Fuel-air separator and pulse dampener
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A fuel-air separator comprising:
- a chamber with an interior side-wall surface and adjacent interior top and bottom surfaces;
an inlet opening to the side-wall surface to admit fuel and air and to cause the fuel and air to flow helically down and along the side-wall surface;
a diptube opening to the bottom surface and extending along an axis of the side-wall surface to a fuel outlet, wherein a distance between the side-wall surface and the diptube along the entire length of the diptube is unobstructed, wherein the diptube extends below a steady-state level of fuel and wherein the fuel outlet is at the top surface; and
an air outlet at the top surface.
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Abstract
A fuel-air separator includes a chamber with an interior side-wall surface and adjacent interior top and bottom surfaces. An inlet of the fuel-air separator opens to the interior side-wall surface to admit fuel and air and to cause the fuel and air to flow helically down and along the interior side-wall surface. A diptube opens to the bottom surface and extends along an axis of the interior side-wall surface to a fuel outlet, while the separated air is released to the atmosphere.
41 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A fuel-air separator comprising:
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a chamber with an interior side-wall surface and adjacent interior top and bottom surfaces; an inlet opening to the side-wall surface to admit fuel and air and to cause the fuel and air to flow helically down and along the side-wall surface; a diptube opening to the bottom surface and extending along an axis of the side-wall surface to a fuel outlet, wherein a distance between the side-wall surface and the diptube along the entire length of the diptube is unobstructed, wherein the diptube extends below a steady-state level of fuel and wherein the fuel outlet is at the top surface; and an air outlet at the top surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An engine system comprising:
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a fuel-air separator having a chamber with an interior side-wall surface and adjacent interior top and bottom surfaces, an inlet opening to the side-wall surface to admit fuel and air and to cause the fuel and air to flow helically down and along the side-wall surface, a diptube opening to the bottom surface and extending along an axis of the side-wall surface to a fuel outlet at the top surface, the fuel outlet at the top surface delivering fuel with less entrained air than at the inlet, wherein a distance between the side-wall surface and the diptube along the entire length of the diptube is unobstructed, wherein the diptube extends below a steady-state level of fuel and an air outlet at the top surface; and a fuel tank. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method to separate air from fuel in a fuel-air separator of a motor-vehicle fuel system, the method comprising:
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admitting fuel and air tangentially onto an interior side-wall surface of a chamber of the fuel-air separator; separating the air from the fuel under a centrifugal force caused by a helical flow of the fuel and air down and along the interior side-wall surface; pooling the fuel at an interior bottom surface of the chamber; releasing the fuel through a diptube opening to the interior bottom surface of the chamber and extending parallel to an axis of the interior side-wall surface to a fuel outlet at a top surface of the chamber, wherein a distance between the side-wall surface and the diptube along the entire length of the diptube is unobstructed, wherein the diptube extends below a steady-state level of fuel and releasing the air through an outlet at an interior top surface of the chamber and fuel through the fuel outlet at the top surface. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification