Air purging and shut-down system for diesel engines

Claim 2

An air-purging system for the fuel system of an internal combustion engine having a fuel tank adapted to contain liquid fuel therein, a main fuel pump and fuel distributing means for communicating said fuel to combustion chambers of said engine, said air-purging system comprising a housing defining a float chamber, an air outlet mean for communicating said float chamber with a vent line connectable to said fuel tank, fuel inlet means for communicating fuel from said fuel tank to said float chamber, and fuel outlet means for communicating fuel from said float chamber to said fuel distributing means, and float means having a specific gravity less than said fuel and disposed in said float chamber for movement between a first position closing said air outlet, in response to said float chamber being at least substantially filled with said fuel, a second position opening both said air outlet and said fuel outlet in response to said float chamber being only partially filled with said fuel, and a third position closing said fuel outlet in response to said float chamber being empty of said fuel.

Claim 3

The air-purging system of claim 1 further comprising orifice means for communicating a predetermined low volume of fuel flow from said float chamber to said fuel distributing means when said float means is in its third position.

Claim 4

The air-purging system of claim 2 wherein said orifice means is sized to have a cross-sectional area selected from the approximate range of from 0.004 in. 2 to 0.015 in. 2 .

Claim 5

The air-purging system of claim 1 wherein vertically spaced upper and lower seats for said float means are defined in said housing and wherein said air outlet and said fuel outlet are defined in said upper and lower seats, respectively and are aligned vertically.

Claim 6

The air-purging system of claim 4 wherein said float means constitutes a spherical ball having a diameter selected from the approximate range of from 1.5 in. to 3.5 in. and said upper and lower seats are each semi-spherically shaped.

Claim 7

The air-purging system of claim 5 wherein said ball has a specific gravity selected from the approximate range of from 0.05 to 0.95.

Claim 8

The air-purging system of claim 5 wherein said ball is composed of an elastomeric material having a durometer hardness selected from the approximate range of from 20 to 60.

Claim 9

The air-purging system of claim 1 further comprising a separator and filter assembly attached to a lower end of said housing and connected between said fuel inlet means and said float chamber.

Claim 10

The air-purging system of claim 1 further comprising emergency shut-down means for automatically alerting an operator of said engine when said float means is in its second position and for supplying a sufficient amount of fuel to said fuel distributing means to temporarily maintain running of said engine.

Claim 11

An air-purging device for a diesel engine having a tank adapted to contain liquid diesel fuel therein, a transfer pump, a vent line connected to said tank, an injection pump, and an injector, said air-purging device comprising a housing disposed on a vertical axis thereof and defining a float chamber, fuel inlet means adapted for supplying said float chamber with fuel, fuel outlet means adapted for communicating fuel from said float chamber to said injection pump, air outlet means adapted for communicating said float chamber with said vent line, and spherically-shaped float mean shaving a specific gravity less than said fuel and freely suspended in unattached relationship in said float chamber for movement between a first position, a closing relationship on said air outlet means when said float chamber is at least substantially full of fuel, a second position opening both said air outlet mean sand said fuel outlet means when said float chamber is partially filled with fuel, and a third position on said fuel outlet means when said float chamber is empty of fuel.

Claim 12

An air-purging device for a diesel engine having a tank adapted to contain liquid diesel fuel therein, a transfer pump, a vent line connected to said tank, an injection pump, and an injector, said air-purging device comprising a housing disposed on a vertical axis thereof and defining a float chamber, fuel inlet means adapted for supplying said float chamber with fuel, fuel outlet means adapted for communicating fuel from said float chamber to said injection pump, air outlet means adapted for communicating said float chamber with said vent line, and spherically-shaped float mean shaving a specific gravity less than said fuel and freely suspended in unattached relationship in said float chamber for movement between a first position, a closing relationship on said air outlet means when said float chamber is at least substantially full of fuel, a second position opening both said air outlet mean sand said fuel outlet means when said float chamber is partially filled with fuel, and a third position on said fuel outlet means when said float chamber is empty of fuel.

Claim 13

The air-purging device of claim 10 further comprising orifice means adapted for continuously communicating a predetermined low volume of fuel flow, bypassing said fuel outlet means, from said float chamber to said injection pump.

Claim 14

The device of claim 11 wherein said orifice means has a cross-sectional area selected from the approximate range of from 0.004 in. 2 to 0.015 in. 2 .

Claim 15

The air-purging device of claim 10 wherein said air outlet means and said fuel outlet means are aligned vertically on said axis.

Claim 16

The air-purging device of claim 10 wherein said float means constitutes a spherical ball having a diameter selected from the approximate range of from 1.5 in. to 3.5 in. and a specific gravity selected form the approximate range of from 0.50 to 0.95.

Claim 17

The device of claim 14 wherein said ball is composed of an elastomer having a durometer hardness selected from the approximate range of from 20 to 60.

Claim 18

An emergency shut-down system for the fuel system of an internal combustion engine having a fuel tank adapted to contain a liquid fuel therein, a main fuel pump connected to said fuel tank by a fuel line, and fuel distributing means for normally communicating said fuel to combustion chambers of said engine, said emergency shut-down system comprising monitor and control means for automatically (1) alerting an operator that the fuel in said fuel tank has fallen below a predetermined level, (2) providing said fuel distributing means and said combustion chambers with sufficient fuel to run said engine for a limited period of time, and (3) deactivating said fuel distributing means to stop communication of fuel to said combustion chambers after said fuel has been expended, said monitor and control means including normally open pressure-responsive first switch means closeable in response to the pressure in said fuel line falling below a predetermined level, operator-visible first indicator means for alerting said operator that the pressure of said fuel has fallen below said predetermined level in response to closing of said first switch means, and a normally inactive auxiliary pump means for being activated to pump fuel through said fuel line in response to closing of said first switch means.

Claim 19

An emergency shut-down system for the fuel system of an internal combustion engine having a fuel tank adapted to contain a liquid fuel therein, a main fuel pump connected to said fuel tank by a fuel line, and fuel distributing means for normally communicating said fuel to combustion chambers of said engine, said emergency shut-down system comprising monitor and control means for automatically (1) alerting an operator that the fuel in said fuel tank has fallen below a predetermined level, (2) providing said fuel distributing means and said combustion chambers with sufficient fuel to run said engine for a limited period of time, and (3) deactivating said fuel distributing means to stop communication of fuel to said combustion chambers after said fuel has been expended, said monitor and control means including normally open pressure-responsive first switch means closeable in response to the pressure in said fuel line falling below a predetermined level, operator-visible first indicator means for alerting said operator that the pressure of said fuel has fallen below said predetermined level in response to closing of said first switch means, and a normally inactive auxiliary pump means for being activated to pump fuel through said fuel line in response to closing of said first switch means.

Claim 20

The system of claim 16 further comprising normally-off operator-visible second indicator means for being activated to alert said operator in response to the absence of fuel pressure in said fuel line and a second pressure-responsive switch means trippable from a first position for activating said auxiliary pump means in response to closing of said first switch means to a second position for activating said second indicator means in response to an absence of fluid pressure in said auxiliary pump means.

Claim 21

The system of claim 17 further comprising normally closed switch means for opening to deactivate said fuel distributing means in response to an absence of fuel pressure at an upstream side of said fuel distributing means.

Claim 22

The system of claim 16 further comprising restart means for selectively activating said fuel distributing means.