Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6684800
-
Patent Number
6,684,800
-
Date Filed
Thursday, August 8, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, February 3, 200421 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
Disclosed is a personal watercraft capable of separating and eliminating water contained in fuel without inspecting whether or not the water is present in a fuel tank. The personal watercraft comprises a water separator 21 in a fuel supply passage from a fuel tank 14 for reserving fuel supplied to an internal combustion engine 4 to an air-fuel mixture generating means 17 for mixing fuel with air to generate air-fuel mixture.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a personal watercraft (PWC) which ejects water rearward and planes on a water surface as the resulting reaction, and more particularly to a personal watercraft having a system of separating and eliminating water contained in fuel from the fuel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, personal watercraft have been widely used in leisure, sport, rescue activities, and the like. The personal watercraft has a straddle-type body structure, and is configured to have a water jet pump that pressurizes and accelerates water sucked from a water intake generally provided on a hull bottom surface and ejects it rearward from an outlet port. Thereby, the personal watercraft is propelled. The personal watercraft is equipped with an engine as a power source for driving the water jet pump, a fuel tank for reserving fuel (gasoline) supplied to the engine, and the like, inside of an outer shell of the body.
In such personal watercraft, the fuel is commonly fed into the fuel tank at the waterside or on the water. Therefore, water ingress into the fuel tank is sometimes caused by water splashes to the fuel tank during fuel feeding. When the fuel containing water is supplied to the engine, engine power efficiency is reduced.
In the conventional personal watercraft, the fuel tank is made of semi-transparent resin so that the inside thereof is visible from outside. Inside the fuel tank, the water tends to move downwardly to the bottom because of its specific gravity higher than the specific gravity of the fuel. The water in the fuel tank is detected by visual inspection from outside. After being detected, the water is discharged, together with the fuel, from the fuel tank.
However, since the fuel tank is placed inside of the body, it is not easy to detect whether or not the water is present in the fuel tank by visual inspection. When the water is detected, the fuel needs to be discharged, which work is burdensome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention address the above-described condition, and an object of the present invention is to provide a personal watercraft capable of separating and eliminating water contained in fuel without inspecting whether or not the water is present in a fuel tank.
According to the present invention, there is provided a personal watercraft comprising: an internal combustion engine; a fuel tank for reserving fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine; an air-fuel mixture generating means for mixing the fuel from the fuel tank with air to generate air-fuel mixture; a fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank to the air-fuel mixture generating means; and a water separator provided in the fuel supply passage.
In the personal watercraft so constituted, the water contained in the fuel in the fuel tank can be separated and eliminated from the fuel by using the water separator. Thereby, the fuel nearly free from water can be supplied to the internal combustion engine, and consequently, a power efficiency of the internal combustion engine is not reduced. The elimination of water is accomplished merely by discharging the separated water from the water separator, without regularly inspecting whether or not the water is present in the fuel tank. In addition, it is not necessary to discharge the fuel from the fuel tank when the fuel contains the water.
The personal watercraft may further comprise a body member to which the water separator is removably mounted, and the water separator may comprise a container for reserving the fuel and a cap member removably attached to the container, for covering an opening in the container. With such constitution, since the water separator can be removed from the body and the cap member can be detached from the container, the water in the water separator can be easily discharged.
The personal watercraft may further comprise: a cover member, the cover member being adapted to cover a portion where the water separator is mounted and expose the portion where the water separator is mounted. Since the cover member can cover the portion where the water separator is mounted, the body's external appearance is visually favorable.
In the personal watercraft, when the cover member covers the portion where the water separator is mounted, the cap member may be in contact with a inner face of the cover member or in close proximity to the inner face of the cover member with a slight gap.
In this constitution, when the cap member is not firmly attached to the container, complete covering by the cover member is unfulfilled. From the incomplete covering by the cover member, the user finds that the cap member is not firmly attached to the container.
The personal watercraft may further comprise: a body member provided with an opening capable of being covered and uncovered, and the water separator may be removably mounted inside of the body member in the vicinity of the opening, and the water separator may comprise a container for reserving the fuel and a cap member removably attached to the container, for covering an opening in the container. Thereby, the rider (operator) can easily make access to the water separator by uncovering the opening, and then remove the water separator from the body and remove the cap member from the container. In this manner, the water in the water separator can be discharged.
The personal watercraft may further comprise: a discharge passage; and an opening/closing means for opening/closing the discharge passage, and the water separator may have a container for reserving the fuel, and the discharge passage may be provided at a bottom of the container. With such constitution, by opening the opening/closing means, the water in the container can be discharged outside the watercraft. This eliminates the need for removal of the water separator from the body.
The personal watercraft may further comprise: a biasing means for biasing the opening/closing means to be at a closed position; and an operating means for opening the opening/closing means against a biasing force of the biasing means.
The above and further objects and features of the invention will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a side view showing a personal watercraft according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a view of a fuel supply system of the personal watercraft in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a side view of the personal watercraft in
FIG. 1
, with a hatch cover being at an open position;
FIG. 4
is a longitudinal sectional view of a water separator;
FIG. 5
is a plan view of the personal watercraft in
FIG. 1
, with a seat, a hatch cover, a box cover, and the like omitted;
FIG. 6
is a longitudinal sectional view of a water separator of a personal watercraft according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7
is a perspective view showing that a branched member supports the water separator; and
FIG. 8
is a rear view of the personal watercraft in FIG.
6
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First Embodiment
FIG. 1
is a side view of a personal watercraft
1
according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The personal watercraft
1
has a FRP body. The body is mainly comprised of a hull
2
and a deck
3
covering the hull
2
from above. The hull
2
and the deck
3
are body members. An engine (internal combustion engine)
4
as a power source is equipped inside of the body comprised of the hull
2
and the deck
3
. The rotation of the engine
4
is transmitted to an impeller
5
through a drive shaft. The impeller
5
and a casing
6
enclosing outer periphery of the impeller
5
constitute a water jet pump
7
.
An opening is provided as a water intake
8
in a bottom surface of the hull
2
. The water is sucked from the water intake
8
and fed to the water jet pump
7
. The water jet pump
7
pressurizes and accelerates the water. The pressurized and accelerated water is discharged through a pump nozzle behind the water jet pump
7
, thereby propelling the personal watercraft
1
. The pump nozzle is covered with a steering nozzle
9
provided behind the pump nozzle. In
FIG. 1
, reference numeral
10
denotes a reverse deflector. The deflector
10
is swung downward to a lower position around a horizontally mounted swinging shaft to deflect the ejected water from the steering nozzle
9
forward, and as the resulting reaction, the personal watercraft
1
moves rearward.
A straddle-type seat
11
is mounted at the center portion of the deck
3
. A steering handle
12
is provided in front of the seat
11
. When the rider steers the steering handle
12
clockwise or counterclockwise, the steering nozzle
9
is swung toward the opposite direction so that the watercraft
1
can be correspondingly turned to a desired direction. A hatch cover
13
is mounted in front of the handle
12
so as to partially cover the deck
3
. A box cover
58
is mounted behind the handle
12
so as to cover an accommodating portion
59
provided in the deck
3
.
The seat
11
is removable from the deck
3
. When the rider is driving the watercraft
1
, the seat
11
is mounted on the deck
3
. During maintenance of a propulsion device or the like located inside of the body, the seat
11
is removed from the deck
3
. By removing the seat
11
, an opening formed in the deck
3
is exposed, and maintenance works or the like of the internal combustion engine or the like can be carried out through the opening.
The hatch cover
13
is openable/closable as indicated by an arrow
3
in FIG.
1
. To be specific, the hatch cover
13
is pivotally attached to the deck
3
around its tip end as a pivot axis. By opening the hatch cover
13
, an opening formed in the deck
3
is exposed. The inner space of the opening is utilized for accommodating equipment and the like.
The box cover
58
is openably attached to the deck
3
. By opening the box cover
58
, the accommodating portion
59
is exposed.
A fuel tank
14
made of resin is provided inside of the body comprised of the hull
2
and the deck
3
. The role of the fuel tank
14
is to reserve the fuel to be supplied to the engine
4
.
FIG. 2
is a schematic view of a fuel supply system installed in the personal watercraft
1
. A fuel pump
15
is mounted to the fuel tank
14
. The fuel reserved in the fuel tank
14
is pumped into an air-fuel mixture generating means
17
by a fuel pump
15
through a fuel supply passage. As defined herein, the “air-fuel mixture generating means” refers to a means for mixing air with fuel to generate air-fuel mixture. For example, a carburetor, a fuel injector, or the like corresponds to the “air-fuel mixture generating means.” The excess fuel which has not been supplied into a combustion chamber of the engine
4
is returned into the fuel tank
14
through a return pipe
18
.
A water separator
21
is provided in the fuel supply passage connecting the fuel pump
15
to the air-fuel mixture generating means
17
, for the purpose of separating water contained in the fuel. The fuel from the fuel pump
15
is led to the water separator
21
through a pipe
16
a
and then to the air-fuel mixture generating means
17
through a pipe
16
b
. The water separator
21
serves to separate the water from the fuel by specific gravity difference between the fuel and the water.
FIG. 3
is a side view of the personal watercraft
1
with the hatch cover
13
being at an open position. The water separator
21
is mounted to the deck
3
. A portion of the deck
3
where the water separator
21
is mounted is covered with the hatch cover
13
by closing hatch cover
13
, and uncovered by opening the hatch cover
13
. The hatch cover
13
functions as a cover member provided over the water separator
21
.
As clearly shown in
FIG. 3
, when the hatch cover
13
is opened, a cap member
25
of the water separator
21
mounted to the deck
3
is exposed. Conversely, when the hatch cover
13
is closed, the water separator
21
is covered with the hatch cover
13
. Therefore, the external appearance of the body of the watercraft
1
is visually favorable.
FIG. 4
is a longitudinal sectional view of the water separator
21
.
FIG. 4
shows a structure of the water separator
21
and a structure of mounting of the water separator
21
to the deck
3
.
The water separator
21
is mainly comprised of a substantially cylindrical container
22
and the cap member
25
. The container
22
has a required volume and its upper end is opened. The container
22
is made of semi-transparent resin. The cap member
25
covers the opening in the upper end of the container
25
.
The water separator
21
is mounted to the deck
3
. A tubular support member
27
is secured to the deck
3
by means of a bolt
51
and a nut
52
such that the member
27
penetrates the deck
3
through a circular hole portion formed in the deck
3
. The outer diameter of the container
22
is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the support member
27
. The water separator
21
is mounted so as to extend along the inner inside of the support member
27
. A flange
22
a
outwardly extends in a radial direction at the upper end of the container
22
. Because the outer diameter of the flange
22
a
is larger than the inner diameter of the support member
27
, the container
22
is supported by the support member
27
. The cap member
25
is screwed to the support member
27
. To be specific, a female screw is formed on an inner peripheral face of the cap member
25
and a male screw is formed on an outer peripheral face of the support member
27
in the vicinity of the upper end. The female screw of the cap member
25
and the male screw of the support member
27
are threadedly engaged. The flange
22
a
is securely retained between the cap member
25
and the support member
27
to allow the container
22
to be secured to the deck
3
. A gasket
26
is provided between the support member
27
and the flange
22
a
and a gasket
28
is provided between the cap member
25
and the flange
22
a
. In this manner, the opening in the upper end of the container
22
is covered with the cap member
25
.
The hatch cover
13
covers the cap member
25
from above. The hatch cover
13
is in contact with or in close proximity to the cap member
25
. In other words, there is no or slight gap between the upper face of the cap member
25
and the rear face of the hatch cover
13
.
The container
22
is provided with a fuel inflow pipe
23
and a fuel outflow pipe
24
. The fuel inflow pipe
23
serves to lead the fuel from the outside of the container
22
to the inside thereof and is connected to the pipe
16
a
. The fuel inflow pipe
23
has an opening
23
a
inside of the container
22
at a position spaced a predetermined distance above the bottom. The fuel outflow pipe
24
serves to lead the fuel from the inside of the container
22
to the outside thereof and is connected to the pipe
16
b
. The fuel outflow pipe
24
has an opening
24
a
inside of the container
22
at a position higher than the position of the opening
23
a
of the fuel inflow pipe
23
.
The fuel in the fuel tank
14
is pumped into the container
22
by the fuel pump
15
through the pipe
16
a
and the fuel inflow pipe
23
. When the fuel containing water flows into the container
22
, the water is spontaneously separated from the fuel in the container
22
due to specific gravity difference between the water and the fuel and moves downwardly to the bottom of the container
22
. In
FIG. 4
, W denotes the water collected in the bottom of the container
22
and F denotes the fuel overlying the water.
The fuel, from which the water has been separated in the water separator
21
flows from the opening
24
a
of the fuel outflow pipe
24
into the fuel outflow pipe
24
. Then, the fuel is led to the outside of the container
22
through the fuel outflow pipe
24
. Further, the fuel is led to the air-fuel mixture generating means
17
through the pipe
16
b.
As should be appreciated from the foregoing, the water separator
21
is provided in the fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank
14
to the air-fuel mixture generating means
17
, for the purpose of separating the water contained in the fuel. Therefore, the fuel nearly free from water can be supplied to the engine
4
. Consequently, a power efficiency of the engine
4
is not reduced.
When it is detected that some amount of water is present inside of the water separator
21
, it becomes necessary to discharge the water. The water in the water separator
21
can be detected by regular visual inspection, or otherwise by using a water sensor provided in the water separator
21
. Since the water separator
21
is removably mounted to the deck
3
, the water separator
21
can be removed from the deck
3
and then the water is discharged from the water separator
21
. When removing the water separator
21
from the deck
3
, first of all, the hatch cover
13
is opened, thereby exposing the portion of the deck
3
where the water separator
21
is mounted. Following this, the cap member
25
screwed to the support member
27
is detached from the support member
27
. Then, the container
22
supported by the support member
27
is lifted up from the support member
27
, with the pipes
16
a
,
16
b
being connected to the container
22
. Then, the container
22
is tilted or inverted, thereby discharging the water in the container
22
with the fuel. It should be appreciated that the container
22
is preferably kept away from the body of the watercraft
1
during the discharge of the water and the fuel in order to prevent the body, for example, the deck
3
, from being contaminated.
Thereby, the water is emptied out of the container
22
. Thereafter, the water separator
21
is re-mounted to the deck
3
in the reverse order of that for removing the water separator
21
from the deck
3
.
When re-mounting the water separator
21
to the deck
3
, the hatch cover
13
can be fully closed in the state in which the cap member
25
is firmly fastened to the support member
27
. Conversely, when the cap member
25
is not firmly fastened to the support member
27
, the hatch cover
13
is incompletely closed. This is because the hatch cover
13
is placed so as to be in contact with or in close proximity to the cap member
25
in the state in which the cap member
25
is firmly fastened to the support member
27
. Therefore, the user finds that the cap member
25
is not firmly fastened to the support member
27
when the hatch cover
13
is incompletely closed.
In the embodiment, the water separator
21
is mounted to the portion of the deck
3
which is exposed by opening the hatch cover
13
. The portion of the deck
3
where the water separator
21
should be mounted is not intended to be limited to the portion covered with the hatch cover
13
. Alternatively, the water separator
21
may be mounted to the portion of the deck
3
which is exposed by removing the seat
11
. The portion of the deck
3
which is beneath the seat
11
is covered with the seat
11
in the state in which the seat
11
is mounted on the deck
3
and is exposed by removing the seat
11
. Thus, the seat
11
functions as the cover member provided over the water separator
21
.
FIG. 5
is a plan view of the personal watercraft
1
of
FIG. 1
, wherein the seat
11
, the hatch cover
13
, the box cover
58
, and the like are removed from the body of the personal watercraft
1
. In the embodiment, the water separator
21
is mounted to the portion represented by A in
FIG. 5
, but may be alternatively mounted to the portion represented by B or C. The portion represented by B is covered with the box cover
58
provided behind the handle
12
in the state in which the box cover
58
is closed. When the water separator
21
is mounted to the portion represented by B, the accommodating portion
59
and the water separator
21
become visible by opening the box cover
58
. In
FIG. 1
, the water separator provided in the vicinity of the accommodating portion
59
is represented by an imaginary line. The portion represented by C is covered with the seat
11
in the state in which the seat
11
is mounted on the deck
3
. When the water separator
21
is mounted to the portion represented by C, the water separator
21
is exposed by removing the seat
11
. In
FIG. 5
,
11
a
denotes an opening formed in the deck
3
. By removing the seat
11
, the opening
11
a
and the water separator
21
provided in the vicinity of the opening
11
a
are exposed. Also,
13
a
denotes an opening formed in the deck
3
. By opening the hatch cover
13
, the opening
13
a
and the water separator
21
provided in the vicinity of the opening
13
a
are exposed.
The water separator
21
is not necessarily mounted to the portion covered with the cover member, such as the hatch cover
13
or the seat
11
, but may be alternatively mounted to the portion being always exposed. The position at which the water separator
21
is mounted to the body is preferably selected in light of desirable external appearance of the watercraft
1
.
Embodiment 2
Subsequently, a personal watercraft according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The personal watercraft of the second embodiment is constituted similarly to the personal watercraft
1
of the first embodiment and differs in the structure and mounting position of the water separator from the same.
FIG. 6
is a longitudinal sectional view of the water separator
31
of the personal watercraft according to the second embodiment of the present invention. With reference to
FIG. 6
, the structure of a water separator
31
and mounting structure of the water separator
31
will be described.
The water separator
31
is mounted at a position in an inner space of the deck
3
that is near the opening
11
a
formed in the deck
3
(see
FIG. 5
) so as to be accessible from the opening
11
a
. The opening
11
a
is exposed when the seat
11
is removed from the deck
3
(see FIG.
5
), and invisible in the state in which the seat
11
is mounted on the deck
3
. That is, the opening
11
a
is covered/uncovered by mounting/removing the seat
11
. The water separator
31
is removably mounted in the vicinity of the opening
11
a.
The water separator
31
is mainly comprised of a substantially cylindrical container
33
and a cap member
43
. The container
33
has a required volume and its upper end is opened. The container
33
is made of semi-transparent resin. A flange
33
a
outwardly extends in a radial direction in the vicinity of the upper end of the container
33
. The cap member
43
covers the opening in the upper end of the container
33
. A male screw is formed on an outer peripheral face of the container
33
in the vicinity of the upper end and a female screw is formed on an inner peripheral face of the cap member
43
. The female screw of the cap member
43
is threadedly engaged with the male screw of the container
33
, thereby attaching the cap member
43
onto the container
33
.
The water separator
31
is mounted to the deck
3
. A branched member
32
is attached to the deck
3
by means of a bolt
51
and a nut
52
. The branched member
32
functions as a support member for supporting the water separator
31
by securely retaining a portion of the container
33
immediately under the flange
33
a.
FIG. 7
is a perspective view showing that the branched member
32
supports the water separator
31
. The branched member
32
is made of an elastic material such as steel. When the water separator
31
is pulled toward the direction indicated by an arrow in
FIG. 7
, the branched member
32
is elastically deformed to be widened, thereby allowing the water separator
31
to be removed from the branched member
32
. Conversely, when the removed water separator
31
is pushed against the branched member
32
(toward the opposite direction of the arrow), the branched member
32
is also elastically deformed to be widened, thereby attaching the water separator
31
to the branched member
32
.
Referring to
FIG. 6
again, the container
33
is engaged with the branched member
32
. The water separator
31
has the cap member
43
.
The container
33
is provided with a fuel inflow pipe
34
and a fuel outflow pipe
35
. The fuel inflow pipe
34
serves to lead the fuel from the outside of the container
33
to the inside thereof and is connected to the pipe
16
a
. The fuel inflow pipe
34
has an opening
34
a
inside of the container
33
at a position spaced a predetermined distance above the bottom. The fuel outflow pipe
35
serves to lead the fuel from the inside of the container
33
to the outside thereof and is connected to the pipe
16
b
. The fuel outflow pipe
35
has an opening
35
a
inside of the container
33
at a position higher than the position of the opening
34
a
of the fuel inflow pipe
34
.
The container
33
is provided with a discharge pipe
36
at the bottom. The discharge pipe
36
serves to lead the water at the bottom of the container
33
to the outside. A base end of the discharge pipe
36
is opened in a bottom surface of the container
33
and a tip end of the discharge pipe
36
is connected to a pipe
19
.
The discharge pipe
36
is provided with an openable valve
37
as an opening/closing means. The openable valve
37
serves to open/close the discharge pipe
36
. A valve plug
39
of the openable valve
37
is biased to be at a closed position by a spring
38
. A wire
40
is attached to the openable valve
37
, for pulling the valve plug
39
against the bias by the spring
38
to thereby cause the discharge pipe
36
to be opened. A handle
41
is attached to a tip end of the wire
40
. The handle
41
may be located at a position in the vicinity of the steering handle
12
of the watercraft so as to be accessible by the rider (operator). The tip end of the pipe
19
extends to a rear end face of the body of the watercraft.
FIG. 8
is a rear view of the personal watercraft according to the second embodiment. The tip end of the pipe
19
is connected to a discharge port
56
formed in a rear end face
55
of the personal watercraft. The discharge pipe
36
, the pipe
19
, and the discharge port
56
constitute a discharge passage.
Referring to
FIG. 6
again, the fuel in the fuel tank
14
is pumped into the container
33
by the fuel pump
15
through the pipe
16
a
and the fuel inflow pipe
34
. Inside the container
33
, the water is separated from the fuel and moves downwardly to the bottom. In
FIG. 6
, W denotes the water collected in the bottom of the container
33
, and F denotes the fuel overlying the water.
The fuel, from which the water has been eliminated, is sent from the opening
35
a
of the fuel outflow pipe
35
to the air-fuel mixture generating means
17
through the fuel outflow pipe
35
and the pipe
16
b.
When it is detected that some amount of water is present inside of the water separator
31
, it becomes necessary to discharge the water. By pulling the handle
41
, the water is discharged from the water separator
31
. More specifically, by pulling the handle
41
, the valve plug
39
moves in a valve chamber against the bias by the spring
38
, thus opening the openable valve
37
. Thereby, the water at the bottom of the container
33
is discharged from the discharge port
56
formed in the rear end face
55
of the personal watercraft through the discharge pipe
36
and the pipe
19
. After fully discharging the water, the handle
41
is released, so that the valve plug
39
moves by the bias by the spring
38
, thus closing the openable valve
37
.
Thus, by providing the openable valve
37
, the water at the bottom of the water separator
31
can be easily discharged outside the watercraft without removing the water separator
31
from the body of the watercraft.
By operating the handle
41
, the water can be discharged without the need for the user to touch the openable valve
37
. Besides, since the water is discharged from the rear end face
55
of the personal watercraft, the deck
3
or the like of the body is not contaminated. However, a general cock may be used instead of the openable valve
37
in FIG.
6
.
It should be appreciated that, without operating the openable valve
37
, the water separator
31
may be removed from the body and the water in the container
33
may be discharged, since the water separator
31
is removably mounted to the body. When removing the water separator
31
from the body, first, the seat
11
is removed from the deck
3
, thereby exposing the opening
11
a
. Following this, the water separator
31
with the pipes
16
a
,
16
b
,
19
connected thereto, is detached from the branched member
32
. Then, the water separator
31
is taken out through the opening
11
a,
and the cap member
43
screwed to the container
33
is detached from the container
33
. Thereafter, the container
33
is tilted or inverted, thereby discharging the water in the container
33
, with the fuel. Since the water separator
31
is first taken out through the opening
11
a
and then the water or the fuel is discharged outside the watercraft
1
.
Thereby, the water is emptied out of the container
33
. Thereafter, the water separator
31
is re-mounted to the body in the reverse order of that for removing the water separator
31
from the body.
In the embodiment, the water separator
31
is removably mounted in the vicinity of the opening
11
a
being covered/uncovered by mounting/removing the seat
11
. The position of the water separator
31
is not intended to be limited to the vicinity of the opening
11
a
covered by the seat
11
. For example, the water separator
31
may be mounted in the vicinity of an opening formed inside of the body, which is covered/uncovered by closing/opening the hatch cover
13
, i.e., an opening (see opening
13
a
in
FIG. 5
) which is formed under the hatch cover
13
and exposed by opening the hatch cover
13
.
It should be noted that the openable valve
37
may be dispensed with, and the water separator
31
may be mounted in the position other than the vicinity of the opening in the body member.
Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the description is to be construed as illustrative only, and is provided for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. The details of the structure and/or function may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and all modifications which come within the scope of the appended claims are reserved.
Claims
- 1. A personal watercraft comprising:an internal combustion engine; a fuel tank for reserving fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine; an air-fuel mixture generating means for mixing the fuel from the fuel tank with air to generate air-fuel mixture; a fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank to the air-fuel mixture generating means; and a water separator provided in the fuel supply passage; said watercraft further comprising: a body member to which the water separator is removably mounted, wherein the water separator comprises a container for reserving the fuel and a cap member removably attached to the container, for covering an opening in the container.
- 2. The personal watercraft according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover member, the cover member being adapted to cover a portion where the water separator is mounted and expose the portion where the water separator is mounted.
- 3. The personal watercraft according to claim 2, wherein, when the cover member covers the portion where the water separator is mounted, the cap member is in contact with a inner face of the cover member or in close proximity to the inner face of the cover member with a slight gap.
- 4. A personal watercraft comprising:an internal combustion engine; a fuel tank for reserving fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine; an air-fuel mixture generating means for mixing the fuel from the fuel tank with air to generate air-fuel mixture; a fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank to the air-fuel mixture generating means; and a water separator provided in the fuel supply passage, said watercraft further comprising: a body member provided with an opening capable of being covered and uncovered, wherein the water separator is removably mounted inside of the body member in the vicinity of the opening, and the water separator comprises a container for reserving the fuel, and a cap member removably attached to the container, for covering an opening in the container.
- 5. A personal watercraft comprising:an internal combustion engine; a fuel tank for reserving fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine; an air-fuel mixture generating means for mixing the fuel from the fuel tank with air to generate air-fuel mixture; a fuel supply passage connecting the fuel tank to the air-fuel mixture generating means; and a water separator provided in the fuel supply passage, said watercraft further comprising: a discharge passage; and an opening/closing means for opening/closing the discharge passage, wherein the water separator has a container for reserving the fuel, and the discharge passage is provided at a bottom of the container.
- 6. The personal watercraft according to claim 5, further comprising:a biasing means for biasing the opening/closing means to be at a closed position; and an operating means for opening the opening/closing means against a biasing force of the biasing means.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2001-245291 |
Aug 2001 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
6170470 |
Clarkson et al. |
Jan 2001 |
B1 |
6527603 |
Wickman et al. |
Mar 2003 |
B1 |