Fuel-injecting apparatus

Claim 1

Fuel-injecting apparatus for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine at a timing and at a rate adapted for its operation, said internal combustion engine including cylinders, a shaft and a first lubricant trap provided at the bottom of said internal combustion engine to collect lubricant for lubricating said internal combustion engine and means for supplying the lubricant held in said first lubricant trap to a fuel-injection apparatus, said fuel-injecting comprising: a fuel pump adapted to be driven by the internal combustion engine to inject fuel into the cylinders of said engine at a prescribed rate and being provided with a section to be lubricated by said lubricant; a fuel-injection timing control device provided between said lubricant supply means and fuel pump to receive lubricant from said lubricant supply means for controlling the timing in which the fuel pump injects fuel in accordance with the magnitude of the lubricant pressure; a first lubricant passage extending through said lubricant supply means and fuel-injection timing control device for supplying lubricant from said lubricant supply means to the fuel-injection timing control device; a second lubricant passage, one end portion of which communicates with the first lubricant passage, and the other end of which faces the lubricated section of the fuel pump, for conducting lubricant from said lubricant supply means to the lubricated section of the fuel pump; a throttling section formed in the second lubricant passage to prevent a drop in the pressure of lubricant delivered from said lubricant supply means even when said lubricant is supplied to the lubricated section of the fuel pump, wherein said fuel-injection timing control device controls the timing in which the fuel pump injects fuel by changing the rotation angle phase of the shaft of the internal combustion engine and that of the fuel pump in accordance with the magnitude of the pressure of lubricant delivered from the lubricant supply means, wherein said fuel pump includes: a pump shaft rotated by the internal combustion engine, at least one eccentric cam mounted on said pump shaft, a tappet pressed against said eccentric cam to be reciprocated by the rotation of said fuel pump shaft, a pump housing provided with a guide plane allowing for the reciprocation of said tappet, wherein said eccentric cam and tappet are pressed against each other at the lubricated section of the fuel pump; and, wherein said second lubricant passage extends through the pump housing, and the other end of said lubricant passage is open to the guide plane of said pump housing.