HISTORY

OF
FUEL INJECTION

By FRANK DeLUCA, Chief Fuel Injection Engineer, of American Bosch Arma Corporation
History of Fuel Injection

When Rudolph Diesel contracted with Augsburg and Krupp of G e r m a n y in 1893 to deve-
lop a m o r e efficient i n t e r n a l combustion engine, one of his objectives was to u s e a s fuel the
mountainous piles of p o w d e r e d c o a l which had been accumulating throughout the c o u n t r y s i d e .
The f i r s t experimental c o a l dust burning engine was built that y e a r using a i r to b l a s t the fuel
into the combustion c h a m b e r . His method i s shown s c h e m a t i c a l l y in F i g . 1, which was r e p r o -
duced f r o m U . S. patent No. 542846 granted in 1895. The powdered coal was contained in
hopper B provided with r o t a r y valve D, and the c o m p r e s s e d a i r was s t o r e d in tank A. When
the injection valve E was lifted, the high p r e s s u r e a i r flowed into the combustion c h a m b e r C
through orifice F c a r r y i n g with i t the coal d i s c h a r g e d through the rotating valve F. In at-
tempting to s t a r t the engine i t exploded, and a l l subsequent efforts to o p e r a t e the engine on
coal dust failed, s o that oil was finally adopted a s the fuel.
In the f i r s t e x p e r i m e n t s with oil, i t
was mechanically injected into the engine.
The r e s u l t s w e r e u n s a t i s f a c t o r y , probably
because of the c r u d e injection equipment
with l a r g e dead fuel volume, s o that D r .
Diesel r e s o r t e d t o using the c o m p r e s s e d a i r
equipment available f r o m his c o a l dust
e x p e r i m e n t s . His f i r s t t e s t s with a i r injection
proved s o s u c c e s s f u l that this b e c a m e the
acccepted method of injection f o r many y e a r s .
Thus, e a r l y in the development of this new
engine the i m p o r t a n c e of the f u e l injection
p r o c e s s on engine combustion was emphasized,
and subsequent p r o g r e s s in d i e s e l engine
development has been l a r g e l y dependent
upon i m p r o v e m e n t s in fuel injection.

Fig. 1. Coal dust injection system of Rudolph Diesel. A I R I N J ECTION

(After U.S. patent No. 54286 of 1895 .) The operating principle of m o s t a i r
injection s y s t e m s has been s i m i l a r to the one
f i r s t used by Rudolph Diesel. F u e l oil was m e t e r e d and d e l i v e r e d by a pump to the a t o m i z e r ,
which was in communication with a high p r e s s u r e a i r s t o r a g e tank supplied by an a i r c o m p r e s s o r ,
and injection o c c u r r e d when the i n j e c t o r valve was opened by a c a m actuated m e c h a n i s m .
High p r e s s u r e a i r then flowed into the engine cylinder c a r r y i n g along with i t the m e t e r e d fuel
a s a finely atomized s p r a y .
The construction of D i e s e l ' s fuel a t o m i z e r has not been fully e s t a b l i s h e d , but m o s t of
the e a r l y designs of a t o m i z e r s had a s e r i e s of 1 8 inch d i a m e t e r holes through which the a i r
and fuel p a s s e d before entering the combustion c h a m b e r . The p e r f o r a t e d disc a t o m i z e r ,
shown in F i g . 2 ( s e e following page), c a m e into u s e about the y e a r 1900. It c o n s i s t e d of a
mechanically o p e r a t e d valve surrounded by a s t a c k of d r i l l e d d i s c s , o r p u l v e r i z e r r i n g s , o n

1
 History of Fuel Injection

w h i c h t h e oil was deposited and t h e n blown b y c o m p r e s s e d a i r into t h e e n g i n e c y l i n d e r d u r i n g

injection.
In 1908 K n u t H e s s e l m a n of Sweden d i s c l o s e d a n a s p i r a t i n g v a l v e a t o m i z e r w i c h b e c a m e
popular f o r s m a l l a i r i n j e c t i o n e n g i n e s . As shown in Fig.3, the metered o i l w a s d e p o s i t e d
Fig. 2. Perforated d i s c atomizer.
scheme f a i l e d because the exhaust tempera-
t u r e s w e r e not h i g h e n o u g h to develop the
required steam pressure f o r i n j e c t i o n with the
exhaust heated boiler.
in an annular s p a c e above t h e valve seat, and
w h e n t h e v a l v e w a s lifted an aspirating
e f f e c t w a s p r o d u c e d on t h e o i l to d i s c h a r g e
i t along w i t h t h e a i r flowing p a s t into the
combustion c h a m b e r . Numerous o t h e r
variations of atomizer d e s i g n s w e r e t r i e d ,
but w i t h l i t t l e o r n o c o m m e r c i a l s u c c e s s .
T h e e a r l y K r u p p e n g i n e s used s i n g l e -
stage a i r c o m p r e s s o r s , a n d i t w a s n o t until
a f t e r the t u r n of t h e c e n t u r y t h a t t h r e e - s t a g e
c o m p r e s s o r s w e r e i n t r o d u c e d on e n g i n e s
built by t h e D i e s e l M o t o r Company of America.
Steam f o r fuel injection was attempted by
T h o r n y c r o f t of England in 1903, but the

SOLID INJECTION
One of the first satisfactory airless
injection system was applied to an engine
i n 1910 b y J a m e s M c K e c h n i e of V i c k e r s ,
L t d . of E n g l a n d . A s s h o w n i n F i g . 4 ( s e e
following p a g e ) , o i l w a s d e l i v e r e d b y a
metering p u m p to a s p r i n g l o a d e d plunger,
w h i c h w a s r a i s e d b y a cam. T r i p p i n g of t h e
c a m a l l o w e d t h e fuel to be injected into the
engine cylinder as t h e s p r i n g returned the
p l u n g e r t o i t s bottom p o s i t i o n .

Common R a i l
I n 1913 V i c k e r s , Ltd. developed t h e
c o m m o n rail system which became v e r y Fig. 3. Aspirating valve atomizer of K. Hesselman.
p o p u l a r . A m u l t i - p l u n g e r pump d e l i v e r e d (After U.S. patent No. 910534 of 1909.)
fuel to a n a c c u m u l a t o r and h e a d e r of l a r g e
c a p a c i t y w i t h t h e fuel pressure m a i n t a i n e d a t about 5 0 0 0 p s i b y a r e l i e f v a l v e , and t h e f u e l w a s
s p r a y e d i n t o t h e e n g i n e c y l i n d e r s t h r o u g h m e c h a n i c a l l y o p e r a t e d injection n o z z l e s . Fuel
m e t e r i n g w a s c o n t r o l l e d by v a r y i n g t h e period o f opening of t h e i n j e c t i o n valves. T h e first
A m e r i c a n engine w i t h c o m m o n rail i n j e c t i o n s y s t e m w a s b u i l t by t h e A t l a s I m p e r i a l D i e s e l
C o m p a n y of Oakland, C a l i f o r n i a i n 1919.

J e r k Pumps
T h e o r i g i n a t o r of p l u n g e r pumps for f o r c i n g a m e t e r e d quantity of fuel at h i g h p r e s s u r e
i n t o t h e e n g i n e c y l i n d e r s is difficult t o t r a c e . R i c h a r d H o r n s b y & S o n s o f E n g l a n d u s e d j e r k
p u m p s i n 1891 and Ruston, P r o c t o r & C o . , a l s o of E n g l a n d , u s e d a similar type pump i n 1 9 0 9 .
I n 1 9 1 4 D e L a V e r g n e C o m p a n y o f Philadelphia used a j e r k p u m p t h a t d e l i v e r e d f u e l
at a v e r y h i g h r a t e (full l o a d d e l i v e r y i n a b o u t 1 2 c r a n k s h a f t d e g r e e s ) t o two s i n g l e h o l e ,
s w i r l t y p e n o z z l e s l o c a t e d o p p o s i t e e a c h o t h e r in t h e combustion c h a m b e r .

2
 History of Fuel Injection

INJECTION PUMPS
The one feature common to a l l injection pumps from the earliest to the present has
been the use of p l u n g e r s to c r e a t e the required i n j e c t i o n p r e s s u r e . E a r l y pumps relied upon
packed glands to m i n i m i z e t h e l e a k a g e of high pressure fuel past the plunger. The e a r l i e s t

Fig. 4. The McKechnie solid injection system

reference to close f i t t i n g o f t h e p l u n g e r a n d b a r r e l f o r e l i m i n a t i o n o f t h e p a c k i n g g l a n d a p p e a r s
in a patent f i l e d i n 1 9 1 2 b y O t t o F . P e r s s o n o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . I n 1 9 1 9 P h i l i p L . S c o t t ,
also an American, described a method of fitting a plunger to a barrel with an estimated
clearance of 0.0001 inch.

Metering Methods
The earliest known method for v a r y i n g the f u e l q u a n t i t y d e l i v e r e d by a p u m p was to
vary the p l u n g e r s t r o k e . A n A m e r i c a n , J o h n F . Holland, o b t a i n e d patent N o . 3 3 7 , 0 0 0 in 1 8 8 6
on an a r r a n g e m e n t f o r s l i d i n g a c a m s h a f t
w i t h t a p e r e d c a m s to v a r y the p u m p stroke.
A n o t h e r early m e t h o d of metering
control was by m e a n s o f a s p i l l valve. I n
1 9 0 0 U . S . p a t e n t N o . 654,140 was g r a n t e d
to Rudolph D i e s e l for a w e d g e c o n t r o l l e d
s p i l l valve p u m p as shown in F i g . 5.
The duration of the plunger stroke during wich
the by-pass valve D was closed was lenghtened
or reduced by moving the wedge K in or out, thus
increasing or decreasing the fuel quantity
delivered by the pump.
Fuel metering control by means of a helix
on plunger was introduced by Carl Pieper of
Germany in 1892. According to his German
patent No.66,057 and as shown in Fig. 6 (see
following page), a suction port was controlled by
Fig. 5. R . Diesel's metering pump with spill valve a top beveled plunger, and by rotating the plunger
a variation of the P o r t c l o s u r e t i m e w a s e f f e c t e d t o
controlled by a wedge . (After U.S. patent No.654140 of 1900)
change the fuel quantity delivered by the pump.
E n g l i s h patent No. 9403 was granted to William H.
Scott in 1895 for a double port helix control for varying both the beginning and ending of injection.

3
 History of Fuel Injection

Control o f t h e f u e l quantity b y s u c t i o n v a l v e t i m i n g w a s q u i t e p o p u l a r f o r e a r l y
injection pumps. It was introduced by Imanuel Lanster of Germany in 1902. According to his
U.S. p. a t e n t N o . 729,613 issued in 1903, a g o v e r n o r controlled linkage connected t o the p u m p i n g
p l u n g e r w o u l d h o l d t h e spring loaded s uction v a l v e o p e n f o r a l o n g e r o r s h o r t e r t i m e t o
decrease or increase the quantity of fuel injected.

Fig. 6 . Pump with plunger helix control. ( After Carl
Pieper's German patent No. 66057 of 1892.)
Distributor Pumps
I n 1 9 1 4 B r i t i s h p a t e n t No. 15,962 w a s
granted to Francois Feyens of Belgium for an
i n j e c t i o n s y s t e m u s i n g a r o t a r y distributor
t o d e l i v e r m e t e r e d f u e l t o the s e v e r a l c y l i n -
d e r s o f a m u l t i - c y l i n d e r engine. As s h o w n i n
F i g . 7, fuel a t a r e g u l a t e d h i g h pressure w a s
d e l i v e r e d to c h a m b e r A f r o m w h i c h i t f l o w e d
into the tapered slot B of the cylindrical
d i s t r i b u t o r C. A s the d i s t r i b u t o r rotated i n
s y n c h r o n i s m w i t h t h e engine c r a n k s h a f t , f ue
w a s d i s t r i b u t e d to t h e v a r i o u s o u t l e t s D b y
m e a n s o f s l o t B uncovering the d u c t s E . T h e
f u e l q u a n t i t y w a s i n c r e a s e d o r d e c r e a s e d by
l o w e r i n g or r a i s i n g t h e d i s t r i b u t o r t o v a r y the
e f f e c t i v e width o f s l o t B . T h e B r i t i s h m o t o r
ship "Selandia," launched in 1913, used a
distributor type injection system on its f i r s t
voyage to the F a r East.

Delivery Valves
O n e of the p r o b l e m s e n c o u n t e r e d with e a r l y jerk pump injection system was the dripping
or after injection of fuel following the m a i n discharge. S i n c e this resulted in smoke,
increased fuel consumption, and nozzle car-
b o n i z a t i o n , n u m e r o u s attempts were made t o
vent the discharge tubings between injections.
In 1910 an American, Herbert Kempton,
proposed a delivery valve having a hole i n it
through which the high pressure fuel was
rel i e v e d when the plunger returned on its
downward stroke.
The first suggestion to u s e a collar
on the delivery valve to r e t r a c t part o f the
fuel from the discharge tubing was made by
Karl Steinbecker in Germany in 1913, and
Fig. 7. Rotary distributor metering device. (After he was g r a n t e d U . S . p a t e n t N o . 1 , 2 3 5 , 6 1 1 O n i t
in 1917. In 1920 V a n Amstell of Holland de-
Francois Feyens' British patent No. 159962 of 1914.
scribed a non- return valve having a cylindrical
piston directly below the valve seat to withdraw a portion of the Liquid before the valve seated.

In 1924 Axel Danielson of the Atlas Diesel Company o f S weden introduced a retraction
type delivery valve for which he was granted U.S. patent No. 1,589,515 in 1926. It embodied
t h e o n e f e a t u r e h i s predecessors h a d b e e n s t r i v i n g f o r : a u t o m a t i c p r e s s u r e r e l i e f o f t h e d i s -
c h a r g e tubing i m m e d i a t e l y after t h e e n d p u m p d i s c h a r g e u n d e r a l l c o n d i t i o n s . A s s h o w n i n
F i g . 8 ( s e e f o l l o w i n g p a g e ) , t h e valve h a d a c l o s e f i t t i n g p i s t o n b e n e a t h i t s s e a t , s o t h a t t h e
l o w e r e d g e o f t h e p i s t o n effected a s e a l a s i t e n t e r e d t h e b o r e o n t h e r e s e a t i n g of t h e v a l v e .
T h e e f f e c t i v e r e t r a c t i o n w a s t h e v o l u m e d i s p l a c e d f r o m t h e l o w e r edge o f t h e p i s t o n t o t h e
tapered seat of the valve.

4
 History of Fuel Injection

The duplex delivery valve was first

proposed b y E u g e n e T a r t r a i s o f F r a n c e i n
1 9 2 1 , a n d he w a s g r a n t e d U . S . p a t e n t N o .
1, 4 9 2 , 1 1 1 o n i t i n 1 9 2 4 . I t c o n s i s t e d o f a
small valve inside of the main valve and
o p e n i n g in t h e o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n . T h u s ,
when fuel delivery from the pump ceased
a n d t h e m a i n v a l v e s e a t e d , the high p r e s s u r e
in t h e d i s c h a r g e t u b i n g w a s r e l i e v e d
through the small valve until i t s closing
pressure w a s r e a c h e d .
The variable retraction delivery
valve was developed in 1934 by Hans Hein-
r i c h a n d M a x H u r s t o f R o b e r t B o s c h in G e r -
many, and U . S. patent No, 2,090,351 Was
g r a n t e d o n i t i n 1 9 3 7 . I t s v a r i a b l e retrac-
tion feature consisted of tapered grooves,
increasing in width from top to bottom, on F i g . 8. D e l i v e r y valve with retraction piston. (After
the c y l i n d r i c a l guide of the valve. Axel Danielson's U . S . patent No. 1,589,515 o f 1 9 2 6 . )

FUEL SPRAY NOZZLES

Fuel infection was firs used in
ottocyle engines before the invention of the Diesel
Engine. The objective was to obtain better
atomization of the pressurized fuel
through spray nozzles than was possible with
the crude c a r b u r e t o r s of that t i m e .

Fig. 9. Inwardly opening valve nozzle
Poppet
In 1886 an American, John P . Hol-
l a n d , was g r a n t e d U . S. p a t e n t N o . 537,000
on an engine accessory, including a poppet
nozzle, which he claimed would burn kerosene
and heavy crude petroleums as well as
the lighter napthas commonly used for fuel
in a vaporizer, where It was mixed with the
incoming air before entering the combustion
chamber. In 1900 U.S. patent No. 650,583
was granted to A. H. Goldingham for a
poppet nozzle with anorifice plate below it.

I n w a r d l y Opening Valve
James Hargreaves of England was granted U. S, patent No, 431.581 in 1890 on the
f i r s t n o z z l e of this type. As showni n F i g . 9, the valve was l i f t e d o f f i t s s e a t b y f u e l
p r e s s u r e a c t i n g on the piston in opposition to the spring. In common with other early designs,
this was a low pressure n o z z l e . A l ip projection was added below the orifice so that
the issuing fuel impinged on it to effect better atomization of the fuel.

D i f f e r e n t i a l Valve
The inwardly opening, differential valve type nozzle, which i s the most popular nozzle
today, was f i r s t u s e d by T h o r n y c r o f t of E n g l a n d in 1908. Fig. 1 . 0 (s e e f o l l o w i n g page), shows
t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f this n o z z l e . I n 1 9 1 0 F r e d e r i c k H . L i v e n s o f E n g l a n d w a s g r a n t e d E n g l i s h
patent No, 20,582 on a similar nozzle with tangential fuel channels for the fuel entering at the
seat to produce a diffused spray.

5
 History of Fuel Injection

Pintle Valve
In 1 9 1 0 , P e t e r B o w m a n o f D e n m a r k
a p p l i e d for a p a t e n t i n E n g l a n d o n w h a t m a y
b e t h e e a r l i e s t f o r m of a n i n w a r d l y o p e n i n g ,
pintle nozzle. As shown in Fig. 11, the
pintle, or valve extension, protruded through
t h e spray h o l e t o p r o d u c e a n a n n u l a r o r i f i c e ,
and the seat for t h e f l a t b o t t o m valve was
close to the orifice so that the nozzle had
differential action. Hans Heinrich of Robert
Basch, G e r m a n y w a s granted U . S . p a t e n t
No. 2 , 0 1 7 , 0 2 8 i n 1935 o n t h e p o p u l a r t h r o t t l i n g
pintle nozzle.

Accumulator T y p e
In 1926 an American, Guy Bell, was
granted patent No.1,585,277 on an accumu-
lator nozzle which injected at the end of the
pump stroke, rather than during it. As shown in
Fig. 12 (see following page), fuel
from the pump was delivered to a space Fig. 10 Inwardly opening differential nozzle of Thornycroft
above the valve A and through passages
and check valve B to the a c c u m u l a t o r C in communication with the chamber D around the valve.
During fuel delivery from the pump the nozzle
valve remained seated, because the pressure
of the incoming fuel a c t e d o n t o p o f the
valve. When the pump spilled at the end of
i t s effective stroke the high pressure fuel above
the valve dropped to a low pressure, and
t h e p r e s s u r e o f t h e f u e l stored i n t h e a c c u m u l a t o r
and around the valve then acted on the
differential area of the valve to lift it against
the spring. The stored fuel then discharged
through the nozzle orifice until its pressure
dropped to the nozzle valve closing pressure.
U.S. patent No. 1,701,089 was granted in 1929 to
Edward Von Salis o f S w i t z e r l a n d f o r a n o z z l e
with a spring operted accumulator plunger, and
other modifications were made later by
Robert Broege in 1931 and Gustav Eichelberg
in 1939.

. E l e c t r o -m a g n e t i c a l l y O p e r a t e d
The idea of lifting nozzle valves by
solenoids was first suggested by an American,
T h o m a s T .Gaff, who obtained U.S. patent
Fig. 11. Inwardly o p e n i n g pintle valve nozzle. N o . 1 , 0 5 9 , 6 0 4 o n i t in 1 9 1 3 . H e p r o p o s e d s u c h a
nozzle for each engine cylinder with fuel supplied
( a f t e r Petcr B owman's B ritish patent No. 146 of 1 9 1 0 . )
from a constant pressure accumulator charged by
a high pressure pump a n d r e g u l a t e d by a r e l i e f v a l v e . Harry E . K e n n e d y w a s g r a n t e d U . S .
patent No. 1,092,956 on a novel construction of an electro-magnetic nozzle valve in 1933, and
the Atlas- Imperial Diesel Engine Company of California about that time announced a
commercial injection system with this type of nozzle.

UNIT INJECTORS
From the earliest days of the diesel engine, troubles were encountered with the fuel

6
 History of Fuel Injection

discharge tubings connecting the injection

pump and nozzles. One solution was to
eliminate the tubing by combining the pump and
nozzle. The earliest form of this arrangement
m e n t i s s h o w n i n F i g . 13 r e p r o d u c e d f r o m
German patent No. 175, 932 i s s u e d t o Carl
Weidman In 1905 for an air injection s y s t e m .
In o p e r a t i o n t h e f u e l q u a n t i t y d e l i v e r e d b y
plunger A and controlled by the opening period
of suction valve B passed through c h e c k v a l v e C
into the atomizer annulus D. There
it mixed with the injection air before ejection
through the nozzle orifice.
In 1911 British patent No. 1517 was
issued to Frederick Lamplough for a unit
injector resembling those in use today. As shown
i n F i g . 1 4 ( s e e f o l l o w i n g pa ge ) , it w a s o f s i m p l e
design. Inlet f u e l entered through the top
and passed through spring loaded ball valve Fig. 12. Accumulator nozzle (After Guy A. Bell's U.S.
A and ports B into the space above the plunger patent No. 1,585,277 of 1 926.)
C on its suction stroke. When the bell
crank forced the p l u n g e r inward, the differential valve D w a s lifted by fuel pressure and fuel
was discharged through the n o z z l e . F u e l quantity was controlled by varying the stroke by
means of the sliding, tapered c a m .
C o m m e r c i a l a c c e p t a n c e o f u n i t i n j e c t o r s in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s c o m m e n c e d i n 1 9 3 1 on
W i n t o n e n g i n e s w i t h a design b y C . D . S a l i s b u r y . I n 1 9 3 4 A r t h u r F i e l d e n w a s g r a n t e d U . S . p a t e n t
N O .1 , 9 8 1 , 9 1 3 o n t h e u n i t i n j e c t o r design a d o p t e d f o r t h e G e n e r a l M o t o r s t w o - c y c l e d i e s e l e n g i n e .

COMMERClAL INJECTION EQUIPMENT

From the first successful diesel engine to 1926, each engine manufacturer designed
and built his own injection equipment. Since these engine manufacturers were not accustomed
to make small, precision p a r t s requiring close t o l e r a n c e s , the c r u d e r a i r i n j e c t i o n and c o m m o n

Fig. 13. Early unit injector. (After Cnrl Weidmstn's

German patent No.175,932 of 1905.)

7
 History of Fuel Injection

rail fuel injection systems were used

exclusively on the rather large engines of that A
period. Small engines, especially of the
a u tomotive type, were not particularly s u c c e s s f u l ,
primarily b e c a u s e o f t h e l a c k o f s u i t a b l e f u e l
injection equipment.
In December, 1922 the Robert Bosch
Company of Stuttgart, Germany decided to
manufacture fuel injection equipment, and after
years of development i t s popular jerk
pump with helix control, for which U. S.
patent No. 1 , 8 3 1 , 6 4 9 was granted to Ottmar
Bauer in 1931, was introduced in 1927 in both
single and multiple plunger types. About the
same time precision nozzle assemblies of
the pintle and hole type were introduced, and
subsequently other items such as supply
pumps, governors, and filters were marketed. Fig. 14. Unit injector with differential nozzle valve.
With the availability of this injection (After Frederick Lamplough's British patent No. 1,517
equipment the high speed diesel engine came of 1911.)
into existence. In a relatively short time
other companies started m a n u f a c t u r i n g standardized types of fuel injection equipment for a l l
types of engines and progress in d i e s e l engine development swung into high gear.