Compact Fuel Pump with Nested Annular Impeller
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle fuel tanks face challenges in design due to the need to accommodate a fuel pump within a confined space, often requiring complex shapes and compromising the pump's size and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A fuel pump design featuring a housing with a rotor and annular impeller that allows for a compact size, enabling better packaging within the tank and improving design flexibility, with options for brush-type or brushless motors, reduced parts, and efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a conventional fuel pump design is used, then the pump can provide sufficient fuel flow, but the pump envelope becomes large and complex, making it difficult to fit within confined vehicle spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The impeller is positioned within the rotor assembly, with the impeller hub centered on the rotor drive axis. The impeller rotates within the rotor housing, effectively nesting the impeller inside the rotor structure. This nested arrangement allows the pump to maintain sufficient fuel flow capability while reducing the overall envelope volume, enabling compact installation in confined vehicle spaces such as under seats.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional side-by-side or stacked pump component arrangements to a concentric, radial dimensionality where the impeller is positioned radially within the rotor. This dimensional reorganization allows the pump to achieve compact axial and radial profiles while maintaining volumetric efficiency for fuel delivery.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the fuel tank is designed to accommodate a large fuel pump, then the pump can be installed, but the tank design becomes complex and the tank cannot be optimally positioned within available vehicle space
Solution Approach 1:
The nested impeller-within-rotor configuration reduces the fuel pump envelope to a compact cylindrical form factor. This simplified geometry allows the fuel tank to be designed with standard shapes and positioned flexibly within available vehicle spaces, such as under seats or in conventional fuel tank locations, without requiring complex tank modifications to accommodate an oversized pump.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional pump components are used, then the pump can be assembled, but the number of parts increases and manufacturing and assembly costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The impeller hub is integrated with the rotor drive axis, and the impeller is positioned within the rotor housing as a unified assembly. This merging of components reduces the total part count, simplifies manufacturing processes, and lowers assembly costs while maintaining the functional integrity of the pump system.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotor housing serves multiple functions: it contains the impeller, provides structural support, defines the pump envelope, and integrates with the drive mechanism. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, simplifying the overall design and reducing manufacturing and assembly complexity.
4Volume of moving object
If the impeller and rotor are positioned close together, then the pump envelope is reduced, but tolerance constraints on components become more stringent
Solution Approach 1:
The impeller is nested within the rotor housing with the impeller hub centered on the rotor drive axis, creating a concentric arrangement. This nested geometry provides natural alignment and spacing, reducing the stringency of tolerance constraints compared to edge-to-edge positioning. The concentric design allows for easier manufacturing while maintaining a compact pump envelope.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design facilitates the integration of the fuel pump within the tank, enhancing design freedom, reducing manufacturing and assembly costs, and improving the pump's efficiency and longevity while maintaining a compact profile suitable for confined spaces.
Implementation Method 1
an annular impeller supported in the cavity separate from the rotor and driven by the rotor for rotation about the drive axis
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel pump has a housing defining a cavity. A rotor of an electric motor is carried in the cavity for rotation about a drive axis. An annular pump impeller is supported in the cavity separate from the rotor and is driven by the rotor for rotation about the drive axis.