Walbro Corporation

Richard L Kobman

Arthur J Birchenough

J D Tuckey, Deceased

James A George

Marc B Ruprecht

Michael L Mercer

Dirk G Westendorf

Edward J Talaski

George Earl Maroney

Richard M Cherniawski

A flat commutator for an electric motor of a vehicle fuel pump. The commutator, is made with a one-piece carbon ring having a flat outer face, a one-piece conductor ring underlying the outer face of and embedded in the carbon ring, and a housing of a plastic insulating material molded on the rear face and the inner and outer edges of the carbon ring and adapted to mount the commutator on a motor armature. A plurality of circumferentially spaced apart grooves extend radially and axially completely through both the carbon ring and the conductor ring to provide a plurality of individual sintered carbon segments each with a separate conductor for electrically connecting the segments with armature coils.

Method of making a flat commutator

Electric motor commutator

A self-contained electric fuel pump having a d.c. motor with an armature having a commutator plate. An outlet end assembly has an inner cover and an outer cover. The inner cover is provided with brushes which contact the commutator plate. Electrically conductive pins mounted on the inner cover are electrically connected to the brushes. The outer cover is disposed over the inner cover and has electric terminals for connection to a source of d.c. current. The outer cover has choke coils connected to the terminals and electrically conductive tabs connected to the choke coils. When the outer cover is assembled on the inner cover, the tabs engage the pins to complete an electric circuit to the brushes.

Fuel pump outlet assembly

A thermally actuated vapor vent valve in a fuel pump module allows hot vapor to escape from the fuel pump module when the module is at a temperature significantly above normal operating temperatures. The vent valve is carried by a retainer in the fuel pump module and, at normal operating temperatures, the vent valve is closed on a valve seat of the vapor outlet to prevent vapor flow through the vapor outlet. The valve and the retainer are formed of materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion such that when the fuel pump module becomes heated to a temperature sufficiently above normal operating temperatures the retainer expands and disengages the valve from the valve seat. This allows the hot vapor within the fuel pump module to flow out of the module and thereby prevents the fuel pump from overheating or reaching temperatures which can damage the electric motor that drives the fuel pump.

Thermally actuated fuel pump vapor vent valve

Growing community of inventors

Cass City, MI, United States of America

Richard L Kobman