Patent ID: 6457459
Filing Date: 2002-10-01
Classification: F02M

Abstract:
A fuel supply apparatus for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, said fuel supply apparatus comprisinga fuel tank (12) arranged in the motor vehicle; a reservoir (14) arranged within the fuel tank (12); a fuel feed unit (16) for drawing fuel from the reservoir (14) and feeding said fuel to the internal combustion engine (10); a return line (30) connected with the internal combustion engine (10) for feeding back a part of the fuel supplied by the fuel feed unit (16) to the internal combustion engine and not burned by the internal combustion engine to the fuel tank; a jet pump (38) connected with the return line (30) and comprising means for feeding said part of said fuel returned from the internal combustion engine into the reservoir (14); a control valve (34) arranged in the return line (30) upstream from the jet pump, said control valve (34) comprising a floating body (70) arranged to float in said fuel in the reservoir (14) when the reservoir in nearly or completed filled and a control element (58) connected with said floating body (70) so that said control element (58) moves when a level of said fuel in said reservoir changes, whereby in a first position of the control element (58) when the reservoir (14) is not nearly in a filled state a connection is made between the jet pump (38) and the return line (30) and in a second position when the reservoir is at least nearly in said filled state the connection between the jet pump (38) and the return line (30) is broken and the return line (30) is directly connected to said reservoir and opens into the reservoir (14).