# US 9,517,823 B2 · Outboard motor fuel supply unit

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- Number: US 9,517,823 B2
- Document ID: US9517823B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/058,549
- Filed: 2016-03-02
- Published: 2016-06-23
- Granted: 2016-12-13
- Earliest claimed: 2014-04-03
- Assignees: Suzuki Motor Corporation
- Applicants: Suzuki Motor Corporation
- Inventors: Jun Ito
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9517823B2

## CPC

- B63H 20/001: {Arrangements, apparatus and methods for handling fluids used in outboard drives (for handling exhaust gas B63H20/24; for handling cooling-water B63H20/28; cooling outboard marine engines F01P3/202; air intakes for outboard marine engines F02M35/167)}
- B01D 36/001: {Filters in combination with devices for the removal of gas, air purge systems}
- F02B 61/045: {for marine engines}
- F02B 75/007: {having vertical crankshafts}
- F02M 37/007: {characterised by its use in vehicles, in stationary plants or in small engines, e.g. hand held tools}
- F02M 37/0076: {Details of the fuel feeding system related to the fuel tank (vehicle fuel tanks B60K15/03)}
- F02M 37/20: characterised by means for preventing vapour lock
- F02M 37/32: characterised by filters or filter arrangements
- F02M 59/16: characterised by having multi-stage compression of fuel
- F02M 61/16: Details not provided for in, or of interest apart from, the apparatus of groups F02M61/02 - F02M61/14
- F02M 63/0265: {Pumps feeding common rails}
- B63H: MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING (propulsion of air-cushion vehicles B60V1/14; specially adapted for submarines, other than nuclear propulsion, B63G; specially adapted for torpedoes F42B19/00)
- B01D: SEPARATION (separating solids from solids by wet methods B03B, B03D; by pneumatic jigs or tables B03B; by other dry methods B07; magnetic or electrostatic separation of solid materials from solid materials or fluids, separation by high-voltage electric fields B03C; centrifuges, vortex apparatus B04; presses per se for squeezing-out liquid from liquid-containing material B30B9/02; treatment of water C02F, e.g. softening by ion-exchange C02F1/42; {arrangements of air intake cleaners in gas turbine plants F02C7/05} ; arrangements or mounting of filters in air-conditioning, air-humidification or ventilation F24F13/28)
- F02B: INTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL (gas-turbine plants F02C; hot-gas or combustion-product positive-displacement engine plants F02G)
- F02M: SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF

## Abstract

A fuel supply unit includes a vapor separator that performs vapor-liquid separation for fuel pumped up by a low-pressure fuel pump; a fuel filter that filters the fuel subjected to vapor-liquid separation in the vapor separator; an in-line type high-pressure fuel pump that has an inlet port for receiving the fuel filtered by the fuel filter and pumping the fuel received from the inlet port from an outlet port, the inlet port being located under a fuel liquid level of the vapor separator; a fuel injector that injects the fuel pumped by the high-pressure fuel pump to the engine; and a fuel flow path connected from the vapor separator to the inlet port of the high-pressure fuel pump via a lower side of the inlet port of the high-pressure fuel pump, wherein the fuel filter is arranged in the lowermost part of the fuel flow path.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An outboard motor fuel supply unit for supplying an engine with fuel stored in a fuel tank, comprising:
a low-pressure fuel pump that pumps up the fuel from the fuel tank;
a vapor separator that performs vapor-liquid separation for the fuel pumped up by the low-pressure fuel pump;
a fuel filter that filters the fuel subjected to the vapor-liquid separation in the vapor separator;
an in-line type high-pressure fuel pump that has an inlet port for receiving the fuel filtered by the fuel filter and pumping the fuel received from the inlet port from an outlet port, the inlet port being located under a fuel liquid level of the vapor separator;
a fuel injector that injects the fuel pumped by the high-pressure fuel pump to the engine; and
a fuel flow path connected from the vapor separator to the inlet port of the high-pressure fuel pump via a lower side of the inlet port of the high-pressure fuel pump,
wherein the fuel filter is arranged in the lowermost part of the fuel flow path.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The outboard motor fuel supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the fuel filter has a flat-plate-shaped filter member that partitions an internal space of the fuel filter into an upper side corresponding to a clean side provided with a fuel outlet hole and a lower side corresponding to a dirty side provided with a fuel inlet hole, and
the filter member is inclined such that one end of the fuel inlet hole side is higher than the other end opposite to the one end.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The outboard motor fuel supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the filter member is arranged such that an extension surface obtained by extending the filtering surface is equal to or lower than an upper end of the fuel inlet hole in height.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The outboard motor fuel supply unit according to claim 2, wherein the fuel filter has a drain hole in the lowermost part of the dirty side.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The outboard motor fuel supply unit according to claim 2, wherein an outboard motor body of the outboard motor can be tilted up with respect to a tilt shaft, and
the fuel filter is arranged such that the one end of the filter member is located closer to a rear side of the outboard motor body, compared to the other end.