GB2308078A - Fuel tank filter - Google Patents
Fuel tank filter Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2308078A GB2308078A GB9525679A GB9525679A GB2308078A GB 2308078 A GB2308078 A GB 2308078A GB 9525679 A GB9525679 A GB 9525679A GB 9525679 A GB9525679 A GB 9525679A GB 2308078 A GB2308078 A GB 2308078A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- sock
- filter
- tank
- arm
- fuel filter
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 239000002828 fuel tank Substances 0.000 title description 7
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 claims description 52
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000004804 winding Methods 0.000 claims description 5
- 238000003466 welding Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 208000004067 Flatfoot Diseases 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000013011 mating Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000012858 resilient material Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 235000009854 Cucurbita moschata Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 240000001980 Cucurbita pepo Species 0.000 description 1
- 235000009852 Cucurbita pepo Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 230000003466 anti-cipated effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000002991 molded plastic Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000010137 moulding (plastic) Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005086 pumping Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002787 reinforcement Effects 0.000 description 1
- 235000020354 squash Nutrition 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
- F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
- F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
- F02M37/04—Feeding by means of driven pumps
- F02M37/08—Feeding by means of driven pumps electrically driven
- F02M37/10—Feeding by means of driven pumps electrically driven submerged in fuel, e.g. in reservoir
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D29/00—Filters with filtering elements stationary during filtration, e.g. pressure or suction filters, not covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D27/00; Filtering elements therefor
- B01D29/11—Filters with filtering elements stationary during filtration, e.g. pressure or suction filters, not covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D27/00; Filtering elements therefor with bag, cage, hose, tube, sleeve or like filtering elements
- B01D29/13—Supported filter elements
- B01D29/15—Supported filter elements arranged for inward flow filtration
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D29/00—Filters with filtering elements stationary during filtration, e.g. pressure or suction filters, not covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D27/00; Filtering elements therefor
- B01D29/39—Filters with filtering elements stationary during filtration, e.g. pressure or suction filters, not covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D27/00; Filtering elements therefor with hollow discs side by side on, or around, one or more tubes, e.g. of the leaf type
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D35/00—Filtering devices having features not specifically covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D33/00, or for applications not specifically covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D33/00; Auxiliary devices for filtration; Filter housing constructions
- B01D35/02—Filters adapted for location in special places, e.g. pipe-lines, pumps, stop-cocks
- B01D35/027—Filters adapted for location in special places, e.g. pipe-lines, pumps, stop-cocks rigidly mounted in or on tanks or reservoirs
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D35/00—Filtering devices having features not specifically covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D33/00, or for applications not specifically covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D33/00; Auxiliary devices for filtration; Filter housing constructions
- B01D35/02—Filters adapted for location in special places, e.g. pipe-lines, pumps, stop-cocks
- B01D35/027—Filters adapted for location in special places, e.g. pipe-lines, pumps, stop-cocks rigidly mounted in or on tanks or reservoirs
- B01D35/0273—Filtering elements with a horizontal or inclined rotation or symmetry axis submerged in tanks or reservoirs
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D35/00—Filtering devices having features not specifically covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D33/00, or for applications not specifically covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D33/00; Auxiliary devices for filtration; Filter housing constructions
- B01D35/26—Filters with built-in pumps filters provided with a pump mounted in or on the casing
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
- F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
- F02M37/00—Apparatus or systems for feeding liquid fuel from storage containers to carburettors or fuel-injection apparatus; Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
- F02M37/22—Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines, e.g. arrangements in the feeding system
- F02M37/32—Arrangements for purifying liquid fuel specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines, e.g. arrangements in the feeding system characterised by filters or filter arrangements
- F02M37/50—Filters arranged in or on fuel tanks
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D2201/00—Details relating to filtering apparatus
- B01D2201/04—Supports for the filtering elements
- B01D2201/0415—Details of supporting structures
Landscapes
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Cooling, Air Intake And Gas Exhaust, And Fuel Tank Arrangements In Propulsion Units (AREA)
- Filtration Of Liquid (AREA)
Description
FUEL FILTER
This specification relates to a fuel filter for use as an in-tank fuel filter for a motor vehicle fuel system.
A motor vehicle fuel system comprises a fuel tank which holds a reservoir of fuel for the engine, a fuel pump for pumping fuel from the tank to the engine and a fuel line between the pump and the lowermost part of the fuel tank, through which fuel is drawn by the pump. In many cases, the fuel pump is located inside the fuel tank, but the present invention is not limited to such a construction.
It is very important to ensure that the fuel pump pumps only clean fuel to the engine, and to this end it is conventional to incorporate a filter between the fuel in the tank and the pump to prevent any foreign matter from the tank from entering the pump.
The fuel line should communicate with the tank at the base of the tank, so that fuel will continue to be drawn up by the pump, even when the tank is nearly empty.
Because of changes in their internal volume, fuel tanks are rarely completely stable in use. The walls of the tank are liable to flex as a result of different internal pressures, and different volumes of fuel within the tank.
This is particularly noticeable with tanks made of moulded plastics materials.
According to the present invention, there is provided an in-tank fuel filter having an annular pump connector for connecting the filter to a fuel line, a filter sock sealed to the pump connector so that, in use, the pump communicates with the inside of the filter sock, and a stuffer arm mounted at one end on the connector and extending therefrom inside the sock to spread the sock, the stuffer arm being formed of a resilient material with a flat foot at its end remote from the connector and a region of reduced torsional stiffness between its ends.
The torsional stiffness of the region of reduced torsional stiffness is less than the torsional stiffness of the proximate (pump connector) end and of the distal (foot) end of the stuffer arm. The torsional stiffness is the resistance to torsional forces exerted on the arm about an axis corresponding generally with the longitudinal axis of the arm.
The stuffer arm is preferably moulded of a plastics material and may have a planar portion with lugs projecting from both sides of the planar portion to spread the sock on either side of the planar portion.
The foot preferably has a least three landing points extending below the planar portion, to make contact through the sock with the floor of a tank.
In one embodiment, the reduction in torsional stiffness results from formation of the arm as a narrow flat strip arranged in a zig-zag configuration so that the arm can twist about its longitudinal axis in the middle part of the arm, between its ends. In this case, the foot can be the final limb in the zig-zag configuration.
In another embodiment, the arm is formed as a helical winding. The arm may include two parallel helical windings (preferably made of wire) which have low torsional stiffness.
The pump connector preferably includes two parts which can be sandwched together with the filter sock between them, to seal the sock to the pump connector. The two parts preferably have mating collars which provide a through passage for fuel, with opposing flanges surrounding the collars. One flange has an upstanding, sharp-edged annular ridge surrounding and spaced from the collar on that part, and with an annular groove between the ridge and the collar. The other part then has a flat face opposing the ridge, so that when the parts are forced together, with the filter sock between them, ultrasonic welding of the joint ensures a complete seal between the two parts and the sock.
The mesh size of the filter sock is preferably such that, once it is wetted throughout by fuel, the interstices of the mesh remain filled with fuel, even though they may be above the level of the fuel in the tank, so that the pump can continue to suck fuel from the bottom of the tank, without sucking in air.
The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of a
fuel filter in accordance with the invention;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the filter of Figure
1, omitting the filter sock;
Figure 2a is a perspective view of a filter sock;
and
Figure 3 is an exploded sectional view through an
annular pump connector forming part of the filter.
Figure 1 shows, on a large scale, an in-tank fuel pump 10 located above the floor 12 of a fuel tank. Other walls of the fuel tank are not shown in this drawing. The pump 10 has a fuel inlet 14, and mounted on the bottom of this inlet 14 is a filter assembly generally indicated at 16.
The assembly comprises a pump connector 18, a filter sock 20 and a stuffer arm 22. As can be seen in Figure 1, the sock 20 is of a flexible mesh-like material in the form of a flat bag which is sealed to the connector at the joint between an upper part 24 and a lower part 26 of the connector. The sock 20 is held in an opened out position by the stuffer arm 22 which has a spine 28 with projecting lugs 30 at top and bottom, the lugs 30 holding the upper and lower faces of the sock 20 apart from one another.
The spine 22 is moulded so as to extend in a downward and outward direction from the connector 18. In Figure 1 it will be seen that the spine, through a lower most lug 30, is in contact with the bottom wall 12 of the tank, and even if the tank bottom wall should move either up or down from the position shown in Figure 1, the inherent resilience of the spine 28 will allow the arm 22 to remain in contact with the tank bottom.
Figure 2 shows the arm 22 in perspective view, and it will be seen that the spine 28 consists of a zig-zag plastic moulding, with the width (a) at any point along the length of the arm being significantly less than the overall width (b) of the arm. This allows the foot 32 to take up a position in a different plane from that of the lower connector half 26, so that the foot can remain in full flat contact with the base of the tank 12.
The sock 20 will be generally of the configuration shown in Figure 2a. The only opening in the sock is a round hole 34, and the stuffer arm 22 is introduced into the sock through this opening, as is the bottom part 26 of the connector 18. A collar 36 of the connector part 26 extends out through this opening 34. Surrounding the collar 36 is a sharp-edged ridge 38, and an annular groove 40. An upper connector part 24 is fitted over the collar 36 (the upper part 24 has a collar 42 with internal diameter substantially equal to the external diameter of the collar 36). The two parts are an interference fit with one another and can be clamped together to squash the part of the sock 20 surrounding the hole 34 tightly between the rib 38 and the undersurface 44 of the upper part 24.An ultrasonic welding process then takes place to permanently bond these three components together in a leak-free manner. The groove 40 is provided to accommodate any excess mesh material of the sock 20 and the flash from the welding process.
The upper component 24 also has a socket 46 for a filter support (not shown in the drawings). The filter support is a rod connected to the pump 10, and when the filter assembly is fitted to the fuel inlet 14, the supporting rod enters the socket, passes through a star washer 49 located between flanges 50 and 52, and is therefore locked in place to hold the connector to the fuel inlet 14.
A joint reinforcement ring 54 also fits onto the fuel inlet 14, as a first step, to provide a fluid tight seal of the inlet 14 in the upper connector part 24.
The as-moulded shape of the arm is such that, when it is placed on the fuel pump inlet 14, the foot 32 is prevented by the floor 12 of the tank from adopting a relaxed position. Because of the proximity of the tank floor, the arm will be forced to bow upwards, and the resulting stresses in the arm will provide a force keeping the foot 32 in contact with the tank floor 12. This will happen throughout the anticipated range of movement of the tank floor as the tank floor flexes.
The stresses produced in the arm will also tend to force the foot 32 flat against the floor of the tank, even though the plane of the tank floor may not be at right angles to the axis of the fuel inlet 14. Because of the reduced torsional stiffness between the ends of the arm, the arm will be able to twist so that at least two and preferably at least three of the lugs (ie the lugs 30a, 30b and 30c) are in contact with the tank floor through the filter sock which covers the lugs.
Claims (14)
1. An in-tank fuel filter having an annular pump connector for connecting the filter to a fuel line, a filter sock sealed to the pump connector so that, in use, the pump communicates with the inside of the filter sock, and a stuffer arm mounted at one end on the connector and extending therefrom inside the sock to spread the sock, the stuffer arm being formed of a resilient material with a flat foot at its end remote from the connector and a region of reduced torsional stiffness between its ends.
2. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the stuffer arm is moulded of a plastics material.
3. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the stuffer arm has a planar portion with lugs projecting from both sides of the planar portion to spread the sock on either side of the planar portion.
4. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the foot has a least three landing points extending below the planar portion, to make contact through the sock with the floor of a tank.
5. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the reduction in torsional stiffness results from formation of the arm as a narrow flat strip arranged in a zig-zag configuration so that the arm can twist about its longitudinal axis in the middle part of the arm, between its ends.
6. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the foot is the final limb in the zig-zag configuration.
7. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in any one of
Claims 1 to 4, wherein the arm is formed as a helical winding.
8. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the arm includes two parallel helical windings which have low torsional stiffness.
9. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8, wherein the windings are made of wire.
10. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the pump connector includes two parts which can be sandwiched together with the filter sock between them, to seal the sock to the pump connector.
11. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the two parts have mating collars which provide a through passage for fuel, with opposing flanges surrounding the collars.
12. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in Claim 11, wherein one flange has an upstanding, sharp-edged annular ridge surrounding and spaced from the collar on that part, and with an annular groove between the ridge and the collar, and wherein the other part has a flat face opposing the ridge, so that when the parts are forced together, with the filter sock between them, ultrasonic welding of the joint ensures a complete seal between the two parts and the sock.
13. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the mesh size of the filter sock is such that, once it is wetted throughout by fuel, the interstices of the mesh remain filled with fuel, even though they may be above the level of the fuel in the tank, so that the pump can continue to suck fuel from the bottom of the tank, without sucking in air.
14. An in-tank fuel filter as claimed in substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9525679A GB2308078A (en) | 1995-12-15 | 1995-12-15 | Fuel tank filter |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9525679A GB2308078A (en) | 1995-12-15 | 1995-12-15 | Fuel tank filter |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB9525679D0 GB9525679D0 (en) | 1996-02-14 |
| GB2308078A true GB2308078A (en) | 1997-06-18 |
Family
ID=10785494
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB9525679A Withdrawn GB2308078A (en) | 1995-12-15 | 1995-12-15 | Fuel tank filter |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2308078A (en) |
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2336550A (en) * | 1997-04-07 | 1999-10-27 | David M Sylvester | Fuel tank filter/pump assembly |
| WO2004022202A1 (en) * | 2002-09-04 | 2004-03-18 | Mann+Hummerl Gmbh | Liquid filter, particularly for transmission oil in motor vehicles |
| EP2631463A4 (en) * | 2010-10-21 | 2016-10-26 | Nifco Inc | Fuel filter |
Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3826372A (en) * | 1973-06-14 | 1974-07-30 | Kuss R & Co Inc | Flexible filter |
| US4312753A (en) * | 1980-01-17 | 1982-01-26 | Bell Steven L | Intank fuel filter |
| US4743370A (en) * | 1986-01-17 | 1988-05-10 | Nifco Inc. | Filter for fuel tank |
| US5120434A (en) * | 1990-05-30 | 1992-06-09 | Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Filter for intank pump |
| EP0542547A1 (en) * | 1991-11-12 | 1993-05-19 | Filtertek, Inc. | Fuel tank filter |
-
1995
- 1995-12-15 GB GB9525679A patent/GB2308078A/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3826372A (en) * | 1973-06-14 | 1974-07-30 | Kuss R & Co Inc | Flexible filter |
| US4312753A (en) * | 1980-01-17 | 1982-01-26 | Bell Steven L | Intank fuel filter |
| US4743370A (en) * | 1986-01-17 | 1988-05-10 | Nifco Inc. | Filter for fuel tank |
| US5120434A (en) * | 1990-05-30 | 1992-06-09 | Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Filter for intank pump |
| EP0542547A1 (en) * | 1991-11-12 | 1993-05-19 | Filtertek, Inc. | Fuel tank filter |
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2336550A (en) * | 1997-04-07 | 1999-10-27 | David M Sylvester | Fuel tank filter/pump assembly |
| FR2777949A1 (en) * | 1997-04-07 | 1999-10-29 | Kuss Corp | A compact in-tank fuel pump and filter assembly for a vehicle |
| GB2336550B (en) * | 1997-04-07 | 2002-08-28 | David M Sylvester | Compact in-tank fuel filter and module |
| WO2004022202A1 (en) * | 2002-09-04 | 2004-03-18 | Mann+Hummerl Gmbh | Liquid filter, particularly for transmission oil in motor vehicles |
| EP2631463A4 (en) * | 2010-10-21 | 2016-10-26 | Nifco Inc | Fuel filter |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB9525679D0 (en) | 1996-02-14 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |