Borg-warner Automotive Gmbh

Manuel D Rosas

Peter G Weissinger

Larry VanNatta

Trevor L Enge

Terry L Miller

Tibor Baron

Mark D Osterbrink

Lawrence H Burke

Carolyn Klueg

Michael Wroblewski

A refueling valve for a motor vehicle includes a body connected to the upper wall of a fuel tank in vertical depending relationship. The body has a cover with a vapor exit passage adapted to be connected to a fuel vapor storage canister and a portion depending from the cover that has a vapor exit port that communicates with the fuel tank interior adjacent the upper wall of the fuel tank. A vent tube has one end connected to the vapor exit passage and an opposite end that communicates with the vent exit port and defines a valve seat. The vapor exit port is located with respect to the valve seat so as to separate liquid fuel particles from vapor flow during fuel fill. The valve seat is closed by a float valve when the fuel tank is full.

Vehicle refueling valve

A fuel vapor vent valve for a motor vehicle is connected to an upper wall of a fuel tank in vertically depending relationship. The valve has a cover with a vapor exit passage connected to a fuel vapor storage canister and a body depending from the cover. One embodiment has a vapor exit port that communicates with the fuel tank interior adjacent the upper wall of the fuel tank. A vent tube has one end connected to the vapor exit passage and an opposite end that communicates with the vent exit port and defines a valve seat. The vapor exit port is located with respect to the valve seat so as to separate liquid fuel particles from vapor flow during fuel fill. The valve seat is closed by a valve element attached to a float when the fuel tank is full. Several further embodiments of the valve have the body connected to the cover to accommodate side impacts to the fuel tank.

Fuel vapor vent valve

A vent valve for a gasoline tank has a multi-piece valve housing that is inserted into the tank through a tank wall opening. The housing includes a valve member and a cap member that has a flange that is ultrasonically welded to the gasoline tank and a coupling skirt that has minimal protrusion into the gas tank. The coupling skirt fits into upper portion of the valve member and has keyways that receive inwardly projecting lugs of the valve member to couple the valve and cap members to each other. The valve and cap members are retained in the coupled position by resilent cantilevered lock fingers of the valve member that engage notches in the bottom of the coupling skirt. In a modification the notches coincide with entrance portions of the keyways. The cap member of a second embodiment has a coupling skirt with keyways that fit over an upper portion of the valve member that has outwardly projecting lugs and resilient lock fingers that are cut out of the wall of the valve member. In a modification the outwardly projecting lugs and lock fingers are part of the coupling skirt and the keyways are part of the valve member. The cap member of a third embodiment has a coupling skirt with keyways that receive inwardly projecting lugs of the valve member to couple the valve and cap members to each other. The lugs are retained in the coupled position by notches at the inner ends of the keyways.

Valve having multi-piece valve housing

A vent valve for a gasoline tank has a multi-piece valve housing that is inserted into the tank through a tank wall opening. The multi-piece housing includes a valve member of acetal resin and a cap member of high density polyethylene (HDPE) that has a flange that is ultrasonically welded to the gasoline tank and a coupling skirt that has minimal protrusion into the gas tank. The coupling skirt fits into upper a portion of the valve member and has a plurality of key-ways that receive inwardly projecting lugs of the valve member to couple the valve and cap members to each other. The valve and cap members are retained in the coupled position by resilient lock fingers of the valve member that engage notches in the bottom of the coupling skirt. The resilient lock fingers are cantilever beams that extend radially outwardly from an anchor spaced radially inwardly of an outer cylindrical wall of the valve member. The resilient lock fingers do not extend outwardly of the cylindrical wall to provide a snag free coupling arrangement. In a modification the notches coincide with entrance portions of the key-ways. The cap member of a second embodiment has a coupling skirt with key ways that fits over an upper portion of the valve member that has outwardly projecting lugs and resilient lock fingers that are cut out of the wall of the valve member. In a modification of the second embodiment the outwardly projecting lugs and lock fingers are part of the coupling skirt and the key-ways are part of the valve member.

Valve having multi-part valve housing

A refueling valve for a motor vehicle includes a body connected to the upper wall of a fuel tank in vertical depending relationship thereon and the body has a body top or cover with a vapor exit passage adapted to be connected to a fuel vapor storage canister, the body includes a portion depending from the cover that has a vapor exit port formed therein communicating with the fuel tank interior adjacent the upper wall of the fuel tank and a vent tube has one end connected to the vapor exit passage and an opposite end communicating with the vent exit port and defining a valve seat closed by a float valve during vehicle fill and wherein the vapor exit port remains open until the float valve is completely closed and wherein the vapor exit port is spaced higher than the valve seat to separate liquid fuel particles from vapor flow. In one embodiment a baffle is located on the body between the valve seat and the vapor exit port to form a liquid trap. In another embodiment a secondary vent valve on the cover is connected to the vapor exit passage. In still another embodiment a pressure transducer port is formed in the cover.

A refueling valve for a motor vehicle includes an integrated control valve therein having a vent tube that has a first valve seat on one end thereof and a second valve seat on the other end thereof that cooperate respectively with a float valve and with a diaphragm controlled pressure responsive cut-off valve that is operative in accordance with a sensed pressure condition in a fuel filler pipe to control fuel venting to a charcoal canister and to prevent the escape of fuel vapors from a filler neck. The diaphragm is communicated with a pressure sensing port in the filler neck below a trap door therein that opens during refueling and is closed once the fuel nozzle is removed. The pressure sensing pot is located upstream of a venturi that produces negative pressure at the pressure sensing port and on the diaphragm member. A spring biases the cut-off valve normally closed. The diaphragm is responsive to a reduced pressure condition in the filler neck to open the cut-off valve to allow vapors to be vented from the fuel tank to the charcoal canister during refueling.

A pulse width modulated solenoid purge valve for an on board fuel vapor recovery system of an automotive vehicle is operated by a solenoid that has a pole piece and armature that are shaped to operate at high frequencies. More specifically, the pole piece and the armature have an air gap interface that is defined by a protrusion of one that always intrudes into a recess of the other by a substantial amount to reduce response time of the armature and permit operation of the solenoid at the high frequencies.

Growing community of inventors

Coleta, IL, United States of America

Manuel D Rosas