Anti-bounce mechanism for fuel injectors

A solenoid actuated valve assembly (130) includes a pintle (132) having a valve (136) that seals against a valve seat (118), an armature (134) slidably positioned on the pintle (132), a first (138) and a second (140) armature stopper that allow and limit axial movement of the armature (134) relative to the pintle (132), a primary spring (160) providing a biasing down force to the pintle (132) and to the armature (134), and a secondary spring (162) providing a smaller biasing down force to the armature (134) only. The anti-bounce mechanism for solenoid actuated fuel injectors reduces valve bounce and the impact load between the valve seat (118) and the valve (136) while at the same time enabling the reduction of the pintle (132) opening time. The anti-bounce mechanism utilizes the separation of the moving masses of the armature (134) and the pintle (132), a biased armature, as well as hydraulic damping and suction mechanisms in combination.