Systems to store and agitate fuel
AssigneeUnited Services Automobile Association (USAA)
InventorsRuben Valdez, Cindi Kathleen Scheele
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems to store and agitate fuel can include a fuel storage tank including an air valve, and a fuel agitation system coupled to the fuel storage tank that can include an elongate fuel agitation member, a lumen, a plurality of valves extending from the elongate fuel agitation member, and an air passageway in fluid communication with the elongate fuel agitation member, where the air passageway is coupled to the first end of the elongate fuel agitation member by a rotational coupling located in the fuel storage tank that can be pneumatically actuated by air flow to rotate the elongate fuel agitation member as the air flow is introduced via the plurality of valves into the fuel storage tank, where the introduced air flow exits the fuel storage chamber out of the air valve.
Claims17
A fuel storage system, comprising:
- a fuel storage tank including an air valve;
- and
- a fuel agitation system coupled to the fuel storage tank and operable to agitate a fuel that is stored in the fuel storage tank, wherein the fuel agitation system includes:
- an elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the elongate fuel agitation member includes:
- a lumen that extends between a first end and a second end of the elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the second end is opposite the first end;
- and
- a plurality of valves extending from the elongate fuel agitation member such that no additional intervening elements are between the valves and the elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the valves are distributed along the elongate fuel agitation member from the first end to the second end of the elongate fuel agitation member and the valves are in fluid communication with the fuel;
- and
- an air passageway in fluid communication with the elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the air passageway is coupled to the first end of the elongate fuel agitation member by a rotational coupling located in the fuel storage tank, wherein the rotational coupling is between the air passageway and the elongate fuel agitation member and is pneumatically actuated by air flow exiting the valves to rotate the elongate fuel agitation member as the air flow is introduced via the plurality of valves into the fuel storage tank, wherein the introduced air flow exits the fuel storage chamber out of the air valve.
A fuel storage system, comprising:
- means for storing fuel including an air valve;
- and
- means for agitating a fuel stored in the means for storing fuel coupled to the means for storing fuel, wherein the means for agitating the fuel includes:
- an elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the elongate fuel agitation member includes:
- a lumen that extends between a first end and a second end of the elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the second end is opposite the first end;
- and
- a plurality of valves extending from the elongate fuel agitation member such that no additional intervening elements are between the valves and the elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the valves are distributed along the elongate fuel agitation member from the first end to the second end of the elongate fuel agitation member and the valves are in fluid communication with the fuel;
- and
- an air passageway in fluid communication with the elongate fuel agitation member, wherein the air passageway is coupled to the first end of the elongate fuel agitation member by a rotational coupling located in the fuel storage tank, wherein the rotational coupling is between the air passageway and the elongate fuel agitation member and is pneumatically actuated by air flow exiting the valves to rotate the elongate fuel agitation member as the air flow is introduced via the plurality of valves into the fuel storage tank, wherein the introduced air flow exits the fuel storage chamber out of the air valve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.