1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel system for an engine, in which a fuel pump has an integral subsystem for limiting the fluid pressure increase within the fuel supply line and injectors when the engine is shut down.
2. Disclosure Information
Fuel injected spark ignition engines present a particular challenge to automotive designers inasmuch as shut down of a fully warmed engine may cause fugitive hydrocarbon emissions upon restarting of the engine if the fluid pressure within the fuel line and injectors builds excessively due to hot soaking. U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,104 represents an attempt to solve this problem by introducing a vacuum and spring driven diaphragm pressure regulator in line between fuel pump and the engine. Unfortunately, the device of the '104 patent, being mounted externally of the fuel pump, and also having a vacuum connection to the engine's inlet manifold, may be susceptible to a failure mode in which a puncture or loss of integrity of the diaphragm results in fuel being aspirated into the engine through the vacuum connection, thereby resulting in both a loss of fuel control capability and excessive hydrocarbon emissions. Furthermore, the device of the '104 patent may cause an undesirable increase in fuel system pressure.
A fuel pump and system according to the present invention will help to prevent excessive pressure from building during a hot engine shutdown, while at the same time providing a robust system in which any leakage of the fuel pump's buffer system is confined within the pump housing.
A fuel system for an internal combustion engine includes a fuel tank adapted for containing a supply of liquid fuel, a plurality of fuel injectors, and a fuel pump for transferring fuel from the tank to the injectors under pressure. The fuel pump has a discharge passage leading to a discharge port, and a pressure-responsive buffer mounted within the fuel pump discharge port in fluid connection with the fuel pump discharge passage. The buffer has a larger fluid volume corresponding to operation at a maximum pump discharge pressure and a smaller fluid volume corresponding to a minimum pressure which corresponds roughly to the pressure when the pump is not in operation. The buffer has an outer wall which is in contact with fuel contained within the discharge port and is itself connected to the fuel pump discharge passage.
Flow to the buffer mounted within the fuel pump's discharge port according to the present invention is controlled in part by a check valve connected to the fuel pump discharge passage. The buffer itself may include either a resilient bellows such as a corrugated metallic or non-metallic bellows, or a resiliently biased piston mounted within a cylinder having a first end connected to the pump's discharge passage and a second end in fluid communication with fuel contained within the discharge port.
A fuel pump according to the present invention may be mounted within a fuel tank, or externally to a fuel tank.
The combination of a pressure-responsive buffer and a one-way pressure-responsive valve, such as a check valve mounted within fuel pump's discharge port provides the following functions:
Upon shutdown of the pumping element, fuel will be prevented from flowing in reverse from the fuel line into the pump's discharge passage. Also upon shutdown of the pumping element, fuel will be permitted to flow from the buffer into the pump's discharge passage, thereby reducing the volume of the discharge port of which is occupied by the buffer. This produces the effect of reducing the volume of fuel in the fuel system downstream from the fuel pump, which assists in the prevention of excessive pressure build-up during a subsequent hot soak period. Finally, upon start-up of the pumping element, fuel will be prevented from flowing into the fuel line and the pump discharge port until the pressure-responsive buffer has been filled with fuel.
It is an advantage of the present invention that a fuel system according to this invention will reduce leakage from injectors during hot-soak conditions.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the present buffer is configured so that fuel will not be discharged externally from the fuel system, and the pumping and fuel delivery capability of the fuel system will not become compromised in the event that the buffer becomes inoperative.
As noted above, during engine operation, the fuel in the fuel rail remains relatively cool because cooler fuel is constantly being introduced into the fuel rail from the fuel tank and further because a constant supply of cool air is being supplied to the upper engine through the intake manifold. At engine shut down, these cooling effects cease an and heat stored in the engine block and cylinder heads conducts back into the fuel rail. The volume of the buffer accounts for the thermal expansion of the liquid fuel as the temperature of the rail increases. In essence, the present invention advantageously introduces a volume buffer which accounts for the thermal expansion of the fuel.
Other advantages, as well as objects and features of the present invention, will become apparent to the reader of this specification.
As shown in
As shown in
Discharge port 24 is located about the upper portion of pump 10. A pressure-responsive buffer, in the case illustrated in
Bellows 29 acts effectively as a buffer having a greatest fluid volume corresponding to operation at a maximum pump discharge pressure, and a smallest fluid volume corresponding to minimum pump pressure when the pump is not in operation. When motor 14 is energized pump section 16 begins turning, so as to build pressure within discharge passage 22, fuel will not flow past check ball 26 until bellows 29 has filled sufficiently and become inflexibly extended to a point at which the pressure within bellows 29 is equal to the pressure required to push ball 26 off of seat 28 against the force of spring 27. Thereafter, bellows 29 will remain at an extended position until motor 14 is shut down.
Upon the shut-down of motor 14 and pump section 16, fuel pressure within discharge passage 22, and correspondingly, the pressure within bellows 29, will decay, and as a result, two actions will occur. First, bellows 29 will decrease in volume and this will increase the volume available for fuel within discharge port 24. The second action which occurs is that check ball 26 will be forced onto seat 28 by spring 27. This will prevent backflow of fuel through discharge passage 22 from fuel line 34. However, upon shut-down of the pumping motor 14 and pump 16, fuel will be permitted to flow from bellows 29 into discharge passage 22 which will, as described above, reduce the volume of discharge port 24 which is occupied by the buffer. This will give fuel confined within fuel line 34, fuel rail 36, and injectors 38 more space to expand, thereby helping to avoid fugitive hydrocarbon emissions during a soak period either immediately following engine shut down, or during later diurnal cycling.
Although the present invention has been described in connection with particular embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that various modifications, alterations, and adaptations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the following claims.