Back to results
US 7,007,679 B2Granted
Fuel feed apparatus having sub-tank and jet nozzle
AssigneeDenso Corporation
InventorsKenji Okabe, Kenichi Nishizaki, Fumio Kaneoka
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeDenso Corporation
InventorsKenji Okabe, Kenichi Nishizaki, Fumio Kaneoka
Estimating the term…
A fuel feed apparatus, which is accommodated in a fuel tank, includes a sub-tank, a jet pump, and a covering member. The sub-tank includes a fuel inlet. The jet pump includes a jet nozzle, through which fuel is jetted to generate negative pressure, so that fuel in the fuel tank is drawn into the sub-tank through the fuel inlet. The covering member covers a gap formed between the jet nozzle and the fuel inlet. The covering member is opened on the bottom side of the gap. The covering member downwardly extends from the upper side to a gap-lower end position. The gap-lower end position is located on the upper side with respect to the center of the jet nozzle by a distance that is equal to or greater than 1 mm, and is equal to or less than 2 mm.
A fuel feed apparatus accommodated in a fuel tank, the fuel feed apparatus comprising:
A fuel feed apparatus accommodated in a fuel tank, the fuel feed apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Submerged in fuel, e.g. in reservoir: the pump being installed in a sub-tank
Feeding by means of suction apparatus, e.g. by air flow through carburettors: feeding by means of a liquid fuel-driven jet pump
Characterised by filters or filter arrangements: filters structurally associated with pumps
The inducing fluid being liquid: displacing liquids, e.g. containing solids, or liquids and elastic fluids
Term ended 25 Feb 2025 (estimated)
This application is based on and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-50729 filed on Feb. 26, 2004.
The present invention relates to a fuel feed apparatus, in which fuel is fed into a sub-tank using a jet pump.
As disclosed in JP-A-2001-90700, a jet pump jets fluid to generate negative pressure, so that the fluid is drawn into a fluid inlet by the negative pressure.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a partially cross sectional side view showing a fuel feed apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2A is side view showing a jet pump, a covering member, and a fuel inlet pipe according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a view when being viewed from the arrow IIB in FIG. 2A;
(First Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, A fuel feed apparatus 10 includes a sub-tank 20 that accommodates a fuel pump (not shown). The fuel pump is horizontally mounted. The fuel feed apparatus 10 has a lid member 11 formed of resin. The lid member 11 is mounted to the upper wall of a fuel tank 1. The fuel tank 1 is formed of resin. The fuel feed apparatus 10 excluding the lid member 11 is accommodated in the fuel tank 1. The lid member 11 is provided with a discharge pipe 12, an electric connector 13, a fuel filter 14, and the like. The fuel pump (not shown) pumps fuel in the sub-tank 20 to the outside of the fuel tank 1 through a bellows pipe 42, the fuel filter 14, and the discharge pipe 12. The fuel filter 14 removes a foreign material contained in fuel discharged from the fuel pump. The fuel discharged from the fuel pump is introduced to the discharge pipe 12 through the bellows pipe 42. A sub-tank lid 28 closes an opening formed on the upper side of the sub-tank 20. A pressure regulator 40 is provided to the sub-tank lid 28 to control pressure of fuel discharged from the fuel pump.
The lid member 11 and the sub-tank 20 are connected to each other via a stay 16. The stay 16 has a claw 17 that engages with a stick-shaped engagement portion 21 provided to the sub-tank 20, so that the stay 16 is connected to the sub-tank 20.