Description:FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to fuel-tank of automotive vehicles. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for maintaining working pressure by eliminating abnormal pressure changes in automotive fuel tank. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for eliminating compression and vacuum build-up in failure mode in such fuel-tanks of automotive vehicles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Existing fuel-tank venting system are designed for relieving overpressure or vacuum in the fuel-tanks (one-way valve) not operating under negative pressure or positive pressure inside these fuel-tanks. In addition, the current fuel-tank venting systems are designed for specific flowrate of venting which are not capable of accommodating a sudden positive or negative change in pressure. The mechanisms of these fuel-tank venting systems do not provide any information to Driver/operator of the automobile about the prevailing fuel-tank pressures and leakages therefrom or fuel-tank rupture occurring due to sudden pressure change.

However, fuel-tank failures are often observed due to sudden rise in pressure or vacuum inside the fuel tank through the conventional fuel-tank venting systems/valves because of the blockage or malfunction thereof or due to improper valve selection or even due to poor response from the venting system.

A severe fuel-tank rupture may also lead to problems like heavy fuel leakage, fire hazard or safety related issues. This will also cause the fuel tank to be permanently deformed, which needs immediate replacement and thereby adding to the expensive servicing costs thereof.

The conventional fuel-tank venting systems are not capable of venting appropriately in case of a sudden occurrence of a positive (overpressure) or negative pressure (vacuum) inside the fuel-tank for the following reasons:

• Deposition of foreign particles in the vent area causing blockage in the vent paths.

• Pinching of the vent lines reducing the effective vent area and flow-rate.

• Mechanical failures of spring valves due to corrosion and ageing.

Most of the conventional venting systems are configured for lower vent flow-rate, which are not sufficient to handle higher flow-rate in case of a sudden occurrence of positive (overpressure) or negative pressures (vacuum) inside the fuel-tank.

Therefore, whenever the fuel-tank venting system does not work, the fuel-tank gets permanently ruptured thereby causing heavy fuel leakages. Heavy fuel leakages further lead to fire explosion which is highly unsafe.

In the conventional fuel-tank venting systems, the driver/operator/user does not come to know about the fuel-tank’s working pressure, i.e. whether the venting system is working properly or not. The driver/operator/user comes to know of the fuel-tank damages only after seeing a fuel-leakage therefrom. This also causes the fuel-tank to get permanently deformed, which need to be replaced immediately, which also leads to higher servicing costs.
Therefore, there is an existing need for developing an improved system to assist in fuel-tank breathing, which avoids any permanent damage to the fuel-tank due to rupture or leakage of the fuel-tank and which also provides the pressure related information to the vehicle driver/operator.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Some of the objects of the present invention - satisfied by at least one embodiment of the present invention - are as follows:

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved system to assist in fuel-tank breathing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) that avoids any permanent damage to the fuel-tank due to rupture thereof due to overpressure therein.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) to avoid any permanent damage to the fuel-tank due to the leakage of the fuel-tank by sudden rise in pressure or vacuum therein.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) which relieves the pressure in fuel-tank in case of malfunction, blockage or improper working of the fuel-tank’s venting system.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) which provides pressure/vacuum related information to the drive/operator of the vehicle/automobile.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, when read with the accompanying figures of drawing, which are however not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The conventional venting system is configured for overpressure or vacuum in the fuel-tank (having a one-way valve) which does not work in case of any negative pressure or positive pressure inside the fuel-tank. Moreover, such venting systems are configured for specific flow-rate of venting and are thus not fit to accommodate a sudden change in pressure on a positive or negative side. In addition, the conventional fuel-tank venting system does not provide any information to the driver/operator/user about the prevailing fuel-tank pressure and leakages therefrom, because of sudden pressure change and fuel-tank rupture thereby.

In accordance with the present invention, a Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) configured in accordance with the present invention provides a venting booster mechanism to maintain the fuel-tank operating pressure and eliminates vacuum or compression build-up failure mode.

This system protects the fuel tank from further deformation in case of sudden rise in pressure and vacuum in such a way that booster mechanism will make additional path for pressure relief in case of malfunction, blockage or non-working of current venting system.

This mechanism also has a pressure monitoring system which enables driver to know if there is a venting system problem on information cluster.
This Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) avoids the fuel-tank rupture, permanent deformation therein and any damage thereto to prevent any fuel leakage and thus helps in increasing the fuel-tank’s safety. This reduces the service or warranty costs to the customer or manufacturer, which would have otherwise raised due to fuel-tank ruptures. Moreover, the customer just needs to replace the venting booster mechanism when failures occur due to pressure or vacuum rise within the fuel-tank.

Preferably, this Fuel Tank Breather Booster Unit (FTBBU) includes a colour filled membrane to spray bright colour paint when the fuel-tank bursts to indicate to the user about the activation of the fail-safe mechanism due to the failure of the primary venting system. This would alert the driver/customer, in case of any blockage in the venting mechanism to show necessary tell-tale on the information cluster.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a Fuel-tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) configured in accordance with the present invention for avoiding a permanent fuel-tank damage and providing pressure on vehicle’s information-cluster, the FTBBU comprises

• a pressure sensor fitted within a fuel-tank; the pressure sensor electrically and/or electronically connected to an engine control unit (ECU) of the vehicle;

• a booster mechanism for venting of the fuel-tank; and

• a venting system having a vent-tube or vent-valve fitted on top of the fuel-tank;

wherein the pressure sensed by the pressure sensor is compared with the atmospheric pressure by means of the engine control unit (ECU) to calculate the pressure difference therebetween for determining the overpressure or vacuum build-up inside the fuel-tank and indicated on the information cluster of the vehicle to make the driver/user/operator of the vehicle aware of the overpressure or vacuum to avoid a permanent damage to the fuel-tank.

Typically, the FTBBU comprises a breathing booster valve and a pressure sensor unit connected to a respective fuel-pressure sensing unit and the engine control unit (ECU) of the vehicle.

Typically, the pressure sensor unit is connected to the driver information system (DIS) of the vehicle to display the overpressure inside or vacuum inside the fuel-tank.

Typically, the FTBBU further comprises check-lamp or tell-tale to display the actual pressure inside the fuel-tank.

Typically, the FTBBU further comprises an additional path for relieving the overpressure/vacuum detected by the pressure sensor unit.

Typically, the FTBBU further comprises a colour membrane to spray bright-colour paint, when the fuel-tank bursts or leaks due to the overpressure or vacuum developed therein.

Typically, the spraying of bright-colour paint by the colour membrane makes the driver/user/operator of the vehicle aware of the malfunctioning of the fuel-tank venting system.

Typically, the FTBBU further comprises:

- a breathing booster valve and a pressure sensor unit connected to a respective pressure sensing unit and an engine control unit (ECU);

- a pressure sensor unit comprising the pressure sensor connected to the driver information system (DIS) of the vehicle to display the overpressure inside or vacuum inside the fuel-tank;

- an additional path for relieving the overpressure/vacuum detected by the pressure sensor unit;

- a check-lamp or tell-tale to display the pressure in the fuel-tank; and

- a colour membrane to spray bright-colour paint, when the fuel-tank bursts or leaks due to the overpressure or vacuum developed therein;

wherein the spraying of bright-colour paint by the colour membrane makes the driver/user/operator of the vehicle aware of the malfunctioning of the fuel-tank venting system to take immediate preventive measures.

In accordance with the present invention, there is also provided a method of avoiding a permanent damage to the fuel-tank and providing the pressure detected inside the fuel-tank by the fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) above, comprising the steps of:

• detecting the pressure inside the fuel tank by means of the pressure sensing unit;

• comparing the detected pressure with the atmospheric pressure by the ECU to obtain the pressure difference (ΔP) therebetween; and

• displaying the pressure difference (ΔP) on information cluster of the vehicle, and bursting of a membrane filled with a bright-colour on the pressure difference being an overpressure or vacuum;
whereby the driver/user/operator takes immediate preventive measures to avoid a permanent damage to the fuel-tank on viewing a warning signal about the overpressure or vacuum prevailing inside the fuel-tank as indicated by lighting of a check-lamp or tell-tale on the information cluster of the vehicle.

Typically, the booster mechanism is simultaneously activated to provide an additional path for relieving the detected overpressure or vacuum to avoid a permanent damage to the fuel-tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will be briefly described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) configured in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 shows the operation of a Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a block diagram of Fuel-tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) shown in Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In the following, a Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) configured in accordance with the present invention will be described in more details with reference to the accompanying drawings without limiting the scope and ambit of the present invention.
Figure 1 shows a Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) configured in accordance with the present invention, comprises a fuel tank 10 having a fuel-filler neck N closable by a cap C. The fuel-tank 10 is equipped with a pressure sensor 20, booster mechanism 40 for the fuel-tank venting system 80 including a vent-tube or vent-valve. The pressure sensor 20 is electrically/electronically connected to the engine control unit (not shown) of the vehicle, which in turn is connected to the information cluster 60 and tell-tale 70 for indicating the operating status S of the fuel-tank’s venting system to the driver/operator/user. The pressure feedback received from the pressure sensor 20 allows the ECU to calculate the pressure difference 30 (Fig. 2) to display a warning symbol 50 (Fig. 2) on the information cluster 60 by a continuous monitoring of pressurized fuel-tank 10 vis-à-vis the atmospheric pressure At.

Figure 2 shows the operation of a Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) configured in accordance with the present invention, comprising a fuel-tank 10, a pressure sensor 20, a booster mechanism 40 for fuel-tank venting system 80 (Fig. 1), and an information cluster 60 (Fig. 1) to display a “Vent Choked” symbol 50, (whenever the venting system 80 is detected to be choked). The pressure sensor 20 detects the pressure inside the fuel-tank 10 and forwards this pressure (22) to an Engine Control Unit (not shown in Fig. 1), which calculates the pressure difference 30 (ΔP = Atmospheric pressure At – Pressure inside the fuel-tank 10), which pressure difference (30) may have a positive pressure value, i.e. overpressure or a negative pressure value, i.e. vacuum. The booster mechanism 40 is activated quickly to provide additional path 24, 26 for relieving this pressure (overpressure or vacuum) 32, which is also indicated to the driver/operator/user on the information cluster 60 as the failed working status F of the venting system 80. This also causes a colour-filled membrane to spray bright-colour paint when the fuel-tank 10 bursts and/or leaks, for making the driver/operator/user aware of the malfunctioning F of the fuel-tank venting system 80, which in turn helps to reduce the service and warranty costs by avoiding the complete repair/replacement of the ruptured/leaked fuel-tank.

Figure 3 shows a block diagram of the Fuel-tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) 40. This FTBBU 40 includes a breathing booster valve 42, a colour membrane 44, and a pressure sensor unit 46. The breathing booster valve 42 and pressure sensor unit 46 are connected to a respective fuel-tank pressure sensing port 45. The pressure sensor unit 46 sends signals to the Driver Information System (DIS) or information cluster 60 (Figure 1) to light up a check-lamp or tell-tale 90 and the colour membrane 44 sprays bright-colour paint when a bursting and/or leakage of the fuel-tank 10 occurs for making the driver/operator/user aware of the malfunctioning of the fuel-tank venting system 80.

A variety of breathing booster valves 42 can be deployed, e.g.:

• Fusible burst disc

• Rubber diaphragm type pressure relief valve

• Spring-loaded pressure relief valve

• Pilot-operated pressure relief valve

• Single-way power-actuated pressure relief valve

• Two-way power-actuated pressure relief valve

• Temperature-actuated pressure relief valve

• Roll-over valve.
Key Features of the present invention:

- Venting System Booster Mechanism incorporates a brightly colored paint membrane to enable the end user to take note if the venting booster mechanism is activated due to the failure of the venting system.

- Continuous Monitoring of pressurized fuel-tank vis-à-vis the atmospheric pressure. Feedback from the pressure sensor allows the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) to calculate the pressure difference to display a warning symbol on the information cluster.

- On activation of fuel-tank breathing booster unit, the system bursts a bright colored spray in the nearby area to enable the driver/operator/user to take notice of the choked venting system and the failure of venting system.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The Fuel Tank Breathing Booster Unit (FTBBU) configured in accordance with the present invention offers the following advantages:

• Maintains working fuel tank pressure.

• Eliminates vacuum or compression build-up within fuel-tank.

• Provides fuel-tank pressure/vacuum related information to the vehicle/automobile driver/operator on information cluster.

• Protects the fuel tank from further deformation on sudden rise in pressure and vacuum.

• Provides additional path for pressure relief in case of malfunction, blockage or non-working of fuel-tank venting system.
• Includes a pressure monitoring system to enable the driver to know in case of problem with fuel-tank venting system from information cluster.

• Prevents permanent deformation and damage to the fuel-tank to avoid fuel leakage in case of fuel tank rupture to increase the fuel tank safety.

• Reduces service or warranty costs for the customer/manufacturer which would otherwise occur due to fuel tank rupture.

• Requires mere replacement of venting booster mechanism when fuel-tanks fails due to pressure or vacuum rise.

• Provides visible indication of the activation of Fuel Tank Breather Booster unit (FTBBU) when primary venting system fails.

• Alerts the driver/customer when a blockage occurs in the fuel-tank venting mechanism and thus provides necessary tell-tale on the cluster.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments.

It is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. The exemplary embodiments described in this specification are intended merely to provide an understanding of various manners in which this embodiment may be used and to further enable the skilled person in the relevant art to practice this invention.

Although, the embodiments presented in this disclosure have been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, the skilled person in the art would readily recognize that these embodiments can be applied with modifications possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in this specification by making innumerable changes, variations, modifications, alterations and/or integrations in terms of materials and method used to configure, manufacture and assemble various constituents, components, subassemblies and assemblies, in terms of their size, shapes, orientations and interrelationships without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The numerical values given of various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.

Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, shall be understood to imply including a described element, integer or method step, or group of elements, integers or method steps, however, does not imply excluding any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or method steps.

The use of the expression “a”, “at least” or “at least one” shall imply using one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as used in the embodiment of the disclosure in order to achieve one or more of the intended objects or results of the present invention.

The description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top”, and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g. “horizontally”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”; “downwardly”, “upwardly” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion.

Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected”, refer to a relationship, wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. , Claims:We claim:

1. A fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) for avoiding fuel-tank damage and providing pressure on a vehicle’s information-cluster, said FTBBU comprises:

• a pressure sensor (20) fitted within a fuel-tank (10); said pressure sensor electrically and/or electronically connected to an engine control unit (ECU) of said vehicle;

• a booster mechanism (40) for venting of said fuel-tank (10); and

• a venting system (80) having a vent-tube or vent-valve fitted on top of fuel-tank (10);

wherein the pressure sensed by said pressure sensor (20) is compared with the atmospheric pressure by means of said engine control unit (ECU) to calculate the pressure difference ΔP (30) therebetween for determining the overpressure or vacuum build-up inside said fuel-tank (10) and indicated on the driver information system (DIS) or information cluster (60) of said vehicle to make the driver/user/operator of said vehicle aware of said overpressure or vacuum to avoid a permanent damage to said fuel-tank (10).

2. The fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said FTBBU comprises a breathing booster valve (42) and a pressure sensor unit (46) connected to a respective fuel-pressure sensing unit (45) and the engine control unit (ECU) of said vehicle.

3. The fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said pressure sensor unit (46) is connected to saod driver information system (DIS) or information cluster (60) to display the overpressure inside or vacuum inside said fuel-tank (10).

4. The fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said FTBBU further comprises check-lamp or tell-tale (90) to display the actual pressure inside said fuel-tank (10).

5. The fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claim 4, wherein said FTBBU further comprises an additional path (24, 26) for relieving said overpressure/vacuum detected by said pressure sensor unit (46).

6. The fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said FTBBU further comprises a colour membrane (44) to spray bright-colour paint, when said fuel-tank (10) bursts or leaks due to said overpressure or vacuum developed therein.

7. The fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the spraying of bright-colour paint by said colour membrane (44) makes the driver/user/operator of said vehicle aware of the malfunctioning of said fuel-tank venting system (80).

8. The fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said FTBBU further comprises:

- a breathing booster valve (42) and a pressure sensor unit (46) connected to a respective pressure sensing unit (45) and said engine control unit (ECU);

- a pressure sensor unit (46) comprises said pressure sensor (20) connected to the driver information system (DIS) or information cluster (60)to display the overpressure inside or vacuum inside said fuel-tank (10);

- an additional path (24, 26) for relieving said overpressure/vacuum detected by said pressure sensor unit (46);

- a check-lamp or tell-tale (90) to display the pressure in said fuel-tank (10); and

- a colour membrane (44) to spray bright-colour paint, when said fuel-tank (10) bursts or leaks due to said overpressure or vacuum developed therein;

wherein the spraying of bright-colour paint by said colour membrane (44) makes the driver/user/operator of said vehicle aware of the malfunctioning of said fuel-tank venting system (80) to take immediate preventive measures.

9. A method for avoiding a permanent fuel-tank damage and providing the pressure detected inside said fuel-tank (10) by said fuel-tank breathing booster unit (FTBBU) as claimed in claims 1 to 8, wherein said method comprises the steps of:

• detecting the pressure inside said fuel tank (10) by means of said pressure sensing unit (46);

• comparing said detected pressure with the atmospheric pressure by said ECU to obtain the pressure difference ΔP (30) therebetween; and

• displaying said pressure difference ΔP (30) on said driver information system (DIS) or information cluster (60), and bursting of said membrane (44) filled with a bright-colour when said pressure difference ΔP (30) is an overpressure or vacuum;

whereby the driver/user/operator takes immediate preventive measures to avoid a permanent damage to said fuel-tank (10) on viewing a warning signal about said overpressure or vacuum prevailing inside said fuel-tank (10) as indicated by lighting of a check-lamp or tell-tale (90) on said driver information system (DIS) or information cluster (60).

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said booster mechanism (40) is simultaneously activated to provide an additional path (24, 26) for relieving said detected overpressure or vacuum to avoid a permanent damage to said fuel-tank (10).

Dated this 10th day of February 2023.

Digitally / e-Signed by:

(SANJAY KESHARWANI)
APPLICANT’S PATENT AGENT
REGN. NO. IN/PA-2043.