Regenerative fuel pump having means for removing fuel vapor

Abstract

Abstract A regenerative fuel pump, comprising: a disc-shaped pump rotor having a plurality of vanes along its periphery; a pump housing accommodating the pump rotor; a fluid inlet port provided in the pump housing along a longitudinal direction; an arcuate fuel passage extending in the pump housing from the inlet port along the periphery of the pump rotor; a fluid outlet port communicating with a terminal end of the arcuate fuel passage; and a slot extending from the inlet port a certain distance into the arcuate fuel passage along an inner circumferential region thereof; the slot extending longitudinally from the arcuate fuel passage to pump exterior through a substantially straight path and circumferentially through a tortuous path. Preferably, the slot is defined by a separate member which is fitted into a recess provided in the pump housing. Thus, the vapor contained in the fuel is separated from the liquid part of the fuel in the longitudinal direction encountering very little resistance while the effective length of the arcuate fuel passage is not reduced because of the tortuous path along the circumferential direction and the vapor is removed from the slot before it is substantially compressed with the result that the vapor is effectively removed from the fuel without substantially impairing the pump efficiency.

Inventors

• 👤 Hirotaka Kumata

Bibliographic Details