In-take fuel pump reservoir

A fuel pump comprising:

• a housing having an outer shell, an inlet through which fuel is drawn and an outlet through which fuel is discharged under pressure;
• a motor chamber defined by the housing;
• an electrically powered motor carried by the housing and having a rotor received in the motor chamber and a permanent magnet stator around the rotor and a flux tube adjacent the stator;
• a fuel pumping mechanism carried by the housing and driven by the motor to draw fuel into an inlet of the fuel pumping mechanism and discharge fuel under pressure through an outlet from the fuel pumping mechanism;
• a fuel passage separate from the motor chamber communicating the outlet of the fuel pumping mechanism with the outlet of the housing whereby the pressure within the motor chamber is less than the pressure of fuel discharged from the fuel pumping mechanism to reduce the resistance to rotation of the rotating element of the motor;
• the fuel passage being defined between the outer shell and the flux tube.

An in-tank fuel pump reservoir assembly for drawing fuel from a fuel supply tank and discharging the fuel under pressure to an engine, the assembly comprising:

• a reservoir chamber partially defined by a fuel reservoir canister, the canister being configured for mounting within a fuel supply tank;
• a reservoir inlet disposed and configured to provide fluid communication between the fuel supply tank and the reservoir chamber;
• a reservoir outlet disposed and configured to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and an engine;
• a reservoir filling device disposed between the reservoir inlet and the reservoir chamber and configured to draw fuel into the reservoir chamber from the fuel supply tank through the reservoir inlet;
• a fuel pump assembly disposed within the canister and configured to draw fuel from the reservoir chamber and to discharge at least a portion of that fuel to the engine through the reservoir outlet;
• and
• a fuel delivery pod comprising the fuel pump assembly, the reservoir filling device, and the inlet check valve, the pod being connectable to the canister to cooperatively define the reservoir chamber whereby the assembly is readily adaptable to multiple fuel tank applications by forming or selecting respective canisters that are compatible with each such application.

An in-tank fuel pump reservoir assembly for drawing fuel from a fuel supply tank and discharging the fuel under pressure to an engine, the assembly comprising:

• a pump housing defining a motor chamber and including a housing outlet;
• an electric motor disposed within the motor chamber and including a rotating element;
• a fuel pumping mechanism disposed in the housing and driven by the motor, the fuel pumping mechanism configured to draw fuel in through a pump inlet and to discharge the fuel at high pressure through a first pump exhaust;
• and
• a fuel passage communicating the first pump exhaust with the housing outlet and configured to allow high pressure fuel to bypass the motor while moving from the first pump exhaust to the housing outlet.

A method for making an in-tank fuel pump reservoir that includes a reservoir chamber, a reservoir inlet configured to provide fluid communication between a fuel supply tank and the reservoir chamber, a reservoir outlet configured to provide fluid communication between the reservoir chamber and an engine, a reservoir filling device configured to draw fuel into the reservoir chamber from the fuel supply tank through the reservoir inlet, and a fuel pump assembly configured to draw fuel from the reservoir chamber and to discharge at least a portion of that fuel to the engine through the reservoir outlet;

• the method including the steps of:
• providing a modular fuel delivery pod comprising the fuel pump assembly, the reservoir filling device, and the inlet check valve;
• providing a fuel reservoir canister and;
• connecting the fuel reservoir canister to the fuel delivery pod such that the canister and pod cooperatively form the reservoir chamber.

A fuel pump comprising;

• a fuel pump housing having an inlet through which fuel is drawn and an outlet through which fuel is discharged under pressure;
• a motor carried by the fuel pump housing;
• a fuel pumping mechanism carried by the fuel pump housing and driven by the motor to draw fuel into the fuel pump through the fuel pump inlet and to discharge fuel under pressure through the fuel pump outlet, the fuel pumping mechanism including:
• a pumping mechanism housing including inlet and exhaust ports that communicate with the fuel pump inlet and outlet, respectively;
• an impeller rotatably supported within an impeller cavity formed in the pumping mechanism housing and rotatably driven by the motor, the impeller including axially upper and lower impeller vanes spaced around an outer circumferential periphery of the impeller;
• a generally semi-circular pumping channel formed in the pumping mechanism housing around a circular periphery of the impeller cavity, the impeller vanes being configured and positioned to move fluid through the pumping channel as the impeller rotates within the impeller cavity;
• a pumping channel inlet passage formed in the pumping mechanism housing and connecting the inlet port to an inlet end of the pumping channel;
• and
• the pumping channel inlet passage configured to direct entering fuel toward respective roots of the impeller vanes to improve impeller efficiency by complementing helical flow patterns that characteristically form in fluid flowing circumferentially through a pumping mechanism of this type.

A fuel pump comprising;

• a fuel pump housing having an inlet through which fuel is drawn and an outlet through which fuel is discharged under pressure;
• a motor carried by the fuel pump housing;
• a fuel pumping mechanism carried by the fuel pump housing and driven by the motor to draw fuel into the fuel pump through the fuel pump inlet and to discharge fuel under pressure through the fuel pump outlet, the fuel pumping mechanism including:
• a pumping mechanism housing including inlet and exhaust ports that communicate with the fuel pump inlet and outlet, respectively;
• an impeller rotatably supported within an impeller cavity formed in the pumping mechanism housing and rotatably driven by the motor, the impeller including axially upper and lower impeller vanes spaced around an outer circumferential periphery of the impeller;
• a generally semi-circular pumping channel formed in the pumping mechanism housing around a circular periphery of the impeller cavity, the impeller vanes being configured and positioned to move fluid through the pumping channel as the impeller rotates within the impeller cavity;
• a pumping channel inlet passage formed in the pumping mechanism housing and connecting the inlet port to an inlet end of the pumping channel;
• and
• the inlet port disposed in an outer circumferential sidewall of the pumping mechanism housing.