A vehicle including an internal combustion engine commonly includes a fuel tank for supplying fuel to the engine. The fuel tank may be filled with fuel by an operator of the vehicle via a fuel passage extending between the fuel tank and an exterior fuel opening of the vehicle. In one example, the fuel opening may be positioned on a side panel of a vehicle body and may be accessed by unlatching a door positioned in front (relative to the vehicle body) of the fuel opening. A refueling mechanism may be mounted inside the fuel opening to provide an interface between the fuel passage and a fuel nozzle coupled to an external fuel source. The refueling mechanism may include an external aperture configured to receive and couple the fuel nozzle to the fuel passage. The refueling mechanism may also be threaded along a circumference of the refueling mechanism in order to secure a protective cap over the external aperture.
Issues may arise when the protective cap is detached from the refueling mechanism (during refueling of the fuel tank) and not reattached properly after refueling and upon removal of the fuel nozzle. Furthermore, the external aperture and a sealing door (to seal off the fuel tank from the external aperture) may not provide a means for guiding the fuel nozzle into the fueling mechanism during refueling. As a consequence, it may be difficult to adequately position the fuel nozzle upon insertion into the refueling mechanism, and may result in an incomplete filling of the fuel tank. Additionally, occurrences of misfueling which may occur when the vehicle operator refills the fuel tank with an incorrect type of fuel may cause further issues.
Attempts to address inconsistent fuel nozzle positioning and other issues described above include utilizing a capless refueling mechanism. One example approach is shown by Levey in U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,990. Therein, a closure mechanism is provided at a distal end of a fuel passage of a fuel port. The closure mechanism has a component that opens and closes as a fuel nozzle is inserted or removed from the fuel port. Another example approach is shown by Groom in U.S. Pat. No. 7,665,493. Therein, a capless refueling mechanism includes a nozzle inhibitor to prevent a vehicle operator from filling unleaded fuel into a diesel fuel tank. Yet another example capless refueling port is shown by Kataoka in U.S. Patent 2013-0327768. Therein, the capless fueling port includes a sealing door to guide the fuel nozzle into a fuel passage of the fuel port.
However, the inventors herein have recognized potential issues with such refueling systems. As one example, the capless refueling device disclosed in Levey does not distinguish between fuel nozzles of different diameters, and may lead to misfueling. For example, a gasoline fuel nozzle with a first diameter and a diesel fuel nozzle with a second diameter may both fit into the capless refueling device, posing potential for misfueling. In another example, the capless refueling port disclosed in Groom includes hooks that attach to gasoline fuel nozzles when inserted into a diesel refueling port. These hooks may occupy more room (within the capless refueling port) when utilized for large diameter fuel nozzles, such as a high flow rate diesel fuel nozzle. Further, a large sealing door disclosed in the capless refueling port in Kataoka may occupy more space within the fuel port, and may therefore create difficulty when inserting the fuel nozzle into the fuel port. In other capless refueling devices, a separate adapter may be needed for inserting fuel nozzles with different diameters (such as low flow and high flow diesel nozzles with a wide range of diameters) into the fuel device, thereby creating additional time and difficulty for the user.
The inventors herein have developed a capless fueling mechanism to address some of issues noted above. In one example, a capless refueling mechanism, may comprise: a body including an opening adapted to receive a fuel nozzle; a door pivotably coupled to the body and adapted to cover the opening; a pair of arms, each rotatably coupled to the body about an arm axis arranged parallel to a central axis of the body and each including a first mating structure adapted to mate with the door. For example, the body of the capless refueling mechanism may comprise a fuel port with a filler pipe coupled to a ramped opening element. The fuel port may be connected to a fuel passage leading to the fuel tank. In this way, the capless fueling mechanism may be used when refueling the fuel tank with low and high flow rate fuel nozzles while reducing fuel vapor emissions to the atmosphere.
For example, a pair of pendulum arms mounted in an external opening of the capless fueling mechanism may be moved to an open position upon insertion of a fuel nozzle with a suitable diameter into the fuel port; the fuel nozzle guided by a sealing door which opens allowing the nozzle to dispense fuel into the fuel tank. In one example, suitable diameter nozzles may be nozzles with low and high flow rates, with diameters in the range of 23.6-37.0 mm. Further, the sealing door may be adjusted to close after refueling and upon removal of the fuel nozzle. By moving the pendulum arms to the open position upon insertion of the suitable diameter fuel nozzle into the fuel port, the vehicle tank may be refilled at low and high flow rates while minimizing mis-fueling due to fuel nozzles with diameters outside the suitable range of nozzle diameters. Further, the sealing door may be used to guide the fuel nozzle into the fuel port, minimizing nozzle slippage during refueling. By closing the sealing door after refueling and upon removal of the fuel nozzle, the fuel tank may be sealed off from the external opening, reducing or minimizing fuel vapor emissions to the atmosphere.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds