US3877845A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electric in-tank fuel pump
Assignee: Carter Automotive Co Inc
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Filing: 1973-06-28
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Granted: 1975-04-15
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Expires: 1993-06-28
Abstract
Abstract An in-tank centrifugal liquid fuel pump assembly is disclosed which comprises an outer housing enclosing an electric motor driving a fuel pump. A fuel-pump-enclosing portion of the outer housing and a pump volute have mating tear-drop shapes which provide angular indexing of these two components relative to one another; and the volute has an indexing tab which mates with an indexing notch on a stator shell to provide angular indexing between the volute and the stator shell. This structure enables the manufacture of the pump assembly by a process of first assembling the volute, the stator shell and an armature relative to one another and then inserting this assembly into the outer housing. The outer housing has an outlet column formed thereon which extends from a salient of the tear-drop-shaped pump portion of the housing, parallel to an armature axis, for conveying fuel from the pump to an attached fuel line. An auxiliary fuel-flow passage is provided through an armature cavity to outside the fuel pump assembly. The volute forms two chambers, an impeller chamber and a vapor chamber, which are coupled by a central vapor port. There is a vapor port in the vapor chamber which registers with a vapor port in the outer housing for expelling vapor flowing from the impeller chamber through the central vapor port. A volute plate and the volute are retained in the pump portion of the housing by a retainer, which is sonic welded to the housing. The retainer forms an inlet passage and has a filter sock attached thereto for filtering fluid entering the inlet passage.
Inventors
- 👤 John C Green
- 👤 Heinrich E Thausing
- 👤 Edward T May
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 13:57
CPC Classifications
F; F04; F04D; F04D9/00; F04D9/001; F04D9/002; F04D13/00; F04D13/02; F04D13/06; F04D13/08; F04D13/086; F04D29/00; F04D29/40; F04D29/42; F04D29/426; F04D29/70; F04D29/708
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim
219 words
A centrifugal liquid fuel pump assembly of the type enclosed in liquid fuel tanks comprising: an elongated integral housing having a fluid-inlet end and a fluid-outlet end, wherein a portion of said housing at said fluid-inlet end forms a pump-enclosing portion of said housing and other portions of said housing form a motor-enclosing portion and an outlet column; a motor armature mounted in said motor-enclosing portion of said housing for rotating about an armature axis, said armature including an armature shaft and a commutator; motor stator magnets mounted in said motor-enclosing portion of said housing surrounding said armature; motor brushes resiliently mounted by brush springs in said motor-enclosing portion of said housing to make contact with said commutator; and a pump mounted in said pump-enclosing portion of said housing, said pump including a pump impeller mounted on said armature shaft for rotation therewith, said pump having an inlet port and an outlet port; wherein said pump portion of said housing has a tear-drop shape in a plane perpendicular to said armature so as to define a salient housing portion which includes a salient passage and wherein said pump outlet port communicates with said housing salient passage; and wherein said outlet column extends parallel to said armature axis and defines a main outlet passage which communicates with said salient passage.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
219 words
A centrifugal liquid fuel pump assembly of the type enclosed in liquid fuel tanks comprising: an elongated integral housing having a fluid-inlet end and a fluid-outlet end, wherein a portion of said housing at said fluid-inlet end forms a pump-enclosing portion of said housing and other portions of said housing form a motor-enclosing portion and an outlet column; a motor armature mounted in said motor-enclosing portion of said housing for rotating about an armature axis, said armature including an armature shaft and a commutator; motor stator magnets mounted in said motor-enclosing portion of said housing surrounding said armature; motor brushes resiliently mounted by brush springs in said motor-enclosing portion of said housing to make contact with said commutator; and a pump mounted in said pump-enclosing portion of said housing, said pump including a pump impeller mounted on said armature shaft for rotation therewith, said pump having an inlet port and an outlet port; wherein said pump portion of said housing has a tear-drop shape in a plane perpendicular to said armature so as to define a salient housing portion which includes a salient passage and wherein said pump outlet port communicates with said housing salient passage; and wherein said outlet column extends parallel to said armature axis and defines a main outlet passage which communicates with said salient passage.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
205 words
A fuel pump assembly as in claim 1 wherein said pump comprises: a volute which is separate from said outer housing but which has a tear-drop shape corresponding to said tear-drop shape of said pump portion of said outer housing and which fits snugly in said pump portion, said volute defining an impeller chamber and a vapor chamber, said chambers communicating with one another through a central vapor port and said volute further defines a volute vapor outlet port leading from said vapor chamber to outside said volute, and further, said pump outlet port leads from said impeller chamber to a volute salient portion in communication with said salient passage; wherein said housing defines a housing vapor-outlet port which registers with said volute vapor-outlet port, thereby providing communication between said vapor chamber and said surrounding gas tank; and wherein said impeller includes vanes for imparting centrifugal forces to liquid fuel located in said impeller chamber to drive said liquid fuel outwardly through said pump outlet port, but yet for allowing vapors to move inwardly to an area of less pressure, and pass through said central vapor port to said vapor chamber and thereafter to escape from said housing through said volute and housing vapor-outlet ports.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
A liquid fuel pump assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein said pump further comprises a volute plate having volute-plate inlet ports therein, said volute plate having a tear-drop shape and fitting snugly in said pump portion of said outer housing.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
105 words
A liquid fuel pump assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein is further included a retainer cap which is sonic welded to said outer housing for retaining said volute plate and said retainer cap defining an inlet passage which communicates with said volute-plate inlet ports and which extends at right angles to said armature axis; and a filter sock mounted to cover an opening into said inlet passage for filtering fuel entering said inlet passage and for creating a seal to enable a negative pressure at said opening to suck fuel into said opening when a fuel level is below the top of said opening.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
122 words
A liquid fuel pump assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein is further included: a retainer cap which is sonic welded to said outer housing for retaining said volute plate and said volute in said pump portion of said outer housing, said volute cap defining an inlet passage for guiding liquid fuel to said volute-plate inlet ports, said inlet passage extending parallel with said armature axis; and a filter sock covering an inlet opening into said inlet passage for filtering liquid fuel entering said inlet passage and for providing a seal to enable a negative pressure at said opening to suck liquid fuel into said inlet opening when the level of said liquid fuel is below the top of said inlet opening.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
226 words
A liquid fuel pump assembly as claimed in claim 3 wherein: is further included a stator shell on wHich said motor stator magnets are mounted, said stator shell being mounted inside said motor portion of said housing surrounding said armature; said armature shaft has first and second ends, said first end being mounted in a first bearing bore at said fluid-outlet end of said outer housing and said second end of said shaft being mounted in a second bearing bore defined by said volute; said liquid fuel pump assembly further includes a terminal cap which is sonic welded to said outer housing over an outer end of said first bearing bore for retaining said brush springs and brushes in said outer housing, said terminal cap including terminals which are in electrical communication with said brush springs and brushes, said terminal cap defining a terminal-cap cavity, a terminal-cap inlet port, which communicates between said first bearing bore and said terminal-cap cavity, and a terminal-cap outlet port which communicates between said inner cavity and said surrounding gas tank; and said volute and said stator shell define an auxiliary passage leading from said salient passage to said armature chamber, whereby a liquid fuel flow is created through said armature chamber, said first bearing bore, said terminal cap inlet port and said terminal-cap outlet port to said surrounding gas tank.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
61 words
A liquid fuel pump as claimed in claim 2 wherein: is further included a stator shell on which stator magnets are mounted, said stator shell being mounted in said motor portion of said housing surrounding said armature; wherein, said volute and said stator shell form a tab and notch interconnection such that their angular positions relative to each other are indexed.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-04-14 | 1978-10-14 | 1979-04-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-04-14 | 1982-10-14 | 1983-04-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-04-14 | 1986-10-14 | 1987-04-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |