Fuel tank arrangement for a tractor

Abstract

A fuel tank arrangement for a tractor which stores its fuel in an auxiliary tank and a main tank that are spaced apart in the tractor. The tractor's engine receives its supply of fuel from a fuel pump after it has passed through a primary fuel filter. The fuel tank arrangement incorporates a first line fluidly connecting the main tank to the fuel pump. The arrangement also utilizes a main vent to connect the forwardmost portion of the upper section of the main tank to the atmosphere, and an auxiliary vent to connect the rearwardmost portion of the upper section of the auxiliary tank to the atmosphere. The next element of the arrangement is a supply system which requires all of the fuel to pass through the main tank to reach the fuel pump. The supply system fluidly connects the bottom section of the auxiliary tank with the forwardmost portion of the top section of the main tank through a second line. The second line includes a mechanism to pump fuel from the auxiliary tank to the main tank until the fuel in the main tank reaches a first predetermined volume. The second line also has a filtering element position between the pumping mechanism and the auxiliary tank to remove foreign matter from the fuel before it passes through the pumping mechanism. The last element of the arrangement is a dual purpose connector which is fluidly connected to the second line between the main tank and the pumping mechanism. This connector is also fluidly connected to the rearwardmost portion of the upper section of the auxiliary tank. In this position the connector vents the second line to the atmosphere when a vacuum occurs in the second line, while preventing the fuel flow from the pumping mechanism from entering the auxiliary tank.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.