US 5,398,659 AGranted

Fuel sender for motor vehicle fuel system

AssigneeGeneral Motors Corporation

InventorsWilliam S. Zimmerman, Wayne F. Harris, Ulf Sawert, Randall L. Dockery, Timothy F. Coha

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Fuel sender at a remote or terminal end of a suction circuit of a fuel system of a motor vehicle. The fuel sender includes an unsealed reservoir in a fuel tank of the vehicle replenished by return fuel from a return fuel circuit of the fuel system and a junction chamber in the reservoir communicating with the terminal end of the suction circuit and with each of a primary flow channel and a secondary flow channel. The primary flow channel terminates at a primary screen in the fuel tank outside the reservoir. The secondary flow channel terminates at a secondary screen inside the reservoir. The secondary flow channel is restricted relative to the primary flow channel so that vacuum in the suction circuit induces flow in the primary flow channel in preference to flow in the secondary channel. Under low fuel conditions, the primary flow channel is blocked and vacuum in the suction circuit induces flow in the secondary flow channel from the reservoir. The secondary screen is flexible and actuates a differential pressure responsive bypass valve to connect the secondary flow channel directly to the reservoir when both the primary and the secondary screens are blocked.

Claims6

Dependent claims

In a motor vehicle fuel system including a fuel tank, a fuel pump remote from said fuel tank, a suction circuit connected to an inlet of said fuel pump so that a vacuum is induced in said suction circuit when said fuel pump is on, and a return circuit for returning surplus fuel said fuel tank,

a fuel sender comprising:
a reservoir in said fuel tank having a cap thereon cooperating with said reservoir in defining a return fuel chamber in said reservoir,
means connecting said return circuit to said return fuel chamber so that said surplus fuel is deposited first in said return fuel chamber,
means defining a junction chamber in said reservoir,
means connecting said junction chamber to said suction circuit,
means defining a primary flow channel between said fuel tank and said junction chamber including a primary screen outside said reservoir,
means defining a secondary flow channel between said return fuel chamber and said junction chamber including a secondary screen in said return fuel chamber, and
means operative to effect a predetermined flow restriction in said primary flow channel and a predetermined flow restriction in said secondary flow channel, said predetermined flow restriction in said secondary flow channel exceeding said flow restriction in said primary flow channel so that the vacuum in said suction circuit induces fluid flow in said primary flow channel from said fuel tank to said junction chamber in preference to fuel flow in said secondary flow channel.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.