttle opening is created in advance and the memory 51 is created.
0 (FIG. 5), and the ECU 500 obtains the value through arithmetic processing.

The injection timing α1 is calculated from data of the throttle opening and the engine speed using a predetermined map. In this case, the smaller the load, the smaller the injection amount and the shorter the combustion time. Therefore, α1 is set on the advance side before TDC after the exhaust port and the scavenging port are closed. When the load increases, α1 is set before the exhaust port and the scavenging port are closed.

The ignition timing α2 is also calculated by the ECU 500 from the data of the throttle opening and the engine speed using a predetermined map. In this case, the ignition timing α2 may be set in consideration of other operation state data.

Next, the process proceeds to step S3, in which data of a pulsar signal or a crank angle signal is fetched in order to execute control at the calculated timing. Subsequently, based on the crank angle signal, at time t1 (see FIG. 6) of α1, the first
Turn on the switch 701 (FIG. 5) (step S
4). Thus, as described above, the constant voltage V1 is applied from the DC power supply 531 to start charging.

After the start of the charging, the charge voltage of the high voltage source 17 detected by the voltage detector 703 (FIG. 5), that is, the data of the rising voltage V of the applied voltage V1 is read (step S5). It is determined whether or not the discharge start voltage V0 has reached (Step S)
6).

When the rising voltage reaches V0, the process proceeds to step S7, at which time the first switch 701 is turned off and the second switch 702 is turned on at time t2 (see FIG. 6) to start discharging. Thereby, as described above, an impulsive high pressure corresponding to the required injection amount is applied to the fuel, and the fuel is injected from the injection port.

Subsequently, in step S8, the spark plug is sparked at the time when the ignition timing α2 calculated in step S2 reaches the crank angle. Such a step S
The processing from 1 to S8 is repeated every cycle until the engine stops (step S9).

In order to inject a larger amount of fuel and achieve a larger engine output, the crank angle α2
May be performed a plurality of times before the ignition. For example, in step S2 in FIG. 7, the crank angle α1 ′ (the angle delayed from α1) for the second injection is also calculated, and between steps S7 and S8, steps S3 to S7 are repeated. You may make it implement. In this case, in the part corresponding to step S4, the charging is started by setting the first switch to ON at α1 ′.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram in the case where the fuel injection device of the present invention is applied to a four-cycle engine. Engine 1
Is a cylinder head 2 forming the upper part of the combustion chamber 40,
The combustion chamber 40 includes a cylinder block 3 that forms a cylinder, and a crankcase 4 that forms a crank chamber. The crankshaft 5 in the crank chamber is connected to the piston 8 via a connecting rod 100 connected to the crankpin 6 and the piston pin 7. An intake passage 9 is provided in the cylinder head 2, and an intake valve 10 is attached to an end of the cylinder head 2 so as to face the combustion chamber 40, and opens and closes an opening of the intake passage 9. Further, an exhaust passage 11 is provided in the cylinder head 2,
The exhaust valve 12 is attached to the end portion facing the combustion chamber 40,
The opening of the exhaust passage 11 is opened and closed. A spark plug 13 is mounted at the center of the cylinder head 2.

In this embodiment, a fuel injection unit 44 for directly injecting fuel into the combustion chamber 40 is provided facing the inside of the combustion chamber 40 from the upper surface of the cylinder head 2. 9 may be provided to inject fuel, or may be provided to inject fuel from the cylinder block 3 into the cylinder.

In the fuel injection unit 44, the injector 14 and the high-pressure generator 16 are integrated, and the high-pressure generator 16 includes a series connection of a piezoelectric element of an impact extension element 17a described later and a plunger. It has a shocking high-pressure source 17 composed of a material. The shock high-pressure source 17 is connected to the control device 18 and injects fuel at a predetermined timing, for example, directly into the combustion chamber 40. Among the four strokes of explosion expansion, exhaust, intake, and compression, the intake stroke or Drive control is performed to inject during the compression stroke.

The fuel injection unit 44 is connected to the fuel tank 22 by the fuel pump 19 through the fuel supply pipe 21.
Fuel is introduced from. A filter 20 is provided at an inlet of the fuel supply pipe 21 in the fuel tank 22. The return fuel pipe 23 is connected to the fuel injection unit 44, and the return fuel pipe 23 is provided with a pressure regulating valve 101 for adjusting the pressure.

While the fuel injection unit 44 is closed, fuel is always supplied by the fuel pump 19, and when the pressure on the upstream side of the pressure regulating valve 101 disposed in the return fuel pipe 23 is higher than a predetermined value, the pressure regulating valve 101 is opened. , Fuel supply pipe 21
In addition, air bubbles and vaporized fuel and the like inside the fuel injection unit 44 pass through the pressure regulating valve 101 together with the fuel, return to the upper portion on the fuel tank side having an air vent hole (not shown) at the upper portion, circulate, and supply the fuel. A circulation K is formed.

Bubbles are separated in the fuel tank 22 which also serves as a gas-liquid separating means, and the bubbles do not flow to the fuel supply pipe 21 again. As described above, even if air is mixed into the fuel circulation K or air bubbles or steam bubbles are generated due to the pressure drop, the air or steam bubbles can be discharged early. Thus, even if air is mixed in or air bubbles are generated, the inside of the fuel supply pipe 21 and the fuel injection unit 44 is filled with fuel, and the fuel is regulated by the pressure regulating valve 101 regardless of circulation from the return fuel pipe 23. Since the circulation path K is maintained at a predetermined pressure and a stable residual pressure can be applied, the high-pressure shock wave caused by the operation of the fuel injection unit 44 is reliably propagated, and the high-pressure shock wave is generated by the fuel injection unit. It is possible to further increase the pressure by colliding with the portion immediately before the injection port in 44, and to perform accurate injection. When a part of the high-pressure shock wave reaches the pressure regulating valve 101, the air bubbles also pass through the pressure regulating valve 101.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the supply voltage to the piezoelectric element is reduced in order to reduce the injection amount at the time of low load operation, the applied voltage itself is not reduced but is fixed. By applying a high voltage and stopping the voltage supply during the rising process until the voltage is reached, the charging voltage is lowered, so that the extension speed of the piezoelectric element during charging is not reduced, and therefore the impact action is reduced. Therefore, a low voltage can be applied, and a small injection amount can be stably and reliably supplied at a high injection speed. This increases the reliability of the fuel injection control, particularly in the low-load operation range, and can widen the dynamic range, achieves good atomization and high-output combustion over a wide range, and particularly achieves low-injection-volume conditions. It is possible to promote atomization and achieve stable combustion by eliminating the variation in the injection amount, thereby improving output and improving fuel efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram when the present invention is applied to a two-cycle engine.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the fuel injection device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of another example of the fuel injection device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the fuel injection device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a control circuit diagram of the fuel injection device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the circuit in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a control operation by the circuit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a graph of a discharge starting voltage with respect to a throttle opening.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram when the present invention is applied to a four-cycle engine.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Engine, 14: Injector, 16: High pressure generator, 17: Impact high pressure source, 17a: Impact extension element (piezoelectric element), 17b: Plunger, 40: Combustion chamber, 4
1: injection port, 44: fuel injection unit, 50: pressurized chamber,
73: piezoelectric element, 151a: first electrode plate (positive electrode), 151
b: second electrode plate (negative electrode), 300: AC power supply, 301: AC / DC converter, 302: control device, 303: first charge supply line, 304: second charge supply line, 500: ECU 531: DC power supply, 700: drive circuit, 701: first switch, 702: second switch, 703: voltage detector.

Claims (4)

[Claims] A DC power supply; an operating state detecting means for an engine; a piezoelectric element sandwiched between positive and negative electrodes; a plunger connected to the piezoelectric element for applying an impact pressure to fuel; A first switch provided between the positive electrode side of the element and the DC power source; a second switch provided between the positive electrode side of the piezoelectric element and ground; and a charging voltage between both electrodes of the piezoelectric element A voltage detecting means for detecting, the operating state detecting means and the voltage detecting means,
Control means for driving the first and second switches based on these detection signals. 2. The method for driving a fuel injection device according to claim 1, wherein the first switch is driven to apply a voltage of the DC power supply to a piezoelectric element. When the voltage detected by the voltage detecting means reaches a predetermined value, the second switch is driven to discharge from the piezoelectric element. 3. The control circuit according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined value of the detected voltage is set by the control unit based on operating state data detected by the operating state detecting unit within a voltage range of the DC power supply. A method for driving a fuel injection device according to claim 2. 4. The driving method for a fuel injection device according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined value of the detection voltage is set to be larger as a required load of the engine is larger.