JP2012062785A - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel supply device reforming fuel in a fuel tank when the fuel is oxidized and degraded.SOLUTION: A pump body 50 disposed in a fuel tank 4 supplies fuel in the fuel tank 4 to an internal combustion engine through a bellows pipe 49, a discharge pipe 15 and fuel piping. A reforming means 20 reforming the fuel is disposed in at least one of a suction port side and a discharge port 52 side of the pump body 50. When the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 52 of the pump body 50 is higher than a predetermined pressure, the fuel is discharged to the fuel tank 4 by a pressure regulator 80. When the fuel in the fuel tank 4 is detected as being oxidized and degraded compared to a predetermined state based on an output of a fuel state sensor 21 for detecting a state of oxidation degradation of the fuel in the fuel tank 4, an ECU drives the pump body 50. Thereby, the fuel in the fuel tank 4 is reformed by the reforming means 20.

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel supply device that supplies fuel in a fuel tank to an internal combustion engine.

Conventionally, a hybrid vehicle including an electric motor and an internal combustion engine as a power source is known. In the hybrid vehicle, when the driving by the electric motor increases and the operation of the internal combustion engine decreases, the fuel in the fuel tank may not be consumed for a long time. In general, when the vehicle is stopped for a long time, the fuel in the fuel tank is not consumed.
In patent document 1, the viscosity sensor which detects the oxidative degradation of a fuel is provided in the fuel piping which connects a fuel tank and an internal combustion engine. The vehicle control unit (ECU) notifies the driver and controls fuel injection when it is detected that the fuel supplied to the internal combustion engine has been oxidized and deteriorated from a predetermined state based on the output of the viscosity sensor. is doing.

JP 2009-228534 A

By the way, if the fuel in the fuel tank is not consumed for a long time, the fuel may be oxidized by oxygen contained in the air in the fuel tank. When the acidity of the fuel increases, cracks occur in the resin forming the fuel tank and the pump module provided in the fuel tank, or rust occurs in the metal. Thereby, there exists a possibility that the action | operation of the pump main body which comprises a pump module may deteriorate. There is also a risk of fuel leakage from the fuel tank.
The fuel supply device of Patent Document 1 does not have a function of reforming oxidized and deteriorated fuel. For this reason, when it is detected that the fuel is oxidatively deteriorated, it is necessary to replace the fuel or to increase the fuel injection amount. Therefore, there is a concern that the fuel consumption will deteriorate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device capable of reforming a fuel in a fuel tank when the fuel is oxidized and deteriorated.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pump body provided in the fuel tank supplies the fuel in the fuel tank to the internal combustion engine. A reforming means for reforming fuel is provided on at least one of the suction port side and the discharge port side of the pump body. When the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port of the pump body is higher than a predetermined pressure, the pressure regulator discharges the fuel into the fuel tank. Based on the output of the fuel property sensor that detects the state of oxidative deterioration of the fuel in the fuel tank, if it is detected that the fuel in the fuel tank is oxidatively deteriorated from a predetermined state, the control means By driving, the fuel in the fuel tank is circulated. Thus, when the fuel in the fuel tank is not consumed for a long period of time, if it is detected that the fuel in the fuel tank has deteriorated due to oxidation, the control means drives the pump body so that the fuel that has been oxidized and deteriorated becomes reforming means. Modified. The fuel whose oxidation deterioration has been reformed is discharged into the fuel tank by the pressure regulator, so that the fuel in the fuel tank is reformed. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the crack of the resin by the oxidatively deteriorated fuel is suppressed, and generation | occurrence | production of metal rust is suppressed. Therefore, deterioration of the operation of the pump body and fuel leakage from the fuel tank can be suppressed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the fuel supply device includes a filter that is provided on at least one of the suction port side and the discharge port side of the pump body and captures foreign matters contained in the fuel. The reforming means is provided in the filter and reforms the fuel that passes through the filter. As a result, the fuel supply device can filter and reform the fuel circulating in the fuel tank or the fuel supplied from the fuel tank to the internal combustion engine.

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 3, a filter has a filter case and the filter element accommodated in this filter case. The reforming means is formed integrally with the filter element and is carried by the filter element. Thereby, the man-hour for assembling the reforming means can be reduced.
Furthermore, the fuel can be reformed without deteriorating the filtration efficiency of the filter.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the reforming means is formed separately from the filter element and is housed in the filter case together with the filter element. Also in this configuration, the number of steps for assembling the reforming means can be reduced by simultaneously mounting the element and the reforming means in the filter.

According to the invention of claim 5, the fuel supply device includes a pump body, a sub tank, and a flange. The pump body houses a pump body, a filter, and a pressure regulator. The sub tank is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, and houses the pump body inside thereof. The flange closes the opening formed in the fuel tank and fixes the sub tank in the fuel tank.
The fuel property sensor is a fuel contact sensor provided inside the sub tank, and detects the state of the fuel in the sub tank.
As a result, the fuel property sensor can directly detect the fuel in the sub-tank that is directly sucked into the pump body. Can be suppressed. Examples of the fuel contact sensor include a pH sensor and a dielectric constant sensor.

  According to the invention of claim 6, the fuel property sensor is a fuel non-contact sensor provided inside the fuel tank of the flange, and detects the state of the fuel in the sub tank. Even with this configuration, it becomes possible for the fuel property sensor to detect the fuel in the sub-tank that is directly sucked into the pump body. Can be suppressed. In addition, an infrared sensor etc. are illustrated as a fuel non-contact-type sensor.

  According to the invention of claim 7, the reforming means is a porous material having pores capable of reforming the oxidized and deteriorated fuel. Examples of the porous material include oxygen adsorption resin, activated carbon, and ceramic. Thereby, it is possible to reform the oxidized and deteriorated fuel.

It is a block diagram of the fuel supply apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel supply apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the filter element with which the fuel supply apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is sectional drawing of the pressure regulator part with which the fuel supply apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is sectional drawing of the fuel supply apparatus by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the fuel supply apparatus by 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the pressure regulator part with which the fuel supply apparatus by 4th Embodiment of this invention is provided.

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
A fuel supply apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the fuel supply device 1 of the present embodiment includes a pump module 2 and an ECU 3 as a control unit that controls the operation of the pump module 2. The pump module 2 is inserted from an opening 5 formed in the fuel tank 4 and installed in the fuel tank 4. Fuel is supplied to the fuel tank 4 from a fuel supply port 6. The fuel in the fuel tank 4 is pumped up by the pump module 2 and supplied to the internal combustion engine via the fuel pipe 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pump module 2 includes a flange 10, a sub tank 30, a pump body 40, a pump main body 50, a low pressure filter 60, a high pressure filter 70, a reforming means 20, a pressure regulator 80, a fuel property sensor 21, and the like. ing. The pump module 2 is made of, for example, resin and metal.
The flange 10 is formed in a substantially disk shape and closes the opening 5 formed in the fuel tank 4. The flange 10 is provided with a discharge pipe 15 and an electrical connector 16. One side of the discharge pipe 15 is connected to the fuel pipe 7 for supplying fuel to the internal combustion engine, and the other side is connected to the bellows pipe 49.

  The sub tank 30 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape. A column member 31 connects the flange 10 and the sub tank 30. One end of the column member 31 is press-fitted into a recess (not shown) formed in the flange 10, and the other end is slidably attached to a hole (not shown) formed in the sub tank 30. A compression coil spring 34 is attached to the outer side of the support member 31, and the sub tank 30 is pressed against the bottom wall 8 of the fuel tank 4 by its elastic force.

A pump body 40 is accommodated inside the sub tank 30. The pump body 40 is fixed to the sub tank 30 by a mounting member (not shown).
The pump body 40 houses the pump body 50, the high-pressure filter 70, and the pressure regulator 80, and forms fuel passages 45 and 46 that communicate these.
The pump body 50 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a motor (not shown) and an impeller (not shown) that is rotated by the motor. The pump main body 50 sucks and boosts the fuel from the suction port provided on the lower side in the axial direction by the rotation of the impeller, and discharges the fuel from the discharge port 52 provided on the upper side in the axial direction.
A low pressure filter 60 is provided on the suction port side of the pump body 50. The low-pressure filter 60 is formed in a bag shape and captures relatively large foreign matter contained in the fuel sucked into the pump main body 50 from the sub tank 30.

  A high pressure filter 70 is provided outside the diameter of the pump body 50. The high-pressure filter 70 has a filter case 71 formed in an annular shape, and a cylindrical filter element 72 provided inside the filter case 71. The high-pressure filter 70 captures relatively small foreign matter contained in the fuel discharged from the discharge port 52.

  The filter element 72 is first mixed with a base material such as cotton fiber or glass fiber and a porous material such as oxygen adsorbing resin, activated carbon or ceramic as the modifying means 20, and as shown in FIG. A flat filter paper 73 and a wavy filter paper 74 are formed. Then, after the flat filter paper 73 and the corrugated filter paper 74 are joined, as shown in FIG. Thereby, the cylindrical filter element 72 is formed. As a result, the reforming means 20 is carried by the filter element 72 and formed integrally with the filter element 72. Accordingly, the fuel passing through the filter element 72 captures foreign matter and reforms the oxidized and deteriorated fuel.

As shown in FIG. 4, a pressure regulator 80 is provided in the fuel passage 46 that connects the high-pressure filter 70 and the outflow passage 47 of the pump body 40. The pressure regulator 80 has a case 81 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a pressure valve (not shown) inside the case 81. The case 81 has a large diameter portion 82 and a small diameter portion 83. The pressure regulator 80 introduces fuel flowing through the fuel passage 46 into the case 81 from an opening (not shown) formed in a step 84 between the large diameter portion 82 and the small diameter portion 83 of the case 81.
When the pressure of the fuel flowing through the fuel passage 46 becomes higher than a predetermined pressure, the pressure valve provided inside the case 81 is opened. As a result, the fuel flowing through the fuel passage 46 passes through the inside of the case 81 and is discharged to the fuel chamber 48 from an opening (not shown) formed at the upper end 85 in the axial direction of the small diameter portion 83. Therefore, the fuel flowing through the fuel passage 46 is regulated to a predetermined pressure by the pressure regulator 80.

The fuel chamber 48 communicates with the jet passage 90. The jet passage 90 has an end opposite to the fuel chamber 48 connected to a jet nozzle (not shown). The fuel discharged from the fuel passage 46 to the fuel chamber 48 is injected from the jet nozzle via the jet passage 90. The jet nozzle injects fuel into the sub tank 30 from the outside of the sub tank 30 and introduces the fuel in the fuel tank 4 into the sub tank 30 by the negative pressure generated there.
A relief valve 91 is connected to the fuel chamber 48. In the relief valve 91, when the fuel pressure in the fuel chamber 48 becomes high and the force acting on the valve body 93 becomes larger than the load set on the spring 92, the valve body 93 is separated from the wall surface 94. As a result, surplus fuel for jet nozzle injection is discharged into the sub tank 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the fuel that has been adjusted from the high pressure filter 70 through the fuel passage 46 to a predetermined pressure by the pressure regulator 80 flows into the outflow passage 47. A bellows tube 49 connects the outlet side of the outflow passage 47 and the discharge tube 15 of the flange 10. During operation of the internal combustion engine, the fuel discharged from the discharge pipe 15 through the bellows pipe 49 from the outflow passage 47 is supplied to the internal combustion engine via the fuel pipe 7.

A fuel property sensor 21 is provided on the inner wall of the flange 10 inside the fuel tank 4. The fuel property sensor 21 of the present embodiment is a fuel non-contact type sensor, specifically an infrared sensor. The infrared sensor irradiates infrared rays toward the fuel in the sub tank 30 and receives light reflected by the fuel by a light receiving element. The light reflected from the fuel changes according to the state of oxidative deterioration of the fuel. Therefore, the fuel property sensor 21 outputs a signal corresponding to the light received by the light receiving element to the ECU 3.
When the ECU 3 receives the signal output from the fuel property sensor 21, the ECU 3 detects the state of oxidative deterioration of the fuel based on the signal. The ECU 3 may be installed in the vehicle separately from the pump module 2, or may be installed on the flange 10 integrally with the pump module 2.

The operation of the fuel supply device 1 will be described.
The ECU 3 periodically detects the state of oxidative deterioration of the fuel. The detection timing may be, for example, about once a day or about once a month.
The ECU 3 may detect the state of oxidative deterioration of the fuel when it is detected that the internal combustion engine has not been operated for a certain period. Further, the ECU 3 may detect the state of oxidative deterioration of the fuel when it is detected that the fuel has not been supplied from the fuel supply port 6 of the fuel tank 4 for a certain period.

When it is detected that the fuel in the sub tank 30 is oxidized more than a predetermined state, the ECU 3 energizes the pump main body 50 via the lead wire 53 and drives the pump main body 50.
Here, the predetermined state of the fuel can be arbitrarily set based on various conditions such as acid resistance of the material forming the pump module 2. Examples of the predetermined state of the fuel include a deteriorated state that does not affect the resin or metal forming the pump module 2. Further, as the predetermined state of the fuel, for example, a deterioration state that does not affect the operation of the internal combustion engine is exemplified.

  When the operation of the internal combustion engine is stopped, when the pump main body 50 is energized, the pump main body 50 rotates the impeller by the motor and sucks the fuel in the sub tank 30 into the pump main body 50 via the low pressure filter 60. To do. The fuel sucked into the pump main body 50 is pressurized by the rotation of the impeller and discharged from the discharge port 52 of the pump main body 50. This fuel is discharged from the pressure regulator 80 to the fuel chamber 48 without being supplied to the internal combustion engine after the foreign matter is removed and reformed by the high-pressure filter 70. The fuel in the fuel chamber 48 is injected into the sub tank 30 from the jet nozzle. Further, the fuel in the fuel chamber 48 is discharged from the relief valve 91 into the sub tank 30. The fuel discharged into the sub tank 30 overflows into the fuel tank 4 from the opening of the sub tank 30. Thereby, the fuel in the fuel tank 4 circulates through the pump module 2 and is reformed.

When it is detected that the fuel in the sub tank 30 has been reformed to a predetermined state based on a signal output from the fuel property sensor 21, the ECU 3 stops energization of the pump body 50.
The ECU 3 may stop energizing the pump body 50 after energizing the pump body 50 for a certain period of time. The predetermined time may be a time for a predetermined amount of fuel in the fuel tank 4 to circulate through the pump module 2 or a time for a predetermined amount of fuel in the sub tank 30 to circulate through the pump module 2.

In the present embodiment, the following effects are obtained.
(1) When the fuel in the fuel tank is not consumed for a long time, the ECU 3 drives the pump body 50 when the fuel property sensor 21 detects that the fuel in the fuel tank 4 has deteriorated due to oxidation. Thereby, the fuel in the fuel tank 4 is filtered and reformed by the reforming means 20 provided in the high-pressure filter 70. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the crack of the resin by the oxidized fuel is suppressed, and generation | occurrence | production of metal rust is suppressed. Therefore, deterioration of the operation of the pump body 50 and fuel leakage from the pump body 40, the sub tank 30, and the fuel tank 4 can be suppressed.
(2) The fuel property sensor 21 is provided on the flange 10 and detects the state of the fuel in the sub tank 30. As a result, the fuel property sensor 21 can detect the fuel in the sub tank 30 that is directly sucked into the pump body 50. For this reason, while suppressing the deterioration of the action | operation of the pump main body 50, the fuel leak from the pump body 40, the subtank 30, etc. can be suppressed.
(3) The reforming means 20 is carried by the filter element 72 of the high-pressure filter 70 and is formed integrally with the filter element 72. Thereby, the man-hour for assembling the reforming means 20 can be reduced. Furthermore, the fuel can be reformed without deteriorating the filtration efficiency of the high-pressure filter 70.

(Second Embodiment)
A fuel supply apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Hereinafter, in a plurality of embodiments, the same numerals are given to the substantially same composition, and explanation is omitted.
In the present embodiment, the fuel property sensor 22 is provided on the inner wall of the sub tank 30. The fuel property sensor 22 of the present embodiment is a fuel contact sensor, specifically a pH sensor or a dielectric constant sensor. The pH sensor detects the hydrogen ion concentration of the fuel. The dielectric constant sensor detects the capacitance of the fuel flowing between the two electrodes. A signal detected by the fuel property sensor 22 is transmitted to the ECU 3.

When the ECU 3 receives the signal output from the fuel property sensor 22, the ECU 3 detects the state of oxidative deterioration of the fuel based on the signal. When it is detected that the fuel in the sub tank 30 is oxidized more than a predetermined state, the ECU 3 energizes the pump main body 50 and drives the pump main body 50. As a result, the oxidized and deteriorated fuel in the fuel tank 4 is reformed by the reforming means 20 carried on the filter element 72 of the high-pressure filter 70.
In the present embodiment, the fuel property sensor 22 can directly detect the fuel in the sub tank 30 that is directly sucked into the pump body 50. For this reason, while suppressing the deterioration of the action | operation of the pump main body 50, the fuel leak from the pump body 40, the subtank 30, etc. can be suppressed.

(Third embodiment)
A fuel supply apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the fuel property sensor 23 is provided on the bottom wall 35 of the sub tank 30. The fuel property sensor 23 of the present embodiment is a fuel contact type sensor as in the second embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the filter element 75 of the high-pressure filter 70 and the reforming unit 24 are formed separately. The reforming means 24 is formed in a disk shape from a porous material such as oxygen adsorption resin, activated carbon or ceramic, or a magnet. The reforming means 24 is housed in the filter case 71 of the high-pressure filter 70 together with the filter element 75.

In the present embodiment, when the amount of fuel in the sub tank 30 becomes small, the fuel property sensor 23 provided on the bottom wall 35 of the sub tank 30 can detect the property of the fuel.
In the present embodiment, the filter element 75 and the reforming unit 24 are simultaneously assembled in the filter case 71 of the high-pressure filter 70, thereby reducing the number of steps for assembling the reforming unit 24 and reducing the manufacturing cost of the pump module. Can do.

(Fourth embodiment)
A fuel supply apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the reforming means 25 is provided on the fuel outlet side of the relief valve 91.
Also in the present embodiment, the fuel that circulates in the pump module 2 and the fuel tank 4 is passed through the reforming means 25, so that the oxidized and deteriorated fuel in the fuel tank 4 can be reformed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the fuel property sensors 21, 22, and 23 are provided on the flange 10 or the inner wall of the sub tank 30. In contrast, in the present invention, the fuel property sensor may be provided on the outer wall of the sub tank or the inner wall of the fuel tank.
In the first to third embodiments described above, the reforming means 20 and 24 are provided in the high-pressure filter 70. On the other hand, in the present invention, a reforming means may be provided in the low pressure filter.
In the above-described embodiment, a porous material such as an oxygen adsorption resin, activated carbon, or ceramic is used as the modifying means 20, 24, 25. On the other hand, the present invention may use a magnet, ion exchange resin, graphite silica, or a reducing agent capable of reducing oxidized fuel as the reforming means.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. In addition to combining the above-described plurality of embodiments, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fuel supply apparatus 3 ... ECU (control means)
4 ... Fuel tanks 20, 24, 25 ... Reforming means 21, 22, 23 ... Fuel property sensor 50 ... Pump body 52 ... Discharge port 60 ... Low pressure filter 70 ... High-pressure filter 80 ... Pressure regulator

Claims (7)

A pump body provided in the fuel tank and supplying the fuel in the fuel tank to the internal combustion engine;
A reforming means provided on at least one of the suction port side and the discharge port side of the pump body to reform the fuel;
A pressure regulator for discharging the fuel discharged from the discharge port into the fuel tank when the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port of the pump body is higher than a predetermined pressure;
A fuel property sensor for detecting the state of oxidative degradation of the fuel in the fuel tank;
Based on the output of the fuel property sensor, when it is detected that the fuel in the fuel tank is oxidatively deteriorated from a predetermined state, the fuel in the fuel tank is circulated by driving the pump body. And a fuel supply device. A filter that is provided on at least one of the suction port side and the discharge port side of the pump body and captures foreign matter contained in fuel;
The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the reforming unit is provided in the filter and reforms fuel passing through the filter. The filter has a filter case and a filter element accommodated in the filter case,
The fuel supply device according to claim 2, wherein the reforming unit is formed integrally with the filter element and is carried by the filter element. The filter has a filter case and a filter element accommodated in the filter case,
The fuel supply device according to claim 2, wherein the reforming unit is formed separately from the filter element, and is housed in the filter case together with the filter element. A pump body that houses the pump body, the filter, and the pressure regulator;
A sub-tank that is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and accommodates the pump body inside thereof;
A flange for closing the opening formed in the fuel tank and fixing the sub-tank in the fuel tank;
The fuel supply sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fuel property sensor is a fuel contact type sensor provided inside the sub tank, and detects a state of fuel in the sub tank. apparatus. A pump body that houses the pump body, the filter, and the pressure regulator;
A sub-tank that is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape and accommodates the pump body inside thereof;
A flange for closing the opening formed in the fuel tank and fixing the sub-tank in the fuel tank;
5. The fuel property sensor according to claim 1, wherein the fuel property sensor is a fuel non-contact sensor provided inside the fuel tank of the flange, and detects a state of fuel in the sub tank. The fuel supply apparatus as described.   The fuel supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the reforming means is a porous material having pores capable of reforming the oxidized and deteriorated fuel.

Images