Patent ID: 11920536
Assignee: nan
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 14:
15. A method of operating a fuel pump system for a vehicle, the fuel pump system including a primary fuel pump and an auxiliary fuel pump in-line with the primary fuel pump and fluidly connected to a fuel tank, and an electric motor for driving the auxiliary fuel pump, the method comprising:
providing an electronic control circuit electrically connected to the electric motor, and a pressure sensor at an output of the auxiliary fuel pump;
receiving, at the electronic control circuit, a signal from the pressure sensor corresponding to the output pressure measured by the pressure sensor at the output of the auxiliary fuel pump;
communicating, via a processing device associated with the electronic control circuit, an operational motor speed to the auxiliary fuel pump based on the signal received from the pressure sensor;
continuously adjusting, via the processing device, the operational motor speed based on the signal received from the pressure sensor under normal operating conditions to maintain a predetermined constant output pressure; and
sensing, by the electronic control circuit, a failure or disconnect in the pressure sensor or the processing device, and automatically switching control, via the electronic control circuit, of the operational motor speed from the processing device to a fixed source that is configured to provide a fixed, predetermined operating voltage or power corresponding to a predetermined safe speed in response to sensing the failure or disconnect,
wherein the fixed source is a potentiometer pre-set to a fixed voltage corresponding to the predetermined safe speed.