Conductive Plastic Fuel Pump Housing for Static Charge Dissipation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel pump designs face challenges in effectively dissipating static charges to a ground potential, which can lead to issues like flying sparks and spontaneous combustion, particularly at high fuel flow rates.
Innovation Solution
The fuel pump housing is designed with two parts, one made of conductive plastic that incorporates graphite powder, carbon fibers, or metal fibers to ensure conductivity, complementing the use of electrically conductive or antistatic fuel lines, thereby facilitating the dissipation of static charges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the fuel pump housing is made of conventional plastic, then manufacturing cost and ease of manufacture are improved, but static charge dissipation capability deteriorates leading to safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by incorporating conductive additives (graphite powder, carbon fibers, or metal fibers) into the plastic housing material. This creates a composite plastic that maintains the ease of manufacturing benefits of plastic while adding electrical conductivity for static charge dissipation, directly resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
2Reliability
If conductive additives are incorporated into the plastic housing, then static charge dissipation capability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters of the plastic housing by incorporating conductive additives during the plastics-technical production process. This approach integrates the conductivity function into the base material itself, avoiding additional complex manufacturing steps or separate components, thus minimizing the increase in manufacturing complexity while achieving the reliability improvement.
3Reliability
If the entire housing is made of conductive plastic, then static charge dissipation is improved, but fuel conductivity may increase leading to unwanted electrical currents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making only the first housing part (housing section 10) conductive through incorporation of conductive additives, while the second housing part (pump housing 9) remains conventional plastic. This localized approach provides static charge dissipation where needed (in the electric motor housing area) without making the entire fuel contact surfaces conductive, thus preventing unwanted electrical currents while maintaining safety.
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 effectively diverts static charges to a ground potential, enhancing safety by preventing sparks and combustion risks during fuel delivery, while maintaining compatibility with existing conductive fuel line technologies.
Implementation Method 1
the first housing part is made of a conductive plastic for discharging static charges to a ground potential
Implementation Method 2
the plastic used for the plastics-technical production of the first housing part and/or the second housing part can be provided with graphite powder, which ensures the conductivity of the plastic
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a fuel pump comprising an electric motor (4), a pump stage (6) that can be driven by the electric motor (4), and a fuel pump housing (8, 9, 10) receiving the electric motor (4) and the pump stage (6). According to the invention, the fuel pump housing (8, 9, 10) comprises a first housing part (10) for receiving the electric motor (4) and a second housing part (8, 9) for receiving the pump stage (6), the first housing part (10) and/or the second housing part (8, 9) being made of a conductive plastic material for bleeding off static charges to a ground potential. The invention further relates to a fuel delivery unit comprising such a fuel pump.