Fuel vapor leak test system and method comprising successive series of pulse bursts and pressure measurements between bursts
First Claim
1. A leak test system for a motor vehicle fuel system that holds volatile liquid fuel for operating the vehicle, the leak test system comprising:
- a processor for establishing steps of a leak test;
a pump for forcing air under pressure into vapor containment space of the fuel system during a leak test;
a pump operator that operates the pump in accordance with steps established by the processor to cause the pump to create a superatmospheric pressure in the space during an initial step of the leak test, and that, after completion of the initial step, causes the pump to perform a further step that comprises forcing pulses of air into the space in a succession of pulse bursts, wherein each burst comprises a succession of individual pulses of air, and each successive burst is delayed from an immediately prior burst by a time interval substantially longer than the time intervals between individual pulses in each burst; and
wherein the processor processes data corresponding to a measurement of pressure in the space after the occurrence of at least one of such bursts and as a result of that processing indicates leakage from the space.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A leak test system and method for a motor vehicle fuel system. A pump forces air under pressure into vapor containment space. The pump operates in accordance with steps established by a processor. The pump creates superatmospheric pressure in the space during an initial charging phase step, and after completion of that step, the pump performs a measurement phase step that forces pulses of air into the space in a succession of pulse bursts. Each burst contains a succession of individual pulses, preferably in equal numbers, and each successive burst is delayed from an immediately prior burst by a time interval substantially longer than the time intervals between individual pulses in each burst, preferably by constant time intervals. The processor processes data corresponding to a measurement of pressure in the space after the occurrence of at least one of such bursts and as a result indicates leakage from the space.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A leak test system for a motor vehicle fuel system that holds volatile liquid fuel for operating the vehicle, the leak test system comprising:
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a processor for establishing steps of a leak test;
a pump for forcing air under pressure into vapor containment space of the fuel system during a leak test;
a pump operator that operates the pump in accordance with steps established by the processor to cause the pump to create a superatmospheric pressure in the space during an initial step of the leak test, and that, after completion of the initial step, causes the pump to perform a further step that comprises forcing pulses of air into the space in a succession of pulse bursts, wherein each burst comprises a succession of individual pulses of air, and each successive burst is delayed from an immediately prior burst by a time interval substantially longer than the time intervals between individual pulses in each burst; and
wherein the processor processes data corresponding to a measurement of pressure in the space after the occurrence of at least one of such bursts and as a result of that processing indicates leakage from the space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A leak test method for a motor vehicle fuel system that holds volatile liquid fuel for operating the vehicle, the method comprising:
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forcing air under pressure into vapor containment space of the fuel system during a leak test in accordance with steps of the method;
wherein during an initial step of the method, the forcing of air into the space creates in the space a superatmospheric pressure suitable for performing the leak test; and
after completion of the initial step, operating a pump to perform a further step of the method that comprises forcing pulses of air into the space in a succession of pulse bursts, wherein each burst comprises a succession of individual pulses of air, and each successive burst is delayed from an immediately prior burst by a time interval substantially longer than the time intervals between individual pulses in each burst; and
processing data corresponding to a measurement of pressure in the space after the occurrence of at least one of such bursts and indicating leakage from the space as a result of that processing. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification