# US 10,766,357 B2 · Fuel supply device and method for producing same > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,766,357 B2 - Document ID: US10766357B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/080,326 - Filed: 2017-02-24 - Published: 2019-01-10 - Granted: 2020-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2016-03-18 - Assignees: Denso Corporation - Applicants: Denso Corporation - Inventors: Rui Adachi; Kiyomori Kobayashi; Norihiro Hayashi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10766357B2 ## CPC - B60K 15/03: Fuel tanks - B60K 15/01: Arrangement of fuel conduits - B60K 15/035: characterised by venting means - F02M 37/0029: {Pressure regulator in the low pressure fuel system (pressure regulator in low-pressure injection apparatus F02M69/54)} - F02M 37/0052: {Details on the fuel return circuit; Arrangement of pressure regulators} - F02M 37/106: {the pump being installed in a sub-tank} - F02M 37/20: characterised by means for preventing vapour lock - F02M 37/22: Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines, e.g. arrangements in the feeding system - F02M 37/50: Filters arranged in or on fuel tanks - B60K 2015/03236: {characterised by special filters, the mounting thereof} - B60K 2015/03243: {characterised by special pumps, the mounting thereof} - B60K 2015/03296: {Pressure regulating valves} - B60K 2015/03523: {Arrangements of the venting tube} - B60K 2015/03542: {Mounting of the venting means} - B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES - F02M: SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF ## Abstract In a fuel tank, a pressure regulator is placed at an outside of a sub-tank and regulates a pressure of fuel of a pressure-regulation path, which is discharged from a fuel pump and is fed toward an outside of the fuel tank. A fuel recovery passage portion recovers excess fuel, which becomes excess at the pressure-regulation path, to the sub-tank. The sub-tank has an opening at a location that is higher than the suction filter. The fuel recovery passage portion is inserted from the outside of the sub-tank into the inside of the sub-tank through the opening while a gap is formed between the fuel recovery passage portion and the opening, so that the fuel recovery passage portion has an excess fuel outlet that discharges the excess fuel at a location that is on an inner side of the opening where an inside of the sub-tank is placed. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A fuel supply device configured to supply fuel, which is present in a fuel tank of a vehicle, to an outside of the fuel tank, the fuel supply device comprising: a sub-tank that stores the fuel; a suction filter that is placed along a bottom portion of the sub-tank and filters the fuel; a fuel pump that suctions the fuel, which is filtered through the suction filter; a fuel supply pipe that is located at an outside of the sub-tank and supplies the fuel, which is discharged from the fuel pump, to the outside of the fuel tank; and a fuel recovery passage portion that recovers excess fuel, which is discharged from the fuel pump but is not supplied to the outside of the fuel tank, to the sub-tank, wherein: the sub-tank has an opening that opens to the outside of the sub-tank at a location that is higher than the suction filter; due to a state where the fuel recovery passage portion is downwardly inserted in a vertical direction from the outside of the sub-tank into an inside of the sub-tank while a gap is interposed between the fuel recovery passage portion and the opening, the fuel recovery passage portion has an excess fuel outlet that discharges the excess fuel at a location that is on an inner side of the opening where the inside of the sub-tank is place; and the gap is formed between an outer peripheral wall of the fuel recovery passage portion and an inner peripheral wall of the opening and is configured to release vapor, which is contained in the excess fuel discharged from the excess fuel outlet, to the outside of the sub-tank through the gap. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the opening and the excess fuel outlet are placed at a ceiling portion of the sub-tank. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The fuel supply device according to claim 2, wherein the sub-tank includes a receiver that is placed between the excess fuel outlet and the suction filter and receives the excess fuel discharged from the excess fuel outlet. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The fuel supply device according to claim 2, wherein: the sub-tank includes an upper cover member that forms the opening at the ceiling portion; a cover height is defined as a height of the upper cover member relative to a bottom wall of the fuel tank; and the opening is formed at a part of the ceiling portion where the cover height is highest in the ceiling portion. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The fuel supply device according to claim 4, comprising a vapor expelling path that extends from a given point of the upper cover member to the opening along the upper cover member while the vapor expelling path extends via only a part of the ceiling portion that is located at or higher than the cover height measured at the given point. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The fuel supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure regulator that is placed at the outside of the sub-tank and regulates a pressure of the fuel of a pressure-regulation path, which is discharged from the fuel pump and is fed toward the outside of the fuel tank. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The fuel supply device according to claim 6, further comprising a regulator holder that holds the pressure regulator, wherein the fuel recovery passage portion is formed as a part of the regulator holder. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The fuel supply device according to claim 6, wherein: the fuel recovery passage portion includes: an extension pipe portion that forms the excess fuel outlet and linearly extends toward the suction filter through the opening; and a connection pipe portion that extends to cross an extending direction of the extension pipe portion while the connection pipe portion connects between an end part of the extension pipe portion, which is located on a side where the pressure regulator is placed, and the pressure regulator; and an extending length of the extension pipe portion is smaller than a distance between the suction filter and the opening. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The fuel supply device according to claim 6, wherein the fuel recovery passage portion recovers the excess fuel, which is discharged from the fuel pump and becomes excess at the pressure-regulation path, to the sub-tank. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The fuel supply device according to claim 1, comprising a deflector that is configured to deflect a flow direction of the excess fuel, which flows in the vertical direction in a downstream part of the fuel recovery passage portion located at the inside of the sub-tank, to limit collision of the excess fuel discharged from the downstream part of the fuel recovery passage portion against a portion of the suction filter, which is located directly below the downstream part of the fuel recovery passage portion in the vertical direction. ### Claim 11 A method for producing a fuel supply device that is configured to supply fuel, which is present in a fuel tank of a vehicle, to an outside of the fuel tank, the fuel supply device including: a sub-tank that stores the fuel; a suction filter that is placed along a bottom portion of the sub-tank and filters the fuel; a fuel pump that suctions the fuel, which is filtered through the suction filter; a pressure regulator that is placed at an outside of the sub-tank and regulates a pressure of the fuel of a pressure-regulation path discharged from the fuel pump and is fed toward the outside of the fuel tank; and a regulator holder that includes a fuel recovery passage portion, wherein the fuel recovery passage portion recovers excess fuel, which becomes excess at the pressure-regulation path, to the sub-tank, and the regulator holder holds the pressure regulator, wherein: the sub-tank has an opening that opens at a location, which is higher than the suction filter; and the fuel recovery passage portion has an excess fuel outlet that discharges the excess fuel at a location that is on an inner side of the opening where an inside of the sub-tank is placed, the method comprising: a holding step of holding the pressure regulator with the regulator holder by assembling the pressure regulator to the regulator holder; and an inserting step of inserting the fuel recovery passage portion through the opening such that a unit, which includes the regulator holder, is assembled to the sub-tank in a direction that coincides with an opening direction of the opening, so that the excess fuel outlet is inserted from the outside of the sub-tank into an inside of the sub-tank through the opening. ### Claim 12 A fuel supply device configured to supply fuel, which is present in a fuel tank of a vehicle, to an outside of the fuel tank, the fuel supply device comprising: a sub-tank that stores the fuel; a suction filter that is placed along a bottom portion of the sub-tank and filters the fuel; a fuel pump that suctions the fuel, which is filtered through the suction filter; a pressure regulator that is placed at an outside of the sub-tank and regulates a pressure of the fuel of a pressure-regulation path, which is discharged from the fuel pump and is fed toward the outside of the fuel tank; and a fuel recovery passage portion that recovers excess fuel, which becomes excess at the pressure-regulation path, to the sub-tank, wherein: the sub-tank has an opening that opens to the outside of the sub-tank at a location that is higher than the suction filter; due to a state where the fuel recovery passage portion is inserted from the outside of the sub-tank into an inside of the sub-tank while a gap is interposed between the fuel recovery passage portion and the opening, the fuel recovery passage portion has an excess fuel outlet that discharges the excess fuel at a location that is on an inner side of the opening where the inside of the sub-tank is placed; and the fuel supply device further comprises a regulator holder that holds the pressure regulator, wherein the fuel recovery passage portion is formed as a part of the regulator holder.