Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Unisia Automotive, Ltd.

Masaaki Iijima

Junichi Motojima

Satoru Watanabe

Hironori Ohhashi

Toru Mashimo

A fuel pump forming part of a fuel supply system for an automotive internal combustion engine. The fuel pump includes a hollow casing in which a pump section and an electric motor for driving the pump section are disposed. A connector is provided for connecting the electric motor to an external power source, and has a terminal. A brush is slidably contacted with a rotor of the electric motor so as to supply power to a coil of the rotor. A lead wire is provided for electrically connecting the terminal of the connector to the brush. A plating layer of tin is formed on the lead wire by a tin-electroplating.

Fuel pump

A turbine fuel pump includes an impeller having blades, each including a linear blade portion extending linearly in the radial direction of the impeller and a curved blade portion extending circularly curvedly from the head of the linear blade portion to the forward side of the impeller as viewed in the direction of rotation of the impeller. The linear blade portion has a length of (&#x2153; to &#x2154;)&#xd7;H, where H is an overall length of the impeller.

Turbine fuel pump

A check valve includes a housing formed with a valve hole through which fluid flows, a valve seat formed on the peripheral wall of the valve hole, a valve element disposed in the valve hole to be movable between a valve closed position where the valve element makes close contact with the valve seat to close the valve hole and a valve open position where the valve element moves away from the valve seat in the downstream direction to open the valve hole, a coil spring for biasing the valve element toward the valve closed position wherein the coil spring is larger in outer diameter than valve element, and a pressure acting portion provided to the coil spring so as to undergo the pressure of fluid.

Check valve

A turbine fuel pump including a cylindrical casing, an electric motor accommodated in the casing, a pump housing mounted into the casing, and an impeller disposed within the pump housing and driven around an axis in a rotational direction by the electric motor. The impeller includes a plurality of vanes each formed into a generally rectangular plate including a tip end face that extends circumferentially to define an outer peripheral surface of the impeller, and front and rear faces respectively located on forward and rearward sides in the rotational direction of the impeller. The front face is curved such that a tip end portion thereof is positioned forwardly in the rotational direction of the impeller relative to a root portion thereof. A chamfer portion is disposed between the tip end face and a tip end portion of the front face.

A fuel feed system for an internal combustion engine includes a fuel tank for accumulating fuel, a fuel/air switchable pump for sucking and discharging accumulated fuel and air outside the fuel tank, a first device that allows accumulated fuel to be discharged to the engine, a second device that allows outside air to be sucked into the fuel tank, and an ECU for controlling the switchable pump.

Growing community of inventors

Gunma, Japan

Masaaki Iijima