WO2013140931A1

WO2013140931A1 - Fuel supply device

Info

Publication number: WO2013140931A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/054269
Authority: WO
Inventors: 吉田　裕
Original assignee: 株式会社ケーヒン
Priority date: 2012-03-22
Filing date: 2013-02-21
Publication date: 2013-09-26
Also published as: CN104204495A; DE112013001605B4; JP5999945B2; CN104204495B; JP2013194711A; BR112014023174B1; DE112013001605T5; BR112014023174A2

Abstract

A fuel supply device in which an electric motor and a fuel pump are accommodated and held in a pump housing having an intake port, a discharge port, and a deaeration hole, and an intake filter for filtering fuel in a fuel tank is connected to an intake port; wherein a gas-phase portion in a fuel tank (5) and a deaeration hole (15) are communicated by a passage (41), the pressure of fuel discharged from a discharge port (14) is detected by a detection means (45), and when the detection value of the detection means (45) is lower than the pressure of states of no clogging in an intake filter (39), a filter clogging determination means (46) determines that there is clogging in the intake filter (39). It is thereby possible to quickly and accurately perceive that there is clogging in the intake filter.

Description

Fuel supply device

The present invention relates to an electric motor and a fuel pump having a pump chamber in which a rotating member that is rotationally driven by the electric motor is accommodated, an intake port for sucking fuel into the pump chamber, and fuel from the pump chamber A suction filter that is housed and held in a pump housing having a discharge port for discharging gas and a deaeration hole for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber, and filters the fuel in the fuel tank and supplies it to the fuel pump Relates to a fuel supply device connected to the suction port.

In a fuel supply device in which fuel in a fuel tank is boosted by a fuel pump and supplied to a fuel injection valve, a suction filter for suppressing foreign matter from entering the pump chamber and a vapor generated in the pump chamber are externally provided. It is common to provide a deaeration hole for discharging. In such a fuel supply device, when the suction filter is clogged, there is a problem that the fuel containing foreign matters is sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole. However, there is a fuel supply device that solves such a problem. This is known from Patent Document 1. In this fuel, a return fuel filling area is provided to fill the surplus pressure returned from the regulator out of the fuel discharged from the fuel pump, and the return fuel filling area is communicated with the deaeration hole. Since the fuel stored in the area is clean fuel filtered by the suction filter, when the suction filter is clogged, the fuel in the return fuel-filled area is sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole. Prevents foreign matter from entering the pump chamber. Also, if the fuel level in the return fuel filling area drops below a predetermined position during engine operation after the suction filter is clogged, air will be sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole, causing the engine to malfunction. This makes it possible to prompt the driver to replace the suction filter.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-229996

According to what is disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the fact that the suction filter is clogged is not known until the driver notices that the engine malfunctioned. When the driver notices that an engine malfunction has occurred due to the occurrence of clogging, the suction filter is clogged considerably, and the amount of air sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole is considerably increased. This was confirmed by experiments. That is, a considerable amount of operation time is required until the driver actually notices the clogging of the suction filter after the clogging of the suction filter occurs. If the clogging of the suction filter can be recognized at an early stage, the engine Since it is possible to replace the suction filter before malfunction occurs, early recognition of clogging is desired. Moreover, the engine malfunction occurs due to a cause other than the clogging of the suction filter, and therefore, it is desired to develop a technique that can quickly and accurately recognize the clogging of the suction filter.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device that can recognize early and accurately that the suction filter is clogged.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an intake for causing an electric motor and a fuel pump having a pump chamber in which a rotating member driven to rotate by the electric motor is accommodated to suck fuel into the pump chamber. The fuel is stored in and held in a pump housing having a port, a discharge port for discharging fuel from the pump chamber, and a deaeration hole for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber, and the fuel in the fuel tank is filtered In a fuel supply apparatus in which a suction filter for supplying to a pump is connected to the suction port, a vapor discharge passage means for forming a passage communicating between a portion that becomes a gas phase in the fuel tank and the deaeration hole, and Detection means for detecting the value of the current flowing through the electric motor or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port, and the suction filter are in a state where no clogging occurs. Filter clogging determining means for determining that clogging has occurred in the suction filter when the detected value of the detecting means is lower than the current value or the pressure when a constant voltage is applied to the motor. First feature.

Further, according to the present invention, an electric motor and a fuel pump having a pump chamber in which a rotating member driven to rotate by the electric motor is accommodated, an intake port for sucking fuel into the pump chamber, A suction port for filtering and supplying fuel in a fuel tank which is stored and held in a pump housing having a discharge port for discharging fuel and a deaeration hole for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber In the fuel supply apparatus in which a filter is connected to the suction port, a vapor discharge passage means for forming a passage communicating between the gas phase portion in the fuel tank and the deaeration hole, and a current value flowing through the electric motor or Detection means for detecting the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port, and applying a constant voltage to the electric motor in a state where the suction filter is not clogged. Filter clogging determination means for determining that clogging has occurred in the suction filter when the number of times the detection value of the detection means becomes lower than the current value or pressure when The second feature is to provide.

According to the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second feature, the filter clogging determination unit is configured to detect the filter with the suction filter when the number of times the detection value of the detection unit crosses a predetermined threshold value exceeds a predetermined number. It is a third feature to determine that clogging has occurred.

In addition to any of the configurations of the first to third features, the present invention further comprises fuel remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank, wherein the remaining amount of fuel is less than a predetermined amount. When the fuel remaining amount detecting means detects, the filter clogging determining means stops determining whether there is clogging, or determines whether clogging is present, but does not output the determination result. The fourth feature.

Further, in addition to any of the configurations of the first to fourth features, the present invention provides the suction filter according to when the filter clogging determination unit determines that the suction filter is clogged. A fifth feature is provided with notifying means for notifying that clogging has occurred.

The pump impeller 11 of the embodiment corresponds to the rotating member of the present invention, and the control unit 46 of the embodiment corresponds to the filter clogging determining means of the present invention.

According to the first feature of the present invention, the value of the current flowing through the electric motor or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port is detected, and the detected value is applied to the electric motor in a state where the suction filter is not clogged. It is determined that clogging has occurred when the current value when the constant voltage is applied or when the pressure becomes lower than the pressure, and the current value flowing to the electric motor when the suction filter is clogged. Alternatively, since the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port decreases, it is possible to recognize early that the suction filter has become clogged without recognizing engine malfunction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the value of the current flowing through the electric motor or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port is detected, and the detected value is in a state where the suction filter is not clogged. It is determined that the suction filter is clogged when the number of times the current value or the pressure lower than the pressure when a constant voltage is applied is greater than a certain number of times, and the suction filter is clogged. The inventor of the present application experimented that the introduction of air into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole is started and the introduction of air is intermittent, and the decrease in the current value or the pressure also occurs intermittently. Therefore, by judging whether the suction filter is clogged based on the current value or the frequency of the pressure drop, it is possible to detect that the clogging has occurred at an early stage without recognizing engine malfunction. It is possible to identify. In addition, since the clogging determination is performed by a unique event caused by the clogging of the suction filter, the clogging determination can be surely performed.

According to the third feature of the present invention, when the number of times the current value flowing through the electric motor or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port decreases over a predetermined threshold value is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, the suction filter Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect the frequency of the current value or the pressure drop.

According to the fourth feature of the present invention, when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank becomes less than a predetermined amount, the filter clogging determining means stops determining whether there is clogging, or whether there is clogging. However, since the determination result is not output, the current value flowing into the electric motor or the discharge from the discharge port is caused by the fact that air is sucked into the pump chamber through the suction filter due to the decrease in the fuel remaining in the fuel tank. Even if the pressure of the fuel is reduced, it is not erroneously determined that the suction filter is clogged.

Further, according to the fifth feature of the present invention, since the notification means notifies that the suction filter is clogged, the driver can easily notice the clogging of the suction filter.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fuel supply device in a fuel tank. (First embodiment) FIG. 2 is a graph showing changes in current value and fuel pressure according to the degree of clogging of the suction filter. (First embodiment) FIG. 3 is a graph showing changes in current value and fuel pressure over time when clogging occurs in the suction filter. (Second Embodiment)

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Fuel tank 7 ... Pump unit 8 ... Electric motor 9 ... Fuel pump 10 ... Pump housing 11 ... Pump impeller 12 which is a rotating member ... Pump chamber 13 ... Suction port 14 ... discharge port 15 ... deaeration hole 39 ... suction filter 40 ... vapor discharge passage means 41 ... passage 45 ... detection means 46 ... filter clogging judgment means Control unit 47 ... notification means 48 ... remaining fuel detection means

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First embodiment

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. First, in FIG. 1, a ceiling wall 5 a of a fuel tank 5 mounted on a vehicle such as a motorcycle has an inside of the fuel tank 5. A pump unit 7 for supplying the fuel to the fuel injection valve 6 of the engine is attached.

In the pump unit 7, an electric motor 8 and a fuel pump 9 having a pump chamber 12 in which a pump impeller 11, which is a rotating member that is rotationally driven by the electric motor 8, sucks fuel into the pump chamber 12. And a pump housing 10 having a suction port 13 for discharging, a discharge port 14 for discharging fuel from the pump chamber 12, and a deaeration hole 15 for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber 12. Is.

The pump housing 10 includes a motor housing 17 of the electric motor 8 and a pump case 18 attached to the lower part of the motor housing 17. The motor housing 17 includes a cylindrical stator 19, an upper bearing bracket 20 that is rotatably supported by an upper end portion of a motor shaft 22 having an axis extending vertically and is caulked and coupled to the upper end portion of the stator 19, A lower bearing bracket 21 is rotatably supported by a lower portion of the motor shaft 22 and is caulked and coupled to a lower end portion of the stator 19. The pump case 18 includes the pump chamber 12 between the lower bearing bracket 21. It is formed and caulked to the lower end portion of the stator 19 together with the lower bearing bracket 21.

A lower end portion of the motor shaft 22 passes through the lower bearing bracket 21 to be freely rotatable and enters the pump chamber 12. A pump impeller 11 attached to the lower end portion of the motor shaft 22 is accommodated in the pump chamber 12. Thus, the fuel pump 9 is configured.

The pump case 18 of the pump housing 10 is integrally provided with a suction side connecting pipe portion 18a that forms a suction port 13 for sucking fuel into the pump chamber 12 and protrudes downward. A deaeration hole 15 for discharging the vapor generated at 12 is provided. The fuel boosted in the pump chamber 12 flows upward in the motor housing 17, and the fuel from the pump chamber 12 is discharged to the upper bearing bracket 20 at the upper portion of the motor housing 17. A discharge-side connecting pipe portion 20a that forms the discharge port 14 that protrudes is integrally projected so as to protrude upward, and a check valve 23 is disposed at the discharge port 14.

The pump housing 10 is inserted into a cylindrical casing 24, and an attachment base member 25 fastened to the ceiling wall 5 a of the fuel tank 5 is attached to the upper end portion of the casing 24. The member 25 is provided with a fitting recess 26 for fitting the discharge-side connecting pipe portion 20a in a liquid-tight manner, and a plurality of

bolts

27, 27... And

nuts

28, 28 are provided on the ceiling wall 5a of the fuel tank 5. Are integrally provided with a flange portion 25a attached to the outer side and a fuel discharge pipe 29 protruding outward, and the fuel discharge pipe 29 is connected to the fuel injection valve 6 via a pipe line 30 such as a fuel hose.

Further, the mounting base member 25 is formed with an outlet side flow path 32 connecting the fitting recess 26 and the fuel discharge pipe 29, and a pressure adjusting passage 33 branched from the outlet side flow path 32 is formed. The pressure adjusting passage 33 is connected to a regulator valve 34 held by the mounting base member 25 so as to adjust the pressure of the fuel flowing through the outlet side passage 32 to a predetermined pressure.

Further, the mounting base member 25 is integrally provided with a coupler 36 protruding outward so that terminals 35 connected to the electric motor 8 are arranged inside.

An adapter 37 is attached to the lower end portion of the casing 24 so as to cover the pump case 18 from below, and a suction path 38 into which the suction side connecting pipe portion 18a is fitted is formed in the adapter 37. The connecting tube portion 37a is integrally provided so as to protrude downward, and the suction filter 39 is connected to the lower end portion of the connecting tube portion 37a. That is, the pump unit 7 is arranged in the fuel tank 5 so that the suction filter 39 is connected to the suction port 13 in the suction side connection pipe portion 18a in the fuel tank 5 through the connection cylinder portion 37a. Will be.

The deaeration hole 15 is located above the highest level of the liquid level L of the fuel, that is, the portion that becomes a gas phase in the fuel tank 5 through the passage 41 formed by the vapor discharge passage means 40. The fuel tank 5 communicates with the side of the mounting base member 25. Thus, the vapor discharge passage means 40 includes a part of the adapter 37 and a pipe 42 that is arranged so as to extend vertically on the side of the casing 24 and has a lower end connected to the adapter 37. The passage 41 is constituted by a passage portion 41a provided in the adapter 37 through the deaeration hole 15 and a passage portion 41b formed in the pipe 42 in communication with the passage portion 41a. A strainer 43 is attached to the upper end of 42.

When the suction filter 39 is clogged, the pressure loss causes the suction port 13 of the fuel pump 9 to have a negative pressure. When the clogging progresses, the pressure loss increases and the suction port 13 has a larger negative pressure. Become. On the other hand, in the fuel pump 9, the fuel is pressurized between the suction port 13 and the deaeration hole 15, but when the pressure loss in the suction filter 39 becomes larger than the pressurized amount in that section, the deaeration hole 15 becomes a negative pressure, and a state in which air is sucked into the pump chamber 12 from the deaeration hole 15 occurs. In this case, the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 decreases.

According to the present inventor experiments, as shown in Figure 2, when the clogging degree of the suction filter 39 becomes larger than the clogging degree C ₀ start sucking air into the pump chamber 12 from the deaeration holes 15, the fuel The pressure decreases, and the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8 with a constant voltage applied also decreases.

Therefore, in the present invention, the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8 or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 is detected, and it is determined whether or not the suction filter 39 is clogged based on the detected value. In this embodiment, the detection means 45 for detecting the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 detects the fuel pressure in the outlet-side flow path 32 of the mounting base member 25. The detection means is attached to the control unit 46 as filter clogging determination means which is attached to the attachment base member 25 and is electrically connected to the terminals 35 of the coupler 36 so as to control the operation of the electric motor 8. 45 detection values are input.

When the pressure detected by the detection means 45 is lower than the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 in a state where the suction filter 39 is not clogged, the control unit 46 uses the suction filter 39 to The control unit 46 is connected to a notifying means 47 for notifying by a lamp display, a screen display or a sound, and the notifying means 47 is connected to the suction filter 39. It is activated when the control unit 46 determines that clogging has occurred.

The control unit 46 is connected to a fuel remaining amount detecting means 48 for detecting the fuel remaining amount in the fuel tank 5, and the fuel remaining amount detecting means 48 is a level of fuel in the fuel tank 5. A detector 49 attached to the attachment base member 25 at an upper position, an arm 50 whose base end portion is rotatably supported by a case 49a of the detector 49, and a float attached to the distal end portion of the arm 50. 51. The remaining amount of fuel is detected by detecting the amount of rotation of the arm 50 due to the change in the liquid level L by the detector 49, and the signal from the detector 49 Input to the control unit 46.

Thus, when the remaining fuel amount detecting means 48 detects that the remaining fuel amount is less than the predetermined amount, the control unit 46 stops determining whether there is clogging or determines whether there is clogging. However, the determination result is not output.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 is detected and the detected value becomes lower than the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14, clogging occurs. When the suction filter 39 is clogged, the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 is reduced. Therefore, it is determined that the suction filter 39 is clogged. Recognize at an early stage without recognizing a malfunction.

Further, when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 5 becomes less than a predetermined amount, the control unit 46 stops determining whether there is clogging or determines whether there is clogging but does not output the determination result. Even if the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 decreases due to air being sucked into the pump chamber 12 through the suction filter 39 due to a decrease in the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 5, the suction filter 39 is not erroneously determined as clogged.

Further, since the notification means 47 notifies that the suction filter 39 is clogged, the driver can easily notice the clogging of the suction filter 39.

Second embodiment

Incidentally, the inventor of the present application, when an air suction event from the deaeration hole 15 to the pump chamber 12 occurs due to clogging in the suction filter 39, in the initial stage, as shown in FIG. The pressure of the fuel discharged from the outlet 14 and the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8 with a constant voltage applied are intermittently reduced, and the phenomenon of sucking air into the pump chamber 12 from the deaeration hole 15 occurs intermittently. In addition, it was confirmed by experiments that the engine does not malfunction as noticed by the driver when air suction is intermittent.

Therefore, in the second embodiment, the control unit 46 determines that the pressure detected by the detection means 45 is higher than the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 in a state where the suction filter 39 is not clogged. When the number of times of decrease becomes equal to or greater than a certain number of times, it is determined that the suction filter 39 is clogged. In this determination, the control unit 46 determines that the detection value of the detection means 45 is a predetermined threshold value ( When the number of times of straddling exceeds a certain number, it is determined that the suction filter 39 is clogged.

According to the second embodiment, the introduction of air is intermittent at the initial stage where clogging occurs in the suction filter 39 and the introduction of air from the deaeration hole 15 to the pump chamber 12 begins. Based on the fact that the pressure of the fuel discharged from the fuel 14 is intermittently reduced, the clogging of the suction filter 39 is determined from the frequency of the pressure reduction, thereby recognizing that the engine has failed. It can be recognized early without depending on. In addition, since the clogging determination is performed based on a unique event caused by the clogging of the suction filter 39, the clogging determination can be surely performed.

In addition, since it is determined that the suction filter 39 is clogged when the number of times the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 drops over a predetermined threshold value exceeds a certain number, the current value Or the frequency of the said pressure fall can be detected reliably.

As another embodiment of the present invention, the detection means 45 may detect a value of a current flowing through the electric motor 8, and in that case, the control unit 46 may cause the suction filter 39 to be clogged. A determination is made as to whether or not the suction filter 39 is clogged by comparing the current value when a constant voltage is applied to the electric motor 8 in a non-occurring state and the current value detected by the detecting means 45. The number of times the current value detected by the detecting means 45 becomes lower than the current value when a constant voltage is applied to the electric motor 8 in a state where the suction filter 39 is not clogged. It may be determined that clogging has occurred in the suction filter when the value reaches a certain number of times.

It is also possible to detect the rotation speed of the electric motor 8 and determine the clogging of the suction filter 39 from the increase in the rotation speed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the pump housing 10 is disposed in the fuel tank 5 has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to the case where the pump housing 10 is disposed outside the fuel tank 5.

Claims

An electric motor (8) and a fuel pump (9) having a pump chamber (12) in which a rotating member (11) rotated and driven by the electric motor (8) is accommodated are fuel in the pump chamber (12). A suction port (13) for sucking in, a discharge port (14) for discharging fuel from the pump chamber (12), and a deaeration hole (15) for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber (12) A suction filter (39), which is received and held in a pump housing (10) having a filter, for filtering the fuel in the fuel tank (5) and supplying it to the fuel pump (9) is connected to the suction port (13). In the fuel supply apparatus, a vapor discharge passage means (40) that forms a passage (41) that communicates between a portion that becomes a gas phase in the fuel tank (5) and the deaeration hole (15), and the electric motor Flow to (8) A detection means (45) for detecting the current value or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port (14), and a constant voltage applied to the electric motor (8) while the suction filter (39) is not clogged. Filter clogging determination means (46) for determining that clogging has occurred in the suction filter (39) when the detection value of the detection means (45) is lower than the current value or pressure when applied; A fuel supply device comprising:
An electric motor (8) and a fuel pump (9) having a pump chamber (12) in which a rotating member (11) rotated and driven by the electric motor (8) is accommodated are fuel in the pump chamber (12). A pump having a suction port for sucking in, a discharge port (14) for discharging fuel from the pump chamber (12), and a deaeration hole (15) for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber (12) A fuel that is accommodated and held in the housing (10) and that is connected to the suction port (13) is a suction filter (39) for filtering the fuel in the fuel tank (5) and supplying it to the fuel pump (9). In the supply apparatus, a vapor discharge passage means (40) for forming a passage (41) communicating between the gas phase portion in the fuel tank (5) and the deaeration hole (15), and the electric motor (8) Current value flowing through Alternatively, a constant voltage is applied to the electric motor (8) in a state where the detection means (45) for detecting the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port (14) and the suction filter (39) are not clogged. A filter that determines that the suction filter (39) is clogged when the number of times the detection value of the detection means (45) becomes lower than the current value or the pressure when the detection value becomes equal to or greater than a certain number of times. A fuel supply device comprising clogging determination means (46).
The filter clogging determination means (46) is clogged in the suction filter (39) when the number of times that the detection value of the detection means (45) crosses a predetermined threshold becomes a certain number or more. The fuel supply device according to claim 2, wherein
A fuel remaining amount detecting means (48) for detecting the fuel remaining amount in the fuel tank (5) is provided, and when the fuel remaining amount detecting means (48) detects that the fuel remaining amount is less than a predetermined amount. The filter clogging determination means (46) stops determining whether or not clogging has occurred, or determines whether or not clogging has occurred, but does not output the determination result. The fuel supply device according to any one of the above.
Notification means for notifying that the suction filter (39) is clogged when the filter clogging determination means (46) determines that the suction filter (39) is clogged. The fuel supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising (47).