Fuel pump assembly
AssigneeFord Global Tech., Inc.
InventorsRobert Duane Gaston, Mark Edward Hipp, Dequan Yu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fuel pump assembly 10 including a motor 12, a drive shaft 14 which is rotatably coupled to motor 12, an impeller 16, and a chamber assembly 18. Fuel pump assembly 10 has improved efficiency due to the substantial reduction and/or elimination of frictional contact between impeller 16 and the respective interior surfaces 70, 72 of chamber 18.
Claims17
A fuel pump assembly comprising:
- a motor having a selectively rotating shaft;
- a chamber which receives said shaft ;
- and
- an impeller which is coupled to said shaft and which is movably disposed within said chamber, and which has a body portion having a thin inner portion and a thick outer portion and several blade portions which are integrally formed with and project from said thick outer body portion and which are each respectively thinner than said body portion.
A fuel pump assembly comprising:
- a housing;
- a motor disposed within said housing;
- a shaft which is coupled to said motor and which is rotated by said motor;
- a pump chamber body member having an aperture through which said shaft extends and further having a first surface in which a first channel is formed, said surface further including a first raised portion and a second portion;
- a pump chamber cover member having a second surface in which a second channel is formed, and cooperating with said pump chamber body member to form a pump chamber;
- and
- an impeller which is coupled to said shaft, disposed within said pump chamber, and being rotated within said pump chamber by said motor, said impeller having a certain shape which cooperates with said first raised portion to substantially prevent contact between said impeller and said second portion as said impeller rotates within said chamber, said impeller further having a generally circular core portion and a plurality of blades projecting from said core portion, said core portion being thicker than each of said plurality of blades.
A method for increasing the efficiency of a fuel pump of the type having a selectively rotating impeller including a generally circular body and several blades of a certain thickness which project from said body, said method comprising the steps of:
- forming a thin inner portion on said circular body and a thick outer portion on said circular body;
- and
- reducing said thickness of said blades, effective to cause said thick outer portion of said body to be thicker than each of said blades.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.