Siemens Automotive Corporation

Siemens Vdo Automotive Corporation

Jan L Bennett

Barry S Robinson

Jason T Kilgore

Christopher T Vannoy

Michael Keesee

Robert Jackson

A fuel pressure regulator for use with an internal combustion engine includes a housing, a valve assembly in the housing, an elastic diaphragm connecting the valve assembly to the housing, a stop on one of the housing and the support and a spring between the housing and the valve assembly. The housing includes an inlet, an outlet and a longitudinal axis. The valve assembly is intermediate the inlet and the outlet and selectively opens fluid communication between the inlet to the outlet when a fuel pressure at the inlet is at least equal to an over-pressure amount. The valve assembly is displaceable along the longitudinal axis by an opening distance when a fuel pressure at least equal the over-pressure amount acts on the diaphragm so that the diaphragm does not exceed its yield strength. The diaphragm is in fluid communication with the inlet and elastically displaceable along the longitudinal axis up to a maximum distance. The stop is spaced from the other of the housing and the support along the longitudinal axis by a traveling distance when the valve assembly closes the fluid communication between the inlet and the outlet. The traveling distance is at most equal to the maximum distance and substantially greater than the opening distance. The spring biases the valve assembly to close the fluid communication between the inlet and the outlet when the fuel pressure at the inlet is less than the over-pressure amount.

Positive stop diaphragm assembly for fuel pressure regulator

The fuel system includes a fuel tank for supplying fuel to a fuel rail having fuel injectors and a fuel pressure regulator for regulating the pressure of the fuel supplied to the fuel rail to a predetermined pressure. The pressure regulator includes a spring-biased ball movable toward and away from a valve seat with an intervening flow channel director. The flow channel director is sized to provide a substantially constant regulated pressure over a flow range typical for automotive engine use, i.e., a pressure of 350-430 kPa over a flow range of 20-50 kg/hr. The pressure regulator provides the predetermined regulated pressure without a movable diaphragm dividing the regulator into flow and non-flow chambers on opposite sides of the diaphragm.

Automotive fuel system having a pressure regulator without a movable diaphragm

A fuel system damper is provided having a housing which is separated by a diaphragm into first and second chambers. The first chamber is sealed and contains a spring biased toward the diaphragm. The second chamber has an opening to allow fuel from a fuel rail to enter the damper and contact the diaphragm. The second chamber includes a radial shoulder that maximizes an effective area of the diaphragm. A spacer is disposed in the second chamber that engages the diaphragm to prevent the diaphragm from contacting the radial shoulder. The spacer maintains the diaphragm in a position to provide the maximum effective area of the diaphragm.

Pressure pulsation damper containing a free floating spacer

A fluid communication device such as a fuel rail having a bellows damper positioned either in the end of the fuel rail or orthogonal to the axis of the fuel rail for dampening pulsed pressure waves from the flowing of the fuel. The bellows is a hollow tubular member having an enclosed end with a plurality of circular hollow ribs forming the outer surface of the bellows. The damper may also be located in a pocket or may be free floating in the fuel rail. An additional spring member is added to the damper for changing the spring rate characteristic of the bellows.

Bellows pressure pulsation damper

A flow through pressure regulator as may be used in a fuel delivery system for a motor vehicle has a contained, but floating ball valve. The ball valve open and closes a central passageway through the diaphragm of the regulator. The diaphragm divides the interior of the regulator into 2 chambers, both of which has fuel. A retainer means supports the ball and allows both axial and radial movement and coupled with a small bias spring seating in a bore, the ball functions to automatically seat itself. The small bias spring does not interfere with the ball valve seating itself.

Flow through pressure regulator

A flow-through type fuel pressure regulator having, for its valve element, a sphere laser-welded to the housing end wall of the fuel inlet chamber, and for its valve seat, a coined circular surface circumscribing a through-passage in an annular member at the center of a movable wall (diaphragm) that divides the fuel inlet chamber from the fuel outlet chamber and that is resiliently biased toward the fuel inlet chamber by a spring that is disposed in the fuel outlet chamber. The annular member includes a series of circumferentially spaced bars that form a cage for the sphere, allowing the sphere to guide the motion of the central region of the movable wall relative to the sphere substantially along the axis of the housing.

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Williamsburg, VA, United States of America

Jan L Bennett