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US 12,163,481 B2Granted
Vehicle and corresponding fuel system
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorAed M. Dudar
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle includes a fuel tank, a canister, a heater, a bellows, and a valve. The fuel tank is configured to store fuel. The canister is configured to receive and store evaporated fuel from the fuel tank. The heater disposed within the canister. The bellows is disposed within the fuel tank. The bellows is configured to regulate the pressure within the fuel tank. The valve is configured to isolate an internal volume of the bellows from the canister when in a first position. The valve is configured to establish fluid communication between the internal volume of the bellows and the canister when in a second position.
Claims19
A vehicle comprising:
- an engine configured to propel the vehicle;
- a fuel tank configured to store fuel;
- a canister in fluid communication with the fuel tank and configured to receive and store evaporated fuel from the fuel tank during a refueling event;
- a canister purge valve (i) disposed between the canister and the engine and (ii) configured to open to direct the evaporated fuel from the canister to the engine upon initiating an operating cycle of the engine;
- a heater disposed within the canister;
- a bellows (i) disposed within the fuel tank and (ii) configured to regulate pressure within the fuel tank;
- a bellows vent valve configured to (i) establish fluid communication between an internal volume of the bellows and ambient surroundings when in a first position and (ii) establish fluid communication between the internal volume of the bellows and the canister when in a second position;
- and
- a controller programmed to, in response to anticipation of the refueling event, (i) transition the bellows vent valve to the second position, (ii) activate the heater, and (iii) direct heated air from the canister to the internal volume of the bellows.
6 more elements
A vehicle comprising:
- a fuel tank configured to store fuel;
- a canister in fluid communication with the fuel tank and configured to receive and store evaporated fuel from the fuel tank;
- a heater disposed within the canister;
- a bellows (i) disposed within the fuel tank and (ii) configured to regulate pressure within the fuel tank;
- a valve configured to (i) isolate an internal volume of the bellows from the canister when in a first position and (ii) establish fluid communication between the internal volume of the bellows and the canister when in a second position;
- and
- a controller programmed to, in response to scheduling of a refueling event, (i) transition the valve to the second position, (ii) activate the heater, and (iii) direct heated air from the canister to the internal volume of the bellows prior to the scheduled refueling event.
4 more elements
A vehicle comprising:
- a fuel tank;
- a canister configured to receive and store evaporated fuel from the fuel tank during a refueling event;
- a heater disposed within the canister;
- a bellows (i) disposed within the fuel tank and (ii) configured to regulate pressure within the fuel tank;
- conduits (i) establishing fluid communication between an internal volume of the bellows and the canister and (ii) establishing fluid communication between the internal volume of the bellows and ambient surroundings;
- a valve disposed along the conduits and configured to (i) facilitate fluid communication between the internal volume of the bellows and the ambient surroundings when in a first position, (ii) isolate the internal volume of the bellows from the canister when in the first position, (iii) facilitate fluid communication between the internal volume of the bellows and the canister when in a second position, and (iv) isolate the internal volume of the bellows from the ambient surroundings when in the second position;
- and
- a controller programmed to, in response to scheduling of the refueling event and an ambient temperature being less than a threshold, (i) transition the valve to the second position, (ii) activate the heater, and (iii) direct heated air from the canister to the internal volume of the bellows prior to the scheduled refueling event.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.