In-tank fuel reservoir and filter diaphragm
US4747388A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 7, 1986 |
| Grant date | May 31, 1988 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 7, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T137/86212
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A fuel system for automotive vehicles including a main liquid fuel tank which has a vertical fuel canister within the tank containing an electrically powered fuel pump. The canister has an open bottom positioned at the bottom of the fuel tank. The pump delivers liquid fuel from an inlet at the bottom of the canister to the engine and a pressure regulator in the line diverts fuel above the required volume back to the top of the canister which has an overflow to the main tank. The canister, which serves as a fuel reservoir, has a bottom septum closed by a movable valve. A filter material extends over the bottom of the canister to filter fuel entering the pump inlet. The filter is mechanically associated centrally with a spring biased lever connected to the movable valve. Under conditions where the bottom of the canister is starved of liquid fuel, the filter acts as a diaphragm to shift the lever against the resilient bias and open the valve to admit reservoir fuel from the canister to the pump inlet.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.