Fuel tank fill level control and vapor venting valve

A vapor control apparatus for a vehicle fuel tank having a fill pipe with an inlet above the fuel tank comprising:

• a housing constructed to be received in the fuel tank adjacent the top of the fuel tank;
• an outlet passage in the housing and a main valve seat defined by the housing at an upstream end of the outlet passage, said outlet passage communicating the interior of the fuel tank with the exterior of the fuel tank and through which fuel vapor is vented from the fuel tank;
• a main valve carried by the housing, associated with the outlet passage and movable relative to the main valve seat from an open position permitting the free flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage and toward a closed position at least severely retarding the flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage;
• a fill control float received in the housing separate from the main valve and initially responsive to the level of fuel in the fuel tank to control movement of the main valve sufficiently toward its closed position when a predetermined maximum fuel level is reached within the fuel tank when refueling the fuel tank to cause fuel to rise in the fill pipe of the tank to a level adjacent the inlet of the fill pipe to actuate an automatic shut-off of a fuel refilling nozzle with its outlet received in the inlet of the fill pipe, and constructed to delay the reopening of the main valve for a period of time after refueling and to thereafter fully open the outlet passage to permit fuel vapor to flow through the outlet passage after refueling is completed;
• a pilot valve carried by the main valve, a diaphragm carried by the housing and defining a chamber, a stem operably connecting the diaphragm to the main valve, and a control passage through the stem which communicates the pilot valve with the chamber whereby the main valve, pilot valve, diaphragm and control float are constructed and arranged so that the main valve is open regardless of the pressure of gaseous fuel vapor in the fuel tank so long as the liquid fuel in the fuel tank does not cause the control float to close the main valve.

A vapor control apparatus for a vehicle fuel tank having a fill pipe with an inlet above the fuel tank comprising:

• a housing constructed to be received in a fuel tank adjacent the top of the tank;
• an outlet passage in the housing communicating the interior of the fuel tank with the exterior of the fuel tank;
• a main valve associated with the outlet passage and movable from an open position permitting the free flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage and toward a closed position at least severely retarding the flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage;
• a fill control float received in the housing and initially responsive to the level of fuel in the fuel tank to control movement of the main valve sufficiently toward its closed position when a predetermined maximum fuel level is reached within the fuel tank when refueling the fuel tank to cause fuel to rise in the fill pipe of the tank to a level adjacent the inlet of the fuel pipe to actuate an automatic shut-off of a fuel refilling nozzle with its outlet received in the inlet of the fill pipe, and constructed to delay the reopening of the main valve for a period of time after refueling and to thereafter open the outlet passage to permit fuel vapor to flow through the outlet passage after refueling is completed;
• a pilot valve carried by the main valve;
• a diaphragm carried by the housing and defining a chamber;
• a stem operably connecting the diaphragm to the main valve;
• a control passage through the stem which communicates the pilot valve with the chamber whereby the main valve, pilot valve, diaphragm and the control float are constructed and arranged so that the main valve is open regardless of the pressure of gaseous fuel vapor in the fuel tank so long as the level of fuel in the fuel tank does not cause the control float to cause the main valve to close.

A vapor control apparatus for a vehicle fuel tank having a fill pipe with an inlet above the fuel tank comprising;

• a housing constructed to be received in the fuel tank adjacent the top of the fuel tank;
• an outlet passage in the housing communicating the interior of the fuel tank with the exterior of the fuel tank and through which fuel vapor is vented from the fuel tank;
• a main valve associated with the outlet passage and movable from an open position permitting the free flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage and toward a closed position at least severely retarding the flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage;
• a fill control float received in the housing and initially responsive to the level of fuel in the fuel tank to control movement of the main valve sufficiently toward its closed position when a predetermined maximum fuel level is reached within the fuel tank when refueling the fuel tank to cause fuel to rise in the fill pipe of the tank to a level adjacent the inlet of the fuel pipe to actuate an automatic shut-off of a fuel refilling nozzle with its outlet received in the inlet of the fill pipe, and constructed to delay the reopening of the main valve for a period of time after refueling and to thereafter fully open the outlet passage to permit fuel vapor to flow through the outlet passage after refueling is completed;
• a pilot valve carried by the main valve in communication with the fill control float and having an open position spaced from the fill control float and a closed position engaged with the fill control float and when the pilot valve is open a net force acting on the main valve causes the main valve to be in its open position;
• a diaphragm carried by the housing and defining a chamber, and a control passage through the main valve communicating the pilot valve with the chamber, and the pilot valve, main valve and diaphragm are constructed and arranged so that the main valve is open regardless of the pressure within the fuel tank so long as the level of fuel in the fuel tank does not cause the control float to cause the main valve to close.

A vapor control apparatus for a vehicle fuel tank having a fill pipe with an inlet above the fuel tank comprising:

• a housing constructed to be received in the fuel tank adjacent the top of the fuel tank;
• an outlet passage in the housing and a main valve seat defined by the housing at an upstream end of the outlet passage, said outlet passage communicating the interior of the fuel tank with the exterior of the fuel tank and through which fuel vapor is vented from the fuel tank;
• a diaphragm carried by the housing and defining a chamber;
• a main valve connected to the diaphragm, associated with the outlet passage and movable relative to the main valve seat from an open position permitting the free flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage and toward a closed position at least severely retarding the flow of fuel vapor from the interior of the tank through the outlet passage;
• a control passage through the main valve and communicating the chamber with the interior of the fuel tank through a pilot valve seat carried by the main valve;
• a pilot valve which is normally open and spaced from the pilot valve seat and movable toward the pilot valve seat to at least partially close the control passage from communication with the interior of the fuel tank;
• and
• a fill control float received in the housing separate from the main valve to move the pilot valve toward the pilot valve seat in response to a sufficiently rising fuel level in the fuel tank to control movement of the main valve sufficiently toward its closed position when a predetermined maximum fuel level is reached within the fuel tank when refueling the fuel tank to cause fuel to rise in the fill pipe of the fuel tank to a level adjacent the inlet of the fill pipe to actuate an automatic shut off of a fuel refueling nozzle with its outlet received in the inlet of the fill pipe, and constructed to delay the reopening of the main valve for a period of time after refueling and to thereafter fully open the outlet passage to permit fuel vapor to flow through the outlet passage after refueling is completed.