The present invention relates to fuel dispensing systems for dispensing fuel in a vehicle fuel tank.
Countless types of equipment use internal combustion engines driven by gasoline or diesel fuel. The fuel is typically held in a reservoir, such as a tank or flexible bladder.
An example of a vessel having a flexible bladder is the Navy's remote mine-hunting system (RMS). The RMS includes an unmanned, semi-submersible vehicle (“RMV”) that tows a variable depth sensor and includes various Sonars to detect, localize, classify, and identify moored and bottom mines. The semi-submersible vehicle is powered by a diesel engine and, as indicated above, includes a flexible/collapsible fuel bladder for storing diesel fuel.
During the fueling process, air that is in the bladder is displaced through the fill port. Experience has shown that it is difficult to fill the bladder using a conventional automobile-type fuel nozzle. Among other difficulties, the automatic shut-off feature of such nozzles will trip prematurely. If a manual nozzle is used, diesel tends to bubble out before the bladder is full (since the fuel near the top of the bladder will be foamy).
As a consequence, an improved system for delivering fuel to a reservoir, particularly a flexible bladder-type reservoir, is needed.
The present invention provides a way to completely fill a tank, such as a flexible bladder, with fuel, such as diesel, while preventing spills.
The illustrative embodiment of the present invention is a fuel-fill adapter for use in conjunction with filling a fuel reservoir, especially a flexible bladder, with fuel, especially diesel. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, a fuel fill adaptor includes two main fluid pathways: an incoming pathway for liquid to fill the reservoir and an outgoing pathway for vapor venting or excess liquid draining.
The two main fluid pathways are oriented vertically and have staggered terminations to separate the incoming liquid from the displaced vapor. Both the incoming liquid and outgoing pathways are disposed within the fuel-fill adaptor which uses a single opening on the tank or bladder to be filled.
The adaptor mates with and seals on the same surfaces as the cap of the fuel tank. In some embodiments, the adaptor swivels on to, or otherwise connects to one or more separate hoses for liquid filling and gas or excess liquid venting and draining. In the illustrative embodiment, connection is effected by quick disconnect (QD) fittings.
In the illustrative embodiment, the adaptor is used with a manually-controlled liquid supply valve or nozzle. Automatic shutoff valves, such as those used for fueling, would shut off upon encountering a backpressure. This would require the tank or bladder to be filled very slowly or incompletely. The manually-controlled liquid supply valve therefore enables the use of high pressures and flow rates to quickly fill large containers or bladders.
The vent/drain hose is positioned with its exit termination at a lower elevation than the fuel-filling adaptor. This enables the vapor vent hose to also drain any excess liquid pumped into the container before the manual valve is closed. The outlet of the vent/drain hose is directed into a suitable container, or, in some embodiments, back into the fuel-supply reservoir.
The fuel-fill adaptor further includes a low-pressure differential vacuum-breaking relief valve to prevent the siphon effect that would otherwise naturally occur if liquid were to enter the gas venting hose. This siphon could potentially drain the entire container or bladder. The vacuum-breaking valve permits air to enter the adaptor, wherein the air is then drawn down the drain hose instead of any additional liquid. The vacuum breaking valve can be connected to either the incoming liquid or vent/drain pathways.
The vacuum-breaking valve is set to open at a low pressure differential to ensure that once the tank/container/bladder is filled completely or overfilled, the siphon will stop when the liquid level is at the base of the adaptor and at atmospheric pressure. In this fashion, when the adaptor is removed, the bladder is consistently filled to the brim.
In some embodiments, the vent/drain hose is made from a clear material so that the filling operator can readily see that the bladder is full or nearly full. Depending on the filling, liquid bubbles may be seen in the drain hose to indicate that the bladder is nearly full (before liquid is observed indicating the container or bladder is completely full). When filling an elastic bladder it is preferable to slow down or stop when bubbles are observed to minimize the amount of liquid that must be drained if the bladder is inflated due to the filling pressure being greater than atmospheric pressure.
In some embodiments, the filling adaptor has a restricted fluid crossover pathway between the incoming liquid pathway and vent/drain pathway. This crossover pathway is narrow or restricted so that a small amount of the higher pressure liquid coming through will drop into the bladder and not effect the venting gas while the container or bladder is at ambient pressure. If, however, the bladder is at elevated pressure, then some of the liquid will be blown up into the vent/drain hose to serve as an early indication to the operator that the container or bladder is being pressurized and is nearly full. If the vacuum-breaking valve is connected to the liquid filling pathway of the fuel-fill adaptor, then the crossover pathway will provide another route for the incoming air from the vacuum-breaking valve to travel to the vent/drain hose and help stop the siphon sooner.
Fuel-fill adapter 100 of
Fuel-bladder vent 128 enables air to be exhausted from fuel bladder 126. Air exhausted from the fuel bladder exits fuel-fill elbow 124 through vents 106A and/or 106B in cap/fitting 105. The air enters internal cavity 108 of the fuel-fill adapter and is exhausted through drain/vent tube 110. Vents 106A and 106B also provide a path for over-flowing fuel to exit the fuel-fill elbow and empty into a waste container (not depicted).
Although the adapter of
Another problem with the fuel-fill adapter of
These shortcomings led to the development of fuel-fill adapter 200 in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the invention, which as depicted as a part of an improved system 201 for delivering fuel to a reservoir, as shown in
Referring now to
The fuel-fill adapter further comprises several “quick disconnect” fittings to quickly and easily couple and uncouple fuel-fill adapter 200 to other elements of fuel-filling system 201. In particular, fuel-fill adapter 200 includes quick disconnect plugs 240, 246, and 254. When the quick disconnect plugs are “in use” to connect something to some element of the system to fuel-fill adapter 200, they will couple to quick disconnect sockets. For example, to couple fuel nozzle 230 to the fuel-fill adapter, quick disconnect socket 242 is coupled to quick disconnect plug 240. (NPT adapter 244 is also used to couple quick disconnect socket 242 to fuel nozzle 230.) Further, to couple vent/drain tube 210 to fuel-fill adapter 200, quick disconnect socket 248 is coupled to quick disconnect plug 246. This connection also uses hose barb elbow 250 and hose clamp 252. The unused quick disconnect plug 254 is available for coupling, for example, to the fuel nozzle 230, etc., if the specifics of the fueling application require a different orientation for fuel-filling system 201 (due to the presence of equipment near the fill port).
Air inlet 358 (
As depicted in
Air inlet 358, which falls along axis A-A, is orthogonal to plane B in which the quick disconnect plugs lie. Likewise, fuel delivery pipe 204, which also falls along axis A-A, is orthogonal to plane B. The conduit leading from vent 206 is parallel to fuel delivery pipe 204.
In operation, the fuel-fill adapter is used in conjunction with fuel nozzle 230 to fuel a vessel, such as an RMV, as follows:
It is to be understood that the disclosure teaches just one example of the illustrative embodiment and that many variations of the invention can easily be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure and that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims.
This case claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/162,492, filed Mar. 23, 2009, which is also incorporated by reference herein.
This invention was made with Government support under N00024-02-C-6309 awarded by the Department of the Navy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
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