Claims:We Claim:
1. A fuel supply system (10) in a vehicle , said system (10) comprising :
- a fuel filter (14) connected between a fuel tank (12) and a high- pressure fuel pump (13) in a low- pressure fuel flow path (24);
- a control unit (22);
characterized in that:
- a rotating element (15) comprising multiple flexible fins (16) attached on an outer surface of said rotating element (15) each of said flexible fin (16) comprising at least a first electric conductor (17).

2. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rotating element (15) is positioned in said low-pressure fuel flow path (24) in proximity to said fuel filter (14).

3. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 1, further comprises a cord (20) has a second electric conductor (18) at one end ,said cord (20) positioned in proximity to at least one flexible fin (16) of said rotating element (15).

4. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 2, wherein another end of said cord (20) is connected to said control unit (22) of said system (10).

5. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first electric conductor (17) adapted to come in contact with said second electric conductor (18), when said rotating element (15) is operated.

6. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rotating element (15) adapted to rotate based on a flow of a fuel from said fuel filter (14).

7. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 6, wherein said control unit (22) adapted to receive a continuous signal, upon rotation of said rotating element (15) due to said flow of said fuel from said fuel filter (14).

8. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a rotational speed of said rotating element (15) is reduced when at least one air bubble is detected in said low-pressure fuel flow path (24).

9. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control unit (22) adapted to receive a discontinuous signal, upon detection of a reduction in said rotational speed of said rotating element (15) due to said at least one air bubble present in said low-pressure fuel flow path (24).

10. The fuel supply system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first electric conductor (17) and said second electric conductor (18) is at least one chosen from a group comprising copper, silver, aluminum, sea salt and the like.
, Description:Complete Specification:
The following specification describes and ascertains the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
Field of the invention
[0001] This invention relates to a fuel supply system of a vehicle.

Background of the invention
[0002] Fuel tanks, especially in motor vehicles, are usually equipped with tank level sensors, which are set up to detect the level of the fuel tank and to provide it to a driver of the motor vehicle. Fuel tanks usually comprise a so-called surge pot, which is an area inside the fuel tank that is open at the top but closed at the sides by tight walls. Drying of a tank or a fuel supply system or due to the throttling or acceleration or deceleration of the fuel is in practice by the fact that a fuel line connecting the bottom of the baffle with a fuel pump sucks a mixture of air bubbles and the fuel. The occurrence of first air bubbles within the fuel line is therefore a sure indication to indicate a malfunction in the fuel line. Air bubbles are caused by any air leak on the vacuum (suction) side of the fuel system from the fuel tank.

[0003] A Prior art document US3750463A discloses a fuel measuring system for vehicles. The invention discloses the fuel measuring system of the invention is intended for use with a vehicle of the type wherein its fuel-mixing device returns unburned fuel to the fuel supply. Such system includes an air bubble eliminator and further includes a fuel by-pass provided with a meter. A valve is included in the system, which has two positions a first one of which provides normal flow of fuel to the fuel-mixing device and a second one of which provides flow through the by-pass to measure the flow. The valve is operably connected to the emergency brake or a power take-off so that it is moved to its second position when the emergency brake or power take-off is activated.

Brief description of the accompanying drawing
[0004] Different modes of the invention are disclosed in detail in the description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing:
[0005] Fig.1 illustrates a fuel supply system in a vehicle in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; and
[0006] Fig. 2 illustrates a rotating element of the fuel supply system.

Detailed description of the embodiments
[0007] Fig.1 illustrates a fuel supply system in a vehicle, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. The fuel supply system 10 comprises a fuel filter 14 connected between a fuel tank 12 and a high-pressure fuel pump 13 in a low- pressure fuel flow path 24. The fuel supply system 10 further comprises a control unit 22. The fuel supply system 10 comprises a rotating element 15 having multiple flexible fins 16 attached on an outer surface of the rotating element 15.Each of the flexible fin 16 has a first electric conductor 17.

[0007] Further the construction of the fuel supply system 10 and the components of the fuel supply system 10 and the working of the components are explained below. The fuel tank 12 comprises a fuel pump 11 adapted to pump the fuel to the high-pressure pump 13 via the fuel filter 14. The high-pressure pump 13 is connected to a common rail, which is further connected to an injector. The flow path that connects the fuel tank 12 to the high-pressure pump 13 is called the low-pressure fuel flow path 24. According to one embodiment of the invention, at least one fuel filter 14 is connected between the fuel tank 12 and the high-pressure pump 13 in the low-pressure fuel flow path 24. The fuel from the fuel tank 12 is pumped into the high-pressure pump 13 via the fuel filter 14 to pressurize the fuel. A person skilled in the art knows the connections and the working of the above-disclosed components of the fuel supply system 10.

[0008] The rotating element 15 is positioned in the low-pressure fuel flow path 24 in proximity to the fuel filter 14. According to one embodiment of the invention, the rotating element 15 is placed at an output side of the fuel filter 14 as shown in the figure 1. The flexible fins 16 of the rotating element 15 is made of a rubber material. However, the type of the material of the fins 16 is not restricted to rubber material, but can be any material that is able to bend during the operation of the rotating element 15. The fuel supply system 10 further comprises a cord 20 that has a second electric conductor 18 at one end. The cord 20 is positioned in proximity to at least one flexible fin 16 of the rotating element 15.

[0009] Another end of the cord 20 is connected to the control unit 22 of the fuel supply system 10. According to one embodiment of the invention, the cord 20 is a cable or a wire having a second electric conductor 18 at one end. The cord 20 is placed in a fixed position in proximity to the rotating element 15, such that, during the rotation of the rotating element 15, the first electric conductor 17 present on each of the flexible pin 16 comes into contact with the second electric conductor 18 present on one end of the cord 20. The first electric conductor 17 and the second electric conductor 18 are made of a conducting material chosen from a group of conducting materials comprising copper, silver, aluminum, sea salt and the like.

[0010] The control unit 22 which is connected to the fuel pump 11, is adapted to control at least one function of the fuel pump 11 present in the fuel tank 12, during the pumping of the fuel to the high pressure pump 13 . The control unit 22 is an electronically controlled control unit according to one embodiment of the invention. The control unit 22 is further connected to the cord 20, such that, the control unit 22 is adapted to receive a signal upon detecting a contact of first electric conductor 17 and the second electric conductor 18. The control unit 22 is chosen from a group of control units comprising a micro controller, a microprocessor, an IC digital chip and the like.

[0011] A method of working of the rotating element 15 in the fuel supply system 10 is explained as follows. The fuel from the fuel tank 12 is pumped into the high-pressure pump 13 via the fuel filter 14 as mentioned above. The rotating element 15 present at the output side of the fuel filter 14 in the low-pressure fuel flow path 24, starts rotating due to the flow of the fuel from the fuel filter 14. Due to the flow of the fuel from the fuel filter 14, the rotational speed of the fuel filter 14 is above a threshold limit. Due to the rotation of the rotating element 15, at least one fin 16 with the first electric conductor 17 comes into contact with the second electric conductor 18 of the cord 20. When the two conductors (17, 18) are contacted, due to the conduction, the control unit 22 receives a signal. Due to the continuous rotation of the rotating element 15 and the conduction of the two conductors (17, 18) of the multiple fins 16 and the cord 20, the control unit 22 receives a continuous signal. According to one embodiment of the invention, the signal is a voltage pulse signal.

[0012] But, due to dissolved air in the fuel during throttling or due to the acceleration and deceleration of the fuel, at least one air bubble will be formed in the low- pressure fuel flow path 24. According to one embodiment of the invention, the air bubbles/ air packets are formed before the fuel filter 14 in the low-pressure fuel flow path 24. Due to the presence of the air bubbles in the low-pressure fuel flow path 24, the flow of the fuel through the fuel filter 14 reduces, thus reducing the rotational speed of the rotating element 15 present at the output side of the fuel filter 14. Due to the reduced rotational speed of the rotating element 15, the conduction between the first electric conductor 17 of the flexible fin 16 and the second electric conductor 18 of the cord 20 reduces. Due to this, the control unit 22 receives a discontinuous signal. In another embodiment, when the amount of air bubbles are high, the rotational speed of the rotating element 15 goes below the threshold limit, then the control unit 22 will have a straight line, since there will not be any conduction happening between the first electric conductor 17 of at least one fin 16 and the second electric conductor 18 of the cord.

[0011] With the above disclosed rotating element 15 in the fuel supply system 10 , the control unit is adapted to detect the air bubble in the low-pressure fuel flow path 24 and alert the user of the vehicle about the malfunction in the fuel flow path 24 , thus facilitating the user to stop the vehicle safely. The control unit 22 stores the signal received from the rotating element 15 and the cord 20 due to the conduction between the conductors (17, 18) for future diagnostics.

[0013] It should be understood that embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modifications and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.