Claims
- 1. A fuel pressure regulator comprising
- a housing having an axis and divided by a movable wall that is generally transverse to said axis into a fuel inlet chamber and a fuel outlet chamber,
- means via which pressurized liquid fuel can enter said fuel inlet chamber,
- means via which excess liquid fuel can exit said fuel outlet chamber,
- resilient bias spring means disposed in said fuel outlet chamber for resiliently biasing a central region of said movable wall toward said fuel inlet chamber in opposition to pressure exerted on said movable wall by fuel in said fuel inlet chamber,
- said central region of said movable wall comprising
- through-passage means providing for excess fuel to pass through said movable wall from said fuel inlet chamber to said fuel outlet chamber, characterized in that
- said through-passage means is contained in an annular member mounted on said movable wall,
- said annular member comprises a circular valve seat circumscribing said through-passage means,
- said housing comprises a valve member that is mounted on said housing and that comprises
- a spherically contoured surface, at least hemispherical in shape, disposed for coaction with said valve seat to seat on and unseat from said valve seat and thereby close and open said through-passage means in accordance with the positioning of said movable wall within said housing by said resilient bias spring means and the fuel pressure in said fuel inlet chamber, and
- alignment maintaining cage means on said annular member for maintaining substantial axial alignment of said valve member and annular member, said cage means for caging said hemispherical shape of said spherically contoured surface.
- 2. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 1 characterized further in that said cage means comprises a series of circumferentially spaced bars extending axially from said annular member at least as far as a diameter of said hemisphere.
- 3. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 2 characterized further in that said valve seat comprises a coined surface that makes an angle of substantially 60 degrees to said axis.
- 4. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 3 characterized further in that said valve member comprises a full sphere that is mounted on said housing.
- 5. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 4 characterized further in that said housing comprises a sphere mounting hole, a portion of said sphere is seated in said hole, and said sphere is joined and sealed to said housing around said hole.
- 6. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 5 characterized further in that said hole is disposed in a central depression in an end wall of said housing.
- 7. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 4 characterized further in that said means via which fuel can enter said fuel inlet chamber comprises plural fuel entry holes in said housing disposed radially outwardly of said sphere mounting hole.
- 8. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 11 characterized further in that said sphere mounting hole is disposed in a central depression in an end wall of said housing.
- 9. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 11 characterized further in that said cage means comprises a series of circumferentially spaced bars extending axially from said annular member at least as far as a diameter of said sphere.
- 10. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 1 characterized further in that said means via which excess liquid fuel can exit said fuel outlet chamber comprises a single hole in an end wall of said housing coaxial with said axis.
- 11. A fuel pressure regulator as set forth in claim 1 characterized further in that
- said valve member comprises a full sphere that is mounted on said housing, and
- said housing comprises a sphere mounting hole, a portion of said sphere is seated in said hole, and said sphere is joined and sealed to said housing around said sphere mounting hole.
REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of commonly assigned, pending application Ser. No. 08/239,665 filed May 9, 1994, which is a continuation-in-part of commonly assigned, abandoned application Ser. No. 08/092,320, filed Jul. 14, 1993.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
239665 |
May 1994 |
|
Parent |
92320 |
Jul 1993 |
|