Patent Application
20130284290
The present disclosure generally relates to fuel delivery systems for use in motor vehicles, and more particularly relates to a fuel pump housing and flange cover assembly in which the housing module is de-coupled from the flange cover and fixedly mounted to the bottom of the fuel tank.
Presently known fuel delivery systems (fuel pumps) typically include a fuel pump housing (also referred to as a sender bucket) located within a vehicle fuel tank, and a flange cover integrated into a sender opening in the top of the fuel tank. Spring loaded guide rods extend from the flange cover and slidably engage the pump housing to thereby urge it downwardly against the bottom of the fuel tank. In this way, fuel may be drawn from the bottom of the tank through a hydraulic hose (conduit) connecting the fuel pump to the flange cover, and thereafter to the vehicle engine.
Conventional fuel pump housings also incorporate a float mechanism for measuring the fuel level in the tank. An electrical conduit connected between the sender bucket and the flange cover sends a fuel level signal to a display visible to the driver.
Modern vehicle designs are increasingly incorporating lower frontal drag (wind resistance) coefficients to reduce fuel consumption and to aesthetically enhance the vehicle's appearance. With lower windshield profiles and roof lines, the hip point (H-point) of the rear seat passengers is driven downward, resulting in overall compression of the fuel tank height underlying the vehicle frame. The maximum permissible height of the pump housing/flange cover stack is thus limited by the vertical dimension of the fuel tank in the vicinity of the sender opening.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a fuel delivery system that may be realized in a motor vehicle fuel tank with a decreased top-to-bottom vertical dimension in the vicinity of the sender opening and/or flange cover. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
An apparatus is provided for pumping fuel from a fuel tank in a motor vehicle. The fuel delivery module includes a sender bucket which houses a fuel pump, a flange cover, and a coupling assembly which typically includes at least one flexible electrical conduit and at least one flexible fluid conduit, wherein the sender bucket is flexibly connected to the flange cover by the coupling assembly, and is preferably not otherwise connected thereto. That is, the spring loaded connecting rods typically used by conventional flange cover/sender bucket combinations to push the bucket to the tank bottom are eschewed, essentially de-coupling the sender bucket from the flange cover. A sender opening is disposed on a top portion of the fuel tank, and a bucket retainer is fixed to a bottom inside surface of the fuel tank. The bucket retainer is configured to removably secure the sender bucket to the bottom inside surface of the tank.
In one embodiment, the sender opening includes an encapsulated ring and the flange cover includes a lock ring. In this way, the flange cover may be releasably locked to the sender opening to thereby provide a fluid and/or vapor seal the sender opening.
Also provided is a fuel delivery system for a vehicle including an enclosed fuel tank having a sender opening extending through a top section of the tank, a flange cover configured to seal the sender opening, a sender module including a fuel pump having an inlet for drawing fuel from the bottom of the fuel tank and an outlet for sending fuel to the flange cover, and a retainer fixed to a bottom inside surface of the fuel tank and configured to secure the sender module to the bottom of the tank. In an embodiment, the sender module and retainer are configured to permit the sender module to be manually snap-fitted into the retainer.
A method is provided for installing a fuel pump in an enclosed fuel tank of a motor vehicle, the fuel tank having a sender opening extending through a top surface, and a bucket retainer on a bottom inside surface. The method includes inserting a sender bucket through the sender opening, locating the retainer and guiding the sender bucket into engagement with the retainer, securing the sender bucket to the retainer, coupling the sender bucket to a flange cover, and sealing the sender opening with the flange cover.
In accordance with some embodiments, the method includes manually inserting the sender bucket with one hand into the fuel tank, and snap-fitting the sender bucket into the retainer using a manually locatable mechanical guide. This may be accomplished by sliding the sender bucket laterally along the bottom inside surface of the fuel tank in a direction substantially orthogonal to a vertical axis of the sender opening. In an alternate embodiment, the sender opening and, hence, the flange cover, may be at an inclined angle with respect to a top horizontal surface of the fuel tank.
The method further includes electrically and/or hydraulically connecting the sender bucket to the flange cover and sealing the sender opening with the flange cover. In an embodiment, the sender opening may be sealed by integrating an encapsulated ring into the sender opening, associating a lock ring with the flange cover, and locking the flange cover into the sender opening by rotationally seating the lock ring into the encapsulating ring.
The present disclosure will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the subject matter of the disclosure or its uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.
In this document, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Numerical ordinals such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc. simply denote different singles of a plurality and do not imply any order or sequence unless specifically defined by the claim language.
Additionally, the following description refers to elements or features being “connected” or “coupled” together. As used herein, “connected” may refer to one element/feature being directly joined to (or directly communicating with) another element/feature, and not necessarily mechanically. Likewise, “coupled” may refer to one element/feature being directly or indirectly joined to (or directly or indirectly communicating with) another element/feature, and not necessarily mechanically. However, it should be understood that, although two elements may be described below, in one embodiment, as being “connected,” in alternative embodiments similar elements may be “coupled,” and vice versa. Thus, although the schematic diagrams shown herein depict example arrangements of elements, additional intervening elements, devices, features, or components may be present in an actual embodiment.
Finally, for the sake of brevity, conventional techniques and components related to vehicle electrical and mechanical parts and other functional aspects of the system (and the individual operating components of the system) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent example functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in an embodiment of the invention. It should also be understood that
The de-coupled fuel delivery assemble may also be used in conjunction with fuel tanks for use other than with vehicles, such as stationary engines or any application requiring a pump to deliver a fluid from a storage tank, for example, diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) or fluid stored in a tank and delivered to an injector in the exhaust stream.
Fuel pump assembly 100 includes a fuel delivery module (also referred to as a sender module, sender bucket, or fuel pump housing) 102 and a flange cover 104. In presently known fuel pump systems, a pair of spring loaded connecting rods 106 are connected to the underside of flange cover104, and extend downwardly into guide holes in sender bucket 102. Respective compression springs 110 wound about each rod 106 urge sender bucket 102 away from flange cover 104 to thereby maintain the sender bucket at the bottom of the fuel tank.
This position allows the pump housing to draw fuel from the bottom of the fuel tank, and also maintains axial alignment of the sender bucket with respect to the flange cover mounted in the sender opening of the fuel tank. As the vertical distance between the top and bottom surfaces of the fuel tank changes due to changes in temperature, fuel level, occupant and vehicle stowage weight, and driving conditions, spring loaded connecting rods 106 slidably extend into and out of corresponding holes in sender bucket 102 to continuously urge the sender bucket against the bottom of the fuel tank.
In order to accommodate a fuel tank having a shorter vertical dimension (height) in the vicinity of the sender opening, the connecting rods are eliminated in accordance with various embodiments of this disclosure, thereby allowing a shorter stack height for the flange cover/sender bucket assembly. In accordance with some embodiments, the flange cover and sender bucket remain substantially axially aligned; in other embodiments the sender bucket is displaced laterally from the vertical axis of the flange cover, for example by a few millimeters up to an entire sender opening diameter or more.
With continued reference to
A first conductor (e.g., a wire) 124 cooperates with float arm (also referred to as a swing arm) 118 and carries a signal indicative of the angular position of float device 120 and, hence, of the fuel level within the fuel tank. A second conductor 126 transmits a reference voltage signal associated with the fuel level indicating circuitry (not shown). A third conductor 128 serves as a ground for one or more of the electrical circuits associated with fuel delivery assembly 100.
Sender bucket 102 further includes a fuel pump 140 and a first hydraulic conduit 122, for example a flexible hose, for pumping fuel from inside the sender bucket 102 to the vehicle engine. In some embodiments, a one or more second hydraulic conduits 142 may be used for return fuel flow. A fourth conductor 130 provides power to pump 140. A fifth wire 129 electrically grounds the various metallic and electrically conductive components of assembly 100.
With continued reference to
Presently known sender bucket/flange cover combinations typically include a pair of spring loaded guide rods 106 for urging the sender bucket downwardly against the bottom of the fuel tank. In contrast, in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, the flange cover/sender bucket combination does not include the guide rods, essentially de-coupling the sender bucket from the flange cover. Rather, the sender bucket is releasably secured to the tank bottom by a retainer 108 in accordance with the present disclosure.
Retainer 108 includes a substantially flat, circular bottom disc 162, a curved circumferential sidewall 170, a pair of manually deformable retainer clips 166 each including a tab 168, and a guide rail 164 which diverges at a transition point 176 to form a fan-out portion 172. Retainer 108 may be temporarily or permanently attached to the inside bottom surface of the fuel tank in the vicinity of the sender opening.
During installation, the installer inserts sender bucket 102 through the sender opening in the top of the fuel tank, and manually locates retainer 108. Sender bucket 102 may then be conveniently snapped into retainer 108 with one hand. Having pre-assembled the electric and hydraulic conduits extending between the flange cover and the sender bucket, the flange cover may then be secured to the sender opening, as described in greater detail below.
Referring now to
With momentary reference to
Referring now to
Referring now to
More particularly and with reference to
The method 700 also includes electrically and/or hydraulically coupling (task 710) the sender bucket to the flange cover, and sealing (task 712) the sender opening with the flange cover.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing summary and detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing summary and detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
