JP5999945B2 - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric motor and a fuel pump having a pump chamber in which a rotating member that is rotationally driven by the electric motor is accommodated, an intake port for sucking fuel into the pump chamber, and fuel from the pump chamber A suction filter that is housed and held in a pump housing having a discharge port for discharging gas and a deaeration hole for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber, and filters the fuel in the fuel tank and supplies it to the fuel pump Relates to a fuel supply device connected to the suction port.

  In a fuel supply device in which fuel in a fuel tank is boosted by a fuel pump and supplied to a fuel injection valve, a suction filter for suppressing foreign matter from entering the pump chamber and a vapor generated in the pump chamber are externally provided. It is common to provide a deaeration hole for discharging. In such a fuel supply device, when the suction filter is clogged, there is a problem that the fuel containing foreign matters is sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole. However, there is a fuel supply device that solves such a problem. This is known from Patent Document 1. In this system, a return fuel filling area is provided to fill the surplus pressure returned from the regulator from the fuel discharged from the fuel pump, and the return fuel filling area is communicated with the deaeration hole. Since the fuel stored in the area is clean fuel filtered by the suction filter, when the suction filter is clogged, the fuel in the return fuel filled area is sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole. Prevents foreign matter from entering the pump chamber. Also, if the fuel level in the return fuel filling area drops below a predetermined position during engine operation after the suction filter is clogged, air will be sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole, causing the engine to malfunction. This makes it possible to prompt the driver to replace the suction filter.

JP 2010-229996 A

  According to what is disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the fact that the suction filter is clogged is not known until the driver notices that the engine malfunctioned. When the driver notices that an engine malfunction has occurred due to the occurrence of clogging, the suction filter is clogged considerably, and the amount of air sucked into the pump chamber from the deaeration hole is considerably increased. This was confirmed by experiments. In other words, a considerable amount of operation time is required until the driver actually notices the clogging of the suction filter after the suction filter is clogged. If the clogging of the suction filter can be recognized early, the engine Since it is possible to replace the suction filter before malfunction occurs, early recognition of clogging is desired. Moreover, the engine malfunction occurs due to a cause other than the clogging of the suction filter, and therefore, it is desired to develop a technique that can quickly and accurately recognize the clogging of the suction filter.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel supply device that can quickly and accurately recognize the occurrence of clogging of the suction filter.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an intake for causing an electric motor and a fuel pump having a pump chamber in which a rotating member driven to rotate by the electric motor is accommodated to suck fuel into the pump chamber. The fuel is stored in and held in a pump housing having a port, a discharge port for discharging fuel from the pump chamber, and a deaeration hole for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber, and the fuel in the fuel tank is filtered In a fuel supply apparatus in which a suction filter for supplying to a pump is connected to the suction port, a vapor discharge passage means for forming a passage communicating between a portion that becomes a gas phase in the fuel tank and the deaeration hole, and Detection means for detecting the value of the current flowing through the electric motor or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port, and the suction filter are in a state where no clogging occurs. The suction filter is clogged when the number of times the detection value of the detection means is intermittently lower than the current value or the pressure when a constant voltage is applied to the motor exceeds a certain number of times. Bei example a filter clogging determination means for determining the filter clogging determination means in the suction filter when the number of times across the threshold detection value of the detection means the predetermined becomes 2 or more predetermined number of times or more It is a first feature to determine that clogging has occurred.

In addition to the configuration of the first feature, the present invention includes fuel remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank, and the remaining fuel amount detecting means indicates that the remaining fuel amount is less than a predetermined amount. The second feature is that the filter clogging determination means stops the determination of the presence or absence of clogging, or determines the presence or absence of clogging but does not output the determination result. .

The present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, said filter clogging determination means according to determining clogging of the suction filter is occurring, clogging the suction filter It is a third feature that an informing means for informing that the occurrence has occurred is provided.

  The pump impeller 11 of the embodiment corresponds to the rotating member of the present invention, and the control unit 46 of the embodiment corresponds to the filter clogging determining means of the present invention.

  According to the first feature of the present invention, the value of the current flowing through the electric motor or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port is detected, and the detected value is applied to the electric motor in a state where the suction filter is not clogged. It is determined that the suction filter is clogged when the number of times the current value or the pressure is intermittently lower than the pressure when a constant voltage is applied exceeds a certain number of times. The inventor of the present application indicates that the introduction of air is intermittent at the initial stage where clogging occurs and the introduction of air from the deaeration hole to the pump chamber is started, and the current value or the pressure is also intermittently reduced. As a result of experiments, it is possible to determine early that the clogging has occurred by determining whether the suction filter is clogged from the current value or the frequency of the pressure drop, without recognizing that the engine is malfunctioning. It can be recognized. In addition, since the clogging determination is performed by a unique event caused by the clogging of the suction filter, the clogging determination can be surely performed.

In addition , when the current value flowing through the electric motor or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port drops more than a predetermined number of times exceeding a predetermined threshold, the suction filter is clogged. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect the frequency of the current value or the pressure drop.

According to the second feature of the present invention, when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank becomes less than a predetermined amount, the filter clogging determining means stops determining whether there is clogging, or whether there is clogging. However, since the determination result is not output, the current value flowing into the electric motor or the discharge from the discharge port is caused by the fact that air is sucked into the pump chamber through the suction filter due to the decrease in the fuel remaining in the fuel tank. Even if the pressure of the fuel is reduced, it is not erroneously determined that the suction filter is clogged.

Further, according to the third feature of the present invention, since the notification means notifies that the suction filter is clogged, the driver can easily notice the clogging of the suction filter.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the fuel supply apparatus in a fuel tank. It is a graph which shows the change of the electric current value and fuel pressure according to the degree of clogging of an intake filter. It is a graph which shows the change according to the time passage of the current value and fuel pressure when clogging has occurred in the suction filter.

  Embodiments and reference embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In FIG. 1, a pump unit 7 for supplying the fuel in the fuel tank 5 to the fuel injection valve 6 of the engine is attached to the ceiling wall 5a of the fuel tank 5 mounted on a vehicle such as a motorcycle.

  In the pump unit 7, an electric motor 8 and a fuel pump 9 having a pump chamber 12 in which a pump impeller 11, which is a rotating member that is rotationally driven by the electric motor 8, sucks fuel into the pump chamber 12. And a pump housing 10 having a suction port 13 for discharging, a discharge port 14 for discharging fuel from the pump chamber 12, and a deaeration hole 15 for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber 12. Is.

  The pump housing 10 includes a motor housing 17 of the electric motor 8 and a pump case 18 attached to the lower portion of the motor housing 17. The motor housing 17 includes a cylindrical stator 19, an upper bearing bracket 20 that is rotatably supported by an upper end portion of a motor shaft 22 having an axis extending vertically and is caulked and coupled to the upper end portion of the stator 19, A lower bearing bracket 21 is rotatably supported by a lower portion of the motor shaft 22 and is caulked and coupled to a lower end portion of the stator 19. The pump case 18 includes the pump chamber 12 between the lower bearing bracket 21. It is formed and caulked to the lower end portion of the stator 19 together with the lower bearing bracket 21.

  A lower end portion of the motor shaft 22 passes through the lower bearing bracket 21 to be freely rotatable and enters the pump chamber 12. A pump impeller 11 attached to the lower end portion of the motor shaft 22 is accommodated in the pump chamber 12. Thus, the fuel pump 9 is configured.

  The pump case 18 of the pump housing 10 is integrally provided with a suction side connecting pipe portion 18a that forms a suction port 13 for sucking fuel into the pump chamber 12 and protrudes downward. A deaeration hole 15 for discharging the vapor generated at 12 is provided. The fuel boosted in the pump chamber 12 flows upward in the motor housing 17, and the fuel from the pump chamber 12 is discharged to the upper bearing bracket 20 at the upper portion of the motor housing 17. A discharge-side connecting pipe portion 20a that forms the discharge port 14 that protrudes is integrally projected so as to protrude upward, and a check valve 23 is disposed at the discharge port 14.

  The pump housing 10 is inserted into a cylindrical casing 24, and an attachment base member 25 fastened to the ceiling wall 5 a of the fuel tank 5 is attached to the upper end portion of the casing 24. The member 25 is provided with a fitting recess 26 for fitting the discharge-side connecting pipe portion 20a in a liquid-tight manner, and a plurality of bolts 27, 27... And nuts 28, 28 are provided on the ceiling wall 5a of the fuel tank 5. Are integrally provided with a flange portion 25a attached to the outer side and a fuel discharge pipe 29 protruding outward, and the fuel discharge pipe 29 is connected to the fuel injection valve 6 via a pipe line 30 such as a fuel hose.

  Further, the mounting base member 25 is formed with an outlet side flow path 32 connecting the fitting recess 26 and the fuel discharge pipe 29, and a pressure adjusting passage 33 branched from the outlet side flow path 32 is formed. The pressure adjusting passage 33 is connected to a regulator valve 34 held by the mounting base member 25 so as to adjust the pressure of the fuel flowing through the outlet side passage 32 to a predetermined pressure.

  Further, the mounting base member 25 is integrally provided with a coupler 36 protruding outward so that terminals 35 connected to the electric motor 8 are disposed inside.

  An adapter 37 is attached to the lower end portion of the casing 24 so as to cover the pump case 18 from below, and a suction path 38 into which the suction side connecting pipe portion 18a is fitted is formed in the adapter 37. The connecting tube portion 37a is integrally provided so as to protrude downward, and the suction filter 39 is connected to the lower end portion of the connecting tube portion 37a. That is, the pump unit 7 is arranged in the fuel tank 5 so that the suction filter 39 is connected to the suction port 13 in the suction side connection pipe portion 18a in the fuel tank 5 through the connection cylinder portion 37a. Will be.

  The deaeration hole 15 is located above the highest level of the liquid level L of the fuel, that is, the portion that becomes a gas phase in the fuel tank 5 through the passage 41 formed by the vapor discharge passage means 40. The fuel tank 5 communicates with the side of the mounting base member 25. Thus, the vapor discharge passage means 40 includes a part of the adapter 37 and a pipe 42 which is arranged so as to extend vertically on the side of the casing 24 and whose lower end portion is connected to the adapter 37. The passage 41 is constituted by a passage portion 41a provided in the adapter 37 through the deaeration hole 15 and a passage portion 41b formed in the pipe 42 in communication with the passage portion 41a. A strainer 43 is attached to the upper end of 42.

  When the suction filter 39 is clogged, the pressure loss causes the suction port 13 of the fuel pump 9 to have a negative pressure. When the clogging progresses, the pressure loss increases and the suction port 13 has a larger negative pressure. Become. On the other hand, in the fuel pump 9, the fuel is pressurized between the suction port 13 and the deaeration hole 15, but when the pressure loss in the suction filter 39 becomes larger than the pressurized amount in that section, the deaeration hole 15 becomes a negative pressure, and a state in which air is sucked into the pump chamber 12 from the deaeration hole 15 occurs. In this case, the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 decreases.

According to the present inventor experiments, as shown in Figure 2, when the clogging degree of the suction filter 39 becomes larger than the clogging degree C ₀ start sucking air into the pump chamber 12 from the deaeration holes 15, the fuel The pressure decreases, and the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8 with a constant voltage applied also decreases.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8 or the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 is detected, and it is determined whether or not the suction filter 39 is clogged based on the detected value. The attachment base member 25 is configured such that the detection means 45 for detecting the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 detects the fuel pressure in the outlet side flow path 32 of the attachment base member 25. The detection value of the detection means 45 is input to a control unit 46 serving as a filter clogging determination means electrically connected to the terminals 35 of the coupler 36 so as to control the operation of the electric motor 8. Is done.

  The control unit 46 is connected to a fuel remaining amount detecting means 48 for detecting the fuel remaining amount in the fuel tank 5, and the fuel remaining amount detecting means 48 is a level of fuel in the fuel tank 5. A detector 49 attached to the attachment base member 25 at an upper position, an arm 50 whose base end portion is rotatably supported by a case 49a of the detector 49, and a float attached to the distal end portion of the arm 50. 51. The remaining amount of fuel is detected by detecting the amount of rotation of the arm 50 due to the change in the liquid level L by the detector 49, and the signal from the detector 49 Input to the control unit 46.

  Thus, when the remaining fuel amount detecting means 48 detects that the remaining fuel amount is less than the predetermined amount, the control unit 46 stops determining whether there is clogging or determines whether there is clogging. However, the determination result is not output.

  Before describing embodiments of the present invention, reference embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  In the reference mode, the control unit 46 performs the suction when the pressure detected by the detection means 45 is lower than the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 in a state where the suction filter 39 is not clogged. It is determined that the filter 39 is clogged, and the control unit 46 is connected to a notification means 47 for notification by lamp display, screen display or sound, and the notification means 47 is connected to the suction unit. The filter 39 is activated when the control unit 46 determines that the filter 39 is clogged.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 is detected and the detected value becomes lower than the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14, clogging occurs. When the suction filter 39 is clogged, the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 is reduced. Therefore, it is determined that the suction filter 39 is clogged. It can be recognized early without depending on the recognition.

  The detecting means 45 may detect the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8, and in this case, the control unit 46 does not clog the suction filter 39. It may be determined whether or not the suction filter 39 is clogged by comparing the current value when a constant voltage is applied to the current value and the current value detected by the detection means 45. It is also possible to detect the rotation speed of the electric motor 8 and determine the clogging of the suction filter 39 from the increase in the rotation speed.

  Incidentally, the inventor of the present application, when an air suction event from the deaeration hole 15 to the pump chamber 12 occurs due to clogging in the suction filter 39, in the initial stage, as shown in FIG. The pressure of the fuel discharged from the outlet 14 and the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8 with a constant voltage applied are intermittently reduced, and the phenomenon of sucking air into the pump chamber 12 from the deaeration hole 15 occurs intermittently. In addition, it was confirmed by experiments that the engine does not malfunction as noticed by the driver when air suction is intermittent.

Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 46 has a pressure detected by the detecting means 45 higher than the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 in a state where the suction filter 39 is not clogged. When the number of times of intermittent lowering is equal to or more than a certain number of 2 or more, it is determined that the suction filter 39 is clogged, and in the determination, the control unit 46 detects the detection value of the detection means 45. Is determined to be clogged in the suction filter 39 when the number of times crossing a predetermined threshold value (see FIG. 3) exceeds a certain number of 2 or more .

  According to this embodiment, at the initial stage where clogging occurs in the suction filter 39 and the introduction of air from the deaeration hole 15 to the pump chamber 12 begins, the introduction of air is intermittent and the discharge from the discharge port 14 is performed. On the basis of the intermittent decrease in the pressure of the generated fuel, the clogging of the suction filter 39 is determined from the frequency of the intermittent decrease in the pressure to recognize that the engine has failed. It can be recognized early without depending on. In addition, since the clogging determination is performed based on a unique event caused by the clogging of the suction filter 39, the clogging determination can be surely performed.

Moreover, since it is determined that the suction filter 39 is clogged when the number of times the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 decreases over a predetermined threshold value is a certain number of times equal to or greater than 2 , The frequency of the current value or the pressure drop can be reliably detected.

  Further, when the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 5 becomes less than a predetermined amount, the control unit 46 stops determining whether there is clogging or determines whether there is clogging but does not output the determination result. Even if the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port 14 decreases due to air being sucked into the pump chamber 12 through the suction filter 39 due to a decrease in the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 5, the suction filter 39 is not erroneously determined as clogged.

  Further, the notification means 47 notifies that the suction filter 39 is clogged, so that the driver can easily notice the clogging of the suction filter 39.

As another embodiment of the present invention, the detection means 45 may detect the value of the current flowing through the electric motor 8, and in that case, the electric motor is in a state where the suction filter 39 is not clogged. When the number of times that the current value detected by the detection means 45 is intermittently lower than the current value when a constant voltage is applied to 8 becomes equal to or more than 2 , the clogging of the suction filter occurs. You may make it determine with having arisen.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. Is possible.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the pump housing 10 is disposed in the fuel tank 5 has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to the case where the pump housing 10 is disposed outside the fuel tank 5.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 ... Fuel tank 7 ... Pump unit 8 ... Electric motor 9 ... Fuel pump 10 ... Pump housing 11 ... Pump impeller 12 which is a rotating member ... Pump chamber 13 ... Suction port 14 ... discharge port 15 ... deaeration hole 39 ... suction filter 40 ... vapor discharge passage means 41 ... passage 45 ... detection means 46 ... filter clogging determination means Control unit 47... Notification means 48.

Claims (3)

An electric motor (8) and a fuel pump (9) having a pump chamber (12) in which a rotating member (11) rotated and driven by the electric motor (8) is accommodated are fuel in the pump chamber (12). A suction port (13) for sucking in, a discharge port (14) for discharging fuel from the pump chamber (12), and a deaeration hole (15) for discharging vapor generated in the pump chamber (12) A suction filter (39), which is received and held in a pump housing (10) having a filter, for filtering the fuel in the fuel tank (5) and supplying it to the fuel pump (9) is connected to the suction port (13). In the fuel supply apparatus,
Vapor discharge passage means (40) that forms a passage (41) that communicates between the gas phase portion in the fuel tank (5) and the deaeration hole (15), and the current value that flows through the electric motor (8) Alternatively, a constant voltage is applied to the electric motor (8) while the detection means (45) for detecting the pressure of the fuel discharged from the discharge port (14) and the suction filter (39) are not clogged. It is determined that the suction filter (39) is clogged when the number of times the detection value of the detection means (45) is intermittently lower than the current value or pressure of the Filter clogging determining means (46) for performing ,
The filter clogging determining means (46) is clogged in the suction filter (39) when the number of times that the detection value of the detecting means (45) crosses a predetermined threshold is equal to or more than two. the fuel supply apparatus characterized that you determined to be occurring. A fuel remaining amount detecting means (48) for detecting the fuel remaining amount in the fuel tank (5) is provided, and when the fuel remaining amount detecting means (48) detects that the fuel remaining amount is less than a predetermined amount. the filter clogging determination means (46), according to claim 1, characterized in that so as not to output the determination result but to stop the determination of the presence or absence of clogging, to determine the presence or absence of clogging Fuel supply system. Notification means for notifying that the suction filter (39) is clogged when the filter clogging determination means (46) determines that the suction filter (39) is clogged. the fuel supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises (47).

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