Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Kenneth W Turner

Charles H Covert

Carl H Sherwood

William E Gifford

Karen M Meyer

Richard W Wagner

Patti S Du Bois

Patti S DuBois

Thomas Charles Meiller

Gordon R Paddock

Roy A Giacomazzi

Gregory E Rich

Richard H Simons, Jr

Chester W Przeklas

Peter J Alfred

Thomas W Greer

Brian J Dunham

An air control valve assembly for the air side of an automotive fuel evaporative emission control system incorporates two passive check valves and an active blocking valve which cooperate to divide the air filtered air inlet path from the air exit path to atmosphere. The possibility of break through vapors flowing back into the air cleaner during canister vapor fill is avoided through the use of oppositely opening check valves. By adding an active blocking valve below the freely movable air inlet check valve, the canister can be rigorously sealed from the atmosphere during a diagnostic evacuation test.

Air control valve assembly for fuel evaporative emission storage canister

A refueling vapor recovery system for a vehicle utilizes recirculation of a portion of the displaced vapor and combines a vapor vent valve and a recirculation control into a single differential pressure valve assembly. A vapor vent conduit provides fuel tank vapor pressure to one side of a diaphragm and, through a restricted orifice, to the other side of the diaphragm, the other side being further connected by a recirculation conduit to the tank filler neck. When a gas cap closes the filler neck from the atmosphere, the orifice allows pressure to equalize across the diaphragm; and a spring biases the diaphragm to close a vapor vent valve. When the gas cap is removed, atmospheric pressure is provided through the recirculation conduit to the other side of the diaphragm, which can then be activated by a relatively small differential pressure to open the vent for relatively unrestricted vapor flow from the tank to a canister during refueling, with a small portion of the vapor recirculated in a controlled flow through the orifice and recirculation conduit to the filler neck for entrainment in incoming liquid fuel.

Fuel fill vapor recovery system with differential pressure control valve

An evaporative emission control system of an internal combustion engine's fuel system including a vent valve. The vent valve provides a mechanism for closing the evaporative emission control system creating a pressure differential between system and atmospheric under various conditions whereby the system can be automatically diagnosed. The vent valve relieves pressure or vacuum in the system that exceeds a threshold necessary to detect the presence of leaks. The vent valve includes a vacuum actuator providing a low restriction flow path for system purges.

Evaporative emission control system with vent valve

The intake for a fuel vapor storage canister separates entrained water from the entering purge flow. A separator in the form of an open ended box includes a series of alternating, interleaved, and downwardly sloped fins, the free edges of which create a series of restricting gaps that decrease in size in the upstream direction. Each gap, for some defined subrange of the total possible range of flow rates, accelerates the flow into the fin above it at the optimal velocity for water stripping.

Water separator for fuel canister purge

A bed of activated carbon granules is maintained tightly packed within a fuel vapor storage canister housing by a specially designed compensator. A pair of spring loaded, nested trays move axially relative to one another and push continually into the lower face of the carbon bed to keep it packed. The trays also define a continuous, self maintaining gap that is smaller than the expected carbon granule size, preventing them from falling out in spite of the swelling of the canister housing.

Vapor storage canister with volume change compensator

A tank mounted vapor vent valve is actuated from the filler door by a pair of bellows, a primary bellows operated by the filler door, and a secondary bellows moved by the primary bellows to open and close the valve, joined only by a flexible, easily routed air hose.

Remotely actuated fuel tank vapor vent valve

A tank vapor vent valve assembly mounted to the top of the tank wall has a piston actuated by a source of engine vacuum which maintains a fill vapor exit closed until the gas cap is removed to relieve the vacuum and allow the piston to open.

Vacuum actuated tank vapor vent valve

A tank vapor vent valve assembly uses a spring loaded sealing flapper door located below a normally open float chamber. The flapper door spring is specifically designed to open when the tank pressure falls, allowing make up air to pull the flapper door down and draw in make up air through the canister inlet.

Vehicle tank vapor vent valve assembly

A canister is divided into small and large bed portions, with the small portion being loaded separately with just diurnal vapors so that it can be purged with a greater efficiency. At fuel fill, both bed portions are loaded simultaneously with a proportion of fuel fill vapors keyed to their own volume ratio, so that an effective capacity equal to the sum of the two is achieved.

High efficiency vapor storage canister

A specially designed vapor storage canister may be placed within the interior volume of a fuel tank, eliminating the need for a tank to canister vapor line and shortening the TVVA to canister vapor line, while still protecting the adsorbent bed against contamination by liquid fuel.

In tank vapor storage canister

A fuel vapor storage canister uses a single canister body and a series of three possible modular liquid fuel trap subassemblies that fit into a trap housing of the canister body so as to allow the assembly to be installed in three differing orientations.

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Kenneth W Turner