Fuel vapor containment device

Claim 1

In a vehicle having an internal combustion engine and a fuel tank as sources of vacuum pressure and fuel vapor, respectively, an improved vapor storage apparatus comprising: a hollow enclosure with top, bottom and side walls defining an interior and having an inlet connected to the source of fuel vapor, a vent inlet connected to a source of clean air and an outlet selectively connected to the vacuum pressure source when desired; the inlet entering the interior of the enclosure through the top wall, the outlet and the vent inlet entering the interior through the bottom wall; a perforate partition means spaced upward from the bottom wall forming an air chamber therebetween and fluidly connected to the vent aperture; a quantity of vapor storage medium over the perforate partition means capable of conducting fluid flow therethrough; a tubular conduit extending from the outlet and centrally through the partition means and the vapor storage medium and having openings to the housing interior positioned above the vapor storage medium; the vapor storage medium being of moldable material with the upper surface thereof being formed into a dome-shaped configuration extending outward and downward from the central conduit thereby increasing the surface area for fuel vapor to enter the storage medium, whereby during a vapor storage mode, fuel vapor enters the housing through the inlet and is introduced to the vapor storage medium in a relatively uniform pattern due to the surface configuration of the medium as displaced air is discharged from the housing interior through the vent aperture, and whereby during a purge mode, the source of vacuum pressure is fluidly connected to the outlet and tubular conduit means to draw air into the air chamber below the perforate partition means and thereafter upward uniformly through the vapor storage medium.