Denso Corporation

Kunihiro Umetsu

Akiyoshi Mukaidani

Kiyoshi Nagata

Masaaki Tanaka

Yoshio Ebihara

Katsuhisa Yamada

Kenji Okabe

Tatsuo Sakai

Hideyuki Nakai

Naoki Maki

Kouji Izatani

A fuel feed apparatus accommodates a sub tank. The sub tank includes a pump module The pump module generates vibration, and is supported by a supporting member and a suction filter. The suction filter is covered with a nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven fabric is used as an additional filter for removing debris in fuel drawn by the pump module. The supporting member and the nonwoven fabric have resilience. The pump module is mounted on the sub tank via the supporting member and the non woven fabric. Therefore, vibration of the pump module is not apt to be transmitted to the sub tank. Additionally, the supporting member need not to be rigidly formed, so that the supporting member can be manufactured easily.

Fuel feed apparatus having vibration damping structure

The filter apparatus is composed of a filter housing made of non-conductive material, a filter element made of conductive material contained in the filter housing, and a conductive plug with a sealing element. The filter housing has a bore and the conductive plug is inserted into the bore of the filter housing so that the clearance between the conductive plug and the filter housing is hermetically sealed by the sealing element. The conductive plug is connected in circuit to the filter element in a manner that a part of the plug is exposed out of the filter housing and an earth wire attached to the exposed portion of the plug. The static electricity generated in the filter apparatus is released via a conductive path extending from the filter element through the plug to the earth wire so that the electrostatic discharge may be prevented. The conductive plug is made of material having 10,to 10,&OHgr;&middot;cm resistivity. Such a value of resistivity serves to assure not only an adequate conductivity for releasing the static electricity but also an adequate resistance for preventing the electrostatic discharge from the conductive plug, if the earth wire becomes off or its connection is forgotten.

Fuel filter apparatus with anti-electrostatic function

A subtank is connected to a bracket fitted in an opening of a fuel tank via a L-shaped sliding plate. The L-shaped plate is movably supported by the bracket, and the subtank is rotatably supported by the L-shaped plate. A spring force is applied to the subtank toward the fuel tank by a spring via the L-shaped plate. Accordingly, a fuel supply apparatus is easily installed in a flat fuel tank without enlarging the opening of the fuel tank.

Fuel supply apparatus for vehicle

In a fuel supply apparatus for vehicles, a fuel pump is supported in a sub tank through cushioning members. Each cushioning member includes a plurality of resilient parts having a wavy shape in cross section in a radial direction and a plate width in an axial direction. The resilient parts thus support the fuel pump resiliently to absorb vibrations of the fuel pump caused in the radial direction, while withstanding the weight of the fuel pump and the reaction force generated upon fuel discharge operation of the fuel pump. The cushioning members are resin-molded unitarily with an inlet-side cover and an outlet-side cover which are fitted in the axial side ends of the fuel pump. The cushioning members have respective engagement parts which are fitted with the sub tank. The sub tank has stoppers which restrict the fuel pump from moving in the axial direction under a condition that the fuel pump is assembled with the sub tank.

Rotary device support structure for fuel supply apparatus

A fuel supply system has a fuel tank in which a sub-tank and a jet pump are installed. The jet pump has a fuel supply passage into which fuel returned from an engine of a vehicle is supplied, and a fuel injection passage having an injection hole at a fuel downstream end thereof. The fuel supply passage and the fuel injection passage are perpendicular to each other and are communicated with each other so that passage axes thereof do not cross each other. Therefore, fuel introduced into the fuel injection passage from the fuel supply passage swirls in the fuel injection passage. As a result, fuel injected into a fuel inlet passage of the sub-tank from the injection hole uniformly disperses over an entire cross-section of the fuel inlet passage, forming a fuel membrane. Therefore, fuel is continuously introduced into the sub-tank in opposition to a water head pressure of fuel in the sub-tank. Thus, fuel is prevented from being discharged from the sub-tank even when fuel in the fuel tank is decreased and does not exist around the jet pump.

Fuel supply system

A fuel supply device for an engine has a pump module comprising a fuel pump and a fuel filter. The pump module is housed within a sub-tank mounted in a fuel tank. The fuel filter is shaped arcuately in section and fitted around the outer circular periphery of the fuel pump. The sub-tank has a concave space on its outer periphery. The concave space and its above space accommodate therein a part of electrical connector, a fuel level gauge, electrical lead wires for the electrical connector and the fuel level gauge, a jet pump and a connecting pipe for the jet pump and a fuel return port. This arrangement reduces the diameter of the fuel supply device and facilitates mounting work of the fuel supply device in a limited space in the fuel tank.

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Anjo, Japan

Kunihiro Umetsu