Ford Motor Company Limited

Visteon Global Technolgoies, Inc.

Mark Nulman

Rose Ann Ryntz

Giuseppe Rossi

George Francis Stringfellow

Douglas William Ayers

A strategy for decreasing hydrocarbon emissions from a plastic fuel tank assembly having a multilayer plastic fuel tank (,) and at least one overmolded fuel tank attachment (,). The strategy consists of two basic components. First, the swelling properties of the overmolded outerlayer (,) of the fuel tank attachments,are exploited to close possible leakage paths between the barrier resistant core (,) and the overmolded outerlayer (,) of the fuel tank attachment (,). Second, the barrier properties of the barrier resistant core (,) of the fuel tank attachments (,) are exploited to increase the length of the diffusion path of hydrocarbon molecules out of the multilayer plastic fuel tank assembly.

Permeation and leak preventative design for fuel tank attachments

A fuel tank vapor control apparatus controls the flow of liquid and vapor fuel through an aperture in a fuel tank (16). The fuel tank vapor control apparatus includes a vent housing (12) mounted in the aperture (34) and formed to include a vent inlet (13) and a vent outlet (36), the vent housing (12) defining a vent path for communicating vapor fuel from the fuel tank between the vent inlet and the vent outlet. The apparatus also includes a valve (48) movable in the vent housing between a blocking position for blocking flow of liquid and vapor fuel from the fuel tank between the vent inlet and the vent outlet along the vent path and a venting position allowing flow of vapor fuel between the fuel tank and the vent outlet along the vent path. A labyrinthine member (140) is also included, being disposed between the fuel tank and the vent path for discriminating fuel vapor from liquid fuel so as to block liquid fuel from the vent path.

Fuel tank vapor control apparatus

A multi-layer molded polymer composition comprising a polyolefin layer and a immiscible polymer layer adjacent the polyolefin layer. The immiscible polymer layer is selected from a polymer that is normally immiscible for the polyolefin layer. A compatibilizer is blended into either the polyolefin layer or the immiscible polymer layer or optionally into both layers. The compatibilizer has a polyolefin backbone that is miscible in the polyolefin layer and one or more functional polymer grafts attached to the compatibilizer polyolefin backbone. The functional polymer grafts are miscible in the immiscible polymer layer whereby the compatibilizer bonds with both the polyolefin layer and the immiscible polymer layer.

Growing community of inventors

West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

Mark Nulman