Claims:We claim:
1. A high pressure fuel pump (10) positioned within a bore of an engine block, said high pressure fuel pump (10) comprising:
a pump housing (12) coupled to said engine block;
a plunger (14) provided within a bore (16) defined within said pump housing (12), said plunger (14) adapted to reciprocate within said bore (16) of said pump housing (12); characterized in that
a permanent magnet (18) coupled to said plunger (14); and
at least one electromagnet positioned proximate to said permanent magnet (18) and coupled to said engine block, said permanent magnet (18) attracted and repelled to said at least one electromagnet by actuation of the at least one electromagnet to facilitate reciprocating said plunger (14) within said bore (16) of said pump housing (12).

2. The high pressure fuel pump (10) in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said at least one electromagnet is an electromagnetic ring (20) that is positioned within a recess defined within said pump housing (12).

3. The high pressure fuel pump (10) in accordance with Claim 2 wherein said at least one electromagnet is coupled circumferentially within said pump housing (12).

4. The high pressure fuel pump (10) in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said at least one electromagnet is positioned adjacent to said pump housing (12).

5. The high pressure fuel pump (10) in accordance with Claim 1 wherein said at least one electromagnet is positioned within a recess defined within said pump housing (12) and adjacent to said pump housing (12). , Description:Field of the invention:
[0001] This disclosure relates to a high pressure fuel pump, and more particularly to an apparatus for actuating a piston of the high pressure fuel pump by means of electro-magnetic induction.
Background of the invention:
[0002] DE Patent Application Number 102013207682-A1 describes a high pressure fuel pump. The high pressure fuel pump has a pump element with a cylinder bore of a housing part. A stroke absorbed pump piston has a pump working space for defining front surface. An inlet valve is provided for connection of the pump working space with a fuel inlet and an outlet valve with a high-pressure accumulator. The front surface has a permanent magnet, where a magnetic force couples a liftable valve element of the inlet valve effected by the pump piston. The permanent magnet is provided in a recess of the front surface of the pump piston. The front surface has a permanent magnet, where a magnetic force couples a liftable valve element effected by the pump piston and the permanent magnet is provided in a recess of the front surface of the pump piston, thus prevents the risk of the unwanted particles in the high pressure fuel pump.

Brief description of the accompanying drawing:
[0003] An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawing:
[0004] Figure 1 illustrates a high pressure fuel pump in accordance with this disclosure.

Detailed description of the embodiments:
[0005] Figure 1 illustrates a high pressure fuel pump 10 in accordance with this disclosure. A high pressure fuel pump 10 is described. The high pressure fuel pump 10 comprises a pump housing 12 and a plunger 14 provided within a bore 16 defined within the pump housing 12. The plunger 14 is adapted to reciprocate within the bore 16 of the pump housing 12. A permanent magnet 18 is coupled to the plunger 14. At least one electromagnet is positioned proximate to the permanent magnet 18, the permanent magnet 18 attracted and repelled to the at least one electromagnet by actuation of the at least one electromagnet to facilitate reciprocating the plunger 14 within the bore 16 of the pump housing 12.
[0006] The construction of the high pressure fuel pump 10 in accordance with this disclosure will be further described in detail below. At least a part of the high pressure fuel pump 10 is located within a bore in an engine block. The high pressure fuel pump 10 includes a pump housing 12 that is coupled to the engine block. The pump housing 12 is provided with a bore 16 that accommodates a piston 14. The piston 14 is adapted to reciprocate within the bore 16 of the pump housing 12. The pump housing 12 is provided with a recessed portion 17 that circumscribes the pump housing 12. An electromagnetic ring 20 is fitted to the recessed portion 17 such that the electromagnetic ring 20 circumscribes a portion of the pump housing 12. An inner surface of the electromagnetic ring 20 is in sealing contact with the pump housing 12. The inner surface of the electromagnetic ring 20 is in sealing contact with the pump housing 12 by means of screwing the electromagnetic ring 20 to the pump housing 12. Alternatively, the electromagnetic ring 20 is in sealing contact with the pump housing 12 by press fitting the electromagnetic ring 20 to the pump housing 12. The piston 14 that is accommodated within the bore 16 of the pump housing 12 is coupled to a permanent magnet 18. Specifically, the permanent magnet 18 is coupled to an end portion of the piston 14. A space 22 is created between the permanent magnet 18 and the electromagnetic ring 20 due to the reciprocating movement of the piston 14. The permanent magnet 18 is attracted to and repelled by the electromagnetic ring 20 during a suction stroke and a fuel delivery stroke of the high pressure fuel pump 10 to facilitate reciprocating the piston 14 within the bore 16 of the pump housing 12. An electromagnet 24 is positioned in proximity of the permanent magnet 18 on the opposite side of the electromagnetic ring 20. A first side of the electromagnet 24 is positioned adjacent to the permanent magnet 18, while an opposite second side of the electromagnet 24 is coupled to a fixed support. In an embodiment, the fixed support is the engine block within which a portion of the high pressure fuel pump 10 is positioned. The electromagnet 24 is controlled by an engine control unit (not shown). The engine control unit is connected to the electromagnet 24 via a plurality of electrical leads and supplies electric power to the electromagnet 24 to activate the electromagnet 24.
[0007] A space 26 is created between the permanent magnet 18 and the electromagnet 24 due to the reciprocating movement of the piston 14. The permanent magnet 18 is attracted to and repelled by the electromagnet 24 during a suction stroke and a fuel delivery stroke of the high pressure fuel pump 10 to facilitate reciprocating the piston 14 within the bore 16 of the pump housing 12. The electromagnetic ring 20, the permanent magnet 18, and the electromagnet 24 as disclosed above replaces the conventional cam and roller tappet that is employed as the traditional driving mechanism for a conventional high pressure fuel pump 10. A collection tank is provided below the electromagnet 24. Leakage fuel that flows through the clearance provided between the pump housing 12 and the piston 14 is collected in the collection tank. From the collection tank, the fuel is channeled to the fuel tank.
[0008] The working of the high pressure fuel pump 10 is described as an example. When the piston 14 is required to be translated in the fuel delivery stroke, the electromagnetic ring 20 is magnetized to a polarity that is opposite to that of the permanent magnet 18. As an example, the electromagnetic ring 20 is magnetized to “N” pole, while the opposing side of the permanent magnet 18 is magnetized to “S” pole.
[0009] In addition, the electromagnet 24 that is positioned adjacent to the permanent magnet 18 on the opposite side of the electromagnetic ring 20 is magnetized to a polarity that is the same as that of the permanent magnet. As an example, the electromagnet 24 is magnetized to “N” pole, while the opposing side of the permanent magnet 18 is magnetized to “N” pole. Therefore, the permanent magnet 18 is attracted by the electromagnetic ring 20 and repelled by the electromagnet 24. The permanent magnet 18 along with the piston 14 is translated in the fuel delivery stroke within the bore 16 to deliver fuel from the high pressure fuel pump 10.
[00010] When the piston 14 is required to be translated in the return stroke, the electromagnetic ring 20 is magnetized to a polarity that is the same as that of the permanent magnet 18. As an example, the electromagnetic ring 20 is magnetized to “S” pole, while the opposing side of the permanent magnet 18 is magnetized to “S” pole.
[00011] In addition, the electromagnet 24 that is positioned adjacent to the permanent magnet 18 on the opposite side of the electromagnetic ring 20 is magnetized to a polarity that is opposite to that of the permanent magnet 18. As an example, the electromagnet 24 is magnetized to “S” pole, while the opposing side of the permanent magnet 18 is magnetized to “N” pole. Therefore, the permanent magnet 18 is repelled by the electromagnetic ring 20 and attracted by the electromagnet 24. The permanent magnet 18 along with the piston 14 is translated in the return stroke within the bore 16 of the housing 12.
[00012] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.