Fuel filling apparatus and method for bi-fuel vehicle
AssigneeHyundai Motor Company
InventorsChang Han Kim, Jong Ki Kim, Jae Hwa Park, Jae Min Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fuel filling apparatus and method for a bi-fuel vehicle using both gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as fuel are provided to an LPG fuel tank. The fuel filling apparatus and method are capable of temporarily burning a portion of LPG fuel after collecting a fuel portion, using a gasoline fuel tank and a canister, when the internal pressure of the LPG fuel tank in the bi-fuel vehicle is equal to or greater than an LPG filling pressure of a filling gun. Additionally, the internal pressure of the LPG fuel tank is decreased to a level below the LPG filling pressure of the filling gun, thereby achieving smoother LPG fuel filling of the LPG fuel tank by the filling gun.
Claims8
A fuel filling apparatus for a bi-fuel vehicle, comprising:
- a solenoid valve mounted to a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank in the bi-fuel vehicle;
- a venting line connected to an outlet of the solenoid valve;
- a pressure sensor configured to sense a pressure of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank;
- a controller configured to operate the solenoid valve to be temporarily opened to discharge a portion of LPG fuel in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank when the pressure of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank sensed by the pressure sensor is equal to or greater than a filling pressure of a filling gun;
- and
- a collector connected to a trailing end of the venting line, to collect the portion of the LPG fuel discharged through the solenoid valve, and to supply the collected LPG fuel to an engine, for temporary startup of the engine,
- wherein the collector includes:
- a check valve mounted to a gasoline fuel tank while being connected to the trailing end of the venting line;
- a canister configured to collect LPG fuel introduced into an upper expansion space of the gasoline fuel tank after passing through the check valve, and then configured to supply the collected LPG fuel to the engine;
- and
- a purge valve mounted to a suction manifold, to guide the LPG fuel supplied from the canister to a combustion chamber of the engine, and
- wherein the venting line is connected between the outlet of the solenoid valve and the check valve mounted to the gasoline fuel tank, the venting line being configured to guide the portion of the LPG fuel from the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank to be discharged to the gasoline fuel tank when the solenoid valve is opened.
A fuel filling method for a bi-fuel vehicle, comprising:
- sensing, by a sensor, a pressure of a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank storing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel;
- collecting, by a canister, a portion of the LPG fuel in the fuel tank when the pressure of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank is equal to or greater than a filling pressure of a filling gun;
- supplying, by the controller, the collected LPG fuel to an engine, and combusting the supplied LPG fuel based on startup of the engine, to regulate the pressure of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to be decreased to a level below the filling pressure of the filling gun;
- and
- operating, by the controller, a motor-driven door of a filling port to be opened for LPG fuel filling of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank when the pressure of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank is decreased to a level below the filling pressure of the filling gun,
- wherein the collecting of the portion of the LPG fuel includes:
- guiding a portion of the LPG fuel in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank to an upper expansion space of a gasoline fuel tank via a venting line connected between an outlet of a solenoid valve and a check valve mounted to the gasoline fuel tank;
- and
- collecting, in the canister, the LPG fuel present in the upper expansion space of the gasoline fuel tank, for supply of the collected LPG fuel to a combustion chamber of the engine, and
- wherein the venting line is configured to guide the portion of the LPG fuel from the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fuel tank to be discharged to the gasoline fuel tank when the solenoid valve is opened.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.