Fuel pump for engine
First Claim
1. A fuel pump, comprising:
- a housing;
an impeller disposed within the housing, the impeller and the housing (i) defining a pump chamber having a pump inlet and a pump outlet and (ii) defining a housing chamber, the impeller being operable to rotate within the housing to transfer fuel from the pump inlet, through the pump chamber to the pump outlet;
a bearing element disposed within the housing chamber about a shaft of the impeller, the bearing element having a sealing face opposing the impeller and being operable to form a fuel seal with the impeller; and
a first lip seal disposed within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller and a second lip seal disposed within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller, the first lip seal being disposed between the bearing element and the second lip seal, the first lip seal being operable to form a fuel seal with the shaft of the impeller and the second lip seal being operable to form an oil seal with the shaft of the impeller.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel pump includes a bearing element disposed in proximity to an impeller. The bearing element is configured to form a fuel seal with the impeller and to drain fuel leaked from the pump chamber back into the pump chamber. The bearing element minimizes leakage of fuel from the pump chamber into an engine coupled to the impeller. The fuel pump also includes redundant lip seals configured to provide redundant sealing relative to a shaft of the impeller within the fuel pump in order to minimize engine oil from entering the pump chamber and to minimize fuel from entering the engine. Integration of both the bearing element and the redundant lip seals as part of the fuel pump results in the fuel pump having a relatively compact size.
15 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A fuel pump, comprising:
-
a housing; an impeller disposed within the housing, the impeller and the housing (i) defining a pump chamber having a pump inlet and a pump outlet and (ii) defining a housing chamber, the impeller being operable to rotate within the housing to transfer fuel from the pump inlet, through the pump chamber to the pump outlet; a bearing element disposed within the housing chamber about a shaft of the impeller, the bearing element having a sealing face opposing the impeller and being operable to form a fuel seal with the impeller; and a first lip seal disposed within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller and a second lip seal disposed within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller, the first lip seal being disposed between the bearing element and the second lip seal, the first lip seal being operable to form a fuel seal with the shaft of the impeller and the second lip seal being operable to form an oil seal with the shaft of the impeller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. An engine assembly, comprising:
-
an engine; and a fuel pump coupled to the engine, the fuel pump comprising; a housing, an impeller disposed within the housing, the impeller and the housing defining a pump chamber having a pump inlet and a pump outlet and defining a housing chamber, the impeller being operable to rotate within the housing to transfer fuel from the pump inlet, through the pump chamber, and to the engine via the pump outlet, a bearing element disposed within the housing chamber about a shaft of the impeller, the bearing element having a sealing face opposing the impeller and being operable to form a fuel seal with the impeller, and a first lip seal disposed within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller and a second lip seal disposed within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller, the first lip seal disposed between the bearing element and the second lip seal, the first lip seal being operable to form a fuel seal with the shaft of the impeller and the second lip seal being operable to form an oil seal with the shaft of the impeller. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method for assembly of a fuel pump, comprising:
-
disposing an impeller within a housing, the impeller and the housing defining a pump chamber having a pump inlet and a pump outlet and defining a housing chamber, the impeller being operable to rotate within the housing to transfer fuel from the pump inlet, through the pump chamber to the pump outlet; disposing a bearing element within the housing chamber about a shaft of the impeller, the bearing element having a sealing face opposing the impeller and being operable to form a fuel seal with the impeller; and disposing a first lip seal within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller and a second lip seal disposed within the housing chamber about the shaft of the impeller, the first lip seal disposed between the bearing element and the second lip seal, the first lip seal being operable to form a fuel seal with the shaft of the impeller and the second lip seal being operable to form an oil seal with the shaft of the impeller. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
-
Specification