Fluid responsive vent control valve with peel-away opening action

A liquid-responsive vent control valve for mounting on a vehicle fuel tank to selectively vent fuel vapor from the tank to a vapor trap, the valve comprising:

• a hollow valve body having a fuel vapor inlet communicating with the tank interior and a high flow fuel vapor tank outlet communicating with the vapor trap;
• valve means associated with the vent outlet, the valve means movable between an open venting position and a closed non-venting position;
• fuel level responsive float means in the hollow valve body connected to the valve means to open and close the valve means in response to the level of liquid fuel in the tank;
• wherein, the valve means comprises a flexible ribbon element connected at a first end to the valve body and a second end to the float means such that the second end is lower than the first end in both the open venting position and the closed non-venting position, the first and second ends of the ribbon valve element being located on opposite sides of the vent outlet and the ribbon element further including a closure portion aligned with the vent outlet, and the float means being aligned with the vent outlet such that the float means forces the ribbon valve closure portion against the vent outlet in the closed non-venting position.

A liquid-responsive vent control valve for mounting on a vehicle fuel tank to selectively vent fuel vapor from the tank to a vapor trap, the valve comprising:

• a hollow valve body having a fuel vapor inlet communicating with the tank interior and a high flow fuel vapor tank outlet communicating with the vapor trap;
• valve means associated with the vent outlet;
• fuel level responsive float means in the hollow valve body connected to the valve means to open and close the valve means in response to the level of liquid fuel in the tank;
• wherein,
• the valve means comprises a flexible ribbon valve element connected at one end to the valve body and at the other end to the float means such that the float means peels the ribbon valve element in continuous fashion on and off the valve seat between an open venting position in which the float means has pulled the ribbon valve element completely free of the vent outlet, an initial shutoff position in which the float means through its contact with the first end of the ribbon valve element has raised the ribbon valve element to a point where pressure differential across the vent outlet has substantially but not fully closed the vent outlet, and a full shutoff position in which force exerted by the float means against the ribbon valve element fully closes the vent outlet.